Patch Board & 35 Week Bumpdate

This is one of those projects that had literally been sitting in the back of my mind for over a year. For those of you that are attached to a pilot you know that one thing that they have in excess are patches. Patches, patches, and more patches to be exact. There seems to be a never ending supply of them and each new squadron or training course hands them out. The hubs has only been a real pilot for a year now, but between patches from his USAFA days, UPT, IFF, and now his squadron here at Tyndall we have a pretty good chunk of them that had previously been collecting dust in the closet and moving from one place to another with us. I had seen some other crafty ladies make patch boards before and wanted to jump on the train as well. It's such a neat way to display their journey though the AF as each patch represents another stepping stone in their career.

The entire project took me about an hour (could have been less probably if I wasn't having to waddle around and maneuver around what seems to be a whale of a belly these days) and cost under $15. I purchased an old cork board from a garage sale here on base for about $.50, got one yard of felt chevron print fabric from Joann's with a 40% coupon at $4.99, and then the adhesive spray glue for $6.99 as Joann's as well (probably could have been bought cheaper at Wal-Mart). If you shop at Joann's often, like I do, be sure and download their smart phone app. They ALWAYS have a 40%-50% off coupon for a regular priced item and sometimes if you're lucky a 20% coupon for your entire purchase. It's awesome and very handy!

I totally forgot to take photos as I was making the board but here is a link to the exact instructions that I used from a fellow blogger over at Buggy and Buddy. I followed these to a "T" and thought they were pretty straight forward. I did use a box cutter, since I didn't have an X-Acto knife, and that worked perfect to cut the fabric around the edges to fit inside the frame.

Here is my finished project...

In other news we are moving right along here with Baby C's arrival swiftly approaching! Today marked exactly one month until her planned arrival, but goodness knows she could really make her debut anytime now! Hopefully she decides she wants to cook a little longer, but we will see! I've been blessed with a very easy third trimester so far. Don't get me wrong, I've still got all the aches and pains and at the moment a pulled muscle in my back that makes moving not so fun, but I think I can honestly say that it's been way better than the first half of the pregnancy (knock on wood). I'll get back to you though in a few weeks as April 4th draws nearer and see if I'm still as optimistic ;) 

I've been keeping VERY busy with finishing up projects I've had planned to get done before C was born for months now. I'm proud to say I've completed every single DIY project that I had planned from the beginning of my pregnancy, and others, such as this patch board, that I had simply been procrastinating on for months if not years. I will do a post soon with the DIY projects I've done for her nursery and planning for her arrival with links for those of you that may be interested in doing them yourselves! It's been a total blast preparing for our first little one's arrival and we simply can't wait to meet her!

35 weeks and counting!

Love,

The Etheridges