my weekend

This weekend I drove up to Orlando to spend some time with some of my best friends. 

I hadn't been up to meet their new baby girl yet, so I was able to get tons of time with the little lady, Veronica. Is that not the cutest face ever?! She is a such a sweet and good baby. I can't wait to see her again and watch her get bigger.

And I also wanted to spend time with Veronica's older brother, Xander. He's so awesome and I just love going up to see him. On Saturday, we packed up the kids and took the whole family to Sea World. Xander just loves that place. He couldn't wait to see the dolphins, sharks and Shamu.

He even took my camers and shot a few pics of the dolphins. I think he took better pictures than I did.

picture taken by Xander

After a ride on the kids Shamu roller coaster, Xander wanted to feed the dolphins. So his dad, Eddie,  took him as his Mom (Kris), Veronica and I took pics. He gave the dolphin a fish! He was so excited.

After that Kris and I went to ride the Manta. Yeah, that's the roller coaster that you ride facing down. It had been years since either of us had been on a roller coaster. And since there was no line to wait in by the time we went to ride, there was no time to really think about it. So we got on and braced ourselves. It was a freaking blast. So much fun.

On Sunday we ate a yummy homemade breakfast and then the girls went out shopping. We hit an awesome Goodwill store and I got a couple of things, but then it was time for me to head home.

I had a great time in Orlando, as always, and I can't wait to go back and spend more time with them all. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Baby shower sewing

Now that I'm craft show free, I'm getting to do some different types of sewing. My mom got an invite for a baby shower of a friend and former co-worker of ours. I've known Marc for what seems like forever and I was so happy that him and his wife, Melissa, were having a little boy. So I had to make something for the new little guy.

Whenever I'm invited to a baby shower I like to make my gifts. It's so much cooler and more personal than buying a generic something from the registry list. I try to make the baby things fun and cool, but still going with the theme that the mommy & daddy seem to be using. Plus, this is me, I like to think that people look forward to my handmade gifts. So I picked up these cute fabrics (the stripes, dots and plaid are cotton and the lime green checks is flannel for the back) and got to work.

I made these cute bibs with the coordinating fabric. And I know you guys may think that I'm obsessed with bias binding (which is true to a certain point), but the bias, in this case, was covering up the fact that I cut the bibs too small. I dBut in the end I like the detail the bias gives the bibs.

Out of the same fabrics, I also made some burp cloths. I added batting to the inside of both the bibs and burp cloths to make them extra cushy and comfy for mommy and baby. I think any baby would love to be burped on these.

I thought the gift needed a little something else. so I snagged these white onesies that Mom had left over from another shower gift. Little girls seem to have the market on cuteness in the clothing department, but who says the little boys can't look dapper too? So I added a bow tie and a long tie to the onesies. Marc & Melissa's little guy will look super cool in these.

 

I love making these handmade gifts and they were pretty easy to whip up. 

Do you like to get handmade gifts?

Cute baby stuff

... for my soon to be niece!

One of my best friends, Kristina, is having a little girl. So I went up to see her in Orlando for the baby shower a couple of weeks ago.

When Kris and I started talking about the shower she asked me for something. She wanted me to maker her a new baby bag. So after some online browsing and finding the right fabric, I made her this. It's HUGE and so roomy inside. It's got tons of pockets to keep all that baby stuff handy, plus since it's all cotton, it's totally washable. And it's sure to say that no one else will have this bag! Gotta love custom handmade!

Now I couldn't just make the bag, my new niece needed a cute outfit too. So using my Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing, I made the baby kimono in this great bright print.

The little bows are too cute for words. And since it called for bias binding, I was in luck, since I always have some extra rolling around my studio.

Now we girls know that no outfit is complete without a pair of shoes. And the Martha Stewart felt booties are the easiest things to whip up and so freaking cute. I think she might get a few more pairs before she's ready for big girl shoes!

I had a few other projects that I wasn't able to finish up before the shower, but I'll have them done soon.

And I hope to post some pics of the shower too, since I hosted it and I have to say it was awfully cute!

Baby Shower: Festival du Bebe

Here's one of the events I had been working on in the last few weeks. I love planning parties, especially when it's not just your run-of-the-mill event. My best friend Kristina's sister, Rachel, is having a little girl. Kris was, of course, gonna throw the shower. And like any party Kris plans, she asked me to help and I was more than happy to.

With some inspiration from Hostess with the Mostess, we planned a "Festival du Bebe" baby shower. It was a Mardi Gras type theme with lots of butterflies and bright colors. I made some of the Martha Stewart tissue paper pom-poms to brighten up the space (inside and out), and we also go some cute butterflies to hang up too.

One of the things we were most looking forward to was the sparkling drinks station. We had champagne and sparkling cider, along with orange juice and cranberry pomegranate for mixing. The Mommy-To-Be was very happy that there was bubbly for her too! We found these great square champagne flutes at Party City and decorated them with little butterflies. We also made a non-alcoholic sherbert punch for those that didn't want champagne.

The food which was made by Kris and her sister-in-law, Jayme was delicious: roasted turkey breast, stuffed mushrooms, pigs in a blanket, fruits and veggies. It was all so good. My food contribution was the cupcakes. Of course, I went to Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe and ordered the Strawberries and Champagne cupcakes, to go with our champagne station. We added some butterfly toppers to give the table even more color. The cupcakes were so delicious. Everyone kept asking where they were from!

We only played a couple of games (guess the baby food and guess how big mommy's belly is), but we did have some activities to keep the guests having fun. Kris's friend, Jessica, came to do face painting. It was so fun and even Kris's grandma got all prettied up! This definitely gave the party a great Mardi Gras feel. We also had a table set up to decorate onesies and bibs for the new little one. We used freezer paper stencils, fabric markers and puffy paints. Everyone had a great time getting out their creativity and making cute things for Baby Churchill.

Kris, me & Annie.................... Kris, Jayme, Rachel & Baby Churchill

Rachel, the Mommy-to-be

The shower was a huge hit. It definitely wasn't your typical shower, but it was so much fun. We had a great time planning it and we hope that everyone had a great time here too. It was a great big welcome for Baby Churchill, who was showered with lots of gifts for when she gets here!