High on Spring.

We have been seriously enjoying some nice weather over here.

Spring is in the air and I've been inhaling deeply... one might even say I'm high on life.

I can't help myself.

I love nice weather so much. It makes me all happy. And probably nicer.

If my hubby were smart he'd move us to someplace where it's nice and warm all year long...

Right?

Willow laughs hysterically every. single. time. I push her on the swings.

Like, loud belly laughs.

People turn to look and I catch them all chuckling sooner or later.

I mean, you can't help it, her laughter is contagious.

And the Squish also enjoys the swings!

But she's more of a kick-your-legs-and-squeal sort of swinger.

As you can imagine, when my kids are on the swings, it's a very loud area of the park.

I love my loud and happy kids.

***

Here's another nursery set to share:

Super fun, right?

This was actually my first "theme" bedding set.

(See that jungle print?)

I'll be honest, it was a little tricky finding a jungle print that was girly

and that also

matched green walls.

(These are not the green walls I'm talking about, these are my grey walls that I love dearly.)

I think it all came together really well.

My fave parts of this set would have to be the crib skirt (too long for my crib...)

and the quilt.

It's a string quilt... which I love so much!

And the back:

And a hand-stitched label to finish it off :)

I think that little quote is Irish for "my darling"(?)

For the string quilt, I used the paper-piecing method to make my blocks...

I think I started with 9" squares of freezer paper

and my middle strips of fabric were 2" wide.

I just love a quilt roll...

Wouldn't a whole bookshelf full of rolled quilts be amazing?

Hmmm....

Happy Spring!!

Surprises and Skirts.

I love my job(s).

I get to be a mom.

I get to make things.

And many times I get to make things for other moms.

Yeah, it's pretty cool.

My latest project was for a couple who aren't finding out their baby's gender until THE day!

Oh, how I wish I had that kind of patience/self-control...

I HAD to know.

Both times :)

They went with bright greens and yellows with a little bit of navy and aqua thrown in for fun.

I think it's perfect to snuggle up either a little boy or girl, don't you think?

They really liked the style of the quilt in this nursery set, so that's what we did!

Here's the fabrics used throughout:

Bumper: Dandelion in Lime and Glass Tiles in Lemon

Bumper ties: Quarter Dot in Navy and Leaves in Blue

Crib sheet: Painter's Canvas in Lime

Crib skirt: Ta Dot in Apple w/ Quarter Dot in Navy border

The quilt used all the above fabrics and then we added in:

Honeycomb in Green

and

Large Leafy Stripe in Lime

Measures 45x55" ish, machine quilted, machine stitched binding.

The quilt back was pieced, and binding was Glass Tiles in Lemon.

Heather (and Hubby)- I hope you love your new crib bedding!

I, of course, would LOVE to know if you ended up with a boy or girl when the time comes :)

(because I'm nosy like that.)

And I would obviously also LOVE some pictures of your little lovey all wrapped up...

when you have time.

Of course.

Enjoy!

I've also been busy making clothes for my girlies...

I'm trying to do a lot more handmade this year than I did last year.

And I realized

(while uncovering, sorting, washing, organizing, folding, and kissing, and putting away all of Willow's old clothes for Baby #2)

that Big Sister has absolutely NO clothes.

None.

Well, none that are acceptable for public viewing, anyway.

So I went to work:

I had lots of fun.

No patterns, no plans really, just started sewing and embellishing :)

I used a mix of fabrics: some from stash, some from the scrap bins, some from Hobby Lobby...

(which had some surprisingly good quality fabrics, I might add).

And my favorite part was adding all the little details.

Vintage trims, funky trims, ribbons, jumbo ric-rac, decorative stitching, you name it!

I got a little carried away.

But that's ok, because they're for my little love-bucket :)

I think this one's my favorite:

And I've also been sewing like crazy for the nursery and the baby...

but it's been quite rainy/gloomy these last few days and I haven't been able to take any good pictures so far.

Stay tuned...

Newest Completion...

I love this latest nursery set.

Love. Love. Love.

It kind of makes we want a little boy.

Kinda.

Let's see.

There's mostly Anna Maria Horner Garden Party and Good Folks, some Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow...

... and a little bit of Amy Butler and Laura Gunn in the quilt.

Just a simple patchwork design with a larger outside border.

And then a bright orange binding (JD Nap sack in sunset) to accent everything.

The back of the quilt is also one of my favorites:

I just love those trees.

This back just makes me want to make a quilt front like this!

And here's the hand-stitched label:

Isn't that a cute quote?

The momma picked that one out.

I had a little bit of fun with the colors...

And a quilt roll for good measure!

Quilt stats:

40x50"

machine quilted 1/4" from either side of seams

I used a grey Gutermann thread for the quilting

machine stitched binding

pieced back

So, there you go!

Alli, I hope you love it.

(And if you want to send me a pic with your little man all wrapped up in it when he finally gets here, that would be fantastic.)

If anyone is interested in their own WillowBean Creations Custom Nursery Set

(for boys or girls or surprises)

please check out the nursery set listings in my Etsy Store!

Or email me directly at willowbeanmama@gmail.com.

Happy Friday!

Finally! Some Good Picture-Taking Weather!

I just wanted to get some pictures with a little better lighting and a shot of the bumper. The bumper is reversible with Joel Dewberry damask in green/pink and Rose in green. The crib ties are amy butler's wallflower in pink. I must say, it's quite charming :) (Click on the pictures to make them larger...after all, it is all in the details)

Another Nursery Set

I've been suuuper busy this weekend/week (whatever, they all run together anyway) with quilting and sewing and cutting and measuring and pinning and shipping and cleaning and playing with my cutie. But, I love it. I do. It's busy, chaotic, a little stressful sometimes, but I get to spend my whole days doing what I like! I'm so lucky... Anywho, I shipped off my last nursery set to Arizona, and I'm just finishing up this adorable one to send to a customer in Maryland. Fun, huh? This quilt is so adorable. I absolutely love it. I used lots of Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry mostly. There's some scraps in there from JoAnn's I'm sure. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I just have to finish that tiny bit of binding before I call it good!

One of my favorite parts of the quilt however is the back...I turned out so great. I just cut different sized widths (like from 1-6 inches) sewed them together, and voila! A supersweet quilt back. I think this has inspired me to make a quilt top like this, and maybe some stripes running the other way for the back....oooh! Uh-oh. I need to do one thing at a time! (Or maybe 4...tops!)

I tried a new quilting method, too. I usually "stitch the ditch", but this time I decided to try stitching 1/4" from the seam on either side. Red Pepper Quilts inspired me. I love her beautiful quilts, they're just... beautiful. So, that's the story on that....

I just want to toot my own horn and say again how proud I am of myself for finishing up so much stuff these past few days. If only I could be that productive everyday. I think if I had a cape that would help. Yup, that would definitely help....

Dust Ruffles, Crib Quilts, and Sheets, Oh My!

A shot of the dust ruffle:

Close-up:

The front of the quilt:

And the back of the quilt:

There! Now I think everything has been photographed and (b)logged :) All I need to do now is put a bow on it and get it out to Arizona! Thanks Katie!

Baby Adelyn's Nursery

This is a superfun set that I made for my friend Katie's baby on the way. It was my first "improv" quilt, if that's even what you call it. I had a blast working on it and I hope Adelyn will rest nicely for her momma in this sweet custom crib set!

This is probably, no definitely my favorite block of. all. time.

Here is the reversible crib bumper, one of the two fitted sheets, and the crib quilt. Fun huh? I know the perspective is a little off, I haven't quite yet perfected taking pictures of crib sets in the crib yet. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know...

Just a close up of the quilt and its backing and binding...

The quilt in all of it's awesomeness :)

Another full crib shot...

Pretty Things...

I made this one for my mom to give as a gift. I love the colors. She wants this to have teal backing fabric and binding...I think that's a great idea. I'll get right on that :)

Sunshine and Bubblegum

This quilt is so much fun! I just love it. Looking at it makes me smile...I made this one for my niece Peyton; now she carries it with her wherever she goes!

A Perfect Blend of Pinks and Greens!

Here's one of my very firsts!

Pretty Pinks + Fun Greens = Sweet Satisfaction!

The pink/green combo makes this blankie sweet, but not too girly!