Baby Atticus

Design Mom Gabrielle Blair spotlighted this adorable set of onesies on her Babble Style blog several months ago, and I've had it in my "to imitate" file ever since.

Photo credit:  Culpepper General via Babble

This version is from an etsy shop called Culpepper General, but there are hundreds of styles available on etsy.   (Check out this shop and die of cuteness when you see these giraffes and these robots.) 

All of the preceding designs are silk-screened or iron-transferred, and I really like that look.    But when it came time to move this project from mind to matter for my friend Rachel, I decided to go with fabric applique instead.  My new Silhouette makes the cutting easy, and I've kind of got a history of giving tie onesies.

This is a bigger project that I usually tackle for a baby gift, but I was so excited for Rachel and Ryan and the baby boy on his way in August, I just couldn't help myself.  (You may recall Ryan and Rachel from the "Hoping to Adopt" button on my side bar a while back.  Their story is heart-wrenching, inspiring, touching,  and thrilling.  I'm not the only one who was over-the-moon-excited to celebrate their good news.)

So, I ordered a bunch of onesies, bought some fun boyish printed fabric, and fired up the Silhouette.  

This was the result:

I was lucky to find a box in the basement that fit the whole set perfectly.  (This is why I can't throw anything away, folks.)  Look at them all lined up!  Aren't they cute?  (Excuse the fact that all the pictures are blurry.  There was a giant thumb print on the camera lens, apparently.)

Rachel and Ryan are moving away this summer (and even if they weren't, I am), so I won't be around to see Baby Atticus* grow.  But I made Rachel promise to post pictures monthly (at least) so I can watch him fill out his onesies.

* The baby may or may not be named Atticus, but because Rachel's an English teacher, and To Kill a Mockingbird is her favorite book, and Atticus Finch is her favorite character, and we discussed him extensively at our book club meeting, that's how I'll think of him either way. 

A necklace stashtastical!

This little necklace is for a friend of a friend.

 I don't know her style at all, so I wanted to make something pretty and simple.  And if I could manage it, something with universal appeal.  

I'm not sure if I hit my target, but  I like it.

I've seen necklaces like this all over the place, so even if it is a little overly sweet and sentimental, at least it's trendy.

I earned major stash reduction points because the teardrop used to be an earring.  It's been in my broken jewelry bin for over a decade, so I was glad to finally put it to good use.

I wrapped it up in a little box that used to hold hotel soap.  It too has been in my stash for many years.

Isn't it cute? 

And that's why I have a stash that could rival the Hobby Lobby stock room.

Next, a necklace for my friend Britta, inspired by this and this and this and this.

 

The lovely model was stiched and painted by my Aunt Betty. It's one of a set of 10 or 12 quilt blocks, with each belle wearing a differnt vintage floral-print gown.   

When Aunt Betty passed away a few years ago, her extensive stash was divided up among interested relatives. I didn't have first pick or anything, but I love these little ladies so much I feel kinda bad for everyone else for not having them.

Maybe someday I will get brave enough to make them into a quilt. But until then, I like them framed on my buffet, as a backdrop to photoshoots. And life.

If I were selecting materials from the store, I'd have chosen a more delicate chain.  The rolo links are a little heavy in comparison to the rest of necklace.  But I shopped my only stash, and somehow I feel like that balances everything out.

The end.