Baby Bump Art

This post has been long overdue and many of my friends have been waiting for these pictures. Vero, my best friend, and I decided we would do a baby bump master piece after each big step or big happening during the creation/'growing a human' process. The last picture was our first ultrasound when I found out I was pregnant. She painted a treasure map on my belly (which I posted quite some time ago). This one marked my first doctor’s appointment when I heard the baby’s heart beat on the Doppler.

At 10 weeks pregnant (which is now already SIX weeks ago), I went into the doctor’s office for a check up and to make sure everything was coming along well. Ok so I was more like 9 weeks pregnant and apparently not everyone hears baby’s heart beat this early but I was part of the lucky batch.

The doctor found the baby’s heart beat almost instantly. It was beating strong and fast and amazingly. Most moms describe hearing their baby’s heart beat for the first time as really fast horses galloping feet so we painted a unicorn in full motion to mark this amazing occasion.

Since then I have heard the baby’s heart beat again at the last appointment which was interfered by 'sssswoushes' here and there from kicking, jabbing, punching and somersaulting!

The doc’s conclusion is that with a heart beating always a little faster than average and so much movement that this little one is already hyperactive and ready to be a busy bee (just like his or her mama).

Here are a few pictures of our ten week marker.
Get ready for the next master piece that should happen in about a month when I find out (granted baby is cooperative) if I am having a mini-Ricardo or a mini-Kirsten.

Baby Creative Madness (Part 2)

Ok, so here are my thoughts after two whole nights and one afternoon and partial evening… thanking my lucky stars babies are small because if I have to make a quilt any bigger than this one… I would go crazy. Oh wait for it, I am insane and will go crazy because this my friends was my practice baby blanket, the real thing is the blanket for the crib and well cribs are bigger than babies which means a way way bigger quilt than this one. Here are pictures of the work in progress and final result.

Here are the many squares that form the quilt. I had no clue how time consuming something as simple as cutting fabric could be. Ha!

Horizontal rows sewn together

And the final result!

All I am saying is this better be baby's favorite blanket... and yes it has doggies on it but do you expect anything less from me.

Ps: every animal in the house has taking a turn stealing blanket and sleeping on it already.

Baby Creative Madness (part 1)

This baby-on-the-way totally has my mind boggling with crazy cute ideas and I love it! Finally I can make all those things that are soooo not grownup because I will have a little non-grownup very soon that allows me to indulge in my kiddie style love, ha!

We decided we wanted to focus on Canadian creatures versus the typical baby elephants and giraffes and while researching and shopping and painting and creating I discovered I absolutely love the new cute owl trend.
While I work on my first ever quilt for baby as well as hard at work on my owl “HOO loves you baby” felt banner... and until I can get my act in gear and post progress pictures of my felt creations, here are a few things I am in love with on Etsy. Enjoy!

this crazy cute forest creature mobile is from the etsy shop:

Pink Perch at pinkperch.etsy.com

This owl Pillow is adorable and I want one! It can be purchased over at my Little Cabbage on Etsy at Batzie09.etsy.com

These are felt forest creature finger puppets. How perfect!?! You must check out their shop. These wonderful little fellas come from a little etsy shop called Stayawake at stayawake.etsy.com

This has got to be the cutest pacifer clip I have ever seen. This would make an awesome baby gift for any new mom *hint!hint!* . These wonderful creations can be purchased over at What the Scrap? custom designs

This may just work!

My husband always tells me, “do what you love and the rest will work out!” and well I think he may be right. I think all my hard work may just pay off and well … work!
Ah how I dream to make a living from my creations. To sit in my studio every day and create and have my little creations bring sunshine to someone who will love them in return. Tonight that wish and all my hard work took place. Two wonderful girls came over and loved my stuff. I am so grateful to them. I have been working on these creations for a while, to shy to show them to anyone. Tonight you girls gave me the boost and confidence that maybe just maybe one day I could do a job I absolutely love. The kind of job that doesn’t feel like a job, oh how I wish!
Here is a peek of what the girls fell in love with tonight.

Valentine's Love

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the love birds out there!

Today I take the time to realize how much ...

I love my husband oh so very much for making me laugh, being so supportive, kind and loyal, gentle and sweet and well of course smokingly handsome!

I love baby and we haven't even met yet!
I love my doggies and kitty cats, even if they do drive me crazy 99% of the time!

I love my family for always being there for me!

I love my friends, because I really do have some of the best friends any girl could ever dream of!

I love my home and am grateful for everything we have!

I love my less than perfect cupcakes and the fact that my kitty cat will support my baking no matter what and always lick his lips while looking at me and saying "wow mom that's delicious!"

Yummy Valentine Cupcakes

If you love cupcakes as much as I do you need to head over to Layer Cake Shop where you will be able to indulge in some serious eye candy that will make you wanna bake real candy tasting goodies!

(Sssssssshhh! a secret.... I want all of the polka dot baking cups and cute cupcake boxes)

I think I may just bake me (and jellybean & Husband) some cupcakes with pink icing this weekend!

Are you baking anything sweet for your sweetie this Valentine's day?

Needing & Loving Sunshine!

Ok, I found this print that's hanging on the kitchen wall of this woman who writes this amazing blog that says she found it on another womans blog who found it on another and well I am adding to this blogging madness!

I need and love this print. I want it for the baby's room. It is perfect. I love the colours and the patterns and the words and and and and ... I also secretly want everything else that this artist makes.

You can find this print made by The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy on etsy (...and it's only 15 bucks, what a steal!)

Talented, Productive, Creative & Lucky!

This weekend, Auntie Pooh came over to give me a hand with baby projects.
Our artsy day could be summed up in four words... talented, productive, creative & lucky!

Talented: Auntie Pooh is so talented it hurts my head. Baby is lucky!
Productive: We finished 6 canvases and outlined 2!
Creative: This baby is going to have a one in a gazillion room with never seen art!
Lucky: I found the most perfect fabric needed for baby’s quilt ALL on sale!

Here are a few (quick low quality) pics

that sum up our work.

Old Friends are the Greatest!

I love old friends. They’re the greatest.
In this case I am talking about OLD friends, like used to swim in our diapers in the plastic turtle pool in our backyards together old!
Sometimes friendships frizzle and break, or just slowly disappear. You grow up and while maybe when you used to jump rope together in your pink sparkly sneakers you two were two peas in a pod, over the years things change, people move away and people change.
In this case, we have the dreamiest of all situations.
When we were kids, we ‘learnt’ to get along even though we were always fighting like sisters and hated each other. We would pull each other’s hair and punch or kick each other (while my friend reads this she says “no we didn’t" well I clearly recall this time in the mall I am not too fond of,lol). She moved away, I moved away. We grew up. We saw each other once a year when our families would get together. We’d email and sometimes chat online but she was always there and I was always there.
All grown up, we are buying houses and getting married and making babies and while you would think time would make for difference, as we get older we get along better and I love this. I got married and so happy to announce it, so happy to invite her, so happy to wait for her rsvp telling me she was coming, we have rekindled our friendship 20 years later with less hair pulling and more lovin’!
While Christine, an old friend, and her wonderful partner in crime Randy, a new friend, we (Ricardo & I) adore you guys.

Thank you for making the long drive down to have brunch with us!
Thank you for making me happy and being so excited for jelly bean and lovin’ baby before you’ve even met!
Thank you for being both so funny and giving us a good laugh!
Thank you for your awesome gift. It is original, unique and funky. I love it!
Thank you for being you and for being my oldest friend!
Thank you for being awesome and a wonderful new friend who will hopefully one day become an old friend!

Cheers,
2 Friends & Friendships

Creative Lateness Groove

For all my creative friends out there, why is it we only find our creative groove between 11 pm and 4am? This creative schedule is a real bummer when you are trying to hold a 9 to 5 job!
Plus I am trying to be considerate of the inhabitant that is sharing my body till August and reminding myself that some need more sleep then others, so early(ish) bed times will be my goal for the next little while.

Here is a sneak peak of what had me ‘creatively grooving’ last night. Now remember this is only a mid-project progress report and this was all snapshot on my computer webcam so the quality is far from being remotely acceptable and I apologize.

I am working on some cute and colourful canvases for the baby’s room!
Since the room only has one window and the sun never hits it, it is a pretty gloomy room. We will be painting it all white and I want vivid and colourful frames on the walls. I want orange polka dot curtains and a funky rug, a beautiful reading chair with mismatched pillows and I want to learn how to quilt before baby is born and make his or her very own original and unique blanket!
Many of my near future artistic projects will be baby oriented. I will keep you posted on their progress with pictures here and there and everywhere :)

Second coat of paint (and maybe even some glitter!) will be done tonight. Yay!