Quiet Book Page 9: Tie the Laces!

When I was figuring out what pages to put in my quiet book, I decided I wanted the majority of them to teach something. This page with little pretend shoes is perfect for kids to learn how to tie shoes. I love it!

Page 9: Tie the Laces

Teaches: How to lace up and tie shoes

Throughout the process of making my quiet book, I was so grateful for templates to follow. They made the pages so easy to do. This was one of those template pages. I got the pattern from here and just followed all of her instructions. 

Here is my page: 

For the most part, my page is just like hers. As far as differences, I used larger grommets and I did not use glue for anything; the whole page was hand-stitched

"tie the laces" up close

I think this page turned out so cute! I look forward to when he will be able to use it.

~K.A.N.

Baby TOMS!

You think I would have learned by now that when I really take my time to do a project right, I am infinitely more pleased with the outcome. For example, the chair I re-upholstered or my diaper bag. For both of those projects, I took my time and made sure every little thing was done right, and guess what? I adore both of them.

Well, here it happened again. I really don't know how to express how excited I am about these little shoes. I love them so much! I was so giddy when I finished them last night. I just kept picking them up and turning them over and just looking at them. Call me crazy, but I love them!

The idea came from Craftiness Is Not Optional, who originally got it from this tutorial. She gives a full tutorial on how to make the shoes, both toddler and baby sizes. She has a pattern you can buy, or if you are a penny pincher like me, you can download the free pattern and scale it to the size you need! 

I saw the shoes and since my little man needed some black shoes anyway, I decided to make them!

Like I said, I followed the tutorial exactly and they turned out just how I wanted. I actually intended for the bottom to be black, with the plaid on the inside, but accidentally did it the wrong way. Lucky for me, I did both of them like that and loved how it turned out!

I finished them after Owen was already asleep, so I had to wait until this morning to try them on him. They are just a little big, but that will be perfect! Room to grow is never a bad thing...especially with this guy. 

Checking them out:

So cute!

Perfect for those roly poly feet! 

I just might make another pair...or ten!

~K.A.N.

Over a MONTH!!

I can hardly believe it's been over a month since my last post! I knew it had been a while, but I didn't think it had been that long! Wow, I guess I've been kind of busy. 

But guess what? That is just about over. Woo hoo! I just have one take-home final to finish, then I am home free for over 3 weeks. This is one thing that I love about college...we get awesome breaks; at least as an undergrad. It really is the best. 

Well, since it has been so long, I just decided to show you a quick post of the outfit that I mad for my best friend's little guy. He is over 2 months old now and just a little cutie. He still doesn't quite fit into this outfit, but it is definitely one of my favorite gifts I have ever made. 

The first thing I made was the bow-tie onesie. It was pretty simple and I love the bow tie! I made the bow tie out of some navy blue cotton and found the onesie at a yard sale for 25 cents! I just attached the bow tie directly onto the onesie.

After the top was made, I worked on the bottoms. I found some boy slacks (size 12, I think) at a thrift store for a couple of dollars and just used the bottom of the legs to make these little pants. I drew out a pattern to be 6 months (the same size as the onesie), put the legs together, and made a simple elastic waist. 

The last thing I made was the shoes. I technically made them very first, but they didn't turn out quite right, so this second pair was made after the above outfit was made. They turned out just right and I adore them!

The top flap is held down by a little square piece of velcro. I sewed the button on last to cover most of the seam from the velcro underneath. 

Like I said, this little outfit is one of my favorite gifts yet!

I can't wait to see him wear it. 

~K.A.N.

Baby Shoes!

I do love baby shoes. 

A while back, I was looking through some blogs and came across this post. I love all of her projects, and the idea to make baby shoes from old purses, well it is genius! 

I don't have any little ones yet, but thank goodness I have family that does. I collected a few purses from a thrift store in my hometown so that I could make them into some little shoes...and I have finally done it; at least with one of them.

I decided to pick colors that would match several things. I got a red purse, a black purse, and was very excited to find a white purse. All three purses have enough fabric to make at least one little pair of shoes. 

For this pair of shoes, I used the white purse. I got the measurements for my niece's feet and drew the pattern out with a sole piece and a top piece. I then cut out four of each piece, two using the vinyl fabric from the purse and two using a softer fabric for the inside of the shoe (I used white flannel).

I then assembled all pieces together to make some little shoes! I used white elastic to help the shoes stay on. I used more white vinyl to make little bows, which I hand-stitched onto the elastic. And that is it!

New white baby shoes. I can't wait to see them on her!

~K.A.N.