{ta da!}

Remember the baby shower I helped out with from 400 miles away? Well I was sent a few pics of how everything turned out. Super cute! You can re-read the original post HERE, see the invite, water bottle labels and even download the cupcake toppers for FREE! 

Cute huh?! If you do use the toppers, please send pics! You can email me directly (see contact in the sidebar) or leave a link in the comments section. 

{free download: owl cupcake toppers}

Recently I shared about designing a suite of invitations and decorations for a friends baby shower, with the theme being owls. I thought I'd share how everything turned out with you. I'm not by any means a graphic designer, but I've been having a ton of fun lately designing invitations for friends. In fact this is my 4th! 

The invitation is sized to fit the Costco postcard when printed (4x6). The postcards are a great heavy card stock and are glossed. They really look beautiful and are a great option for inexpensive invite printing. Plus, you can put additional information on the back side (think clothing sizes, or registry information) and you always have the option to put them in envelopes if you don't want to send them out on their own as postcards (which I think is a darling idea). 

Here is the invite:

The details have been changed so don't think about crashing the party. :)

The water bottle labels. I printed these out on full sheet sticky paper and cut them out. They stick right on a standard sized water bottle. 

The cupcake toppers!

As promised, you can join in on the owl goodness and download the Owl Cupcake Toppers for free by clicking HERE. If anyone is interested in purchasing the invites, water bottle labels, and cupcake toppers customized with your child's info please feel free to send me an email and we may be able to work something out. Otherwise enjoy your download, and get to baking some cupcakes!

{Projects: Bibs}

Ok, I debated on whether or not to post this project because since I made these months ago I have changed the design to what I think is now a much improved version. There is no hyping these bad boys up - they are your basic snap closure terry backed bibs. Purpose--keep spills and spit up off baby's cute clothes. I used patterned cotton for the front, and terrycloth (think towel material) for the back. They should be very absorbent for a messy baby.

The patterns you can find for bibs are numerous. Just google "baby bib patterns" and a bunch of different styles and such will come up. I just freehanded the pattern for this one, sewed my fabric right sides together (leaving a gap for turning), flipped inside out and top stitched (for durability and to close the gap). Lastly I added a snap closure at the top (better than velcro in my opinion, however you could use velcro if you have it handy). It's a very simple project. Like I said earlier, I have a few jazzed up versions to share later on, but for now i'll leave you with a link with a great basic template and basic instructions for making your own bibs. Just click HERE.

{Parasol Craft: 1st Edition}

Ok, Ok, I am so excited to share this with all you out there. Blogging is so connected to print magazines. It really is an extension of print journalism. I love finding and reading a well written, well laid out magazine. There really is an art to it. Well, lately I've been searching for good reading materials about blogging and craft, and let me tell you, I haven't come across much.

There is the print magazine Artful Blogging (which is great, and expensive) and a plethora of "how to make your blog better" books at Borders, but nothing craft/art based with a blogging side.

Well let me introduce you to my new favorite read! Yasmine Surovec, who runs a print/design blog called a A Print A Day has been putting out the digital magazine Parasol. Parasol is design + art + creative lifestyle based and is free to download. It's now in its 4th edition, and is filled with a lot of great content, pictures, and amazing layouts. (I suggest you all download the entire range of editions, its a great read.)

Now, Yasmine has introduced a new endeavor called Parasol*Craft. It's an online/PDF magazine dedicated to handmade + inspiration and lots of downloads. It's a spin off of Parasol Magazine in that craft is the primary focus and the objective is to promote and inspire creativity. At only $2.50 this is the BEST purchase i've made in a long time. The magazine is chocked full (over 110 pages!) of amazing pictures, articles with fellow bloggers and crafters, downloads, and projects. You can purchase the magazine to download here.

It was exactly what I've been looking for...for now. I only wish it was in print format. I'd love curl up with it and a cup of coffee. If anyone else knows of great blogging/craft/sewing 'zines, please do let me know!

{Little Shoes for Little Feet}

Like I mentioned before, I've been sewing a lot. And it seems that all I'm sewing lately are patterns for baby related items. While I have no kiddos, everyone else seems to be adding new additions to their family, and it's keeping my fingers busy.

These are the most adorable little cloth baby shoes. The pattern is relatively easy, and free to download here (thank you Michael Miller Fabrics and this lovely blog). The great thing about this pattern is that all the pieces are so small it's a great project to do with all those scraps of fabric you can't bear to throw out, but don't know what to do with.

The pattern says it fits babies from 0-6 months. I would suggest that it can be altered as far as materials go. Skip the bonded fleece (I used what I had on hand--standard felt) and interfacing, or substitute with what ever you have and all will turn out fine. In essence this is a basic pattern that can be used to make casual lightweight slippers or bulked up with leather bottoms for a dressier look.

Either way your baby will be adorable in them. These green polka dot and pink striped booties are going to a special little someone due this Fall. Meanwhile, if you're curious about what other people have done with the pattern, check out this Flickr group!