Tag Blanket

Time for the final installment of Baby Gift Month here at Craft Room Confidential.  And I must say, I saved the best for last.  {IMHO}

I have to admit, I was not at all familiar with the concept of tag blankets.  But with the help of Google, I think I am up to speed now.  And after my research I knew this was something I had to make for my friend and her new baby.  This Dr. Seuss fabric is perfect for this project and along with the colorful ribbons it just screams hold me and play with me!  What baby could resist this?  I chose to use polar fleece for the back side to give it a nice soft touch.  {I had several scraps to choose from in my stash but I liked the blue best.}

Did I mention how easy this was to make?  Here, let me tell you all about it:

• Cut fabric into 4 squares measuring 8" x 8".
• Sew two squares together and press seam open.  Then repeat with remaining two squares.
• Sew those two pieces together, matching center seams, and press seam open.
• Using your newly created larger square as a pattern, cut out your backing material.
• Grab your ribbon stash and start selecting your ribbon.  I used 20 different ribbons cut to 4" - 5" lengths.  You can use more or less.  If possible, try to get a variety of textures and widths.

• With your pieced square face up, pin your ribbons around the edge.  I just eyeballed it but feel free to measure if that's your thing.

• Sew your ribbons onto the fabric square with a 1/4" seam allowance.  I suppose that this step could be optional but I chose to do it because I wanted to be sure the ribbons would be securely attached.
• Place your backing material on top of your ribbon/pieced square, right sides together.  {Think ribbon sandwich.}  Pin.

• Sew around entire square with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 4" opening on one side.
• Clip corners and turn right side out through the opening.  Press.
• Topstitch around outside of square, making sure to sew the opening closed.
• Stitch in the ditch of the pieced square.  This step is optional as well.

• Give to a baby.

I just love how this came out.  I think the fun different colored ribbons is my favorite part.  Or maybe the awesome Dr. Seuss fabric is.  I just can't decide.

I sure hope the baby loves it.  {But really, how can she not.}

I hope you enjoyed Baby Gift Month.  Here are the other gifts featured in case you missed them:

Pacifier Leashes and Carry Bag

Baby Bib

Travel Changing Pad

I am sharing this project at my favorite parties.

Travel Changing Pad

Welcome to week 3 of Baby Gift month.  This little bundle is for the baby on the go.  Perfect for putting in the diaper bag without taking up a lot of space.

Just untie and unroll this bundle and open up the sides to reveal a very practical baby gift.

Ta Da!  It's a travel changing pad.

The pattern I used for this project is from Sew 4 Home.  The only thing I did differently from the instructions was that I used fusible interfacing instead of sew-in.  I just like working with fusible interfacing better.

There is just one week left in Baby Gift month and let me tell you - it's the best gift of all!  You won't want to miss it.  Speaking of missing it, don't miss the previous weeks gifts:

Pacifier Leashes and Carry Bag

Baby Bib

Baby Bib

It's week two of Baby Gift week here on Craft Room Confidential.  Today's gift is a simple but adorable baby bib.  You can never have too many bibs right?

This easy pattern is from Heather Bailey.  I think it would make a good beginner sewing project.  And it sews up in a jiffy.

The pattern includes an option to add embellishments but I chose not to.  I didn't want to cover up any of the whimsical print.

Don't these two prints just make you smile?  I think I stood in front of the Dr. Seuss fabric in the quilt store for at least an hour trying to decide which fabrics to select.  So many beautiful choices!  And I loved these two so much I ended up using them in another project which I will share soon.  

As with the pacifier leashes, I opted to use velcro instead of snaps.  The pattern includes instructions for either.

Stay tuned for more of baby gift month.  And in case you missed the start, be sure to check out:

Pacifier Leash and Carry Bag

{Confidential} - July Project Board

Did you miss the June project board?  You didn't - I didn't post one.  I figured since it was the same as May it wasn't worthy of a new post.  But I did cross a couple of things off in June and added some new things so the project board post is back for July.

Compare to the May Project Board

Read my June Review

Pacifier Leash and Carry Bag

I am hereby declaring July Baby Gift month here at Craft Room Confidential.  A friend of mine is having a baby this month and my gift(s) to her are homemade of course.  Because I don't see her regularly, the fact that she was having a baby slipped my mind until the beginning of June.  Which meant I was looking for some quick and cute baby gift ideas to make.

First up are these two cute and practical pacifier leashes along with a little carry bag for them from Sew 4 Home.

I was able to make these with some of my scrap fabric which you may recognize from this project, or this one, or maybe this one.  Instead of using snaps, I opted to use velcro.  No particular reason why, especially considering I do have a snap tool.

And instead of using cording (because I didn't want to buy any), I just cut a strip of fabric 7/8" wide.  (Well two actually and sewed them together to get one long strip 28" long.)  I sewed the long edges together with a small seam allowance and turned it inside out to create my own 'string'.

I hope she gets a lot of use out of them.

Have a great weekend.

I am sharing at these parties.

{Not So Confidential} - June in Review

Can you believe that we are now half way through the year?  Me neither.  Here is one last picture from my road trip - the Old Capitol in Iowa City.

{What I made} Craft Projects

in case you missed them:

Cosmo Bag

iPhone sleeve with strap and pockets

{What I made} Yummy Eats

• Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells from Annie's Eats - Yummy!
• Maple Olive Oil Granola with Hazelnuts and Cherries from Turntable Kitchen- I'm on a quest to find my favorite homemade granola recipe.  This one went to the top of the list.
• Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet from Savory Simple - My first sorbet and it was delicious.
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from Cookie and Kate - I had extra strawberries and rhubarb after making the sorbet so I looked for something I could make with what I had in my kitchen.  I picked this one and it was a winner!
• Salted Chocolate Caramel Popcorn from Diethood - AWESOME!!!!
• Strawberries and Angel Food Ice Cream from A Beautiful Mess - My first cream cheese based ice cream and it won't be the last.  This was so freaking good.
• Baked Strawberry Doughnuts from Cooking Classy - What do you make when you buy a flat of strawberries at the farmer's market?  Doughnuts of course!
• Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sliders from Cooking Light - Delicious.
• Salted Pretzel Rolls from My Life as a Mrs. - What better way to serve the Barbecue Chicken Sliders than with these tasty rolls.
• Chick-Fil-A Carrot Raisin Salad from Just A Pinch - We don't have a Chick-Fil-A around here so I can't compare this but it reminds me of the same salad I had as a kid.  I replaced the mayo with greek yogurt.
• Lemon, Asparagus and Brown Butter Gnocchi from the Star Tribune - The last asparagus of the season went on in style in this dish.
• Bowties with sugar snaps, lemon and ricotta from Smitten Kitchen - Two thumbs up!

{What I read} Previous count - 16

1. Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
2. Rising Tides by Nora Roberts
3. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie