artsy fartsy,  Bug,  domesticity,  shopping

the pink continues…

January 7, 2007 /

Today was a very productive day. I recovered my couch. It sounds way more impressive than it is because all I did was buy a humungous piece of muslin, drape it over the back and sides of the couch and then make quick pillow case slip covers for each cushion. It works. That’s all I care.

The couch was getting pretty nasty. We don’t have a dining room or kitchen table so we eat on the couch in front of the television every night and that makes for, well…. the occasional mishap and a very dirty couch. With the prospect of a party coming up, I wanted the crusty old couch to look nice.

I’m super proud of myself for pulling this off because I didn’t think I could do it. I’ve made this makeshift cover for the couch twice before but that was before the baby. The last time I tackled a sewing project, Baby Bug was significantly less active and into everything.

I was quite surprised that I was able to sew this up while she played with her toys and tried to pry the heater vent door open. That’s her latest obsession/no-no zone these days. We have one of those old fashioned vertical wall heaters with a trap door at the bottom that you open to light the pilot light. The old door has a habit of falling open all by itself. This is very fascinating for babies. We’ve taped it up with grip tape but Baby Bug is obsessed with peeling the tape back with her little fingernails and watching the door bang open. So far she hasn’t hurt herself but it’s driving me crazy trying to keep her away from it. If I put something in front of it to block her prying fingers, then the pilot light goes out so we just have to keep saying “no, no” and distract her by moving her to a different part of the room. At least that’s my stop gap fix until I cajole my Dad into fixing it with some kind of clasp next time he visits.

Anyway! Enough about heater vents. I wanted to tell you about my trip to the fabric store and my purchase of some pink kitty polar fleece. I know! How could I not buy it!!! I had no idea what to make with it but I bought it anyway, along with a stuffed pink kitty toy that I gave to Baby Bug to keep her quiet while I shopped. This is why I’m not allowed to go shopping very much. There are things out there I didn’t know about that I must buy. It is better that I never venture out. It’s much easier to stay on a budget that way.

I bought a yard and a half and when I got home I recovered a pillow with it. I know Toby won’t let me leave it out in the living room for very long but I told him it’s for Baby Bug and he seemed okay with it. I think it’s cute. At least it can stay out there until the party.

Guess what else I found while I was out and about?

Yes! A pink tutu! It was in the “make-your-own-stuffed-animal” section. You know, like Build-a-Bear but for the crafty Becky Home-decky types. It’s little and supposed to go on a stuffed bear but it fits Baby Bug perfectly. I might cut it shorter and sew on some red rick rack… or I might just leave it the way it is.

It’s so cute! I just put it over her play clothes and ta-dah: Instant Princess! I can’t believe the cuteness. I’m so going to enroll Baby Bug in ballet lessons as soon as she’s old enough. I never got to take ballet or gymnastics when I was little and if I’m not careful I’m going to turn into one of those moms who forces her daughter to do everything she never got to do.

Baby Bug was not as enamored with the tutu as I am. She was way more into the tag. When I took the tag away, she pulled and tugged at the tulle as if to say, “get this itchy stuff off me.” I tried to tell her how cute she looked, “like a big flower,” but she didn’t seem very convinced. Oh well, at least it’s fun for pictures.

18 Comments

  • Samantha

    January 7, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    First of all, I wish I had your mad sewing skills so I could recover my couch – it’s ugly but oh so comfortable. We bought a slipcover that didn’t fit right and who has the moolah to go buy another slipcover! So expensive!

    And Bug is just too precious in her tutu. Rick-rack on the edges would be fabulous. You have great ideas!!

  • Angella

    January 7, 2007 at 6:55 pm

    She is TOO CUTE in that tutu! SO FUN. Now you just need the ballet slippers.

    I’m going to have to keep my eyes peeled for a tutu for Emily :)

  • gorillabuns

    January 7, 2007 at 8:34 pm

    the tutu is precious!

    my youngest wears a tutu day and night, even to bed. i don’t argue. now if she was 14 wearing a tutu to walmart that would be a different story.

  • Heather

    January 8, 2007 at 5:15 am

    Now you just need to find the tights and her bday outfit will be complete. Sounds like everything is coming together for you. And what is up with the baby fascination with tags, my baby is the same way.

  • BeachMama

    January 8, 2007 at 7:03 am

    Oh my that is the cutest princess/ballerina I have ever seen. Baby Bug looks like she might enjoy ballet so don’t worry about enrolling her.

    Great job on the couch! I have recovered a couple of couches and it is tough work.

    And the cat fabric could have been designed by you, I was expecitng you to say you cut out he cats and sewed them on :).

  • aunt kathy

    January 8, 2007 at 11:15 am

    I like what you did to your sofa! Now that you know it’s so easy you’ll be covering everything in sight. (Come to my house, please.)

    That tutu is cute and will look so good with the tights and leotard you plan on. You are, aren’t you?

  • Gramma

    January 8, 2007 at 12:15 pm

    Rapunzel is coming to help me make pink kitty cookies. It should be fun. From the ingredients in the recipe that came with the cutter, they ought to be yummy

  • Jenifer

    January 8, 2007 at 3:31 pm

    You so need to go Target. They have little pink fairy wings really cheap in their dollar section. I immediately thought of you and baby bug. Though, I thought you might think it strange for some internet blog stalker sending you stuff.

  • Tammy

    January 9, 2007 at 11:28 am

    That is too funny…I was at JoAnn’s the other day and bought a piece of the kitty fleece too…to make a little skirt for BabyBug. I was going to email you today for a waist measurement! LOL. Oh well.

  • Marilyn

    January 14, 2007 at 7:19 pm

    I loved my toddler tutus…to a degree (I specifically remember a lime green one)…but they WERE itchy, now that I think about it. ;) It’s too cute on her!