Easy Fleece Throws

Well, I really took the break from large scale projects to the extreme! My recent completions are simply single cuts of double sided fleece with edges sewn over. So easy, a great instant update and preparation for baby! The hardest part was getting a finish photo. Cody grabbed the striped throw faster than I could unplug the sewing machine. Luke spent the next morning rolling and burying his face into it. I had to roll a bouncy ball down the hallway to get a photo without him! 

The baseball print is for Boy #2 and is a one yard cut of fleece, I got about 3/4 of the edges sewn before realizing the straight stitch may not stand up to wear and washing over the long term, but that's an easy one to fix if it becomes a problem! Luke has a similar blanket but in football print which is 'his' blanket. It's actually from our church's white elephant night, haha! The thing goes everywhere with him! 

I switched over to a stretch zig-zag stitch for the striped throw (a two yard cut), although again I should have lengthened the stitch. Oh well. Obviously it hasn't effected its popularity in our home! A little more on the how-to part: even out the cut of the fabric and fold over/sew the opposite ends first. Then work your way down the other two sides pinning and sewing to give the corners a finished look. And that's it! It really doesn't get any easier than that to sew a blanket.

Trellis from a Window

Two of these old, old windows were left in the back shed when we purchased our home. I wouldn't let Cody throw them out because, well obviously. It was clearly a house warming present from the previous owners right? Fast forward a couple years and I forgot all about them. Re-discovered them and got the eye from Cody so it was time I did something with them or risk them going 'missing' forever!

I knew right away I wanted them to be glassless, the glass was so so thin that it didn't take much pressure to crack and/or pop each pane out completely. I went around each frame with an X-Acto knife first to loosen the caulking too. Much of the wood though is very weathered and I honestly don't think it would hold up to a good sanding/scraping/cleaning I would need to do in order to make them a picture frame or something for inside the house. I figured the next best thing would be to back them with some wiring for a climbing plant since Cody is in the process of building a new deep planter already! We plan incorporate our wedding arbor here too, so a window on each side of it, attached to the fence is getting me all excited!

The wiring is stapled to the back of the frame and there is a bit of tie wire in the middle to hold everything tight to the frame. I'm really happy we went with the green (which we had on hand already making this project 100% FREE!), I think it will blend in easily with whatever we plant.

And here is the planter in progress!! The center area will cut back in for easier reach in maintaining the plants and allow a perfect nook for our wedding arbor. This area is pretty well shaded by our massive avocado tree so I've been heavily researching shade plants as well. I'm not super into ferns. But I think I have found a few that aren't super 'ferny' to help fill the heaviest shaded areas. Luke has definitely been the best thing that ever happened to my black thumb. He is so into carrying the watering can around, its been a great reminder to keep my plants alive!

Hard to describe the finish look we have planned but the planter will be 2ft tall and also act as bench seating. We're getting a better idea of how to make good use of our huge yard now too. Like everything else its baby steps, but having a solid plan is really exciting!

Shared Nursery Plans

In case you haven't heard, our second little lovebug is a BOY! I'm going to be seriously out-manned here at home, but I am very excited to train up two loving momma's boys! Haha! My aunt was so sweet to quickly tell me I have retained my status as Queen of the House. Love that thought! Cody is of course elated (although he was softening to the idea of having a daugher!) and he is especially looking forward to more football, dirtbikes, and just plain dirt.

We are planning to remodel our bedroom (add insulation, replace window, revamp closet organization, new ceiling fan, etc.) and give it to the boys. Its about two feet wider and with cribs, toys, and everything else these little bodies require it will help tremendously!! Luke's room now is all re-done, so we'll end up with a remodeled room ourselves! Woo hoo! Now that I am 24 weeks, the anxiousness is setting in to start demo and get going in there. We all still love the colors and furniture in Luke's current room, so I'll just be adding to it for the boys room, or as I am calling it The Jr. Man Cave! 

Things that are catching my eye...

(found here)

                  (Found here)

 

(found here)

I also have a few things I never got to for Luke's room that I want to make sure to do this time around. Primarily, framing Cody's All-Star football jersey and doing some large prints of Cody and both Grandpa's on dirtbike adventures. And with that I'll end with "Braaaaaap" ;)

Hippie Flag Quilt

Recently, I completed my largest quilt to date, 84" x 96" (ahem, 7' x 8')!! Although I don't plan to make something quite so huge again, it was a fun one to complete. I had to move my entire dining set to the other side of the room to layer, bind and tie! Not only was it the largest but also challenging because the pattern mixing was a little crazy. Fun, but crazy. Since I was making it for a very creative friend herself, I had the chance to really push and stretch myself in fabric choice. Fabrics were a mix of thrifted sheets, pillow cases and off the rack yardage. For the backing I used a navy king sized flat sheet. Trim work was done using remnants of the black fitted sheet I broke down for my first quilt. The feedback I've received is pretty overwhelming! I didn't expect so many to genuinely love it. I mean friends have offered to PAY ME for one. Definitely not ready for that, its so much more fun and relaxing to create for gifts than money! Maybe in like ten years when my seams are straighter we can maybe possibly talk about it... But thank you, thank you for your confidence in my creations!!

I told you it was crazy! Coming from the somebody who has an OCD-like habit of matching her socks and underwear to the rest of the days clothes--this was a little out of the comfort zone! My modern day hippie girl loved the quilt beyond my expectations which is the ultimate compliment. This flag concept is one I will certainly do again, its a great one to personalize. 

I started cutting a stack of hexagons from some of the leftover fabrics and playing around with layout. But I actually really need to get cracking on a quilt for Baby #2. Thank goodness thats bound to be a smaller project too. I'd really like to do some machine quilting vs hand tying so a baby quilt is a much more manageable size for that!

A Heartfelt Wedding Quilt

I'm finding that nearly everything I sew is a gift and I love that. I love thinking of who will be getting the blanket/quilt and trying to make it representative of them. From fabric shopping to cutting and calculating and all the way to finishing, it takes a lot of time to make a quilt. So you better believe I like you a heck of a lot if I give one to ya! But really it makes me feel less selfish I guess, I love and hoard fabric. Its kind of a problem. So if I can attach that to 'but its for so-and-so' reasoning then it feels justified! Also, I have way too many ideas, color/print combinations, rabbit trails and what ifs to keep all of them to myself. I love the inspiration I get from designing for a loved one and I also get to push and surprise myself! Now that my latest quilt has been given and well received, I can share this giant heart quilt!  

 

Its a full size quilt done in my cousins wedding colors. I decided to play around with more decorative stitching and appliqued the quilt top, leaving raw edges so it will get that rag quilt effect with a little time and laundering. I finished it with a purple backing and binding and hand ties in gray and purple so they would blend in with the quilt. The heart was built out of 6" squares and the stripes were scraps from the fat quarters the squares were cut from.

I didn't get my favorite quilt hanging on our back shed finish photo with this one. Anything larger than twin size hangs in the dirt there though and I was down to the wire finishing the hand ties at my aunts house before the bridal shower! But I do need to scope out a spot to take pictures of larger quilts for the future!

Luke's Pinwheel Quilt Top

A while back I began and finished this quilt top, originally intended to be flying geese actually. I didn't take into account the orientation of the stripes in my cutting and sewing of HSTs so the multi-directional effect on the flying geese pattern just wasn't going to work for me! After playing around with what I had, I settled on a pinwheel pattern instead. And now months later, its still just a twin size quilt top waiting to be finished.

Breakdown: I used sheets and pillowcases I had gathered from thrift shops in varied red/white/blue stripes and one blue twin size sheet. Using a 6" square, each quadrant of the pinwheel was made using the HST method. I really like this method! But next time I won't use a directional print. Lesson learned! The quilt top is 5 columns and 7 rows of pinwheels (35 total and 140 total HSTs).

I'm torn between using it as a duvet cover instead of a traditional quilt. Luke isn't ready for a big boy bed yet but if he were to use it as his main bedding, a duvet is much easier to wash than a full quilt. But a nice warm quilt is unbeatable. Torn. 

 

Opening a Home Daycare

For the past few months we've been knee deep in opening a small home daycare. Its been really exciting, and Cody is enjoying his 'I told you so' moment. Apparently, he told me I should run a daycare years ago! Its quite a process, but I am so motivated and ready for the world that is opening up for me. This is going to be a very long post, but I wanted to create a one stop source for the process, beginning to end. Every state has slightly different regulations, so my experience and advice is based on my journey with the County of Alameda in California. 

The best place to start is to just research your heart out. I read lots of blogs and websites of daycare owners across the country to get a feel for the 'day in the life'. I have worked with children since I was a kid myself, but the idea of it being an official business with taxes and permission slips intimidated me.

Once I had read enough to feel confident, I made a to-do list for myself. Again, by searching around on the internet, I found there are three non-profit childcare resource and referral agencies which assist both providers (me!) and parents looking for childcare in my county. In my case, based on my address, the 4-C's is my agency. The staff provides tons of free classes and consultations, topics range from application assistance to running the day to day of your childcare business. Your state childcare website (CA here) is also a great resource, every form you could ever need is ready to print.  There is also a mandatory orientation, link is on the far left (I took mine online).  My to-do list looked like this:

1) Complete Orientation

2) Complete Health & Safety Training Class (you can make sure its child-care focused by taking it through your agency). Complete CPR Class (Most agencies offer a package deal for this and the Safety class)

3) Complete Application (The application packet also has a to-do list for completion and pre-inspection, I added to it as needed just to keep myself on track and mentally organized.)
-Fill out all forms
-Talk to and arrange your emergency re-location sites
-Get TB test (& documentation)
-LiveScan Fingerprinting (recommended after you submit application and are given a pending facility number)

4) Ready Home for Inspection
-outlet covers
-install fire extinguisher (2A:10B:C is the minimum size for my area)
-baby gates to designate off-limits areas (kitchen, bath)
-drawer/cabinet locks in kitchen and bathroom (extra security measure)
-door handle covers on master bedroom and hall closets (extra security measure)
-learn/refresh on main gas and water shut-offs
-move all cleaning agents to garage upper cabinets
-Copy of home ownership deed
-Post copy of emergency plan, Never Shake a Baby Poster (page 4, given to me during inspection) and parent's rights. Choose an area that is easy to see and has room for your license and other daycare related postings you wish to display. I placed mine in 8x10 picture frames in the entryway of my home.

**At this point you should submit your application to your county licensing office (in-person is best!). I was given a facility number on the spot, with that you are ready for fingerprinting. Once the county office receives the report, inspection is scheduled. This all happened in two weeks for us, but can take upto several months depending on available inspectors.**

5) Extra Home Preparations (NOT required for licensing, but did give me peace of mind!)
-earthquake preparedness (emergency kit, first aid kit, secure furniture to the wall, etc.)
-install back up smoke alarm/s
-binder for all necessary forms, record keeping and parent packets
-designate area/s for kids individual supplies such as port-a-crib/s, diapers, extra change of clothes, etc.

Throughout this process I also gathered contracts from local daycares and childcare centers to assist me in writing my own. I had around ten that I read through and noted commonalties on various policies such as hours of operation, vacation & sick time, parent provided supplies, etc. Writing a contract was probably the hardest part of this process for me. Contracts are serious in nature and I was nervous about how I portrayed myself through it. Regardless of how much a person enjoys and is passionate in taking care of children, it is a serious responsibility. The health, safety and well-being of that child is in your hands while they are in your home. As a daycare owner, you are self-employed. Your contract is your place to protect yourself in a, hopefully rare, stressful and damaging situation. I determined my rates based on anonymous data compiled by my referral agency.

6) Once my contract was completed, I made copies of both state required forms and others I found helpful. I keep a master copy of the enrollment packet in my provider binder. I organized enrollment packets as so:
-Contract
-Emergency Medical Treatment Consent Form (LIC627) - required
-Emergency Contact Form (LIC700) - required
-Liability Insurance Affidavit (LIC282) - required
-Health History (LIC702) - required
-Additional Development & Routine Questionnaire (via CCHP, additional topics here too)
-Sunscreen Application Permission
-Consumer Awareness Checklist (LIC9212) - required
-Personal Rights (LIC613A) - required
-Parents Rights (LIC995A) - required
-Background Check Publication - required

7) Additional items in my provider binder are as follows:
-Childcare Facility Roster (LIC9040)
-Medication Administration Permission Form (LIC9221)
-Medication Administration Tracking Form
-Nebulizer Administration Form (LIC9166)
-Ouch Report (for recording minor occurrences)
-Unusual Incident/Injury Form (LIC624B)
-Child Abuse Reporting Requirements & Form (LIC9108)
-Immunization Blue Cards & Window Guide (available at your agency and/or county health office)
-Individualized sections for each child's signed packet and additional forms as appropriate
-Self created spreadsheet for tracking parent payments (very basic: name, amount & date paid through)
-Pocket for business receipts

Whew! You made it to the end! I hope this guide is helpful to any of you who are working towards licensure, and if I've left something out please let me know! Once you pass inspection, you can begin advertising with your facility number that same day. I'm still learning the ins and outs of effective advertising but word of mouth is always your best bet as in any business endeavor. Be sure to let your family and friends know what you're upto! I was (and still am) immensely blessed with prayer and personal check-ins on my well being :)