New York?

My husband has recently been offered a position in Long Island, New York through his current employer, and it has thrown my mind into a tail spin! While I'm excited at the opportunity to live in Long Island, so close to Manhattan, I have a lot of apprehensions. My entire family lives here in northern Illinois, so it would mean moving away from all of my loved ones. I have also lived in 5 different places in the past 7 years, so I'm a bit burnt out from moving so much. I have also yet to really make a house a home, considering I've only been in one place for a little over a year at a time.  But I think the biggest variable that is affecting my ability to just pack up and go is that my brother lives in California, which means both of my parents kids will live in opposite sides of the country if we go. It really bothers me that we would both be so far away from our parents. Not to mention, my daughter is 16 months old, and it's very important to me for her to be close with her grandparents which will be nearly impossible if we move.

On the flip side, though, My husband has always wanted to live in or near Manhattan, so there is part of me that really wants to make that happen for him. I had an opportunity to live in Miami for a few months about 5 years ago. I was all set to go but backed out at the last minute. It's the only regret that I have in my entire life, and I'm afraid that if we don't take this opportunity it will just be another huge regret. Also, this could be a great opportunity for my husband to advance in his company and we might be able to move back home in a couple years.

So, obviously we have a lot of thinking to do and a huge decision to make. Any advice or words of encouragement would be much appreciated !

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow! I've had an amazing couple of weeks. After a long dry spell of almost two months, sales have taken off in my shop lately! I've had a sale nearly eveyday in the past two weeks! So, I've been sewing my little fingers to the bone to keep my stock up and work on new items. A few new items that I'm offering are baby babushkas and little helper apron sets.

The apron sets were, of course, inspired by my daughter as she followed me around the house, immitating everything I was doing as I cleaned the house. The set includes an apron with two pockets, a dust rag perfectly sized for little hands and a hair scarf (baby babushka) to keep the hair out of her face while she helps me clean.



I loved the hair scarfs so much that I decided to offer them individually, as well as in the set. I lovingly refer to them as baby babushkas because I think my daughter looks like a little european lady when she wears hers!

Other things I've been working on are my crayon rolls since I was recently contacted to have them featured on a blog called babybuyproducts.com. So I've been working to increase my stock in preparation of sales brought in by the article. I will also be donting a $25 gift certificate to a giveaway that they are having at the end of their buy local Chicago feature. I will most definitely write another post informing you of when the article comes out and when the giveaway will occur.

The ABCs of Me!

A cute little survey that I lifted from Life In The Lapadula House

A. Attached or Single? Attached
B. Best Friend? My hubby
C. Cake or pie? Pie
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? Soap
F. Favorite color? Anything in the blue/aqua family
G. Gummy bears or worms? Both!
H. Home town? Beach Park, IL
F. Favorite indulgence? A glass of wine after a long day
J. January or July? Either. I love all seasons
K. Kids? Nadija
L. Life isn’t complete without? Family
M. Marriage date? June 3, 2006
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother
O. Oranges or Apples? Either
P. Phobias? Spiders, Centpedes, Earwigs
Q. Quotes? "Dance like no one is watching, work like you don't need the money and love like you've never been hurt"
R. Reasons to smile? My husband and daughter
S. Season of choice? Spring
T. Tag 5 people
U. Unknown fact about me? I've never seen Ferris Bueler's Day Off all the way through. I know- shocking!
V. Vegetable? Broccoli
W. Worst habit? Biting my lips
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I've had both.
Y. Your favorite food? Plain cheescake
Z. Zodiac sign? Virgo
Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? Gorilla

Craft Show

I took my sweet time writing up this post about the craft show I did last weekend, but better late than never, right? I spent my week catching up on some orders, so now it's time to catch up on blogging. A woman's work is never done, but I digress!

On to the good stuff. After spending the better part of a week preparing for the show, I trucked all of my handmade goodness up to Round Lake Beach for their first annual craft show at their Beach Fest. I had the pleasure of sharing a booth with a friend that I met at the last craft show I did. Monica is an extremely talented, wonderfully delightful person who has a shop on etsy selling purses. It is definitely worth your time to check out her shop!

The show was a two day event at the new Civic Center in Round Lake Beach overflowing with talent from all different arenas. On the first day we were stuck in a dark corner that didn't get much traffic, but we made the best of it by chit-chatting and exchanging ideas and trying to soak in as much experience as we could. At the end of our first day we found out that there was an open space in a much better location, so we made quick work of making sure we could move there the following day.

Here is our little corner on the first day.

Our second day went much better than the first. We had better traffic, better light, better neighbors and better sales! We were beginning to feel like it was worth our while to be there! Monica did rather well the second day, selling quite a few purses and hand bags. As for me, I tend to have great expectations, so nothing is ever good enough! I learned a lot over the weekend though and am definitely looking forward to the next show.

Here is a snap shot of my table on the second day. Much better! Better lighting, better layout and much better display on my part! Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Monica's table on the second day, but luckily her free lance photographer hubby does! You can see his blog and additional pictures here.

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. Lots of fun, lots learned and lots of excitement about doing another show!

Thanks for reading!

Cuteable!

Yippeee! My nursing necklace was featured on cuteable.com - a site dedicted to featuring wonderfully cute handmade items! Check out the post here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Linsey. You rock!

The necklace is for sale in my shop.

You can also see a previous post about it and other nursing accessories on my blog here

Deadly kitchen creation

Today I did possibly the most dangerous thing I've ever done in my kitchen. I was getting tired of the traditional lunch menu in my house which typically consists of a chicken or turkey sandwich. I went hunting in my cupboards to see what else I could dig up and came up with Nutella and peanut butter. So I did what any other chocolate/peanut butter lover would do - I made a sanwich with it! It's like a reeses peanut butter cup on bread!

Here's how to make your dangerously delicious sandwich:

Ingredients:

Nutella

Peanut butter

Bread (I used wheat to cater to my conscience a bit, but white bread would work too)

Directions: Lay your bread out on a paper towel to minimize clean up. Smear a good amount of Nutella on one slice and an equal amount of peanut butter on the other. Smoosh them together, pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Feel free to comment or add any suggestions! I'm always open to variation! :)

Rain, rain, you can stay...

...I've got lots to do today! As the weather continues to get nicer, I'm finding it more and more difficult to stay inside and sew. The forecast is calling for rain all week, so I'm going to try to take advantage and get some sewing done. Here's my to do list:

1.) Sew dress for me for upcoming wedding.
2.) Sew bloomers for Nadija to match the dress that she's wearing to the wedding.
3.) Sew apron for Nadija cause I just think toddlers in aprons are so darn cute!

With only three tasks, it's not a very long list, but with housework and a 14 month old lurking over my shoulder, it can be difficult to sit down and sew something from start to finish. I just keep truckin' along and tossing fabric scraps at my daughter to keep her occupied while I sew. Who knows, maybe one day she'll love sewing as much as I do. When she's old enough, I like to get her one of those child sewing machines like this one. How cute?!

Plushie Letter Magnets

I'm so excited to share these with everyone! I just love the way they turned out! I decided to make these after seeing how much my daughter loves playing with refrigerator magnets. I wanted something soft, safe and pretty, so what did I do? I stuck magnets inside of plush letters. Now they're educational too! Bonus! She loves them just as much as I do - her because they're chunky, pretty and easy to hold onto, me because there's no risk of her choking on a magnet.

They are made with a pretty cotton print fabric which is fused onto felt and then top stitched for durability. A second layer of felt is then sewn onto the back, they are stuffed with polyfill and a magnet is slipped inside. They are then stitched closed nice and tight so there are no worries of the magnet slipping out.

One day I would like to make the entire alphabet for her, but for now these three will have to do. I would love to make a set for you with your child's initials or any other combination of letters that you would like. Just stroll on over to my etsy page for more pics and info.

Shirt 'N Skirt

As a frabriholic, I bought this fabric quite some time ago, because I liked it, not quite knowing what I was going to use it for. With the weather becoming warmer and warmer as the weeks pass, I was inspired to make this cute matching set to keep little girls cool as the temperature rises.

The skirt has an elastic waistband and measures approximately 7.5 inches long and has a 17 inch waist. The shirt is a 100% cotton store bought blouse with matching paisley appliqued onto it. This particular set is size 12 months, but it's available in 18 and 24 months.

Stop on by and see what else I have in my shop! :)

Another beautiful day in Chicago!

We have had gorgeous weather in the Chicago-land area this week, averaging in the 70's since the weekend! We've taken full advantage by going for walks, playing at the park, taking care of some outdoor chores and just breathing the fresh spring air. Yesterday though, I decided to spend some time on a hobby that has gotten lost in the mix of trying to run a home-based business - gardening!

Flower beds are rather disorganized and neglected in our new house, as the previous owner seemed to have planted things with no rhyme or reason. I've got Iris' in the middle of my lawn, a tuft of daffodils plopped in an otherwise empty flower bed and other flower beds with plants just randomly placed everywhere.

I started small yesterday with a little corner flower bed in our back yard. All that it needed was some raking, some transplanting and a little focal point. After getting all of the plants in a nice organized quarter circle pattern, I plopped and old antique gas stove in the corner, planted flowers on either side and sat an old tea pot on top. Eventually I will plant flowers in the tea pot, but for now I think it turned out pretty good. Today I think I'll transplant those daffodils to in front of the stove. Not a bad first project for spring! :)

Sweet summer halter dress

This sweet summer dress will keep your little girl cool as the temperature rises this summer. Made out of a light weight seer sucker fabric, it's perfect for those hot summer days! Included with the dress are a matching ruffle hat to keep the sun out of her eyes and bloomers to finish the outfit.

The best this about this dress is that it will grow wth your daughter. She can wear it as a dress this summer and a shirt next summer. We all know how fast our little ones go through clothes because they grow so fast, so you get the best bang for your buck with this one!

SALE!

In celebration of spring, warm weather and blooming flowers, I'm running a few promotions in my shop!

1) Receive 10% off your purchase when you tell me how you found my shop. Simply enter the information into the notes to seller section upon checkout.

2) Receive a free toy tether with a purchase of $25 or more.

Combine both offers and save big! :)

Stump Pond Toys

I found the most amazing shop on etsy the other day and just had to share! Stump Pond Toys (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9965327) makes awesome handcrafted wooden toys for children. Aside from being beautiful, the items in the shop are super unique and non-toxic! With all of the recent toy recalls from china, it doesn't get any better than that! One of my favorites from the shop is sliding sarie - a cute wooden little girl who click clacks down her slide! How adorable! I can't wait to make a few more sales in my own shop so I can purchase something from this shop!

Sweet Halter

I came up with the cutest design for a summer halter top for my daughter - a cute white eyelet lace-up halter backed with pink cotton. I have been dying to get outside to take pictures of her wearing it. We finally had a nice warm day, so outside we went with a blanket in toe. A few left over leaves from fall occupied my daughter while I snapped away. I am so pleased with the way this top turned out I decided to offer it for $25 in my etsy shop. I hope you love it as much as I do! It looks so cute with a pair of jeans underneath!

Stay tuned for more summer clothes - I have lots of ideas brewing in my head! :)

Glam girl!

I just had to share a picture of my daughter, my inspiration, in all her glory wearing her new sunglasses! We took her shopping at Gymboree and popped these sunglasses on her face to see if she would leave them on. Much to our suprise, not only did she leave them on, but was flaunting them! I just can't get enough of that cuteness!

Truckin' along

I'm often told that I don't have enough items in my shop for boys. Having a girl, sometimes it can be difficult to get inspired to make things for boys. So, it's my mission this spring to offer up more boy friendly gifts in my shop so moms of boys can join in the fun! In the spirit of my mission, here is a set of cute burp cloths with little racing trucks on them. It doesn't get much more boy friendly than that! They are made with 100% cotton flannel on both sides and measure 7" by 17" the perfect size for keeping little (or big) messes off of your shoulders!

Proud to present...

...the newest line of accessories at Babytopia! The Kiwi Patti line is here just in time for Spring! With bright colors and bold designs, these accessories will make your baby the envy of the block! Made with Michael Miller's Kiwi Patti Paisley cotton and flannel, they are not only quality, durable products, but they are cute to boot! Spoil your baby with a new bib, super soft burp cloths, a changing pad or a new diaper clutch!

New fabric!

I just purchased this gorgeous fabric by Michael Miller today! I can't wait for it to arrive so I can start sewing! I have visions of blankets, bibs, burp cloths and so much more! I bought some cotton and some flannel, so I will be able to offer more matching items in my shop!

It's like Christmas in March, I can hardly stand the wait! I'm off to go design some summer items! :)

Ahhh, Spring!

Well, spring is finally showing itself around here. Yesterday we reached a high of about 45 degrees and we took full advantage! Nadija and I ran a few errands and washed the car, and then we were off for our first walk of the year.

I bundled her up appropriately, strapped her in the stroller and off we went! It felt so good to be outside with the sun shining and breathing the fresh air. We had quite a few puddles to dodge due to massive amounts of melting snow, but that didn't stop us! Nadija, clearly enjoying the walk as much as I was, kicked her feet, waved her hands and squealed with joy.

It was a short walk, though, since I couldn't keep mittens on Nadija's hands. So we just walked around our subdivision and retreated indoors. We didn't let being inside bring our spirits down though, so we cranked up the music and proceeded to dance around our living room.

After a brisk walk in the fresh air and lot of hard playing, Nadija was pretty worn out. I put her down for a nap, expecting her to wake in an hour. Much to my surprise, she slept for almost 2.5 hours! She was really worn out!

Though it's expected to drop back down in the 30's this week, we're definitely looking forward to our next walk in the sun and the sweet smell of fresh air!

Taking a stand

Nadija has been cruising along furniture for quite some time now. I'd say it's been about a month and a 1/2. She's getting very confident in her cruising abilities, too, as I will often find her standing on one foot with the other kicking out to the side.

She seems to be nervous about walking, though, because even though she has mastered cruising, she refuses to walk with me while I hold her hands. Typically if I try to get her to walk with me she will just sit down and crawl to me.

I think we're making headway though, because yesterday as she was using me as her crutch, she pushed off a bit and stood by herself for a few seconds! I'm so excited that she is taking steps (no pun intended) toward learning how to walk! Maybe my back will get some relief in the near future!

Baby Signs!

I started introducing baby signs to Nadija when she was about 6 months old. I had seen other babies signing to their parents and knew that it was something I wanted to teach her. I started with the basics - milk, eat and more. After many months of religiously saying the words and signing them to Nadija we were finally rewarded with her first sign when she was about 10 months old. She raised her little hand and opened and closed her fist, signing to me that she wanted milk.

Although she knew the sign, she didn't use it very often. I'm assuming because she didn't fully understand that she could get her needs met with her new found "language." Continuing to show her the signs every time I said the word, I was beginning to wonder if she would ever really grasp the baby signs.

Well, a couple of weeks ago just after she turned 11 months old, the light bulb came on and is shining bright! With her new found understanding of sign language, Nadija is asking for milk at least 10 times a day now - a drastic increase from the 4-5 times she used to nurse! Now, I'm certain she wasn't parched prior to her learning the sign. I think she's just excited to try out her new skill!

Now that she knows that she can communicate with us, she's picking up more signs all the time. She just recently started making the spider motion for itsy-bitsy spider and has picked up the sign for "more" and is trying her hand at "eat."

It's so exciting to see her growing and learning. Sometimes I just can't wait to learn more signs myself so I can teach them to her! It has been so rewarding just seeing her sign the few signs that she knows, I can't wait for her to learn many more!

To learn more about baby signs and start communicating with your baby, visit the baby signs site here

BOGO Sale!

Babytopia has been taken over by leg warmers! So I decided to run a sale to make room for new items! Now until March 21st, all of my leg warmers are buy one get one 1/2 off! I have lots of cute styles in stock and a few more to come!

Of course, this will most likely be a re-occurring event, since I absolutely LOVE making these! They're so addictive that I have to remind myself to work on other things to keep a variety in my shop.

They're such fantastic little additions to a child's wardrobe though, since they last for years. Babies can wear them all the way up to their thighs to keep them warm and make diaper changes and potty training a breeze. Toddlers can wear them around their lower legs as cute little fashion statements or to keep their legs warm traveling to and from dance lessons. They can also be worn as arm warmers by older children! The options really are endless with these!

I think my sewing machine is calling me!

23 days...

...until the first day of spring. March 21st! That day also marks my daughters first birthday! While I'm not looking forward to her birthday because this year has gone by far too fast for my liking, I'm dfinitely looking forward to the end of winter! The Chicagoland area has gotten the most snow this year since 1978! I can only remember a few days this winter where there wasn't snow on the ground. Now, don't get me wrong, I love snow, but everything in moderation, right? I'm hoping that the winter that we've had isn't an indication of a blistering hot summer, but even so, I can't wait for warmer weather!

Custom nursing cover

I recently made a custom nursing cover for a friend from the Bradley childbirth class that I attended last year. I think it turned out so beautiful, and is by far my favorite project since I opened up shop! I just love the fabric that she chose and how tidy the whole thing turned out! I had so much fun making this and hope to have opportunities to make more in the near future!

Photo Editing

Thanks to a fellow etsier, I finally figured out how to brighten up my pictures. I downloaded a free trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements and have been working on updating all of my listings to make them much more presentable. Check out some of these before and afters!

Not bad, eh? The trial version is only good for 30 days though, so hopefully this vast improvement will help with sales and I will be able to afford to purchase the full version. Here's hoping!

Nursing accessories

When my daughter was born, I committed to giving her the best start that I possibly could. My first priority was making sure that she got the absolute best nourishment to help her grow and strive. To me, this meant breastfeeding since it's natural and comes packed with so many more benefits, such as unsurpassed bonding time! We have been breastfeeding now for about 11 months and it has been absolutely wonderful experience that I will surely miss when Nadija decides to wean herself.

I have become so passionate about breastfeeding from my experience that I decided to launch new products to assist other moms in their breastfeeding adventures. Though good times will far outweight the bad, but without a doubt there will be sleepless nights and frustrations. When Nadija was first born, one of the biggest problems I had with breastfeeding was remembering which side to nurse her on during those groggy 2am feedings! Thus, the breastfeeding charm was born!

This sweet little charm is a wire hoop adorned with swarovski crystals in either pink or blue. It clips right onto your bra to remind you of which breast to nurse your baby on. They are just big enough to fit around your bra strap so they are very discreet underneath your clothing, but are such a sweet reminder for sleepy moms!

Another nifty accessory I came up with to help nursing mothers is nursing necklaces. These are designed for moms who are nursing older babies with curious hands. Nadija loves to grab, twist and pinch anything in her reach while she is nursing. This includes my lips, nose, shirt and anything else you can imagine!

I designed these necklaces to help her stay focused and give her something to play with and tug at while nursing. They are made with natural gem stones and plastic beads which are less likely to break than their glass and wooden counterparts.The beads are strung on nylon coated wire and hang from an organza ribbon. Finished with a lobster clasp, they are strong enough to withstand resonable tugging and twisting. Slip one around your neck and give your lips, nose and shirt a break!

One last thing that desrves mentioning is the item responsible for the birth of my etsy shop! Nursing covers, in my opinion, are a must-have for any nursing mother! They allow you to breastfeed your baby in virtually any situation with discretion and style. Stop by my shop at http://www.babytopia.etsy.com/ to see a few examples of nursing covers that I have in stock.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy nursing! :)

Back in the saddle

After a short break for the holidays (and to clean up the holidays!) I'm finally back into the swing of things with my shop. I've got lots of new ideas brewing in my head and can't wait to bring them all to reality! A short trip to the fabric store yesterday ultimately left my head spinning after looking at so many different fabrics. I'm happy to say though, that I left with a few great choices! I have an adorable burp cloth set that I will be posting soon and I'm working on the finishing touches of my first shopping cart cover and will hopefully be taking pictures and posting it today! The next thing I want to try to tackle is onsie and belt sets! I finally found some cute buckles to make infant belts with and will be offereing them in matching sets with appliqued onsies! I'm so excited about this one! I think it's going to turn out so cute! Another thing I'm going to do in the near future is pillow case dresses! They're such cute little things and can be used in so many ways! Stay tuned for lots of exciting new listings!