Happy House Anniversary!

Today marks our first year in our new home!  We are really happy with our new digs!  Our new neighbours are fantastic, we can walk to our school, and we have a lovely ravine path near our home.
 


Last April, we said goodbye to our little bungalow, left the message below for the new owners and then moved in with my in-laws while we worked on the home.

This past year was full of home improvement projects - some big, some small and some that are still on our to-do list. 

After ripping out all the wallpaper in the bungalow, I didn't think I'd be doing it again.  But, our new place had some wallpaper so we put on our goggles, got out the sprayer, and began scraping.  It's so satisfying to take off a whole sheet!

I'm pretty sure I cried more than once while taking down the plaid green wallpaper.  The wallpaper was fused onto the drywall and it took days to remove it.  We would remove a little bit each day in order to maintain some level of sanity.  Eventually we got it all off.  I had a moment when I thought, "let's just paint over it".  But we persevered and we can now say that the wallpaper DID NOT win.

We said goodbye to all of the carpet (too many different kinds!) in the house except for the stairs.  The kids weren't used to so many steps so we will keep it until they are a little bit older.

Here's a pic of the new floors.  It's so much easier to clean now that the carpet is gone.

 
We replaced the old windows with energy efficient windows.  Supposedly they are self cleaning as well. 

We started painting this year.  Little fingers are great for taking off painters tape!

After we put in new baseboards, we realized that most of our baseboard, trims, and doors are not white but a pink toned beige.   Aargh!!!  Time for the spray painter. 

I did a lot of landscaping last year to remove the overgrown backyard.  It was a little crazy back there - almost like a forest!   Joshie is a mosquito magnet so I removed most of the ground cover, trimmed all the trees, raked all the dead branches and things out of there, and discovered a bunny nest!  This year, it's much more tame and we only saw 2 new baby bunnies.  (I love this pic.  I was in the kitchen making lunch and saw big brother helping little brother.  Muah to both of them!)

I never thought I'd get used to the new mail box system but I have! 

There's so much more to write about but since this is not a home improvement blog, that's it for home related talk.  It's been a fantastic year and I couldn't have done any of this without hubby.  As I type, I can hear him fixing something somewhere in the house.  I'd better go help!

Until next time,

Duck Toddler Backpack in Mint

Introducing... a new design!  Shall we say "hello" or "quack"?

Way back in 2012, I made a grey owl toddler backpack for Sarah's daughter.  Fast forward to 2014 and she's got another little one who needs to have a backpack like her big sister.

I love new design time!  Sarah and I discussed what she wanted and I sketched out a design for her.  First we thought a white duck would be nice but I had a feeling there wouldn't be enough definition for the eyes.  Her sister had a grey owl so we thought maybe grey.  But then Sarah asked about doing a duck in mint and I was sold!  We've had so much snow since December that the thought of doing a bright duck felt very spring-like.

My inspiration?  Our bathtub rubber ducky

Here's a pic of us figuring out what colour the duck should be.  I did actually like the grey but there was something about the mint one.   One of my other customers suggested tan feet for her pink owl toddler backpack, so I incorporated it in this layout too.

We also discussed putting a wing on the duck as per my original design.  However, in the end, it was just a cleaner look to exclude it.

We also discussed "short feet" vs "tall feet".  Hubby suggested red rubber boots (I'll have to keep that in mind for the next one!).

There are elasticized pockets on each side.

Here's a pic of the back.   I used a dark brown piping, bias tape, zipper and webbing.

The quilted bottom

I found the lining a while ago and was waiting for the right backpack to use it on.

While I like the basic brown that I normally use, there's something very happy about this yellow lining. 

I would have loved to do some outdoor pictures but there's too much snow on the grass.  I guess the front porch will have to do...

More wishful thinking for spring weather.  (Couldn't find our yellow boots but Spiderman boots will do too!)

I'm crossing my fingers that ducky helps usher us into a nice spring.   We are ready for the warmer weather!

If you would like more information on my toddler backpacks, please view my 2014 Toddler Backpack FAQs.  However, if you know how to sew and would like to tackle this project (appliques are my designs), visit Made by Rae's website to purchase a PDF copy of the toddler backpack pattern.

Happy Sewing!

Plaid Owl Toddler Backpack

Seems like I'm always making things for my shop but this backpack was a "pleasure" sew.  I made it for my cousin in-law's daughter for her 1st birthday.  I think our kids are second cousins?? 

I am such a big fan of plaid.  I hope she will be too.   She's still little so hopefully she will use it as she becomes more independent.

I made this while I was sewing Molly's Pink Owl toddler backpack.  As you can see, I used a bluer (is that a word?) dark denim.

I like that the plaid gives it the appearance of having more texture.  Don't ask me why I made it cross eyed.  I must've been sewing late at night!

I did a flat side pocket and an A initial.  I used a beige colour for the piping and webbing that I don't normally use for the shop.  

Another point to note is that I now close off the piping so that it's more seamless looking.  Previously, I followed Rae's pattern instructions but I think this looks much better. 

I'm no longer doing it the old way.  

Here's the back view

I lined it with an owl print and inserted a large flat inner pocket.  So great for keeping diapers separate from other things.  Yes Mamas, your little one can carry his or her own diapers and a small pack of wipes.  This means you can wear a normal purse again.  Yessss!!!!

I added a green bias tape to finish it up. 

And here's another shot

If you would like more information on my toddler backpacks, please view my 2014 Toddler Backpack FAQs.  However, if you know how to sew and would like to tackle this project, visit Made by Rae's website to purchase a PDF copy of the pattern.

Happy Sewing!