TWELVE!

Our little man is 1!!! I swear that both Russ and I thought he looked different when he woke up last Saturday. He looked more toddlerish (if that's even a word). And he has been up to so much! About a week before his birthday, he started to crawl, took his first steps, perfected waving bye bye, blows kisses, gives kisses and hugs, and started to grab his belly when you ask where it is. It's as if he knew that he was about to turn 1, and realized he needed to get movin on these milestones :) He's developing quite the personality, quite the flirt when it comes to the ladies. He gets all shy and crinkles his nose...SO CUTE! He loves to be outside...definitely his mom and dad's son when it comes to that! It's hard to describe just how much I love this little man of ours. Sometimes I just can't stand it!

And now...I give you a year in onesies!!

I am SO glad we decided to do this! It's amazing how much they change in just a short year!

We have been quite the busy little bees of late, and this weekend is going to be even crazier! My little brother is getting married to the best girl on Friday. Saturday is Addison's 1 year Birthday Party!! Saturday night a good friend of ours is getting married, and then Sunday the little man FINALLY gets dedicated. My entire family will be in town, and Russ' parents will be as well! So many people, so many things to do...so much fun! I've done a lot of crafting for both the wedding and the party, so I promise to share some photos with you next week.

Until then...enjoy your week and weekend.

Spring is in the air...

The birds are chirping, the sun is out! What an incredibly beautiful day we're having here in good old Nashville, TN. I feel like this winter has lasted FOREVER!!!

In honor of this beautiful day, I'm having a sale in my etsy shop! Just put in promo code springishere and you'll get 10% off your entire order, now through the end of the week! I've got all sorts of fun goodies...stuffed animals, bibs, booties, and hats. Everything has been handmade by Moi with love, so you know it'll be the perfect baby shower gift.

Happy Shopping Friends!!

11...

To my sweet 11 month old baby boy...

You are such a joy. Have I told you that lately? Your beaming smile from ear to ear is completely contagious. I love watching you discover the world around you. You love to be outside, playing with leaves and grass. I love the way you look at leaves and birds as if they're the most amazing thing you've ever seen. You're still not doing the official "crawl" yet, but you're pulling up on EVERYTHING (even the things we'd rather you didn't...ha), and "cruising" around the house. We're all pretty convinced you're going to take those first steps by yourself soon! You absolutely LOVE your puppies Bodhi and Jake. You love playing peek-a-boo with Jake, and it is the cutest thing to see you give Bodhi a hug when we ask you to. I love watching your face light up when your Daddy comes home...you love him so much! Every day I thank God for the blessing that you are to your Dad and I. We cannot believe that in a few short weeks you will be one year old!
I love you
I love you
I love you!
-Mommy

Baby Gym Bag...

Just a little project I've been wanting to make and finally finished last night...

I call it the baby gym bag. It's the perfect size for a few diapers, wipes, change of clothes and a snack, but not as big and bulky as a traditional diaper bag.

It might be a smidge too big for him to wear at the moment ;)

Man I just love this little boy...drool stains and all!

Have a great weekend!!

love note pockets...

In honor of a fastly approaching V-day, this week I'm going to show you how to make a cute, yet uber easy little pocket to stash your love notes to your sweetie in. Since I have mostly boys in my life, I wanted to make a Valentine that was fun, but not too girly girly. So I came up with these little diddies...


A few things you'll need:
Heavy cardstock (I love brown paper card stock!)
Scraps of fabric
Embroidery Floss
Embroidery Needles
Water Soluble Fabric Pen (or other temporary fabric pen)
Wood Grain Stamp and Stamp Pad (You can find a stamp like this at Joanns or Michaels)
Scissors
Sewing Machine + Thread (optional)
Hole punch (optional)

Using a temporary fabric pen, draw out the initials you'd like to embroider.

I didn't want the letters to be too bulky, so I split my embroidery thread in half, using only 4 of the 8 strands. Embroider your letters using a simple backstitch.
(Instructions on that stitch can be found here).

Draw a heart around your letters and cut out.


Next, with your wood grain stamp and stamp pad, stamp your card stock with your stamp.
Cut around the edges.

Using your stamped piece as a guide, cut out another piece of cardstock.


You'll want to cut out a half circle out of the stamped piece of cardstock. A spool of thread was the the exact size I needed, so I used it to trace a half circle on the back of the stamped piece, and then cut out the half circle.

Next, you'll want to adhere your heart w/initials onto your cardstock. Spray adhesive is a great, quick way to do this. Just lightly spray on the back of your heart, and place in the center of your stamped piece.

Time to sew your 2 pieces of cardstock together.
There are a couple different easy ways to do so....First with your sewing machine.
Using the zig zag stitch (#2 in the picture below), and both pieces of cardstock aligned together, sew along 3 of the 4 edges, as close to the edge as possible.


Tie off your loose threads, and you're done!

The other way to attach the two pieces of cardstock together without a sewing machine is a tad more time consuming, but still just as easy.

Along the 3 edges of the back piece of cardstock (not the stamped one) I made a mark every 1/4 inch. Use a pencil so that you can erase the marks when you're finished.

Next, with both pieces together, and a hole punch (I used a 1/16th" hole punch), punch out a hole at each mark you've made

With your embroidery thread and needle, hand sew the two pieces together with a whipstitch (taking the needle from back to front through every hole)


There are a million different ways you could decorate your little pockets. These were just a couple of ideas I had floating around in my head.

And the great thing about this project, is that these cute little pockets don't have to be just for Valentines day. You could use it as a birthday card, or maybe even a gift card holder!
Once you start making them, you won't be able to stop...

Believe me, they're addicting :)

I sat and watched...

I sat and watched as my sweet baby boy slithered around the floor and explored this crazy world around him, opening drawers and cupboards to see what they contained

I sat and watched a determined 10 month old perfect his ability to go from his belly to sitting up even on the slippery hard wood floors

I sat and watched a curious little boy pull out everything in my bedside table, examining every inch of every object he found

I sat and watched chubby little hands reach up to the coffee table and pull himself up for the first time.

I sat and watched as an adventurer carefully cruised his way around his room eventually making it into the living room

I sat and watched as a wide-eyed boy starred into the sky, smiling at the birds as they flew by as if it was the first time he'd ever noticed them.

Somehow, over night, my little baby has turned into a little boy.

TEN!

The little man turns 10 months old today. I can barely believe it every time one month goes by. Everyone always says it goes by so fast, but you really only notice it when it's actually happening to you. Addison is up to quite a bit these days. He's started pulling up to standing in his crib. I can always tell when he's standing up after a nap, cause he starts babbling away. I open the door and say "I hear a baby", and he starts grinning from ear to ear. That may be one of my absolute favorite things right now. Although he pulls up in his crib, he's having a harder time pulling up on other things. But if I stand him up next to the coffee table, he's on the move! He's successfully figured out how to go all around the coffee table, and even gets himself over to the bookshelf next to the couch and coffee table! I'm excited, yet nervous at the same time...guess it's time to start baby proofing :) We're on to stage 3 foods now, which means lots more chunks! It's been fun showing him new foods and textures, and letting him have some of our food from time to time. I know I'm completely biased, but he really is just one of the sweetest babies I've ever known. He smiles at most everyone he meets, whether it's at the YMCA, Church, or the grocery store. It's so sweet to see him interact with people, and I love it even more that he brings so much joy to the people he comes in contact with. We cannot get through the grocery store without at least a few people stopping to talk and interact with him. I love it!

So in honor of little man turning 10 months, I've decided that this week, I'm going to share how I make his little numbered onesies. I promise it's super easy...so here we go!

Supplies:
Small scrap of fabric for number
onesie
steam a seam double stick fusible web, heat bond or other double stick fusible web
scissors
thread
marker
iron
sewing machine (optional)


Step 1: Either draw or print out the numbers you'd like to put on your onesie

Step 2: Outline your numbers onto your fusible web. If you're using the steam a seam, you'll notice that one of the papers will peel away easily. You'll want to trace your numbers onto the side that doesn't peel. Also, make sure you trace your numbers backwards.

Step 3: If using steam a seam, peel away the one layer, and lay the outline of your numbers sticky side down onto the WRONG side of the fabric as pictured below. Apply a little pressure all around the number to make sure it sticks to the fabric.

Step 4: With the paper backing still on, cut your design out.

Step 5: Once your design is cut out, remove the paper backing, place it on your onesie, and with a hot iron, and NO STEAM, iron your numbers down.

Now, the steam a seam packaging says that it's a permanent bond when ironed on. I find it to be more of a semi-permanent bond. But if you like the way it looks, and you're not planning on using this as an every day onesie, you can definitely stop there and leave as is. If not, go on to step 6!

Step 6: Sew your numbers onto your onesie. I said in the supplies list that sewing machines are optional, and they are. All you need to do is get some thread, a needle and hand stitch the numbers in place. However, if you have a sewing machine, I highly recommend using it, as it will take a lot less time, and the edges will look a little cleaner.

I use the zig zag stitch when outlining the numbers (Button 2 in the picture below)

Carefully go all the way around the edges of your numbers, getting as close to the edge of fabric as possible. A quick tip on maneuvering around corners: When you get to a corner, stop with your needle still in the fabric, lift your presser foot, turn your work, lower the presser foot and keep sewing until you get to the next corner. Rounded edges are a bit trickier, so just go extra slow when you get to those.

Snip off all of your loose threads and you're finished!

Now, just throw that onesie and an adorable little tyke, and snap away!

*Someone woke up on the wrong side of the crib this afternoon...this was the best we could do*

Obviously, all of these instructions apply to any other kind of design you'd like to attach to a shirt. As always, be creative, and don't get frustrated if it doesn't turn out exactly how you want it to the first time. Practice makes perfect...so get to it!

Did I mention that it snowed in Nashville...AGAIN! If I wanted to clear away the snow on my car every morning I would have stayed in Buffalo! You can go away now winter and snow :) Enjoy your Wednesday everyone!