Necessity is the mother of a trip to the fabric store and a one-hour sewing project. {btw: 1 hour sewing project + a newborn = 3 day sewing project} I needed a canopy for these occasions: Baby was 2 weeks old but I had to get out of the house – this helped me feel a little better about having a barrier between him and the world of germs It’s raining It’s chilly and a blanket or other traditional canopy would have blown off in the wind He’s asleep when we enter a restaurant and I want him to get [...]

Just when I thought this little newborn had slapped the chic outta me {a swing here, a bouncy seat there…} I’m reclaiming my territory from all things pastel! Okay, not really much you can do about all the baby junk, but here’s how I’m keeping it in check: Luckily I remembered this cute “grass” drying rack from Making it Lovely. I got it at Target – and a hint in case you want to get it, it’s actually hidden in the baby aisles by the bottles instead of with the other drying racks. Go figure. We needed access to the [...]

Owen Nathan Hall born on 4/09/10. 8 lbs. 8oz. 21 1/4″ long In the words of the doctor: “big head” In the words of the nurses: “good pooper” … more to come, mom is sleepy…

I couldn’t stomach writing any posts here until I had some news… I have been QUITE distracted with a loooong week of failed expectations and emotions. HELLO! My poor husband has seen enough tears to store for emergency preparedness and has said all the right things and hopefully found an outlet of his own seeing as I was no comfort to him. Oopsie! But a light peers at the end of the tunnel. Just as I suspected, my cervix wanted me to make it to my 44 week post and a little scientific intervention is needed. I’ll be induced tomorrow and [...]

He may not have a name yet, and he may not actually be spending any time in this room for months, but, well, it’s all ready! So much of this room was a collaboration of friends and family, and over 90% of it is used or handmade. I don’t know if there has ever been a smaller bedroom recorded to date, but this would give it a run for its money. wall stencil – HANDMADE – by me, tutorial here changing table – USED – from Craigslist chalkboard – VINTAGE – from the Alameda Flea Market elephant – NEW – [...]

This is the rocker my mom used with all of her seven children; it is over 40 years old. She offered it to me and my husband when we found out we were pregnant {although me and several siblings have been diligently hinting at it for years}. I scored at Joann Fabrics to recover it for $3/yard. My mom recovered the cushions complete with zippers and her custom piping {she’s “passionate about piping!”} and she added some scrap batting to make them more durable. My hubby sanded and stained it with gel stain, sealed it with varnish, and now it’s [...]

We’re knocking them off the list one by one… while I was finishing up the quilt, my mom was sewing the bumpers for me. That proved to be trickier than I would have imagined, but thanks to my mom, they are perfect! The fabric is Medallion in Teal {part of the French Riviera collection by Patricia Bravo}. My mom made the piping in a brown polka dot, and ribbon ties. Last step is the rocking chair reno project, and then this baby is ready to join us in style!

My holiday break was not without projects… Here is the finished crib quilt for the little boy… so cozy! I used scrap fabric from the bumpers {coming soon}, 7 different fat quarters, and Moda’s sock monkey flannel for the backing.

Thank you SUSAN! I love that you took the time to match the nursery… these look ADORABLE. {more pics to come}. For those of you who don’t know Susan, lemme tell you a little bit about her: She leaves the sweetest comments on my blog, always a joy to read Look at this gift – even though we’ve never met, she’s captured my style perfectly. She is genuine and supportive. She supports handmade, and if I ran a marathon, I’d bring her along to keep me going. Check out her blog, Whatsoever Things are Beautiful to learn more about the [...]

We got some new sheets {Yay!} and I always have to cut and sew the enormous king size pillowcases to make them standard size. This leaves you with two pieces of fabric this size: I used one to make a little basket liner for the nursery, with non-matching ribbon scraps to tie it on. In a perfect world I wanted to make little white terrycloth liners, but when free fabric and ribbon is just sitting around, I’d rather use it. {You can get crazy holding on to scraps of fabric. I usually try to think of a use for the [...]

Inspired by some vintage school posters at the flea market, I made these posters for our nursery. {download this 11″x14″ poster PDF here} {download this 11″x14″ poster PDF here}

… An adorable handmade quilt from Natalie Jost. She made the quilt with her adorable Constellation fabric that she designed. And a keen eye I must say, having kept with our nursery theme: grey and yellow. Although I’ve never met Natalie, this is what I know about her: 1. Talk about “irons in the fire”… these are a few things that Natalie does {and these are just the ones I know about} 2. As you can see, she is a BRILLIANTLY creative designer. I love everything I’ve seen of hers. 3. She has integrity – it emanates in everything she [...]

How have I never heard of this stuff? I wanted to find some laminated cotton to make baby bibs, with little luck. My brother found this iron on vinyl and made bibs for me out of fabric scraps. MUCH cheaper {and cuter}! Thanks Lane!

I wanted to do some geometric shapes on the wall in the baby room, so I created a stencil. Start to finish on this project is about 1-2 hours. Pick your shape You can trace fabric, freehand, or create your own shape. I used one of Tristan’s Photoshop brushes. Trace your shape Trace your shape onto the stencil surface. I used leftover shelf-liner {contact paper}. It has a sheen on it, which means it won’t get soggy or ruined like paper would. You can also use posterboard to create the stencil. Cut out your stencil I added thickness to my [...]

Measure the length for the crib skirt I have the mattress at the highest setting for a newborn, but you should make the crib skirt to hit about an inch off the ground from the lowest mattress setting. Mine was about 12 or 13″ long. Cut out your 3 pieces {front and two sides, no need to do the back}, using the height you just measured and the width of the crib. I added extra fabric so I could do a pleat in the middle. Cut out your crib skirt panel This is the piece that tucks under the mattress. [...]