artwork by bebo

we had an irregular mother's day this year, having brunch with non-north-american friends (they celebrated in march!) and oliver had been sick since thursday, so we kept things low-key. but one thing VERY traditionally mother's day, was that i was given my first gifted artwork from bebo...and i LOVE it!!! it is really fun (for me especially!) how much he loves to draw or do projects and i can't wait to hoard loads more artwork from him over the years.

bunnies!!!!!

if you haven't already heard me screaming it from the rooftops, i am SOOO excited that my handmade bunnies are available at the adorable shop amelia. erin is just the sweetest IG mama friend, and i am so happy that not only does she love them but the first shipment sold out in only a week! i just sent another batch so you might still have a chance at snagging one before christmas. (otherwise make sure to peruse the site, there are so many fantastic gifts on there!)

thanks for all the bunny love, it really means so much!!! HUGS xx

ps. erin's IG pic has over 130 likes--i feel so social media popular! ;)

advent calendar

i wanted to make an advent calendar this year after pinning inspiration on pinterest all year long. so on the morning of december 1st i got up early and just started cutting. to make this project you will need:

cardstock (in two colors, three if you want a contrast star)
an x-acto knife
a cutting mat (or in my case--the back of my sketchbook)
fun patterned washi tape

freehand cut both the squares (approximately 2" x 2") and numbers. tape them up to the wall into any shape you like. i did a tree, but it could be fun all in a row or as a square too. as the days go by, tape a contrast color to the back of the numbers until you reach the 24th.

i love that against our white wall it looks very much scandinavian! :)

craftenhagen + blog royalty

last week i had my first evening sans baby! i went to craftenhagen and made ornaments and gift boxes in a workshop led by the lovely tina of traveling mama. there was hands on crafting, i met nice people, and ate delicious homemade snacks in a cozy little studio...perfection.

and the BEST part was...i met brittany of the house that lars built!!! blogging legend!!! she is as cute as can be and so sweet. i wanted to be her copenhagen bff but sadly she is moving back to the us in two weeks...darn it. i am so glad i got to meet her and see her fun studio, and can't wait to hear about her new adventures back stateside!

bunnies

i sewed these little guys for finch's holiday time boutique and i am really happy with how they turned out. i have been wanting to design my own plush that i can easily reproduce so i took the time and made a pattern too. (though i'm still perfecting the limb placement, as you can see each one is doing their own little dance ;)

my photos have gotten a lot of likes and comments on instagram so i am really excited to make more. i always wanted to make a keepsake baby gift for friends and have already received a request for one, YAY!

happy halloween!

i am so proud, i sewed this costume all by myself! and even hand stitched the contrast pieces and hems when a certain crabby little someone didn't want to nap and i had to be extra quiet in our small apartment. my mom always sewed our halloween costumes growing up, so it makes me happy to carry on the tradition!

revealed!

we nicknamed the baby "bebo" and kept referring to them as "he" by accident, and lo and behold we were right the whole time! the other crazy part is i had a dream when we were still living in our temporary apartment and in the dream i turned to my mom and SUPER casually said "fyi, it's a boy, so think aqua and white stripes" and then walked away just as casually. AHHH!!!

145 days left to go...we can't wait to meet you, sweet little boy!!!

design*sponge craft + book party

i was lucky to craft with the lovely grace (and amy!) of design*sponge at anthropologie for her book tour, and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! we created custom wooden wax seals using wooden dowels and woodburning tools. I had never used a woodburning pen before and let me just say, it is NOT like drawing with a pen. AT ALL. as a project that used materials i wasn't familiar with, it ended up being pretty easy and i was super excited with how my little milo turned out!

i also sat at the same table as erin, laura, kara and jen from red stamp--the cutest bunch! they have the best app for sending really fun and well-designed cards through your iphone or ipad! check it out here.

the even MORE exciting part of my evening was hanging out with bff dana all night!!! and dinner with mike tv at convention grill too, YUM.

(doesn't my chevron attempt look like charlie brown's shirt???)

you've got mail

i'm on the home stretch of all our thank you cards and had to post a picture--i love how they turned out! i bought solid red cards and envelopes for a fun pop of [danish] color and chris had the smart and simple idea to use white tape to create the flag design. GENIUS!

ps. i LOVE receiving mail too...pen pals, anyone? *wink*

that's what friends [and family!] are for

the flipside to the excitement of moving to another country is how much you end up missing family, friends and everything familiar. it's been really hard being so far away from everyone but luckily i have wonderful people in my life who send me nice long email replies, chat with me on skype and thoughtfully send me packages of things i miss like double stuf oreos and my slippers. for my favorite people i've been making colorful friendship bracelets and will be sending them in the mail soon...hope they love their little gift and think of me when they wear them :)

my inspiration and tutorial link came from this post on [dandee] showcasing her fun craft camp invitation. i LOVE the original parent trap and her invitation is just adorable!

flat cat

i handmade this flat cat for a united way silent auction at work. i used the same chambray fabric as the sandbox theater benefit pup, then gave the kitty an orange wool kerchief and aqua embroidery. (because blue and orange combinations are so nice ;)

sandbox theatre benefit party

sandbox theatre is hosting their 3rd annual benefit party thursday from 6:30pm-9:00pm, so if you're free tomorrow night you should definitely stop by! there will be food & drinks, mini performances, and a fantastic silent auction that includes donated items from amazing local artists like sarah wray and chris hajny. (this lovely chambray pup was handmade by yours truly ;)

becca's knitted bike tube

my cute friend becca and i bartered this trade awhile back, but as bikes are currently ruling the summer, i wanted to FINALLY post pictures. she commissioned me to knit her a bike tube for her matte black bike that she built, and i traded her for a 2709 designs bandana (this design is 1 of 2--the other 1 belonging to miss becca jane :) screenprinted with cute bunnies. after i finished knitting, i hand-sewed velcro to the bottom so that it was removable and washable. i added the little white bunny button as a surprise since i know how much she loves little bunnies!

(the fun jumper i'm wearing is a from their voltage line and bought at design collective. bonnie is an amazing seamstress so i love owning something she sewed up, hidden pocket and all!)

craft swap beta: project tote bag pictures!

made by maeve for dana. features matching covered buttons, pockets flaps, and patterned jersey lining.

made by dana for keegan. features hand embroidery, perfectly-placed interior pockets, and a sweet floral lining.

made by keegan for vân. features hand embellishment and embroidery, velvet ribbon trim, and vintage fabric lining.

made by vân for kara. features hand embroidery, water bottle and magazine pockets, and patterned dot lining.

made by kara for maeve. features hand seed-beading, hand embroidery, and a variety of different textured fabrics.

you probably didn't believe me when i said i was going to eventually post the tote bag pictures from craft swap beta...but surprise, here they are! (you just never know what will happen when you're friends with me ;)

everyone did an AMAZING job and it was fun to see how different everyone's fabric and embellishments were. the funny thing is that we had 2 distinct color stories going on unbknownst to each other: yellow and aqua. let it be known that these are 2 very important colors for spring 2009, so good job us for being so trendy.

to my cute friends, thanks again for being part of craft swap beta! xoxo.

busy, busy, busy

do you ever have one of those weeks? i feel like i have been constantly moving all week long and have gotten so little sleep i nearly fell asleep TWICE today during meetings! blah. here are things i have started/accomplished this week though, which is pretty good for me:

got printed + hand cut missy's save the date cards
designed/printed/wrote birthday thank you cards
sketched + practiced embroidery for michelle's (now belated (big surprise)) baby present
made the 100th post thank you cards (see above)
knit part of becca's bike tube cover
screenprinted v.v. onesies
tried knitting baby booties
did loads of laundry and [mostly] packed for 11 days worth of travelling

it'll all be worth it when i am sleeping on the plane tomorrow...on my way to sunny california to visit jayson + michelle + baby!!!

fair isle monsters

i finished my fair isle hat!!! i took a knitting class at crafty planet with melissa and other fun friends and it was the first double pointed needle project i have ever done. i changed the original snowflake pattern to a little monster and i think it's pretty cute. i just sewed on the ginormous pom pom tonight...note the immense amount of trimming i had to do to it so that it was actually a spherical shape!

thanks gretchen for teaching a super fun class!!! :)

this little piggy

i made this lil guy for my friend alex to give michael as a surprise christmas present...however, the real surprise was that while alex was out of town, michael (very thoughtfully!!!) cleaned the house and the well-hidden little piggy was thrown out in the trash! [gasp!] however, alex figured it out when he got back home and they rescued him safely and he now lives on their nightstand.

he is hand-sewn from michael's felted scarf using the martha stewart pattern and even features the very fun bendable tail. oink oink!