Home Decorating

Apparently my nesting instincts go beyond sewing and cleaning. I've been inspired to actually decorate my house lately, as evidenced by the very color coordinated room for Whirlwind and the soon to be baby.

Thankfully my handsome husband has been enabling my whims and has even agreed with some of my suggestions (yeah)!

He even went the extra mile to build me three frames to stretch these beautiful dish towels over. We're going to hang them in our bedroom (hopefully this weekend). I think they're just gorgeous (ignore the flash)!

Tah Dah!

Here it is, Whirlwind and baby # 2's room!

This is the growth chart I made them. It's what you see as you enter the room. I still have to write Whirlwind's past measurements on it.

And then this is Whirlwind's toddler bed (hand built by handsome husband himself). Quilt and pillows are supplied by moi!

To the left is the crib.

To the right is the closet turned dresser area. This is the least visually appealing part of the room for me, but we had to do it to make room for the toddler bed and crib. I would love a house with another bedroom, but for now this will do. And it will do just fine! I am on the hunt for cheap/free organizational boxes, but for now stacking and diaper boxes are the modes of choice. Such is a budget.

I am particularly proud of the pillows/pillow covers I made for Whirlwind. I used the scraps from her quilt. All I can say is: cute.

I wanted some new prints for the room, but with a limited income I didn't want to spend $$$. Microsoft Publisher and dafont.com to the rescue!!!! I made this myself and actually ended up using a default font on Microsoft instead of one of the twenty I downloaded from dafont.com. All it cost was the price of matting at our local frame shop.

I made this banner for Whirlwind for her first birthday. It's been in her room ever since. If baby # 2 ends up being a boy, well he's just going to have to get use to a little pink. =)

The fabulous green walls are also courtesy of handsome husband.

I can't believe there is going to be a little baby in here soon. Swoon.

And it's little butt is going to be in these. I do not look forward to diapers again.

Beautiful Containers

Have I mentioned how much I love some of my containers? Well I do. I love them to bits and pieces and I'm so glad I snagged them when I saw them. The darling peter rabbit tin came from a second hand store nearby and the wodden cigar box came from my mother. I stole it when she wasn't looking. Well actually she was looking and she was shoving it in my hands. She just loves to give things away!

One Down, Two to Go

It must've been all of your positive thoughts because I buckled down and in two nights I finished the binding for Whirlwind's quilt. And look at that! It fits her toddler bed perfectly. I have left over fabric from the binding so I plan on making her some matching (or at least coordinating) pillow cases.

I have a whole post planned on showing you her whole bedroom soon. We've done a lot of work to get it ready for baby # 2. I'm just waiting on the curtains to arrive and to hang the frames on the walls. I'm getting excited about the impending family addition!

And just because I'm obviously throwing valuable nesting energy into sewing instead of cleaning the house I finished the top for another quilt. I've had 3 quilts on my to do list for at least 6 months. They are all getting done now! Whirlwind's quilt (done), a black and white tree quilt and a baby blanket for baby # 2.

The black and white tree quilt top is done! I'm really into this raw edge applique look. Look for it in upcoming Seamingly Sarah products.

Now I'm off to iron, cut, baste, quilt and bind this quilt.

A New Year...

Handsome Husband and I both agree that New Year's Eve is a bit hyped up. We have spent many nights trying to attend parties, throw parties, stay up bleary eyed until midnight and celebrate like teenagers. But alas, I don't think either of us were ever really your typical teenager. We like to go to bed and wake up early. So that is why for the third year now we've especially enjoyed our little family tradition. We go to the local Mexican restaurant (toddler included) and we eat food we don't have to cook off of plates we don't have to clean. We come home and put the toddler to bed and then we follow suit after watching less than stellar tv/movie. No staying up, no watching a ball drop, no noise makers, no confetti. We love it.

Another little tradition we try to do is ask each other what we're looking forward to in the new year. Don't get me started on resolutions. I just don't do them. Handsome Husband on the other hand made a resolution to slow down and think about situations before diving in. I asked him if this meant he would start skiing more slowly. He said "no." I love him.

Well when I started thinking about what I'm looking forward to in the new year it started to come out like a to do list (my most beloved of handicaps) and it went something like this:

get through this pregnancy
finish up some projects at work
make more things for Seamingly Sarah
sell more things on Seamingly Sarah
give birth
work how to be a mom to two
try attending/selling at craft shows

Then I stopped myself when I realized I sounded like a to do list. I narrowed it down and I really feel that what I want to look forward to in the new year is being a mom of two and how I want that to be. I want to make sure I'm in the moment with them, present and engaged, and not going over another to do list. Handsome Husband said "good luck." I still love him in spite of himself.

Inspiration from Children's Books (Part II)

Good old Sesame Street, good for the characters my daughter loves and surprisingly I love the way this illustrator drew the flowers.

A favorite of my daughter's. I love it for the shading and texture. It looks like colored pencils to me. I want to rub my fingers over it and feel the color smudge on my skin.

Our Little Christmas Corner

Since I gave you a sneek peek of the finished garland

I thought I'd show you our little Christmas corner in our house.

Of course no Christmas is complete without this little booger, applesauce and all!

Advent calendars are a childhood memory for me. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without opening up a tab each day. My daughter on the other hand just loves to count the Christmas ornaments in the pictures!

 Various decorations given to us throughout the years, some for fun, some for momentous occassions (like, oh gee, getting married!).

The angel is a relic from my childhood. I'm not sure if she used to sit on the family tree or not, but at some point she lost her wings and she stayed in my room each Christmas. I just can't bear to part with her.



Inspiration from Children's Books (Part I)

Anyone else ever been inspired by the artwork in children's books?

Some of my daughter's books I love to read just because I love to see the beauty that lays in front of me.

Here are a couple of my favorites. I'll share more next week.

I just love the detail and patterns in every scene!

My all time favorite book and page! Beautiful.

Hotel Surprises

Another added benefit of going away for a conference? Finding insipiration in unexpected places!

I wish I had opened up my eyes to this sooner in life, but last week during my conference I couldn't stop noticing all of the patterns and details around me. In the carpet. In the wallpaper. In the napkins. In the glasses. Women's earrings and necklaces. I couldn't stop sketching.

(Don't worry I got some work done too!)

It was inspiration overload and I loved it. 

I'm even seeing new things (or things in a new way) at home.

The Inspiration is Overflowing

I can't really sew during my lunch break (1. I can't lug my sewing machine around and 2. my boss wouldn't be able to hear himself think over the roar of the antique motor). So instead I gaze over my favorite blogs and search for items on Etsy that bring me to the center again. I thought I might share with you the things I love.

Checkout Girl

Melissa Crowe at Checkout Girl recently posted about this fabulous brooch that turned into a wall hanging. There are so many embroidery hoop wall hangings out there that I absolutely adore, but this one caught my eye for being the first felted flower one I've ever seen. You can also find her at her Little Pink House etsy shop

kim e-m

Someone recently sent me an article about this etsy seller. Kim EichlerMessmer at kim e-m hand dyes her fabrics and then quilts with them. This quilt alone makes me want to dive into that art form.

Yardwork

I found Yardwork through JezzePrints. The love and yearning for stamps and design possibilities are brewing in my heart as I get into fabric printing little by little.

Garlands of Grace

I have the hardest time finding cloth head bands that I like. I am itching to purchase one from Garlands of Grace. This one makes me want to embrace a pumpkin and celebrate Fall.

Add this to my Christmas list -seriously - Mom, add this to my list.

Studio Jarrah

Well it wouldn't be a complete day unless I found something cute for my daughter as well. I love all the prints available for children and nurseries now. The color and composition of this one by Studio Jarrah has stayed with me.

Not to mention my daughter asked me this week what whales sound like. We hunted you tube for sound clips. Humpback whales are creepy sounding. Why more people don't make Halloween soundtracks from their calls, I don't know. Beluga whales on the other hand sound like a mix between pigs and a flock of tropical birds. Now we know.

Inspiration is Everywhere

***Forgive me if I wander off into food and garden related topics once in awhile, but it's summer and it's only right to be dreaming of damp dirt, seedlings and fresh produce.***

I am always shocked where I find inspiration. If I just take a moment I can find beauty in many things. Maybe it's seeing a smiling face in a door or a tiny stained glass window in a door. Today I saw something in the watermelon I served my daughter.

Isn't that just lovely?

It makes me want to learn how to quilt intricate patterns into my sewing projects.

Of course maybe the following picture isn't really lovely,

but it does indicate how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Lining things up in a row. She couldn't be more like me if she tried.

Happy Face

I've been slacking off. Maybe I'm just not a summer time sewer. The heat has been motivating me to sit in front of a fan and fall asleep. Of course I chose the hottest night this week to sit down and finally sew all the green scraps into crazy blocks. And of course when I had 2 blocks left to do I reached for some green fabric and found there was none to be had. I had run out! So today I am off to Patchwork Passion to pick through their scrap pile and pick out some orange fat quarters in hopes of completing this rainbow soon enough.

In the mean time I wanted to show you something that makes me smile..every..single...time...I drive to work.

Can you see the face?

How about now?








There are three doors on this church. each one is identical to this. Every time I drive past them I smile. Does a smile a day keep the doctor away?

Rainbows on the Brain

Did anyone pick up on the rainbow theme? I can't seem to escape the myriad of bright colors in my life. Everywhere I go I see them. I'm drawn to them. So I decided to make my own rainbow. This pile of scraps will become a vibrant palate of colors for me. Lets see what I can make.

Clue 5

Clue 4

Clue 3

Clue 2

Clue 1