Epic Date Night (Jonsi!!!)

Nick and I are headed to Columbus tonight to see this incredibleness-




I could not be more excited. We have loved Sigur Ros for years and used a lot of their music in our wedding. We saw them at Bonnaroo a couple of years ago, and that was hands down the most amazing live show I've ever seen. I'm gonna go ahead and say it's kind of a magical experience... and I hate when people use that word, but it is appropriate. I'm thinking tonight's stage show will even top that. And besides all that, I'm feeling somewhat like my old self and I am actually wearing real clothes and makeup. Very exciting.


Here's more about the uber-creative stage and video production if you're interested:

Craft-Swappin

I made a couple of bags this week for good friends. I didn't want to charge these lovely ladies, and since they are both makers of things as well, I suggested we barter. How very Oregon Trail of us.

For Olivia, I made this bag (which I'm totally spoiling for her since she hasn't received it yet)

And I'm going to get this adorable print from her shop:

And for my newlywed friend Jessica, I made this bag

For which I've already received a large jar of her honey:

That's right, she keeps bees in her backyard, and harvests (is that the right word?) their yummy TN honey herself. How cool is that? It's delicious. (Although I'm not supposed to eat it right now, I sometimes have to sneak some.)

So this makes me think about the whole swapping thing. There are lots of us bloggers/etsy-ers who make things, and would also like the things that others make. Does anyone know of any sites set up for organizing swaps? It would be nice if you could put a handmade item out there, and also let people know what kind of thing you are looking to swap for, whether it be art, supplies, edibles, or other specific handmade items. Once you have a taker, you could organize the rest on your own terms. I'm sure there is something like that out there. If not, maybe we could just make our own? Suggestions? Thoughts?

Fox Costume!

So these pictures aren't the greatest, but the costume is done and I couldn't resist posting it. I don't know if he knows what he is, but he does love wearing it.

 And I love the way it turned out, which is really most important. Not really. But kind of. Seriously.

I was afraid the big tail would be a bit cumbersome, but he loves it. And it's just about the cutest thing ever swinging on his little booty when he walks.

Here's a nice tail shot- It even gets out of the way for foxes who need to sit down and do puzzles!

Some details on how I made it, for those who like that sort of thing...

Wasn't easy to find plain orange clothes without monsters or ghosts or pumpkins on them, so I bought a plain white toddler tee at Target for $6 I think. I died that with some orange RIT, along with a couple of old Hanes undershirts. I cut the sleeves off of one of those and made them into the hat. I had no idea what I was doing, but I went with it and it was super easy. I made the rest of the tshirt into the pants, using one of his pajama pairs as a pattern. I cut three tail shapes from the other tshirt, kind of like stretched out football shapes I guess, and put white felt on the ends. Then sewed those together and stuffed. I just have it safety pinned to the back of the waist band so we can take it off for the car. 

The black legs are just a pair of knee socks from Target I cut up and slipped on his legs and wrists. That's it! I also had a patch of white felt on the front of the shirt, which he promptly ripped off. So I need to actually attach it well, or just do without it. I can't decide if we really need it or not, we'll see. 

Halloween is the cutest ever.

GIVEAWAY starts today!

The very lovely Mollie is doing a giveaway of one of my monsters over on her super fun blog, Wild Olive. (Welcome if you are visiting from there!) It starts today and goes through the weekend, so if you'd like to win a FREE monster from my shop, head here and leave a comment to enter! And the best part is, you get to pick your prize.

I've never done a giveaway before. Giveaway virg. Just thought I'd go ahead and get that out there in case this was a little awkward :)

And more monsters are coming to the shop soon for Christmas. Kids of all ages love them, so you know, it's a possibility. Or just go ahead and buy your nephew something plastic from China, no pressure :)

Pumpkin Decorating for short attention spans

This past weekend we got into the fall spirit with a little pumpkin painting. We got the gourds at Shaw Farms in Milford the week before. (Which is definitely the place to go for fall fun if you are local.)

We just kept it simple with washable kid paint and some Halloween foam stickers. This is actually my friend Edie's idea, she's been doing it with her kids the past couple of years. And HG's friend Elie from downstairs joined in as well.

It's also fun to paint your legs and feet when you are bored with your pumpkin.

A couple other neighborhood kids came and helped out too, which was a good thing, because Hendrix was on to playing ball after about a minute and half. Impromptu Halloween block party.

And yes, my parents were in town and that is my dad giving my mom a little shoulder rub. That pretty much sums up their Nana-and-Grandpa-adorableness.

Handcrafted Halloween

Hendrix was featured on one of my fave sites today, Ohdeedoh, in his gnome Halloween costume. Apparently, that was a very popular handmade choice last year.

Check it out here.

So I guess this makes him an internet superstar, just like Antoine Dodson or the double rainbow guy. Yup, pretty much all my dreams for him have come true.

A Baby Room

So I guess "I Love Cincinnati Week" only lasted two days. You see, this is why I'm no good at regular features or pre-planned themes. Oh well, I'll probably just show you the rest of the cool places I like around here whenever I feel like it.

But for today, something I actually made. YAY! I cannot wait until I am back to making on a regular basis. Not being at my sewing machine at least every other day is really making me feel weird. That, and the small precious parasite growing inside me- I also blame that.

Here are the pictures from my friend's baby boy room. I made curtains, a crib sheet using the MADE method, a crib skirt from instructions in this book, and a changing pad cover using Prudent Baby's tutorial.

She already had that white ladder in the room and had the idea to use scraps of our fabrics to hang the frames from. I think it came out very cute. 

Here you can see the sheet and skirt a little better. The skirt in Amy Butler's book just had solid panels, but I broke each side up into three strips so we could show more of the colorful fabrics. I especially love that green herringbone by Joel Dewberry.

I made the changing pad cover with soft white minkie at the top for that newborn noggin.

These are the first curtain panels I have made using blackout fabric to line. It definitely makes it a little trickier to sew, but it's so worth it for a baby room.

And here is the lamp she picked at Ikea. It matches the orange fabric perfectly. 

When she first asked for my help and I was obsessing over fabric choices on the internet, I told her she was making me want to have another baby. Little did I know, I was already preggers. But here's the thing about this baby's room- it will have to be shared with my sewing room. I think. It's either that or put both the kids in one room, which doesn't sound like a great option to me. 

Anyone out there share their creative space with a babe? How does it work? I'd love to hear anyone's experience with it. Or any experience with a newborn and toddler sharing a room. Or any experience getting someone to gift a four bedroom house to your family, no strings attached...