Erica sews Ruthie a bib-cape.

Me: Let me dress you up and take selfies.

Ruthie: Mom, help!! My Aunt Erica is nuts!!

Alright, if your name is Courtney Sapp or Alex Sapp, stop reading this blog right now! If you continue to read it, my Christmas present to your child will no longer be a surprise. You've been warned.

Just a preview of the project to come.

Ms. Ruthie Beth Sapp is currently my favorite small human. She lets me hold her and squeeze her and, best of all, when she farts, spits up or starts crying, I can just put her down and her parents don't get offended. Since she is my favorite small human, she will get heaps of Christmas gifts. I wanted to DIY at least one of her gifts. I decided that she needed something practical (and not just cute) so I brainstormed with Wes. He suggested that she needs a superhero cape since she'll be mobile in a few months. And who doesn't love a child running around wearing a cape? My idea was to sew her some personalized bibs. In the end, I combined both ideas and made her a bib-cape. For someone who knows nothing about babies, I think I did a damn good job. Tutorial to follow.

 DIY Bib-Cape Project:
Materials needed- fabric, lace or trim, sewing machine and all your basic sewing supplies (scissors, thread, ruler, pins)

I didn't get to use the baby dinosaur fabric. (;_;) But it's soooo cute!! If anyone has a child, let me know so I can sew you something with this fabric.

1. Make your pattern. 

       Lay a bib and a onesie next to each other (face the straps of the bib to the collar of the onesie) on top of a piece of cloth and cut around it. Cut a triangular shape around the onesie so it looks like the shape of a superhero cape.

2. First construct the bib.

       Trace the bib section of the pattern onto the piece of fabric you are using. I used two differently designed patterns of fabric so I traced the pattern twice.

3. Sew the two pieces together to make a bib. If you want to make DIY bibs, your instructions are done. LOL 

4. Embellish and decorate the bib, if desired.

5. Set the bib aside and begin to construct the cape.

       Trace the cape section of the pattern onto your fabric. Trace two copies so the pattern of the fabric will show on both sides.

BTW, rotary fabric cutters are one of the top 10 inventions, ever. 

6. Sew the lace or trim around one of the cape pieces.

7. Sew the second cape piece to the piece with the lace or trim (making a little lace sandwich).

8. Embellish or decorate the cape, if desired.

9. Lay the bib and cape pieces in the same way that you laid the bib and onesie when you marked the initial pattern. Then pin and sew the pieces together.

10. Make sure the two pieces are sewn on securely. I sewed around it twice to make sure it wouldn't tear from use.

And there it is... a bib-cape. It's a fun bib that your child will enjoy wearing and, now she can save the world while eating dinner! If you want one, I can make them custom to your or your child's preference. Please message me on social media or send me an email (ragsreborngifts@gmail.com).

Erica sews one heck of a baby shower gift.

Wicker basket toy box with soft blocks that spell baby's name.

I've written about dogs and wrote a few craft project tutorials so next in line is infertility. This isn't a "feel sorry for me because I'm an infertile b*tch" type of blog. It's actually quite the opposite. One of my best friends, Courtney, is having her first child. I've read many many articles about this... one of your friends is having a baby and you're left feeling like a failure of a woman...what to do next?!?!?  Infertility is as much of a mental disease as a physical one so there are tips from professionals on how to cope with this news and how to be a supportive friend and how to deal with your own insecurities while also being happy for your friends, so on and so forth. After reading all these blogs and other people's advice, I thought it was all rubbish. This is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life so I'd better figure out how to do it on my own.

Courtney has been my friend for years, even in my own self pity and doubt there was no way I could possibly alienate myself from her just because her reproductive system works and mine does not (that was one of the tips: excuse yourself from pregnant situations because you are not obligated to attend baby showers and go shopping for maternity ware.) When she first announced she was pregnant, I felt an initial pain but it slowly wore off because I was genuinely happy for her. I knew she was newly married and I knew she wanted kids.

Courtney has been great throughout her pregnancy. She's treated me like all her other friends. I have not been excluded from anything just because of my infertility. She tells me all the ups and downs of her pregnancy. I empathize with her and rejoice with her. She evens asks for my advice (which I find very strange since I have never gone through this experience myself). At first, I thought we would only talk about non-pregnancy related things so it wouldn't be awkward but I was wrong and I'm glad I was. Over these past 7 months, I've learned all about little baby Ruthie. I know what her room will look like and how she will be parented.  I am so very glad to meet her soon. (^_^) Courtney says she'll refer to me as Aunt Erica. Hahaha!

One other awesome thing about Courtney is that she was still down to do regular friend stuff with me. Her life was not consumed by this new child. We have gone to our favorite sushi restaurant (even though she couldn't have any of the yummy raw rolls), she's gone RagsReborn t-shirt shopping with me and she's even invited me to the gym a few times (each time I expressed great concern over her health and told her we probably shouldn't be doing strenuous activity. But, she says exercise makes childbirth easier and we're only walking on the treadmill...stop worrying, Erica.) She's also had me over for dinner with her husband, who always offers me a beer, which I accept, but I still feel bad drinking in front of a pregnant person. 

One of the things I read was to do something useful with yourself (aka gain a hobby) so you don't have to worry about how you cannot have kids and your pregnant friends have something to look forward to that you do not have. I already have a hobby and I decided to use it for Courtney and Ruthie. A few weeks before the baby shower, I had an idea... kids like blocks--don't they?-- but blocks are hard and have sharp corners. But pillows aren't dangerous. So, why not make soft pillow blocks and make them personalized? My baby shower gift will spell RUTHIE BETH SAPP in blocks. After a few days of work (and a trip to the craft store), I have this:

The extra green ribbon is to a affix gift card I have yet to purchase. 

So, I survived my first "baby announcement struggle" as an infertile. I'm pretty proud of myself and have found my own ways to cope (I'm not discrediting all the advice I read but sometimes you just gotta do your own thing.) Courtney has been great, I have been great and now I have a top notch handmade baby shower gift. Courtney and Alex have requested diapers, a book for Ruthie's library and are registered at Babies-R-Us ... shopping will be a brand new battle but for now, I feel accomplished. The baby shower is this upcoming weekend and instead of feeling anxiety, I know I will be okay.