Baby Steps to Mom

Paper jewelry, and also another reason I love my job.

As I'm gearing up to post my first giveaway EVER (so excited!), I wanted to share the spoils of our last giveaway over at the TomKat Studio. One VERY lucky winner walked away with a $100 credit for Blush Envy, where she sells amazing jewelry made out of paper.

You heard me right. PAPER. 

I didn't believe it when I read that she made her pieces from such a fragile textile, BUT THEN. I went over to Kim's house last week and got this lovely PINK surprise that I haven't been able to take off my finger since!

 

Check out that packaging- gorgeous! Many thanks to Brandy for thinking of me when she sent the lovely goodies over to Kim!

Hop on over to her shop and show her some love by purchasing one of her handmade treasures! Or feel free to pick a fave and put it on your wish list. Wouldn't these rings make lovely bridesmaid's gifts or a fun gift for a mom-to-be to make her feel pretty? No doubt my dainty and timeless piece will be handed down to LJ when she's old enough to know not to put it in her mouth or play with it in the mud. In other words, she can wear it on her wedding day :)

Silhouette.

Once of my favorite Etsy shops, Le Papier Studio, specializes in "Elegant Silhouette Creations" ranging from wall art to pillows and even necklaces. I'm still working on redecorating my office on a very slim budget, and have a bunch of frames from Goodwill that I plan to paint white and fill with family photos for a wall gallery. Then I came up with the idea to make my own silhouette of Linnea to add to the collection. I painted the frame and mat white, traced a photo of her that I took while she was sleeping, cut it out of black paper using an Xacto knife, and put it on a beautiful piece of pink damask scrapbook paper. It was a fun project that turned out beautifully, although if you want an expert to do it, head on over to the Le Papier Studio and request a custom order. I personally want a necklace! Mother's day gift, perhaps? (HINT, HINT.)

So I turned this (Awwww...):

Into this!

The office is still a work-in-progress, but I'm wrapping it up and will be posting pictures in the near future!

Project Nursery: Real Rooms feature.

I am so excited to have Linnea's room featured on Project Nursery today! Kim, my client at the TomKat Studio, was kind enough to offer to feature my little girl's nursery and baby shower on their site. She is a contributing blogger for them and I was so flattered that she loved Linnea's room enough to want to feature it! Jessica of Session Nine came in last Tuesday and took photos for the post and did such a fabulous job, as always. We then had a Mommy Work Day and hung out with our kiddos and worked on each of our businesses with some HGTV in the background... it was perfect. Be sure to check out the feature and leave some love... in the meantime, here are some amazing shots Jessica took of Linnea on a bright, beautiful quilt made by her great aunt Mary!

And one shot of Mum Mum's mirror and tray set and her Bluebirds of Happiness:

Easter dresses.

Having a baby girl is license to start wearing cute matching outfits again- something I used to love doing when I was little, and would probably still do if it wasn't completely ridiculous to do as an adult (as in two adults wearing matching outfits- and not because they're on the same sports team). A while back, I set out to make this shirt into a cute dress for Linnea:

And it suddenly dawned on me that it must become her first Easter dress! And not only that, but it is imperative that we have matching dresses! 

Because I can. So what.

I dug through my fabric stash for the perfect springtime floral print, and happened upon a cute woven micro-floral in soft cotton with tiny blue, lavender and PINK (yay) flowers on it, one of many fabric cuts given to me by my dear Amma. I cut a pattern using a little dress Linnea already had, grabbed some black binding to match the tank top that would serve as the top of my dress, and voila! Matching mommy/baby Easter dresses!

Please forgive the quality of the picture- it was a cell phone camera shot.

I had some leftover fabric from the tank top, which was perfect for a little headband to match her dress. I sewed on some fabric yoyos and satin-covered buttons for anthropologie-style detail. It was super easy, and although Linnea is growing so fast that she probably won't even wear the dress again, I can still rock mine and she can keep rocking the headband :) Another great thing about making our own dresses? It didn't cost a penny!

Happy Easter, everyone! He is risen, indeed!

p.s. I was laying on my parents' couch in a food-induced coma today when the ground started rockin' and rollin' beneath me. Trippy. Swinging chandeliers and everything. Never experienced an earthquake before so I thought it was kind of a big deal!

Office makeover.

As any of my dear readers know, I am a work-at-home mommy. When I first met with my lovely client Kim at the TomKat Studio, I was totally inspired by her decorating style (as pretty much everyone else who knows her is!) and set out on a mission to make over my office space. As you also know, my favorite color ever is PINK, so not only did I know I had to incorporate it into my new decor, Kim did a gorgeous job decorating her studio/living room in pink and orange! I am also *slightly* obsessed with her pink chair in the foreground:

 

She basically had the same reaction to it that I did when she saw it in someone's home, and offered to buy it from them and they sold it to her on the spot. Ha! That gorgeous rose pillow was a fantastic find at HomeGoods, where she is also a contributor to their blog. I've been heading there at least once a week in search of a fabulous pink lamp for my desk and any other amazing decor for my work space.

Needless to say, Kim is a fantastic decorator.

This is a work in progress, but here is a sneak peek of the first project I completed- refinishing the sofa table that I'm using as a printer stand and storage space.

Before (clutter mania!):

After (sans clutter, but it will have some other more pretty items on it when I'm done):

Found these gorgeous drawer-pulls at anthropologie. (Where else? Seriously.)

So my overall plan is pink and white- maybe with some lime green accents? I haven't decided yet- it totally depends on what I find out there. I'll be checking out Ikea, anthropologie, HomeGoods, and other random places for inspiration and inexpensive finds. I've already found several items that I can't wait to share once the office is finished. Plus, the simple process of rearranging and moving some furniture pieces around has made a huge difference, and it didn't cost a thing! Gotta love that.

There's something to be said about having an inspiring, colorful work space, especially when you spend most of your day there. I also want to have room for Linnea to play near me when she gets a little older. I'm loving what we've done so far, and I can't wait to be all finished and organized so I can get started on even more projects I have in the works!