Bring it, 2013! (& a discount)

Wowza. I can't believe 2013 is right around the corner. My husband & I went out to celebrate our anniversary (#5! What?!) a couple days ago and spent a good chunk of time reflecting on 2012 and dreaming about 2013. And, you know, eating ice cream. It was our anniversary after all. :) Here were some of our highlights (& lowlights):

2012

• #1 Observation: The year we really started learning to be parents. And holy cow, it is hard. We feel totally put through the ringer and Baby isn't even 2 yet. Heaven help us in the teenage years. 
• Baby B turned one.
• Baby B discovered camping, and was totally ga-ga for it. We definitely have to do this every year. 
• Baby B was ring-bearer in his Uncle's wedding. Though he didn't bear any rings or even walk down the aisle. Did we mention he did awesome in rehearsal?
• We got new bikes and a bike cart, and had a blast with them!
• We were tired. Always. Baby B didn't sleep through the night until very, very recently, and not at all when he was sick. It was exhausting.
• It's... different... to be a husband/wife with a baby in the family. We both are still getting used to the family dynamic. It's a hard change, but we know it will be good.
• The blog kind of took off a little because of this post (which hit over 100,000 pins on Pinterest), and we spent months working on our big October series.  
• We were tired. I said that already? We were really tired.
• It was hard to get anything else done while raising a baby. Especially when we collapse on the couch when he finally goes to sleep. Dishes? Meh. Laundry? It's fine. Shower? Tomorrow. Let's just watch Harry Potter and fall asleep on the couch. A lot of things fell through the cracks and went unfinished this year, but it was all we could manage during this phase of our lives. 
• In Summary: We have no idea what we're doing over here, and (despite some fun times and wonderful memories) 2012 is one year we are glad to say goodbye too. Which is a little sad, because we've never felt that way about a year before! 

2013

• Finally finish our almost-done-for-months-now kitchen! Shallow? Maybe. But good gravy I just want it done.
• N will finish his qualifications for the CPA exam - which will hopefully open up all kinds of new job opportunities for him!
• Find our groove again and make life happen. 
• Unveil the major addition to the MoreLikeHome.net website that N has been working on.
• Lots of quality time with Baby B! We're so excited that he is getting old enough to do fun activities. We're scoping out the museum free days and thinking about getting a zoo pass! Not to mention lots of bike rides & splashing in the pool this summer. 
• Start doing family devotions.
• Just wait and see what God has in store for us! He's been faithful through all our highs and lows, and we know he's got big plans for our 2013.

Here's to an amazing new year!

And to kick off the new year, we have a special deal for you! For the month of January, get 15% off ANYTHING in our shop! Just use the code NEW2013 at the checkout. Ring in the new year with some fun new accessories! :)

We have some new bags & purses listed, several of our awesome wooden pendant necklaces, and be sure to check out our clearance section! I'm hoping to get some diapers added in the next couple weeks as well. I'll keep you posted.

So how about you? How was your 2012? Any plans or goals for 2013?

Giveaway Day - Corduroy Tote

***This giveaway is now closed. The winner was selected via Random.org - #15 Rhetta! Congrats Rhetta! I'll email you asap.***

It's time for another Giveaway Day hosted by Sew Mama Sew! Visit Sew Mama Sew to see all the giveaways being hosted this week, and link up a giveaway of your own if you want. We'll just jump to the good stuff today. ;)

First up for grabs is one of the brand new large totes my sister & I are making for our online store Twice is Nice!  (I'm also giving away a copy of I am So Cute Dresses here, and my mom is giving away another Twice is Nice bag here). I'll be stocking these later tonight, just in time for you to finish up your Christmas shopping.

This bag is made of corduroy, fully lined, and has a big bow made from a vintage sheet. A great combo of style and function! Big enough for a sweater & book, plus an extra set of clothes for the kids. Be ready for any outing with this large tote!

But wait, there's more The bow comes off to double as a light scarf! This is absolutely my new favorite pattern and I can wait to get these stocked tonight.

How to Enter:

• Leave a comment telling my your favorite Christmas season tradition to do with your kids! That's it. Be sure to leave an email address in your comment. :)
• Bonus entry for More Like Home followers. Just leave a separate comment saying you follow. 
• For one more entry, visit Twice is Nice then come back and let me know which item is your favorite!

The Details:

• Ships to the Continental US only (sorry!)
• The giveaway will close December 7th at 5:00pm PST
• Winner will be notified by December 9th (be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you! If there's no email I will draw again.)
• The bag will be shipped by December 14th

 Have fun entering all these great giveaways! And good luck! :)

Free Printable Alphabet Banners

Have you seen the printable alphabet banners by Shanty 2 Chic? They are really cool (I'm using them to print some Christmas banners!) but apart from making fancy Christmassy things the font is a bit to formal for me. So I made my own version with a more fun, everyday font!

And not just any font, it's one of my very favorite fonts - Skinny Jeans! (you can download the Skinny Jeans font for free here) I've even made banners for both versions of the font so you can print either solid letters (like I did) or print the original style hollow letters. You can use my banner downloads to print whatever letters you need to make any banner for any occasion!

Just open the letters you need, print them out (I like to print on cardstock), and cut them out. After that I put mine together Shanty2Chic style - I matted them with another color of cardstock and used clothespins to hang the pennants on a string.

Want to print your own? Just follow these links to get the letters you need:

Twice is Nice

Remember when I made this super cute dinosaur diaper? Good. You may also remember I based my diaper on the Cloth Revolution pattern, but modified it to be one size and snap on the front (instead of on the sides). Well, after using it for a while I found a few more areas I though I could improve, so I altered my pattern some more. The biggest change was definitely the wings. I switched to a singe row of snaps instead of a double (I didn't feel like the double was doing anything a single couldn't do, plus it allowed me to add a second snap closer to the hip to keep things snug for a smaller baby). A single row also meant I could make crossover tabs!

The main benefit of crossover tabs is that it lets you make the waist of the diaper even smaller. The pic below shows both diapers on their smallest waist setting. See how much tighter the green one gets? If you remember Baby B trying on the dino diaper, I was worried that he was only on the second smallest size setting (meaning it wouldn't work for babies much smaller than him, although he had plenty of room to grow!) and this totally fixed that issue.

The other pattern change was just making it a little trimmer and narrower through... the.... crotch. *shudder* Does anyone else feel embarrassed saying that word? No? Me neither. Okay, that was a lie. If you know an alternative title I would very happily hear it. Anyway.... I just thought trimming things down a little would give Baby B a better fit, and especially any babies smaller than him that would have been swimming in the original size. And so far I am really happy with this new style and plan to stick with it a while unless any other problems show up. :)

But I didn't stop there! Well, I did with that diaper pattern. But you may remember this sneak peek from a couple weeks ago - pretty new fabric, pretty new snaps....

Ta-da! I've also been practicing with my newborn fitted diaper pattern (the Darling Diaper pattern). And I'm LOVING how these ones turned out. So cute and fluffy! The only thing I'm still working on (for both these and the one-size diapers) is making lay-in-soakers. I have the supplies, but I cannot for the life of me figure out the tension settings on my new/first ever serger. I think a long and intense you-tube session is in order. Or maybe a trip to grandma's to see if she can help me. :)

And on the subject of baby related sewing.... I've been making more baby carriers! Okay, they aren't in the picture. But the two Mei Tais I've made for myself are on the right. I also have some fabric to try making a stretchy wrap (like the one in the middle) and I'm looking for fabric to try a woven like the one on the left.

So yes, I'm making several things I don't need - but I actually have a reason this time! Due to a surprising number of fees (this was the big one, we weren't selling enough to make all the fees worth it), lack of visibility, and general over-crowdedness, my sister and I bid Etsy farewell a few months ago in favor of a new store front. And after some sewing, jewelry making, and general craftiness, we are proud to present....

Twice is Nice! Our new headquarters on on HyenaCart, a site dedicate to unique handmade and eco friendly shopping. The store is still a little bare, but we're hoping to get some more items up soon. It's a work in progress. But we are too excited to wait any longer! :) For now we have put a lot of our old merchandise into a clearance section and marked it WAY down. Everything is at least 50% off! Check it out!

The End.

But not really, because if you made it this far you will be rewarded with... more Baby B! First, a background story for these pics. I bought a Little's CarryAll from 31 Bags for Baby B thinking it would be nice for little toys and a sippy cup to keep him entertained in the car. But I underestimated how much he would like it. As soon as we got it I showed him how to put his sippy in and he started carrying it around... and getting our shoes out. Apparently he's realized when we pack our bags we go places. So he packed his up, got out shoes for everyone, and headed for the door.

 He is appalled that I stopped to take pictures when we are supposed to be going outside. Come on, mom. Stay focused.

Annnndddd... he's outta here.

Anything you'd love to see in our new store?