I have been wanting a reusable Advent Calendar for our kids to use, and have been looking online all over the place to buy one. I had a very specific type I was looking for as well as one that has 24 pockets rather than 25 since we celebrate our Christmas on the 24th. After seeing a few different ones I likes and their price tags, I realized it would be worth it to make my own.
Last year for Halloween, we knew that we(as in I) wanted to dress Reese as an Ewok. I already had part of the costume, and so that made me decide to do a whole family Star Wars Theme for our Costumes. I decided this before even knowing that there was another movie coming out. Below are links to the tutorials I followed to make our costumes, and some pictures of the process.
When we had to make a baby registry, one of the things I did is ask my sisters about carriers, wraps,etc. My sister ,Kira, has a Ktan wrap, and I was able to wear my niece in it last year when she was just a few months old. I really like the simplicity of the wrap, and I hope that our little one likes it as well. I also was given a moby wrap and an ergo 360 carrier that I plan to use as well. My biggest issue with the ktan wrap was the cost when we needed so many other things for her that we considered a higher priority. So I decided to try and sew one for myself especially since I knew which size fit me.
So we currently have an Ikea dresser which has held up very well considering we bought it used. We have wanted to build ourselves some real wooden bedroom furniture,but for a while we didn’t know where we would be living or how much room we would have whenever we did get a house. So, now that we have a house, we still plan to build ourselves new bedroom furniture. However, our current set still functions very well, so we haven’t really gotten to that point since there are so many other things that are a higher priority for us. Our ikea set is made with particle board which has held up well, but the drawer bottoms are a cheap thin almost cardboard type material. So even though I don’t put super heavy stuff in it, over time it does tend to sag. So, we started looking up a way to fix it without having to get rid of the dresser. Some tutorials pretty much show building a new drawer and attached it to the existing face frame which would be doable,but just overkill for how much longer this dresser might actually last us.
I was told that having a pregnancy pillow can be a life saver when you really start to get bigger. I wanted to have one,but not pay a lot of money for it. I was very interested in this Leahco Snoogle pillow, but I wasn’t a fan of the price. So, when I found one through a local facebook group, I decided to buy it used for $20 than new for $55. I know some people are really against a pillow used, so this part is whatever you prefer. I washed the pillow and the case it came in, but the muslin case was stained even if the pillow wasn’t. So I decided that I wanted a new cover for it. Well the covers range from 30 to 4o dollars. Which I didn’t really want to pay. So, I found this tutorial online,but wasn’t a huge fan of the extra seams that she had to sew on her cover. So, I made my own, and have taken step by step pictures. I hope this helps!
One of my favorite snacks recently has been Larabars, they are very simple with no added preservatives or sweeteners and taste really good. They are pretty pricey to buy at around$1.15+ a bar unless you can find a good deal. I normally just make my own, so below is how I do it.