DIY Up-Cycled Denim Baby Bibs

With our baby boy due to arrive in the seven to ten weeks, I've been looking for a few more ideas of things to make for him. While looking at Pinterest, I found a perfectly delightful idea from Kristena Derrick's blog "Thimbly Things" . In her post which is even more detailed than mine, she shared how to transform old worn out jeans into baby bibs.

 Like most people, my husband and I have several pairs of jeans with holes in non-repairable places that I've just kept around for a "someday" project. Today, I finally dug out a pair of my husband's jeans to try something new!
Using the pant legs, a knit, jersey, or flannel print, and a few embellishments, these bibs were simple and easy! I think they're completely adorable and they're really quite sturdy without any need for interfacing! 

To start this project, just use your favorite sized bib as a pattern. Trace the bib onto the denim pant leg and cut it out. Give it a quick iron if its wrinkled from sitting forgotten for so long! :) 

After cutting it out, decide on what type of embellishment you'd like to use. I just used some simple ribbons and rick rack. Pin it in place and use a zigzag stitch to hold it in place!

Wow! Look at the fun stitches that my sewing machine can do! 

For one bib, I used a red ribbon and 3 lines of decorative stitches. For the second bib, I used two different ribbons and rick rack, with one line of decorative stitches. 

After your embellishments have been added to the denim side of your bib, pin them together with pattern-sides together. It is easiest to use a full piece of fabric and cut off the excess after you've sewn the two pieces together. 

Leave a 3-4 inch opening to turn your bib right side out. I find it easiest to leave that opening at the bottom of your bib. After sewing the two pieces together, cut off the excess material and leave a 1/4 inch seam. Leave a 1/2-3/4 inch extra amount of fabric where you left the opening. It makes it so much easier to turn in and sew together! :) Trial and error has taught me that. 

Turn your bib right side out.... you're nearly done! Isn't it looking good?

Iron the bib to press out any wrinkles and give it a nice crisp look. As you top stitch your bib, make sure you've got spot where you left an opening pressed how you want it to stitch shut. 

As a final step, attach your velcro (or snap or button) to your bib... and voila! 

Two darling bibs with a fun decorative denim side....

And a super cute print side! Perfect drooling or feeding bibs. I love how these bibs are so sturdy because of the denim, and yet they're soft with the jersey knit firetruck print and the flannel woodland friends print. 

Can't wait for my little man to wear these! They're a practical item that can be as cute as you make it! I'll definitely be making a few more of these in larger and smaller sizes. I think they'll hold up really well and I love that I can use fabric and designs that I like instead of just using a simple bib from the store.

As a side note, I love that while I'm sewing, I get this view... 

Oh little baby boy... I am so excited to meet you! 

Grilling! one of my favorite parts of spring

Grilling is one of the yummiest parts of spring. Now, I had never grilled myself before last summer. My dad always grilled growing up. We never owned a grill till this past July... and when we got it, I decided I would learn to grill so when Rich wasn't available, I could get dinner started.

So far this spring, we've had grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs, Jamaican Jerk chicken breasts, and hamburgers. Yum!

 I made baked oven fries to go with our burgers...
Wash potatoes and slice into preferred fry size. The smaller you cut them, the faster they bake.
Rinse cut up potatoes. This rinses away starch and helps the fries to crisp better in the oven.

Place on baking tray (I line mine with foil for easy clean up!), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and then bake at 400oF for 40 minutes or until crispy and browning. Turn fries halfway through cooking. Pretty healthy compared to fast food or frozen fries and very yummy!

 We haven't done grilled corn yet this season, but boy howdy, am I excited for that!!!

Grilling isn't too hard... I only singe hairs off my hand or arm every other time! :) 

And grilled food...whether fish, chicken, beef, or vegetables... are so much yummier when cooked outside!
Happy springtime to me!

This whole blog thing....

well, I haven't updated in nearly 2 months.

You know how when you haven't done something in a long time, you don't really know where you should start? Well that's me right now. I like to blog... But I haven't really been prioritizing it.

But this is a new day... and I'm going to aim for a post a week at least!! And really, this isn't an exciting post... but I needed to put something down to make it easier to start again!! :)

A random photo seems to be needed for this rather boring post....
I'll blog better next time people!
But until then, enjoy this little blast from the past....

Little 3 or 4 year old me....

Check the comments if you want to know how old I really was... I'm sure my mother will help me out! :) *(Thanks momma!)

Whoooo. Now that I broke the ice of not blogging, I feel like I can return without dread of not knowing where to begin!  See you soon!

Our February in Pictures

Sometimes, it is easier to tell our story with pictures. And because I'm doing so incredibly well at taking pictures due to my Project Life Scrapbook (one photo a day!), I have lots of pictures to share!

February started out a little rough at our house. I got the flu during the first week. Least favorite sickness ever. So I was down for 2.5 days. It was right before Winter Camp up at Spring Hill Camp in Michigan, and I didn't know if I was going to make it. But rather than stay home, I decided to make the trip and fortunately, I felt a lot better by Saturday and was so glad I went!

 Rich and I. Incredible feeling to actually get a group of 27 students and 6 leaders up to Michigan for a great weekend of great teaching, connection with students, and great fun!

 Here's our group that went. We love these people!

 February 11-12, we attended The Art of Marriage Conference  put together by Family Life

It was seriously such a great conference. And if you get the chance to go with your spouse at a church near you, GO! It was such a great time to connect with Rich, figure out ways we can grow closer in our marriage. And use our marriage to bring glory to God. It was so well put together and a great experience for the two of us, as well as 45 other couples at our church!

 Valentine's Day morning, I made chocolate chip waffles! I rarely make breakfast because we aren't big breakfast eaters here at our house... usually a granola bar is grabbed on the way out the door. So this was a special treat for us!

 My momma is so sweet! Click here to see her blog! She made this darling heart decoration for me for Valentine's Day. But it is so darling, I will keep it out for a while! :) I get my creative genes from her! :)

 Valentine's Day has always been weird for us because Rich or I have always worked. But this year, we were able to go out and celebrate on the actual day! We only waited at hour at Red Lobster and it was so worth it! :) And here are some of the sweet gifties we got for each other. I love the special chance to just show a little extra love to my best friend!
He got me a new nail polish color, a tiny box of chocolates, a happy red tulip plant that I can't wait to see bloom! And because they weren't in bloom yet, he got me a single rose. Which is so romantic. I love that man! I got him some chocolate and an Amazon gift card.

Our life gets a little busy some days, but I love where we are and even when our car won't start in the parking lot in downtown Plymouth like it did tonight .... and even when we get it home by a jump start only to have it not start again, I am thankful for this life that God has blessed us with. And can thank Him for our blessings. Like how the car was parked only a 10 minute walk from home so that we could walk home, instead of having it die up in Mishawaka last night!! :)

And that is our February so far, in pictures! :)

Since I haven't been here...

I thought I'd clue you in to what I've been doing with my time since 2011 began...

You see, I've been keeping quite busy. I may be a stay-at-home wife right now, but I rarely get bored when there are so many things to do each day! And since pictures tell these stories better than words, here's a peek at what has kept me away from Blogspot....

There are always dishes to do...

I've come up with some creative ways to eat mostly eggs, tuna, and bacon for protein for 5 days...

 I've mopped the wood floors, only for it to snow again and bring more salty snowy prints into the house...

I've been crafting and sewing almost daily... This is what happens when I attempt a few projects at once. Fortunately, it doesn't look this bad right now!

I've been packaging up orders and sending them off!

I've added some new items to my inventory at Dear Moments

And I've enjoyed serving with my husband, working with the Crossroads youth at least twice a week!

I love being a stay-at-home wife...!

Happy Birthday Husband!

January 6th was Rich's birthday! We were blessed to have our friends Andrew and Alyssa from MBI in town for a couple of days! We played some fun games, ate yummy Giordanos deep dish pizza, and celebrated the beginning of Rich's 24th year!

Playing the game "Last Word"

I love how Rich always finds a way to make me laugh....

 Yes, he lit his own birthday candles... our big lighter is low on fuel, and I'm not so quick with matches, so he helped me out!

Happy birthday Husband of mine, who I love so much!

I'm reminded everyday of how blessed I am to have you in my life.

In areas that I am weak, you are stronger.

We fit together so perfectly, complementing each other in our ways.

I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with knowing you for over seven years.

And even more thankful that I've gotten to be your wife for nearly 2 1/2 years! :)

I love you to the moon!

Much love, Lindsey

Isn't he just so handsome?? :)

Freeloader?... or a person with a face and a name.

Living in Chicago for three years, I saw homeless people as a daily experience. While being a Moody Bible Institute student was great, letting a homeless person know this fact about me was not. Moody students were notorious well know for helping the homeless out. While more experienced Moody students would buy a meal for a homeless person, the notorious ones would just give money, usually resulting in soothing an addiction rather than a hunger pain. I have no problem with the idea of meeting the tangible needs of a homeless person. But I did have a problem with the fact that many of the homeless people I experienced were in negative situations. They were stealing Bibles from the Christian bookstore where I worked to sell on the streets. They were going down the street to the Starbucks where my husband worked to rudely badger Starbucks customers to buy them things that they would later try to return for money...all for the same purpose: supporting their drug and alcohol habits. So my confusion began. How do I support homeless men and women without supporting their habits? The easy answer seemed to just ignore them, but how is the church truly supposed to respond?

Under the Overpass by Mike Yankovski addresses this in a very personal way. Yankovski chose to live on the streets for five months in six different cities in order to experience homelessness on a daily basis and see how the church is responding. He, along with his partner Sam faced heat waves and rainy days. They begged for money, hoping to scrape together enough to get some 99 cent hamburgers or a 49 cent burrito. They slept on hard sidewalks, played their worn guitars for money and slept in $3.00 sleeping bags that they found at a thrift store. But most important to them were the faces of the men and women they met on the street and the realization of their huge, festering needs.

For many of the individuals they met, the issue was not whether or not they could get a job and support themselves. Instead it was an issue of addiction and hopelessness. After living on the street as long as these men and women had, going back to what many people view as a "normal life" was hard for these homeless people to fathom. Many of them didn't have a family or friend to return to. Instead, their family and friends were on the streets with them, and to leave them meant to be alone.

Under the Overpass challenged my thinking. Although the church is not doing all it should, I am not responsible for the church. I am responsible for myself. Yankovski's experiences brought about a question: what if I could change the way I see a homeless person? Instead of viewing them as freeloaders, simply making a living on the street to support their addictions and ignoring them, I need to see each of them as a person with a face and a name. While my wariness will remain, my assumptions should not. While I will still be cautious when faced with a homeless person, my hardened spirit should not. As Yankovski pointed out, one of the most positive responses a believer can have towards a homeless person is acknowledging them with a smile. As a person. As an individual. As a man or woman in need of God's grace and rescue in their life.