No Sew Fleece Sleeping Bags

I first saw this tutorial on Pinterest for an American Girl doll sleeping bag. Within seconds my mind went to: "why not make this into a big kid size?!"

I knew there would be some adjustments, besides size obviously. I thought about it for about 5 minutes, then went and dropped some money at Hobby Lobby. Ladies and gents, fleece is not cheap. Even on sale. But when you think about how long these blankets last and how excited kids will be to have totally customizable sleeping bags... it's totally worth it!!

Like I said, these are totally customizable, and totally easy to make. There are so many options when it comes to fleece! For my projects, I chose rainbow peace signs and pink fleece for my 8 year old niece, and a baseball motif and gray fleece for my 4 year old nephew.

What I Used (per blanket):
3.75 yards of patterned fleece
2 yards of solid color fleece
Fabric scissors
A ruler/yardstick (I didn't use one, but some people like to measure things. I am not one of those people.)



This isn't going to be a full tutorial, because there are a MILLION no-sew fleece blanket tutorials out there, and it really is the easiest thing in the world to do. If you don't know how to make one, google it (okay, Pinterest it) and come back here if you want to turn it into a sleeping bag. ;)

So, as I was saying. If you've ever made a no sew fleece blanket, you can totally make this sleeping bag. The only difference is adding another layer of fleece to the top side, though not the same length. You don't want to knot all 3 layers together, that would just be a heavier blanket. And what fun is that?

I made my sleeping bags 2 yards long and then got another piece of the patterned fleece that was 1 3/4 yards to layer on top. Remember, you are going to be cutting strips around all 4 sides, so the bag won't be quite 2 yards long when you're done.

For me, I also wanted them a little narrower. I laid out all 3 layers on top of each other (pattern, solid, pattern), and then folded over approximately 1 foot on one side. I cut that strip off, and was left with a narrower blanket. I wanted it to be more of a sleeping bag and less of a blanket, and thought that would help. I think it turned out perfect! (And now I have a 12 inch wide piece of scrap to do.....something with!)

Knot all around the sides, and fold down a flap on one side so that you can make it easier for your kids to get inside. That was the only change I made from the doll tutorial I found.  Don't knot all 4 sides up tight, you want to make it so that a child can get out in case of an emergency bathroom trip in the middle of the night! Just the thought of tying down the top blanket entirely makes me claustrophobic!! You can see in the picture below, to make it look more finished I also cut the strips down the flap and tied them together. But feel free to leave it uncut and as it is!

 

When I finished, I cut a strip of excess patterned fleece and double knotted it around the bag for a handle. These bags are going to stay at our house for when my niece and nephew come sleep over, but that way storage is easier and the kids can pick them up without them unrolling everywhere.

 

 

I am beyond excited for the kids to see these next weekend and see how they will react. I spent nearly 4 hours total working on these blankets, and I know I won't get 4 hours of praise (though their parents could really suggest that, it'd be cool). Even if I just get, "WOAH, LOOK AT THAT!! OH MAN, THAT'S SO COOL. Can I have a snack? Are we going to watch a movie? But I don't want to watch that!" it will be enough for my little heart. 

In my head, I know that I could have just thrown down a pillow and blanket and they would have been thrilled just to be in my house, but instead I poured my love for these 2 crazy kids into 10 yards of fleece. I hope one day, they will realize how important they are to me. 

I don't know what I would do if these kids weren't in my life, but mostly, I'm just happy I can spoil them and send them home later. With a total sugar buzz. Isn't that what aunts are for?

Halloween & Ghost Cookies

I hope everyone had a wonderfully spooky Halloween! Joey and I went to see my Grandpa in his nursing home with all my little cousins all dressed up in their costumes. It was delightfully adorable to see them all pretending to be dead prom queens, witches and ninjas. My oldest (little) cousin was Bob Marley, and man, was he too cool for school. Brady, my nephew, was Spiderman and so were my twin cousins that are also the same age.... so the three of them thought that was pretty neat!

After visiting my Grandpa, we went and bought some bags of candy (nothing like the last minute) and handed it all out to trick or treaters in the neighborhood. There were TONS of little baby Cardinals players, so that was cute. We didn't get many teenagers, but we also ran out of candy at like 8pm. Ha!!

We spent the Sunday evening prior to Halloween with my brother and his family doing a fun spooky appetizer themed dinner! My sister-in-law LOVES Halloween and really went all out with the food and decorations. We had mummy hot dogs, pumpkin dip, cheese ball mice... just to name a few. Her bean dip even had a face! My sister made witches fingers out of pretzel rods and green candy melts, but I didn't get a picture of those.

I contributed these adorable cookies to the dinner, and also to work on Halloween day itself. They were super easy to make and everyone was really excited about them. I got so many compliments at work!

 
TO MAKE: All you need are 3 ingredients that can be found at probably any store. I got them at Walmart! Just grab a package of Keebler Elf fudge cookies (I've seen Nutter Butters used too), white melting chocolate and mini chocolate chips.

Melt the chocolate as directed on the package and dip the cookies in halfway, shaking off the excess. Place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Before the chocolate cools, place 2 mini chocolate chips at the top for the eyes.

I put the cookie sheet in the fridge overnight and put them on a festive little pumpkin plate and the chocolate stayed hard the entire night!

Like I said, any oval-ish cookie can be used... I just love the elf cookies because it looks like they are wearing a ghost costume! *Note the poor elf in the middle of the picture on the left who put his sheet on upside down. Whoops!



You also can't go wrong with temporary tattoos! I was the office Tattoo Artist on Wednesday.... love!

Now bring on Thanksgiving!

We are wedding-ed out!

October has been a very hectic month so far. I know that it's been forever since I posted, so I apologize for my temporary leave of absence.

Joey and I had 2 weddings right off the bat this month, one of which we were actually involved in. For pretty much the entire end of September and beginning of October, my entire free time was devoted to helping my lovely cousin Lisa get the finishing touches done for her wedding.

I designed, printed and assembled her program, timeline and reception place cards.... with her and Kirstie's help of course!! I could not have have gotten them all finished in time without these amazing ladies.

It was so much fun browsing Pinterest and taking ideas from here and there, along with visions I already had in my head and turning them into finished products! The program took the longest to make. The hardest parts were definitely getting everything aligned, picking the right shade of lavender and getting everyone's names spelled correctly! I think they turned out pretty awesome though.

I also found a wedding timeline on Pinterest and decided to make my own version. It's pretty similar to the one I found, I have to admit, but it still gave me the satisfaction of doing it myself. It was a big hit with everyone and it really seemed to limit the annoying questions of "Where do we go next?" and "How long of a wait til the reception?", which some people really think are appropriate questions to bother the Bride and Groom with. I am a firm believer that every wedding should implement these cards.

The reception place cards were due to the fact that the reception was a sit-down dinner and not a buffet. The colored backing helped the staff identify who ordered salmon (lavender) and who ordered chicken (black). It really helped and was a clever idea since it wasn't overly obvious!

The following pictures are a couple snapshots from the night before the wedding and during. I didn't get many pictures because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off all day. Seriously......... I didn't sit down once all day, except for the actual wedding itself and dinner. But I loved every second of it!

 

Kirstie wearing all of our wedding rings... luckily she is a great friend and didn't run off with thousands of dollars on her hand.

Brandon playing the crap out of that cello.

My wedding day GPOY when I had a second to myself in the hotel bathroom. Sigh.

My lovely husband and I at the reception. We were both sweaty and tired by this point.

The next weekend was Casey and Amanda's wedding! We spent the entire day in downtown St. Louis with our friends Dustin and Brandon. It was such an awesome day.... I just totally forgot to take pictures. Ummmm, whoops!

We spent the time between the wedding and the reception at this pretty sweet bar/restaurant/hipster hangout called Plush. We ate weird food, I had a cider beer, and about 3 coffees. Guys, the napkins were tye-dye and cloth. TOTAL HIPSTER HANGOUT.

The upstairs of Plush was a huge open loft area with ping pong tables, a pool table and tons of mismatched seating areas and a bean bag pit. It had huge open windows and exposed brick walls.

I just love this guy.

The centerpieces! I love me a good mason jar craft. These battery operated lights were an awesome touch, as there was only dim lighting at the reception. Made a very romantic atmosphere!

Us and the groom. YAY WEDDINGS!!!

So yes, it's safe to say that Joey and I are officially wedding-ed out for 2012. We are going to rest and prepare for the Wedding season 2013... we're looking at you Roadie/Carrie and Brian/Kirstie!!!! We can't wait...... but are SUPER relieved you aren't getting married this year. ;)

Wedding Season 2012 - Angie & Nick

Last Saturday was my lovely cousin Angie's wedding, to a wonderful guy. Her and Nick will be happy forever and the wedding was absolute proof of that.

Joey was super honored to be an usher, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly all day long.

It was indeed a long day, but one filled with family, love and lots and lots of dancing!

 

 

2 weddings down..... 3 more to go!

Wedding Season 2012 is in full blast. :)

Early birthday with the fam!

Last night after work, my family and I got together for dinner and my (pre)birthday celebrations!

My sister made my Mom's chicken salad wraps, my sister-in-law made a yummy chocolate cake with vanilla icing and caramel drizzle (honestly to die for) and I'm sure my brother did something constructive with his day. ;)

It's kind of convenient having my only living immediate family living under one roof. And to boot, they are all pretty much rockstars. Especially my niece and nephew. They made me these amazing cards!

Their ages (7 & 3) are so much fun right now and I am so happy I get to watch them grow up. I walked in the door and my nephew flung himself at me saying Happy Birthday!! I honestly could not be any happier than when I am around them.

My little sister proved to know me well by her gift. A beautiful bird candle and this bracelet she found on Etsy! I think Etsy is one of my favorite websites right now. I would rather get a thought-out gift that was hand crafted over mass produced any day!

I just love that my new little blue bird candle matches perfectly with my owl one I bought before we moved. I just may be in the makes of a bird-themed candle collection! ;)

 

My brother and sister-in-law won my heart over with Panera gift cards. There is nothing on this planet that is better than Panera. Yum. Right now I am super into their Strawberry Poppyseed salad with chicken. Go get some, if you've never been. You won't be disappointed! And you'll love me more.

Also carbs.
Yay, carbs! (translation: boo, carbs!)

This is the best. Obviously it's from How I Met Your Mother, our collective favorite TV show. The best part about this shirt is the fact that I was lactose intolerant for roughly 10 years growing up, til about 2 years ago when I outgrew it. I used to say this ALL the time when I first heard it on the show.... so this shirt is just so fitting!

Thank you guys so much for dinner, cake, presents and just being the best family a girl could ask for.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I hope everyone had a fantastic Sunday, spending the day with your Dad's, Granddad's, Step-Dad's, Dad-In-Law's..... basically any ole Dad's in your life.

It was a bittersweet day for me. The first holiday without a parent is always the hardest... and it just struck me how completely unfair it is that I have past experience. Oh well, such is life I guess!

Anyway, I spent the day with Joey's family and celebrated his Dad. We ate good food, I made cupcakes, and we went out for ice cream afterwards! I had a Turtle Sundae, yum.... ;)

It was an overall good day, and while I wasn't sad for it to end, it definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. You know, based on past experience.

I miss you Dad!

 

 (and then there's this)

Summer!

SUMMER IS HERE!!

Well, technically, it isn't summer yet and this is actually kind of a sore subject with me. (which is weird, because I brought it up...) You see, my birthday is the first day of summer, and I refuse to acknowledge the solstice until I have a tiara on my head, cake in my belly and presents in my hands.

Or you know, until I'm surrounded by my friends and family who all love me for me. Blah, bored. Whatever! ;)

This year has just been so warm right off the bat. I mean, I was wearing flip flops and my light cardigans in February. I had hot pink on my toes and the windows down in my car in March. We had the occasional cold day, sure, but really I've been feeling the summer itch for about 4 months now. So what is 4 more days, really??!

Besides I've already had like 4 snocones already. There is nothing more officially summer than that.

On a gorgeous night here recently, we played catch in my in-laws backyard. The pictures of me were waaaaaaayyy less than flattering, thankyouverymuch, but the ones of my husband and his father warm my heart. He is very fortunate to have a relationship with his father on this Father's Day weekend.

Here's to many more fun summer posts!!