topsy turvy... literally!

the mini turned over today! twice! she's been practicing for at least three weeks now, rocking back and forth, rolling around on her blanket on the floor. we were having supper and she was contentedly lying on the floor when all of a sudden, she quietly rolled onto her belly! we couldn't believe our eyes!

the second time, i was in the kitchen, finishing up a set of rings, when i saw her slowly flip over. she raised herself up on her little hands and let out a surprised yelp!

i know she can't wait to get out of this baby body! this kid has places to go, people to see.

Read more...

Late Night Musings...

i know i'm supposed to be sleeping. all the books tell you to sleep when your baby sleeps. but i can't. the mini goes to sleep (and usually, the husband does too), and i hit my second wind. my head gets full of design ideas, random thoughts, things to look up on wikipedia, or i fire up the torch to make a set of rings. i should be sleeping.

instead, i make a new "knotted up" necklace - one of my favourites. i try to drum up some interest in my blog giveaway. (not that i'm posting about this to promote it again) i wonder why it seems like my hair is starting to fall out. i read a chapter of "New Moon", which i am rereading for the second time in preparation for the movie. i start casting a set of maple pods in fine silver. i clean the kitchen and load the dishwasher. i eat some camembert cheese and potato chips, wash it down with chocolate soy milk, then feel guilty. i catch up on some of my bookmarked blogs. i think about how i wish i had named my company something more elegant than "muffin top". i polish my toenails.

but i know that soon the baby will wake up to eat. i will inhale her sweet baby powder smell and put her back into her crib... and finally, crawl into bed myself.

Read more...

Adventures in Sewing - Petchy Tunic

i am soooo not a seamstress. i can replace buttons, stitch up small holes in jeans, and make sock monkeys. that's about it. however, i stumbled on Petchy's blog and fell in love with her simple, yet totally adorable dress pattern! i read the comments others had left, saying that they loved the dress, and that the pattern was easy, so i decided to try to make one too.

i chose melissa averinos' "lace in cocoa" fabric from thefabricbar along with some chocolate brown bias binding, and got littlepapercuts to print off the pattern for me. last night, after the mini went to sleep, i cut out the pieces and pinned them. this morning, i put the mini in her exersaucer and went to work!

i love how it turned out, even though i made about fifty mistakes along the way - the biggest one, being impatient! the second mistake - choosing to use contrasting thread. seriously, why would i, someone who can't even draw a straight line, pick bright red thread to stitch over dark brown bias tape? yeah. i know. despite all of that, the tunic (yes, it's a tunic since i forgot to enlarge the pattern (mistake #3) as Petchy instructs - LOL! sorry, Petchy!) looks so pretty. the mini is just too cute in it! and i think that the gently meandering stitching gives it a sweet handmade feel. i just might have to make another!

thanks for posting your awesome design, Petchy! i hope i did you proud.

Read more...

August's Giveaway! My NEW Simply Skinny Earrings!

can you believe the summer is halfway over already? not that the days seem to matter to me - oh the joys of maternity leave! i seem to measure time now by whether or not the husband is going to the office or when Michaels opens later. how funny - especially since i used to be the girl with the daytimer!

anyhow - i've been trying to do some more designing in my spare time, and am launching a simply skinny earring line! in celebration, my august giveaway is the very first pair of simply skinny earrings in sterling silver and copper! you want 'em? (and of course you do!)

all you have to do is this:
- go to my etsy shop - http://muffintopdesigns.etsy.com/ - heart what you like the best, come back here and leave a comment

- become a "follower" of my blog (if you are already, that's fantastic!)

- for an extra entry, tell me what the colour scheme is for the mini's nursery! (i mention it in an earlier blog post - so go look!)

make sure you leave details (a link to your blog, an email address, etc.) so i can find you! go enter! now! i'll be picking a winner on august 20th!!! (why the 20th? i dunno. sounded like a good day to choose a winner!)

Read more...