Better Late than Never!

I had intended to write this post a week ago, but I'm sure you'll be able to forgive me for slipping as my hands are completely full with two adorable little children!

That's right, our little girl finally entered the world a mere two days before her due date. Momma was more than ready for her to be in the outside world!

The above two pictures basically sum up my whole world right now. Rohan Alistair became a big brother on September 6, 2012 at 8:38 in the morning. His little sister, Bronwyn Helen, checked in at 8lbs 6oz and 19inches long (though her pediatrician says she was actually born 20" long after measuring her four times when she was 5 days old).  

Being a first time mother is hard. I thought there would be nothing harder than navigating that world. Well two is a totally different story! It's incredibly difficult caring for a brand new bundle of joy and a young toddler, but they are more than worth the work. I am a lot calmer this time around, and am really taking the time to enjoy every second with her, instead of spending most of my time worrying as I did with my son (though I still find plenty to worry about!). Our family is now complete and I couldn't be happier.

If you don't hear from me for another two weeks I am sure you can guess why, but I will do my best to keep up with the regular posting!

The Lila Wedding Invitation Set

 The Lila Wedding Invitation Set

I'm so excited about the newest addition to my wedding invitation collection. My invitations are all floral in nature and this was the first time I really played up the type instead of a floral element.

It's a little hard to see the fun type in this first picture so here are a few more:

As you can see I didn't completely abandon the floral elements. This is the most downplayed I've ever gone with them though, and I am quite happy with the finished result!

What do you think!?

Norman

So I have definitely mentioned my love of these dragons toys at least a half dozen times. I just can't help it. They are so fun, soft, cute, and cuddly!

I just had to take a second and give Mr. Norman a shout out however because this is the first time I had anything to do with the making of a dragon.

First a picture of the fine fellow:

Norman - A Baby Friendly Stuffed Dragon

The first thing I should mention, and you can be thankful for this, is that I did not sew any part of Norman. My sewing machine skills are zilch so this really is for the best. I helped select the felt wing color and spike fabric for Norman after picking out a combination of patchwork squares I thought looked nice together. After that, Miss Pine Hill Forest set to work piecing together Norman.

What do you think!?

I am so in love with the colors, the patchwork of the flannel pieces, etc. Maybe I'm just biased because I picked it all out, but he truly is one of my favorite dragons she has ever made! I would snatch him up for my little Year of the Dragon baby (due in two weeks!) but I think I will hold out for something a little bit girlier for my bundle of pink on the way.  :)

And now I will leave you with a few more Norman pictures:

The Sweetest Day

The Sweetest Day

Did you know that yesterday was my birthday?
I love having an August birthday and am crossing every finger and toe that our little lady will be born before the month is up.

I thought it would be fun to do a little birthday themed treasury on my birthday, but I didn't want it to be too birthday-ish. I love the way it turned out! And I so wish I could wear a scarf in my hair and look as good as Thrush makes it look!

My birthday was a day of thunder storms, doctor appointments, and a dinner in the city with a super cranky kid (until the chocolate was brought out). But life is good and I've no complaints!

Tweet Tweet

I have had this retro looking bird drawn up for a while with no real idea what I was going to do with him. In an effort to tie up any loose projects before our second child arrives I ran into this little bird again and immediately knew what I wanted to use him for: 

Birth Print!

Birth Prints are some of my favorite things to design and work on for customers. I love seeing the color combinations and names that others use, and am often so inspired by what they ask me to do.

Here is my little bird letting everyone know the details of a little person:

Custom Retro Bird Birth Print

As usual I showed how it looks in a girl and boy color scheme. Usually I like one color scheme more than the other and will make that the main photo in my etsy shop. It was really quite difficult for me to choose this time because I love them both so much! In the end I went with the girl print, but I think after a few months I'll swap it out for the boy print so I can enjoy seeing each one.

What do you think!?

Nursery Update

We are finally finished with setting up the nursery! Good thing too because with one month left I was starting to think it might never get done.

So the first thing that you may notice is there is no crib in this "finished" nursery. Our little girl definitely has a crib, it's just set up in our room. We have our kids stay in our room about 6months and I didn't feel like setting it up and taking it apart a million times, so it's currently in our room. But you can see where it will go based on the mobile hanging from the ceiling :)

View of the nursery from the door

It looks a tad bare without the crib, but here is the nursery none the less! I am in love with the room. We left the walls a cream color because I wanted a neutral background for all the colorful handmade accents that I knew we would be putting in the room. 

This room truly is a testament to how much I love handmade:

*funny note about the curtains... I ordered this fabric with the idea of making chevron curtains, but when it arrived I realized that the chevrons were going the wrong way. Zig Zag curtains it is!

Handmade Elephant Mobile 

Handmade Dresser Runner

Pattern from All Sewn Up - Chloe Owens

Close up of above runner. Do you not love the tiny bird details!?

Handmade Embroidery Hoop Art

1. Flowers on Patchwork Fabric -- We came up with it on our own!

2. Tutorial for the Wool Felt House

3. Inspiration for the Group of Houses

She has a total of 5 handmade crochet blankets to wrap up in when she arrives. There are more watercolor paintings near the entrance to her room, and once she arrives there will be a large bunting banner made that has her name on it (we do not name our children until we meet them, hence why it is not done yet). The ruffled crib skirt on her crib was hand sewn, and there are two handmade pillows which currently sit in the rocking chair in her room.

I meant it when I said this room really is a testament to handmade!

Now all we need is her to come on out and enjoy the room :)

Custom Zodiac Prints!

Leo The Lion Custom Zodiac Print

I have finally gotten around to finishing a new line of prints that I have wanted to do for ages. I have really enjoyed doing custom birth prints for customers ever since I started offering them and felt like there should be a way to combine the custom birth print with astrological signs. The issue for me was that I typically just do animals and some of the signs require people. Then I decided that should not stop me from doing them, so I got to work and here is what I came up with:

As you can see Sagittarius and Virgo come in both a boy and girl option, which only seemed fair. You can check out each print individually here. I am so so so so happy with the way they turned out! I hope you are too :)

Let's Get Crafty

I've been getting back in the habit of making treasuries again over at Etsy, and it's been so much fun! I used to love putting together lists of consisting of things I loved, themes, the weather, etc. Once my little boy was born free time was so limited that I quit making lists for the most part. Out of the five or so I've made over the last few days this is one of my very favorite:

Let's Get Crafty!

It really does make me want to get crafty!

I absolutely adore every item in this list, but if I had to pick a top five these would be the winners:

1. Vintage Scissors from HillTopCottage - It would be fun to use these scissors and imagine all the projects they've been a part of through the years. I also just love the piece of linen that the scissors were photographed on top of! Soooo pretty.

2. Felt Flower Pincushion from MartyMakes - The colors in this pincushion are so light and fresh. I would definitely enjoy plucking pins from this little beauty. If only I sewed!

3. Thimble Necklace from mylavalier - I just love the alternate use of a thimble by making it into a piece of jewelry. I would happily wear this necklace everywhere!

4. Sacha Butterfly Zipper Pouch from PineHillForest - I seriously use at least half a dozen of these little pouches and the different patterns and prints always add a smile to my day. I especially like to use them for keeping my knitting notions in one place, sets of double pointed needles all together, crochet hooks together, and small diaper bag items all stored in one easy to get to place. (I know the last thing isn't 'crafty' but it sure helps to know right where a pacifier is in a pinch!)

5. Vintage French Lace from voladoravintage - Beautiful lace ribbons are such a wonderful touch to so many projects. I love looking all the different options out there and dreaming up possibilities for which they could be used!

To take a look at any of the other items in my treasury list just click on the "Let's Get Crafty!" link to go directly to etsy! Enjoy!

Sneak Peak

Because our little bundle of joy is due to arrive at the beginning of September I have been busy trying to get everything prepped for holiday season in my etsy shops. This meant designing, printing, and photographing any calendars I wanted to offer up for 2013.

Last year I went all out and designed five different calendars to choose from. I received a lot of positive feedback from the different options and decided that this year would be no different. I offer the calendars in two sizes "long and skinny" and "short and fat"  :) Collections range from all flowers, all animals, and mixes of animals/flowers/cameras/bikes.

Every year I keep one of the test calendars for myself, and this year I chose the all floral calendar (the "short and fat" calendar with the pretty purple flowers in the lower right hand corner in the picture above). However this was not my favorite calendar. My favorite calendar was already claimed by a family member who always enjoys picking out one of the test calendars to use in her craft room each year. My personal favorite calendar this year is a "long and skinny" calendar with a mix of prints:

You can find this calendar and more listed in my shop around the beginning of September! There will be one small change to the five calendars pictured at the top, but I'll leave that surprise for when I list them :)

On My Wish List. . .

My wish lists these days still focus primarily on things I would love for my son and my baby daughter who is still cooking away (presumably for another 8.5weeks).

Here is a look at some of my top wishes:

1. Organic Baby Blanket with Bright Elephants - This blanket from Little Hip Squeeks looks so soft, and cheerful. And I do believe it would be the perfect size to wrap up one little lady who is on the way!


2. Bow Headband - I love all of the different head band creations over at Lou & Lee. The shop is currently closed right now, but should be opening back up real soon. As soon as it does I'll be placing an order for a few headbands for my little lady.


3. Elephant Clock - I think I might have a thing for elephants right now (little lady's mobile and humidifier are both elephants along with the two items on my current wish list)! I don't know if my little lady really needs a clock in her nursery but if I decide that she does this Elephant Clock from decoylab is most definitely the clock that will be in there.


4. Large Whimsical Floor Cushion - This pig pouffe from BigBirdsBoutique has been on my wish list for quite some time now. I love the patterns and colors, not to mention I just think it would be really nice to have to prop up against when I'm playing on the floor with my son. I would just have to figure out a way to convince the two pups that it wasn't a super fancy dog bed for them... :)

Full Collection

For my wedding collections I offer a fixed price for two pieces - the invitation itself and coordinating RSVP (each with matching kraft envelopes). But I can also add on a multitude of extra pieces should the couple need them. The problem was showing all the extra pieces so that customers could get a sense of what is available.

Here is something I've come up with to show off the extra pieces

(bear with me because the size is restricted on here!)

Caroline Collection:

 Samantha Collection:

What do you think?
Along with each digital picture is the size of the cards used for the proofs. My hope is to do this with every wedding collection in the shop.

Pins!

Little Bird Pins By Pine Hill Forest

I am so in love with these little bird pins made by Pine Hill Forest. For a long while now I've had a teal little bunny brooch attached to my very favorite yellow purse. But now I'm thinking a little bird pin might be a fun summer update to my bag. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think I like the light blue bird pin with blue flowers and pink beads the best. It's so bright and cheery.

You can find these pins and more, here.

The Elise Collection

The Elise Collection Wedding Invitation Set

I'm so excited about the newest addition to my wedding invitation collection. I have wanted to do a mason jar and flower illustration for some time now but wasn't sure how to go about it. I must admit the jar had me a bit tricked up!

However I think the final result is quite nice! I'm so happy to have it up completed and up in the shop.

In the works are some cherry blossom invitations and possibly some hydrangea invitations.

I'm also working on my 2013 line of calendars. It might seem a bit early for these, but I want to have them all finished and ready for listing a.s.a.p. I normally list my calendars in September, which is exactly when little lady is due to enter the world! So I think having a good head start on them will make the month of September a bit easier for me.  :) More on those in a little bit!

Little Lady Update

With my third trimester practically here I realized I need to get my butt in gear and tie up a few loose ends.   The major things are in place, bottles, a place to sleep, etc. but she still has no nursery (still a guest room!) and she didn't have her coming home outfit!

That last thing might not seem like a really big deal, but little lady is our final baby and I want her to have a special outfit just like her older brother had. Anytime we are among baby clothes I have looked for that special something but nothing seemed like a perfect fit. With her being born at the end of August/beginning of September I needed an outfit that would be cool and comfy for the ride home, but still keep her delicate skin covered and protected from the car seat straps.

And then I found it:

Picot Trimmed One Piece - Baby Gap

4-Pack Floral and Polka Dot Receiving Blankets - Carter's (I actually purchased my set from 
babies r us but couldn't find them on their website)




This little outfit meets every requirement I was looking for:
1) It's cute. I love the yellow and little ducks and sheep mixed in with the flowers and trees. So many newborn outfits are light blue or light pink. I like that this is girly without being all pink.
2) It's a light weight cotton so cool enough for late summer when it will likely still be very out hot.
3) Short sleeves! Most one piece sleepers are long sleeved which I thought might be too warm for her especially on her car ride home. These puff sleeves are super girly and cute, but will still protect her delicate skin from the carseat straps.




I also happen to think the outfit looks quite nice paired with the 4pack of receiving blankets we picked out for little lady (especially the green floral on the bottom). Our hospital does really nice photos of your baby while you're there and we weren't prepared with anything other than a white hospital onesie when our son was born. Thankfully after a bit of digging I found one of his woodland themed receiving blankets which was the perfect backdrop for pictures in a little white onesie. 


This time I am coming prepared with matching outfit and onesie for her hospital shots! 

Nursery Update - The Crib

 I have finally finished getting everything ready for little lady's crib!


Her crib is actually her big brother's crib handed down. He ended up getting a brand new crib because it converts into a toddler bed (which came with the rail, woo!) which he is going to need at some point in the future before little lady. Plus I always thought this crib was a bit on the girly side and think it looks much better set up for her.

The crib sheet is Lullaby Breeze by Jill McDonald. I found it at Babies R Us and knew it would be a perfect fit! I also found a second sheet at Land of Nod on clearance. It's called Wooden Shoes crib bedding and I picked up the Wooden Shoes fitted sheet (which is actually tulips and not shoes). 

Then I enlisted Pine Hill Forest in the crafting of an owl pillow. For now it sits in little lady's crib, but eventually it will go in her rocking chair. We used a pattern from the book All Sewn Up by Chloe Owens. This book has a million great patterns by the way! I'll be doing some tea towels on my next trip home :)

We picked fabric which has already been used in other projects in little lady's room and I think it is a perfect fit.

Last but not least was making a custom crib skirt for little lady's crib. I knew I wanted a ruffly girly crib skirt but was not finding the colors and patterns that I was envisioning. So I hauled out our sons old crib skirt and once again asked Miss Pine Hill Forest if she would be willing to take on the task of sewing a custom ruffled crib skirt. We used this Ruffled Crib Skirt Tutorial from Positively Splendid to give us an idea of how one might go about constructing a ruffle crib skirt, and then set out on our own. We picked up about a yard and a half of each of the three fabrics and then attached each ruffle layer to my son's skirting. To save a bit of money we only ruffled the sides and front as you never see the back of the crib anyway. For less than $30.00 I think it came out fantastic!

For now little lady's crib sits in our room, but when the day comes to move her down to her own room she is going to be in the sweetest little nursery fit for a princess!

Sneak Peak

As I have mentioned before, I do the majority of the photography for Pine Hill Forest over on Etsy. Because I have a little one arriving this fall we are trying to get a head start on some holiday projects so that there isn't a ton to do with a brand new baby who will need lots of my attention. :)


Above is a sneak peak at said projects to be listed at the beginning of the fall. Do you have any idea what they are?


They are close-up shots of a new line of ornaments!
Every year there are beautiful one of a kind ornaments over at Pine Hill Forest, but this year she had introduced something new. The dresses are all made from vintage hankies. Not only that, but she hand embroiders beautiful floral and bead details onto the dresses!


I am beyond excited about these little creations, and will definitely be picking one out for our little girl on the way!




Here is a little peak at one of the ornaments in its entirty:

Just gorgeous, right?! Look for these ornaments and more in a few months!

On My Wish List...

I am forever finding things on Etsy that I would just love to have for myself! The list expands almost daily! Here are few of those finds which I would like for our baby girl on the way:

1. Ruffle Butt Diaper Cover -  I'm not sure that there are too many things cuter than a little baby girl with a ruffly butt. Especially in these beautiful colors!


2. Yellow Ruffly Onesie - And of course she would need the matching onesie to go with her ruffly butt diaper cover. Yellow and Green are my two favorite colors so this is  right up my alley.


3. Ceramic Pig Planter - There are plants in almost every room of our house. This fun planter would be absolutely perfect in little lady's nursery. All that is left is picking out a perfect plan to put in it!


4.  You Are My Sunshine Print -  My little boy has a toy that plays this song over and over and it has been one of his favorite toys since he was a little babe. Every time I hear this song it makes me smile, and this print is a beautiful way to include it in our little lady's room!

Finished!

I have finally finished my colorful Granny Stripes crochet blanket for baby girl's nursery!

I used this Granny Stripes pattern from Lucy over at Attic 24.

And then I edged the blanket with Lucy's bobble shell edging.

Here is a picture of most of the blanket. Blanket is being modeled on my son's crib. We don't have baby girl's nursery ready at all. It is actually still a guest bedroom. That will be changing soon however!

I used almost all Lion Brand yarns for this blanket. When making baby blankets I find it essential to use acrylic  yarn so that you can easily wash the blanket. Lion Brand Vanna's Choice and Vanna's Choice Baby are my personal favorites. Here is the full list:

Lion Brand Vanna's Choice:

Terracotta

Magenta

Cranberry

Colonial Blue

Scarlet

Fern

Mustard

Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Baby:

Aqua

Little Boy Blue

Pink Poodle

Lion Brand Jamie: 

(this yarn is a slightly lighter weight than the Vanna's Choice, but I thought it worked in just fine)

Lullaby Pink

Little Boy Blue

Powder Pink

Peachy

Loops&Threads Impeccable:

Aqua

Soft Fern (this is the edging color)

I only bought one skein of each color, and did not even use any of them up completely! Because of this I am now working on a scrappy zig zag blanket in the left over skeins of yarn. :)

Here is the blanket next to another project that has been completed for baby girl's rocking chair. Pine Hill Forest Embroidery Expert (who I refer to as mom) created this one of a kind pillow by free form embroidering the bird and flowers on the front. Then we added patch work squares around the embroider panel, and stripes of the same fabric for the back. I LOVE the way it came out. 

The fabric matches the one other project we've worked on so far:

Can you tell what this is? 
Baby Girl's handmade mobile! We went with an elephant and flower theme and I just love it. Her humidifier is in the shape of an elephant (daddy's choice) so we thought it would be fun to continue the elephant theme in her mobile.






More pictures once we have the nursery all set up!
There is a handmade crib skirt in the works, hand made curtains, one of a kind water color paintings which need framed and hung, and a couple embroidered hoops to hang along with the paintings.