Look at this girl! I turn my head for one minute, and she goes and grows up into a little kid, complete with blonde waves a big dose of sass!

As a mother, I am constantly surprised by the little changes in Violet’s development. For instance, now on the way home from school, she talks about her friends and teachers, tells silly jokes, and sings her favorite songs! It feels like yesterday she could barely take a wobbly step with her chubby little feet. Now those same feet are a few sizes larger and have to have the perfect pair of shoes on to start the day, usually her pink “quip quops” (flip flops).

Seeing Miss Violet grow up into such a strong, smart, sweet girl makes me all the more aware of the role that I play in her life. I am her caregiver. I am usually her friend and confidant, but a lot of the time I am her disciplinarian, correcting her when she makes a mistake, but immediately showering her with love and forgiveness. She is constantly watching my every mood, from the gestures I make with my hands when talking, to the tone of my voice when talking to the dogs.

What am I trying to say? The older my daughter gets, the more I can see myself in her. And I simply want to be a better momma so that she can grow into the best Violet she can be.

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I am 14 weeks and some odd days pregnant. Over the weekend I really popped out! Along with a bigger baby belly came those unfortunate marks of motherhood, stretchmarks….. I will take this moment to say that I ENVY any woman who is able to make it through 40 weeks of pregnancy without those pesky little blemishes!

In case stretch marks are not your thing (hehe) the baby flutters are happening more frequently. I am so in love with this little baby! I bought 2 onesies this weekend, one for if it is a boy, and one for if it is a girl. For some reason this makes it feel more real, investing money in the baby’s wardrobe. I also purchased a new crib from Ikea, as the crib we used with Violet is out of commission (see 20 years old and a few safety regulations short).

Oh, on a side note, congratulations to Moriah over at Josiah’s Nest! Her adorable daughter Lucia was born today! How very exciting!

So does an every other week pregnancy update work for you guys?

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I feel like it is too early to get too committed to planning the baby’s nursery. We won’t know the gender for 6 more weeks (even though I am rooting for a BOY!) so making decorating decisions are tough at this point. However, Nathan and I are pretty sure that the kiddos will eventually be sharing a room (the first few months the baby and crib will be in our room).

With that in mind, I have been pinning shared bedrooms on Pinterest like a mad woman, in preparation for D-Day (the “D” stands for” Decorating” in this instance). Here are some of my favorites!

 

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Wow! What a mess these past few days have been! First, the stress/excitement of having a booth at the Fayetteville 1st ever Block Street Block Party. Then, the horrible weather that we have had in the Midwest has put me on edge! I have been glued to the news, checking weather reports, and praying for a break in the weather. Looks like this weekend should be nice for celebrating Memorial Day with family… but I digress….

Sunday my friend Amber Perrodin and I shared a booth in downtown Fayetteville for the Block Party. We spent Saturday making our hand-cut banner and figuring out the layout of our booth. Amber is so incredibly resourceful, as she had been collecting old doors that we hinged together and made into the backdrop of our booth! Sunday found us uncertain if the bad weather would hold off, but it did hold off, and we sold a good amount of product!

On a separate note, I have this social problem where when surrounded by large groups of unknown people, I kinda clam up. My heart races. I get really quite, and appear physically uncomfortable. I get super self deprecating, and pretty much loose my ability to function as a normal, confident artist. I knew this would happen, as it has happened at all of my shows in the past. There is some security when you sell online. The bit of anonymity, and ability to edit yourself is priceless. Being out among real, breathing people, however, requires a bit more tact and candor…. something I struggle with. I tried to warn my Amber on Saturday of my potential bad habit… hopefully she didn’t mind how strange I was? I could just feel myself shutting down throughout the day. Add pregnancy hormones and an unusually muggy day into the mix… you get the picture?

But, even in spite of my own self sabotage, I met some new people, and was so thrilled to be sharing a booth with Amber! She is incredibly talented, not only as a painter and print-maker, but also as a maker of plush owls! Seriously, almost every single plush owl she made sold! If she had made more, they would have sold too. Amber had requests for custom orders, and even ran out of cards because the public adored her so much. And, I will ad, Amber is the type of creative person who can and should make art her full time job. She is a bit of a visionary, dreaming of teaching her own printmaking and watercolor classes, and is super great at making connections with other local artists. I am so proud of her and her bright future!

Here’s some more product pictures:

Thanks for reading!

Stacie

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Hi! Today I will be participating in the Block Street Block Party here in Fayetteville, AR. My good friend Amber Perrodin and I are sharing a booth, where we will be selling our handmade goodies!

This is the 1st ever Block Street Block Party, and I am excited to see how it goes. We are supposed to get some pretty strong rain showers this afternoon, so we will see how busy it is! I really hope that there is a strong turn out!

Stacie

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I am in Love with these papers from MissPrint London! I have been searching high and low for the *perfect* wallpaper for covering the tops and sides of my bedroom dresser, and one of these might just do the trick!

Each design has a bit of a retro kick to it! I ordered samples of Dandelion Mobile, but am kicking myself that I overlooked the lovely Saplings Wallpaper in Cream with Pink! I will only be ordering one roll, so this is how I justify the cost of something so fancy!

What do you guys think of MissPrint? Are you as awestruck as I am?

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Hello! I hope you don’t mind my talking about my pregnancy on the blog. I know a lot of GingiberSnap readers aren’t mommas, so forgive me if every few posts I mention it! But, this baby is a big part of my life right now, and I really want to savor every moment of this pregnancy. I was so busy when I was pregnant with Violet. I had just graduated college, moved to a new state, started a new job, and was so distracted that I didn’t write down anything!

I am now 12 weeks pregnant. The morning sickness has let up tremendously. I have only gained 2 pounds (but I wasn’t in the best shape to start out with). I have thought about buying an exercise bike to stay fit, but I don’t really know if it is worth it? FYI, I am 5’8”, and was a curvy size 12 to begin with, so I am really hoping to have some self control this go around (ignore the fact that I just ate a 1/4 of a peach pie for lunch, mkay?).

I’ve got a little bit of a baby pooch showing. You can see it best in the 1st picture. I could have sworn a few nights ago that I felt some flutters! So exciting!

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So be honest, do you want to hear about/see pictures of my pregnancy progress? Because I am now 12 weeks along with this little bean, and sure would love to share what’s going on in my life and mind. Honestly, I am hesitant to write too much, because I know some of you don’t read this blog to hear about baby stuff. You are probably here because you either like my art, or enjoy decorating, or maybe you just like me? Not sure.

I also like to think of my blog as a bit of a journal. I don’t remember much of my time being pregnant with Violet, because I was moving, changing jobs, etc., and never recorded any of what I was feeling. So indulge me, will you, if every once and I while I talk in depth about what’s going on in pregnancy land? Please and thank you!

I am 12 weeks along. I think that I am showing a little bit, but my post Violet baby body could be deceiving me (the pregnancy spare tire strikes again!). I am waiting to feel the flutters, and could have sworn 2 days ago sitting at my office chair that I felt a little something twitch. It probably wasn’t the baby, but I’d like to think it was! I’ve only gained 2 pounds, but feel rather gross, as is the pregnant way! I’ve been toying with the idea of buying an exercise bike to stay fit, but realistically, not sure if I would use it once I got it! Oh, and I have been falling asleep on the couch around 7 pm most nights….. so not the most productive person on earth!

Emotionally, I have been all over the place. I have still small moments where I remember how I felt when I thought I was having twins. I was scared but excited. Sometimes I forget it was a misdiagnosis. Then I reach to touch my tummy and remember that I am barely showing, and that the twin never existed… (thanks ultrasound technician!) I am thankful for how healthy this pregnancy is going now, but sometimes, I mourn the loss of the twin I will never have? Even though it never was there…… I might sound crazy, but that is how I feel.

I am no longer considered a high risk pregnancy, which is a huge blessing! And because of this I have been released from my doctor and will be seeing a midwife! I meet her next week, and she will treat me at every appointment deliver my baby in a hospital (Nathan and I are not prepared for home birth). At this point, I am going to try to have a natural birth, but I might change my mind once I am in full blown labor!

Oh, I cannot wait to show more, and to feel this little one kicking inside of me! I just want to soak it all in this go around…. so thankful for my little one!

Stacie

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This is the latest illustration to come from my head. My interpretation of the Calico Cat. I was trying to create in the vein of The Quilted Fox, as the reception for that print has been well received. I don’t want to become too formulaic, but I thought that the idea of a patchy Calico Cat would work!

Just so you know, I am NOT a cat person. Everyone in my family but me is allergic. I find their rough little tongues unsettling, and their ferocious hissing disturbing. That is not so say that cats are not beautiful creatures. And I do appreciate all things pretty.

So here’s to you, Calico Cat. May you live to eat mice and shed another day….

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Mother’s Day was so lovely because not only did I get to spend time with my family, but I felt energized to get to crafting again! I had some felt and poly fil lying around from my venture as a plush owl maker, and decided to make a little something for the new Bloomfield baby.

I attempted to make an elephant, but the pattern needs to be altered a bit. I need to add eyes. And, I didn’t realize this until the day after I made the elephant, but maybe I need to change the nose so that it curls up instead of going straight up (trying to make it look less, um, phallic? DON’T LAUGH!) Babies don’t need to be playing with something of a questionable shape, right?

At least my sweet Violet likes it. She has requested a pink elephant, to which I will make the changes in the pattern and hopefully have a toy more, well, presentable!

Not every craft is a winner right off the bat, am I right?

*I chose the least questionable photo of this elephant, but believe me, certain angles of this toy were super duper embarrassing! Haha*

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