Oh, joy!  Leo and Caroline have had a gorgeous baby girl.  She is such a little doll, and we couldn't be happier for them.  And what fun to get to sew for a new baby girl.

These baby shoes are from a tutorial (LINK) found at Crazy Little Projects.

Fabric and terry cloth bib -- tutorial and pattern (LINK) found Purl Bee.  I found the magnetic snaps at Amazon. 

Sweet little baby dress from free pattern and tutorial (LINK) found at See Kate Sew.

My mother gave me two gorgeously embroidered pillowcases she says are too short for standard pillows.  I transformed one of them into a sweet pillowcase dress for Zoe using the free pattern and tutorial from Sew Sweet Patterns. (LINK)

Goodwill, how do I love thee?

Not only have I been buying every wool sweater in stock at Goodwill to turn into wool felt, I also have picked up some great fabrics to upcycle in my quest to learn to sew.  This sweet dress was once a curtain.  (Bonus, didn't have to hem the bottom of the dress!)

Found a great free pattern and tutorial (LINK) on the Burdastyle website.

Here is the first dress I made for Zoe!! 

I found the free pattern and tutorial at Small Dream Factory (LINK).  The butterfly fabric was given to me by my friend Beverly, and the blue suede butterfly fabric was actually one side of a throw pillow.  I lined it with fabric from an old, soft sheet.

I love the designs of the iPhone 5 cases, but they are so expensive.  I found some translucent and clear cases at Amazon (LINK), and now I can change out my designs whenever I want.  Feel free to download the case templates below.  All of the vector graphics were found at www.dryicons.com.

Oh, Zoe laughs so much when we read this book, Turtle and Snake's Valentine's Day!  And now she has a snake to go with the stuffed turtle I made her; she loves to act out the story with her animals when we read at night.  Too cute!

I have created a bendable snake tutorial (LINK) and pattern (LINK) that you are welcome to download.  This is the first pattern I have created from scratch.   I'd love your feedback.

Who's Hiding? is a lift-the-flap book that Zoe just doesn't get tired of reading together.  She also reads it to her circle of animals and tolls during her own pretend story telling time. 

The baby owls I made from a template/tutorial at Hobby di Stoffa.  The tutorial (LINK) is in Italian, but the pictures make it very easy to follow.  I didn't print the owls full size -- they are 70% scale, FYI.

For the mama owl, I found this great tutorial (LINK) on the Sew Little Fabric blog.  PLEASE NOTE:  I changed the design of the owl a bit:  I made the wings larger and DID NOT fully sew them to the body.  I added a small Velcro patch as well, so that the mama owl could hold her owlets like in the book.  You're welcome to my PDF of the altered wing design (LINK.)

Size: 10 x 20 inches (double spread)

Fonts used: Chunk Five Roman, CK Ali’s Hand, Bree Serif Regular

Layout Template:  Left side only   Right side only    Double spread

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I made these simple treat bags for Zoe's classmates the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  My hope was that they would be useful if families were traveling for the holidays, so the bags included snacks, activities, and stickers.  Feel free to jump to the activities I pinned and download the labels I created (below).

Labels in Illustrator, EPS or PDF format.
Free vector image was found here.
Fonts: Chunk Five, Ekologie Hand
Formatted 12-up to fit Avery® Easy Peel® Square Labels 22806, 2" x 2"

Supplies:
Cardstock paper
Photos and graphics (http://www.dryicons.com has great, free images)
Scissors or cutting board
Loose leaf ring (I found mine here)

Instructions:
Arrange photos and graphics 4-up on an 8.5 x 11 inch sized document.  Print graphics on one side of the cardstock, and photos on the other side.  Cut into 4.25 x 5.5 inch fourths.  Punch hole in top corner and fasten with ring binder.

You're welcome to use my graphic files, below. 

Read, Reading, Plan to Read
I just finished The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern.  This is one of those books you wish you could erase your memory and start again fresh, because it is so magical and delightful as it unfolds.  

I'm currently Blake Mycoskie's book Start Something That Matters.  This was a holiday gift from my friend and co-worker Melissa.  Meeting Blake is on my bucket list. 

Next, I'll choose a book from my Shelfari shelf.  What are you reading?

Family Activities

I am planning to make this super-cute "dart" game for Zoe over the Christmas break.  You can find instructions for making this here.

Templates and Tools

Have you seen this great blog called Merriment?  I wanted to share some great kid organization ideas from her recent post. 

Shoe-Bag Car Organizer to hold kids’ toys/car necessities within easy reach

Clear, labeled zip-up bags stocked for every situation (First Aid, Outdoors,
Snacks, Activity Bag, Baby Items, Travel Games, etc.)

Mudroom/Exit Bins Labeled with Photos to hold each family member’s on-the go items (coats, shoes, umbrellas, soccer balls, dog leashes, etc.)

Cereal dispenser used as a trash can for the car – Brilliant!

Files with photographs to organize and label each of your child’s (or your classroom’s) schoolwork and records. Separate each file by grade with the teacher’s name/other important info. labeled on the front cover.

Cute, labeled Chest of Drawers

Tidy closet – always a stress-reliever! I love those green bins; I have some that I absolutely love from Target. The curtains are also a great idea for when the closet doesn’t look quite that perfect (probably on weeks like this one)

Buckets labeled with chalk for different toys and outdoor items
(Chalkboard paint is a great item to create instant chalkboard surfaces, so you can label and erase away. Useful for so many organizational projects!)

Kitchen Drawer just for the kids (with all of their cups, plates, etc. low enough to reach and easily managed with the separate, designated spaces)

Cute Toy Bins from Pottery Barn

Individual Mailboxes (message center) for Kids’ Playroom

Inspiring Kids’ Bookshelves with baskets to organize the toys

Bathroom towel organization tip

Cute Toy Bins from Pottery Barn

Art Supply Idea

Lunches Tub – Have a labeled tub in your refrigerator, stocked with all of the items you use to prepare your kids’ lunches for the entire week. Then, when it comes time to pack lunches, you just pull out your tub and everything is easily accessible for a speedy packing time.

Templates & Tools

Cool!  Cardinal has 3-ring binder cover and spine templates in many cool patterns.  Free!
http://www.cardinalbrands.com/consumer/prodTemplates/templ_clearvuebinders.htm
  

What my RSS Reader Brought Me this Week

Bold use of color for interior and exterior spaces

http://www.thecoolhunter.com.au/article/detail/1727/the-power-of-color

Projects


  

I am admiring these placemats and napkins from Home and Garden Art and these coffee mugs from Target.    

I stumbled across this post about 24 Free Splash Pads in Austin from the fabulous Free Fun in Austin website.  (http://www.freefuninaustin.com)   I think we'll take Zoe to the one at the Triangle and enjoy the farmer's market as well. 
  

After staying the night in a hotel last week (what a luxury for a new mom) I'm thinking that blackout curtains will help Zoe get to bed at a reasonable hour this summer.  

This puppet theater made from a china hutch is brilliant.

I'm wondering if Austin artist Lisa Marie Concannon from luluxo will accept a commission to upcycle our tshirts and baby clothes into one of her amazing creations?

I've started our diving/family packing list which you're welcome to download and personalize.