Maternity Leave: Aug to Nov

I am going to be having a baby soon and am taking some time off for maternity leave from August to November. During this time I will not be doing any photo shoots so that I can spend time with my family. I will probably be doing some Christmas card sessions in my studio starting in mid-late November though. And of course I'll be posting newborn photos of my little pipsqueak when it arrives. Stay tuned!

Hobbs Family

I have to admit, this little guy was so darn cute. He was running all over the State Botanical Gardens during my mini session, looking at the water, the trees, and pretending he was going deer hunting. I think he and my little guy would get a real kick out of each other!

Baby Shower Quilt

Pretty soon I'm going to start offering a new product: Baby Shower Quilt Kits. This will be a fun and meaningful activity for mothers-to-be at a baby shower which becomes a great keepsake for baby. I made this one for Julia. You can see us making it at her shower here.

Basically in your kit you will receive:

• pre-cut quilt squares in the color scheme of your choice
  
• stencils to trace (such as animals, flowers, food, etc)
• fabric to cut out the animals, flowers, food, etc.

During the baby shower guests can choose a quilt square, trace a stencil design onto fabric (or make up their own), cut it out, and pin it together. This can be done during the snacks/ mingling of the party or as a separate activity time. After the party is over, send the pinned together quilt squares to me and I will sew it all together! Wouldn't this be a wonderful way to remember loved ones throughout the years and give the baby and mother something to cuddle up with?

I can also just make a quilt like this for you too, no baby shower needed!

Contact me for more information at shutterstitch@gmail.com

Circus Baby Shower

This weekend I helped throw a baby shower for my dear friend Julia. It was a circus themed shower using her nursery room colors: red and light blue. The party was held at the church where Julia is a children's pastor. Aren't the decorations cool? (Thanks to my co-hosts Shannon and Amanda). They were inspired by some of the links above.

Amanda made these cute little circus tags for all the food with circus stickers.

Strawberry, Nutella, and Vanilla cupcakes with animals on top.

These are so easy and yummy to make: cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, and a little balsamic vinaigrette on top right before the party.

The pretty pregnant lady: Julia Goolia!

Our craft activity was to have everyone make a quilt square for a crib quilt. I cut flannel into 8x8 inch squares and the ladies traced stencils and die-cuts into shapes on fleece. Then they pinned them to their quilt square.

A few finished squares. I'll post the finished quilt when it is done.

Guacamole, Artichoke dip, Italian Skewers

Fruit salad, cupcakes, cookies, lemon blueberry trifle

To make the Lemon Blueberry Trifle:
For the lemon mixture: Mix two 3.4 oz boxes lemon Jello pudding powder with 2 1/2 cups milk and three 6 oz. containers lemon yogurt
Layer 1 inch cubes of angel food cake, then lemon mixture, then blueberries. Repeat two more times. Top with Cool Whip and blueberries.


Tissue paper flowers

The guests filled out wish cards for the baby.



I just love this silly lady and can't wait to meet her baby!

Curious George Baby Shower

I am a bit late in blogging about this Curious George "Sprinkle" that I threw for my cousin's wife Lindsay. Her baby is now 5 months old! But I wanted to show off the party anyway. I figured out how to make a diaper palm tree by using a coat hanger to fashion a hook shape. Then I slid rolled up diapers onto the coat hanger and wrapped a ton of brown yarn over it. I made the leaves by painting thick paper with green paint and used 3 brown beads for coconuts.

Fabulous monkey cupcakes

Fresh fruit kabobs went well with our cook-out.

Monkeys love banana pudding.

Decorations


Guess the number of animal crackers in the container. We also played baby pictionary.

Babies love baby showers!


She was ready to pop!

Sneak Peek: DuVall Family

I had a great time chasing around my cousin's two year old daughter in Piedmont Park last weekend. We had fun on the seesaw and slide while I made these portraits. What a sweet little girl! She's not too excited about becoming a big sister in two months, but maybe she'll warm up to the idea. :)

Snoogle Product Review

I know this is a silly picture to post. But as a pillow-maker myself, I have to rave about my all-time favorite pillow to sleep on. It's the Snoogle. It's designed as a pregnancy pillow to support your belly and back, but it's also great for nursing once your little one arrives. I just had the best nap of my life while snuggled up in it with my own newborn. I don't think I could have survived my pregnancy without it either. I have mild scoliosis in my upper and lower back and this really supported me well and helped me get some great nights of sleep. The only downside is the pillowcase wears out and pills up after a few months of washing. Plus the pillowcase is hard to slip on and off. Maybe I should start designing Snoogle covers with zippers on the side!