at last...The Party!!!

Much to our dismay, Maddox started running a fever last Friday, the day before his planned birthday party, so we rescheduled the event.  Earlier tonight family came over to celebrate his 4th birthday. 

There is something about turning 4 that signals the end of babyhood and the certainty of childhood.  As a mother, I find it a bit sobering.  I suppose it is the "end" part that makes me sad, though there is so much to anticipate.  It's a dotted line that marks where baby hugs and sweet little yawns, footed sleepers and faded blankets become toy cars and sleds, plastic dinosaurs and regular hair cuts... a boundary of sorts, and as I look back I see with bittersweet pride that Maddox has undeniably crossed it.

Thinking about all of this reminds me that I want to record each of the kids' birth stories. This is important to me, and I imagine that they will be interested in how they entered this world at some point, but I will save that for another day.

Enjoy the birthday pics :)

She's TWO! (Party Scenes)

As much as I tried to remind myself that the most important thing about my daughter's birthday was spending time with her, the urge to bake a special little girl cake just for her overcame me.  My plans to simply make a display of cupcakes were set aside, and I turned to parenting.com for cake ideas.  There was a pretty butterfly cake decorated with candy, and I gave it a shot.  It was more work than I had anticipated.  Although I thoroughly enjoy baking, I do not thoroughly enjoy what seems to me to be rather tedious decorating.  In the end I was glad I had put forth effort, though, because all the kids at the party couldn't wait to get a special piece decorated with candies.

Little Van Gogh

Maddie, like her big brother, loves painting these days.  In hopes of saving some of her little shirts I made her a quick smock.  This one is from Simplicity 3802 and it is really simple.  The only change I made is using 1/2" bias tape rather than 1/4".  I just used what I had on hand, and I thought the 1/4" might be a bit of a pain to work with.

Let's hope all those starry, starry night-esque swirls hide the messier side of her creative little endeavors.

Denim Bags

For my mom's birthday I decided to make a bag. I wanted to use really special material, but by the time I found the perfect print for her - one of Joel Dewberry's Ginseng prints - I was afraid that it wouldn't arrive in time. So, I used this beautiful dark denim and a really pretty olive & navy print that I had earmarked for an outfit for my daughter. I still have enough fabric to make the outfit for her, too.

Making the purse for my mom inspired another idea for a denim bag. I wanted to use vibrant squares and quilt them along the top band of the purse. Red stitching and wide offset handles give the purse a bit of a funky look. Here is how they turned out.

The Dewberry fabric arrived the day after I made the denim bag for my mom, of course! Now I am trying to figure out what to do with it.

Hello!

I have been looking for the perfect place to work on a blog, and I hope this is it. I have a small shop on etsy and a little online boutique that sells baby items.

This will be a place for me to post pictures of my newest projects to share with all of you :) The one pictured to the left here is a birthday gift for my niece, but I *love* it so much that I will be making one for my little girl, too.

My family and I are expecting a fourth child this spring, and I will be posting our progress, too. We are very excited to welcome our last little one into the world.

Thanks for stopping by!