SHIM + SONS

work in progress 01

Here are a few Work In Progress [WIP] projects that I'll be working on this weekend. [Fantastic idea, Fiona!]

1. Baby shower gifts :: bibs + burp cloths + appliqued onesies

2. Fourth of July skirt [for me!]

3. Trying to ward off a cold.

sweet snail mail

My postman brought me some sweet mail this week:

1. wee wonderfuls put-together book, number one

2. vegas and venice shy monsters coloring book + stickers + labels

3. Package from Stephanie: hand painted card + fabric + notebook

4. Package from Didine in Belgium: blue goodies

faces of big j

Happy. Surprised. Angry. Scared.

My son: animated, goofy, sweet.

hot + cold

Boy, is it hot here in Portland! It was 101 degrees yesterday and we're in for another sweltering hot summer day. I'm a 70 degrees-is-perfect-weather type of gal, so I completely melt in the heat. We spent the first half of the weekend outdoors, beginning with berry picking at the farm near our house. The berries were SO yummy! We left the farm with berry stained hands and faces and full bellies.

Baby J loves to swing at the park when we go to Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings.

We had plans for a family trip to the beach, but the boys came down with a cold so we ended up staying at home the rest of the weekend. I was able to work on a birthday gift for our little friend who turned ONE yesterday. Oh, how I love a little patchwork + pink!

Patchwork tote + skirts + freezer paper stencil onesie [not shown].

 

I also made some matching t-shirts for the boys: "J" for Big J and "j" for Baby J. I used one of my favorite dot prints for the applique.

spoiled rotten

Guess who received the most wonderful package of goodies this week? Me! Last month I participated in Tammie's gift tag swap. I made ten little gift tags. [Sorry for the poor photo quality, it was a cloudy day in Portland. More photos here.] 

This week I received all the gift tags made by the participants. WOW! So many unique designs! Its going to be difficult to actually use these as gift tags.

Tammie mentioned she was sending along a few other goodies, but OH MY GOSH, I couldn't have imagined the goodness that was coming my way. First, a beautiful hand-made pillow, with the most perfectly chosen fabrics. I'm in love!

She also sent me a handmade magnet and some of her beautiful gocco + vintage cards. [The trees are my favorite!]

And as if that wasn't enough, she sent goodies for the boys. The perfect tote bag for Big J [he's totally in to cars these days], tattoos, vintage stickers + a personalized notebook. He loves everything.

Baby J scored some handmade vintage print flash cards, which came in a cute little felt pouch.

Oh my, I am quite overwhelmed with all the goodness Tammie sent to our family. Everything was beautifully packaged with cute labels [see more photos here] and tags. Just thinking about all the time Tammie put in to everything makes me a bit dizzy. This is crafting grace at its best--completely undeserved but completely appreciated. [THANK YOU my dear friend!] And if I've made you a bit envious, please check out her new shop!

we have a winner

Happy 1st day of Summer! We had a lovely morning at the Rhododendron Garden with Melissa + Stephanie [and their children]. Big J was thrilled to be able to feed the ducks [Stephanie is a prepared mama and brought duck food], play with Sam's trucks + animal figurines [Melissa always has a great stash of toys in her tote] and be Mia's little shadow [He keeps talking about Mia Noona--which means "big sister" in Korean]. It was wonderful to chat with the crafty mamas and I left the garden with a head full of new ideas I would like to explore soon. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Housewarming Contest. Golly, I didn't know there were so many of you out there. I have a lot of new blog reading to do this week! With the help of my assistant [Baby J], we randomly picked the winner...Hannah! I'll be sending her a little box of s+s goodies next month!

P.S. Our friend's 4-year-old daughter saw Baby J and said, "His arms look like hotdogs." Check out the rolls.

playing a little catch-up

I hope you all had a lovely Father's Day weekend. I'm pretty sure no fathers, besides my husband, read this weblog, but Happy [belated] Father's Day to all you wonderful dads out there. After having a house full of family for the past week, we had a relatively quiet weekend. We snacked on some delicious berries + cherries from our local Farmer's Market. Oh, how I love berries, I could eat them all day long! We attended a birthday party for a little six-year-old friend. Of course I waited until a few hours before the party to make her gift. I had all these "grand" ideas for her present, but with the time constraint I settled on a little tote + matching apron and kerchief. More photographs here [these were taken while my husband was loading the boys in the car for the party].

Mondays are always full of promise. My goal is to play a little catch-up this week as well as enjoy the beautiful weather with my boys. Thank you to those who left such nice comments on my last "housewarming" post. I wasn't sure if I confused people with the name of the contest. I didn't really move into a new house, rather I moved over from Blogger to Typepad. Anyways, I'll be drawing one name on Wednesday morning, so if you want to enter the contest you still have time.

And on a completely random note, I'll leave you with a blurry photograph of my goofy son. Last week he grabbed two slices of baguette, stuck them on his shirt and said, "Look Mommy, I'm a mermaid. Here's my booby trap." [A few months ago I was folding laundry and Big J picked up one of my undergarments, turned to Baby J and said, "Look, this is for your boobies. It's a booby trap."] It's a little scary when you see that your son has inherited your sense of humor. 

housewarming contest

Did I tell you that I love my new home? Well, I do. And I'm also very appreciative of all the lovely comments and words of encouragement left on this weblog. You inspire me to continue living a creative life and to find the beauty in the world around me. Thank you! Now, on to the housewarming contest. If you leave your name in the comments section of this post, I'll draw one name next Wednesday [June 21], and send that individual a little box of handmade shim + sons goodies. Who doesn't love a little mail?

friday: red

Sharpened color pencil. Textured paper.

thursday: blue

At the park. No empty swings. Waiting patiently.