Pink Life Support

My time has been consumed by a tiny little girl and her tiny pink pump. YES! We switched from MDI (multiple daily injections of insulin) to an insulin pump a Minimed from Medtronic and yes she got to pick the color :) I don't think she would have allowed it any other way.

Now I had mixed feeling about using an insulin pump, and sometimes I still feel that way, but I can tell already that we have chosen the best method for her. She's able to have a little more freedom and not so many bombs of insulin. Or as the pump starter nurse here said "think of it as bullets of insulin instead of grenades". Which means before we would give her a big shot of insulin which tends to sit under the skin and all be absorbed at once which caused Little Miss to have very high blood sugar levels caused from the food she consumed then low's from the big dose of insulin. Now she is able to have the same insulin but with more of a drip affect so her body absorbs it over time rather then all at once. I have noticed a big difference in just the 2 short weeks it has been and while she doesn't' LOVE getting her "sticker" aka catheter or infusion set inserted(every 3 days) it certainly is nice to be able to just push a couple buttons and not have to poke her little body with a needle 5 times a day.

infusion set allows insulin to drip in via a tiny catheter - also allows tubing to be unplugged for water sport aka bath's ;)

And on top of all those good things we also have a live log right there on the pump so we can look at how much and when her last dose was, no more guessing, HEY don't JUDGE, we are insulin giving robots and it's hard to remember when your going through the motions on little sleep....do you remember how many breaths you took at 8:08am?! Didn't think soooooooo :) so now we know we aren't missing things and if I panic I can double check.

Now with all that greatness does come some bad news....mostly I can live with it cause let's face it, DIABETES SUCKS AND I WOULDN'T WISH IT ON MY WORST ENEMY.....MAYBE JOSEPH KONY ;)So the  bad news: well, there's no long acting insulin so if the pump has a kink in the tube or something happens, tough cookies, we are on high alert when there is high blood sugars(which are still happening, we have fine tuning to do) and my daughter is connected to a machine, all be it pink and small but it is still a reminder that insulin is keeping her alive and it isn't a cure but a way to manage her disease which in the past would have caused her a slow painful death! Boy am I glad for technology. We still have to check her blood sugar FREQUENTLY and at NIGHT (There is no true rest for me/us) and Finding a place for the pump to hang out comfortably on her little body is a challenge....hence another reason I am MIA, working on a great affordable juvenile diabetes pump pouch. I always find a necessary reason to sew even in the dark cloud that is diabetes. It's in my blood like a disease ;)


So there you have it! I am missing from blog land and or my friends and family recently due to a tiny pink life saving machine!!! Which I am utterly thrilled to have in my home each and every day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Little Ladies Heart Hair - how to found on Pinterest

Mom Tattoo T-shirt DIY

I won't lie we are lucky girls, the little lady and I, loved tremendously by a couple of handsome lads! Every year Valentines rolls around and we don't do much maybe a little treat for the kids a late dinner just me and hubs.....We love eachother a lot all year round there is no way I could show my family how much I love them in just one day but it sure is a nice reminder to celebrate LOVE! Happy Valentines Day! 

I whipped up a little "tattoo" T for Ava's Open Gymnastics Gym play date realizing her dress from last year wasn't going to cut it! Literally this took me a half hour and had I known it was going to turn out so darn cute I would have documented my DIY! But I will do my best to break it down and hopefully inspire a little creativity, and HECK this would be great for mother's day too....I can just see the hubs and the little man sporting these bad boys come mother's day ;)

Mom Tattoo T DIY 

Supplies - Red felt, scrap of white felt, freezer paper, black fabric paint, heat and bond lite(optional but helps hold it in place to stitch on) 

1:Print MOM on to a piece of freezer paper(cut it to paper size print on the non shiny side) 

2: Use and exacto knife to cut out the letter be sure to save the middle of the O

3: Iron freshly made MOM stencil on to scrap white felt

4: paint over stencil with black fabric paint and allow to dry

5: Cut large heart shape out of red felt (I decided to use the heat on bond after I cut my shapes so I just cut it slightly smaller then the heart then ironed it on according to the directions)

6: Cut white felt into a long strip (like picture) fold length wise and cut an angle to create the points I cut with a slight curve instead of straight on for a little character

7: place "MOM Ribbon" over heart and straight stitch on not going over the edge of the heart

8: Heat and bond heart with sewn ribbon to shirt I used a pressing cloth so as to not melt the felt

9: Stitch the outer of the heart with a longer straight stitch for a hand stitched look(not I did not stitch the over lapping "ribbon" tails down, it gave it a fun ribbony look) :D 

10: Enjoy Valentines Day!

Sweet Practically Free Art

Cell phone Pollaroid action ;)

This weekend I cleaned and purged my sweet little ladies room after an awe inspiring visit to another equally as sweet(type1) friends house. Said friends room was so organized the toys were out of sight and just seemed so much more serene then Ava's toy isle style bedroom (More pics of her new sweeter more serene bedroom soon). Upon cleaning up and purging I realized she has NO art! She did have fun tissue poms but one naughty monkey(the little lady herself) jumping on the bed decided it would be fun to rip them down and jump on them :O ugh terrible 2's! So again why buy when you can DIY and completely personalize ;)

DIY Embroidery Hoop Art: 
Embroidery Hoop ( I got mine at good will for .99cents!)
Fabric(enough to over lap about an inch) my fabric is a vintage sheet I have been holding onto ;)
Other textiles - Ribbon, felt, canvas, buttons, lace, ric rac - here you can go crazy!

For my specific hoop I printed the letter a onto heat and bond. Ironed it onto a small piece of canvas, heat and bonded the back of that and ironed it onto felt then went crazy with my FUN stitches on my machine. a couple of rolled felt flowers and bow and some buttons and it's PERFECT! Lay fabric over inner hoop, lay outer hoop over top and tighten the screw as you pull fabric taught(takes a little finesse mine ended up not being taught as I like), fold over excess fabric and glue down so it will lay flat on the wall.  She loves it too!

5 dollar, 5 step Mod Skirt - Tutorial! 18 mo. to 5T

Color block skirts are back and oh so modern! I have seen a couple of tut's on how to make one but I didn't want to get down with the fussy time consuming waste bands, love the results of the more time consuming ones, but a lot of people aren't brave enough to attack all that (ruffling especially, which is one of my favorite things!). So this is my Easy, Cheap and Fast version which is just the way I like it ;) Enjoy! 

Supplies: 2/3 yard Solid Fabric for skirt body(pictured in peach), 1/2 yard contrasting fabric for hem(pictured in lavender), 1 1/2 inch wide elastic(gives it a more waste band feel, helping it lay flatter), thread, safety pin,pins, sewing machine, rotary mat and ruler.

Cost break down 2/3 yd.  fabric 1.97, 1/2yd. fabric 1.50, 1 1/2" elastic 1.37@ Wal-mart.

Sizing:
18/24 Skirt: 9x18 Skirt Hem: 7x18 Elastic: 17
2T     Skirt: 10x19 Skirt Hem: 7x19 Elastic: 18
3T     Skirt: 11x20  Skirt Hem: 8x20 Elastic: 19(the size I made for the tutorial)
4T      Skirt: 12x21 Skirt Hem: 8x21 Elastic: 20
5T      Skirt 13x22  Skirt Hem: 8x22 Elastic 21

**These measurements have not all been tested they are based of US sizing charts(and tons of trial and error sewing skirts for my little one). For best results measure your little one for elastic(minus 2" from waist measurement for proper elastic fit) and length, ie: skirt+hem- seem allowances of approx 2" will give you an idea how long the final product will be. If you have questions as always feel free to email me :)

1: Cut Fabric according to above sizing with a rotary cutter, ruler and self healing mat - strip cutting works best with a rotary.

2 pieces 11x20 for skirt body & 2 pieces 8x20 for hem (3T)

2: Sew short ends of skirt together set aside, sew short ends of hem together. Press all 4 seems open with an iron. Fold hem wrong sides together length wise and press (a-lot!)

Wrong sides folded together to create a 4x40 hem band

3: Pin hem to skirt right sides together(either side of the hem is technically the right side) make sure your matching up raw edges when pinning, and lining up seems. Pin every couple of inches to keep the layers of fabric from shifting while you sew. Flip hem down press raw edge up towards waist and top stitch.

Top stitched

4: Fold top down about a 1/4" while pressing with an iron, fold down another 1 3/4"' press with iron. Stitch closed about an 1/8 inch from edge leaving a 2 inch opening for the elastic.

Elastic casing and opening

5: Feed elastic through the opening with a large safety pin(I like to use a straight pin to hold the other end of my elastic to the fabric so I don't lose it while I am pulling the other end through) sew elastic together with a zig-zag stitch reversing to secure at the beginning and end, even out fabric around the elastic and sew opening closed!!!!!! Your DONE 5 Bucks and 5 steps to a great MOD skirt!

I think she lurv's it!
The important stuff! Please do not re-use this tutorial as your own idea - you may however share it all you want and are more then WELCOME to sell any finished products you make using this tutorial(if you have the time and patience to do so!)