Crib Skirt Tutorial

I'm sure you all could figure this out, but I thought I'd make it easy on you by giving you all the measurements that you need!

I used my daughter's old crib skirt as a sort of template, but this one is for a boy- less girly! Or if you don't have a crib skirt to look at, here you go!

A few things first:
1. I wanted the hanging panels of the skirt to hang straight. I've included measurements if you decide you want it to be a little ruffly.
2. Also, on the long sides (not the short sides) I added a pleat. I'll show you how I did this, and you can also do it on the short sides if you want. Or you can just have all sides hang straight! I've got measurements for that too!
3. My daughter's crib skirt was WAY too long and didn't look so nice once we lowered the crib mattress. I made this skirt so that it will hang ever so nicely once the mattress is on it's lowest setting. So, length is up to you.

Let's get started!
1. Wash and press your fabric. I like to use lots of starch! It keeps things nice and crisp.

2. Cut the deck of the bed skirt (the part that the mattress will sit on) 28"x51" just like the picture below!



2. Here's where the options come in:

option a: ALL hanging panels to lay flat
1a. Cut 2 pieces for the long sides 51"x13" (On the crib, I measured from the
bottom of the mattress to the floor and added an inch (12+1=13") - you can
customize to your own crib by doing the same (if you do, substitute that number
in for the 13").
2a. Cut 2 pieces for the short sides 28"x13".

option b: ALL sides to have a pleat in the center
1b. Cut 2 pieces for the long sides 55"x13".
2b. Cut 2 pieces for the short sides 33"X13".

option c: ALL hanging panels to be ruffly:
1c. Cut 2 pieces for the long sides 77"x13".
2c. Cut 2 pieces for the short sides 42"x13".

You now have 5 pieces ready to go!




3. On each hanging panel: serge (don't trim any fabric off) or zig zag stitch both short sides and ONE long side. You should have only ONE raw edge on the long side of each panel when you're done.

4. On the long, serged side of each hanging panel, fold over 1/2" towards the wrong side of the fabric. Press. Pin in place and sew that baby down! Then do the same on the short, serged sides.

Three sides of each hanging panel should be beautifully hemmed, with still that one long side on each raw and untouched!

5. Sewing the panels to the deck! Here's where all our options come in again.

option a: All flat hanging panels

1a. On your deck, find the center of each side and place a pin there.

2a. On the raw edge of each panel, find the center and place a pin there.

3a. With right sides facing, line up the center pins for each side and pin together.

option b: Pleats (we'll do that below)

option c: All ruffly hanging panels

1c. On your deck, find the center of each side and place a pin there.

2c. On the raw edge of each panel, sew a basting stitch (be sure thread tension is set

low) about 1/4" away from edge.

3c. On that same edge of the panels, find the center and place a pin there.

4c. With right sides facing, line up the center pins for each panel and pin together.

Pull on the bobbin thread of your basting stitches to gather the panel into a

ruffle that is a 1/2" shorter on each side than the length of your deck. Pin in

place.

There will be an extra 1/2" of deck fabric on each side of hanging panels which is why it is VERY important to line up those centers! Sew each panel to the deck using a 1/2" seam.

Option b: Pleats!

1b. On your deck, find the center of each side and place a pin there.

2b. On the raw edge of each panel, find the center and place a pin there. On the RIGHT SIDE

of your fabric, measure 2" to the left and right of your center pin, and mark with a pin.

3b. Bring the left side pin towards the center pin so that there is now only 1" between pins,

folding the fabric over. Pin in place. See picture below.

4b. Do the same with the right side and pin. Baste the pleat in place.

This is what your pleat should look like:

5b. With right sides facing, line up center of pleat with center pin on deck. Pin along the raw

edges and sew with a 1/2" seam.


6. Serge all four raw edges together.

7. Press the seam towards the deck and pin in place.

8. Be sure to fold the corners in nicely!

9. Top stitch that seam and there you go! All done!

You can see, I did a pleat just on the long sides.

I'm no expert! Let me know if anything is confusing and I'll try to explain it better. Also, let me know if you make a crib skirt of your own, I'd love to see it.

Kayak Point

On Saturday we decided it was such a beautiful day, we NEEDED to go somewhere to enjoy it. Dale had heard from some people about this park called Kayak Point. I can't believe we've lived here for so long and never gone!

There were dogs for Brighton to bark at, geocaches to find, kites flying, whales swimming nearby (the actual large mammal), hot dogs roasting, a park to play at, a pier to walk on, and TONS of rocks for Brighton to play with.

We had tons of fun! There were just too many great pictures, so enjoy another FABULOUS collage!

What I Accomplished Today

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you haven't gotten anything done, but your really have? I feel like that today. Why do we have those days?

So, I decided to share my crafts of the day to allow myself to see all that I really DID get done so I can go to bed feeling exhausted for a reason.

Firstly, I said I would share my fabrics with you for the little baby boy's room. There's orange and cream linen, a peridot changing pad cover, and crystal clue linen.

I had a few decorating limitations:

1. The peridot changing pad cover stays. I'm not buying a new one, and I'm not making a new one. Because,

2. The most amazingly comfortable rocking chair and ottoman are the same color. I had to work around that green color because I'm not going to get new stuff (nor do I want new stuff! That chair is AWESOME and it's staying!).

3. The fitted sheet for the crib mattress is cream. We have like 3 of them, so that's got to be worked in there somehow.

4. I want a nautical theme. That's why I decided to make my own bedding. I literally HATE everything that's online and in stores, and I had color restrictions.

We went and looked at paint colors today at Home Depot. I found my color! It's the middle one on the paint chip sheet. I can't wait! Dale's going to do such a great job...

And the whale was a GREAT find by my littlest sister, Kassie. There's a huge joke in Dale's family about whales, specifically of the blue kind, and it goes perfect!

Here's the crib bumper. I know, I wasn't going to show you. But I decided I would show you each piece as it comes together, and then the big finale! The room in all its glory. Hope you don't mind...
I came up with a tutorial for the bumper, you'll just have to give me some time to work out the kinks with pictures and proper wording, ok?

This is the laundry basket that Brighton has been using. I never got around to relining it for her (it has a blue gingham liner) but decided to get right on it this time.

And I finished another nightgown for the little man. I figured I could part with an old Simpsons t-shirt. I'm probably too old to get away with wearing it anymore. Plus, he should know how special he is.

And FINALLY, I used MADE's Shirt Dress Tutorial to make this bad boy. I've had the shirt for almost a year, waiting to be used for another dress shirt refashion. But I really REALLY wanted to use this tutorial to see how it would turn out.

I had some trouble with the sleeves, and trying to make the pattern smaller for Brighton, but I think it turned out ok. I'm still deciding if I want to put elastic in the sleeves, but I sort of like them all fluttery. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

25 Weeks

I almost forgot! Last week was so insane getting ready to take off for Arizona, that I totally spaced the belly picture! I'm trying to take a picture every 4 weeks. This one is a week and some days late. Oh well! The next one will just come a lot sooner, so those of you waiting on the edge of your seats won't have to wait too long.

I chopped off my head in this picture because yesterday was NOT a good day for me. I was exhausted from my trip and throwing up all day. And boy did I look it. Yuck. Other than that, I've been feeling mostly normal. I'm not too huge, though I feel like I am. The little boy is busy kicking me all day long, and it feels like he's three feet long. We're still not entirely set on the name, but we're thinking either Mason or Logan. What do you guys think? (John is the middle name, there's no budging on that- Dale is stubborn)

Mason is my favorite, but I'm just not as completely sure about it as I was with Brighton. The first time, as soon as we found out it was a girl, we were VERY sure about Brighton being her name. I just don't want to wait until I see him to decide. I want it to be a DONE DEAL!

And I'm working on his bedding! I cut up the fabric for the crib bumper this morning and that should be finished here pretty quick. I'll get a picture of the fabric at least for you to see. I think I'm going to wait until everything is done before I share the finished products! And Dale and I are going to go and pick out our paint colors this week. Besides the baby room, we're planning on painting almost every room upstairs, as well as the hallways, and I want to repaint our bedroom furniture and antique it. Lots to do before little boy arrives!

Mother's Day Arrival

I totally forgot to share this big news! Early morning Mother's Day (think like 12 am) I got a call from my friend Heather. Her lab was ready to have her pups! I rushed over and we spent the entire night delivering 11 puppies. I finally got home around 8 am- enough time to shower and head to church without a wink of sleep! I'm glad I went though; we had ice cream sundaes. Yum.

Emma (the mommy) and some of her cute little puppies! They're Labradoodles, so they may end up looking curly like poodles or stay looking like labs. Who knows!? If you're in the market for a new family dog, Heather's letting people come over to start playing and putting down deposits! Let me know and I can get you her information.

They'll be ready to go to their new homes around June 5th, when they're about 8 weeks old. They'll be used to playing, and hopefully a little teensy bit potty trained by that time! They've also had their dew claws removed. I'm not sure what she'll be charging, but I know the females will be a few hundred more.

I think I may need to get one. They are just so stinkin' cute! I don't know though, a new baby AND a new puppy? I might be crazy...

Arizona Day FOUR!

I'm really liking this collage thing... I have so many fun pictures and it's nice to just put them all together.
Day four was Sunday. We all got up early for church, enjoyed a really awesome sacrament meeting, and then took off to spend more time together! We totally use the vacation clause when it comes to church- oh well.
We took some pictures of us looking all pretty after church, then we all changed into our swimsuits (swimming isn't allowed on Sunday but again, the vacation clause was in effect, and it was a super sunny day- we had to take advantage), ate some lunch, and then headed outside for the rest of the day.
In some of the pictures you can see my siblings feeding Brighton lemons just to see her reaction- priceless. Then B started making faces at them all, they would make it back, and then they would all bust up laughing. So funny.

Arizona Day THREE!

We woke up bright and refreshed on Saturday morning. My parents made us a nice big breakfast! Yummy!

It seems as though Connor was the only one who was wide-eyed and awake that early.

Then, of course, my brother found his way to the pool. He lives in the pool in the summers. The water was too cold for the rest of us, but he was just back and forth and getting out and doing all sorts of cannon balls and flips off the diving board.

Brighton enjoyed a little splashing around in the pool too! Though she didn't want to go any further in the water because it was too cold!

See? Connor and a cannon ball- they go hand in hand.
Brighton getting warm in her towel and beach chair.

After a long day of playing in the pool, Connor and Brighton took a rest on the couch.

Arizona Day TWO!

Brighton hung out on the chase while watching one of her Baby Einstein movies. Friday was just a "kick back and relax" day.

She hung out with Uncle Connor, whose name she ended up learning to say, and went around saying, "Con Con" the entire trip. Even today she asked me, "Where Con Con?"

Hanging out watching Land Before Time #57. See? It really was "kick back and relax" day. It was raining so we couldn't really do anything fun outside.
I know! You're thinking, you could have just stayed home if you wanted to hang out in the rain. But everyone was grateful that we brought it down with us.

Graduation!

Too many pictures! These were some of my favorites. You should be able to click on the picture to see it larger.
The graduation was held at a church that had a HUGE auditorium. I've never heard of a graduation not happening on the high school football field, but it was a nice change. Plus, it was pouring rain (I know, but it really DOES rain in Arizona) and that would have been awful if it rained on us!
Everyone who spoke did a great job, and it didn't seem to go on forever, even though there were almost 400 kids graduating! Yay Kaylee! Congrats, and we are so glad that we were able to come to your graduation! Up until now, this is seriously the most awesome accomlishment. And the biggest thing to happen in your life. Wait until REAL life happens!

Arizona Day ONE!

Brighton didn't sleep well AT ALL the first night at my parents'. She doesn't usually sleep in the same room as us, and it was like she could sense it, and woke up to just stare at me and cry. I hadn't fallen asleep just yet, when she started screaming.
Feeling bad for Dale and everyone else in the house, I grabbed her and cuddled with her all night. I NEVER FELL ASLEEP!
It's quite difficult with a wiggly toddler. Yes, she even wiggles in her sleep! So, we caught up on some sleep on the couch. I'm there, there's just a plant in my face.

My parents were getting the pool fixed up- new tiles, pumps, pebble tec, and NEW water! We decided to wake up from our naps to check out the progress.
The yard was also recently leveled and re-grassed. Brighton and I had fun crawling around looking for rocks- her new favorite game to play in the backyard. At our house we have piles of little rocks all over from B.

Checking out Grandma's plants.

Hanging out with Grandpa Rod.

Walking around the pool with Grandpa Rod.

Now to get ready for our evening out: Graduation!