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I love getting Christmas cards in the mail. Photo Christmas cards are my ultimate faves and of course, anything handmade makes me squeal in excitement. So I decided that as long as I can muster up the energy, I will be hand making our cards each year. So far so good. Next year, with a 9 month old? Not so sure it will happen. But for now it’s one of my favorite projects each year.

In 2007, the year of our wedding, I had to use a wedding picture. What newlywed couple wouldn’t love to showcase a photo to family and friends once more? If you are a newlywed I say go for it….even if you think everyone is sick of seeing your wedding pictures, they probably aren’t:)

So I picked one black and white picture, then chose a bunch of fun Christmas printed paper and went to town:

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I’ve always been a fan of crafty projects and what better time of year to bust out your inner Martha than with the holiday season? There’s nothing like personalized touches in your home and a lot of times I choose to make our decorations instead of buying them because I love having full control over what we display. Saving money doesn’t hurt, either:)

For instance, both my husband and I grew up in homes that celebrated Christmas with yearly ornaments. That means that every year of our lives, from birth until we were ‘on our own’, is well-represented via ornaments. My mom and mother-in-law gave us all of the yearly ornaments last year and it is SO much fun to go through year by year and relive the memories. This is something I want to do for our family, too, and so beginning with the year of our wedding I’ve made a family ornament to hang on the tree. I just used a picture, some cardboard, glittery glue, some string, and any other little details I can find and voila….a yearly ornament!

2007:

2008:

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I have so many nursery projects to share with you readers! My inner Martha Stewart has really come out for this event and even if you aren’t the most crafty person in the world, I think you could do a few of these projects without too much trouble. Making the nursery personal and yet inexpensive is one of my top goals for the room (besides making it totally awesome and modern and bright….those are good goals, too, right?). So I knew we’d do a lot of DIY projects and I’d hunt for gently used pieces of furniture that just beg to be refinished. So far, so good.

My loving fellow-crafty lady mother come up to The Great North to visit her only daughter a few weeks ago. Our sole mission was to pump out as many projects as humanly possible in 2 full days. So we first went fabric shopping and found a literal JACKPOT at a local quilting store. Narrowing it down to just three prints was painstaking but I’m really happy with what we chose:

My mom got to work on the sewing machine (since I still haven’t sucked it up and learned how to sew) and made two sets of orange curtains with green tie backs, a green window seat cushion, and two yellow cushions for the rocking chair. The window seat is definitely one of my favorite spots in the room so far.

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I’m in full baby-nursery mode these days, my dears. And I’d like your help with something: a baby quilt. No, I’m not sewing one myself because that would require me knowing how to sew. But my loving mother has decided she simply MUST sew a baby quilt for her first-born grandchild. (And did I mention over here….it’s going to be a BOY!)

But here’s the thing: I really don’t like old-fashioned quilts. In fact our nursery is very bold, modern, and not at all traditional (pictures of updates to follow). So I think that a modern baby quilt would be the best for her to make but it’s hard to find a cute pattern out there. Probably part of the problem is that I focus on the colors of the quilt instead of the actual pattern. But ours will probably be full of aquas, oranges, yellows, and bright greens if that helps create a mental image in your mind.

I used my Googling skillz to find a few ideas and want your input. A few websites out there offer a TON of gorgeous ideas, so here we go:

1. Modern Cotton Quilt by Red Pepper :

2. Sew Girly! Bird quilt:

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Is it just me or does it seem like this year is flying by at record speed? How can it be November already? And more importantly, how can it be pitch black by 5:30 pm these days?

I’ve always been a Mid-western girl and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Although you might hear me gripe and complain from approximately November through April (because that is truly how long a bitter Wisconsin winter lasts up here), I would never trade the full four seasons we get for anything. Sure, I’m sure it’s absolutely fabulous to live in a climate that is temperate all year round with sun shining and warm weather. I’m supremely jealous of you if this is your climate but then again, I love the fact that we get the variety of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall up here. Yes, certain seasons are a little more intense than others but no place is perfect, right? No matter what, I try to make a conscious effort to enjoy the seasons in all of their glory, breathing fresh air and remembering to stop and look around at nature every now and then. It’s pretty amazing sometimes, isn’t it?

The fact that fall is upon us and Christmas season is rapidly approaching made me think about how I’ve owned my d-SLR camera for nearly a whole year now. Which means I’ve diligently taken photos of every season in all of it’s glory. I thought it would be fun to summarize each season into three photos, which epitomize the feeling of the four seasons. So here we go:

WINTER:

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In case you need some last minute Halloween costume ideas for those raging parties this weekend, allow me to display years worth of somewhat clever and always hilarious outfits. Let’s step into the Halloween time machine for a second, shall we?

#1 1999. Our freshman year of college. I believe my best friend and I are ‘Julia Goolia Spice’ and ‘Hannah Banana Spice’. We are possibly related to the Spice Girls in some way, but mostly we fell prey to they common sport of dressing inappropriately just because it’s Halloween. Shameful, really.

#2 2000. Our sophomore year in college. As you can read in my caption, we are a ‘Pure Angel’ and ‘Evil Angel.’ I had to edit this one a bit but I cannot help but chuckle. The hooker boots are key, my friends.

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I have been diligent about documenting the progress of this pregnancy since the day I found out the news. Mostly because I am a crazy psycho who is obsessed with making albums of our life. I make an annual album every year full of our ‘every day’ life in pictures and posts from my blog. But I knew I would do a pregnancy album, too, full of belly shots, nursery decor, and posts about my thoughts on pregnancy. I think it will be something I love to look back on in the future and maybe baby will even think it’s cool to see how mom changed during these 9 months.

But as far as the belly goes, things like this call for a little collage action. For instance, my first trimester:

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As I head towards the halfway mark of my pregnancy (at 18.5 weeks, if you want to be all technical about it), I’m starting to pull together the nursery and thought it would be nice to share. I fully intend on this being a long, drawn-out project full of extensive research, bargains, and excitement. So far so good! :)

My inspiration all started with these images from the wonderful Jennyology’s blog:

I am obsessed with the bright apple green walls, the vivid curtains, and the fact that she avoided all pastels. I am on a mission….NO PASTELS in this nursery. I want all bright and bold colors which proves to be a challenge in the sea of pale pinks and blues in nursery world. But I have faith that I can do it!

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Not only can Etsy dress a baby like none other, but it can also decorate a nursery like a pro. Of course, you’ll need to be the one to pull it all together but nothing like handmade goods to inspire a room for the baby.

Pillows for the rocker:

by seller ManicMuffin Totes:

from seller ginia18:

Then come the wall prints. Don’t even get me started.

by seller Ferntree Studio:

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Whether you are expecting a tiny tot of your own or buying baby shower gifts for friends, chances are you might have scoured the internet for cute baby clothes. A little internet shopping never hurt anyone, right?

When I found out I was pregnant one of the first places I went online was Etsy because I just cannot get enough of that site. And who knew that Etsy has an amazing ‘children’ and ‘baby’ section full of gorgeous handmade goodness?

I’m pretty sure you could create an entire wardrobe for a baby out of amazing Etsy finds. And perfect shower gifts, too!

Here are some of my faves that I’m lusting over as we speak:

ONESIES:

(I’m obsessed with giraffes and my husband is, in fact, tall) From seller Bugga Love:

(For the Patrick Swayze fans) From seller TrulySanctuary:

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