Making An Effort Monday

This might sound like a cop-out, since it is only my SECOND-EVER Making An Effort Monday, but the truth of the matter is, I am in the midst of a HUGE effort at this very moment.  Yes, Mama Bear drove from the other side of the state to help me with two sewing projects that I was much too scared to try by myself.  I can "sew" but these are what I consider "high stakes" projects, so I knew I needed the deep wisdom of my talented mother to guide me.


We are currently making the bumper for Josephine's crib (finally!) because I actually committed to a fabric (finally!).  Obvs, it had to be PERFECTO for my little bucket of love, but the sad story is I found my dream fabric when I was about 14 weeks pregnant and we didn't know the sex of the baby yet. Well, *I* knew that it was a girl, but everyone else in the world thought it was a boy.  Anyway, I found the perfect fabric, but decided not to buy it because I could see Jeremy saying, "Are you serious? What if it is a boy?  You KNOW you won't return that fabric, and it will just sit around and be a waste of money!" and he would be absolutely right, so I left it.  And then ... you guessed it ... our bundle of joy was a GIRL and I could NEVER FIND THE FABRIC AGAIN!  I have been looking ever since then. Long story short (too late), I finally settled on a fabric that is as close to my dream fabric as I could find.  Here is it:

And here is the pattern I am using to make the bumper:

And please, please, for the love of god, do not be a helpful and conscientious person and kindly remind me that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies not have bumpers until they are one, because I KNOW, but that doesn't change the fact that my little cherub really enjoys sticking both of her legs between the slats and then screaming bloody murder until I run in, and then she laughs at me.  Ahem.  So we are making a bumper.  The End.


We are also making a PINK TYRANNOSAURUS REX!  My talented friend Marilee made one for her nephew, and I was so dang jealous that I had to get the pattern and make one myself.


Here is how Marilee's turned out:

Adorable, right?

And here is the fabric I bought to make mine:

(pink fuzzy for the body, swirls for the spikes)

If this works out, I bought this pattern to try next:

(Mine will not have an eye-patch.  Boring, I know.)  The pattern is called "Jo."  Perfect!

So, maybe I will update this later if we finish tonight, but if it turns in to a big project (which is highly likely), I will post about it next Monday.  

In the meantime, I DID make an effort last night.  I was putting away clean laundry at 2 AM (don't ask) and decided my closet needed to be cleaned.  Sooo ....  TA DA!

 (I know.  Not many clothes.  So sad.  A lot of my clothes were destroyed when I tried to wear them through pregnancy instead of spending millions of dollars on maternity clothes, and now that I am only getting about a third of my old paycheck, we are on what they call a "budget" and when I have money for clothes, I spend it on Josie clothes.  Also, the shoes I actually wear are with the coats.)

Of course, as per usual, I don't have a before picture, because when I start a project, I usually don't set out to do it, I am usually in the middle of something else and decide I MUST ORGANIZE IMMEDIATELY and launch into a huge project.  When I was done with the closet, I thought either I could just go with only an after picture or mess it back up, take a fake before picture, and then clean it again.  I went with the "not crazy" option.

I think that is pretty dang good, especially since I don't have a dresser.  That tiny dresser on the bottom left is one my dad made me for my doll clothes when I was a wee one, and I now use it for my unmentionables and socks.  Problem solved.  Who needs a dresser anyway?  Our bedroom is too small for one, and I bought one to refinish and use, but then we got pregnant (!) and I realized it would be the perfect dresser/changing table combo.  And it is.

Here is a "mid-way through" picture (because, of course, I forgot a before picture.  Doh!):

And here it is as of today:

(Maybe I should have pushed in the drawers before taking the picture.  Heh.  Dresser re-finishing by my amazing husband, drawer-pull selection by amazing me, amazing artwork above the dresser by my amazing sister.  Weird combination of wall colors, materials, and different woods courtesy of our landlord.)

Beautious!

Okay, that was way longer than I anticipated, but ... there you have it.  I am making all kinds of efforts. Brag about your own in the comments!