Mei Tai Baby Carrier

Mei Tai baby carrier in red, black and white.

Love that black and white fabric!

I decided I wanted a new baby carrier for the new baby. I have a couple of them but they just don't do exactly what I want them to. So, after my sister-in-law let me borrow hers when Ryan was 2 I settled on a Mei Tai carrier.  I searched and searched for a tutorial (they are expensive new!) and finally found this one. The instructions seemed pretty easy to follow and there were some good pictures so I got some strap fabric to go along with some great black and white fabric (can't remember the type of pattern name) that my Mom got me years ago and went to work. I did end up leaving off the hood, it seemed a bit small since I was wanting more of a sunshade but decided it wasn't really necessary and a hat would work just fine instead. Besides, it would have covered up some of the great fabric when it wasn't in use. If I do decide I really need a sunshade hood I can always make one that buttons on.

I have pregnancy brain, I'll blame most of it on that. I also am a perfectionist and an over-thinker. I made a moderately simple project into a beast. First I had to double up the fabric in the straps because I didn't think what I bought would be thick enough. Then I couldn't understand why I would need such a large piece of padding for the shoulders and spent quite a while looking up other examples of this tutorial so I could see some better pictures of the straps themselves. I ended up using a smaller piece of padding but don't know if that was a bad thing or not yet. My sewing skills aren't perfect (which FREAKS out my perfectionist nature) so, while the finished product looks pretty good, I can see the flaws in the stitching (some of it I can blame on my old sewing machine). Also, after I took the pictures, I realized that the bottom strap is lower on one side than the other. Oh well. It is functional, pretty and will hold up to anything!

We made salt dough Thanksgiving decorations. Leah made this turkey all by herself. You can even kind of tell what it is. Unfortunately one of the feathers was too fragile and broke off within a few hours of putting it out.

The back row are the ones Leah made; pumpkin, turkey and bunny. She painted the turkey all by herself and I helped only a little with the pumpkin and I added the details to the bunny.

The front row are the ones I made. No, the pig is not Thanksgiving decor but that is what Leah wanted and what Princess wants, Princess gets (at least sometimes).

Bingham Family Reunion

In June most of the Bingham family (minus one brother and his family) went to Park City for a family reunion. We went swimming, shopping on historic Main Street, ate lots of yummy food and went on a nature walk. After the nature walk we built "Earth Homes" out of objects we found along the way.

Leah posing with Baba and their Earth Home.

Finished Earth Home

Ryan really liked the sandbox nearby.He liked the sand in the sandbox the best though. He was a little bored while waiting for everyone to do their thing.

Leah bored too.

I made these nature walk bags for the kids to collect things from nature to build their earth homes with. The only place to hang them for a picture was in the dark, cramped hallway so the pictures aren't great.

This one was Leah's. I was using it for a little purse but now I can't find it. So sad! Hopefully when we finally get all unpacked I'll find it again.

Heart Wreath

A heart wreath, we cut a hole out of the center of a paper plate then cut a bunch of hearts out and glued them on in random fashion. Leah did most of the placing of the hearts then she got "tired of hearts" so I finished it.

Valentine's Day Decorations

This was the process of painting a heart to cut out and lace yarn through. I drew the heart on cardboard then Leah painted a face. She then decided to cover the whole board with paint. It was difficult to see my original line to cut out the heart once the paint dried.

This was the finished product, with the white yarn laced through the holes. She didn't really want to pose for the camera.

Paper Turkey

We made a turkey out of toilet paper rolls, construction paper, paint and hot glue. Leah loved the painting the best.

Finished turkey. We found the idea at Kaboose.com.
Leah looks better with her hair actually done.