Homemade Play Dough (with link to recipe)

Recently, I found this great recipe for making homemade play dough. There are easier recipes, to be sure (not that this one is difficult), but the extra step of cooking the dough really makes it feel like the brand name, Play-Do!

After making it, I stored it in these containers I bought at the Dollar Tree back when Bunny was still eating my homemade baby food.  Bunny just LOVED the containers! She named all the animals and tried to take the tops off.  Then, when we took the dough out, she enjoyed pushing it back in and closing the containers more than actually squishing it and playing with it!

That is, until I started making her favorite Sesame Street characters!

Yes, I know, he doesn't look like much, but this is my rendition of Big Bird from memory...and it suited Bunny fine, as she started yelling, "Bee Bird, Bee Bird!"

After that, we started making letters and then she realized that she could ask me to make her things so she'd say, "Make frog? Pease" or "Make Elmo? Make Ernie?" I gladly obliged, of course!

She liked playing with the characters which meant that their eyes, noses, and beaks fell off and she got to practice her hand/eye coordination by putting it back.  Now, you may not know this but Bunny is very VERY advanced in speech.  She regularly speaks in full (albeit short) sentences and even uses the correct personal pronouns most of the time.  I have two friends who are speech therapists and they're flabbergasted by her advanced speech at only 18 months.  Well, I think she's just advanced all around because her little fingers have lots of dexterity and she shocked me by how well she could replace eyes and noses that fell off her favorite monsters!

Then, I taught her how to roll the dough to make letters which she proudly identified for me. (She can say most of her letters now, did I mention she's amazing???)

And the letter rolling turned into making a snake.  She loved the little snake.  She dragged him around and gave him sweet little "tisses!" (kisses)

When I made her a very poor rendition of Ernie, she made the snake give him kisses.  She said, "Tisses, tisses, Ernie.  Muah!" (Sorry, the picture sort of cuts Ernie off)

All in all, I have to say that the homemade play dough was not only an inexpensive playtime solution, but a very fun one that sparked a lot of creativity in Bunny. You should try the recipe out for yourself.  If your children are old enough, at least 8 or so, you can even let them stir the play dough because you don't heat the stove very high. 

Wordless Wednesday: Future Blogger

100% Wool Play Fruit for sale!

So, I finally did it! I've been working on knitting fruit for so long and I finally completed enough that I feel okay listing it! Come to my shop and check it out!

More Knit Fruit

I've been slowly chipping away at knitting a collection of wool play fruit to add in my shop.  This fruit is awesome because it's not only knit in 100% wool, but also stuffed with clean wool so it's all natural and very safe for your baby to play with! My daughter just loves her wool fruit!

I created a pattern for this orange most recently and will be adding it to my apple, and banana pattern.  When all's said and done, I plan on having sets of apples, bananas, oranges, and pears in my shop to start with.  I have also created patterns to knit strawberries, plums, lemons, and grapes--though the grapes are so time consuming I'm not sure I can ever be convinced to knit a set of them again!

From New Zealand

A New Twist to Prefolds

 So, my daughter isn't such a big fan of Snappis.  It's not that I don't love them or think they're an awesome cloth diapering innovation--I do, but my little Bunny just doesn't.  I think they must feel uncomfortable against her bony hips or something--I figure it has something to do with her build.  I'm not sure what the issue is, but they just don't work well for us.  Besides, we like to go coverless and it's not safe to go coverless with a Snappi.  But if you want to go coverless with a prefold, you normally use pins--which I find very awkward to use.  Using them triples our time at the changing table, not to mention increasing my anxiety levels.  When we're not going coverless, we're usually using wool, so the tri-folding in a wrap isn't a convenient option for us--besides the fact that I hate the extra bulk of that diapering style.  

Before I had snap pliers from Kamsnaps.com, I had successfully added velcro to some prefolds and found that was a viable option when Bunny was small.  But she's bigger now and opening velcro is one of her favorite pastimes.  So, I decided I'd experiment with snaps.  (Remind me to do a proper tutorial on this someday soon).  I laid my daughter in the prefold and adjusted it to fit her, then made pencil markings where the back and the front of the diaper met, and added snaps to those spots.  Later, I added a couple more rows of snaps both in the closure "tabs" and the front row to accommodate growth.  Here are some of the finished products:

They worked so well that I've started adding snaps to all my prefolds.  If I want to, I can still use them the old fashioned way, or even remove the snaps, but since I love using them in this fashion so much, I don't see that happening.

Bum Covered Diapers WINNER

The winner for the Build Your Own Fitted Diaper Giveaway was...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

...comment number 7, Rachel D

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you shortly so you can choose your prize :-D

Last day for my giveaway!!!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Build-your-own-fitted-diaper from Bumcovereddiapers.com.  FYI, she said on her Facebook page today that the low, introductory price that she's offering right now will only last for about a week, so if you want to buy some, now's the time!!!

My New Sewing Machine

I'm a crafter who likes to do everything but usually doesn't stick with one thing for very long.  So when I had a sudden interest in sewing, buying an expensive sewing machine didn't seem prudent.  So, my then fiance bought me a basic Singer machine from Walmart.

It's been six years and my sewing is still going strong.  Suprisingly, the Singer has gone strong as well, since they aren't rated very high--especially the cheapy Walmart brands.  Mine has done well.  It was a little workhorse.  But Singers aren't built for longevity and it came to the point that no amount of cleaning out the lint would give me good thread tension.  And with the diapers--with so many layers being sewn together so often--it really wasn't cutting it.

So, I decided it was time to retire the little guy.  After lots of research, and lots of saving, I found this beauty brand new for only $554 at a somewhat local sewing machine shop.

A Bernina Activa 220--which my husband discovered was one of the highest rated machines of its class for a couple of years.

It's basic, it's simple, and it's made well--all metal parts--so it will last years and years as opposed to the basic Singer machine's life of 1-5 years.

It's not fancy, but I didn't want fancy.  I wanted my Singer, but more reliable.   This guy does the job and does it well and I'm so pleased!

With the machine came a well-needed revamping of my craft room.  We removed the TV and sound system that were hanging out in there unused and I put up some more shelving and now it's very functional as both a craft room and a spare bedroom.  No more piles of disorganized MESS inhabiting every nook and cranny.

So anyway, I'm pleased.  The machine works so well and even has a stitch that is almost like a serging stitch and does the job for personal projects.

So if you're in the market for a sewing machine, I highly recommend the Swiss made Bernina.  You can't find it online unless you find it used on eBay or Craig's list, but it's well worth the trip to the store.

CLOSED-Bum Covered Diapers Build-Your-Own-Fitted Review and Giveaway-CLOSED

Recently, Bum Covered Diapers had a sweet coupon code for $5 off any order that included a diaper. Because I'm a cheapskate, I used that $5 to buy a Build-Your-Own Fitted Diaper that was on sale for only $5. I paid $1.99 for shipping and not a cent for the diaper.  It was a sweet deal and I was happy.

When I got the diaper, I was very pleased.  It was thick, well made, soft, and pretty. I was worried at first that it had velcro closures as the only option, since Bunny loves to undo her velcro, but the closures are so sturdy that even I have a tough time getting them open--which is a very good thing!

So, I contacted Melissa at Bum Covered Diapers and asked if she'd be willing to give one of these sweet little, customizable diapers away to one of my readers, and she gladly agreed. 

Here is what she says about these particular diapers:

"These fitted diapers are made exactly the way you want them! You choose the flannel print for the outside. We put two layers of flannel and a heavy soaker pad on the inside. We can create a custom diaper especially for your little one. You choose outside print, the soaker material, and the inside fabric! (The colors and designs pictured give you an idea of the fabric we have, but we can get almost any color or design you request...your choices are in no way limited to what you see here!)

"These diapers will require a waterproof cover. Plastic pants will do, or PUL covers like Thirsties, or Bummis Wraps will work fine. We do not have covers available at this time but hope to carry Thirsties covers in the very near future!

"Because we are using new patterns to sew these diapers, we're offering them at a LOW price. In return, we hope that you would give us your feedback on the style, fit, absorbency, etc.

"Please allow at least 1 week for us to sew and ship your custom diaper orders. Larger orders may take longer to complete."

Now, let me tell you what I love about them. 

FIT
My daughter seems to be between sizes right now.  She weighs in at just under 21 lbs so to be safe, I ordered a size Large, which should fit babies who weigh between 21 and 26 lbs.  The diaper is slightly large on her--which I should have anticipated, and the leg fit is a bit roomy.  The waist, however fits great.  
 The diaper also seems to be the tiniest bit bulky on her because I ordered the large size.  Based on the cut of the diaper, however, I feel that if I had ordered a medium, the diaper would fit her just fine, and wouldn't be bulky at all. 

ABSORBENCY
The amount and type of absorbency in this diaper is all up to you.  You can choose from among three different types of absorbent fabrics--flannel, microfiber, or terrycloth.  I chose flannel because it was the cheapest option and I'm cheap.  But it's also an extremely absorbent option.  My daughter, who is a frequent wetter, not a heavy one, will pee a couple of times before I notice that she's wet because it just absorbs so much.  As it is washed, flannel gets a little stiff which makes it more absorbent but it's still gentle and soft against your baby's skin. 

PRICE
For me, the price was right.  Even if I hadn't had a coupon, the sale price of $5 was a reasonable price for a diaper, and it came with a microfleece, stay-dry insert as well.  At a new regular starting price of only $6, the diaper is still an amazing steal!  Choosing to add different fabrics will increase your price by small increments.  But still, if you buy a 3XL diaper with the most expensive materials that BCD offers, your diaper will still only be $10.  That is a very good! Since this price is introductory, it won't stay this low for long, so if you want to snatch them while they're inexpensive, I'd suggest stocking up on these diapers very soon!

QUALITY
Since I'm a diaper sewer myself, I know what to look for when it comes to diaper quality.  The pictures on the BCD website don't do this diaper justice. It is beautiful and very well made and I'm extremely pleased with the quality.  

CLOSURES
The diapers come with hook and loop closures.  I wasn't too excited about that prospect at first since my daughter is an expert at taking these off so I was planning on removing them and adding my own snaps, but the closures on this fitted diaper are surprisingly strong and not only does my daughter have difficulty opening them, but I am happy to discover that I do as well. My only complaint about the closures is that the laundry tabs aren't as strong as the applix on the front of the diaper and the tabs seem to come apart in the wash and catch on my other diapers. 

WASHING
I wash this diaper the same as I wash all of my other diapers--a cold rinse, followed by a hot wash, and another cold rinse.  I dry it in the machine twice until it's completely dry and ready for use.  I don't line dry any fitted diapers or AIOs because it takes too long so I can't attest to the exact amount of time that would require. I think it's easy to wash and very durable. 

CHOICES
Besides the different choices in materials, you also have a couple of great choices of prints and colors! I really liked my choice of fashion flower because the print is bold and bright.  My friend bought one of these fitteds in a soft yellow color which is also very nice.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this diaper.  It's soft, pretty, quality, and very absorbent.  It's definitely a diaper I would buy again if I needed more diapers :-D

So, at such a good price and with such great quality, I'm sure you want to go out and get some of your own! And while you're at it, you can try to win one here too :-D  Melissa is generously offering one of these build-your-own-fitteds to any of my readers from the United States or Canada.  What do you need to do to win?

MANDATORY ENTRY (Please include your email in every comment):
1. Go to bumcovereddiapers.com and look at the Make-Your-Own-Fitted-Diapers.  Then come back and tell me which print you would like to have.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
2.  Like Bum Covered Diapers on Facebook. (1 entry)
3. Like Cloth Diaper Mommy on Facebook.  (1 entry)
4. Follow Bum Covered Diapers' blog.(1 entry)  
5. Follow my blog. (1 entry)
6. Subscribe to Bum Covered Diapers newsletter.  (1 entry)
7. Blog about this giveaway and link the post in your comment.  (3 entries)
8. Announce the giveaway on Twitter and link the post in your comment (1 entry per day).
9. Follow me on Twitter @Clothdiapermomm (1 entry)
10.  Buy any product from Bumcovereddiapers.com and include your order number in your comment. (5 entries)


This giveaway is open until Wednesday, March 23 at midnight EST.