Links and Such

Hey all, Happy Thursday. Don't forget that Bill thinks you're awesome! 

Here is this week's Links and Such, enjoy.

4 ways to knot a belt
vintage baby head nightlight 
holy moly- Corbey Dress
grilled cheese sandwich: spinach, avocado, goat cheese
my next knitting project
love this georgian mourning broach
DIY handmade feathers
vintage pagoda planter
How to Raise a Yurt in 4 hours

GrayDayStudio Happenings
and some new home videos of the toddler

Home Videos: Loving on the dog and wrestlin'

She's taken to loving the dog during meal time... i.e. the only time the dog won't run away from her.

and horsing around with her Dad last month... they are building a bit of a tradition

Tuesday Happenings at GrayDayStudio: Pillow ticking pockets, and much more!

Over the weekend I sold my text only "Neat But Not Gaudy" Canvas bag. My customer also purchased the pillow ticking handle extension and I threw in a set of my new pockets! (Pockets now available as part of the handle extension listing.)

The bag turned out great, and I can't wait to share my new line of bags with you!

Also over the weekend, I completed this custom child portrait, wrapped it up all pretty and sent it out in time for Mother's Day.

And finally, here's my business card- featuring a watercolor paper garland, and two of my playful silhouette children, Naughty Bunny and Petal Pushers.

On the card I also want to squeeze in my twitter and blog address somewhere, I think I'll print them on the back...

Now You're caught up!

ciao,

abs

What I've been Knitting: The Traditional Family Stocking

I hinted in this week's Love Letter to Spring that I would share a little knit gift I gave this weekend... and here it is! As I mentioned, we attended my soon-to-be-cousin-in-law's bridal shower on Saturday, and since she is just shy of officially being a new member of our family, she is now eligible to receive the family stocking! The stocking is a vintage pattern from the 50's (?) that my paternal grandmother worked with to knit a whopping 17 stockings! They are pretty awesome and if you put an orange in the bottom, the stocking will stretch, allowing for even more loot from Santa. And in keeping with tradition, they often find their way on to a small child's head! My mom has since taken on the task of knitting the stocking for her immediate family (grandchildren, son-in-law and daughter-in-law) and I've taken up the helm of knitting them for our extended family- cousins and their brood. I frantically knit one this past December for my Cousin's new baby. ANYWHO- here is the stocking! I knit it while on our trip to Maine back in March, during all of those quiet hotel nap times I spoke about. Proving to be the perfect knitting project for the occasion- fast and familiar.

Here is the stocking complete with Ashley's name, the Santa, and the two Christmas trees- taken with my cellphone after I blocked the stocking before sewing up the back seam.

All wrapped up with braided yarn bow and metallic tissue paper. (It's for a spring time shower after all, so I wanted to balance out the wintery present's color scheme!)

On Saturday, Ashley opening her stocking! 

Hooray! Welcome to the fold Ashley!!

(and here's a little look back in 2009 when the grandparents met Ashely for the first time!)

A Love Letter to Spring

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Hey all, how was your weekend? Ours was BUSY!! On Saturday the husband worked as usual, and the little babe and I went to my soon-to-be-cousin-in-law's bridal shower. (I gave her a knit something, that I will share with you soon!) Then that night The ladies had a lovely dinner for her Bachelorette. It was super fun to get dressed up for a change and a lovely way to welcome a new family member in to the fold! Then on Sunday- we were going to head to MD for the sheep and wool festival, but since the next two weekends are going to be busy, we decided we should be adults and stay home and get our chores done ; (  which in the end was the right decision. I continued chipping away at the weeding and mulching (my goal is to get it done before next weekend!) while the husband thinned out our seeds in our veggie beds AND assembled a handmade sandbox for the toddler! And he still managed to do a little beekeeping in the late afternoon. PHEW!

Anywho, here is this week's Love Letter to Spring, have a great start to your week!

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Links and Such

Hey all, how is your week going? We've been getting a bit of rain again this week which makes me wonder... "May showers bring...? May showers!" I guess? Anywho, here are some links I've enjoyed this week. Have a good one ; )

Free May Calendar Download
YUM- roasted grapes, goat cheese, drizzled honey sweet potatoes!
darling vintage wooden blocks
Tutorial: mending jeans
DIY Maxi Skirt
cool little side table with built in magazine racks (one could build this?)
check out this indoor slide
More added to my board: Put an Egg on it
The Scream- sells for $120 million
Painted sticks- fun home decor for you, or for an outdoor teepee?
Make Shift magazine: creating in unlikely places
21 free arrow brushes for photoshop
awe, kitty cuddles
10 DIY mother's day gifts using Photos
lovely series of photos from one of my favorite blogs: Longest Acres

Our Seashore weekend, in Pictures and Videos

At the last minute on Thursday, we took off to the shore for a long weekend.

It was a relaxing weekend, full of walks on the beach, time spent at the playground and a bit of yard work- 8 bags full of pine needles and other yard debris!

Above: the gang all loaded up on Thursday night.

This season's first trip to Cream Valley, the best soft serve hands down, the babe agrees!

Check out more pictures plus some videos after the jump! 

(click on the "Read More" prompt on the lower left)

Tuesday Happenings at GrayDayStudio

Hey all, just thought I would check in on the blog and update you on some happenings over at GrayDayStudio! I have a new and improved shop banner. SOOOooo much better than my old one. I wanted my banner to capture the feel of my studio, of working and creating. Let me know what you think? (I'm wondering if the letters "WE" on the garland are too distracting? but maybe that's a good thing- eye catching?)

I'm also working on a custom child portrait embroidery hoop, for a customer who purchased one over the weekend for Mother's Day!

Also on the docket- Pillows will be coming to the shop this week, as well as more vintage photos. I'm going to print them all out, frame them for picture taking- allowing them to really shine and give my customers an idea of what the photographs will look like in their space. ALSO updating my canvas bags with the longer straps and two interior pockets. Phew, a lot to do, but I got this!

have a great day!

abs