Gifts for my Girl

Someone has a birthday coming soon.

And in honor of that little someone...

I have made a couple of heartfelt, handmade gifts.

(so glad I finished before the big day!)

The night before Aspen was born, I was up late.

I know, what's new? I'm always up late.

But, with good reason (usually).

That particular night, I was doing an experiment -

I wanted to find a way to make cute baby shoes, for her.

(and I did - remember?)

Well, to honor the year mark, I had to make her another pair.

They will go with her Birthday dress (it's super beautiful!)

Satin, pink, flowers...oh-so-girly.

Having a girl, in a way, brought out the girl in me.

(Can you believe I formerly hoped for only boys?)

When she was born, a new part of me was born.

(no...I still don't wear makeup more than 1/10 of the time...)

The sewing part of me was born. Who knew?

It's the part of me that wants to make beautiful things

especially for her.

Handmade dresses, shoes - and toys.

I actually got the pattern for this Happy Stacker a long time ago, even before I had a sewing machine. Now, I admit to being somewhat of a "rebel" when it comes to sewing (and a few other things) - for instance, I don't usually mark things, or pin things - I just kind of eye it and wing it - ie. the shoes. But for this project, I had to follow the pattern to the "T". It was tricky (think of making a donut and turning it inside out). But I did it. It was a labour of love, just for her. Thank you to Jacob for playing with the kids all of last Sunday afternoon so I could be sure and finish it in time for her birthday.

I've never considered myself super sentimental. As a minimalist, I don't usually hang on to a lot of sentimental "stuff" anyway. But I've found I want to hang on to more than I used to. I want to save just a little for her, of these special things I am making her - gifts from the heart.

There is no way she will appreciate these gifts now...but I hope that one day, she will look back and know that love comes in words, and deeds. And in her case, maybe, some loving stitches and sparkely new Birthday shoes.

I can't believe she's about to be one!

DIY Custom Beach Towels: $2.50

A couple of weeks ago I went to IKEA and found these super colorful towels for $2.50. I picked up a couple (and now wish I got all the colors...) because Sawyer and Aspen could surely use some beach towels this summer (whenever it decides to come, and stay, that is. The joke around here is that summer in Seattle officially begins July 5th).

I decided to use some leftover fabric and felt to customize their beach towels. Now Sawyer knows his is the one with the "S" and Aspen's has the "A". Since it was too cold to hang out at the beach this morning, we just put on our swimsuits, laid out the towels in the living room, and laid in the sunshine that came through the windows before the clouds blocked it out. It was fun!

Dear Summer:

You can come any time you'd like - but sooner than later, please! Our new beach towels are begging to hit the beach!

Bibs

I was looking through some old videos of Sawyer when he was about Aspen's age, and I realized suddenly that before we know it, she'll be tasting her first "solid" foods. Sawyer had his first taste at 4.5 months. He was just SO ready, big eyes on our food, grabbing for it, etc. I don't think Aspen will be having her first taste quite so soon (thank goodness, I'm not ready!) but I have been taking advantage of our un-summerly weather to get a few more projects done.

I saw some really cute bibs on Etsy (what can I say? I draw inspiration from Etsy!) And then I thought, "oh! I'll make her some bibs!" So, I had at it. And I made like, a dozen. I still have a few more to finish. Yikes. Bibs galore!

I think they turned out pretty cute. Cute bib on a cute baby = can't go wrong!

Shoe Crazy!

The night before Aspen was born, I stayed up until midnight conducting an experiment. You see, I had seen these astoundingly adorable shoes on an Etsy site (Gracious Mae - totally go check them out and buy some if you don't want to spend all the time experimenting like me!). I loved them all so much but couldn't decide which ones to get and couldn't afford to buy multiple pairs. So...I decided to try and make some myself. I found a free pattern online for baby booties which gave me a basic idea of how to compose a shoe. Then, I totally tweaked it and played around until I found something that seemed to work and that I liked. That night, though, I used scraps and only had enough for one shoe. Maybe it was then that Aspen thought "I better get on out into the world because my Momma is going CRAZY with all these crafts - I mean, who makes their own shoes?" So exactly 12 hours from the time I turned off the sewing machine and admired my work, she was born!

Obviously, I had to finish making a pair of shoes after she was born, since I only made one beforehand. For the first 7-8 weeks she was an all-night party animal. "The Nocturnal One." So, I made shoes (that's why I was excited about the late shift!)

And more shoes. I just finished these up last night. Don't worry - many of them are going to be shipped off as gifts. I know girls tend to have a fetish for shoes - but come on - no one needs this many! I'll have to admit the vintage black polka dots are my fave!! Now, I just have to find clothes to match her shoes :)

This is just funny. Sawyer kept admiring the shoes and kept stealing them off the table, where I was working, to try them on. He was utterly disappointed that they were too small. I only wish I had the camera on me when he was trying to squeeze his chubby toddler feet into these tiny dainty little shoes. So, to lift his spirits, I said "why don't we get out your flip flops?" He got them for Christmas and it's been too chilly to wear them (although I wear flip flops year round. I actually wore flip flops to the hospital when we went to have Aspen). I told him I didn't know how to make "boy shoes" or else I would make him some. I told him that boy shoes are more "cool" anyway. So he put these cute little flip flops on his cute little feet and walked around saying "cool." Um hmm!

Since Aspen will have her baby blessing at church this coming Sunday, I made her some blessing shoes. They will match the hand-me-down white cotton dress I fixed up with my own touch, and the matching headband that I made. It's not lacy and frilly or anything. Simple. Beautiful. That's more my style anyway. I can hardly wait to see how she looks all dressed up!

Okay, my random post is done. And I mean DONE. I am DONE with craft projects for a while. Probably most of the summer. I'd much rather be at the beach, anyway! Plus, I am going to start back at "work" next week, so all my free time will be for editing photos and ordering prints from my shoots. When the cool Autumn air hits again and we need to spend more time indoors - then I'll break out the sewing machine again and work on some holiday gifts. But until then - this is it!

PS: to my sisters, Rachel & Kaitlin, and my SIL, Erin -- expect some shoes and headbands in the mail next week sometime! Happy Un-birthday to Madison, Alyssa and Baby A, and Autumn!

PSS: I will probably still buy a pair from Gracious Mae. Probably a bigger size for next year. Really, for the time it takes to hand-make shoes, her price is a great deal! Buy some!!!

His First Tie...Her First...

I had a scrap of material left over from a little project (see below) and decided to make Sawyer a tie for Easter. He has never worn a tie. The top of the tie came out a little funky since I just winged it and didn't have enough material to make a real tie - it's a toddler-friendly tie (I hope). So forgive the top. I think it turned out alright. At least, on a cute boy, I think it'll pass for at least a couple of uses! Sawyer wasn't exactly excited about trying it on, since we were headed out the door to the library and he was much more excited about that. When I told him it is a tie like Daddy wears to church, he was slightly more cooperative. I bribed him with a cinnamon altoid (we just don't have any real candy around here) and it worked long enough to snap a few of my handsome boy in his first (albeit homemade) tie.

And for our Little Lady...well...I'm not sure why I became obsessed with making this to put in her Easter Basket - but the leftover material for Sawyer's tie came from this Ruffle-butt Onesie I decided to make for Aspen. Not a cute name, I know. But pretty cute on a tiny rear-end, don'tcha think?

I hope you are all having fun getting ready for Easter!