Letterpress Sugar Cookies

I've been making a lot of plans for Sadie's first birthday party! Party planning for an almost-one-year-old is incredibly fun as you know they will be happy with whatever you choose. So I've been enjoying dreaming up a lot of little details that I will probably enjoy and care about far more than anyone else.

I picked up this letter pressed cookie cutter set a little while ago (you can buy it here). It was supposed to be for a holiday party gift exchange, but when I ended up not attending at the last minute I ended up keeping the set for myself. I imagined all of the fun I would have stamping away creating little letter cookies.

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The set comes with each letter of the alphabet, plus "!" and "&". Each character is a rectangle or a square, which you use to cut out the shape. You then flip the cutter over and press the letter onto the dough, imprinting the character. After baking, you can fill the indented letter with icing or leave as-is. Simple, right?

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I made up a basic batch of sugar cookie dough - any recipe will do. My first batch was a total flop. If you don't press the letter hard enough into the dough, the impression will disappear as the cookie bakes. If you press too hard, you'll completely deform the dough and/or cause the dough to rip. My suggestion is to make a few as a test batch and bake them before wasting an entire tray of cookies (like I did).

And although the instructions provide absolutely no detail, I have a hunch that if you pressed the letter onto the dough first and then cut out the rectangle/square shape around the indentation, you would be able to avoid deforming everything. That's my experiment for next time.

Anyway, I managed to get one batch with really good impressions.




After pulling them from the oven, you can see that while they puffed up some, most of the impressions were still fairly deep (with the exception of the letter "s." You know, the one letter I absolutely want to do, as "s" is for "Sadie.").

I then made up a batch of icing. While it is suggested you use royal icing, I don't care for the taste of royal icing. I ended up making something that consisted of powdered sugar, almond extract, light corn syrup and milk. It tasted delicious and the corn syrup ensured the icing was both glossy and firmed up pretty well (not as hard as royal icing, but definitely set up well enough to stack and transport the cookies without ruining them).

Making sure the icing was fairly running, I tinted it different colors and put the icing into decorating squeeze bottles. From there, I simply filled the impressions with icing. All of the cookies that had really good impressions were very easy to fill.

Voila!

They are far from perfect, which is why I tested these out 2 months before Sadie's birthday rather than 2 days before. I think by the time I do them for the party I'll have my technique completely perfect and will make some beautiful S - A - D - I and E's!

 

Bib DIY: Fashion + Function!

I'm continuing my quest to get sewing projects both completed and blogged! It seems like I finish one thing and I'm right onto the next (with three more projects being planned in my head).

I had a lot of fun sharing our Christmas stockings and the super fun retro dolls I made. But I'm almost more excited to share the bibs I've been making, which are essential for anyone with a drooling, teething baby on their hands! (Sadie is 9 months old with 6 teeth and possibly another on the way, so the drooling never ends in our house.)

I've loved this waterproof bib tutorial from Our Little Beehive. The pattern is great and the instructions are very clear and concise (because who likes cutting out their pattern pieces and then realizing they have no clue how to sew everything together?).

Now, what makes these bibs extra special is the fact that they have three layers: cotton fabric on top, absorbent flannel in the middle and a waterproof fabric on the back. This works so well for us because the absorbent bibs would always leak right through onto Sadie's shirt and the waterproof bibs tends to just be one layer of waterproof material, so drool/water/milk ends up running all over. Fail. This combination of materials means Sadie can drool all she wants but her shirt stays dry.

The materials are simple and inexpensive. I had fun using bright, colorful cotton fabric for the top layer - I had plenty of options in my stash of fabric so I didn't have to buy a thing. For the middle layer I used a cheap white flannel. The back layer is a waterproof PUL fabric (I got mine from Fabrics.com), which is fairly inexpensive.

It can be time consuming to cut the pieces out as you need to cut 3 pieces for each bib, but once that's done they can be sewn together in minutes (perfect for naptime sewing project). 

The size is great for the under 12 month crowd - if the bib is too small it won't cover her shirt and if it's too big she tries to eat it. This bib is just right. And, obviously she's super excited to now have fashionable, functional bibs! Priorities.

Family Photo Shoot - 8 months

Over Christmas we were a little bit north of San Francisco with my family. Before leaving the west coast, we were lucky enough to do a family photo shoot with the amazingly talented Anna Kuperberg!

Sadie was right at 8 months for these pictures and it was just the perfect age: she made silly faces, was very interactive, and had just recently started clapping. We had so much fun during the session and were absolutely in love with the results!

Below are a few (ok, a lot!) of my favorites, although it was really hard to narrow them down. And, of course, all photos are credited to the wonderful Anna Kuperberg.

Sadie at 7 & 8 Months

I am so behind the times! Being a working mom definitely puts blogging on the back burner, and it's hard to get these month posts up. So, here we are at the 7 and 8 month updates. Wow! Sadie is growing like a weed, getting taller and taller and less "babyish" looking. She's crawling backward and sideways (no forward movement yet), eating lots of food, clapping, giggling, sitting in a high chair when we go out to eat, pulling herself up in her crib. I could go on and on! I feel like we've finally started to hit on more of the "joys of parenting" and getting to enjoy Sadie more, whereas when she was smaller we were most focused on eating, sleeping and diapers.

Nicknames: Sadie Boo, Boo-ba-loo, Sadie Girl, Sadie Baby, Stinker, Little Bun (what her nanny calls her)
Temperament: Still so happy, but also very "talkative" and you easily convey if you are happy with us or not!
Things I Could Do Without: More consistency with naps, although you are getting much, much better about taking longer (60-90 minute) naps! Those are blessings.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your big play area in the basement - we put out a couple of quilts and you can sit there and play. Your play mat went away because you are too big and don't need it anymore!
Item/Toy You Love The Most: We bought you a shape sorter and you're obsessed with the lid!
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: Watching you learn what words mean. You understand: momma, dadda, puppy, clap, dance, milk (along with the sign for milk).
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: FOOD! Anything and everything we give you. You also will not let us feed you finger foods - if I try and put any food near your mouth, you immediately close it so that I put the food down for you to crab and feed yourself. So independent!
Sounds/Words: Lots of babbling - mamma, baba, etc. Still no clear "dadda" although we hope that will happen soon!
Foods You Like: Some new foods have been: yellow lentils and rice, quinoa, beets, blueberries, puffs, oat cereal, yogurt. Again, you love EVERYTHING!

 

Sewing Project: Retro Dolls

I'm excited to start adding more updates of sewing projects that I had previously shared! I had completed our Christmas stockings, which were so cute hanging in our dining room.

One of my "super secret" projects I was working on for Sadie was kept a secret because if it went well I was going to make it as gifts for some friends who also have little girls.

Well, my first try was acceptable (resembled what it was supposed to, wasn't terribly messed up), so I decided that I could green light the project and make more!

I'd found a pattern on Etsy from Retro Mama - a super cute doll pattern that was retro and fun with quirkly little details. I knew it would be a challenging project but I decided it was worth a try. Her pattern was very well done, the instructions were easy to follow, and she even sells a bundle of felt in the different hair colors. (So, really, if I hadn't decided to make more, I would have been left with a lot of black, brown and gold felt.)

I had some struggles along the way: when it comes to assembling the doll, it's hard shoving all of the limbs into the body in order to stitch them in place. By the time you get to the legs, there is no room for them to go and it's difficult getting it stitched well. I had to re-do a few of them, and some are less than perfect. Sometimes the arms didn't line up well, either. Ah well. Each doll is unique!

It was really fun decided on the different fabrics to pair together. Sadie's was super colorful with the turquoise mary janes, argyle tights and polka dotted dress.

And, obviosuly, Sadie loves her (I hope!).

It was also fun picking out colors and patterns that I thought fit the personalities of the little girls I gifted these to (ok, they're all infants, so really the personalities of there mamas!).

For awhile these dolls were all lined up on our piano, looking a bit like a 1960s doo-wop group!

I am incredibly proud of this project and that I got 4 of these dolls made in a little over a month!

Note: Retro Mama holds the copyright for the pattern, which I purchased from her! You can check out her blog for more fantastic projects.

Fun Review: Birchbox

I'd heard a bit about Birchbox earlier in the year, but since I was on the "baby train" I didn't look into it (I should also note that everytime I've attempted to write "Birchbox" I have, instead, written "Birthbox"). Since it had nothing to do with diapers, pacifiers or cribs, it wasn't really on my radar.

Now that I'm trying to get back on the "me train" a little bit, I decided to look into it. After going to the site I checked out what it was all about: "Birchbox is the best way to discover new grooming, beauty and lifestyle products. Sample top products from high-end brands, get expert advice, buy new favorites and earn points with every purchase."

I was intrigued. And delighted to see that a subscription was only $10 a month. While a little bit of an extravagence (I mean, it's definitely a want over a need), I decided it was at least worth giving it a shot. If it what I received in the first box didn't feel worth $10, I could easily cancel.

After being excited about signing up, I was midly disappointed that there was a waitlist! But after a few weeks I received an email that the wait was over!

My first box arrived a few weeks later. Soy Joy bar? Delicious. Full sized masacara? Awesome. Perfume sample, dry shampoo sample, and small nail polish? Extra nice! I enjoyed each one of the products. And with that, I kept my subscription and anxiously awaited for the next month.




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I just received my second box. Adorable nail file? Perfect for filing Sadie's little nails! Perfume sample, cute little mini blush, an almost-full-sized lip balm, and a good-sized clarifying shampoo? Amazing!

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The packaging is so fantastic, too, that I've been able to re-use the boxes for other gifts. And while mostly samples (with the occasional full-sized item thrown in), almost everything is very usable. Sometimes when you get beauty samples the arrive in flimsy little single-use packages that aren't very practical. What Birchbox sends are good quality, usable items. The shampoo is a perfect travel size, the lip balm is barely smaller than the full-sized product, the perfume samples are nice little samples with a spray top. The only downside so far has been the dry shampoo. It's a delicious smelling lavendar, but since it's just a little paper packet you cannot close it. Therefore, my entire medicine cabinet smells like lavendar. Not that I'm complaining, but it is a tad bit messy.

Overall, the value is totally there at $10 a month. I'm a busy working mom and I can never justify spending money on myself for beauty products. I subscribe to fast/easiest/cheapest most of the time. So I love the opportunity to try something new and have something a little special sent to me each month.

Intrigued and want to sign up? Just follow my referral link!

Note: this review simply expresses my personal experience with Birchbox, which I pay for each month.

DIY Christmas Stockings

I've been chugging right along with my current crafting/sewing projects I'd wanted to do! So much to do, so little time!

With the Christmas holiday around the corner, I wanted to make sure we had family stockings! While Sadie won't know/remember whether or not she had a stocking for her first Christmas, I would know. But I didn't really want to spend the money on stockings, especially since fabric is so much cheaper than buying pre-made stockings.

I found a super easy and free pattern on About.com. Their version made not be the prettiest and the instructions aren't the clearest, but free is always great!

I spent $7.50 on fabric (1/2 yard of green chevron and 1/2 yard of pink chevron) along with some solid colors I already had in my fabric stash and some felt I had on hand for the names. With these supplies I was able to make four stockings.

And...voila! (please excuse the poor quality iPhone picture!)

They aren't perfect but they were made with love! And they're bright, cheery, and fun. And, as I said, only cost me $7.50! I've seen similar stockings selling on Etsy for $25+ per stocking. I also have a fourth stocking for our pup Charlie, but with the longest name in the bunch I haven't been able to sew his name onto his stocking. That will probably be a project for January when I have more time on my hands.

So, one project done, a million to go over the next couple of weeks!