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And another…

lulu — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:00:19 +0000

Still no baby, which means plenty of time to create another camping party invitation for a client, this time, a little more girly! I love all these camping parties going on, it must be summertime…

A Camping Party!

lulu — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:49:49 +0000

Still no baby yet, but I’m keeping myself occupied with birthday and wedding invitations for some pretty fun clients! A camping party, for example, how fun is that?!

Available in the shop later this week!

Baby Boy’s Nursery is Ready!

lulu — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:48 +0000

With exactly 2 weeks until baby boy’s due date, I can say that his room is finally ready for his big debut. I’m actually a little surprised with myself when it comes to his nursery, seeing as I usually change my mind 50 million times before deciding on the layout for a room, how things should be arranged, what should be on the walls, etc. But his room was different. From the beginning I knew where I wanted all the big pieces (crib, dresser, chair), and everything else just kind of fell into place. It was like some kind of miracle.

I had always said I wanted a neutral nursery that could be re-used for a girl down the road, but as soon as we found out this was a boy, all that went out the window.

Here it is:

1. The world map is actually just a sheet of wrapping paper from | Paper Source | that I put in an
| Ikea | frame.

2. Another Ikea frame, this one has a | mat | in it from Pottery Barn Kids and a cute card we received from my aunt.

3. Just a hand-me-down wooden toy that I love.

4. | Gray elephant pull toy | is from Pottery Barn Baby.

5. White rocking bird is from | West Elm |

6. Habakkuk | print | is from my Etsy shop.

7. Books are thrifted from St. Vinnie’s.

8. Crib bumper and matching quilt are part of the | Madras | collection from Pottery Barn Baby.

9. The wall decals all came from | Sissy Little | Don’t even get me started on what a pain they were to install, but well worth the effort in the end.

10. The driftwood mobile was a super-easy DIY. Truly. Just drill a hole in the driftwood, then string it on to fishing wire and attach to a hook in the ceiling.

11. The curtains are a copycat version of Pottery Barn’s | Harper Shade | Because these are faux they well for us. We already have wooden blinds in the room that we can open and close, but the Roman shades are decorative and stay put.

12. Cloth diapers are a combination | Charlie Banana | and | FuzziBunz | (after hours of reading reviews online).

13. | Rocking chair | is from Babies ‘R Us.

14. Blue plaid fabric is from Ikea. They don’t have the blue online, but a similar one can be found | here |

15. ’XOXO’ pillow was another | DIY | from awhile back.

A simple reading corner with new and used books.

16. A small collection of baby toys (how many do they really need?) that I’m sure will get hours of use.

17. Another | Sissy Little | wall decal.

And a few more details…

The wall | color | is Sherwin-Williams, ‘Sea Serpent’. We only painted 2 of the walls (I guess 4 if you count the weird little angled walls where the closet are and where you walk into the room), because I was worried it would be too dark. I didn’t want baby boy to feel like he was sleeping in a cave! However, I think if we’d painted the other 2 walls, it would’ve been fine. Maybe down the road we will, but for now, one wall remaining neutral is OK.
The dresser was a Craigslist find that Ian repainted using | Milk Paint | (he mixed slate and driftwood for ours), then added new hardware.
All of the shelves in the room are from Ikea.
The lamp I was in the great room but I brought it into his room because it looks more like a nursery than a living room if you ask me.

Did I cover everything?

I guess we have everything we need…just add baby!

Just One More

lulu — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:36:44 +0000

As if I needed one more project to think about these next couple weeks…

But I’m just too excited about these to have them wait:

Custom rubber stamps are now available in the | shop |

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

And number 2:

I’m most excited because I’ve been wanting to do these for yearsssss, and finally got around to it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Plus, use coupon code “STAMPLOVE” to take 30% off through the weekend.

Psst…More stamps are coming to an Etsy store near you, stay tuned!

Antler Print

lulu — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:38:45 +0000

A new(er version) of an old freebie is now available as a print in the | shop | !

Because Sometimes We All Need a Little Reminder

lulu — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:00:38 +0000

4 Weeks and Counting…

lulu — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:30:07 +0000

That’s right, in less than 4 weeks (hopefully!) we will be welcoming our sweet boy into the world.

And it’s just now becoming real.
Not that it hasn’t felt real before- I’ve felt the kicks, or shall we saw acrobatics, taking place inside of me. I had the morning sickness. We set up a crib and the majority of his room. The cloth diapers have been purchased and pre-washed. His car seat is ready to go. Our stroller is assembled. But just this week, it hit me.

We are having a baby.

Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled and SO excited to hold our little boy for the first time, but I don’t think there are any words to describe how nervous/slightly panicked/overwhelmed/unprepared I feel knowing that we are having a baby in a matter of weeks!

Holy. Smokes.

Thankfully, last weekend, my sister and I went to a Beth Moore study along with 7,300 other women and it was amazing. Worship like you wouldn’t believe, and a study that was so perfect for this exact season of my life. I’d been looking forward to this weekend every since I found out Beth was coming to our town, and prayed that baby boy wouldn’t arrive a month early and keep me from attending.

Beth spoke on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8…

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Friday night, we left the seminar and Beth asked that we pray God would reveal which of these seasons we’re currently in.
Saturday morning came, and I still had no idea, but in her message on Saturday, Beth mentioned that often, there are things that you just know you need to get rid of. Things you need to kill. Whether it be a habit, a lifestyle, anything you’re holding onto that you know is not of the Lord.

Monday morning as I had my quiet time and continued to read over this passage, I realized it’s time to kill and pluck up some of what’s been planted.

In about a month, we’ll have a baby. We’ll be tired, (exhausted most likely), but overjoyed with our new bundle of joy. We’ll know a love that we’ve never known before.

We’ll be parents.

But in the meantime, there are some things that just need to be killed and uprooted.

More specifically Pinterest, and Facebook.

I waste hours on both those sites. I waste hours perusing photos of homes that I’ll most likely never be able to afford, finding craft projects that I don’t have time for, and pinning recipes I think look good, but Ian will never eat. I find myself clicking away onto a blog, then comparing myself to the woman behind the blog with the spotless home and perfect children. I find myself lusting after these lifestyles, when God has blessed me beyond belief with things I often overlook.

As for Facebook, I don’t even want to know the number of hours I’ve spent on Facebook during my lifespan. But again, it’s a way for me to waste time and compare myself to the lives of those around me (most of whom I haven’t talked to in ages).

And so, I’m learning what a season of killing and uprooting looks like:

Less time in front of a screen
=
More time in the Word.
More time with my husband.
More time to complete projects I started months ago.
More time to prepare for baby boy.

A sort of calm-before-the-storm if you will.
A storm that brings happiness, joy, late-nights, tears, frustration, laughter, and humility all at once.

Peace out Facebook and Pinterest. It’s been real, but we’ll keep our distance for awhile.

Save the Dates

lulu — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:00:42 +0000

The past couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of working on save-the-dates for a repeat client who I made moving announcements for not too long ago. Katherine knew exactly what she wanted (which is always helpful), we played around with colors and fonts, and finally came up with a simple, Venn diagram-inspired postcard for the couple to send out:

Now that they’re printed on a shimmery cover stock, they are even more beautiful in person!

Now onto the wedding invitations…

Logos are Here!

lulu — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:00:43 +0000

I’m so excited to announce that logos are now available in my Etsy shop!

Here are a few of my faves…

…but head over to my | shop | to see the rest.

The best part of these logos is that they’re fully customizable, so you can select different colors, fonts, etc., and use them however you please. No extended licenses to buy, just pick one and use it a million times for personal or business use.

Enjoy!

Freebie Deer Printable

lulu — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:43:46 +0000

I’ve been working on some prints for the boys nursery, trying to keep them manly, go along with the navy and white theme, but also please his father and make them deer-related…

So far, so good.

Click | here | to download a 5×7 print for yourself!