Win a Baby Jives Co Mobile

I have been bubbling over with love since the arrival of my daughter so to celebrate I am giving away one of my most popular mobiles, the "Showered with Love" mobile pictured here.  Just visit my Facebook page for Baby Jives Co. and click on the tab at the top marked Giveaway to enter.  It's that easy - the winner will be announced on my Facebook page on May 10th.

Bunting Gift Tags

I hate to throw away any of my beautiful fabrics.  Many of my details in my mobiles are from fabric offcuts that occur while cutting out the main pattern, but even employing that I still have scraps that are too small to reuse but too pretty to throw out.  Seriously I save the tiniest scraps, I have drawers full of fabric.

So in order to save myself from a mountain of towering scraps which engulf me one day I decided I needed to do something with all these bits.  So I came up with these easy to make bunting gifts tags which I now use as a quick way to dress up my gifts.

Now here's how you can make use of your tiny scraps too...

First cut your scraps into the shape of little bunting flags - about 1/2 inch high.  Then cut a piece of 4 x 6 inch colored card stock in half to make 2 3x4 inch cards.   Take a few of your flag pieces and arrange them across the top of the card. 

Now you are ready to sew them in place. I used a contrasting thread dark enough to show up on the card stock and a #2 stitch on my machine to sew the bunting flags in place (your machine may be slightly different, you want to use a stitch with a little bit of space otherwise the card may tear).

Then trim the extra thread off the edges and use a micro or regular hole punch to create a hole for the ribbon to go through.  Now you are ready to wrap up your gifts with your pretty new cards.  How easy was that!

Come Sail Away!

Last time I gave a little sneak peek of my newest mobile design which was getting ready to launch.  Now I am happy to announce after a week of intense studio time I have created a new fleet to release this week!  Presenting the newest mobile in the baby Jives line....let's sail away!

This mobile was inspired by my son and his obsession for the past year with boats.  One way I love to spend time with my son is to settle in and read a good book with him, we have lots of them laying around the house (sometimes piled under his cars and trucks).  This particular mobile was actually inspired by one of his favorite books called simply Toy Boat by Randall de Séve and Loren Long.  It is the whimsical tale of a boy and his boat who are inseparable until one day when the boat blows off to have his own adventure.  This book is gorgeously illustrated and while reading it I have started to imagine creating my own fleet of boats for my little boy to have his own adventures with.  So a few months ago I jotted down this sketch...

And then this past month I finally got to have an uninterrupted day in the studio to make my dreams come into reality.  Here are a few photographs of the voyage so you can see how my little boat came into being...

 

 

The finished boat is one that drums up memories of childhood and the simple act of making something magical out of a few bits of cloth and sticks.  I wanted to create a toy boat for my little boy that could be something he could take adventures in - sailing away to new lands under the moon and stars like so many of my favorite children's books.   Now my little adventurer finally has his toy boat, well actually he has a fleet of small toy boats which will be hanging in his new big boy room.  Together I know they will create many wonderful stories and adventures as they sail off into his imagination.

Do you think your little dreamer would like to sail off on a new adventure?  Then visit my shop at Baby Jives and you can get them their very own boat to voyage with and then...

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination
Take a look
And you'll see
Into your imagination

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

- Willy Wonka

Something New is Going to Launch

 Did you know that Baby Jives is turning 1 at the end of this month?  How time flies, I feel like it was just yesterday that I was stitching up my first mobiles and taking my first awfully lit photographs (seriously they were pretty terrible, please don't look at them).  Now it's a year later and to celebrate I have some surprises to announce, starting with the launch of a new mobile in the shop.  Here is a little sneak peek to tide you over until next week when the new mobile sails in.  Ok somebody stop my puns, I am turning into my father-in-law....

It's Raining Babies, or what to give for a shower

I have been attending an unusually high amount of baby showers these past few months.  It seems like all of my friends are having kids again - or for the first time.  So I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite baby shower gifts and tips with you today.

I know when I had my little guy a few years ago that I registered for all sorts of things that after he was born ended up gathering dust like the diaper wipe warmer, really?  My tip is for baby gear get the essentials - bottles as always needed, bibs are great, diaper pad covers will be used in abundance! You can also throw in a little something extra to make your gift of bottles a little more special, like Le Bibble which helps clean up the milk that doesn't quite hit it's target.

Le Bibble in Le Lime $12 found via 20BestTwenty

I also received a slew of baby clothes that were sized 0-3 and 3-6 months which meant my 8lb 6oz and 21 1/2 inch boy wore them exactely once before growing into size 6-9 month clothes by the end of his first month.  So now if I buy clothing for my friends I buy 6-9 month or up to make sure their little one will actually get the chance to wear it.  I absolutely adore this handmade romper by the Measure,  I mean is there anything cuter than a ruffled bottom?

Chevron Stripe Romper by The Measure $49 found via 20bestTwenty

When I show up at a shower I know the best way to get some oohs and ahhs is to buy a handmade gift for my friends.  Something that you cannot find at Babies R Us which will become an heirloom item that the family holds on to for the next child - or even passes along through the family.  Of course since I make mobiles most of my friends want a little mobile so they usually get something like my 2 lovebirds mobile or little raincloud, both of which are perfect for over the changing table or placed in a corner of the room by a rocker where you will spend lots of time!  If I don't know the sex of the baby I will usually give this, since everyone needs a little rainbow in their life:

Dreamy Rainbow Mobile by baby Jives $49 

Some other items which I love are the handmade wooden teethers rattles like this one by Smiling Tree Toys, handmade by parents using organic wood so your baby is set to rock, rattle and chew to their hearts content.

Organic Guitar Rattle by Smiling Tree Toys $26 via 20BestTwenty

Another great idea is a handmade growth chart to measure how quickly that little person will grow. I love this one by Love From Nora featuring Vintage VW buses handmade from felt and personalized with your little ones' name (if you know it).

VW Bus Growth Chart by LovefromNora $52 via Etsy

Years later we still use some of our favorite handmade items on a daily basis, like the knit blanket my friend made for my son and the wooden chair that my dad made for me is now my son's favorite place to sit and of course my son says good morning to his bird mobile every day. So what about you - what is your favorite baby shower gift to give?

Art Star Craft Bazaar

 

So I am up early and we are packing up the car to head down to Penn's Landing Great Plaza for Art Star Craft Bazaar.  I will be pedaling my magical mobiles and a few new items like my necklaces under tent #41 for Baby Jives.  If you are in the area come by and see me - here's the info for the event.  Now off to fill this tent with magical mobiles!

Wowza, I am a Babble Top 50 Etsy Baby Shop!

So today I get to share some pretty awesome news with you: I have been selected as a Babble top 50 Etsy Baby Shop!  I am completely honored to be selected along with the other 50 talented Etsy sellers who create amazing handmade items for kids.  If you haven't seen it visit Babble and take a look at the Babble Top 50 Etsy Baby Shops. I have already found some wonderful folks that I didn't know about including the store Apericots where I bought a fantastically cute shirt for my little guy. 

Ps. this is why I did that photo shoot although I wish I had sent them a different shot - this one just seems a little smug...oh well, you know I'm just a big goof!

Spring in my Studio

 

It's almost Spring!!! I am so excited and can't wait to be back in my garden running around with my son and planting new flowers.  In anticipation I have designed another new mobile this spring featuring my favorite fluttering friends - butterflies!  I've had them posted in the shop for a few weeks now but am just now getting to posting pictures of them here.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do - I even did a little photo shoot with them and it felt like Spring had finally arrived!

Dragonflies dream of spring

 

And here is the answer to the question - dragonflies!  This mobile was made while dreaming of lazy days spent laying under a willow tree with dragonflies flitting above. It is sure to enchant anyone in your life as it will bring a breeze of springtime magic into your room. My newest mobile design is now up and listed in my shop.

Something new is getting ready to fly into the shop

A sneak peek of something new that is about to take flight later this week. Can you guess what they are?

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A woodland wonderland mural

I have been neglecting the blog because I have been blessed with lots of work lately.  I am currently getting ready to start two murals here in Philadelphia for private clients and I wanted to share an image of one with you today.  So without further ado I give you the design for Samantha's Woodland Wonderland.  The client really wanted to feature animal families so there are lots of little pairings.  The best part was when I showed the mural design to Samantha (who is not yet 2) she pointed to the animals and said "baby...mama" over and over with a huge grin.  Now that's why I do this!  The painting will start this week and then I will post some pictures of the completed project.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Psst, I am having my first sale at the Baby Jives store - starting tomorrow, 11/25 at 4pm all ready-made mobiles will be 10% off and there will be free shipping on select items.   The sale runs until 11/29 at 11pm.