Handmade for Baby

My baby shower was a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share some of the beautiful gifts we received for little BooBoo. It was a small gathering but I'm happy to say that most of the gifts were handmade!

Trisha made this sweet quilt. I'm so honored that she gave it to me, she actually worked on it at my house! haha I really love it. I want the baby to enjoy it, but I'm also thinking about hanging it on the wall in her room for a while so we can see it. Thanks Trisha, I really love it!

And from Trisha's daughter, these gorgeous baby bracelets. Remember the stitch markers she made for me? These are even more special because they're made from beads & crystals I used to make my wedding jewelry. They'll be a wonderful keepsake for the baby.

My friend Alejandra knitted this adorable hat and blanket. I love the color of that blanket and the hat is just too cute (and, I'm told, it will even stay on).

 

My cousin's girlfriend Sanya came all the way across the country to be with us that day and the gifts she made are to die for. Look at this adorable hat and booties. Just beautiful!

Sanya also made this lovely gown and hat. These are just amazing and I'm so touched that she spent so much time for my little baby. If I didn't have to take the baby home in a car seat, she'd be wearing this home for sure.

Christina couldn't make it to the shower but she sent along this cute bunny to hang in baby's room (I've reserved a special place). His body is cross stitched and his little tail is beaded. Isn't he sweet?!?!

Christina also sent me some birthday pressies (my birthday was this past Saturday)...she really knows what I like.

I can't wait to make these cookies! Thanks so much Christina...you're so thoughtful. :)

I'm so lucky to know so many crafty people! I've been chipping away at my craft list lately too, here's the latest...

A very soft knitted blanket, just riddled with mistakes. I suppose no one will notice as long as I don't lay it out flat.

And just finished today:

A reversible hoodie made from an old Butterick pattern I had laying around. It only took me the afternoon to put this together.

I finished this little scotty dog a while ago, just didn't get a chance to share it. He's so cute, isn't he? (If you want to see both sides, click here.)

And (just for Trisha) because I refuse to dress up a newborn for Halloween...

In one evening I knit up this sweet little pumpkin hat. She can get her picture taken in it but I'm not taking her trick-or-treating. ha!

There's more where this came from but I'm a bit behind in the photo department.

Ready to Occupy

It's been ages since I posted, but I've been so busy with crafty projects that I just wasn't ready to show you anything. Now I am!

I had my baby shower yesterday (can you believe it!?) so I was working hard to get the baby's room in order for the girls to see it. Here's how it's looking so far. (I apologize for the bad lighting and color in the photos, it's a tough room to take pictures in).

The colors are a little washed out, but this is the view from the doorway. There should be a shelf above the dresser/changing table, but that hasn't made it's way onto the wall yet.

 Both the dresser and the chair are from IKEA. I hope to add some rick rack or fabric to the chair at some point but I'm not sure if that project will take place any time soon. The rug is from Land of Nod, the crib is a hand-me-down from a friend.

I made the bumper out of the giant pile of fabrics I told you about before. Did you know you could buy a pack of precut crib bumper foam at JoAnn? Me either. It's nice & sturdy so I don't have to worry about it smooshing down too much when the baby gets a little bigger. You can't see it well in this picture, but the skirt is a blueish floral with a rick rack trim & a layer of flat eyelet underneath (same as I did for the curtains).

Here's a closer look at the bumper. I got the idea for the x's from Schnibbles Times Two (you can see the quilt on the cover of the book). I always knew I wanted patchwork for the bumper but wasn't sure how to do it. I made the x blocks first & then added the gingham border to get the pieces to the right size for the foam. It was a very tricky project, but I'm happy with the result. The opposite side is vertical striped (you can kind of see it in the photo above).

I knew for a long time that this was the dresser we'd be using. It just seemed like the perfect size to use as a changing table and the drawers are huge! It's from the Hemnes collection at IKEA. I told you about the knobs I ordered (dreamscapedesigns on Etsy) in a previous post, I really love the way they add a little fun to the dresser. I used a set on the closet doors too. Nick wants to build a sort of tray thingy for the changing pad, but I might just change that plan to some really strong Velcro (we only have 5 weeks!)

Another thing I knew I wanted was the alphabet. I labored over how to do this for a few weeks. I could make my own, but who has the time? I love these, but the color scheme wasn't right and I thought they'd be too white on that white panel wall. The set I got, I had seen in lots of places over the last couple years. I ended up purchasing them from Amazon because they had the best price. I got the teeny clothespins from Amazon too! I just used little nails, very thin ribbon to hang the cards on & thicker ribbon tied in bows to cover the nails. When baby gets big enough to reach the cards, this wall will likely change.

And here's the last big project I made for the room. I had this adorable honey bun laying around and thought it might be fun to use it as the top for a mobile. Naturally, I wanted to make whatever would hang from it. I labored over this project for a long time too. I couldn't decide if I wanted flowers or animals or what! In the end I bought a crochet pattern from Amy Gaines and changed things a little so I got the animals I wanted (I had to have a monkey in there!). It was a chore to get the critters to hang right (and Mr. Pig still isn't cooperating), but they're pretty good now.

Here's a better view of the frog & pig. I loved this pattern...it was easy to follow and super quick to make. I may have to make some more of these little guys with rattles or bells inside.

And now some Etsy love. I bought 3 prints from different Etsy sellers. I used a nice textured piece of scrapbook paper as a mat for this card from Belle & Boo.

I couldn't believe this could be any cuter in person than it was online, but it is! It's from When Guinea Pigs Fly and hangs above the dresser on the right. I don't have a photo of the 3rd print I bought from Trafalgars Square, but it hangs to the left of the dresser in the same frame as this one (also even cuter in person). I love Etsy!

And last but not least, another item I didn't make but I really love:

The lighting in my house is awful at best so I needed to add something near the chair. I found this lantern at a local toy shop and fell in love with it. I'm not into princesses as a general rule, but this thing is just too cute and the colors are perfect! I used a fixture I had laying around from IKEA and a dimmer switch (also from IKEA). At least I can turn it on pretty low if I need to. And yes, you can get dimmable cfl bulbs, yay!

In the end, I'm happy the room is pretty much ready for baby BooBoo and I like the look. One of the comments yesterday was that they liked how it's not too "matchy-matchy", that's a huge compliment in my book. I don't do matchy-matchy.

Now, I just need a baby to live here....I'm so ready. This has been an amazingly uncomfortable pregnancy for me, my back is so done (but I know it's worth it)!