for Baby

I feel so unprepared for this baby.

The months are just passing by in a blur, though,

and ready or not, he/she will probably be arriving within a month!

I did find a sweet gender neutral sleeper

for him/her to wear home from the hospital.

(I love the tiny chocolate brown giraffe print!),

and I made coordinating boy and girl option hats to go with it

from some leftover bits of soft yarn in my stash.

The boy hat was my first ever attempt

at using double pointed knitting needles

and knitting in the round.

I'm so very proud of how it turned out.

The chocolate brown and green stripes

make me think of an Andes mint.

Mmm...

I had to get creative when it came time to embellish the girl hat.

I didn't have enough pink yarn to crochet a flower for it,

so I embroidered a trio of sweet flowers

and added a few beads for sparkle.

I have boy and girl baby quilt options

made up and tucked away for the baby too.

They even coordinate with the hat and coming-home-sleeper colors!

Come to think of it,

maybe I'm not as unprepared as I feel...

P.S. This is the pattern I used for the little hats.

our family photo

This is the photo we ended up using

for our Christmas card.

It makes me laugh.

Some battles are not worth fighting,

and belaboring getting a "perfect" photo

is just not one of them.

Handmade Christmas 2012-these are a few of my favorite things edition

I believe I mentioned that I am not going to hold myself to my usual standards of making handmade Christmas gifts for my family this year, which is very reasonable of me. : )  I'm making better progress than I anticipated, but it's still nice not to be pressuring myself.

I'm not the only one who makes pretty things, though.  This post is dedicated to lovelies that are handmade by other artists. I have made purchases from all of these sellers and have had fabulous experiences with all of them. I think that products from any of these sellers would make wonderful Christmas gifts. I would love to send some business their way, so if any of these product catches your eye, please follow the links to their stores!

I own this exact leaf necklace

by Color Shoppe Stained Glass Studio.

It's one of my favorites,

and I get compliments every time I wear it!

Plus the owner of the shop

very generously sent me a multi-strand necklace free of charge

after I inquired about purchasing one

for my vintage Jerusalem cross pendant.

My very favorite pair of earring of all time

come from South Wind Design.

They're dainty pink-and-green flower earrings.

Unfortunately they're not available anymore,

but when I lost my first pair,

I missed them so much I ordered a second

plus a pair of these classy, understated red earrings.

I don't own the pair pictured above, but aren't they pretty?

I love Moaning Minnie's artsy hats!

I own one of her cloche hats.

It was a special order,

and she made and mailed it days before leaving on a trip,

getting it to me from England

in less than two weeks from the day I ordered.

One of her unique newsboy caps (pictured above)

is high on my wish list!

Bella Blue Knits' fingerless gloves

met all of my picky requirements for fingerless gloves:

they must have cozily covered thumbs, not merely thumb slits,

they must not roll or bunch on the palms,

they must be a nice, medium length,

they must be machine washable,

they must not be itchy,

and they must not be prohibitively expensive.

I'm quite content with the green pair I own

(they're just like the blue pair above),

but sure wouldn't mind a pair of these pretty green leaf ones too!

If you've read my blog for a while,

you might remember that I purchased three

of naokostoop's Red Knit Cap Girl prints

for Sweet Pea's nursery.

I also own a print from her brown paper bag art collection.

I love so many of her pieces

that I could easily fill an entire wall with them!

These limited edition Christmas cards

are just as charming as the rest of her work.

And just so you know...

The photos I used in this post

were taken by the artists whose work I admire (not by me).

Also, I wasn't given anything for saying this stuff.

I just love these products

and wanted to share how beautiful  they are.

sibling photo session

You may remember these fun siblings from last year's photo session.

I was excited to take their photos again,

and this year's shoot was just as fun as last year's.

At 9 degrees Fahrenheit, it was a cold session,

but I have to admit that it was the perfect excuse

to tramp through the pristine snow,

freshly fallen the previous night.

finished wedding vow calligraphy

Here is the finished tree and bird custom wedding vow calligraphy!

You can see more pictures and read more about it

if you visit my Etsy shop.

I love how it turned out!

family photos

'Tis the season for family photos!

I often do more photography in October and November

than in the entire rest of the year.

A few weeks ago I had the chance

to meet and photograph this adorable family

thanks to some kind word-of-mouth advertising.

I was pleased that I was able to snap some great shots

in spite of the two-year-old's tired and shy state.

more photo sessions to come...

artsy peeks

The last couple of weeks have been a bit slower.

I have so enjoyed having a bit of extra time to create.

It's almost as beneficial to me as breathing.

I've been working on a custom calligraphy order.

It's another artsy representation of a couple's wedding vows.

This time I'm making a tree and bird design.

The customer said "Wow! I love it!"

So now I'm working with ink.

My art journal does not get the daily attention I planned.

I do like having it handy for the occasional doodle, though.

I decided that it's not worth stressing over.

I have many more projects in mind.

I am learning to embrace the fact

that I will always have more that I want to do

than time to do it.

It's hard not to feel as if I'll explode

from the pressure of the unmade.

I'm growing, though.

The things that need to be made

will be made,

and the best ideas will only grow better over time.

Linking up with Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek.

return to normalcy

Normalcy, of course, is a relative term.

We had a fabulous trip:

concert going

(Benjamin and I discovered a new group, got pictures with and autographs from some of our favorite musicians, and generally enjoyed being slightly irresponsible together going to concerts two nights in a row.)

restaurant dining

(We went out on a limb and ended up discovering an amazing hole-in-the-wall Vietnameese restaurant.  Turns out Thai coffee is fabulous, and of course Coldstone Creamery is always a sure bet.)

thrift shopping

(Horay for big-city selection!)

golfing

(Ben and his dad apparently enjoyed an amazing round of autumn golf at a course in Parley's Canyon that they've been wanting to try for a while.)

autumn festival enjoying

(My sister-in-law and I took my three little ones and the baby she nannies out for a fun-filled morning of hay rides, bouncy houses, mazes, rubber duck racing, pumpkins, and more.)

and just hanging out

(Playing games and having movie night with Ben's parents, getting together with his uncle and aunt, cooking and eating yummy food, going to girls' night at my sister-in-law's place, chasing the cat, and lots of time for grandchildren/grandparent interaction.)

We came home and (with the exception a few days battling an icky cold), I've been busy, busy ever since.  In addition to the normal stuff like appointments, laundry, and dishes, I've been enjoying doing lots of baking and breaking in my new crock pot, doing a photoshoot, working on another handmade Christmas gift, and making a custom wedding vows calligraphy.

That said, I definitely have stuff to write about, but I have to find time to actually sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard.  I still don't have a laptop, and Little Man has officially dropped his afternoon nap, both of which leave my blogging routine, well, non-existent.  It's okay, though. I'm really loving the stage of life even if it leaves me breathless half the time.