Thoughtfulness and The Ensuing Celebration

My cousin, Brenda, is one of my favorite people. She's still just the way I remember her as a sweet teenager that loved my grandma (Ma) as much as me except now she's this graceful-grandmother who sets a wonderful example for me and others....

The other day and out-of the blue, she sent me a piece of fabric...

...with a note, "thought of you when I saw this and can't wait to see what you do with it". What a sweet gesture, as being thought-of by lovely-people is almost my favorite activity in all the world.

So, I took her thoughtfulness as a challenge and thought I'd write this post to share with you what I did...

I began by playing around with drawstring bags, as I'd been wanting to try some polka-dotting with them. I used black paint, made some ribbon (torn, of course) from the inspiration-fabric and attached them to the bag with needle and thread...

...ya know, like sewing.

The bags looked like real party favors, so a plan and a theme was born.

The images on the fabric, along with my "advanced" needlework skills, some old sewing patterns, and my fondness for chocolates & the like, blended so nicely together that I decided a "You're Just Sew Sweet" party was a perfect fit.

I used a brown Kraft paper runner and laid the pattern pieces randomly over the top...then set a table for five, using my old and very-inexpensive mismatched china...

I made corsages from brown coffee filters, tied them with fabric ribbon and set them on drinking glasses.

I used a black metal tiered-basket and some large glass jars (that I bought for a wedding Candy Bar my mom and I put together a couple of years ago that maybe I'll share on this blog one day) as the centerpieces and filled them with black and red "sweets"...red gumballs, Hostess cupcakes and Little Debbies...

..and a tall glass for holding red & black paper straws, oh, and some Twizzlers...

The table looked fun.

So, since a party can't REALLY exist without invitations, I fashioned some from sewing-stuff I had here & there, attaching hand-written "instructions" made of vintage adding machine paper to them...

...and put them in red striped boxes to send to 4 of my closest friends...

...then I also asked Elderly Jack Russell to join us, even though she eats with her mouth open...

All the guests were lovely and gracious, that is until the sweets had been devoured and Mr. Fox wore his corsage as a hat...

...and we began to take silly pictures with one another...

But then again, it's not REALLY a party till someone puts their hand in a candy jar and puts rabbit-ears on Momma Bear...

...and one of the guests falls asleep on the floor. Or sumpin like that.

I think we all kept the spirit of the gifted-fabric going by being Just Sew Sweet to each other and celebrating the thoughtfulness of a Dear.

I'm thinking that I may add a few of the pieces from this fete to my Little Etsy shop, which you can find at BabyBlackDog.Etsy.com, you know, in case you need a spark and a favor-bag to create your own celebration with those who are Just Sew Sweet in your life...

Creativity, Silly Pressures and Whatnots...

I've been thinking about creativity...mostly how I've not been being creative as of late. You know, not been-being busy with projects and my Etsy shop and what-not... Basically, I've made being creative a thing on my to-do list, as we so often do with things that we love... And that kind of thinking quickly turns in to thought of "I stink at being an Etsy-shop-keeper it haven't listed a single new item", or, "I could never be a legitimate blogger because _____(fill in the blank on that one)!"...

But instead, why isn't this my default setting: "Wow. I have really cool business cards (cause, I do!)"...or, "I actually have an Etsy shop! And it's filled with things that I created! (Cause, it is!)"...

I've been busy lately. Really busy. There's dogs to talk to & to walk...

there's friends to see...

...there's friends to miss, there's been too-much friend-missing, but that's another story for another time... 

And there's these Little People...

that I love and love being with...

Not to mention all the dancing. There's been so much dancing! Yes, there are pics but that's part of another story for another time, as most good stories are...

So I got to thinking about silly-pressures I put on myself. And don't look at me in that tone-of-voice, you put silly-pressures on yourself, too... I think I'm going to change that. From now on, everytime I think of how long it's been since I blogged or added to my Etsy shop, I'm going to think instead... "I got to spend the weekend with my GrandBoys (cause I did!)", or, "I'm going to see my GrandGirl in a few days (cause I am!), or, I made a cute gift basket for my friends who visited (cause I did!), or one of a hundred non-tangibles things that I thought, did or put together...

My personal-challenge in the past year or so was to put myself out there. To not be afraid of whatever it was that I thought might happen if I failed. To stop thinking what I wanted was just for other people. To start thinking, "why not me?". I really like thinking that. So I've done that. I'm doing that.

I read a quote from famous artist a bit ago, "Be good at what you do. If the universe needs something from you, it will find you"...or sumpin like that. In a world of social media and marketing strategies and business plans, have we forgotten to simply be good at what we do?

Your path might not include creativity or blogging or Etsy-ing, but it includes something. Go do that thing. Be good at doing it and I'll do the same...

If you need me, I'll be at Babyblackdog.etsy.com

Memory Boxes, How-Tos and Whatnot

I got a request from a potential customer for a gift for a baby girl, I'd had a project in my mind for a bit, something I'd been wanting to try, I told her the idea, she loved it, so I created it... It was fun, simple-well, not simple-simple, but Kim Marshall-simple, so I thought I'd share it with you, ya know, in case my thoughts could spark your thoughts, or, maybe you'd need to order one from Baby Black Dog...

I'd heard of Memory Boxes for new mommies, ways they could collect and/or store snippets of memories, either until they had time to work on their Baby Books, or, for keeping special items that might not fit in a Book. I think it's a lovely idea, cause, in this stage of my life, my biggest "want" is to encourage young parents to cherish these moments, see times, even trying ones, with a different perspective, knowing that they won't last forever, and, before they know it, their baby will be a DADDY living four hours away from you...but, I digress as I often do...

I found the most beautiful box at Target. It was a gift box but sturdy and perfectly suited for my Memory Box...

...and since this was a gift for a modern mommy of a baby girl, I loved the colors and patterns.

Then I set out filling my Box.

I have quite a collection of bags and envelopes of all shapes, materials and sizes. I'm drawn to them and most things made of paper. I think it stems back to my first job, working in the stationery department of Neiman-Marcus in Dallas, Texas. I learned about fine papers and invitations and Waterman pens and gift wrap. I think that knowledge and appreciation has stuck with me all these years. But, back to my how-to... I gathered an assortment of pretty things with which to collect...

...and put them in a muslin drawstring bag (one of my current favorite "things"), with a pretty tag of explanation. Oh, the tags! I love them...

I have an assortment of paper punchers, and I used an especially perfect one to create some tags for categorizing and labeling...

...I used pretty, textured papers and put them in a sweet glassine bag, and tied on a tag for 'splainin with a piece of pink baker's twine (another current favorite thing).

I also made some tags out of chevron papers to match some chevron bags I'd collected...

...added some of the twine and placed them in a bag. Then closed it with some graphic washi tape, isn't it just too-too?

I added some pretty ribbon...some black and white striped grosgrain and, of course, some soft pink torn fabric ribbon, of which I'm very fond...

No celebration (and that's what it is, you know...an Everyday Collecting Memories and Taking Care of Your Family is...it's a celebration!) would be complete without confetti. So I added a sweet bag of confetti, in coordinating colors, of course...

...and there's that tape again! Love that.

I added one of my handmade paper corsages, just for extra sweetness, and put it in a muslin drawstring bag with a "what for?" tag...

I also added a hand-written note of how to use the Box, and placed it at the top of the package...

I used lots of pink shreds and tied everything up with the black&white ribbon...

I'm thrilled with how it turned out, and I think it will make a lovely and thoughtful gift. You may have someone in mind for one yourself. Use my thoughts to spur your own. Or. I've put one together for sale in my Little Shop. You can find it here...just in case...

A Custom Book Project

So, I have this Little Shop that I kinda like. This. I've been tweaking it and the way I think about it a bit...

Several weeks ago, my very-supportive and visionary friend asked me if I (and my Little Shop) would take on a special order, that she wanted me to create a Baby Book for someone special. I told her I'd look into it and began poking around...

The Baby Books of my own children are still unfinished (my youngest son is 26), but gave me some "don't do that" ideas. I read blogs for the takes from different mothers about wants and wishes with their current Baby Books. I looked in brick and mortar shops to see what was offered. I looked at websites to see what was popular.

I have to admit. I don't do well with comparisons. I always find something I prefer in someone else's work. But, in the Search for Baby Books, I began to gather my own ideas and liked the way I was heading. So I continued down that road...

The biggest challenge was how I was going to bind the book so I talked to a couple of local printers, seeing just what was available, thinking I would create the Book from scratch. But one day, I stumbled upon a Book in a favorite shop: a small, 3-ring binder Baby Book. A perfect solution for the way I was thinking...the pages could be added or changed as desired, so that I didn't have to make chronological decisions for this new Mommy and her wishes for how to keep track of these memories. 

I remembered that Target has the cutest little notebooks, small 3-ring binders. Really, Target has the cutest of a lot of things! They were the perfect size, about 6x9", just right for some thoughts and a photo or two.

Instead of many wordy pages, I made journaling prompts...

...on pretty shapes of cardstock. Things that could spark a way to capture a memory (your room, your first haircut, your arrival, etc) and could be easily adhered to a page, then I edged them in gold ink, just because. I also made some fill-in-the-blanks pages...

...for keeping track of weight and such...

I made pages from pretty sheets of cardstock and from watercolor papers. I made some pages from illustrations I'd cut from really old cards and Little Golden books...

...thinking a photo could be displayed on them.

I made some special occasion pages, too, like a First Birthday page...

...a page for Shower Memories...

...and, maybe my favorite, an "I'm Here" page, complete with a bag of confetti...

...and a fold-out for Birth Information.

I used the computer for some things, but mostly I hand-lettered everything using a gold Sharpie.

I put the journal-prompts, along with some pretty tags, glassine envelopes and sheets of sticky-dots for adhering, in a big vellum envelope, used pretty paper brads & bakers twine for closure and attached the whole envelope to the inside back cover. This way, everything this New Mommy will need to work on her book will be on-hand...

The Book cover was of the perfect colors-pink, peach, gold and minty-green, so I just tied a pretty ribbon around the cover...

 ...added a name plate to the inside, and packaged some extra pages...

...to go along in the gift.

This Book became the perfect combination of gathered-thoughts plus my own way of doing things. Oh, and a pretty binder from Target.

Use my thoughts to spark your own creativity, or, I could help you with that... This one is already sold, but I'd love to create one for your Special Occasion (think: babies, weddings, engagements!). Message me, we'll talk. Here.

Categories, Dreams and Life

I don't really fancy this to be a do-it-yourself blog. Mostly because there's a category of those and I don't want to try to compete or fit-in. Instead, I want it to be a be-yourself blog. There's no competition for any of us with that.

I wanted to begin by saying that.

To remind you and me that we don't have to fit into a single category. Let's make & be our own category...

So, this morning, I'm having an epiphany of sorts as I've allowed myself to dream. 

A big, scary personal dream.

I think the word "dream" has always bothered me a bit. Overused. Misused. Others made to suffer for our pursuit of said-dreams. But I think mostly what bugs me is that we treat "dreams" as though they're off in the distance. They're elsewhere and we have to chase them far and fast. And for me personally, I was too busy living a dreamy life. My life with my family, my home, my dogs, my friends...I've always been contented with my life. A perfect life? Ummm, NO! Far from perfect. Let me clarify that. Do I now or have I ever had a PERFECT life? NO! But, are dreams always perfect? I don't think so. I used to dream I could fly like a bird...but my dream-friends thought I looked weird, so...

But, for the past few months (while I've been living and helping and loving and working and...) I've been pursuing my own personal dreams. Mine. For me... This blog is part of that dream. My Etsy shop is part of that dream.

I say all that to say this to you: Dream. Hold tight and pursue your dreams. Don't let your dreams die in a sea of self-doubt. But, while you pursue those dreams, remember to LIVE the dream. My good friend, Aaron, replies something like that when asked "How are you?". So, I'm passing it on to you...

This morning I admitted a scary, big dream that I plan to pursue this next year, maybe I'll tell you about it one day. It was a big deal. Made me feel strange and elated and hopeful.

But.

I also brushed my teeth. And drank coffee. And thought about my children. And walked my dogs. 

And on our walk I found this...

...right outside my house.

And my beautiful Labrador found a baby pine tree and it was a magical scene.

And I noticed the wisteria were fully-and-fragrantly blooming, so I took a picture...

And I found this in my own ill-tended-to-but-much-appreciated yard...

My everyday life. Yes. My dream life. 

So, Dear Friends, this is my challenge and my well-worn-advice to you...

Keep dreaming. Go after those dreams. Don't be talked out of them. Keep them. Treasure them.

But also, don't forget... Go live the dream.

The Chains of Everyday (or, A Very Dramatic Way to Title a Post About Parties)

...then, I remembered paper chains (you know, Dear Friends. Middle of a conversation)...

I had a long time to prepare for a Dear Friend's baby shower, so I got to fuss over the details a bit more than usual. And really, details are what sets one thing apart from other things...whether it's a party, or a gift you made for someone, or even if it's the details of your everyday life. No one else can recreate those details just like you. And recognizing and appreciating those details can make your heart light and your mundane life anything but mundane... And isn't that how it should be?

Don't sit around, waiting for the "next big thing".

You know that Little Boy that calls you Mommy? You know that kitchen window where you collect your Maileg Mice? You know that laundry that you need to get done today, and decide to use a new scent of detergent? You know that corner you pass on your way to work every morning, the one with the tree that's flowering so beautifully this time of year? Yes. Those are your "next big things"...

But, back to paper chains...

Scraps and bits of paper have to be one of the easiest and most plentiful sources of supplies. Often when I'm working on a project or a party, I'm taken aback by how pretty my trash looks! Much too pretty to grow away...

I remember putting together chains of paper as a class when I was in elementary school. Probably, it was to keep us busy and occupied, but it always made our classroom look festive. My teachers must have been very wise, to have accomplished all those things with the simplest of activities and using the most inexpensive of materials, and here I am, MANY years later, blogging about them...

Leftovers. Strips and scraps too small to reuse for most decorating. But not for this Creative Genius! (PS, just a week prior to taking these pictures, I saw an Instagram picture of paper-chaining from a famous party-planner that I follow. So, it's really alright for me to refer to myself as Creative Genius since it's a bit tongue-in-cheek. But, it does take a bit of genius to recognize a great idea, so...)

You know the drill, right? Make a loop out of a strip of paper and glue it together (I actually stapled these because I had to transport them a good distance). Then take another strip of the same-ish length, stick it through the loop you made, and glue the newly-created loop together. Keep adding and gluing, mixing up the patterns and colors as you go... Make it as long or as short as you like.

This is just a "pile" of the chain, before I used it as decor, but already it made me visually-happy!

Once at the shower, we strung, "hung" and laid the chains here & there. Adding a bit of pattern and color in various spots...

I think they were a festive addition to an already lovely venue (my Gracious Friend, Kim's, home), a beautiful party scheme and a perfect reason for a party, a Dear Friend's new baby...

Actually, I'm so proud that I remembered to take pictures of the chains along the way of their life-cycle. I often get so excited about decorating and creating that I forget to photograph. And it's the first thing that my mother, you know, the Discoverer of Raw Materials, will ask, "Did you take pictures?", as she is my Biggest Fan and wants to share me with the world.

So, here you are, world... Now, go make an occasion, you Lucky You!