Our Sunday Morning - New Seating

My parents recently returned from a trip down south and came home with a lovely new chair for Lil C. It's darling, but we just have to help C see that it's chair and not something that's scary. The first time he sat in it, he sunk back and that scared him, so he has yet to return. Once his wee friends sit in it, i'm sure he'll love it again!

It's a hand-made replica of the original Alcapulco chair, made also in Mexico where my parents had this hand-made version made. Notice how Martha Stewart's Living magazine also featured it recently?
It's very fitting beside our new Womb chair. Of course, it's not an original but we won't ever be able to afford one, but we just love the design and the name is so fitting. C and i love to cuddle in it daily, to read, snack, nurse, cuddle, cry, laugh, and more.

His New Room-ish

We got rid of Lil C's crib in hopes he would sleep better. While he loves his new set-up, i can't say he sleeps a lot better...but that's another story. Regardless, updating his new room to be toddler-friendly was full of fun projects for us! During the day, we just stack the two mattresses and surround them with pillows, and at night, we can fit them side by side for a comfy sleep, and a chance for mama or daddy to join him if needed.

We saved the crib mattress and brought out an old single mattress of mine to create a nice sleeping nook. So, that called for lots of pillows. I still have one more to make, and need to start that quilt i've had in my head for C, but for the most part his new room is done!
I love the bird pillow - it's from an old framed cross-stitch piece that i needed to save for 'the right project' and here it is! C was named after James Baldwin (middle name) so we had to honour him somehow. J made a shirt for C when he was 9 months old, and since he clearly has outgrown it, i thought of this easy way to keep it longer. And, since his room is Secret Garden themed, i thought of a fun way to use leftover treebark fabric - by making 2 logs!
As C is a book lover already, and we read a lot of books together. And, i really appreciate that C can reach any of his favourite books. I found this great tutorial on-line and it's a perfect solution. I added some pockets on the outside so that C can reach is board books easily. Luckily, i was also able to re-use most of the crib skirt now that we won't need it any longer.
I am also so happy to use our collection of quilts - 2 that used to be J's when he was little. I think his grandma made them both. The painted animals are adorable! And, soon we'll be using sheets/quilts for C to sleep with, instead of the sleep sacks he has now. Then, the awesome quilt our friend Suzanne made for C will be a perfect fit! Soon, i'll get to add the one i've been dreaming up, full of woodland and garden-themed prints (like his big pillow pictured above).

Oh, Anthro!

Now that we have our very own (2!) Anthropologie stores in Toronto, i am a very excited girl. My wallet and maternity leave EI cheques are another matter though. Luckily, i can't get there very much and since we have our very own stores here, i think the novelty and allure of them has worn off a bit. A bit.

For instance, i dragged J and our wee one to Anthro during Boxing Week sale-city, along with my gift card from J (he knows me so well) but got me even better presents he made for me!), and some birthday money. It was a bit chaotic there but we did not leave empty handed. Again, i never leave there disappointed aka empty-handed.
On top of some lovely things for me to wear, we bought this fantastic bathroom rug because it was on a great sale price. And since Li'l C is a Anthro baby, we bought him this cute fair traded felted birdhouse. Goes with the theme for his room, right? And, it's a great way to store his blocks. I love the wooden blocks just as much! J played with the exact set when he was a wee one too. We purposefully put them nice and low on a hook so C can get to them when he wants to.

Oh, Anthro!

Happy Winter Solstice

I love tradition, and now that we have a wee one, we're starting a new tradition for our family. J and i have celebrated the Winter Solstice for years, but we wanted to do something that honours our community. So, we baked - correction, J baked as i was sick in bed - some festive loaves that we'll be giving to our neighbours today. Nothing says holiday like some baked goods - this year it's cranberry orange loaves. We got the recipe from our stand-by book, Veganomicon. Too bad i was so stuffed up that i couldn't smell the magic coming from the kitchen!

I also went with a woodlands theme for decor. Our tree has some new ornaments, made by me and bought. I made some cute acorns, loosely following this pattern as well as this one that i modified for an acorn.
I also bought C his first ornament and was so happy to have an excuse to buy/splurge on one of Tamar's work. We'll put it in his room afterward. I also bought this great crocheted pinecomb at a local craft fair, and the mushroom is from my favourite bookstore in the city.

Starting the Baby-Proofing

BEFORE
Our house is so not baby-proof. We have a long way to go, but luckily Lil c is not moving around too much just yet. He is very aware of his surroundings though, and likes to touch everything. EVERYthing - so we have to be careful. I do love how he's discovering the world around him, especially all the little things that make up our home. I have to admit, i'm letting him touch a lot - texture is such a wonderful thing!

Our living room and dining both, where we happen to spend most of our time, are not very baby friendly with all the knick knacks and breakables, let alone things that can hurt him. So, i'll be checking through it all soon, but to be frank, i don't think we'll change a lot or get rid of lot because i like children living in a real family space, instead of turning rooms into a daycare scene. Of course, we'll get rid of things that will hurt him, for now.

AFTER
Like, for instance, we've already stashed our alcohol. We used to love having it out for us to have easy access to (we're not really lushes, i swear!), and to be good hosts. But we got the coolest cabinet to do it, and we bought it as soon as we saw it because it's so cool. Don't you agree? I love the hidden top that opens up, oh so gently, to a ready to serve bar. We just need to find bottles and/or glasses that are small enough for those wee holes! Plus, c won't be able to figure out how to open that top part for a long time. And the bottle has a key. Notice the fancy copper lining on the right side? Pretty cool, if you ask me! We just have to finish those bottles on top soon, as they don't fit anywhere. Good thing it's the holidays!

Clem's Secret Garden Room

Not knowing the sex of our baby made no real impact when i started to plan the baby room. I wanted something playful, whimsical, and quintessentially us. So garden decor it was. The room overlooks our backyard, which we find to be such a happy and bright place. Of course we also wish to encourage, if just a bit subtly, a love of dirt, gardening, nature, flowers, and veggies in our little one - hopefully over trucks and aggressive sports! I know, i know, we can't make them like what we like really, but...we can try!
My dad generously offered to help update and insulate the room, being the coldest in the house. So he and J took the two exterior walls down, insulated them, put in a new window, and J refinished the wooden floor. We then painted the walls an ice blue, and used some of our leftover vintage wallpaper for one wall. Then i stepped in with the trinkets and decor magic!

I loved making things for this room, from
- the crib bumper and skirt (for when he eventually sleeps there, right now we just play there)
to
-the birds on the branch and birdhouse i already mentioned here
and
- the curtains from this fabulous line

I can't wait until li'l c is big enough to design his room and that we can make things for it together!

Crafting Up the Baby Room

We've been working on making our own art for the baby's room. I think i'm done now, after making stuff for the last 3 months! Some projects were extra fun as J and i did them together - not something that we do often enough! Here's a photo gallery for you to check out. I've posted some more photos on my Flickr page as well. Stay tuned for photos of the actual room too!Can you tell i have a bit of a theme? Wait till you see more photos of the room, but i am definitely going for a certain feel! I found some of the projects in books and on-line and others we just created ourselves. For instance, i'm sure you've seen the cloth birds around - they've definitely made their way around blogland! But, they are so simple and quick to make, so they make the perfect wall art/mobile! The green leaf pillow (of which i made 2 in different sizes) comes from Simple Gifts to Stitch - i just love that vibrant green.

Thing i made from scratch - 1) the fun storybook blocks. I found images (agan in the same theme) and modge podged them onto blocks of wood. I then added some fun details, to make a simple collage of sorts. To see the details, click here and here. 2) J also has been really into crafting these days, and is especially into screen work and stenciling. So, we decided to work together on making these lovely fabric art pieces, complete with the appropriate black and white art that newborns can actually see. We placed the 5 pieces above the crib, but as babe will be co-sleeping with us most of the time, this will be something to be enjoyed a bit later on. 3) J and i also collaborated on the birdhouse. Growing up, this was a project my parents did together, so it is only fitting that now J and i are - my dad would build the house and my mom would paint it in her folk art glory! We changed it up a bit - J made an alpine-inspired house, and i decorated in some of my favourite vintage green fabrics.

I guess you can call making crafts for the baby's room my take on this whole 'nesting' phase. I have 2 weeks to go today, and am very excited. The room and our home is pretty much ready, and i'm now focusing on preparing myself physically for the birth and mentally for the labour and what comes after!

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

Ornaments!

Over the years, i have collected quite specific tree ornaments - ballerinas and mermaids. Can't really explain why but that i love both. Lately, we have been adding a new ornament to the tree each year, but i haven't been able to do that yet this year - i wanted to make one but am stuck on what to make. I'm thinking maybe knitting small sweaters or something? Anyway, here is this year's tree - standing proudly in our new home and new location.

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 4

Decorations

Unlike some of my neighbours, who started putting up lights and other Christmas decorations the day after Halloween, i rebel and wait until December 1. As this year marks my first Christmas in my own house, it was fun to put my usual suspects of decorations up in a whole new way. Unfortunately, i don't have a fireplace anymore, but i do have staircases!
Nothing says holiday season for me more than a few good decorations placed all over the house. I just love walking in the front door to a warm greeting and cozy feel of home. We also have a tree, that we bought last week, but that's a whole other 12 days entry so stay tuned!

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

The Wreath
I just realized that today marks 12 days before the big day, and luckily my most recent absence from here is that i've been busy working on things for the holidays. So, in dedication to this month's fine holiday, here are my 12 days and 12 celebrations!

This is our first year at our very own house. It was fun to decorate it, and this month marks the final month before we can celebrate being home-owners for one year! While our budget its tight (see last sentence - wow home-ownership comes at a price!), we have still been able to fill our sweet little house with festive goodness.About a week ago, i was out looking at my front garden and realized my lovely Holly bush would be a great salvation to my wonderings about how to decorate my house. I had bought a wooden wreath circle a month ago, and sat with it, not sure what to do. A morning of inspiration, enabled me to craft a simple, reuseable, and sustainable wreath - just add new Holly next year! The cute little wooden paintings come from my talented mom who made them for me as tree ornaments a few years ago.

Call Me Ms. Staple Gun

I think i may have found a new part-time job, or at least new hobby - i have been re-upholstering a lot of things lately. I just love the sound of the staple gun against my project, i guess! It is good, though, to be able to look past something old, ugly, and/or ruined and be able to rejuvenate it. A good example of restructuring and re-using for sure!

Here are two recent projects. The first is a vanity chair i wanted to use for my backyard patio. I took of the faux fur seat cover, and replaced it with a fun fabric that i then covered with plastic, so that when i forget to leave it out in the rain, it won't get soaking wet.
The second project is a laundry bin my parents passed on to me. The seat cushion was a bit ruined (stains, tears), so i cleaned it up, removed what needed to be gone, and replaced it with this lovely blue fabric. It looks perfect in our bedroom, and now our cat can enjoy yet another new place to see and look outdoors!