Binkies, Bibs and Wipes oh my...

Well we are counting down the days until the big arrival...this seems to be the longest month EVER! But it does give me some time to finish up last minute projects for the shop.
I have been busy in baby mode making bibs, diaper carriers and binkie holders for the shop. My goal is to have enough stock for Christmas so that when the little one arrives all that I need to do is mailing.
All of these little treats are available at my etsy store, and the great thing is if they don't sell I can use them for my own little bundle of joy!

Little Baby Binky Holders

It is becoming a little difficult to reach the sewing machine with this belly full of baby, but I still have the need to be creative. So...
I made these little Binky Clips from some Japanese ribbon and cute little buttons. There are circus themes, chick & eggs and strawberry & birds.
These are perfect to clip to bibs or blankies so that you don't lose your baby's pacifier. These can be found at my etsy store. A perfect little stocking stuffer for a momma-to-be. Come wrapped and ready to go!

Le Petit Artiste

Finally Finished!

I have been playing around with this patter for a while now and I finially just sat my butt down to finish it.

This little artist tote is made from linen and cotton. It opens up so you can store both colouring books and pencils/markers. The pencil/marker area is made has matching colour co-ordinated slots for each coloured pencil/marker.

I think this is perfect for any petit Picasso.



It's now available for purchase in my etsy shop.

More Creations for the Bebe

Well, the room is almost finished. Just a couple more things to hang and of course a baby to give birth to.

This little quilt/storage wall hanging I made a while ago, I was just waiting for the right time to use it and well...here it is. Each pocket has a letter of the alphabet, and I used a wooden large safety pin to hang it to the wall.


This hand-painted wooden mobile I bought off of Ebay for $11. It inspired me to make a circus theme baby quilt which you can see in the background.Here id our little change table where I am sure many diapers will be changed. The decals on the wall I bought from the dollar store. The great thing about these decals is that they are removable and will not damage the wall. The flower lamp and table itself are both from Ikea, and the great thing is you can take off the change table part and it becomes a dresser.

In this little corner we have some other baby goodies. The crochet doll made by my mother for me as a baby (33 years ago...eeks), her neck is a little weak. I think she is staring to show her age and may need a face lift.
This foam book was made by my sister and her boyfriend. It is all foam and has velcro moving parts. Inside are all the nursery rhymes and songs we used to sing as kids. There is also a CD which comes with the book that you play along with while reading the book. There is a little chime which tells you when to turn the page. I absolutely love it!
So you can see we have been busy, although as I have been told I will not know the meaning of busy until our little bundle of joy has arrived.

We Can't Wait! 2 more months and counting!

The Nesting Has Begun!

Well, the countdown continues...

As we start to wrap our heads around the fact that we will be joined by a little girl, the nesting has begun.

THE BEFORE

I decided to make this little container to hold all the q-tips, cotton balls, and cotton swabs. I actually bought this inexpensive little wooden box from Ikea and was going to use it to hold needles and pins in the sewing room, but I changed my mind.

THE AFTER

I used some scrapbooking paper, ribbon and some stickers to create this little holder for our new baby girl's change table (which still needs to be built).

Overall, the room is still a bit of a disaster zone. We finally finished the painting (we had to do it twice...argh!) But as soon as it is all organized, I will post some photos for you all.

I hope the ultrasound is correct and it's still a girl...or we will have one confused little boy all in pink!

A Visit to T.O.

I have just returned from a little vacation in Toronto visiting family and friends. It was pretty short and wish I could have stayed longer.

Both sets of parents organized a wonderful shower for both my husband and I where all our family and friends gathered to socialize and eat (that was one of the main requirements...lots of food for the preggie lady).

Thanks to everyone who attended and for your kind words of encouragement and wonderful swag!

Now that we are back home, it's time to really start cracking on this baby thing. Prenatal classes to attend, a nursery to prepare and baby stuff to sort through. We are both very excited and can't believe how fast the time has flown...November is just a blink away...

Projects - some for moi and some for you

What have I been up to recently...

Well, I have slowly gotten into baby mode and started to make a cover for the soon-to-be scrapbook for our new arrival. I used a light green linen and embroidered with purple thread:
"Baby, Belly & Us" with of course the year when she will be born...Yes you heard it hear "it's a girl".

I have also started collecting some different fabrics for a quilt I am going to make for our little bundle of joy to be. These two fabrics were the colour inspiration for the quilt. The alphabet fabric will be for the backing and the circus fabric cut into squares for the front.I am also going to play around with these colours and add them as different colour blocks. A very vintage inspired quilt.
Not only have I been busy for myself but I did add a couple of other things to the store. Two new bags. As seen in a previous post, I have a bundle of this orange 1960's bed sheet set, so I figured I would put it to good use.
Made from white crisp linen and the bed sheet with embroiderey and flower ribbon detailing, these two bags are perfect for holding books to read at the park
I also made one in a natural linen with the same detailing as the white bag.

These two totes can be found at my etsy store. More to come soon...

Pommes Madness

I am now currently on an "apple kick". I bought this cute apple fabric from Namolio (Her shop is filled with lots of great goodies). I was holding off using it because I didn't want to "waste" it. I wanted to make sure whatever I made I would love. I think they turned out pretty good.

The bags are made from a cotton/linen fabric with the apple fabric patchwork. I used some red and white polka dot ribbon. With some red embroidery I embroidered in French "Mon Petit Sac" - which in English means "My Small Bag".

I also made a couple of Pommes Wallets with the same fabric and I used a cute little red button and red and white string to close the wallet.

See how to make both wallets and bags under my Video Tutorial Section.
Both bags and wallets are now available at my etsy store.

Just a couple of goodies...

Well as promised here are some goodies...some are newly made and some are older and did not make it to the blog until now.


Here is a custom ordered Petit Sac that someone ordered through etsy. She chose the fabric and colour and asked that the bag be dedicated for her mother. I think it turned out pretty good. It's made form linen and cotton with a vintage button for closure.


I had forgotten how much I enjoy making these bags. Definitely more to come.

This was a make-up bag I actually made a while ago and it has been sitting in a box waiting to be posted.
Some French Cafe tea towels, made from some Japanese patchwork. Yes, I did say French with Japanese fabric. Very french red, white and blue.

All products available at www.pikapeeks.etsy.com

The BIG News...

Well...here it is the big news...

We are preggers!

So now you know. I haven't been so busy with creating as I was trying to overcome the nausea and other good stuff, but I am feeling much much better now and the creating has begun. We moved my sewing room around and now I am organizing all my goodies, so I can get creating. More bon bon bags for sure, and I am thinking of creating some baby stuff as well (for obvious reasons..one for me and one for sale).

About the shirt...

This tank top was given to me by my cousin, she was playing up my business name by using my husbands name instead of "moi" . I found an other use for this shirt, I just added my name with marker and there you have it...

more to come...

I'm Back

IMG_2137
Originally uploaded by handmadebymoi

Well, first I must apologize it seems like FOREVER since my last post. A lot has happened since our last conversation.

We have moved to Perroy, Switzerland. It took about two weeks for our stuff to arrive so two weeks on an air mattress was just a little uncomfortable.

We finally organized all our paper work for Switzerland...visas, insurance, banking all that fun stuff while trying to cancel all our services in France.

My husband's parents arrived three weeks ago for a visit and we explored parts of Switzerland and France (since it is so close). Switzerland reminds me of Canada a little with it's wide open spaces and lots of greenery.

We have met our neighbors, the wine makers, the cows, the horses and the donkeys. Polly (our doggie) is absolutely loving it here...no more scooters.

I really haven't done much sewing since we have moved and yes SHAME ON ME I know, but I have good reasons (which I will reveal on a later post).

So all in all things are going well.

I am in the middle of changing my store name (and don't worry I haven't forgotten about the contest - winner to be revealed soon) and updating my blogs, still working on the new website soon to be finished.

Another update to follow very soon I promise!!!

Oops!

One final final thought...



Au Revoir!

My Tribute to the South of France

(Our Old Home - Blue and Cream Building above)

Well...this is it. The boxes are stacked, all documents have been filled and we are off to embark on a new adventure. I will definitely miss this place. Although the mediterranean had its frustrating moments, overall this has been one of the most rewarding life changing experiences for my husband and I.

As we move into our new home in Perroy, Switzerland (see photo),
I decided to dedicate this post as a reflection of our French Adventures. I have only included some photos of some of the fantastic moments here in France, but to see more go to our flickr site (see right box).

St. TropezMentonNice
Lavender FieldsGorge du Verdon
Tourettes Sur Loup

So there you have it...stay tuned for the new adventures in Switzerland.
p.s. I am still deciding on the new name for the shop...don't worry I have not forgotten!

C'est Fini

Well, here she is all finished. She is definitely colourful and whimsy and I love her. It was very hard to give her up but I know she was on her way to a good home.
And now I am working on doll number two...all for me!

I will probably have put her on the back burner for a while as we are now in the midst of moving...eeeks!

Still browsing through all the great new names for my store. The contest is coming to a close and one lucky winner will be announced shortly!

Stay tuned...