Meet Baby Abram

Things have been busy around our neck of the woods lately.  Saturday, November 19th was especially eventful.  At 12:51 in the afternoon the newest member of our family made his debut.  I'd like you to meet Abram Joseph.

He's the sweetest little bundle with the most delicious cheeks.  We can't get enough of him.  He was delivered at home so I have more stories to share, but I'll be saving that for another day (typing with one hand while a babe is in the other is tricky business).  I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving and have as much to be thankful for as me.

How to Be a Pirate

Halloween has always been a bit of a struggle in the costume department as far as decisions go.  There are just so many possibilities that Brady has never been able to decide on just one costume without a lot of convincing.  But this year there was one thing he definitely knew he wanted to be: a pirate. 

I really love making his costumes so we ended up doing a bit of creating and a bit of collecting.  Here's how we made it happen:

• Pirate Hat and Eye Patch: Borrowed from a friend


• Vest: Sewn from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew


• Shirt: J. Crew, from his closet


• Pants: From his closet


• Sash: Cut from an old shirt


• Pirate Loot Bag: Sewn from this tutorial and stamped with a crossbones potato stamp


• Boots: Polarn O. Pyret


• Sword: Target

We also had a bit of fun making this amazingly fast and cute vampire pumpkin that I saw in Martha Stewart Living.  All you do is carve out the mouth area, wedge some vampire teeth into the hole, and add two red-headed pins for the eyes.  Easy and adorable.

For a few Halloween parties we had over the weekend, Brady also dressed up as the old man, Karl Fredrickson, from the movie Up, which was the greatest.  But he did that more for me than as his own idea.  I'll share pictures of that costume and how we put it together on Facebook later today.

How was your Halloween?  Did you or your children dress up?  What were your favorite costumes?

Back to School

Waking up at 6:30 this morning to make a special breakfast for the first day back to preschool was a pretty great way to start the day.  The house was quiet, the day full of potential.  And what better breakfast to have than a batch of homemade doughnuts with a side of blackberries?  I don't think any 4 year old could have wished for more (not to mention me because, of course, I had to help him eat them).  

As a back-to-school gift for his teacher we set aside some of the rainbow-sprinkled doughnut holes. Tossing them into a striped paper bag and adding a tag, we were good to go.  Oh, but not until after the obligatory picture on the front steps.

Seriously, friends: I have the cutest kid.  If it's back-to-school time at your house, too, I hope the year holds fabulous things for you.  And plenty of doughnuts.

Illustrated: Garden Pickings

I'd like to start sharing more of my illustrations with you here on the blog.  So, I'm starting up a new project: a weekly illustration to be shared with you on Fridays of something from my week.  This week was the first week that our garden really started to produce things.  After last year's "learning garden" it's so nice to be able to have a little harvest.  I'm really loving gardening; it's so rewarding.  There were a few peppers ready to be picked, a couple of fat cucumbers (not illustrated) and one lonely radish.  The radishes had a hard time in my garden for some reason...

Most everything we planted are things we're familiar with, so we'll be sure to eat it all.  But there are a few new varieties.  My dears, have you ever heard of a giant marconi pepper?  I don't believe I've ever had one before and I'm curious what to do with it.  Any suggestions?  

Have a lovely weekend!  I hope it's full of little, fun surprises.

What I'm Working on: The New Site

I have exciting news to share today: Lily Jane Stationery has a brand new website.  For some time I've been wanting to create a clean, beautiful site to house my shop.  I had to learn some coding but with a little bit of time, a whole lot of google and a trip to the library, it's all come together so nicely.  Hop on over and have a look.  While you're there, it's the perfect time to sign up for the mailing list yet, if you haven't already.  A new issue will be mailed out soon with sneak previews of fall products and an exclusive discount code.

BABY UPDATE: IT'S A...

Hello, my dears!  I hope you've had a lovely week.  I've been busy working on a web redesign that I'll be sharing with you next week.  I'm so excited to share it with you all.  But I also have one bit of other news before I run off for the weekend, regarding my little bean.  First, it's not quite a tiny bean anymore but is growing by leaps and bounds and a very accomplished (and strong!) kicker.  Second, it's a boy!

We're very excited to have another little boy running around our house.  Brady can't wait for him to hurry up and grow so they can play together.  He's already requested that I "make the baby bigger and take it out so we can play with it, just for a little bit."  We have a few names we're thinking about but haven't been able to agree on one just yet so I was wondering...do you have any suggestions for us?  What names for a baby boy do you love?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday.

What I'm Working On: New Business Cards

Recently, I set about designing business cards for myself.  I wanted them to represent everything that is Lily Jane: illustration, color, and slightly whimsical design.  The finished product turned out just as I was hoping and I'm happy to share them with you today.

I simplified the Lily Jane monogram, colored it white and set it against a patterned background of botanical illustrations.  The opposite side has a mustard yellow background, my logo and all of the contact information.  They're really lovely and I'm so happy to have them close at hand and ready to go.