happy holidays

This December has been one of the busiest months on record for me. I am happy to be on vacation for a week and have some time with my little ones. I am working on addressing my Christmas cards, yes, after Christmas. Hopefully people will still be happy to receive them this week. My biggest New Year's resolution is to SLOW DOWN. I need to start savoring the small moments in my days. They are flying by way to quickly.

Today I made these adorable gift bag ornaments for a friend who is participating in a New Year's ornament swap. A friend of hers loves gift bags so she commissioned me to make these ornaments. It was so fun to work in miniature. What are you all working on now?

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to the New Year!

recycled seatbelt bag

{Harvey's recycled seatbelt purse}

How cool is this?

quite a month

can't believe it is already December 1st. Where did November go? I've been away from this space due to a car accident (everyone is fine, our car — not so much), a really bad cold that lingered with both kids, hives and a stomach flu that hit my oldest, and crazy busy, long days and some nights at work.

Usually at this time of year it takes me a while to get into the lights and holiday music but for some reason, I'm really enjoying all of the early Christmas spirit. Watching my three year old get really excited about everything has been a joy.

I have to say happy half-year birthday to my little sweetheart. I can't believe you've already been here for six months. It seems like you arrived just yesterday and yet in some ways I feel I've known you forever. You are the sweetest, happiest, smiliest, silliest baby and I'm so thankful to be your mom!

By the way, don't you love the drop cap? It's from Jessica Hische's Daily Drop Cap. She has designed gorgeous drop caps for every letter of the alphabet and made them available to bloggers. What a great idea!

new look

I've just finished working with Alexis at My Mama Made It on a new logo and look for her website. She is an amazingly creative seamstress who finds endless ways to dress up already owned clothes. Her tutorials are fantastic and easy to follow and her creations are gorgeous.

I'm really happy with the way her logo turned out. The script font coupled with the flow of the thread through the needle and the vintage pattern really speak to her style.

In celebration of her new look, I am offering 15% off anything in my shop as well as custom design orders. Just let me know you are follower of Alexis' blog and my blog and either convo me with the code LEX or send an email for a custom design quote with LEX in the subject line.

Head over to her site and check out her beautiful designs!

You may have noticed that the look of my blog has changed too. It was my birthday over the weekend and I decided a new year needed a new look. Hope you like it!

floating on air

{All photos by Mollie Greene}

I just discovered Mollie Greene and Royal Buffet through her Etsy shop. Her mobiles and penants are whimsical delights. Check out her blog which is equally fantastic.

Things have been busy here. I'm working on holiday photo cards and fun holiday aprons. I hope to update my shop in the next week.

In other news, we were blessed yesterday with the arrival of my brother and sister-in-law's second child. Welcome to the world sweet little girl!

Happy weekend!

halloween bag tutorial

I wanted to share this tutorial for making a halloween candy bag for a toddler. My daughter is dressing up as a princess so I made a princess bag but it could be adapted to any costume. It only takes 20-30 minutes to make.

1. Start with 3 pieces of pre-cut felt

2. Cut out a shape that represents something from the costume (i.e., a crown)

3. Cut out any accent shapes

4. Sew accent shapes onto the main shape using a small, straight stitch

5. Pin and sew larger shape onto one piece of the larger felt using a small, straight stitch

6. Cut two strips out of the felt you used to make your shape

7. Pin and sew one strip to each of the two larger felt pieces for handles. I used a small, straight stitch and sewed in a square

8. Pin both larger pieces together with the handles facing in and the shape facing out. Sew along the edge leaving a 1/4" seam allowance using a large zigzag stitch

Now your toddler will have a candy bag they can easily handle and that doesn't fit too much candy.

Here is the chocolate chip cookie purse that I made for my friend's daughter. She is going to be Cookie Monster for Halloween but decided she needed a purse to go with her costume. It was so fun to make. I used light and dark brown felt and lined it with scraps I had of an Amy Butler fabric. A must-have Halloween accessory!

cozy

It's a gray day here so I did a little search for things with the word cozy. Cuddle up...

1. Padded iPhone case: YK Bags

2. Key cozies: Betty Sonics

3. Raincloud scarflette: All in Stitches

4. Baby pod: Pea in a Pod

5. Tissue holder: Hana Purse

6. Cross strap baby booties: Nahvrianna

back on the wagon

So I missed a few days, six to be exact, of blogtoberfest. Oops. A perfect storm of crazy deadlines at work and a teething baby drove me to it. But I'm back. Maybe I'll make up for it by going into November with a daily post. We'll see.

I discovered the HOW Magazine design blog which provided some needed inspiration:

{Calligraphy by Lisa Ridgely}

Check out Pen and Ink Journal featuring the amazing calligraphy of Maryland artist Lisa Ridgely. She even hand writes her blog entries.

I'm really enjoying Poppy Talk, a blog featuring emerging designers.

{Fabric by Repeat Studio}

Through Poppy Talk I found Repeat Studio and their amazing fabric.

{Gift tag by The Petite Press}

And The Petite Press filled with beautiful paper products.

I'm working on a tutorial for cute halloween candy bags and making a cookie purse for my friend's daughter. She is going to be Cookie Monster for Halloween and really wants a purse to go with her costume. Too cute!

we have a winner

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway. The winner is #4: Allyson Adeney! She will receive a custom birthday invitation. Stay tuned for more blogtoberfest giveaways.

i'd like to introduce you...

{Blue Lotus Water by Renée de Montaigne}

{Tuscan Sky by Renée de Montaigne}

{Remains by Renée de Montaigne}

to my friend Renée. She is an amazing graphic designer and artist. Check her out here.

just a quick post

I'm loving these signs from Funkifolkart. They make me wish I could get married all over again.

My giveaway is still open until Wednesday, 10/14 at midnight eastern time. Thanks to everyone who has already participated. And thank you for all the lovely thoughts about my shop. I will be steadily adding more items so please check back regularly.

Happy Tuesday.

giveaway!

I'm putting the finishing touches on my shop and will be open for business later today! In celebration I am offering a giveaway of a custom designed holiday photo card, invitation, or baby announcement. Just leave a comment on this post telling me which type you would be interested in by Wednesday, October 14 and I will pick one winner at random.

a perfect day

I have been so busy since returning to work that I have missed the long days of summer where I spent lots of time with my children and took on a million projects. Today was a reminder of those blissful days. I started the morning by making a knotted cap for my 3 year old (and one for her doll) out of red jersey knit fabric. I whipped it up in about 30 minutes. A perfect project for a Saturday morning.

After flu shots, a family trip to target (where I spent way too much), and a quick swing by JoAnn's Fabric, my daughter and I made chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting. Yum. I've already had two and I'm thinking about having another...

happy friday!

{photo by Kirin Notebook}

Go on over to Kirin Notebook and check out the tutorial for making these amazing hidden zipper pillows. While you are there, check out Ink & Spindle, an Australian boutique yardage screen printing studio where Lara of Kirin Notebook is a co-owner. The fabrics are gorgeous.

In other news, I am on track for opening my shop on Monday. I will be posting a giveaway and a discount code on Monday at 10 a.m. (est). Make sure to check back then.

orange crush

1. Pumpkin collection clippies by Monkey Mae

2. Birdie sling bag by Joom

3. Cotton jersey scarf by Pretty Penny

4. Curly cowl by Ayca Hoser

5. Baby sling by Worthy Baby

6. Felted wool bowl by The Fuzzy Monkey

free patterns!

Thanks to Marta of Marta Writes for introducing me to this amazing site, patternwall.com. You can download any of their patterns for FREE!!! Just think of the possibilities.

dead letter design office

{Book covers by K. Glyder}

What a brilliant idea, K. Glyder of Shelved Books showcases her book cover designs, both the ones that made it to print and the options that were not selected. It is so nice to see her creative process and to hear about how decisions were made. It makes me want to dig out designs that I loved but clients didn't choose...

shop update

I am finally getting my Etsy shop up and running. It will be open for business one week from today, Monday, October 12th. The shop will feature baby announcements, party invitations, wedding invitations, holiday photo cards, logo and banner/avatar design. I will also have a few handmade sewing projects and custom car seat covers available for order.

To celebrate the opening I will be having some discounts for blog readers and giveaways so be sure to check back in the coming days!

blogtoberfest

I just joined blogtoberfest and committed to posting every day in October. Yikes!

Now that I am back to work with two little ones at home, life has been a little crazy. I wish I could stay home but it just isn't an option right now. Between pumping and all the logistics for getting ready every day, my head is spinning.

Last Tuesday we got the girls together and rushed to my parent's house (my parents and in-laws generously split child care for us — we are so blessed). When we got there I realized we had forgotten our diapers. We use cloth so it wasn't as simple as having extra pampers at Grandma's. After a quick and frantic discussion over who could meet who where with the diapers, it was decided my husband could meet them at library school and drop them off. With the girls all set my husband rushed to drop me at the train and head back home to get ready for work. I finally got on the train, about 20 minutes late and tried to relax. I bent down to get my book out of my laptop bag and realized I didn't have my laptop bag. It was in the back seat of our car that was on it's way home! My wonderful husband turned around after my desperate phone call and met me at the station. The crazy thing is that I remembered to bring ice cream and all the toppings that were left over from our sundae party for my colleagues but totally forgot my laptop. Needless to say, I ended up getting to work 45 minutes late and feeling like I had already worked an entire day.

Remind me to tell you about Wednesday, when I forgot my pumping bottles and pumped into a styrofoam cup instead! The adventure continues...

ice cream social

Two weeks ago we hosted a party after my daughter's baptism. As I mentioned, we had a good old fashioned ice cream social. It was a huge hit. It was so fun to see all of my relatives making delicious sundaes. We ended up going with Brigham's and they did an amazing job. We had six flavors of ice cream, hot fudge, butterscotch, strawberry sauce, oreos, reese's, m+m's, heath bar, jimmies, walnuts, whipped cream and cherries. All for a little over $200 for 5o people. Not a bad deal at all.

I made tissue paper poms and little tent card labels for all of the fixings. We were lucky to have an absolutely gorgeous day. In all honesty, as a full-time working mom of two I probably took on a bit too much by inviting so many people. I was down to the wire and quite stressed but in the end I truly enjoyed visiting with everyone. What a joyous occasion!

custom infant car seat covers

{old car seat}

{new car seat}

When we had our daughter three years ago, we bought a neutral car seat because we didn't know what we were having. When our second daughter arrived in June, I decided to breathe new life into the seat and recover it. I really love how unique and colorful it is.

I am now taking custom orders for car seat covers. For now I can only do Graco Snugride covers but if you have a different seat, drop me an email and I can work with you. You can choose the fabric or I can recommend some choices. I will be posting the details in my Etsy shop this weekend.

a beautiful face

I'm always on the lookout for interesting typefaces, especially beautiful script fonts. Nelly by Crystal Kluge {found via paper crave} is a gorgeous font with amazing flourishes. It almost looks hand written. Perfect for wedding invitations.

design your own fabric

{print by Liz Scott, Wonderfluff}

I'm sure I'm way behind here, but thanks to Karen of Blueberry Park I found out about Liz Scott's amazing prints at Wonderfluff which led me to the amazing Spoonflower. What? You can print your own fabric by the yard, what?!? Like I said, I'm sure I'm the last one to know, but I can't wait to hop on Adobe Illustrator and come up with some patterns.

new finds

{Boston by Matte Stephens}

{Over the rough spots by Kat Hannah}

Two new favorite artists, Matte Stephens and Kat Hannah. Check them out...

ice cream sundae party

We're having a baptism for my daughter in a few weeks and we wanted to invite our whole family which works out to about eighty-two people. I was stressing over how to feed that many people on a budget and came up with the idea of a make your own sundae party. Fun, right? Well wouldn't you know it that once you start thinking about something, the universe serves it up to you. I was just beginning to plan the party when I came across this adorable design for a sundae party at Eat, Drink, Chic (via Truly Smitten). So cute! She has downloadable templates for all the little tags and signs. I hope mine will be half as delightful.

so cute

I am in love with this dress from Ursula at Modaspia's etsy shop (blog). She "creates clothes for women and children that are pretty and a little whimsical". I am dreaming of owning this lightweight, unique, summery dress...

shop update

I have been busy here working on birth announcements, children's birthday party invitations, and baptism invitations that I will be posting in my Etsy shop starting October 1st. I will update the information for each child, add a picture if that is part of the design, and then e-mail it. The recipient can then bring it to any copy place or send it to Snapfish or kodak.com to have prints made. I also offer custom invitation/announcement design. Later this fall, I will have a line of wedding invitations as well.

Other than that, just trying to keep cool as summer has finally arrived with a bang here in the Northeast!

birthday girl

The birthday girl looked adorable in the Sweet Dress. It was so easy to make. It took about four hours total to make both a 3T and a 3-6 month old dress. My daughter thought it was fantastic that she and her sister were dressed alike. We'll see how long that lasts! Now onto recovering an infant car seat...

don't you just love when fabric comes in the mail?

I was so excited to receive this package of Amy Butler fabric in the mail (yes, I know I'm really into her fabrics lately). I am making matching dresses for my daughters. My oldest will be three tomorrow and I am making the dresses for them to wear at her birthday party on Saturday. I'm using this sweet pattern from Leila and Ben. I will post pics when I am finished.

a beautiful day

I hosted a gathering today at our house and tried out a delicious recipe from Real Simple magazine. Talk about real simple, I made ice cream sandwiches with Italian cookies and strawberry ice cream. They were the perfect finish to a delicious summer meal of tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwiches with pesto on ciabatta bread. Yum. 

After months of work on the house, I was happy to finally have some people see it in the almost finished state. We replaced shingles, painted the house, and added finishing touches like new house numbers and flowers.