why i haven't posted anything new...

cryin-clementine

Oh my darlin' cryin' clementine.

This little bundle has been keeping me from my crafty baking self which makes it hard to post new things.

Feeding a baby and enjoying all of her funny faces trumps blogging.

Now that the weather has cooled off I will be giving Clementine her first lessons in baking from her vibrating bouncy seat.

This picture was taken on her first road trip to Mt. St. Helens. She didn't really enjoy the view considering she can only focus on objects that are close by but she loved the car ride!

Sweet Clementine

baby-wrinkles

baby-toes

clementine2

Clementine July

Born July 31, 2009

at 1:34 pm

7 lbs. 8 oz

19.75 inches

It was a hot, sunny, happy day.

Place your bets!!! When do you think the baby will arrive?

Test your psychic abilities and dazzle your friends with your insight into guessing birth dates!

If you win maybe we'll let you pick the name.

Just kidding!

But you'll have bragging rights!

Leave a comment with your guess of day and time frame. Our expectant due date is the 18th. When does that ever happen?! And for those of you who already guessed the full moon on the 7th, looks like you'll have to guess again!

Our pick? Well, 22 has been a lucky number in this house. Although I thought a birth date of today would be kind of great... 7/8/09! Easy to remember!

We're looking forward to see what you think!

By the way, this cute letterpress card is from FuguFugu Press.

Making a mobile with an ikea hanging lamp

I knew from the moment I saw this Glansa pendant lamp hanging in IKEA it would make a perfect mobile base. It is basically a wreath frame wired with little LED lights. Although it looked pretty cool hanging on its own above the crib I had a plan to sweeten it up. I found this great leaf ribbon at a local fabric shop. It has a matte paper-like finish. It reminded me of the Tord Boontje Midsummer Lamp. Yes, I could have just ordered one of those but it wouldn't have been as fun to make.  Plus, I made those blue birds that needed a place to hang and be happy...

Step one. I covered the upper cords that the light hangs from with the leafy ribbon. Then I went around the frame of the light and then draped the last pieces randomly so there were 'vines' hanging down.

Step Two. I attached fishing line to my little blue birds and hung them around the frame at different lengths. Done!

Tintable chalkboard paint. Magnamagic...a dream come true

My plan for a main wall in the baby's room was to use chalkboard paint. Not the traditional green or black, something different. I wanted orange. Of course I had a particular shade of orange in mind so the quarts of rustoleum in pre mixed quarts of colors was not going to work. I searched the internet looking for advice on blogs, reading magazine articles, even contemplated making my own using Martha Stewart's recipe, which would be quite a project. It was a big wall. I needed at least a half gallon and before you can use your home made chalkboard wall you have to cover the whole thing with chalk and then wipe it off. No thanks. That's not what I'm looking for.

Then I found Magnamagic. I ordered a gallon of their tintable chalkboard paint which they claimed could be be tinted any color you wanted. It was a neutral base paint. I later learned this meant that pastel colors were harder to achieve exactly but if you were looking for a stronger hue this would be perfect. And it is. $49.99 a gallon plus three day delivery and my creative dream was on its way to becoming a reality.

I read on the Magnamagic web sight that a few select Sherman Williams stores on the east coast were now carrying their products. So that's where I decided to go to hoping that the bases of the paint would be similar and I could get a more exact color match. The staff at Sherman Williams was overly helpful. Although I left there a little uneasy about the dabble of paint on my gallon top thinking it was a bit brighter than I wanted I realized those people really know their stuff because the paint dried a bit darker on the wall and it was an exact match.

Top reasons to try this paint:

• You pick the color. whoo hoo!
• The paint fumes were surprisingly lower than your average gallon of paint.
• Goes on smoothly and one coat was enough!
• Let the paint dry for 48 hours before using chalk on it. You can actually erase your chalk with a clean damp cloth without leaving behind an obvious spot on the wall.

After the paint dried I could begin the chalk drawing that I had envisioned for the nursery...

What a happy room to be in.

a blanket for happy days

Hurray for Japanese import fabric!  I love this print from cosmo textiles. I decided to make a blanket with this happy print on one side to make us smile when we look at it and a super soft side that will be plush and lovely against baby's skin.

Just a 36 inch square. Perfect for the stroller, crib, play yard, or just hanging out on the floor.

Are you smiling yet?

shelf life

Yay! We're getting the baby's room together a little at a time. We put the shelves up. Finally a place for my collection of vintage plastic toys!