08 Friday Feb 2013
Posted in Inspiration
Tags
beekeeping research, Chinese New Year dragon, Etsy, Headband Feather Crowns, Honeybeelives.org, Inspiration, Instagram, life with kids, Pantone the 20th Century in Color, Year of the Snake
Instagrams from the Week:
*Ada’s Chinese Dragon – Happy Year of the Snake!
*Headband Feather Crowns for Etsy Store (Coming Soon!)
*Ada’s Valentines
*Quilt
*Bee Research After This Amazing Class (and a beautiful Pantone book)
*Josie Playing Piano
**Happy Weekend!**
10 Thursday Jan 2013
Posted in Organizing, Vintage
Tags
bedside table, child's suitcase, Etsy, flea market find, home, style, suitcase storage, vintage, vintage suitcase
We are always on the hunt for the perfect vintage furniture for the house. The bedroom search list includes bedside tables, a lamp for Ada’s room, wall sconces…But for now we’ve employed this little vintage suitcase to hold the lamp and water glasses. It is just the right height and can be quickly converted back to its original self when Ada needs a suitcase to carry to Nan’s. Vintage suitcases are abundant at flea markets. Etsy has some cute choices here. Be sure to check inside linings if you plan to use the case for storage. A stack of vintage child-size suitcases also makes a good storage/table option.
19 Wednesday Dec 2012
Tags
baby cashmere, cashmere yarn, DIY knit, Etsy, hand knits, knit for baby, Sublime, The Fifth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, vintage buttons, Vintage Duffel Coat
I have been wanting to knit up this Vintage Duffle Coat by Sublime for my niece for quite some time. The pattern is in The Fifth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, which is full of more sweet baby knits. I finally finished the duffle in time for our early Christmas celebration last week. I used the called-for Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK, in Plum Pie and finished it off with vintage buttons. (Etsy has a great selection of vintage buttons here). Baby knits are always so satisfying and relatively quick to make up, and the chubby recipients make even the cutest sweater look even better.
29 Thursday Nov 2012
Tags
diy, DIY Embroidered Denim Jumper, Etsy, fashion, handmade dress, kids clothes, Purl Bee, Purl Soho, sister dresses, vintage plaid
This dress is a variation on Purl Bee’s lovely Embroidered Denim Jumper. I love the Purl Bee blog! The Purl Soho store in Manhattan is an amazing place to visit- it looks like a bright candy store and is full of yarn and fabric and books and projects. I used some vintage plaid to make this dress for Ada. The jumper made up so quickly and easily I can’t wait to try the pattern out in other fabrics. Etsy has some pretty plaid choices here. The jumper requires very little machine sewing and it was fun to play around with new embroidery stitches. This dress is the first of the sister dresses for this year. (Here are last year’s).
13 Tuesday Nov 2012
Tags
Brooklyn General Store, cashmere yarn, Etsy, heirloom knit, hoodie pattern, knit hat, knit hoodie, knit pattern, knitting for kids, Lyalya Hoodie ABC
Despite the 65 degree day we had here yesterday, cooler weather is on its way. This is one of my favorite knit hats for kids. It is from the Lyalya Hoodie ABC Pattern, available from her Etsy store here. (The pattern provides directions for adult, baby and child sizes- hence the ABC). The hoodie is simple to make up and keeps little necks warm in the wind. We used this amazing yarn from my favorite yarn and craft shop Brooklyn General to make ours. The cashmere is soft and warm and lightweight and this hat will get passed down from big to little sister.
21 Friday Sep 2012
Posted in Inspiration
Tags
Cloud City, Etsy, home, Ikea, Ikea 2012 Pillow, Ikea throw pillow, Inspiration, Instagram, Tomas Saraceno, vintage pillow
Instagrams from the week:
* The Season’s First Pumpkin
* Tomas Saraceno’s Cloud City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
* Pillows, Vintage and Ikea
* Ada’s Installation: Osage Orange, Chartreuse Yarn and the Horse
18 Tuesday Sep 2012
Posted in Likes, Organizing
Tags
blocks and language, circus blocks, early childhood, Etsy, organizing blocks, Uncle Goose, wooden block play, wooden blocks, yellow ware bowl
We have a collection of various wooden block sets, but these Uncle Goose numbers are my favorite lately. We keep them in a big antique yellow ware bowl so they are easy for the kids to get to and clean up. I love the colors and the carved details and their weight. This set also has a rocket ship, skyscraper and circus on its sides. There is something perfect and timeless about a child playing with blocks. There are theories that block play leads to better understanding of language structure and spatial relations. But I love to watch the girls imagine worlds and structures without bounds as they stack blocks.
05 Wednesday Sep 2012
Tags
diy, Etsy, felt coaster, home, home sewing, home style, lace doily, vintage doilies, wool felt, Wool Felt Central
We made these wool felt coasters from some square lace doilies we found at the flea market. They are a simple cut and stitch project which requires very minimal sewing skills. Round doilies could be substituted if you have those. The simple X stitching we used will work for any shape, and a larger set of doilies would be great as trivets. To make the coasters you will need:
*Wool Felt (This is our favorite)
*Small Doilies
*Pinking Shears
*Straight Pins
*Sewing Machine
*Thread to Match Doilies
1. Cut felt into squares to match doilies using pinking shears. (Our squares are 3 1/4″).
2. Iron doilies if needed.
3. Center each doily on top of a felt square and pin in place.
4. Using a zig-zag stitch, sew an X through each coaster as sewn. Be careful to remove pins as you stitch and to not let the fabrics buckle.
5. Tie the stitch ends on the underside of felt and trim.
6. Make some cocktails!
21 Tuesday Aug 2012
Tags
birth announcement, custom birth announcement, diy, Etsy, homebirth, Ilfant Press, letterpress, library card birth announcement, Lisa Hasegawa
We had these library card announcements custom made by Ilfant Press for Josie’s birth. Lisa Hasegawa at Ilfant worked with us to design the layout and then letterpressed the library cards by hand. I love letterpress! Josie (and Ada) were born at home so the library home address made us happy. We used photo corners to attach Josie’s picture and tied them with a bit of baker’s twine.
17 Friday Aug 2012
Tags
Etsy, handmade lace, home, linen towel, shopping, style, thrift shop, Vintage hand towel, vintage linen
Handmade lace edging on a vintage hand towel. I love using these in the bathrooms at our house. Linen and cotton hand towels are abundant and cheap at thrift stores. Linen lasts forever and just looks better with age. Be sure to check towels for signs of wear and stains. This cotton hand towel was $6 and makes me happy. Here are some Etsy finds.
