::New in The Studio::

have i/we ever gone this long without posting?

sheesh.

well, let's get to it, shall we?

here's what's new:

PIN ME

on a white onesie

who wouldn't want to 'pin'

a little cutie?

we have several listed in the shop.

here it is with the yellow gingham in

a cloud shape

on a light pink shirt

this one is listed in the shop also.

wanna know what else is new?

i'll give you a some hints:

mine had to go in for repairs.

i panicked.

i needed a back up.

i wanted a computerized one.

know what it is?

come back tomorrow and i'll show you!

linked this project here:

::from Etsy::

hey friends, how was your weekend?

i spent saturday with my middle girl, my mom

and my Aunt T in the Lancaster, PA area.

we spent quite a bit of time at an enormous fabric and quilt

shop and i found (and bought) so many beautiful fabrics.

it's one thing to see pictures of fabric online, but it's

a totally different experience to see them in person.

i was in heaven and of course it renewed my dream

to own my own fabric shop one day.

i'll be sharing my fabric purchases a little later in the week.

now. onto the my recent etsy purchases.

i'm just in love with this precious necklace.

when i saw it on etsy, i knew it had to be mine.

meg at button soup jewelry has

the cutest necklaces all made from buttons.

her color choices are gorgeous.

she was super quick to ship too.

i'm already picking out other ones to buy.

i think i need one for every holiday and season.

don't ya think?

another purchase i made recently was

this little combo key fob

and checkbook cover from pokey rose.

i need the fob because i'm always losing my keys

and having one of these helps

find them.

and i really don't write checks all too often,

but when i do,

having a cover makes it a little nicer.

i hope you've had a great weekend and that you have monday off too!

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

bag courtesy of The Carpenter's Wife

The thing with blogging and child-rearing is that it not very glamorous and compatible at the same time. Compatible? Sure. I can work from home during naps, at night, etc. Glamorous? Not so much. See, during morning nap, I'm in my sweats still but the lighting is at its best in my yard and around the house.

Quick, Eleanor, take a shot--the sun is in a good position!

Wait, I wanna be in it!

Alright, ML, come on in.

Eleanor, just try to get the bag and not my sweats, k?

Whatev, I've got a cute new bag, yes? Perfect for everyday going to the park, grocery store (maybe it'll doll up my sweats?). Fabulous work Carpenter's Wife! Check her out on Etsy and be prepared to be toooootally overwhelmed and unable to pick which bag is the cutest!

Vintage Cowboy Birthday Party: Part One

Baby C is turning ONE in just a couple of weeks.  I guess that means I can't call him "Baby" anymore, huh?  I'm planning a first birthday party & going completely overboard...and I'm loving every part of it!  The theme is Vintage Cowboy.

I can't wait to show you what I've been working on (or shall I say, what I've been "purchasing" from Etsy).  Seriously, there are some talented folks out there.  Anyway, first up - some inspiration pictures!

I'm loving the daisies & galvanized tubs from this birthday party:

This idea for favors is so fun, don't you think?!  Included are cowboy hats, bandanas, sheriff badges AND horses.

And for food?  Easy, simple BBQ...always a crowd pleaser!

This party, just might be the sweetest party of all.  Lucky for us, The Tomkat Studio is an Etsy seller (hint, hint)!   

Next up, I'll show you some of my recent Etsy party purchases & what the guest of honor (& his parents!) will be wearing!

A Quilt to Make

QUILTING

I've made exactly one quilt in my life. It was a very easy one called Yellow Brick Road that is perfect for beginners and I cut out all the pieces in one afternoon session.

I started with the cherry fabric and used that as my inspiration piece.

But when I say that I 'made' it, I mean that I pieced the quilt top and then sent if off to my Aunt Theresa who had it quilted with a long arm and surprised me by doing the binding as well.

I *loved* making the quilt top and want to make another one. I adore choosing and arranging fabrics. I think about machine quilting though and sort of think, "ugh." Seems like a bit of a pain to get such a large project through the sewing machine and maybe sending it out to get professionally quilted is the way for me to go. (Aunt T, what do you think??) The binding seems more manageable. I know how to make it, sew it on and hand bind it and I want to master that process. So... I stumbled upon this Tiffany Quilt pattern by Rita over at Red Pepper Quilts. It's just so pleasing to the eye! And so is her blog.

Isn't this sweet?

I originally saw it on Jody's Everyday Beautiful blog (another great blog and Etsy seller) and just felt is was the project for me. (The me that has 3 kids, tries to exercise each day, has piles of laundry all over and just.can't.say.NO. to volunteering at school.) So I bought the pattern, ordered some fabrics from Jody's Fabric Shoppe on and pulled some of my own fabric to get started. Here's what I pulled out:

Pretty piled up fabric

More pretty piled fabric

Build Your Fabric Stash from Fabric Shoppe

Messy scrap pile

More messy

I really have no idea what fabric I'm going to use. It's not organized and figured out yet, BUT Rita's pattern includes her suggestions for choosing fabric and getting the "look" of her Tiffany quilt. I will be poring over her detailed guide as I go and I'm just going to start cutting and see how it turns out. Maybe you'll help me as I go?!

I'm also following Jeni over at In Color Order to learn more about making fabric choices. She is so talented and knowledgable about color combinations, values, saturations, etc. Things that I know nothing about! Her series The Art of Choosing is informative. Plus, her pictures are just pure eye candy!

So stay tuned, Peeps! I'm going to be documenting this process as I go; sharing my frustrations and thoughts, my successes and failures and I hope it will inspire you to make your own quilt or another project you've been wanting to try.

Thou Shall Covet: Nautical Inspired Finds

I'm ready for S-U-M-M-E-R!

Here's to long days on the beach, corn on the cob, flip flops, fresh tomatoes, lobster & crab feasts, driving with the windows down, Corona's with lime, ice cream cones with jimmies, & sand in your swimsuit! ;)

Summer scarves = the perfect accessory!

Check out these two from World Market:

Red/White Striped Scarf (Hmmm, I wonder if I could DIY this?)

Anchors & Chains scarf:

These Sea Urchin & Starfish Pillows are made out of recyled chenille...

Ahhhhh, so soft. They will fit in nicely on my screened-in porch at my beach cottage (Ha!).

Seersucker shorts AND boat shoes...a must have for Baby C,

especially for a sunset cruise on Pops' boat!

Need a beach bag OR just a fun, everyday bag?

I love the rope handles on this Sailor Tote from byanhippo on Etsy.

Speaking of rope, LOOK at this adorable Sailor Knot Headband from marcelacamargo:

My other favs from her Etsy shop: Sailor Knot Belt and Sailor Knot Necklace

Check out these espadrilles from Kate Spade (available in blue, green & black too!):

And finally, we can't forget something for Payton!

Nautical Dog Collar (love the pop of red!) from greenbeandog on Etsy:

Another Treasury!

Thanks, Mols, for turning me on to the art of the Etsy treasury.  What a fun way to mine for cool items!  Here is my latest--I'm going on a SANS KIDS trip to Chicago this weekend and I thought it would be fun to look for Chicago-related items.  Though, really, I should have just put a bunch of wool stuff cuz I think we might be cold.  Ya think?

New In The Studio: SPRING!

I don't know about you guys, but the Three Sisterz are really looking forward to SPRING! Call it what you want - Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, Snownami, Snowtastic, we are ready for it to be OVER!

Here are some of the spring goodies that we've been working on...

We love love love doing custom orders for number and letter tees & onesies, so contact us and we can talk!

**P.S. Have you entered our most recent giveaway by The Stationery Sisters!?!