Somebunny to Love

My sweet friends got married earlier this summer. They are not mushy gushy people but they do have a pretty saccharine sweet pet name for each other. "Bunny" And somehow it's not out of character to call a bearded, motorbike enthusiast a bunny. It suits them, and I wanted to pay it homage in their embroidery.

It was such an honor to witness their wedding. A creative joining of two hearts and lives. 

A Bookish Baby Gift

My sweet cousin had a books and bums (diapers) baby shower the other week. I didn't make it but sent along a themed package for the future reader. 

The bookworm applique was a bit of a rush job, so there's a crafty fringe edge to it all. I kinda like it, after all. And little Blythe Suzanne will grow into her little nerd shirt soon enough.

The scrabble pieces were leftovers from our wedding.

I also included a little crocheted, handmade spit rag and wrapped it up in a box I made from an old record box. The effect was sweet, fun, and bright, like a baby gift should be.

I've been away. For the same old reason of life life life. But, I promise, I've been busy completing projects for gifts, so I have plenty to post for y'all.

Also, we Franks are buying a house, and soon! So get ready for lots of home repair posts as well. Here goes!

A Cutie Pie Baby Shower for a Precious Friend

After a little hiatus due to long work hours and a full life (not to lack of projects, news and ideas to share- mind you)... I'm back! One of many friend-filled days from the last couple months was a baby shower I had the honor of co-coordinating with a couple dear friends. The mama, my gal pal Madison, is one of the most darling people I have ever met. She is a crafter herself, and has impeccable taste. Putting together a shower for her and her little girl (coming in April) was so fun. 

The nursery Madison and her husband, Chris, have been decorating features a wonderful vintage globe lamp. Madison doesn't shy from pastel tones, but enjoys less obviously baby patterns and colors. She's also an earthy gal, so the party took on earthy pastel tones like the colors of a vintage school map.

The afternoon went seamlessly and everyone had fun. Madison was surrounded by so many wonderful women who love her and her family. It is so good to see a community of such strength to come around and support the beginning of a new family unit.

Plenty of vintage luggage and home made pennants donned the whole space. I sewed the pennants together on my sewing machine - easy peasy.

Guests shared motherhood tips at their leisure in the "Unsolicited Advice" corner and jotted a quick note to baby in the pages of the travel-ly Seuss book, "Oh the Places You'll Go!". 

More tiny pennants made from scrapbook paper in the food room. Our super hostess, Kim, did a fantastic job of hanging these garlands.

I designed the postcard invitations. Easy and cheap to print and post. I had a fun time making the little balloon. I had never done anything like it before.

Instead of playing the traditional baby shower games, we had free-flowing mingling and a little crafty corner. Madison and Chris want to have an Alphabet Wall (ala this one on Pinterest) in the nursery so we had party goers RSVP for a letter assignment and bring different sizes and fonts to decorate at the shower. Some people, myself included, decorated their letters beforehand. That's my measuring tape "S" for sarah in the corner of the box.

What a wonderful party.  Baby LIKE.

Here's my own handmade gifts for the sweet little girl baby. Blocks and a bear. Pretty old school gifts. I knew Madison would appreciate the craftiness. She makes baby blankets for all of her friends' little ones. That's the kind of person she is. I wanted to be sure that my gifts were also thoughtfully made. 

The little red dude is made from pieces of a soft sweater my mother accidentally shrunk. The bottom became a throw pillow for my guest room and the scraps were calling out to me to become a bear. Hopefully, baby will one day cuddle him ragged.  The blocks feature a mustache fabric my dear dear cousin gifted me for Christmas.

The last couple months, like I said, were packed full. Middle school overnights and conferences, travels to visit family and grandparents, crafting, friendly get togethers, sickness, snow storms. Oh -you know- LIFE. But I've got plenty yet to share and a renewed determination to attend to the blogosphere. See you soon.

Cute as a Button Bunny (as promised)

As promised, here's some pictures of the present I made for my friend's newborn. I crocheted the bunny then made her a little dress because she seemed like a modest gal. No naked bunny boobies here. (Too far?) Her head is permanently cocked to one side- because I attached it crooked. But it's kinda cute, like she's giving you a coy little smirk.

I love to imagine a cuddly toy like this nestled under a sleeping arm, or dragged along behind a tumbling toddler. The button eyes are secured pretty tightly, but if you were a stickler or worried parent they could be replaced with embroidery like the nose.

Back when my little niece was a baby, I made her a similar bunny. She's now 2 years old. In January, I had a half hour phone conversation with her on her birthday. It's so hard to believe all this time has passed. She's so grown up already.

I miss my sister's little ones. I might be due for a visit. I'll see them in June for the Huff Family Reunion, but maybe before then I can sneak up to Ann Arbor for a fix.

Spring Pillows on a Fall Day (or) Pushing all the Right Buttons

Do you have any idea how easy making your own covered buttons is? And they look so great! I have a great big urge now to buy a gross of covered button supplies and start using up all that awesome vintage fabric I have on hand. Is the market to full on Etsy for one more vintagey button maker?

These buttons made their debut on a recent afternoon pillow project I tackled. The replica handkerchiefs were a gift from my Aunt Sue. I had fun experimenting with freehand quilting on my mother's machine (without a quilting foot, I might add). The future intent for these cuties is to lounge on my teal, vintage couch when I finally find that perfect cozy apartment. For now, they are modeling in the great outdoors.

After taking these pictures, I noticed a similarity to portraits for high school seniors. What do you think? Is one of these pillows the homecoming queen? Class clown?

Modern Craft - It Ain't No OxyMoron

This last weekend marked an important passage of time. On Friday, I attended my final wedding of the 2011 summer season. (Though there are still a couple on the the horizon for the rest of the year.) The couple in question: Brittany and Jeremiah Lewis. They are a fantastic pair- hilarious, kind, attentive friends- both of whom I met through church. They are part of my small group "family", a rag-tag group of 20/30 somethings with little more than age and Jesus in common. (That's enough. We love each other!)

The Lewis's (I always get a little frazzled when making a name that ends in "S" plural.) are a fairly modern couple as far as style goes. They like clean lines and fresh design. Brittany, of course, was a gorgeous bride. In fact, I have never seen someone look so perfect in person. It was like a wedding gown model had stepped out of a magazine. Jeremiah mostly looked stunned. But he also rocked a white pin stripe suit and looked unbelievably good doing it.

I had intended to do a handmade gift for them for quite some time but kept putting off the designing stage. Mostly, I think I was worried that the final product would be too kitschy for their tastes. But I found the perfect modern frame at Target. It has both black and brown on it so it would go with almost any decor, and there's room for different pictures to cycle in and out of it. 

 

I got the place-holder pictures of the couple off of Facebook. Oddly, they are always standing in the same order. I guess they are creatures of photo-staging habit. The same goes for the picture I got from their wedding so I could show you their duds. (Their monogram, however, needed to be in the reverse order. JB is much nicer than the alternative. Not wedding gift appropriate.)