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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... :)