Things I am proud of
So this posting is a little bit superficial. It is about stuff. . .and as much as I try to live my Franciscan values I also really enjoy a good deal on "stuff" I need, and I really like beautiful "stuff." So bear with me.
Some of the "stuff" Sean and I have been acquiring for this baby has been clothing. This weekend was a very affirming weekend for our choices. We happened to be in a mall (yuck) and we went into a baby store and saw some cute baby clothes. SNAP- the onsies and other things we were picking out were on average $24! That's just not in our budget no matter how cute. We have, for the most part, been shopping at goodwill. I think the most we've paid for any 1 item of baby clothing is $1.99. But almost everything is just $.99. And the goodwill in Seattle has a ton of baby clothes. Many of them barely worn an originally priced at $24. It feels good to know that we have accumulated most of what this kid will need to wear in her first 3 weeks and we've only spent $20!
In addition to buying a ton of plain but quality onsies at goodwill we've been adding our own flare. Etsy.com has a ton of artists who make iron-on's for clothing bags etc. So we've been buying cheap iron-on's and adding flare and decoration to onsies. Strangely I have a thing for under-represented animals so my favorites are the porcupine and octopus iron ons!
Here are 2 examples of us adding flare to our goodwill purchases!
Here is an ordinary green onsie (brightly colored clothing is sometimes harder to find than we thought) with an octopus. All it needs is the green buttons for eyes!
While we are on the topic of goodwill. . . in the fall when Sean and I first moved here we were at Ikea and we saw this bedspread. We both REALLY liked it. We discussed buying it and decided ultimately it was too expensive and it was an impulse buy. 3 weeks ago I found it at goodwill. An impulse buy for $8 is way better than one for $50! Strangely enough I think Maggie was up for us using another one for awhile too. The day we washed this one- she pooped on our other one. It's now on the guestbed (of course it got cleaned!! So did the duvet!)
So my final posting is a project I started working on right after Easter. I just finished it last week. It's a mobile for our little person. It's hanging on the door right now because we don't have a crib up or anything but you can get the jist. I took fabric leftover from our wedding centerpieces and Sean and I sewed these little birdies and then I glued them to some branches from the front yard. I really like how it turned out! Here's the link if you want to use it. I confess it was not my own genius.
I confess, I like how the mobile turned out so much that I am tempted to put it in my office/writing space. But alas, I'll donate it to the little person.
Some of the "stuff" Sean and I have been acquiring for this baby has been clothing. This weekend was a very affirming weekend for our choices. We happened to be in a mall (yuck) and we went into a baby store and saw some cute baby clothes. SNAP- the onsies and other things we were picking out were on average $24! That's just not in our budget no matter how cute. We have, for the most part, been shopping at goodwill. I think the most we've paid for any 1 item of baby clothing is $1.99. But almost everything is just $.99. And the goodwill in Seattle has a ton of baby clothes. Many of them barely worn an originally priced at $24. It feels good to know that we have accumulated most of what this kid will need to wear in her first 3 weeks and we've only spent $20!
In addition to buying a ton of plain but quality onsies at goodwill we've been adding our own flare. Etsy.com has a ton of artists who make iron-on's for clothing bags etc. So we've been buying cheap iron-on's and adding flare and decoration to onsies. Strangely I have a thing for under-represented animals so my favorites are the porcupine and octopus iron ons!
Here are 2 examples of us adding flare to our goodwill purchases!
Here is an ordinary green onsie (brightly colored clothing is sometimes harder to find than we thought) with an octopus. All it needs is the green buttons for eyes!
While we are on the topic of goodwill. . . in the fall when Sean and I first moved here we were at Ikea and we saw this bedspread. We both REALLY liked it. We discussed buying it and decided ultimately it was too expensive and it was an impulse buy. 3 weeks ago I found it at goodwill. An impulse buy for $8 is way better than one for $50! Strangely enough I think Maggie was up for us using another one for awhile too. The day we washed this one- she pooped on our other one. It's now on the guestbed (of course it got cleaned!! So did the duvet!)
So my final posting is a project I started working on right after Easter. I just finished it last week. It's a mobile for our little person. It's hanging on the door right now because we don't have a crib up or anything but you can get the jist. I took fabric leftover from our wedding centerpieces and Sean and I sewed these little birdies and then I glued them to some branches from the front yard. I really like how it turned out! Here's the link if you want to use it. I confess it was not my own genius.
I confess, I like how the mobile turned out so much that I am tempted to put it in my office/writing space. But alas, I'll donate it to the little person.
Wow! That mobile is awesome! I also really love the iron-ons. You should do a jelly fish. They too are an under-appreciated animal. Why is it that some animals (bears, elephants, etc) are so associated with baby clothes?
ReplyDeleteTurtles? Can anyone say turtles?! Sounds like a very DUH kind of animal to have on her stuff, dontcha think? :-)
ReplyDelete2 things:
ReplyDeleteUno: I think that finding the beautiful IKEA bedding at Goodwill was a reward for not giving in to the full-priced version. But then, I tend to place a sick amount of value on restraint and restriction.
Dos: MOBILE!! Freaking gorgeous. Seriously. What fun.
such a good idea! and the mobile is awesome!
ReplyDeleteLong ago, my own daughter went off to trek the country in a truck and realized that there were two thinks she needed absolutely: her beloved 4-legged companion Jake and a hammer! The hammer is good for fixing things and if needed, it could be intimidating. So I vote two thumbs-up for the blue onesie with, what Carlye would call a "womanly hammer."
ReplyDeleteI think you are doing well to prepare your little one to be a world traveler!
Oh my goodness -- jellyfish, no! You know about my jellyphobia, don't you, Rachel?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, though: those are fantastic. That mobile is kick-ass, and I do think it's a little cool that the birds are made of left-over centerpiece fabric.
Amazing how taking a step away from American consumerism leaves you with so much more creativity in your life...