Simple Way to Transpose a Baby Sleeper

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  And a big thank you to all the men and women who have served our country, especially my husband, father, and uncles.

This is such a simple redo that I almost didn’t share it on here.  But then I realized that no repurposing project is too small to capture somebody’s attention and inspire them.



When I was pregnant with my first, we knew it was a boy, but still tried to buy neutral baby colors since we intended to have more children.  Let’s face it, baby stuff is expensive!  I didn’t want to re-buy EVERYTHING just to get girl colors if we had a girl next.

Well, indeed, our next two are girls.  And for the most part it’s been easy to exchange the blue blankets in the nursery with pink blankets and dolls to make it look girly.  But one purchase I made on EBAY before my son was born was a blue co-sleeper.  I got a great deal on it, but since it was pre-owned I couldn’t choose the color.  Blue worked fine for my son and we didn’t actually use it much for my first daughter, but now we use it a lot with the second daughter since the first is still in the crib.   Long story short, little girl #1 is not ready for a toddler bed so she’s staying in the nursery crib for a while and baby girl #2 is going into the big girl room with the co-sleeper… for now.  But it’s BLUE!  And I just finished decorating that room in shades of lavender!  What’s a mom to do?  LOL!


Well, go to the thrift store, of course!  That’s where I got two big rolls of lavender gingham decorating fabric for a dollar each!  I know they look solid in the pic, but really they have a tiny gingham pattern.
 

They are the perfect size for twin bedspreads and eventually will be used for that, but for now…

… I’ve wrapped them around the blue co-sleeper for baby girl.


Super cheap, Super easy way to make this blue baby bed look more girly.
Have a blessed day!
Rebecca

The Greatest Before and After!!

I’m so excited to share with all my blogland friends one of my greatest before and afters.  Okay, this is a total cheat on the subject because it has nothing to do with DIY home improvements like most of the rest of my blogs. 

In truth, however, I do believe it will improve our home.  And it is somewhat of a DIY (although not possible without the hand and grace of God).   So by some stretch of the imagination, I think it still fits.  :)

The Before…

~At 38 1/2 weeks pregnant~

The After…




We brought our new baby home this week.  We are both doing well and appreciate all the love and prayers we have received. 


This little one was so excited to see the world that she tried to come out before we made it to the hospital.  The ER staff was great and rushed me into a delivery room just minutes before she “popped” out.   Big brother and big sister are both happy and curious about this beautiful new life.  She’s such a blessing!

P.S. Thank you for sharing this joy with us.  For more “home” related before and afters, see my other posts.

Rebecca

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Fixing the Velcro/Aplix on your cloth diapers for good!!

With my third child due very soon, Baby has been on the brain.  I decided to share my cheap and easy remake of my cloth diapers that got worn out after about a year of use with my two older kiddos.

I have about 33 bumGenius™ 3.0 one-size pocket diapers that were supposed to last me forever.   Ha!!
Did you know that hook and loop tape wears out with use and many, many, MANY washings?  Well, now I do too.  And the thought of spending hundreds of dollars right now on a new set makes my pregnancy heartburn and nausea come back.  (I hesitated for two seconds about whether or not to buy some really cheap ones from China. Uh, no!)  So when I saw other companies and WAHMs making their diapers with snaps, I thought DUH!


Here are all the supplies I need.

1. old diaps with worn out hook/loop tape

2. seam ripper

3. snap pliers (or press) for plastic snaps

4. plastic snaps

I also used these to make things easier, but could have done without.

5. awl (came with my snap pliers)

6. ruler

This is so easy you won’t believe it.

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     Note:  If you don’t have a snap press or snap pliers specifically for plastic snaps you will need to order one online.  The ones at local JoAnn-type stores don’t work on plastic snaps.  I got my pliers from Kamsnaps.com with 200 snaps for about $35.  I don’t recommend paying over $100 for the snap press unless you plan to use it a lot.

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First use your seam ripper to take off the wide strip of loop tape across the top of diaper and the two tabs of hook tape that normally would affix to it.  (After I get it started with the ripper, I find it easy to gently rip it off with my hands.)



Now, of course, since I’m a perfectionist (yes I know I have issues) I’m gonna spend a little extra time pulling all those little threads out.  They will probably come out in the wash, but I can’t wait that long!! :-)


Next, I mark about 8 places across the diaper where I want to put snaps.  I start on either side of the middle and measure out about every 1-¼ inches.


Then, using either the seam ripper or an awl, I poke holes through the top layer of fabric where I’ve marked for the snaps… (notice my hand is up inside the diaper pocket) and push the cap piece into the hole.  While my hand is in there I do all of them at once.
 


Placing the socket piece onto the cap, I make sure the pliers is centered and squeeze! TaDa!!!


Now do this with the rest of them.


Last step is to add the stud part of the snap to the two tabs using the same method.


Before and after….
 

Hope this is useful to some of you. Or maybe it will inspire you to make some other baby items using snaps. They really are super easy!!!

Rebecca