g i v e a w a y

just a short note...
stop by mama jill's blog today for your chance to win a 25.00 gift certificate to my shop! While you are there be sure to pick up the 10% off coupon code for your next purchase in my shop {good for the month of May}!


Thanks so much Jill for the feature :)

something n e w.

hello all just wanted to share a little preview of some new photos for my shop...



that is me modeling a new hospital gown from the Aviary 2 collection. now i must say, i am not the most comfortable in front of the camera, nor do i really like having my picture taken, but when you have a best friend who's a photographer you jump at the chance to get your picture taken. frankly, with photos like this i can't wait to jump in front of the camera again :)


to see more of her beautiful photography please visit her blog TESS SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY.

Here are more swatches available from the aviary 2 collection {fabric designed by Joel Dewberry for FREESPIRIT fabrics}...
these fabrics are available in the Gown-2-Go, Swaddle Pod and Swaddle Pod Lite, bibs, burp cloths and what ever else i can think up to make with it... it is BEAUTIFUL!


like the headband i was wearing in my photo shoot? this is a sneak peek of new things to come to my ETSY shop shortly... I am so in love with this headband ( i am keeping this one for myself ) I will be selling this style in several prints and colorways... they are great for sprucing up even the most casual of outfits!

more photos to come :)

h o n e s t y.

so to come clean i've been having a rough time emotionally lately. i am pretty sure i have suffered a bit from postpartum depression since i had my youngest chloe. it has really interfered with my everyday tasks, my work, and the enjoyment of my family. i think i finally hit a breaking point because i was finally honest to a group of my close friends the other day. i think the hardest part was admitting that i felt like a sham. i always put on a happy face and to be honest... i am exhausted. i am too tired to keep the happy face on.

after getting all of these yucky thoughts and feelings out that i had been holding onto in the effort that no one noticed what a hot mess i was, i feel 100% like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. after releasing these feelings to a wonderful group of women i have collected over the years i realize how wonderful they are and how much i need them in my life. i have spent so much time keeping friends at arms length that i spent much of the last few years not trusting that these women would really like the real me. even my closest mommy friend, who came to my rescue the other day and help pull me out of this mess, was never given the benefit of knowing all of me. i felt so bad that i had not trusted her friendship enough to confide in her, but no that i have i value her and her friendship more than i ever new possible. with a cup of coffee, veggies and dip, and a good cry she helped pull me out of the funk.

thank you ladies, you know who you are for helping me find some clarity :)

i have decided to take things at a slow pace for a while. spend more time enjoying my children. they are growing up so fast and i feel like i am missing it. take more pictures for me, not just my shop and of the things i make. more pictures of the girls... for me and the family, for our future and our memories.

when i feel the hot mess creeping up again... i am going to trust my friendships and share the good and the bad... so it doesn't affect me this way again.

joy.

i am gearing up to move my studio today. it will be a big project! the great room swap continues...


my etsy shop is closed until after the new year to give me time to move and get organized.

i am so thankful for everyone who shopped maternalNEST. i am so thrilled and flattered that my handmade goods get to be a part of your family's holiday gift giving. so thank you.

i was very busy this holiday season, a complete blessing. luckily i finished all of my Christmas orders just in time to decorate my own house and celebrate with my husband and my girls. it was harried but it was joyous and lovely. this was Chloe's first Christmas, an extra special reason to celebrate. Chloe was born January 8th so she really got into the fun of opening presents already being nearly a year. she is such a joy! already running around the house at 11months, being mischievous, entertaining everyone who walks into our home and passers by when we are out and about. i feel so lucky to have 2 such wonderful girls, so filled with personality! hopefully i will have some time later today to edit photos to post. Lily and Chloe were so cute in their Christmas attire.

after a couple days of resting after the holiday i am already prepping for what lies ahead. the next few weeks will be filled with heavy lifting, painting, gift making, party planning, cleaning and organizing... good thing i got a Starbucks card for Christmas...

anyway i thank all of you for reading and i hope all of you had a happy and healthy holiday! happiness to all of you in 2011!

i n s p i r a t i o n for Lily.

so as i mentioned in the "GREAT room swap" posting... we are really shaking things up and moving things around at my home. today i am taking a moment to start gathering ideas to decorate Lily's new room. i love to decorate little girl rooms... having 2 little girls now i have quite a bit of practice doing it. Lily has informed me that her room is to be pink, and to tell the truth i am not a "pink" girl... i always leaned toward blue and purple growing up. pink was always too girlie for me... though it turns out that i have a "girlie girl".
i am starting to build the girls room around the PBK brooke quilt. there will be 2 twin beds (one for Lily and one for Chloe... when she's a bit older). other than these two elements, the color pink and the bedding, i am working from a blank slate.
the room is on the second floor and has pitched ceilings so painting can be tricky. i really don't want the room to end up a big pink box. so i am thinking of creating a wainscoting treatment to break up the color, otherwise i will have to paint the ceiling whatever color i paint the walls.

i came across this cute scalloped border treatment at OHDEEDOH today, "natalie's sleeping space". the woman featured found the this painting technique posted at the ISLY blog.
i think that this may be the way to go. i can paint the walls pink and then create the scallop just under the roof line painting the scallop and everything above a nice white.



this is just a beginning, but every room needs a jumping off point.

(photos from today's post are from ohdeedoh.com and potterybarnkids.com)

h o l i d a y nesting.

i just wanted to take a moment to share a few things i am working on for the holiday season. i already posted my keepsake christmas ornament in my etsy shop and it has really gotten some good attention. there are a few more projects in the works which i hope to have posted in the next couple days. i'm having lots of fun making holiday decorations both for my shop and my own nest.

here are some shots of the burlap holiday banners i am making, there will also be more photos of the star garlands posted as soon as i can get them uploaded...




more to come ;)

the G R E A T room swap of 2010.

so we are going through the process of what i would like to call "the GREAT room swap of 2010" in my home. there are many reasons as to why we are shaking things up. it began because i decided it would be a good idea to move my workroom/ studio to another room in the house. my studio is located in the breeze way of our home (a room that connects the house to the garage), a main walking for anyone entering our home. i wish i could say that i was a neat crafter... why lie. for me, running my etsy shop, updating, returning emails, making things to sell, all while caring for two small kids, i find there is very little time or energy at the end of my day for organization. i am tired of THIS being the first thing people see when they enter my home. not only is it kind of embarrassing, but the traffic back and forth interrupts my focus while i am working. so the great shift begins. we are moving my 3 year old upstairs to the biggest room in the house which will later be shared with her younger sister when she is out of her crib. my work space is moving into her old room on the first floor, it has great light and a huge closet! it will be the perfect space for me.

now is the time to dream. my current studio was just thrown together out of necessity. a place to make the things i sell. there was no plan and because of it's location very little storage for everything. it's time to make a plan. i am excited, a bit overwhelmed, but excited.
so as i browse the web for inspiration i will leave the best of what i find here. mainly so i can find it later :)

so here is today's work room inspiration:

i need the biggest calendar i can find... i can make this the calendar of my dreams. i am a visual person and being able to keep track of all my orders and when they are due out is a huge necessity for me, and what will be a big key to my organizational success. i found this idea at marthastewart.com.
one wall of my new work space will be painted in chalk board paint. with this calendar right in the middle, so i can write any notes to myself on this wall. i think to take this idea to the next step, i am going to prime it with magnetic primer before painting the wall with the chalkboard paint.

i found this inspiration at decor8. i have 2 of those plastic folding tables (made by sterilite). nothing to look at but inexpensive and functional. i am going to paint them glossy gray like the table in the picture (thank god for plastic spray paint!) another thing i may pull from this inspiration is the decopage on the cupboard. they have a how to on marthastewart.com for that procedure too. i have a white storage closet that has no personality.


(all photos from today's inspiration are from marthastewart.com and decor8blog.com)