Friday Fotos: Big One

Guess who is one today?
Happy Birthday Bubba, we love you so much! Please do us the favor of holding onto that double chin and mini-potbelly of yours just a little bit longer or your mom is going to be a wreck.

Have a Happy Friday and weekend everyone!

above: photo by Beth Hurley

Shop: Fabric Hungry

Ok, it's high time we start a list of our favorite fabrics around here. And who better to kick this off than textile savvy Designing Mom Liberty! And just curious..but if I were ask you to give me your top three fabrics/patterns would you be able to? Please share!

by Designing Mom Liberty of Libby Dibby

I have a super fabric problem. I once read something where they made up this funny acronym that describes me perfectly... SABLE -which stands for... Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy. (yay!) but as a mom who was a textile designer in the past and who sews literally every day now... I'm still buying.

Though I live very near to downtown LA, time away from the kids is not super realistic for fabric trips very often. I prefer to shop online and have it show up on my doorstep. (as Designing mom Tori notes: "mail is fun!")

My favorite sites for shopping online are www.quilthome.com and www.fatquartershop.com - they both have huge selections and excellent customer service. I've also been very pleased with the quality of products I've received and the color representation on their websites (though this is subject to personal computer screens as well) is very true.

I recently stumbled onto the Riley Blake "Wheels" designs and went nuts. I bought what is called a fat quarter bundle and have subsequently made 2 quilts for my boys. Fat Quarter Shop also has some really cute robots that are calling my yet-unborn nephew's name (we don't even know his name yet, but I know he already wants those robots)

I'm also in an online quilting bee and recently received a beautiful fabric in one of my project packs that I learned this morning is called.... Woodland Delight by Paula Prass.
I could go on forever, but those are just some things that have been exciting me lately.

Make: Pepe La Pew

Why is it that I can bet we all have a little, lost black glove somewhere? Elizabeth at To Be Charmed wrote in about a great "Make" for that very lonesome accessory. Click here to get the full tutorial.

Need your Parenting Tips!

Chronicle Books needs your help! Designing Mom Aya passed this along from a fellow editor who is hoping we can all lend some of our very favorite tips on parenting. I know all of you have tons of great advice and juicy tips on parenting whether learned the hard way or gleaned from fellow moms. Please feel free to leave as many comments and tips below as you want! I'll pull one and you'll get the "French General Party Paperie Set" thanks to Designing Mom Aya.
I'm in need of some good tips myself so can't wait to hear from all of you!


From Chronicle Books:

We need your help. Here at the Lifestyle Headquarters we're developing a book on parenting time-savers, money-savers, and sanity-savers. It’s from Kerry Colburn and Rob Sorensen, authors of How to Have Your Second Child First and it’s aimed at parents of kids from birth to age two.
As a parent, it’s likely you have a whole lot of tricks up your sleeve to help you get through each day: small things that make a big difference. They may be new discoveries (if you put the Cheerios down low, your kid can now get them himself!) or things that have now become second nature in your house (naming each of her teeth helps keep her interested in brushing them). Either way, it's time to pass them on to other parents. We’re asking you to submit your best tips. We can’t pay you for your genius shortcuts, but we can offer you buckets of gratitude and perhaps some baked treats. Do it today while it's fresh in your sleep-deprived mind! Here are some examples to help you along:

• Keep a pre-packed diaper bag near the door so you can get out of the house more quickly. The longer it takes you to get organized, the more likely you’ll just bail on the whole outing. (SANITY SAVER)
• Bathe your baby and yourself at the same time. It’s a great solution when you realize no one has cleaned themselves in three days. (TIME SAVER)
• Get all your kids’ videos and CDs at the library. It never fails that once you buy their favorite one, they lose interest in it almost immediately. (MONEY SAVER)

Above: French General Party Paperie.
**Please leave a comment on this post with any of your tips. Thank you!

A Creative Life: Angela Adams

What a treat... Designer extraordinaire Angela Adams took a few minutes to answer some questions about her "creative life" with us today! If you don't already know about her famed, gorgeous rug designs, then you've got some catching up to do because she has since gone on to create bedding, bath, pillow, bag, glass collections that will leave you breathless. Her latest launch is a quilt collection that won't break the bank available at Macy's.

Quilts, rugs and bags aside...I am just completely enamored with Angela's natural sense of design and interpretation of nature. Be sure to check out her website for more!

Quite a few of us here use your bags to double as stylish "diaper"
bags and we'd love to know if there are any other products from your line that you'd recommend for moms on the go?

Thanks for carrying our bags!
I like the small leather clutches, for added functionality in your totes…. You can quick grab one when going to the market or post office.

Any suggested favorite rugs for the little one's room? I so appreciate how playful they are without being too baby'ish (my personal favorite for the nursery would be ocean in seaglass!).

Kids have always spoken our design language so fluently. They get it. So it really depends on what vibe you want that particular room to have. I would lean toward fun designs that can become games… Pooky could become a fun Twister board. And textural rugs like Ocean are so soothing you just want to nap on them.

What inspires you and your work?

Mother nature inspires me more than anything.

Were you creative since you were a child?

Yes, I think all kids are creative and then it’s a matter of holding onto that as you grow older.

What's a typical day-in-your-life like?

When Im not traveling, I walk down the hill to work. Everyday is a little different thankfully, or I'd get nutty. Some days it is focussed on design and others its focussed on business. I like the mix - but I prefer more design than business. Then we usually go out for lunch at one of the great neighborhood spots. Then walk home at the end of the day. I love to cook, so I cook dinner almost every night. Hopefully somewhere in there I got some exercise:)

Greatest reward/challenge in what you do?

Every day I feel fortunate that I get to do what I do , with the peole I do it with. It really is a dream.

Friday Fotos: Hayden Turns One!

Designing Mom Aya and I had the same due dates and have always felt destined to know one another. We now share a nanny together and it has been a joy watching the two boys army crawl and now climb (all the way up the stairs!) their way together through their first year.

Hayden is the cutest, sweetest little guy and I couldn't help but make him a little hat for his big first birthday yesterday. Happy BIG ONE Hayden! Big hugs and kisses to you.

And Happy Friday and weekend to all of you!

Giveaway: Comfort Knitting and Crochet

Elizabeth at To Be Charmed wrote to let us know she's doing a giveaway of a great book, "Comfort Knitting and Crochet, Afghans." I'm loving the preview of colors and patterns in this! Click here to enter.

Sleeping Beauties

Not an Anne Geddes fan? I love these organic, beautiful warm-fuzzy -to the-heart photos by Kelley Ryden and Tracy Raver. They're the photographers behind the new book “Sleeping Beauties: Newborns in Dreamland,”

Shop: Rubber Duckies

by Designing Mom Aya


Our little boy’s first birthday is around the corner and I thought of getting him a rubber duck since the poor boy has been playing with his poor-man’s rubber ducky (=an empty shampoo bottle) in the bath for a quite some time. But I have been having a rather difficult time finding a good simple rubber ducky made free of PVC, BPA, etc. So far the one from Dano and Kid O are the contenders, but wondering if I could pick other moms’ brains on this. Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated!

Shop: Ferm Living

I am officially in love with this Danish studio Ferm Living.
They have kid wallpapers printed on fleece, the cutest wall stickers and prints!

Make: The "I'm Not a Boy Hat"

by Designing Mom Shinmin of I Dream of Cake


It's true I don't dress mila like a girl. I prefer her in the soothing shades of blue, grey, black, brown and an occasional muted purple. I opt for tunics and pants over dresses any day. For my baby shower and Mila's first birthday I specified on the invitations, "please nothing pink."

And I'll be the first to admit it. She looks like a boy. I'm ok with it. She has close to no hair (unless you call that peachy fuzz on top of her head hair). There is no discernable difference between the shape of her body and that of a one year old boy. And she doesn't have those delicate features that make some babies undeniably girl like thick long lashes, cheruby rosy cheeks, nor long wispy hair. When I put her in a dress, she looks like a boy dressed in a Halloween costume. So I let her true proud-to-be-active-tom-boy-crawl-all-over-the-place-don't-let-a-dress-slow-me-down personality come through in her clothes.

Everywhere I go people say:
"Aw what a cute boy"
"I just love him"
"Like father like son"
"I can tell what you will look like as a young man"
And my favourite is, "Hey there Joey!"

I'm never offended. I get baby genders mixed up all the time. I just feel bad when they look embarrassed as I announce that Mila is a girl.

They usually say something like, "Oh I'm sorry. She's not in pink." or "Oops the blue tripped me up."

So I created a solution. Since I'm not about to invest in shiny pink items, I thought of the next best thing.

I present the "I'm Not a Boy Hat"! This idea comes from the hat I made for Mila's "Crazy Octopus Costume" last Halloween. This was so easy and I'm more than thrilled with the results. Variations are endless. Here I will show you how to make the "I'm Not a Boy Hat with Fun Bouncy Rosettes".

Start with a pair of tights. I went with a size larger than what Mila would actually wear to fit her big old head. This is a very good way to recycle tights from an older sister, holes or runs not a problem. Since Mila doesn't have any siblings I bought these tights specifically for this project. These were size 4 but I think I could have used a smaller size.


Tie knots at the start of the leg openings.


Make small loops with the length of the leg and sew them to the knot. Start at the base closest the knot and work your way to the toe. Wrap the thread around the loop and be sure to secure each loop by making a stitch or two before moving to the next loop.



Continue until you get to the end of the leg. Tuck and sew the toe part in. Repeat with the other leg.

I really like the way this looks, as is. I like the loopy numbs but I intended to make these into rosettes, so rosettes are what I'll make. Cut through every loop at the center.



Ta da! I'm so glad I stuck to plan. Because I love these rosettes! This hat ended being a bit big so I folded up the lip.

"Excuse me, how old is your little boy?"


"Oh pardon me, I can clearly see she's a fun, strong willed, active, and bouncy little GIRL."


And behold - the "I'm Not a Boy Braided Hat"!


Of course my Mila monster, like Nolan, loves nothing more than ripping the hat off.

Friday Fotos: Scene of the Crime

Designing Mom Lori of Fin + Roe always takes such wonderful photos and her recent one of son Fin led me to to her site where I saw the one below. That photo is all to familiar... Mine is only cruising but five minutes is all it takes to dismantle a laptop, empty out all contents of cereal box and shred tissue paper, important design sketches and receipts to bits...

Shop: Papier-Mache

by Designing Mom Aya
I was doing some styling research for a craft book photography and stumbled upon this unbelievably charming online magazine called Papier-Mache. I instantly fell in love with it and wanted to share this with designing moms readers! Aren’t they drop dead cute?