{Fabric Friday} Earth Day Favorite...

 

Happy Earth Day! On this Fabric Friday, it seemed perfect to feature one of my favorite eco- conscious fabric designers/makers, Umbrella Prints. I discovered this lovely fabric last year & it continues to be on my top 5 list. Amy & Carly's gorgeous fabric is printed by hand  on hemp & organic cottons, with water based, solvent free inks.

The palette & imagery used, is beautiful & truly able to inspire any sort of project. There is also exciting news for you quilters out there. Umbrella Prints has some new quilting weight fabric called "Oasis" that will be out in May! You can pre-order it on the Umbrella Prints Etsy site now.

Pop by Amy Prior's blog for more inspiration & beautiful photos here. It's one of my favorites. All photos used for this post are from her blog & etsy shop. Happy Fabric Friday! Hope you all have a wonderful Easter Weekend! 

{Everyday Inspiration} family night out...

Ok, so I've been posting a lot of pictures of the tulips & daffodils lately, I know. But, we are surrounded by all of these colors & I really can't resist. Right now the Tulip Festival is going on so there is tons of traffic in our little town & the fields are swarming with tourists. However, every year, the Tulip Town fields hold what they call "locals night' where the locals are invited to roam their fields, take tractor/trolley rides, & enjoy the sites for free.  It's always crowded & a fun evening. We started a tradition with my parent 2 years ago & last night we headed on out to Tulip Town adventure like years prior.

While the tulips are beautiful, I sometimes find the people attending this event more interesting & colorful. When taking a tractor ride though the fields, these lovely ladies were in my view. I was taken with their individuality, smiles, & friendships that they were enjoying.

There were also lots of other things to explore. The kites & flags were flying & spinning like crazy in the wind (it was chilly) & on the outskirts of the tulips was this tent. It was intriguing & we let our imagination go a bit. Was it a mini circus in there? I don't know, but we hung around it for quite awhile. No clowns left from tent that we saw.  

All in all it was a nice evening out. We saw some familiar faces, got to play in more puddles, & enjoyed our local surrounds.  How is your week going?

{Real Life} Big Boy Room Part II

The transition from Sayer's nursery to his big boy room is ongoing in our house. We've been tackling projects one at a time. But, I think we are finished for a little while. He finally has the space & appropriate storage solutions conducive for tons of play. The great thing, is that we didn't really need to change things up much. We also made or found (in other rooms of our house & thrift shops) most of what we needed. I love watching my little whirlwind play so I decided to take some photos of him enjoying his space, while giving you a tour.

This bookshelf house is one of my favorite things in his room. It was originally my old doll house that my dad made me. He also has the old doll bed that my dad made me too. Chris renovated it before Sayer was born to make it into a changing table/bookshelf. Now it's still a storage space, but also serves as an extension fire house, emergency station, & deluxe garage. Click here for the before & after post. 

I love the fact that Sayer still has his klt:mobiles in his room & that he still enjoys them. His bed is the conversion of his crib which I have to say is so great! The book corner is another favorite part of his room. He can look at his books from his bed too- which I think is nice. Chris made the book ledges & the shelf/toy storage is from ikea. The Eames chair isn't always in his room- it really floats from room to room. This week it's in the living room.

The vintage toys & vintage Marimekko quilt sort of took the palette of his room from, orange, green, & turquoise, to more of a rainbow of colors. It's a happy room that I enjoy hanging out in. It also gets beautiful light through the windows. In my opinion, it's the best room in the house for sure. I'm curious to see how this room evolves over the years. In the meantime, I'm content  just watching Sayer enjoy his space. What's your favorite colors for a toddler's room? 

{Music Monday} Sunshine?

On top of the fact that it's been raining pretty much non-stop the last week or so, we've been also dealing with some crazy plumbing issues in the last few days. We have an old house that seemed to have had tree roots take over the main drain pipe. So, we've been without plumbing since Saturday night - which has been.... interesting to say the least. But the sun is peeking through the clouds, the plumber that I've been hanging out since yesterday just left, & I can now take a shower. This just fits.... Happy Music Monday! 

{Vintage Inspiration} four finds ~ primary colors...

I've been finding all sorts for fun things for Sayer at the thrift stores lately- all in primary colors. We are big Wallace & Gromit fans at our house & Wallace uses an abacus often- to do his bills of course. Sayer has been particularly interested in what it was so I have been keeping an eye out for a cool old abacus for him. After all, I could use help with the bills around here. I found this great old Playskool one the other day & it has been getting a great deal of attention in his room. Apparently Wallace uses a pencil to move the beads- so that is how Sayer does it too.

The only downfall to bringing home really old toys (other than finding space for everything) is the need to create the missing parts to the toys which I suppose is more of a challenge than a downfall. I've been spending time making coins for this Playskool pay phone that I just brought home him. I still don't have the weight of the coins quite right, but I think I'm getting close.

I had my eye on this rubber doll for a long time. Every time I visited my favorite thrift shop, I would check to see if it was still there. I finally broke down and bought it recently & Sayer keeps it in his "office". She also serves as a helper in front of his fire house & takes many fire engine rides. 

This little Bonnie Book is really sweet. The  worn down circle on the side moves the images in the illustrated TV. It' s all about a day on the train. Sayer thought this book was pretty cool too. 

So these are definitely four fun finds that are new additions to Sayer's space. I love that he knows what an abacus & a pay phone is. Although his pay phone is used for an emergency room next to his fire house most often. Hope you are having a great weekend!