Cloth Diaper Snap Replacement

ACK!!!!!!  If you cloth diaper, you may be like me and have experienced the devastation of pulling out your cloth diapers after a wash and discovering one of the snaps has expired in its loyal service of keeping poop and pee from exploding.  While I was cloth diapering my second son (2011), it happened to me.

I was devastated.

All I could think about was $18-$20 (depending on what diaper you bought) that was wasted, UNTIL, I did a search on the internet on how to repair a cloth diaper.  I found a very helpful youtube video, in which the lovely cloth diapering mama, not only showed me how to replace the snap but also showed me not to be afraid to do so.  She also provided a URL to the snap setter and snaps that she used from Kamsnaps.com.  For just under $20, I would be able to replace any snap that decided it was done working with poop.  They even have free shipping, if you spend enough.

I Did It Again - Flat Book Shelf #2

If by chance, anyone was wondering what happened to me in the past few months, being laid off on maternity leave should explain it all.  While I didn't stop being crafty, it sure put a kibosh on the time I could devote to my blog.  While THE job is still elusive, I am currently working a relatively steady contract job that pays well.  (Prayers and good vibes from any willing to give them, are greatly appreciated.)

My daughter's room is the smallest of our 3 bedrooms, and with a single bed, crib and dresser/change table, there just wasn't any space for a bookshelf.  Well before my daughter joined our family, I had decided that I wanted to build a flat bookshelf like the one I had already built for my boys' room.

While similar in many ways, the space behind the door in my daughter's room was a bit larger, so I made the bookshelf deeper by using 1x4's by the side rails instead of 1x3's.  I also changed up my materials list a bit to save a little cash, and I had learned a few things while building my first bookshelf that I put to good use on this project.

DIY Rubberband Bracelet Loom

My son saw the rubber band bracelet that my niece made for her Uncle's (my husband's) birthday and wanted to make one too.  The problem at the time was that my husband's birthday is about a week before our 3rd child was born.  There are now 3 in our family of 5 with a birthday in September, my husband, my second son, and my new daughter.  Who would have thought?

To make a long story a little longer, my son kept asking (badgering really) to make a rubber band bracelet, day after day.  Being a new mom and so tired I felt drunk, my usually fairly frugal self, would have been satisfied to just buy one of their looms, already!  Unfortunately, during my weekly sleep walk through Walmart food buying trip, I could find the rubber bands but not the stinking loom.

Petal Towel Wrap

I don't know about any of you, but those hooded towels that are sold for infants are not very useful.  Sure, they may be useful for a month or 2, but your baby quickly grows too large for it to cover her effectively.  As a mother of 3, I only used these towels on my first when the novelty was still new, and I still cared about cute over functionality.

Don't get me wrong.  I still love cute!

But if it's a choice of cute or functional, I definitely choose functional.  This is one reason why I make so many things rather than buy them, because I can make them to fit my specifications exactly.

So, when my little girl (#3) came home, I was splitting the extra large hooded towel (basically a regular towel with a hood sewn in the middle length-wise) between my 3-year-old and the baby.  I am not against sharing, but when the baby spit up or peed or worse on the towel, I didn't have a good replacement for my son.

Make Your Own Cloth Diaper Wipes

When the birth of my third child was looming I made several cribs sheets especially for her and a few friends who were also expecting, and I was left with tons of 8 inch x 8 inch squares of perfectly good fabric.  I couldn't think what I could make with them, but I also couldn't bear to throw away such good fabric.

What to do?  What to do?

This is a question I ask myself a lot, and usually, I have too many ideas - more often than not my ideas require me to buy something new.

Well, not this time.  My good friend Margaret gave me several yards of yellow terry cloth a while ago, and BAM!  Some pretty good looking DIY cloth diaper wipes.