a crib, a project, and lots of gratitude

With only about 2 months until go-time we officially have begun creating a physical space for the Little Oyster in our humble abode. The first step- sleeping quarters! We inherited a beautiful wooden crib from my brother and sister-in-law (or more specifically, from Silly Lilly). Here it is fully assembled and decked out in the homemade bedding I've been working on this spring.

The crib bumpers were one of my first Oyster-related projects. I decided to use up some of my favorite quilting scraps from past projects to create a colorful and bright ensemble. From there I went to the thrift shop and invested in a queen-sized white and yellow striped sheet that was used as both the backing for the bumper and this fitted crib sheet (made with the same pattern as the checkered one). During that same shopping trip (on 50% off Wednesday nonetheless!) I bought a used crib bumper that I proceeded to dissect, then discarded the (kind of lame) fabric on it, and ultimately salvaged the batting/filling to use for my own devices. Admittedly, I could have gone to any craft store and bought crib bumper forms brand new, but that would have been exorbitantly more expensive and not nearly as adventurous :)

I should also mention that the ties for the bumper are made of a thrifted pillow case that was white with green polka dots. That brings the grand total for the baby's bedding to just under $11.

This weekend my family and friends surprised me with a lovely baby shower. It was such a pleasant and nice event, replete with delicious foods and thoughtful baby gifts. Rest assure, our baby will have (among other things) plenty of engaging reading material, fashionable attire, good eatin', luxurious bathing experiences, and access to lovingly hand-crafted blankets. Thanks to one friend, the Little Oyster will also have a very good iron count upon birth due to the glorious amounts of free-range, grass-fed meats we received (on a similar note, you should also know that my sister is hoping we decide to name the little one "Free Range" in honor of Luke's love for fresh, local meats). Thank you once again to all of the wonderful women in my life who made us feel so very supported and loved this weekend!

Following the shower, we came home with a plethora of adorable baby goodies, and as we carried them into the apartment I realized that our next fun task is to decide where/how to store the Little Oyster's things (call it 'nesting', but I'm genuinely excited to begin this process!). My first thought is to make use of all that space underneath the crib, which means I have another baby-related (and clutter-disguising) sewing project ahead: the crib skirt.

speaking of bacon...

My mother is a Christmas-loving-fool. She's one of those women who shops at Christmas decoration stores in July when we're at the beach. She begins to brainstorm her annual holiday card creation in August and starts drafting Christmas shopping lists as early as September. And yes, she (like me) is someone who will dare to listen to carols before Thanksgiving.

As far back as I can remember my mother has chosen a personal tree ornament for each of my siblings every Christmas. As a tot I got Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears ornaments, there were obviously a load of handmade ones (that crafty lady!) with my name embroidered or painted or etched right onto them. Then there were the musical years where I switched instruments annually, and my mother kept right up: a piano, a flute, an acoustic guitar and a classical guitar, a tuba, an accordian, etc, etc. Then, as John, Josh, Julie and I moved out and were wed my mom gave each of us our ornament collection in a box. I think it's an awesome and unique tradition, and I just love looking at all the memories hanging in my living room at this very moment.

(Here we are in front of the Christmas tree: Josh, me, Julie and John)

That being said, you can probably guess that at this point Luke and I have a very Joy-sided Christmas tree. I thought it was only fair that I expand Luke's personal ornament collection, and I decided to go with the theme of his life these days: meat! Using a great tutorial I found on another crafting blog, I whipped up this yuletide slab of meat in the time that it took me to get a tire rotation and finish up at the laundromat (rest assure, I got plenty of curious looks as other launder-ers watched me stitch away).