DIY Wet Bag: Thanks Lemon Squeezy

It is no secret in my circle that I have become obsessed with cloth diapering. I haven't been able to USE my addiction quite yet as, I am still 10 days out from my due date with Baby #2.

I have spent the last few months researching the perfect approach to cloth diapering that will satisfy myself, new baby and (maybe most importantly) my skeptical husband.

While I could go on and on about my discoveries and new stashes, it seems a bit premature as I haven't gotten to cloth diaper my child, yet!

My husband called me this afternoon saying he would be especially late coming home from work so I thought I would use the opportunity to busy myself by making my own cloth diaper wet bag! As you know, I try to be as thrifty as I can be and I just haven't been able to find a bag that suits my economical needs.

My other current obsession, Pinterest (as well as some googling), lead me to A Lemon Squeezy Home's wet bag tutorial! I have to say, it is one of the easiest tutorials I have ever followed. So easy, in fact, I loaded it on my cell phone and followed the instructions there.

I will use this particular wet bag to hang in my bathroom. It is large enough to accommodate maybe 5-8 diapers. I plan on making a few smaller bags for my diaper bag!

My materials:
1/4 Yard Polyurethane laminate (PUL) $2.49
1/4 Yard cotton print $1
1 zipper (bought a bulk bag of zippers in the craft section of the thrift store that might have cost $.05 each!)

Completed hanging wet bag.

Coordinating zipper with PUL lining (to keep in the wet & stink!).

Size comparison with a Charlie Banana pocket diaper size S.

Where my wet bag will hang.

Robe hooks I bought new at the thrift store for $.99.



The whole project probably took me an hour to complete. However, because my son was running around all evening, the wet bag took up the entire night to actually finish. There were a few times when he was extra curious at me at my sewing machine and he would climb up on my lap. I allowed him to put his hands on my hands as I sewed but he was not allowed to touch any buttons (or the needle of course!!). It was a pretty cute sight if you were looking in on us.

I am extra proud that I didn't need to use my seam ripper at all. However, I had top stitched the fabric a bit too close to the zipper and it is very sticky. Ah, well. I know now that I can make these wet bags in no time! A great nap time project, I think. Especially, when I only need to cut 4 rectangles!

Thrift Win: Green Tag Day

One of my favorite things about thrifting is the luck or unluckiness I acquire with 50% off color tag days. Today was a great "green tag day" at my local thrift store:

Enjoy some of my random linking!

For my son:

Toy Story 3 Robe $2 (similar $16.99)

John Deer 2fer Tee $1 (John Deer for Kids)

NWT Halloween Baseball Tee (similar $6.99) $.99

For Me:

Old Navy White/Yellow Striped Boat Neck Tee (How to Wear It via Polyvore) $1

C & C California Lavender 3/4 Tee $2 (similar on sale $29.90)

Parisian Note Cards Set of 8 $.49 ("Parisian" Pinterest Search)

For New Baby:

0-9 Months Chili Pepper Halloween Costume $2 (exactly $18.99)

Diaper Genie Refill $1(exactly $6.99)

I Like You, Too (Junk Love)!

Usually, when I head to the mailbox I am bombarded with bills or junk flyers from Summer project companies and the like. However, not today! Today there was a little white package with my name on it. Completely out of the blue and unexpected.

Miss Malia from Junk Love sent a little goodie bag and note my way. Included was an assortment of cute crafts (from I Like You) and some finger puppets for me & "new baby". Even though David claimed the finger puppets right away by carrying them around saying "Quack, quack, quack!".

It is a nice reminder that it is always a feel good moment (for both parties, I think) to do something nice and unexpected for someone else!

Thank you, Malia! You really made our night!

DIY: Floral Circle Scarf with Vintage Fabric

Like a lot of us, I love (really love!) Pinterest. It is so inspiring and I have gotten so motivated to rearrange, organize, design and create!

Tonight's project was the Circle Scarf (or Eternity or Tube Scarf). I used a tutorial from the lovely C&C . I can't even imagine how many hits she must get to her blog from Pinterest. Her scarf is pinned and re-pinned all the time.

I got especially inspired to do this super, stupid easy sewing project when I found the vintage fabric at Savers tonight for $1.99. I got a ton of it and made 3 scarves with it in what felt like no time.

Check out cotton & curls' tutorial here!

There were many ways I could have cut the fabric for this scarf. I chose to cut it very long and a bit thinner. I could see using a thicker fabric and making it just one loop instead of two.

Feel like creating or shopping?

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1. cotton & curls DIY tutorial
2. Nordstrom $18
3. Urban Outfitters $29
4. marimekko

Target Trip 8/2: New Month & New Coupons

Yay! It is August! My golden Birthday month! Officially, I will be in the last year of my 20's. They started out a little rocky but I am in such an amazing place now that I know my 30's will be an amazing decade. I will hold on to and appreciate my upcoming year of being 29, having two children and a kick butt husband who helped give me such a great life (among a super supportive family and friend circle!).

Sap-fest over.

David and I shopped with our coupons this evening. I was secretly hoping to "miss" our NNO block party BUT I ended up going anyway AND so glad I did.

I find it easiest to hit up each aisle and watch for the orange clearance stickers. Then, judge whether using your coupons makes for a good deal. I really lucked out this shopping trip. I have 2 coupons to stack for $2 off a Cover Girl item at Target but there was no good clearance so I will hang on to those! Also, I have a lot of Febreeze and Glade coupons which are on clearance at my store but only 15% off. So, hopefully I can wait a week for the clearance to drop a bit more.

Tresseme Curling Mousse sale $2.99

MFR Styling Product $1/1

TQ Styling Product $1/1

= $.99

Mr. Clean Floor Cleaner clearance $2.11

MFR $.75/1

= $1.36

(I plan to use this in my Swiffer mop when I run out of solution!)

St. Ives Trial Body Wash $.99

MFR St. Ives Body Wash $.50/1

=$.49

(There was no restriction on trial sizes!)

Loreal Lip Stick clearance $1.76

MFR Loreal Eye Cosmetic $1/1

TQ Loreal Cosmetic $1/1

= -$.24

(Even though it was a Loreal eye coupon, Target still took it. And I made the $.24 towards my purchase!)

Rimmel London Foundation clearance $2.98

MFR $1/1

= $1.98

Orbit Gum clearance $1.18

MFR Extra/Orbit/Winterfresh/Juicy Fruit 3pk $1/2

= $.68/ea.

Bic Soleil Razors sale $4.49

MFR Bic Razors $3/1

= $1.49

Pillsbury Cookie Mix clearance $.84

MFR Pillsbury Frosting or Brownie Mix $.40/1

= $.44

Goldfish Grahams sale $1.75

PMFR $.55/1

= $1.20

(I like to wait till these are closer to $1 or less but I just bought them anyway!)

Crest Toothpaste clearance $1.74

MFR $.75/1

= $.99

Total before coupons not including original price: $20.83

Total: $9.86 (52%)

Aaaand, I couldn't help but buy a first birthday onesie in pink. Just in case new baby is a girl! It was only $1.47!

Fridley Patch Blog Post: ALDI

Check out my latest blog post at the Fridley Patch: ALDI - When You Don't Need a Coupon.
I list a few of my finds as well!

My cute shopping partner at ALDI!

Thrift Win with RecycleBank Points $10 off $25

A big thrifting secret I can give away to my fellow MN Thrifters is the use of Recycle Bank to score a $10 off $25 purchase at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores.

Today, I stalked each aisle to find my perfect $25 bundle. Funny thing is, I added up my cart total on my phone calculator multiple times (one of my favorite things to do! No joke!) to be sure I didn't go under the $25 or too much over. At checkout I watched the total climb and then it stopped...right on $25.00. It was too funny.

Anyhow, Recycle Bank asks you to complete very small tasks such as surveys that take 30 seconds to collect points. I think I acquired 150 points the first day I joined in about 15 minutes of perusing tasks. Then I printed my Arc coupon which was 100 points. Super easy. There are other coupons for stores and items as well that are very time worthy.

1. Boy's The Beatles Yellow Submarine Tee Size 3T

2. Vintage Scarf

3. Chinese Take-Out Style Dish Rags

4. Anchor Pin

5. 80's Pink Sunglasses

6. Teal Beaded Skinny Belt

Also, two maternity dresses for me.

And a Lady Carol dress for my shop. Tags still attached!



I also got two over sized books with the side panel of buttons to push that make all kinds of noises. He loves Thomas the Train right now & I found one book that is a sing-a-long! Too bad it needs watch batteries....

Pretty good score for $15! Anyone else thrift this weekend?