Baby Love {#3} - monthly milestones

I like sharing things for baby that I think are must-haves.  These are definitely on my must-have list!  I received them as a gift and they are one of my favorite things, and they are one of those things that you kick yourself for not inventing on your own because they are so simple and brilliant.

So what are they?  They are stickers that you put on your baby's onesie each month.  Then you take their picture, and you have pictures of them for every monthly milestone during their first year.  My favorite are these (for boys) and these (for girls) from Picky Sticky.

I use a long sleeve white onesie and put my baby in the same chair for each picture, that way I can see how much he has grown!  Here are the ones I have taken so far:

{all photos by me}

Baby Love {#2} - A,B,C's

If you are expecting a baby, have a baby, or just love babies, you have to check out the blog On to Baby!  Brought to you by the same team behind The Wedding Chicks, On to Baby has cute baby items, photo shoots, and other baby related inspiration.  They turned me on to this custom print for baby's nursery from Hoot Design Co. which takes the traditional alphabet print and personalizes it with things that baby loves that starts with each letter, like "B is for Blanky" or "U is for Uncle Abe."  I absolutely love this idea!

Baby Love {#1}

Because my life is more centered around babies than weddings these days, and because I see so many beautiful baby photos and cute baby ideas, I want to do a weekly baby love feature of things I love for baby.  But it is only fitting that my first post is my biggest baby inspiration, my baby love.

Photo by Jennifer Roper

Buy: Baby Stuff

If you are expecting, or have a little one, I highly recommend joining sites such as Totsy, Zulily, and Gilt Groupe for lots of baby bargain opportunities.  Zulily is having a great sale on adorable bedding and nursery items in fun colors by Babylicious.  If I wasn't already fully stocked, I would be buying it up!

Here is an invitation referral to sign up for an account on Zulily (click here).  Happy shopping!

My apologies...

I know I disappeared, but it was for good reason...I went into labor!  We weren't due until the 18th, but my little guy came early and at 3:30 am on 11/10 my water broke and we were in labor.  Almost 26 hours later my guy finally decided to join us.  We just got home from the hospital, and I'm going to take a blogging break to nurse, change diapers, stare at my kid, and sleep.  Without further adieu, here's Charlie:

Indy's welcome party

In June of this year my hubby and I were lucky enough to be blessed with our little man, Indigo Ryder. After a previous miscarriage and over two years of waiting we were over the moon to finally be a 'Mum & Dad'.

Celebrating this was important for us. Neither of us are religious, and we aren't terribly ceremonial either so a Christening or even a Naming Ceremony didn't really sit well. What we wanted was a reason for all of our extended family to get together, to meet Indy and to have a chance to catch up and chat with each other. Hence, the 'Welcome Party' was born!

There was no doubt in my mind from the very beginning what the theme of this party would be. The 'Flying High' party by Tracey Lau Art and Soul has long been saved on my fave's list. I really love her work, and the innocent simplicity of this party was just what I wanted. So throughout the planning process, this image was my inspiration..

and that lead to our invitation... they say imitation is the highest form of flattery... sorry Tracey I couldn't resist.

With an invite list that included almost 30 kids and 20 adults (yes, that's just our family) there wasn't really any other option but to get outside. Thankfully the rain that has been hanging around Brisbane for the last few weeks left us alone yesterday and we experienced a beautiful spring day.

Below are a couple of shots from the party. I was really pleased with how everything came together, although a little disappointed that the photo's don't really look as sweet as what it did. Maybe it was just the lovely sun, the gentle breeze and the laughter of a bunch of kids that made the real thing so much nicer!

Rustic bunting sewn by my Mum. Thanks Ma!

'Indigo' cookies. What fun, and how delicious is marshmallow fondant?!

Yummy chocolate cupcakes. Thank you to the lovely Heather from Chickabug designs for taking my invite and making party circles and water bottle labels! You did such a wonderful job.

The lollies and favour bags were a HUGE hit with the kids. Thanks to Niki from Candy Soirees for getting me last minute blue smarties!

The amazing Linda from Bubble and Sweet made me some of the most precious kite cupcake toppers. I can't wait to utilise Linda's amazing talents for future events.

Homemade lemonade. Also a hit. But for me it was all about the great drink dispenser. I hired it from Sharnel of Sharnel Dollar Designs. It was so much easier than a bucket load of jugs and looked so much better too! I can't wait to get myself one.

One of my favorite shots from the day. A beautiful little cousin enjoying her chocolate, and giving me a great view of the Chickabug designed label.

And the guest of honor himself. Wearing a custom made 'kite suit' and one of his classically Indy expressions. I love you more than I could imagine little man!

A Lovely Room

I love to decorate.  I've spent tons of time scouring design magazines, etsy, and flea markets for the perfect details for my home.  But there is one room that I have spent more time and energy on than any other.

Indy's Welcome Party - invites

Okay, so we aren't a religous household, so when I started thinking about Christenings, Naming Ceremonies and the like, there wasn't really anything that really did it for us. But, what is important to us is family.

Since having the boy we have really noticed how important babies are at bringing people together. People that haven't been around for ages come out of the woodwork wanting to see the babe. Great Grandads (yes, Indy has one at the wonderful age of 94) shed tears when they see the miracle that is life. So we were inspired, we didn't want a ceremony that had little meaning to us, we wanted a party that allowed all the family to get together, to enjoy each others company and to meet the little man. So, Indy's Welcome Party was born.

When we decided to go ahead with this there was no wondering about what theme to do. Straight away it was all about the magnificent kite party styled by Tracey Lau for her little man Jeremiah. I was so completely inspired by this simple, playful and outdoors-y theme.

This last week was all about designing, printing and posting the invitations to the 70-odd family only guestlist. Fortunately I found a fabulous printers close to home that printed the invites out super-cheap. Thank you HEAPS to Ann from Technoscan for your help. I'll certainly be back for more party printing!

Now for the invite, I searched the net for inspiration for kite invitations but I kept coming back to the one image from Tracey's party -- her stunning dessert table and the simple beautiful background. There's no guessing where the key inspiration came from...

I am sure to keep you posted with a whole range of updates as the process continues. Oh, and I am due a 'Pink Ribbon Day' morning tea update too aren't I?

Inspiration Board: It's A Boy

Since my focus these days is more on babies than weddings, I thought I would share a different kind of inspiration board:  for my nursery!

Photos 4, 5, 6-8, & 10 from Pottery Barn Kids, Photo 1 from Annette Tatum, Photo 2 from Ink & Wit, photos 3 & 8 from Project Nursery

What I Love: Paloma's Nest

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Paloma's Nest.  I have featured the ring bowls, have given them as gifts, and have an heirloom bowl of my very own.  But now they went and added stuff for baby- a collection called the Little Bird Collection.  What a great gift for a mommy-to-be or new baby!  You can get ornaments, baby's first plate or bowl, and other custom-made, one-of-a-kind keepsakes.  I know I would LOVE one of these (hint, hint)...

DIY Fabric Bunting

I saved this DIY project that I saw on Twig and Thistle (seriously, T&T is my DIY guru site!) and I thought I would share it.  I like the idea of making this for my future baby nursery, but it is also great for a baby shower, bridal shower, or party.  Since I don't have a sewing machine (or know how to use one), I haven't made it yet myself, but someday...

Materials Needed:
Sewing Machine
Fabric
Pellon / Interfacing (single-sided as pictured, or double sided if you want two sides of fabric)
Iron
Rotary Pinking Cutter
Scissors
Satin Ribbon
Coordinating Thread


Instructions:

1. Iron fabric to Pellon. Create a flag template from paper to desired shape. I made an isosceles triangle measuring 2.5″ wide and 4″ tall. Using your template as a guide, cut out each piece with rotary pinking shears. Trim off excess fabric at the top.
2. Once all the pices are cut out, line them up in the order that you’d like them to appear. I went for a random look but it helped to get an idea of where each flag might hang.
3. Leaving a little extra at each end for hanging, stitch each pice to the satin ribbon using a sewing machine. For flexibility I left half an inch between each flag. That’s it! Now you have a custom garland of your own!

Nursery charm - vintage owl motif

Aren't these just beautiful? They are a 'do it yourself' collage taken from the Martha Stewart website. Yes, I know. I have been looking at the Martha site. But I am loving this little owl motif for decorating the nursery...




Isn't this the cutest cushion? It's from the most beautiful store over in Bulimba My First Room.

I did end up getting the following little fellow from Etsy store Bwinks. Isn't he darling?

Simple Saturday

Today's post is for some very special friends....Congrats!

 

Photo by Elizabeth Messina