Just call me Martha Stewart: DIY Rustic Christmas Stocking

I have been officially sewing since January, and by officially, I mean that I have sewn a Pebbles costume for Kassidy for Halloween, two taggies for two very well-deserving little babies, and finally — Kassidy's Christmas stocking!

I won't even tell you that every time I approach a new sewing project, I usually have to sew at least one, sometimes two, practice projects first. Okay, I guess I will tell you. Because it's too funny not to.

Just ask Kassidy how her first Pebbles costume fit. Because, well, it didn't.

And Brady forced it over her head anyway. Poor baby. We had to literally cut her out of it. And limit her food intake in the process.

Nevertheless, as soon as Kassidy was born last July, I knew that I wanted to make her Christmas stocking, because I am a snob when it comes to Christmas decorations. And because I can never find exactly what I am wanting. And it's stupid to spend $50 on a stocking that I am not 100% in love with.

Too bad I was too hormonal and inept last Christmas to get her stocking made in time, but this year, I had no excuses. After thinking about making it since the first of this year, I finally sat down to make it about a month ago, and after only screwing up the first weekend of work, I quickly found my groove and produced this.

Not too shabby, huh?

So that you don't give me more credit than I deserve, I bought the burlap stocking with jingle bells at a discounted price from Old Bryan Marketplace last Christmas, so I did not have to make the actual stocking. But I did sew the patches, cuff, insert and add all the bling, so for that, you can give me credit.

In case any of you are curious how this beginner actually pulled this off, here's the step-by-step process.

First, I traced, cut and sewed the stocking insert. I used a khaki-colored fabric.

Then, I traced, cut and sewed the patches for my stocking using a red and white plaid fabric.

I used a red rose-patterned fabric to make my cuff.

Which I then hand sewed onto my stocking insert.

I used green embroidery thread to attach my patches to my burlap stocking.

Once my patches were on, and my stocking insert was stuffed into my stocking, I made a bow out of green velvet ribbon and sewed it to the edge of the cuff, adding a metal K button with some hot glue.

I also added conchos because I like conchos.

And then I hung Kassidy's stocking on the mantle with her Mommy's and Daddy's stockings (that were not sewn by me).

See how well they coordinate?

Just remember. If I can do this, anyone can. Anyone.

How to build an awesome sandbox for your kid

It's been on the Kujawskis to-do list for a few months now, but Brady and I have finally gotten around to building Kassidy's sandbox. And I have to admit that it is pretty awesome.

We built it under a large shade tree in what will eventually become our backyard. The entire project took just a few weekends, and we were able to reuse a lot of materials we already had, so it made for a fairly inexpensive project. Total cost was around $65, and the majority of that was the two yards of sand Brady picked up in Franklin. We made it 8' X 8', so Kassidy can share it with plenty of her friends.

She has already shared it with Massey and the kitties. Apparently this is now the coolest place to hang out at the Lazy K. Followed closely by our pond.

Step 1: Pick a spot for your sandbox and till up the ground

Step 2: Use rebar to secure your landscape timbers in the ground

Step 3: Leave about four inches of rebar to secure the top landscape timbers

Step 4: Remove timbers and stain (I used Minwax red mahogany)

Step 5: Cut ends so corners align and place back on rebar

Step 6: Repeat until all eight timbers have been cut, stained and placed on the rebar

Step 7: Consult with the project manager to make sure she approves of the progress

Step 8: Make sure the project manager inspects the sandbox before the final steps

Step 9: Lay down and secure landscape fabric to help control weeds (Brady and I finished staining all the timbers and applied a thick coat of polyurethane in between steps 8 and 9 to add a glossy finish)

Step 10: Make sure the project manager is on sight to oversee operations

Step 11: Add the two yards of sand and spread evenly (Brady and I also caulked in between the two timbers so sand wouldn't escape)

Step 12: All done! Now go find some toys and a baby

The project manager enjoying her cool new sandbox

When she gets excited, she does this. Don't ask

Kassidy's new sandbox with the pond behind her. A very spoiled little girl

Two out of three ain't bad

So, I've really gotten on this baby-headband-making kick. It's fun, fast and cheap. And, while I won't bore you with all the step-by-step directions of my latest creations (because there were literally like two steps for each headband), I will entertain you with beautiful pictures of Kassidy wearing them.

If you want to recreate any of the headbands below, here's what you do. Go to Hobby Lobby. Buy the headbands. Buy the embellishments. Go home. Wait until Kassidy takes a nap. Heat up your hot glue gun and get after it. The end.

And now this completes your introduction to Headband-Making 101.

And no, I did not make the Santa hat. This was Ruger's hat, but since Ruger is a hyper puppy with teeth, he tried to eat his hat. So Kendra gave it to Kassidy, and since she doesn't have any teeth, she did not try to eat it.

But she did try to blow raspberries on it.

I guess she likes Mommy's headbands better.

DIY: Baby yellow braided scarf headband goes to the Pumpkin Patch

Holy crap, I'm crafty. Who would have thought? Not me.

So just this week I decided to visit Etsy to check out all their cute, vintage baby headbands. This is when I realized where all the cute baby stuff resides — accessories, dresses, tights, jewelry. You name it. You can find it here.

But being the money-conscience person that I am, I just couldn't find it in me to spend any money on anything for Kassidy. I mean, the girl has enough clothes from Mia and Teagan to cover her little butt until she's 18.

And while most of you admit that your little girls cost you an arm and a leg, I have to sadly admit that I honestly have spent maybe $50 on her, with the most expensive clothing purchase being a $15.99 Dallas cowboys onsie because Brady just had to have it. Read had to have it.

Don't get me wrong. If I didn't already have access to used clothes, shoes and accessories, I could easily have the best dressed, and probably most expensively dressed, daughter out there, because after perusing Etsy, I also realized that my taste in baby clothes and accessories is pretty darn expensive. Vintage, couture, one-of-a-kind. Yeah, I could totally be a rich snob in another life.

But in this life I am a practical mom. And I don't like to waste things. And I like to try new things. So I was easily inspired to try to make my own one-of-a-kind baby headbands. Thanks Allison. Thanks Little Red Wagon Photography tutorial. And thanks Hobby Lobby. Two hours and $50 later, I was ready to give it a try. And by $50, I mean that I bought enough goodies to probably make 50 headbands. Yeah, I went crazy.

So, check out my first attempt at making my own headband for Kassidy. I even reused a blue, elastic band I already had but wasn't using because the cheap bow on it scratched her head. So I ripped it off and started fresh.

I made this headband because I needed something to match a dress from Mia that I wanted her to wear to the Pumpkin Patch in Franklin. So that is where I got my inspiration.

And, I should also note that the only reason I was even inspired to make my own headband is because it did not involve a second of sewing. Just hot gluing. Which I can handle.

Things you will need if you are a money-conscience mom like me and want to be crafty too:

• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Felt
• Elastic ribbon
• Fabric or in this case, an old scarf from my closet
• Embellishments from Hobby Lobby
• Wire cutters
• Caribbean jerk seasoning
• Ability to not cry when you hot glue yourself
• Band-Aids for when you poke yourself with wire and bleed
• A husband to watch the baby so you can focus

Even though I bought 10 types of fabric at Hobby Lobby, I didn't come home with anything yellow. Which is why I stole the yellow scarf from my closet. I cut it into thirds and braided it together.

I used the Caribbean jerk seasoning because the container was the perfect size circle I was looking for. So I placed it on the felt, traced out the circle, and cut it with scissors. Then I hot glued the braided yellow scarf on the felt.

 

Then I hot glued the entire yellow circle onto the elastic headband where the headband already came together. I cut a second piece of felt and hot glued it on the other side of the elastic ribbon so it would be soft on Kassidy's head.

I added some fun embellishments to the headband. In this case, some tulle with pearls and a ring of beads in the middle of the yellow braided scarf. The tulle with pearls came from the wedding aisle and the beads came from the flower stem aisle. And flower stems are wiry, which is how I poked myself and made myself bleed.

But my burnt and bleeding finger did not stop the pure joy I felt when I was finished!

And I think Kassidy liked it too. Because she was the cutest little pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch. And this money-conscience mom bought her a mini pumpkin for 50 cents. Yep, I'm a big spender.

Total cost of headband = less than 50 cents. And 30 minutes of my time. And a hurt finger.

Wow, the mini pumpkin cost more.

And it only cost me $26

Two cans of paint, eight new drawer pulls, and three weekends of back-breaking labor later, I am happy to be able to share my little project with Baby K.

This dresser was originally built by my grandpa, so Baby K will always have something that reminds her of her great-grandpa.

And, I repainted it all by myself. While I was 8 months pregnant.

Yes, I like to think I am awesome. At least that's what Brady keeps telling me.

79 words.