In due time...

Today's my baby's due date. We're not sure if it will be his/her birthday (there are still several hours left today), and I'm doing my best to treat each moment as a gift before that momentous occasion... There's more baby readiness info on my other blog, rookses.com.

To that end, I've been crafting up a small storm, mostly cards to have on hand for future thank-yous and new babies. I've been using the new stamps I got through my recent Stampin' Up workshop. It's obvious I ordered the right stamps because just looking at them inspires me to create!

We made this card in the workshop using one of Stampin' Up's newest colors and stamp sets.



I'm wild about this fat, happy little bird! And the swirly vines make for lovely borders and backgrounds. I'll get a lot of use out of this set...













For something different and fun, I ordered a set of animal stamps, which features the giraffe and elephant pictured as well as an owl and a whale. It's a different style for me, but I figured Natalie and I will have stamping the animals together...

Baby shower gift: keepsake box

For the baby shower for my best friend, Sarah, I was privileged to be able to decorate a keepsake box for her new baby. Our friend, Laura, organized the shower and came up with the idea for the box, which is filled with several smaller boxes...


When Laura gave me the big, undecorated box, I initially intended to cover it with paper -- what could be more natural for me? However, I realized that the sides of the box were larger than 12x12, so using paper would present a challenge. Then I got the inspiration I needed: Sarah loves fabric! I popped into the local fabric store and perused the vintage-style selection. The Dick and Jane squares were a no-brainer -- I knew for a fact that Sarah loves those. I then quickly found some lovely warm-colored floral fabric that coordinated well.





The employees at the fabric store were patient with me and my utter lack of knowledge about fabric. I basically showed them the box and said I wanted to cover it with fabric. They agreed that about a yard should do it, and suggested Aleene's tacky glue instead of hot-melt glue. I'm indebted to them for that helpful suggestion! I'm now crazy about fabric and glue -- I'm just sad that fabric is so much more expensive than paper...


I finished the inside edges with twill tape to give it a clean look. I would have done it on the inside of the lid, too, but I feared that making the lid any thicker would prevent it from sliding onto the box.


Each of the smaller boxes will contain something special commemorating Baby Tilly's birth -- her hospital bracelets, information about the weather on the day she was born, data about the popularity of her name, etc. I stamped the tops of each box to label them and trimmed each lid with different cream ribbons/lace/rick-rack (except for the white hexagonal box, which has tan ribbon).


I couldn't stop with decorating the boxes. I just had to incorporate some paper projects, so I made a little brag book, complete with several photos of Baby Tilly (the shower was held after Sarah's baby was born).


I also made a little book with pocket pages to contain notes of love and encouragement for Baby Tilly. All the shower guests filled out a page, and the book can go in the box for her to read when she gets older.


This book project also afforded me a chance to visit my favorite scrapbook store, which I was saddened to find out will be closing in September. When it closes, we on the Central Coast will be left at the mercy of online outlets and chain stores such as Michaels and Beverly's for our scrapbook needs.



It was a perfect project for me to work on now -- it helped me get excited to have my own baby soon, and it gave me a wonderful idea for a gift to give my children someday. I can't wait to meet our new little one to see which fabric will be perfect for him/her!

Work in progress

Behold the belly: 38 weeks, 6 days (9 days until my due date)...

I'm feeling well, and there haven't been any signs of imminent labor. My midwife and I both think it will be several days yet -- I have a hunch this one will stay put until a little after the due date. We just have to wait and see! Either way, I'm comfortable with the baby's timing...

In other news, I've been keeping busy with craft projects, one of which I can't post about until after Sunday. It's a gift for my best friend's baby shower, and I happen to know she peeks at this blog regularly :)

Recent projects part 3: crocheted baby booties

A little over a week ago, my nesting urge collided with my craft urge -- I woke up one morning obsessed with the idea of crocheting my own baby booties. I've never done anything like this before. I've crocheted hats, blankets, scarves, decorative edges, granny squares ... but never a bootie. What's more, I had to do this without using a pattern. For some reason, I felt that a pattern would hamper my impulsive urge to make these little shoes.

I made two prototypes with increasing success. I ran out of the brown yarn, so the next ones I'll make will be in a yummy orange-and-cream yarn of the same weight. I was fortunate enough to be able to use my best friend's newborn as a foot model...

Recent projects part 2: birthday bouquet

For my friend, Beth, I made a vibrant bouquet of paper flowers to adorn her birthday package. I discovered these lovely summer papers in my stash the other day and couldn't resist their happy charm... I've also been collecting orange ribbon lately, and just had to use some (most of which came from the dollar bin at Michaels).

Recent projects part 1: true love wedding card

With 99% of my nesting projects finished, I've returned to crafting.

My friend who commissioned the wedding scrapbook also asked for a wedding card for her daughter. I was all too happy to create something different, as Diane asked for a whimsical card. I used "The Princess Bride" as inspiration, since I learned that the engaged couple are also fans of the movie.

Cutting the window with the vines and leaves took some trial and error -- fortunately I had a 12x12 sheet of the printed paper to work with.





The inside of the card -- this is the first time I've used the computer to print on cardstock for the inside of a card. I am happy with the results, though I used two sheets of paper through trial and error before getting it right.

Sushi party fun

My best friend is throwing a sushi party to celebrate her daughter's second birthday. In fitting with the theme, she had the idea of stamping Asian-inspired art on a couple of tiny T-shirts for the birthday girl's new baby sister. She didn't have time to stamp the shirts herself, so I eagerly volunteered.

As you'll no doubt notice, I had a difficult time stopping myself from covering every inch of the shirts! I used a stiff-bristle brush to paint in some of the stamped images, the first time I've used this technique on cloth...












Like most crafters, I can't pass up an opportunity to create anything and everything fitting with a fun theme. True to form, I created a sushi card for the birthday girl. It took me quite a while to figure out just how to make sushi out of paper. Then I came across some chipboard concentric circles in my stash, and everything fell into place from there. (Again, the colors aren't the greatest -- I finished late last night and simply couldn't wait for daylight to photograph the card!)



I used orange dew drops for the roe...


...and sewed pleats in some orange satin ribbon for the ginger. The green flowers are supposed to represent wasabi.





I made the yellow paper platter by cutting apart two die-cut Stampin' Up 'top note' shaped pieces. The card ended up being too big (roughly 7x7 inches) to be folded into a proper card, so I simply wrote the birthday message on the back. I'm considering offering to attach some of the orange satin ribbon to the top to make it into a wall hanging.

Scrapbook wedding gift

My friend, Diane, approached me a couple of months ago and asked if I'd be willing to put together a scrapbook/storybook chronicling her daughter's life, to be given as a wedding present at the end of June.


It was a first for me, and I jumped at the opportunity. She was eager to pay me for my time and to pay for the supplies. She also chose all the photos and wrote the story--I had the pleasure of choosing the papers and putting it all together. I also got to select fonts for Diane to choose from and come up with some fun ideas to fit her vision of a children's storybook/scrapbook. Here are some highlights from the project.







Most of the pages were straightforward, but some required some Internet searching for maps and other images, and some required some photography of my own. Thanks to Google Maps, I was able to find a photograph of the building Diane lived in when her daughter was little, something that was missing from her own photo archives.



I borrowed some books from friends to complete the list of books Diane suggested for this page. I lined them up and took a photo and cut them out to customize this page. It's my favorite page from this project.



Monopoly, soccer, cards, and Scrabble were some of Diane's suggestions for this page, for which there were no photos. I had an impossible time finding the Jolee's Monopoly embellishments that I could have sworn existed in every scrapbook store. Apparently I was remembering something I'd seen a few years ago, as they no longer exist. I tried bidding on a set on eBay, but got outbid. So, instead, I created a segment of my own Monopoly board out of good old-fashioned paper and pens. I also ordered some real Monoply money and game cards from an Etsy seller, but they didn't show up in time for this page.


The 42-page book took me 27 hours of work, just a little more than my 20-hour estimate. It was an honor to help Diane create a one-of-a-kind treasure to give her daughter. I also created an 8x8 version, as a surprise for Diane, by color-copying all the pages. She deserves to keep a copy for herself!

Now I'm primed to start creating my own scrapbooks!

Nearly finished

I've only got a few finishing touches remaining on the big scrapbook project I've been working on for my friend. I plan on documenting it and blogging a few photos here...

In the meantime, our Rooksling has only a few finishing touches remaining before he or she is ready to be born (I'm due on July 13). Here's a photo of the progress.

It's been a smooth pregnancy thus far, and I'm only suffering from the normal aches, pains, and heartburn that come with being this pregnant. I'm counting down the days until I can focus on my own scrapbook project and other nesting endeavors...

Paper bouquet -- final touches

My mom snatched up one of the paper bouquets I made recently and also requested that I add a couple of flowers to it. I was happy to comply, though I had a tough time finding just the right papers to add to this bouquet. She suggested something with green and/or a darker pink. After searching through my stash of 12x12 papers, I found just the right K & Company designs...

Before

After
(the colors aren't quite true...)