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 :)