Upcycling

I was clearing my wardrobe and found many shirts that I don't wear anymore. And so, Colin got a few new shorts! Donated the smaller shirts since there wasn't enough material to make shorts for Colin. This is one of my favorite cause it reminds me of Bruce Lee. Hee.

Bean sprout husks pillow

When my pregnant friend asked me if I could make a bean sprout husks pillow for her little one, I couldn't find any reason to reject.

A bean sprout husks pillow is made of dried bean sprout husks. The chinese believed that placing this pillow across a newborn's chest or tummy will provide a sense of comfort and security like a hand. It is very lightweight and porous so definitely safe for newborns.

I purchased a bag of bean sprout husks from the supermarket for 30cents. The biggest difficulty I faced was separating the bean sprouts from husks. The damp husks were stuck on my fingers all the time! So i tried placing the whole bag into the freezer before I started the separation process, which did the trick!

After that I wash the husks clean with cold and hot water. Spread it out thinly onto newspaper for 1-2 days to dry it and get rid of the smell. This was what I got!

Dried bean sprout husks

After that I proceeded to make the pillow and cases. Embroidered her baby's name at her request. :) Love it!

Bean Sprout Husks Pillow Set

The reason why I bought my machine - embroidery! Allows me to customise my items.

Machine embroidered name

Owl Card Holder Pouch

My friend lent me her membership cards for our trip to Taiwan. The worn out ziplock bag used to keep the cards finally tore under my hands. So I made a cardholder pouch to replace it, and of course, it was also my way of thanking her for the cards. :)

I used whatever I had in my stash - an owl prints fabric and brown zip. I love making pouches!

interior

Owl Card Holder Pouch

Baby Stroller Pads

I've always found the original pads to be very rough to baby skin but never had a good enough reason to make a new one since Colin doesn't spend a lot of time in this stroller. See, we have 3 strollers, 1 sits in my husband's car, 1 in our house and another 1 at my parents' place. This stroller is the one at my parents' place,  used the least often.

However, we decided that this stroller scored best for travelling, and I can't imagine my boy's skin rubbing this rough stroller pads 8hrs a day, for 4 days. A reason good enough for me to make a new set of stroller pads!

Before and after

I used Michael Miller's stripey fabric for external and towel material for inside. Soft and nice! Really glad I made it. :)

Of course, photo taking usually involves this little one having his share of fun. He refused to let me take pics of him in the stroller, and decided Mickey can't too.