DIY: easy monogrammed baby gift

My dear friend had her precious third baby the other day, and I know that most moms having their third baby need very little in world of baby gear, but something simple and sentimental is just what makes a thoughtful gift for the new arrival. I don't expect this onesie to be worn a lot, maybe a couple times and then packed away. I mean, it's made from a simple gerber onesie, those things never last that long. I saw this done by American Apparel and I just tried my hand at it. Took very little time, and I got to use my trusted freezer paper method to get it done. 

I had the onesie, never worn, from a pack I bought for Ivy, and then I found this gray zip up on clearance at Target for $3. 

I printed the G with Helvetica 400. Then I got to cutting. 

I put the freezer paper shiny side down and ironed it until it was stuck to the onesie. 

I painted it brushing away from the lines so that I didn't get any under the stencil. I went over it twice to make sure it was solid. Make sure to put something under the onesie too. 

Then I did the same for the last name for the zip up. 

While I'm sure the quality of the American Apparel version is way better, this still works as a quick and easy baby gift for the mom that has everything she needs already. It also works for the mom that has very little time to make stuff what with her three kids. Win win. 

picnic dress

Doesn't she look like a picnic waiting to happen? I love this print, very simple. But when it's a whole dress, I'm a little bit like, "whoa, that's a lot of pattern!" She pretty much hated the process of making it because I made the dress from my mind, without a pattern, and I put in on her with a lot of kinks. Then I took it off, improved the sleeves, added the yellow part on the bottom to make it longer and put a button on the front because Avery's head is so big! Even though she hates the process of me putting it on her, she loves the result. What a babe!! There is a thick 2 inch elastic band that goes around her waist making it fitted there. I'm pretty sure I'm obsessed with those colors together. I'll probably make a skirt so that she can sport this cute color combo more. At first, the top of the dress was closed in and she looked a bit like a boy. Then I cut the top like a deep v-neck and I found that to be a bit to american-apparel-trashy-even-for-a-baby look so I added the button to gather it together. If we ever buy this child some shoes, some brown sandles would be real cute. That yellow is my fave, too. I have a cardigan (duh) that is the same color that I wear at least once a week, even in the hot summers here. Is it sad that Avery dresses A LOT better than I do?