got etsy love?

I know you've seen these photos before, individually, but I've been thinking I should come up with something collage-ish to attach to my shop related emails, networking stuff, etc. so here it is. After the initial sales period my little shop has slowed down to a halt, but I got a lot of love and advice on the forums today, mostly suggesting patience, which is never easy for me! And of course, to list more items, but I have been having a hard time staying motivated with slow, er, no recent sales. Catch 22. I guess it's back to the drawing board. I am excited about the pants I'm working on, which I hope to have done by Sunday. Fingers crossed. :)

polka dots rock!

The Halter Dress in Happy Dots... Rear View, originally uploaded by varenia.

The Halter Dress in Happy Dots. So darling, I wasn't really planning on this being Apple's Easter dress, but I think it just may have to be...

the grass is always greener...

The Halter Dress in Grass, originally uploaded by varenia.

Finally, after a few mock-ups, I've finished my retro-inspired baby halter dress for Spring/Summer. I LOVE this bright green (grass, I call it) and the turquoise and gray. So lovely and fun for the sunny weather. The best part is the reversibility, as any mama of little ones knows! Dirt on your dress? Stuff on your shirt? Just flip it around! I have other fabric choices in the works...

Simple Crafting

The Simple Bib in Mums , originally uploaded by varenia.

Today was a low point in my world of sewing and crafting. I worked so hard drafting a pattern for a summer dress, and nothing was coming together. UGGHHH. I was getting so frustrated I just had to step away from the project for a little bit, and decided to switch gears and do something totally different for awhile, so I whipped up this bib for the shop. Turned out pretty cute, especially for an everyday simple bib, the type of thing I like to throw on Piper casually as she decimates whatever I place in front of her. I'm pondering creating a second type of bib for the shop, something nicer, more of the going out to dinner or having a birthday variety, with chenille backing instead of flannel... Feels good to be productive even in the midst of a complete pattern-drafting-sewing-coordinating disaster.

new banner!

Here's my new banner now presiding over my Etsy shop! It's courtesy of pixelbypixel, and I love the bright green! Just lovin' it.

looking toward spring

The Apple Pinafore, originally uploaded by varenia.

I have been putting together a small collection of pieces for my Spring Collection for Whole Grain Baby, and this is the first complete piece! I love the combination of these prints, both from Alexander Henry. Apple has this on over jeans for the cooler weather, but I think it would be really cute over a skirt for the summer, or even with just bloomers. Now available on Etsy.

the birthday post

Happy Birthday to Me!, originally uploaded by varenia.

Celebrating birthdays always makes me feel so blessed, by family and love and abundance. The aquarians took over the household this weekend, and we had such a blast partying hard like a 5 year old. Or a 1 year old. Or a 3-in-two-months kid. Yes, we had to sing to dear Apple, too, who just couldn't quite grasp why both of her sibs got candle blowing time, and singing to, and she didn't. So we sang away. So sweet.

I can't quite grasp that my dear, handsome first-born is FIVE! That seems huge to me, full-fledged little boy-ness for sure. And of course, the little babe, precious Piper. Cheery and smiley and toddling around like a little duckling of a one-year-old. Divine.

In a way this is more of a New Year for me than January 1st, I feel like this young, growing family is shifting gears now, moving and morphing into something even more magical every day. I also have my new shop up and running, on Etsy, and I am sure that will prove a challenge and a creative outlet for me as well, something I am really embracing right now.

the birthday pinafore

the piper pinafore, originally uploaded by varenia.

i finally finished this darling (if i do say so myself... sorry, i'm so hard on myself when it comes to my sewing, but this one really makes me smile) dress-slash-pinafore for piper's first birthday. i love just about everything about it, including the fact that it's completely reversible to red and cream colored polka dots on the other side. you know how i am about polka dots.

and almost as exciting, the completion of this dress has prompted me to go ahead and open the etsy shop i've been pondering for quite some time. i've already set it up (there's a link in the sidebar directly to the shop), but am still working on getting my listings together. yay! to start it'll be primarily blankets and select pieces (like the pinafore) for babies and toddlers.

a corner

dark, lovely corner, originally uploaded by varenia.

richard is continuously grumbling and poking fun at the way i obsessively move our furniture around. i can't help it, maybe it's a short attention span, or some sort of decorating a.d.d., but as the family grows and changes i really, really feel the need to shift our space to keep up, and to compliment all of us who live here. so i keep on truckin', so to speak.

i'm currently obsessed with this bench, that used to be in our kitchen, and now resides in the living room, storing blankets, pillows, toys, books, dolls, and all of the other ins and outs of the day to day life of three preschoolers and us bigger folk.

sunny days

little man, originally uploaded by varenia.

the weather has been so delicious outside the last couple of days, it's been hard to want to stay in and work on my sewing, although i still have plenty i wanted to get done before piper's birthday. i still haven't even started her blanket, these placemats have taken me much longer than anticipated! it's the binding. definitely takes some getting used to, but i mastered my first ok-looking corner last night. yay! i can't wait to get these done so i can get to work for my babe's first birthday!

tag! i'm it!

i was lucky enough to be tagged by New England Quilter! thank you! check out her blog, she has a really cute heart basket perfect for Valentine's day, or any other day.

here's 7 things you may not have known about me:
1. my living room is painted bright, sparkling apple green
2. i am really into describing colors (see #1 above)... nothing is just "green" to me :)
3. i'm currently meditating on placemats
4. i really, really like vegetables
5. my youngest baby just started walking!
6. my hair is naturally curly
7. i have a strong aversion to the smell of ketchup


people i'm tagging:
1. mi
2. desiretoinspire
3. needle book
4. thishandmadelife
5. ravenhill
6. ohsundayschool
7. missmarzie



Tag Rules
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

belated post

owl-dog in simple tote, originally uploaded by varenia.

i've been meaning to post a photo of the tote and owl-dog i crafted for a young friend's birthday, so here they are. they were a lot of fun to make, i got so attached to the softie i almost didn't want to let it go... :). luckily, my little friend will probably let me visit whenever i want.

placemats

placemats in the works by mama and apple, originally uploaded by varenia.

apple and i have been working on placemats. they've been one of the most enjoyable projects so far, very free-form, and simple, and such cute results. i think i'm going to stretch out of my comfort zone and quilt and bind them. we'll see how it goes. i'd like to have them done before rye's birthday, on friday.
.

pink ladies

polka dot ladies, originally uploaded by varenia.

whenever i ask apple what kind of apple she is (granny smith? fugi? personally, i think she's a golden delicious!) she tells me she's a "pink lady"! how true. that girl is pink to the core. interesting, because i know growing her up as a baby i went out of my way, with both of the girls, to find really cute non-pink clothing and accessories for them, yet my babe still insists she's a pink lady. funny how she's so her own person that way.

i really, really heart heather ross

i just caught a sneak of the new fabrics coming out in may. good thing my birthday is in may, i know what i will be asking for! the mermaids are my absolute favorite, and i am seeing some new curtains for the living room, maybe in the seahorses, in a blue and brown colorway. yum yum.