Here and Everything In It

Speaking Of Selling Stuff

I'm having a 30% off moving sale at my etsy shop!

Here are some of the new things I've recently added:

Miss And Mister Cranky Pants

This Christmas, Rebecca and I thought it would be HILARIOUS if Hazel and Innis had matching cranky pants to wear on Christmas day. So I made them and the result WAS hilarious, indeed! (it's almost like we're psychic or something!)

I'd originally planned to get a side by side picture of both baby butts, you know, like, near the Christmas tree or something, but horrific events involving the hot glass front of the gas fireplace at Brad's parents' house and Innis's precious little baby fingers prevented this from happening (don't worry, he's fine now, but just maybe a little more respectful of things that are "HAWH!" as a result).

THUS, separate photographic evidence of said cranky pants will have to suffice:

So, Hazel's version had eyelashes, and an accurate number of teeth (sixteen! Hazel has sixteen baby teeth!):

While Innis's pants had nine teeth (just like in real life: four top, four bottom, and an errant molar), as well as some seriously cranky eyebrows:

But I guess we'll have to weave some drawstrings through the holes I intentionally left in the bottoms of the waistbands after all, because otherwise we'll end up with saggy pants rather than those of the cranky variety. Although, Hazel's already shown that the name "cranky pants" has no real power:

Because clearly these pants make babies VERY VERY HAPPY.

(and see? I wasn't kidding about those teeth. SIXTEEN!)

New Year, New Pretty Things

Here are some new pieces I've just posted in my etsy shop!

They LOVE Me! They REALLY REALLY LOVE Me!!!

Or, um, today I sold my first Etsy item, and I reacted to this entrepreneurial sucess in a very calm, rational, and professional manner.

(JUST KIDDING! I ran up the stairs to where Brad was, yelling: I SOLD SOMETHING! I SOLD SOMETHING! ME! I DID! ON ETSY!!!!!)

Yay! Whoo! Whee!

And then I called Rebecca on a really crappy Skype connection, and she was like, "You stole something?"

Ha.

But this is the thing! The thing someone bought!

It's a cuff! Made of upcycled wool sweaters!

I SOLD A CRAFT!!!!!!

My Little Pretties

Thought I'd share some of the fascinators I've been making lately. I haven't posted them all in my Etsy shop yet, so this is like one of those super exclusive pre-show fashion shows.

Yup. Just like that.

Thanks so much to the Lovely Marie for being my super awesome model!

Me And Halloween Vs. Nature

You guys, have you ever seen a more PERFECT pumpkin in your lives?

Because this is beautiful. A work of art. And Halloween said I had to carve some kind of grotesquely smiling face into its unblemished surface. It seemed obscene.

When Roger came by to give us this Magnificent Squash (from his own garden, no less!), he said, without any prompting from me, "you don't have to carve it, you know." And at the time, I didn't get it, like I thought he maybe wanted me to make a couple of pies or something, but now ... NOW I get it.

But then also, maybe worshipping nature's perfection is SO last month, like, totally Thanksgiving, y'all. Maybe Halloween's perfectly timed to have us (Canadians) find other uses for the surplus of harvest vegetables we were thankful for a month ago but now just need creative ways to dispose of. Because if we didn't do something, all of these pumpkins would sit in their thousands and rot. Because OH MY GOD there are so many of them. They're everywhere.

Though none so gorgeous as this one.

BUT. I couldn't just carve willy-nilly. I needed to make our Jack O'Lantern worthy of this Pumpkin Perfection. I needed to PLAN, people. And sketch. And peruse (free) pumpkin carving patterns online. I couldn't deface this special squash with some crappy hack job. I just couldn't.

But then I started thinking. I could incorporate nature into my nature carvery. I just had to think of some image I could carve that was also perfectly fat, lovely, and orange ...

REX!

But before display, our Rex O'Lantern needed to be processed by the Halloween Quality Control Inspector:

Yup, everything looked ok.

I have never in my life been able to carve a pumpkin properly, so forgive me for being really really proud of myself. I didn't rush or get impatient, and I wasn't still covered in pumpkin goo as the first kids came trick or treating.

Now if only I could tackle the dirty laundry with such tenacity, organization, and skill. Or the dishes. Or regular dog walking. Or ... ok, I'm going to stop there because LOOK AT THAT PUMPKIN.

Oh, and by the way, we also made another really cute Jack O' Lantern this year:

So, but like ... he's trying to fly with glee, right? Not ... away?

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Blue Hands, Turquoise Feet

I've been meaning to do this for a while. For a year, actually. But several things held me back, like Innis's anger/fist clenching issues during the first six months of his life which made hand prints fairly impossible, my fear of exposing my brand new baby's skin to acrylic paint (since resolved. I mean, come on. There are worse things, I'm sure. And, I checked: non-toxic!), but mainly because life with a baby is ridiculously busy and it's taken me thirteen months to get it organized.

That said, I hope to have a wall of these eventually, marking his growth at yearly intervals. I still have to paint in today's date, but here's our masterpiece:

This was the second attempt, since we had to chuck the first canvas after I put too much paint onto one of his feet and his foot just sort of slid off the edge as we tried to make the stamp (a lot like the smear in the upper right corner of this one, but hey, we only had two canvasses ...).

And though we're happy with the end result, it's the process that was really fun:

And, of course, then there was the clean-up, which is always super cute regardless of the mess:

*Update! (Finished Product):

Makeover Friday!!!

Our candidate? Orville the Piano.

So, he needs some work, people. He's beaten up, missing teeth, scuffed and rough and ragged.

And so I thought, what better way to perk Orville up and bring him into a personal Happy Place than to paint him like a rainbow? I mean, he couldn't resist that, right? How could you not be a joyous rainbow coloured piano?

Thus, Innis and I went to the hardware store to look at paint samples. Innis immediately picked up a colour called "Olive Oil Yellow," but after I gently reminded him that it didn't really work with our intended colour palette, he ate it. Well, ok, didn't eat it, exactly, but let's just say I couldn't put that particular sample paper back on the shelf after Innis was finished, er, masticating. (I think, however, that I left it on the paint department's desk. Oops. And yuck. But also: ha!).

So, rainbows have seven colours (although some would argue nine), and so seven samples I selected, only to walk over to the paint lady and find out that paint is really really EXPENSIVE. Who knew? I mean, I guess I knew, but really? Come on. How can anyone be creative at such exorbitant prices?

So I need your help, gentle readers. I must reduce Rainbow Orville's sample size by, well, six colours. Alas, poor Orville will not be a rainbow, I fear. He must settle for one glorious, rainbow-y colour and perhaps when he's a little older and Brad or I become gainfully employed again, he can fulfill the full spectrum of his dreams (HA! See what I did there? FULL SPECTRUM? Like a rainbow? HA!).

If it makes him feel better, he still gets a full dental makeover when I pop off his ivory veneers and paint the wood underneath a beautiful, bright white.

But anyway.

Which colour is Orville's destiny? Which hue will help him to become his authentic piano self?

From left to right:

Flamenco Red

Dynastic Orange (Dynastic? what?)

Clover Honey (ahem, "Clover Honey")

Magritte's Apple

Limpid Lagoon (really? Limpid?)

Porcelain Plate

Macedonian Mauve (ha)

Leave a comment with your pick! Or email me. But it'll be more fun if you comment because then we all get to see the Colour Competition unfold.

Fascinating, Just Fascinating...

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been as prolific a blogger as usual. Turns out life can get really hectic when you can't decide which entrepreneurial idea to focus on and instead decide to do EVERYTHING.

So, pleased to meet you. I am now a copyeditor. Yup. That's me. It's official (thanks to my brother Tim!!).

AND, as it turns out, I'm also a handmade goods seller on Etsy. Yes I am. Don't believe me? Check out my shop!

You may recognize the gorgeous Rebecca, since she very kindly gave up her time to be my model for several of the pieces, and also answered my MANY questions, since this kind of thing (you know, setting up a business) makes me nervous. And, oh yeah: I modeled too (which you'll also notice if you visit the shop), which was weird, especially since I had to take my own pictures. But I'm wearing so much makeup in the photos, and I never see myself in profile, so I'm sort of telling myself it's not me at all. Because ... well ... it's weird (did I mention that already?).

Anyway, enjoy!

Crafty Redemption

After my disappointing attempt to make Innis's parrot costume for the pirate wedding ...

... and then his tuxedo onesie for the blessing in Spain ...

... I'd pretty much decided to quit crafting altogether. My fragile creative ego took a beating on that trip, and I didn't think I wanted to make anything anymore. Suddenly, it almost seemed worthwhile to buy ready made things and forego all the sewing and gluing and painting. I know! I was in a ... dark place.

But then I was invited to an English tea party themed birthday party, and the requirements for attendance were that the women had to wear fascinators, and the men had to wear bowties. And ... I couldn't resist this crafting challenge, and also -- where would I have been able to buy a fascinator? So I decided to go big. I dismissed the idea of an artfully arranged and daintily perched flower/feather concoction, and embraced a different kind of theme:

I bought all the pieces at the dollar store and then tweaked them a little before assembly. For example, the bird was originally a white and glittery styrofoam wedding cake topper so I painted it brown and gold before I attached it. I also put peacock feathers on its head because part of my Creative License includes fabricating new species of birds. What? It's a peacock finch. Don't you birdwatch?

This picture came out badly underexposed, but at least it gives you an idea as to how FASCINATING (re: giant) my headtopper really was:

And then of course we had to make an equally ridiculous one for my Mum:

Aaaand, the wee-est bowtie evah!!!!

The dapper gentlemen:

So, I take it back, Crafting. I love you again. But maybe only until the next project.

I Made A Sweater!

I've been working on this one for ages, trying to sneak it in when I needed a break from all the baby projects I've been working on. It's the top-down "Lauren" pattern from Ravelry, and I made it with Malabrigo worsted weight in Mariposa. I didn't realize it would have an asymmetrical bottom edge until it was all made up (it's part of the pattern, I promise!), but it's growing on me. It also helps that it is also very soft and lovely.

I was also invited to a baby shower this Saturday, and though I didn't go because I had a sore throat and thought it was rather bad form to show up sick and possibly infect the baby (up here they have baby showers after the baby's born because superstition is rampant), I spent the afternoon making a little hat and no-scratch mittens for the wee one anyways:

I was thinking I should put little brown spots on the hat for watermelon seeds, but I didn't have time, didn't want to intarsia, and didn't want little knots on the inside of the hat pressing into the baby's head. So, it's a seedless watermelon hat. I like those better, anyways.

Colin

Here is a new picture of Innis's cousin Colin, AND a picture of him in the pea pod and hat I made for him. So cute!

Actually, if someone told me the baby in the pea pod was Innis, I'd be hard-pressed to disagree. Twinnies!!!!

Raw Materials

As with all trips south, Brad and I returned with more loot than we originally anticipated. This time, we brought back some organic produce to make Innis Food:

(no, the booze behind the quinoa won't be going into the baby mash -- we'll save that until he's at least three years old)

Determined to not waste a single item, I've already steamed and pureed and frozen my way through all the more perishable items, and have now moved on to the root vegetables (because, well, excitement is my middle name).

And, given the task of accessorizing my bridesmaid dress for Claire's wedding, I also brought back these little beauties:

I thought these aquamarines and jades and turquoises would go nicely with my dress (which is top secret, bride's orders, or else I'd link to it so you could see). Now I just have to choose how to string 'em up into a necklace, which, honestly, will take me a really long time since I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm terrible at making decisions, which is probably why I walked out of the bead store with so many beads to begin with.

All Babies Should Be Born In California

 At this point, taking Innis back to the frigid north in a week's time seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

Reasons 1 through 3 gazillion:

Saturday morning, we walked about six minutes from Sara and Edward's front door to a farmers' market, and just as we got there, a full-on parade with horses and marching bands and floats and tractors and belly dancers and baby goats stomped by in gloriously loud fashion:

 

Innis: OH MY GOD! Is that a DELOREAN?!!

List Of Things That Make Me Blubber Like A Fool

1. The Big Reveal on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

2. Cheering Crowds (see #1)

3. People Who Are Really Excited To Win Stuff (see #1)

4. Watching Innis Watch Horses

5. Marching Bands

Call it new-mummy hormones, call it a love for John Philip Sousa, call it an appreciation for synchronized youth, but marching bands now put a wiggle in my heart, prickles in my nose, and tears in my eyes.

Add something like this, and my olfactory system is pretty much doomed:

But the fun didn't stop with the parade, as we then went to a baby shower for Sara and Edward's friends Ben and Meghan, and while Innis got to play in the park with Dad ...

... Mummy got to paint a onesie for the new baby at the arts and crafts table!

Here are some beautiful designs that other guests painted:

I mean, really. An arts and crafts table for adults. At a baby shower. What a great idea. And, you know, I'm not a baby shower connoisseur or anything, having only ever been to one other shower of the baby variety in my entire life, but I think, according to my limited experience, that this baby shower was pretty much awesome. The hosts even passed out envelopes for us to address to ourselves so they could send out the thank you cards in a timely manner (and not six months after the fact like yours truly). That, people, is organization.

AND THEN, after the baby shower, we went to a roadside fruit stand to buy a whole flat of strawberries, then Edward took us to experience the consumerist phenomenon that is Target, and then we all ate homemade ice cream with locally grown almonds and fruit.

And basically, it was all very wonderful and exhausting and ultimately culminated in lovely naps in late afternoon sunshine:

Clearly, Innis was meant for these warmer climes. He's never been happier, or slept better, or eaten more. Dragging him home sort of breaks my heart, but we only have another couple months left north of sixty and then he'll be wallowing in all the humid summertime mugginess Ontario has to offer.

And I know: Ontario won't be California. But it'll do. For now.

Tutu Factory

Ok, so I made another one, this time for Randee and Jerome's daughter Rawn because I totally screwed up the way late, welcome-to-the-world blanket I knitted for them by using handwash only wool and thinking I'd run it through a machine cycle before mailing it out (in my defense, it was a cold, gentle wash ... but still not cold or gentle enough it seems). So anyway, when this beautiful snuggly blanket shrunk into playmat thickness, I thought I needed to send something else along as well to make up for it. Mix a little bit of knitter's ego with embarrassment over sending a non-blanket blanket, and thus resulted another tutu, this time in cute little stripes:

Aw.