Well hello!
I hope you had a nice weekend.
And….I can’t thank you enough for the great feedback about blog-post frequency. Man, if you’re ever having a rough day, post something like that and you feel like a million bucks. I did feel a bit sheepish though as I started reading your comments and hope you didn’t think I was fishing for compliments. The blog post was an honest question that’s been on my mind for a while. And it must have been on yours too because your thoughts and kind words were just what I needed to hear. Thank you.
And to sum it up, it seems that:
* You guys don’t mind if I post daily (I’d love to; can’t always; but will try to keep the ideas coming!)
* You do like some day-in-the-life kind of stuff (someone said she actually comes for the filler. Made me laugh)
* Best advice of all: put your life first, your blog second, and do what feels best for you. Seems silly to say it out loud. But it’s a good reminder for all of us, me included.
So, now that we’ve cleared the air….back to blogging, with something that’s Semi-homemade (sorry Sandra Lee; borrowing your title for the day).
Remember this little girl from last week? It’s baby Anna again.
And when I first met her last month, she was sitting in a royal-blue and black carseat. She inherited it from her older brother and well it just wasn’t fit for a dainty girl.
Perhaps my sister didn’t want to bother me, asking if I’d make a carseat cover for Anna (because of course I would have!). And when she told me that people were making comments like, “your little boy is so cute”…..that was it. Make-over time!
(same little request applies this time as the last time when we talked about Carseat Covers. Let’s just enjoy how precious this doll will look in her carseat re-do. Oh, that face!)
So, staying true to my sister’s modern style we keep the look simple.
First we ditched the old blue canopy and I made a new one with gray Ripstop Nylon (found at most large fabric stores). It’s light-weight, wind resistant, and looks great outlined with black bias tape.
Next I worked on the carseat cover. Instead of making an entirely new cover, I took the old cover apart and re-covered the blue areas in fuschia-colored cotton. Then I re-covered one of the black panels with new black ripstop to hide the ugly label that had worn off over the years.
Voila!
Semi-homemade!
Since I was at my mom’s house when I made this, I was without normal resources. She has a very old sewing machine (which is what I sewed on as a teenager) but it doesn’t have a button-holer or a zigzag stitch. Button holes are my normal method for seat belt strap holes. So I had to get inventive. I think Tim Gunn would approve. I cut seatbelt strap holes into the fabric, then lined them with the same bias tape used for the canopy. 
It was a happy turn of events, since I think the chunky black is a cool contrast to the fuschia. Very modern, very simple, very girl.
One final touch was a gray padded headrest from Babies R Us. Really completes the look.
Baby Anna, you’re ready to go!
You look like a modern lady already. Enjoy your ride!
