a peek into Ezra's digs

Once more, I'm only now getting to show you Ezra's nursery and although I've made a few changes since the day he came home last year, it looks the same for the most part.

We decided to use the Full Circle crib bedding from the Land of Nod, but I've since taken out the bumper, and the quilt I made for Ezra with swatches from the fabric has been folded and put on a shelf.

The quilt my mom made for Ezra (see my post on it here) was a source of inspiration as well. I decided to use the shades of orange from the goldfish fabric and went crazy when Target debuted their college dorm decor last summer.

I filled a couple of cheap frames with black and white images of me and Matt holding Ezra in the first few days. 

Aardvark and gorilla keep watch over Ezra when he's sleeping in his crib.

Ugly Doll gets cozy.

Lots of pom poms were left over from my shower so I repurposed them by making a window treatment of sorts.

Ezra helping me style the shoot.

 My mom made this pillow to match the quilt she made for Ezra.

 

I bought these mice when PB Kids was going out of business at the Providence Place Mall possibly before I was even married. They lived in my craft room for a while before being transplanted to Ezra's bookshelf.

 

  

Now if only Ezra could stay little forever... then I might never have to redecorate.

furniture & decor

crib - Target
glider - Sam Moore from Jordan's

crib bedding (not shown) - Land of Nod

expedit storage unit - IKEA
itso storage bins - Target
white side table - 
ceiling lamp - IKEA

carpet - by Mohawk, beach basics in early fog

throw rug - IKEA
nightlight - IKEA

dresser/changing table - IKEA
gorilla - by Jellycat from anthropologie
aardvark - by Jellycat from Amazon
Ugly Doll (Big Toe) - gift from our friend Tracy
patchwork elephant - Coldwater Creek
Johnny - by blabla from 77 kids
orange mirror, lamp, and ottoman/storage cube - Target

blue 4" x 6" frames - Target
vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurine - gift from our friends Jared & Amanda (Ezra's middle name is Raphael)

globe - Target
A to Z bookends - IKEA
clock - Pottery Barn
trio of mice - Pottery Barn Kids
silver E - DIY, cardboard letter from Joann spray painted silver
pillow - handmade by my mom
pom pom window treatment - handmade by me

art
giraffes - designed and illustrated by our friend Matt
orange robot - painted by our friend Tracy
alphabet print - free printable from kind over matter
blue robot - gift from our friend Ashley

matchy matchy

I think this match game is the most beautiful one I've ever seen.  It's officially on my wish list.  Check out the Marimekko Shop at Crate & Barrel for more pretties.

bare walls

'Bare' is the only way to describe nearly every wall in our house.  I've talked about this before but still really haven't done anything to remedy the problem.  Here are some ideas from around the internet that I'm thinking of replicating for our home... 

punch collage via Ali Edwards.  maybe stars for Ezra's room.

log cabins via martha. for the living room, over our couch.

alphabet print via kind over matter.  for Ezra.

message board via moxie home. for the craft room.

portraits via Eden Lang. for the living room.

chevron on canvas via decor8. for the dining room.

Recommendations for affordable wall art, either DIY ideas or for purchase, are welcome!

inspired

(image of stylist Sabrina Linn's entryway)

I'm loving this entryway inspiration board that was featured online at Canadian House & Home in September.  What a great idea to fill the space that welcomes you and your guests into your home with pretty things.  

(image of designer Joel Bray's DIY inspiration board )

Since Matt and I revamped the blue room I've been meaning to put up an inspiration board similar to the one above - something framed with ribbons and pins to hold all my treasured magazine clippings, photos, and bits of ephemera in place.  I think Joel Bray's how-to video is just the thing I need to get me started.  Anyone else planning on tackling a project this weekend?  

via Black Eiffel via oh happy day

tied & true

Denyse Schmidt was the first modern quilter I had ever heard of.  I borrowed her book from my local library when I wanted to make my second quilt, the one I made for my cousin's sweet little girl, Leah.  Pretty soon I noticed Denyse Schmidt popping up all over the place - here at Burke Decor, here, here, and here at The Land of Nod - and now I've found her at Pottery Barn, too.  It is my belief that one can never have too many quilts... I only wish there were more seasons in the year to require so many sets of bedding.  If you're in the market for a new spread, consider this pretty quilt which showcases Denyse's trademark style, a blend of the eclectic and the traditional. 

Matt, you said you wanted a new quilt, right?

pretty packaging

If Matt thought I was obsessed with buying tea already then he should brace himself in case I ever find these in a store.  I have recently been accused of making purchases at the grocery store based on packaging alone and I find myself guilty.  Who can resist when gorgeous boxes like these are staring back at you from the shelf?!  And in case you were wondering, these were designed by Stuart Kolakovic for Marks & Spencer.  Lucky for us, the calming and reviving infusions can be purchased here.  On that note, have a great weekend!  I hope it's filled with moments that call for a hot cuppa shared with friends.
via Creature Comforts  

hello from ezra!

I wanted to share Ezra's birth announcement here because I love it so much.  I decided to use minted and I'm glad I did because I found out that they have great customer service.  The first order of cards were much darker than the original images so I emailed customer service and received a reply the next day.  They apologized for the printing and offered to do a reprint right away.  Of course I accepted and was very happy with the result.  However, as much as I like the design of the card, the photos are the best... thanks, Matt!  And welcome, Ezra!  We're so happy you're here!

Layer Cake Quilt

This is a quilt that I made for myself out of fabric that my mom gave me for Christmas... last year.  When I received the layer cake of Lila Tueller's Santorini for Moda I immediately knew I wanted to make a quilt with it and started searching Moda Bake Shop for ideas.  I chose this pattern and worked on it over the course of a couple weeks whenever I had time.

I chose a solid brown snuggly fabric for the back and quilted simple lines all over.

I love the polka dot binding!

I love the look of the floral prints that resemble stained glass.  Usually the quilts I make are for someone else, but for once I'm going to keep one.

Leah's Flock of Triangles

This quilt is almost a year old at this point as it's been used by a very sweet baby since she was born.  OK, well almost since she was born.  I didn't quite have it finished in time.  Anyway, I asked my cousin TJ to bring the quilt to a family cookout so I could take some photos.  I had handed it off to him and his wife for their baby Leah last October without documenting any of the process or finished product.  So here it is, the second quilt in my quilt roster, Denyse Schmidt's Flock of Triangles (crib size) from her book, 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects.  

I used five different Stonehill Collection fabrics (available at  Jo-Ann's), repeating the pink leaf in the binding and the brown polka dot on the back.  My favorite prints are the bright on white floral and the green.  The design was surprisingly manageable for a beginner like myself and I would definitely make it again.  My one problem was getting the bottom points to stay pointy... a lot of them ended up inside the seams of the quilt top but I don't think it makes the quilt any less pretty!  

Here's ten month old Leah wrapped in her quilt, no doubt wondering why she's bundled up in August.  With lots of babies due in the coming months I should have lots more finished quilt posts coming your way!    

we be jammin'

After many hours in a hot field, many more hours in a hot kitchen, and maybe one more hour in a reasonably cool dining room I have adorable jars of jam that are perfect for giving as gifts or hoarding for oneself.  Which is what I'm doing so far. 

I scoured blogland for cute canning paraphernalia and ended up using labels from eat drink chic.  (There are loads of others - check out the tags and labels from domestifluff, labels from A Sonoma Garden, and more labels from merriment design.)  

I printed the labels on sticker paper to make it easy on myself.

The red checkered fabric was in my stash so I simply used my pinking shears to cut squares for each jar. 

The 'homemade with love' tags were adorable but I didn't end up using them on the jars.  I have to admit that I changed my mind about them because I didn't have the right kind of string for tying them around the jars and I didn't want to go to the store and buy some.  'The jars look so cute already,' I told myself and then I whipped out my camera and started snapping away.

Next on the agenda: raspberry and blueberry jam.  How about you?  Have you ever canned anything?  Any suggestions?