for those of you who may care...

so, you know i'm not real big on posting pictures of myself. i never like them, but here are some hair pictures for everyone who asked. i got my hair cut today by my fabulous friend Jessica Dorman at Dada salon (pronounced dah-dah, not da-da). super cute industrial space with a feminine edge. i had the best time chatting it up while having my 10 lbs of hair toned down. they had the most lovely natural italian hair line that they use (couldn't pronounce or remember the name if i tried).



my "emo" (according to my sister) before. i realize you can't see my hair, but this is how it looked everyday. always up. i made this headband using this tutorial.



loving the texture and layers and feeling embarrassed, of myself and my messy bedroom. thanks again jessica!

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the atlantan

i'm in this month's issue of the atlantan, alongside excellent company might i add! what a thrill. this was from the persona series shoot i did a while back with jason travis.

thanks for the tip bridget!

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1.28.10

here is matilda wearing her very own dress. you will notice that i can only get a decent picture when she is sitting in her highchair, otherwise it's blurrsville. girl's on the move!

today i was watching pbs with til and i saw some old customers singing about doing laundry. it was crazy!

i am so very excited about getting my hair cut tomorrow by miss dorman. i seriously cannot wait. it's been oh NINE months! here is some hair inspiration:



{image}

i always love jenny's hair.



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i'm seeing a bang trend, but sam hates bangs. he's ok with the swoopy ones.



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who doesn't love this girl?

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blue ribbons

with all of this dress making, i decided that matilda needed one of her own. i wanted to recognize how wonderful she is as well, so i came up with the blue ribbon dress. i'm obsessed with blue ribbons (ribbons in general) and well, i think matilda is tops.



made of a soft flannel for these cool months. i love layering her up, the dress looks great over long sleeves and under cardigans or both for the really chilly days.



a fabric rosette with button closure and felt strands make up the ribbon.

this dress will now be available in the shop!



it is so hard for me to believe that matilda is 16 months! she is so busy these days and poor baby has been teething like crazy, but i'm happy to report that she is walking with assistance, but walking nonetheless! she was a late crawler, so the late walking was inevitable. i don't worry about it because i've never heard of anyone not walking, but i'm excited for the milestone. i always say "boop" when she plops down and now she stands and then plops and says "boop!" it's amazing how much she absorbs.



lindsey and i took the girls to antico. i've been dying to try this little pizzeria that is all the rage. well, it lived up to the hype. best.pizza.ever. you literally sit on folding chairs at a community table in the kitchen and eat the pizza served on baking sheets. no forks, just mouth-watering pizza made of the freshest ingredients imported from italy. be prepared that it's not the kid friendliest place. parker and til sat in our laps and were covered in tomato juice by the time we left! they didn't seem to mind...

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handmade charlotte

one of my favorite crafters, rachel of handmade charlotte, posted matilda's birthday party on her beautiful blog. such an honor! check it out here:



make sure to check out her store! she has adorable goodies like these little bloomers:



{fortune cookie shorties}

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organizing craft supplies

i searched the internet over for organization inspiration and this is what i came up with for my sewing nook (ie corner of my bedroom). i had junk all over the place and now i feel like a calm woman who just wants to stare at the peacefulness that is now my crafting zone. we began with this:



before

this picture is all i could find, but it was basically my sewing table covered in a big ole mess and nothing else. we ended up going to ikea (on a saturday...oh the horror!). sam told me he'll never do that again. we felt like cows being herded amongst plastic furniture and we were surrounded by tons of people, they were testing out beds (gross) and sitting in chairs, and running in to us with their carts. have i painted a lovely picture for you? i would equate the people watching to that of a state fair or a mcdonald's playground or even the airport. to.the.point.



after

oh quiet serenity. i got the turquoise boxes on sale at joanns.



i separated my felt and fabric scraps and also my notions and stamps. look at the labels! one of my greatest joys in life is a good label. i put all of my buttons and thread and floss in to glass jars. i like using ball jars and vintage jars. i think the trick with using an abundance of ikea is to counteract it with vintage, personal belongings, to create an eclectic look. the last thing i want is for my house to look like an ikea showroom. i'm sure you can agree.



we got the wire that i wrote about here for clips of inspiration and to show off sweet notes. the bottom rod showcases my scissor collection.



we also picked up some clear plastic bins for my fabric. so much easier to stack and sort. those will hide out of sight in our chiffarobe.

tada!

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such a tease!

i stumbled upon a sneak peak of southern flourish and i was blown away! i can't wait to see the finished product and i'm so looking forward to seeing what's in store for this eclectic, crisp, new southern magazine. the release date is march 15th, but for now here are some highlights from the preview issue:







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1.21.10

last night we had parker and lindsey over for dinner. sam cooked such a delicious dinner of potatoes, chicken, and broccoli. yum.
on their way over i got an email from my friend annette who is in the midst of designing a temporary home for gwyneth paltrow and chris martin. have you heard of them? she suggested i whip up a little something for apple and moses. i was thrilled. just a few problems...making my baby dresses in to a size 6 and what to make for little moses, and oh yea she needed them tomorrow...thank God for lindsey. she was a total pro and helped me through the entire process. she had patterns and cut pieces before i could catch my breath after running after parker and matilda. she's amazing. we also had some help from my sweet neighbor devyn, who kindly lent us a size 6 dress (i'll return it tomorrow, promise!).

without further adieu:



for apple



a cape for moses

i basically stayed up all night and got up super early to make this happen. it was just such a cool opportunity. i've been such a big fan of both of theirs for a long time. i finished them at 10:15 and was even early for work. i have to say tim gunn...i made it work! i kept imagining that i was on project runway, while i was sweating, ripping out stitches, and close to tears. i was on a total high when it was all said and done. it's amazing what we can accomplish when we're under the celebrity gun...now heroes, pizza, and a very early bedtime. you should see my house ca-razy.

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a tisket a tasket

i have to say, this day as been awesome. full of wonderful news both personal and creatively speaking. i got the best news of the year this morning, unfortunately it will remain under wraps for the next few weeks. we also have a dinner date tonight with the newly relocated lindsey and parker. hooray!

i've been sewing like a mad woman.



introducing the bouquet dress, evoking spring time with brightly colored rosettes growing around the neck of this girly dress. i wanted it to be extremely happy for the recipients. a splash of cheer in the midst of winter.



poor baby til has a stye. it says to put a warm compress on it four times a day for ten minutes. this is absolutely laughable.



now...what to make for the children who have everything. and i mean everything.


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sun.

it has been a balmy 60ish for the past two days. cabin fever be damned. it was so nice to get some fresh air in our lungs and to feel warmth. matilda and i went to the park today. sadly we do it less than we should. it's such a great feeling to push her in the swing and elicit squeals and laughter. it's a day maker.



matilda was really fond of the pine bark and decided to put it in her mouth. she wouldn't for the life of me let me take it out. but, mom always wins.

i've been commissioned to work on a few gifts for a friend. the gifts are for a family that has gone through a unbelievable tragedy. only one of the mother's twins survived. it breaks my heart to even write these words. i feel very privileged to be able to help shower the family with love. what an unthinkable feeling. elation over the birth of a child and devastation over the loss of the other. please keep them in your prayers.



in an effort to pay homage to the family's history, one of the balls will be the colors of the father's native flag.

my heart can't bear any more sad news. it just seems like every day brings another heart breaking story. i think about the trivial things that get me down and i'm just appalled at myself. so much to be thankful for.

Psalm 73:26

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sunday lazy sunday

well, not much organizing to report here.



this was as far as i got. this is my collection of vintage thread from mama lou. i wanted to be able to see all the pretty colors. i think i'll go have a visit with my frenemy this week to look for some shelves. i really want some salvaged boards for shelves. maybe i'll try freecycle.

we had a really jam-packed social weekend and it was rainy, so well that makes me lazy. plus i stayed up WAY passed my bedtime 2 nights in a row. good gracious it takes a toll. we were out last night celebrating one of my best friend's 30th birthdays. i can't believe that my friends and i are entering our thirties. i still have another year. muhaha. nonetheless a very happy birthday to keely and jodi!



see the rest of the party pictures here.

i did finish the dresses i've been working on and here is the latest:





i like the simple bow.



this little package will be leaving on tuesday...

alright, my little one has woken from her tiny slumber. see you tomorrow and stay tuned for some more goods in the shop soonish!



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getting organized.

i finally broke down and bought a planner. several snafus taught me that my memory just can't be trusted.

we're going to be organizing my tiny sewing corner. i want beautiful rows of thread and jars of buttons and boxes lined up in neat rows. inspiration....go!



{martha stewart}



{hands on art studio}



{flickr}



{flickr}



{flickr}





{good housekeeping}



{daily danny}



{little birds}

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tied up with string

i've been thinking a lot about presentation and packaging lately. fun things to think about.





for now everything is getting tied up with string with an attached calling card. i love them so much. here are some other packaging that i love, there's a whole flickr group dedicated to etsy packaging:



{oh hello friend}



{cutie pie co}



{just another day designs}

the roll and ring balls are tricky, because you can't really wrap them in paper...

i'm also thinking a lot about haiti today. it is just so very sad. i've been struggling a lot with tragedy lately and why God allows it. i just don't understand why some people have to live through a nightmare. i heard on the news his morning a really easy way to donate in case you're interested. you always want to donate to reputable organizations that will use your money in the most effective way. the red cross being one of them. if you text HAITI to 90999, ten dollars will automatically be donated.

ALSO, my wonderful sweet husband has a really cool project that i want you to check out. we discovered a box full of letters sent between his father and grandmother in ww2. sam is going to be posting them and sharing his personal thoughts as he discovers more and more about that time and about his family. you're really going to enjoy it:

{letters from okolona}



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