A nautical baby shower for Jack.

I have so, so much to catch you up on, but for now I'm spending my time cuddling with my babe and trying to get my new house in order. 

I wanted to show you all the charming details of the lovely baby shower Danyelle put together for us last weekend.  That girl has the perfect touch when it comes to parties.  You can see the details here, promise you won't be disappointed!

P.S. Isn't that hand lettered sign just perfect?  Lindsay has the best handwriting!

Meet Jack.

As you may have guessed-Jack Kingston Edwards is here!  He arrived last Sunday morning and has been slowly wrapping me around his tiny finger a little more each day.  He slept his way through packing, his first hotel stay, and the flight home yesterday like a champ. I promise to post some real pictures soon, but until then these will have to do.  Welcome to the world dreamy boy!

Make it: Hand painted serving platter

I wanted to show you this fun platter I made last week.  You know I love a good project, so when DecoArt sent over a whole box of their new glass paints I was excited to get out a paintbrush and make something!  It was a welcome distraction while I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of a certain little one.

The box was full of many different types of paint, all specially formalized for glass and ceramic surfaces.  I think every color you could think of was in that box, but of course, I was drawn to these:

I decided to paint a plain white platter I had picked up at Target a while ago.  I was inspired by various designs I've seen featuring feathers and leaves lately, especially with fall right around the corner.  I'm not sure if my finished product resembles leaves or feathers more (or neither? Ha!), but I had a lot of fun playing with the paint!

The back of the paint bottle suggested cleaning my platter with soap and water, and wiping it with a little rubbing alcohol to get rid of any fine dust.  I drew out my designs on sketch paper first and then used a mechanical pencil to lightly draw on the platter before using the paint.  The Opaque Gloss Writers I chose to use can be squeezed directly out of tube, but when I tried that on my paper it looked like a third-grader.  Apparently I don't have a steady hand while I'm squeezing a tube!  I opted to use a few different paint brushes instead.

The paint sets up fairly quickly, so I was able to outline my designs with the Gloss Writers, and fill them in with Frosted Glass Paint and later (after baking the platter), a bit of Glass Stain as well.

Once my designs were complete, I let my platter cure for four days, and then popped it into the oven for a while to set (instructions can be found on the backs of the paint bottles). 

The paint was fairly easy to use, and I can't wait to try out some of the brighter colors and glitters paints with my girls.  Thank you DecoArt for sending us our paint!  If you're interested in checking it out, Michael's now carries the full line of glass paints.  If you're looking for ideas, you can visit DecoArt's pinterest board right here.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  We're moving into our new house in Washington and I can hardly wait!  Meet me here next week?

Fall uniform 2012

Well, my dears, I thought I would check in. I haven't abandoned you! I have a house full of family and boxes, and am STILL waiting for a babe to be in my arms. In order to distract myself from all that, let's chat a little about fun things, like shoes, shall we? The back to school aisles and commercials have once again put me in the mood for fall, right smack in the middle of August.  I've decided my "uniform" this year should definitely include a nice big watch, some fun button up blouses (perfect for nursing too!), and a pair of smoking slippers. 

What about you?  Anything you can't live without this year?

watch / blouse / slippers (photo by Mark Iantosca)

For the kids: DIY Funny Faces

Two kids at home all day means one Mama who has to get a little creative sometimes.  I'm always looking for new activities to add to our rotation, especially when I hear, "I'm bored,"  one too many times!

Recently I made these posters of our faces and they've been a huge hit!  We've been playing with them for a few weeks now and the drawings are more hilarious everyday (facial hair and pirate paraphernalia seem to bring the most laughs).

You can see the full tutorial over at Playful Learning this morning.  Happy Monday, friends!

For the sisters:

What do you think of giving gifts to siblings with new babies?  Last time around a friend had made E a "big sister" shirt to wear on the big day, so I didn't plan anything else.  She ended up loving the shirt and feeling really special about her new title, which convinced me to do something similar this time around for both girls.

I have a growing obsession with fabric envelope clutches!  I keep bookmarking and pinning them, especially from the adorable shop Roxy Marj (hello beautiful hand painted fabric!).  I ran across this tutorial for fabric envelopes and decided to make a few for the girls.  The instructions were easy to follow and the finished product is about 5"x7"-perfect for holding a few treats and prizes.

I found some pretty sundresses on sale and filled the envelopes with lip gloss, wooden bracelets, and (because I'm a sucker) some brand new littlest pet shop friends.  Yes, my kids do play with plastic toys and characters occasionally!

I also made some "big sister" pins for the girls to wear.  I designed the pins, printed them on a full label sheet, stuck them to wooden discs, and attached pin fasteners to the back.

And that was the last thing on my list to do......this little guy is now free to come anytime he wants!