{ A lot has happened }

So a lot has happened in the past year! Our 2 year old turned 3 and is very much a handful and a delight and we welcomed our second daughter in August.  Going from none to one was hard and going from one to two was even harder. But don't get me wrong I love my girls to the moon and back.

After my little break, here I go jumping in where I left off.

{ Someone is turning 2 }

After a bit of a hiatus (mainly taking care of my energetic toddler) I am getting back into the groove of things for the new year and hopefully I will have a bit more time to contribute to my sometimes neglected blog.  With that said, its our toddlers second birthday very soon, and I wanted to create some special invitations for the day.  I repurposed an old illustration that I really loved but didn't like how it turned out.  I am much happier with the redesign!

{ Make Believe }

My 18 month old went from being a baby to being a toddler right before my eyes, she went from putting toys in her mouth to quietly playing.  So I think that its time to start buying her some Make believe toys (I think I am more excited about this then she is) and the first toys that come to mind are these super cute wooden toys.  Many different companies make them, but one of my favourites is Hape, a Germany based company.

Hape has an extensive collection of play food and sweet kitchens for little ones to play with.  Hape uses natural materials, water based paints and are created following strict safety standards. So not only are they incredibly cute but safe too! Such a great toy.




 

{ New Work }

The Marvelous Mrs. Fox was inspired by childhood fables in a lovely 

retro colour palette.

{ Baby Mobile }

I am super excited to share a craft project that I finished for our dear friends who recently celebrated the arrival of their beautiful baby boy! He is such a cutie, and to help the new parents welcome their little bundle I crafted a modern safari themed mobile for the little ones room.

I am also thrilled to share these photos because they were taken with my new camera lens, which was a 30th birthday gift from my wonderful husband!

{ Baby Print }

I've been working on this piece for awhile now, so I thought I would share the finished product. I am quite happy with how it turned out. Just perfect for a birth keepsake!

{ A Scandinavian Inspired Winter }

1. Padraig Baby Slippers 2. Ouef Be Good Coverall Hat 3. Ouef Be Good Reversible Mittens

4. Ouef Be Good Sweater Dress 5. Zara's 6. Zara's 7. Baby Gap Faux-Shearling Jacket

Yesterday I saw a few little flurries, so I couldn't help but think of winter, the cold weather and Christmas (of course). This year we have not only ourselves to get ready for the cold weather ahead but our baby bean as well. There are so many cute cold weather accessories with a Scandinavian flare for babies, so I am quite happy that we live in the Great White North! I picked up the cutest baby slippers the other day for bean and I can not wait to put them on her feet, not only are these slippers stunning they are made in CANADA (bonus) and if they were a gift (which I wish they were) you can purchase the cutest packaging ever.... a tiny house (love it).

{ Oh baby }

Photo Credits + Post + Tutorial: Shadandlizzie

I am always raving about Pinterest, it is so amazing that I am slightly afraid that one day it will up and vanish only to be a faded memory of something really special. The amount of inspiration and lovliness that is found there is eye candy for any creative soul, I think that we are so lucky to be able to experience such a creative outlet, well done Pinterest! I especially love looking at things for babies, anything baby really.

Today I found such a lovely tutorial for the sweetest headbands ever! They are just so beautiful. Not only are they easy peasy to make for your little one, but they make great baby shower gifts too! The possibilities are endless.

{ I love......... Baby Leg Warmers }

Photo Credit + Tutorial: The Purl Bee

I am a huge fan of leg warmers during the fall and winter season and was over the moon when I discovered that you can get or make leg warmers for your wee one as well! Imagine the possibilities. Not only are they cute to boot but they keep your little one warm while changing diapers, make diaper changes easier, provide comfort during potty training and keep their precious knees protected when scooting about on hard floors when crawling. I can not wait to pick some of these up or to make a few for our babe.

While looking into cute knee high socks to use for my handmade baby leg warmers, and friend of mine (another mommy) suggested knitting some. Hmmmm I may just do that, thanks Elaine!

I know I am full of promises but I really am going to post the finished product, promise cross my heart.

{ The Great Pumpkin Patch }

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, Toronto was especially beautiful on Sunday, with clear blue skies and sun it was the perfect fall afternoon. We took a little family trip to the pumpkin patch, it was the beans first experience with pumpkins. We picked up a small pumpkin just to add a little fall to our place and a bag of apples as I am planning to make some more applesauce this year (loved it last year, I think I have a new tradition). I can't believe a year has passed since last Halloween already. Last year around this time we were preparing for my baby shower, now our baby is getting ready for her first Halloween!

{ Snowy Owl }

Photo Credit + Tutorial: Purl Bee Snowy Owl

I am sure you all know by now that I am a big fan of our feathery friends the Owl and I am always sharing tutorials I find that showcase these cuties. Today is no different this sweet Snowy Owl was found on the Purl Bee. What a wonderful project for those cool fall nights and winter days ahead!

{ Maptote Bodysuits }

Photo Credit: Maptote

Keeping up with my map theme from earlier this week I stumbled upon these incredibly cute baby bodysuits by Maptote for babies via UnrulyLittleThings. I would love to pick up a few for the bean, especially the one from Paris as its one of my favourite cities! I just adore Paris, and I hope that one day our little bean will get to experience Paris in all its loveliness. Having a baby really gets me thinking about all the wonderfully amazing things you can make for a wee one!

{ 7 months }

Yesterday our little bean turned 7 months old. I can not believe how quickly time is passing, it seems like just yesterday we brought her home and now she is filling our house with joyful smiles, and contagious laughter. She is also keeping us on our toes as she can now crawl (quite quickly) and stand. It is just amazing watching her turn into a little person.

{ Baby Story }

So I couldn't help myself, this past weekend we went up north for a cottage weekend with my husbands work and well it was Kaisa's first cottage experience, she loved it and I just had to share this cute pic of her.

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post, almost a whole month! My little snuggler loves attention, and well lets be honest I love giving her attention, so its a win win situation. As mentioned in my last post I wasn't quite happy with the baby announcements so I tweaked them just a little!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE coral and pool together so I decided to change the background to a lovely white, which I think really makes the design elements stand out. The finished announcement is a poster inspired by modern design and simple shapes. The announcement folds into three parts. Upon opening the pool envelope our family and friends are greeted by the message "We are delighted to be introducing our baby girl", the next section depicts a super cute elephant adorned with her name, and a little sign "hello." Finally the last section includes all of the important details day, weight and length.

These announcements were so fun to make, I can't wait to send them to our loved ones! I hope they enjoy receiving them as much as I enjoyed working on them!

I think I will also add a little photo with each announcement as well!

{Baby announcement}

Happy Friday Everyone, while my little one sleeps I will take a little bit of time to share her cute birth announcement with you all. I am not sure if this is the final design yet as I am still playing with colours. I was thinking of adding hints of blue or possibly even brown, or I may even try a different design. Its such an important design that I want it to be just perfect for our little miss.

For this specific design I was inspired by mid century posters. I wanted to create a poster announcement that had an unconventional shape, had a simple colour palette and was more illustrative. I also plan on including a snap shot of Kaisa with each poster.

Check back for the finished product!

{le petit hiboux mobile}

Hi everyone, it has been a incredibly busy, but amazing week with the surprise arrival of our bundle of joy Kaisa, our little girl was born on Januray 8, 2011 6:08pm weighing 5lbs. 6oz. She has already stolen our hearts. I wanted to quickly share my labour of love. I made a baby mobile for Kaisa while she was still safely in my womb, all warm and cozy and kicking while I worked away on my trusty sewing machine.

I worked on this cute hiboux mobile in my spare time while relaxing at night with my wonderful husband Mark (who is a natural at being a dad). The design was inspired by various other mobiles that I saw, but not just one design. I wanted something modern, yet colourful owl themed and handmade. It was such a fun project, looking forward to working on some others that I have planned soon.

{ Nesting Doll Inspired }

{ Baby Shower Thank You Cards }

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend, especially our American friends who recently celebrated Thanksgiving. A while back I posted some super cute baby shower invites inspired by nesting dolls and autumn. Today I am following up that post with these darling Thank you cards. These Thank you cards correspond with the Baby shower invites, and continue the Nesting doll theme and the vibrant orange and purple palette.

Hope you enjoy these cards and the rest of your Monday!

{ New in my Etsy Shop }

Just added to my Etsy shop is this super cute modern animal alphabet. Inspired by bold colours and simple geometric shapes. Perfect for a Holiday gift!

{ Happy Weekend }

A lot of my posts recently have been about fashion, hats + coats to enjoy this fall season, but today as a little hooray for the weekend I am going to leave you with an illustration I've been working on. I hope you enjoy! This is just the start, I plan to create more of these cute little illustrations which are so much fun to do, and are perfect for a baby's nursery or child's room.

xo

Tina