I love rompers. I mean, I am that adult that totally would wear them all day everyday.
But alas, this one is for Scarlet. I’m totally going to make myself one soon.
Learn how to sew a romper with a zipper…
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Now that I’ve got you intrigued by the wide world of zippers, start with a basic project like the Zipper Pillow. Take it a step further and add some piping with the Zipper Pillows with Piping tutorial.
Adding zippers makes the pillow covers easy to take off and throw in the wash. Your couches and beds will be filled with colorful zipper pillows in no time.
Keep the option of adding decorative trim to your pillow without zippers getting in the way with the Sham Pillow With Zipper Closure.
A zipper pocket tops off the already cool Sleepover Pillowcase and allows for PJs and teddy to be safely tucked inside.
Need some zippers to get started? Check out our intro to zippers post.
Aside from convincing Scarlet to wear socks to school and Quinn to leave her diaper on at night, we have one mission in life and that is to convince you that zippers are not scary. Velcro closure childen’s clothing will no longer be accepted. Ok, fine, it will be accepted but make a Zipper Week promise you will try a zipper soon. k?
This morning we are going to give you the 101 on sewing a simple zipper pocket. Very handy. Try one today on a bag or clutch or jacket. Anything that needs a zipper pocket. (more…)
Begin conquering the zipper with an easy project like the Quick and Pretty Makeup Bag. Best part is, this is a sewing project you could keep all to yourself. Happy Almost Mother’s Day to you! It also makes for a perfect place to stow away run-away crayons and markers.
Or maybe you need something a bit more unisex? What I love about this Toiletry Bag with Oil Cloth Goodness is that it can be made for the prettiest of ladies or the manliest of men. When it comes to traveling everyone needs something in which to stow their toiletries.
Start your zipper foot! You will be pleasantly surprised to find how easy zippers can be. Need some zippers to get started? Check out our intro to zippers post.
We enjoyed Ribbon Week so much that we decided to do Zipper Week! Get ready for a week of projects using zippers, sponsored by our friends at Zipit Zippers. We know that some of you fear the zipper. Don’t fear the zipper. The zipper is your friend. Embrace the zipper. “But there are so many kinds of zippers” you say, “which do I buy?” Here is a little intro to zippers with the help from Zipit Zippers.
First up we have the basic 3mm coil zipper. It’s nylon and has a closed-bottom, which means it doesn’t separate when you unzip to the bottom. This is a versatile zipper that comes in a wide variety of colors and lengths. This is a great option to keep on-hand for any type and size project that might come up. These are perfect for sewing bags, purses, clutches, make-up cases, cozies, skirts, dresses, pillows and so much more! Zipit sells them in single color batches and delicious rainbow collections that you will roll around in like a major craft nerd when you open your order, trust me. Moving on. (more…)
I am so thrilled to share with y’all that Carleton, Scarlet, and I are all off for a two week family adventure – We’ll be traveling all around the amazing country of Jordan! We are going to visit Petra (pictured above) and the Dead Sea (below), along with Wadi Rum, Amman, Jerash, Ajlun, Madaba, Mount Nebo, Ma’in Hot Springs (SPA!), Aqaba, Feynan, Pella, Um Qays, and a special meeting with the women of the Zikra Initiative that I am so looking forward too. Did we miss anything? We. Are. So. Excited!
These pictures are by the amazing travel photographer Ken Kaminesky, who I met in Chiapas last year. He told me about his adventures in Jordan and encouraged me to go. His guide to Petra is the gold standard, and I suggest you check it out before visiting. Ken’s travel photos are so beautiful and inspiring (he has even been on the cover of National Geographic!) – if you browse his blog, any of his pictures are available as fine art prints on brushed aluminim, and if you mention Prudent Baby he’ll give ya’ an extra 10% off. Nice!
With an amazing itinerary put together by Jordan Tourism, and tips from Ken as well as my friends Audrey & Dan from Uncornered Market (they’ve been traveling for five years straight), and Dave and Deb from The Planet D (also circling the globe as a couple), we feel prepared for the adventure of a lifetime. I’m crossing my fingers these are some of the first memories Scarlet’s 4-year-old brain holds onto forever. How could they not be?
Follow VisitJo on Facebook and @visitjordan on twitter to keep up with the latest news from Jordan. I’ll do my best to send updates and can’t wait to share with you all about our adventure when I return!
Now, I’m off to pack! Any suggestions for what to bring, wear, see, and do on our travels throughout this amazing country?
Hi there, it’s Jacinda! A few weeks ago I roadtripped down to The Canton Flea to search for treasures. Can you believe the things I found? Those EPT’s were only a dollar each? And there was a whole bin! Score! Ha, just kidding, my actual treasures are below.
I almost used my cute new suitcases for our trip down to Austin this weekend but after rolling out of the minivan at a beautiful resort like a more-mess-than-hot mommy with three crazed kids, let’s just say I wouldn’t have pulled off the vintage luggage. The guys at the door were so helpful and kind and seemingly not at all horrified by the show. Thanks for the warm welcome Barton Creek!
We are all settled in now after some major bedtime shenanigans and complimentary milk and cookies (delivered to every room with kids, so cute) and I’m sitting here typing in the dark.
I must add that the view right now is spectacular. : ) Sweet dreams lil Quinn.
A surprise package arrived from our friends at Citrus Lane this week. The kids are especially loving the skip*hop bath toys. We even brought them with us! And I treated my favorite peeps to my famous (in my own mind) homemade pizza this week. Yummmm
I’ve been ogling the beautiful shots that Kelly Christine snapped of us for Easter.
Have a great weekend mamas! What do you have planned?
Since setting out to improve my photography with Clickin’ Moms at the beginning of the year, I’ve been showing you my progress. While I’m loving the new skills I have acquired, the photos I’ve taken remain within my comfort zone, ie pictures of my kiddos in natural light. It was time to challenge myself with a problem-spot in my photography and learn to use a Shoe-Mount Flash
. I’ve had a Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash
sitting in my closet for a few years now. I was afraid of it. It came with a little black-n-white manual that I refused to open and everyone was saying that great photos were easy with natural light anyway, so I let myself off of the hook, leaving the Speedlight forgotten.
But sometimes there wasn’t natural light. Maybe I was working in my studio at night, or it was raining on Easter and we had a sad dark egg hunt inside. I was left with scary, dark, yellow shots like the spools of thread on the left above. Or I would use a camera with a pop-up flash and get a ‘beauty” like the thread in the middle. I was ready to get pretty, bright, photos like the thread on the right without the help of the sun.
I started poking around on Clickin Moms and found everything I needed to get that flash out of the box, on my camera, and (let there be light!) adding much needed glow to my images. Then I got my world rocked when I watched Don’t Fear Your Flash with Neil van Niekerk. It provided nearly 2 hours of video demonstration of how to use your shoe-mount flash to bounce light off of your surroundings to create beautiful lighting. With confidence, I started to experiment!
I’m not saying that I have flash photography mastered but every batch of photos I take is better than the last. We are getting somewhere!
Here’s another example. This first image uses the available light coming from the window. It’s not terrible but you can see the dark shadow on the white ceramics and the distracting harsh shadow to the right of the painting.
Then I turned the flash directly on my subject like a pop-up flash making things bright but there is a glare on my painting, the details in the ceramics are blown-out and the bowl is making a harsh shadow. yuck.
Then I turned the flash around and aimed it at the white ceiling behind me. The flash bounced nicely to light up the right side of the ceramics without destroying all detail, and eliminated the harsh shadows. Not too bad!
Read on for another example of sans flash, direct flash and indirect flash with a shoe-mount flash. Then take advantage of a great membership offer from Clickin Moms. (more…)
