ISO: amber teething necklaces STAT!

Does anyone make amber teething necklaces and want to help my poor teething, cranky toddler out? It's been awful! I know he can't help it, and it's part of life, but I think I'd rather have more than one tooth come through at once. We went though this a few weeks ago, and then all of the sudden *poof* there was one of his eye teeth. Now, I'm waiting and watching for another one.

The fever, the crying, the tears, the non-sleeping, the acetaminophen, the ibuprofen, the Orajel. Oh my word! I'm beginning to hate the smell of Orajel. And Brendon now fights the meds.

But we will get through this, and we will do it two more times! But I'm serious about the amber teething necklaces! I don't have any extra $$, but I'm willing to do a trade, for some sewing skills. Seriously, I can make a ton of things without patterns, and just about anything if there is a pattern.

He woke up from his nap, still cranky and snuggly. We sat on the couch and I rocked a little, and he fell back asleep! Was not expecting that, but he's been asleep for about another hour on the couch. Poor guy.

Butt Paste? Pass Boudreaux's! (review)

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

I only heard of Boudreaux's Butt Paste from a blog I was reading, this mom of 6 kids went shopping and her kid kept dropping random items in her cart. She did her best to deter this. One item was butt paste. She goes "Oh, {son} I didn't know you were out of butt paste!" HA!

Then, I got a tube as a baby shower present. Thankfully, Brendon never really had much problems with diaper rash. Once he was teething and had a bad rash when he pooped, Boudreaux's Butt Paste cleared it up! Seriously! It would be there, I'd change his diaper use the paste, and next diaper change, it was gone! And it protected his skin from any more rashes! {exclamation point!!} LOL

I'd only heard of other brands, white and pasty. Boudreaux's is more of a cream colored, and actually smells pretty nice. Boudreaux's Butt Paste® was specifically formulated by a pharmacist with direction from a respected pediatrician to provide effective diaper rash care. So you know that it's pediatrician recommended!

I like that Boudreaux's Butt Paste actually wipes off my fingers and on to Brendon's butt easily! and when it's time to change his diaper, it wipes off him with one wipe! You can get it lots of convenient sizes, 1oz, 2oz, 3oz and 4oz tubes, 16oz jar! Never be without! The tubes can be a small handy travel size, have a nice flip top cap.

The paste is made of 16% zinc oxide (so, no it's not safe for cloth diapers, but you can use a fleece liner!) and Peruvian Balsam, which helps it treat diaper rash and soothes irritated skin, and smell pleasent.

Not only do mom's love it, but TV loves it too. it's been featured on the Oprah Show, Tonight Show, Today Show, in People Magazine, ESPN, and Whil You Were Out (TLC)!

Did you know that you can visit their site for a free sample to test out for your self? They also have an "all natural" version.

How I make my covers

 When I make my covers, first, I cut out the fabric and PUL layers. Duh. Sometimes I do it together, sometimes separately. It just depends on the *mood* LOL Then I sew the soft touch tape to the tummy end, but only to the fabric, not the PUL layer too.

tummy touch tape sewed in place

Then, I place the two pieces together and trim if needed. If don't cut them together (or sometimes, even if I do!) I end up with extra wide curves or extra fabric, especially if I've cut out the pattern on a fold. I think the fold makes it wider, because it doesn't crease (you can see my pile over there <---). 

yah, yah, yah, i know it's looks funky. But it works!

 So I've matched up the layers and decide where the gather should go. I do have them marked on my pattern, but I just never remember to mark them when I'm cutting. Besides, they all end up in about the same areas. I know where I want them, so it all ends up good.

make sure you place the pins close to the edge, so you don't get extra holes

 Next comes the FOE, or fold-over elastic. This stuff is amazing. It's totally forgiving, and stretches as much or as little as you want. I don't actually start sewing at the end of the FOE. I give it a little tale, and pin until the corner. I always say I'm going to round my tabs, but each time, I never do. I just plow through. It's tedious, but I get a certain satisfaction when I see it finished. 

Hi Snoopy! I'm glad you look good in brown!

 Then, using a wide, short, three-step zig-zag, I sew around, stretching the FOE at the designated parts. I didn't take a picture of this, because I tend to focus to closely on it. Usually, I can get the FOE on with out stopping except to sew the FOE raw edges together, but I had to add a few inches, so I did have to stop and start a few times, but unless you look closely for it, it's not noticeable. 

need the right stitch!

 Then, the sticky touch tape. Someone reviewed a cover and said the tabs didn't stay closed that well, so I lengthened the sticky part, hopefully, they won't curl or come apart as easily. I really don't have a problem with it, but Brendon is always wearing pants. Our house is just too drafty/cold with out pants.

zigged around the touch tape to keep fraying enclosed

 I added an extra tab of soft touch tape, mainly because this is a medium, but the opening looked a bit big. It probably won't need it, but it doesn't hurt the function of the cover. Overlap! I couldn't remember what it was called! Overlapping touch tape. *sigh* I need more sleep.

overlapping touch tape, in case the bebe is skinny!

And I'm done. It took about an hour, but that's only if I'm alone (AKA Brendon is napping) LOL. He just loves to help. He loves pushing the reverse button.

it's finished! I loove admiring my handiwork. And see the green PUL! *love*

Here's the one I did the other day, compared to the one today. See how Snoopy is upside down on the crotch part of the one on the right? I forgot to add a seam to swap the direction of Snoopy. But it's just a small part.

Medium with brown FOE, small with Green FOE

The medium cover has an owner, but the small is up for grabs. Anyone going to have a 15lb-er around March? Anyone?

(PUL is PolyUrithane Laminate, waterproof on one side, and polyester-fabric on the other. Touch tape is generic "Velcro." Can't call it Velcro because I heard they sued for their name. FOE is fold-over elastic. It has a seam that makes it fold easily, perfect for binding!)