Look Who's One!

Yes, this little girl is now one!  And proud as can be, as you can see!  On the morning of her birthday, I took her outside for a little birthday photoshoot, and here are some of the results.

I obsessed (and I mean really obsessed!) about what she would wear on her first birthday.  Funny, I never really thought much about it with the boys, but oh my, this little girl was going to have the perfect outfit on her birthday!  I had just about given up hope of finding something suitable, when I came across this seller on Etsy.  I fell in love with these little ruffled sunsuits she makes, and found my girl's birthday outfit!  As you can see, I also made a matching birthday crown for her to wear!

I've been trying out the pigtails on her, but they only last for so long!

Oh my, how cute is that ruffled bum???

And here was her party.  It was just a few family members, but I wanted to decorate just the same.  Something about the fact that this was going to be my last "first" birthday party.... sniff!

Most of my family thought I was nuts for hanging sheets and blankets up on the walls, but I wanted a pretty backdrop for everything, as I'm sure you all can relate to!

Not sure that you can see it very well, but I made a bunting with vintage embroideries of birthday girls on the flags to hang on the wall.

My sister and her boyfriend made the cake-isn't it gorgeous?  And yummy, too!

And here's the birthday girl eating her cake.  None of my kids are the sorts to dive in and make a huge mess, so this was as messy as it got!

It goes without saying that she got plenty of dolls and strollers and baby carriages on her special day, including this doll I had made for her.  She's slowly but surely starting to show interest in her dolls, so I hope to have the opportunity to make lots more for her!

The Picnic Blanket

Here's the picnic blanket I mentioned in my last post.  (It's been a while, I know, but better late than never!)  Since Avery has been crawling around, I've continually wished I had a nice blanket to lay out in the grass that was waterproof on one side, and soft on the other.  Well, I looked and looked, and could never find exactly what I was looking for. It seems like such a common thing to want, but apparently not!
 

Well, a couple months ago, I discovered laminated cotton, and the rest is history!  I made a patchwork with a bunch of vintage sheets, layered some thin quilt batting in between, and finished the edge with blanket binding.  Really simple, and works beautifully!   We've used it in the grass several times, and it made its debut at the beach this weekend, with great results!

As you can see, the kids love it, and it's plenty big for everyone to fit!  And it's super-soft and comfy because of the vintage cotton of the sheets.

That's it for today, but I've been accumulating a lot of wonderful thrift and vintage finds that I hope to post soon.  Oh, and Miss Avery had a birthday, so I'll show you pics of that as well!