PLUS ONE

When my good friends Binh & Bethany got engaged last year, I made them this:



Bethany is an amazing artist, and I was thrilled that she and Binh liked my little project enough to display it at their guest book table at their wedding.




Now they've gone and done the most creative thing of all, and one more family member needs to be added to the cross-stitch. Welcome to the world, Baby Margot.



Congratulations Mommy and Daddy. You're going to be amazing parents. And I can't wait to watch this precious baby grow into a Jurassic Park-loving, art-appreciating, shawarma-eating, superhero-cape-wearing, craft-making, computer-programming little girl. Yes, I demand that she be all these things.

Muh girl Martha provides a great tutorial on cross-stitch portraits here.

*2nd photo courtesy of Kelly Ly

START 'EM YOUNG

I'm surrounded by gorgeous pregnant friends and beautiful new babies these days.

My dear friend/sister/neighbor, Bella, is due in August.



Yes, she is, indeed, the most adorable pregnant lady you have ever seen.

The amazing streamer installation in the photo was created for Bella's baby shower, which I might feature in a future post. Bella's best friend and my dear friend, Kelly, planned a colorful, creative, A-B-C shower--which was perfectly representative of our Bella and was a fitting way to share in the anticipation of and preparation for her first baby.

In keeping with the shower theme, I found a couple of books that I just had to include as a gift...and that I just had to share with you!



I am in love with this happy board book Pantone: Colors by Pantone and illustrated by Helen Dardik. The book introduces your child to 9 basic colors, with 20 shades of each.

I can just imagine the conversation between Bella and her little girl.
Bella: What color are the leaves in the tress, little one?
Baby B: Green!
Bella: That's right, sweetie, they're green!
Baby B: Well, actually they're more of a pistachio green, or maybe even a moss green.
Bella: !!!



Then there's Paul Thurlby's Alphabet by Paul Thurlby, which has a stylized, retro feel, but is very surprising and refreshing at the same time. E is for embrace and U is for underground?! Love it.


Everything in life should be wrapped in this awesome amphibian paper...



I hope Baby Girl enjoys these books as much as Adult Me does!



Throw a little pantone and some hipster illustrations into your child's daily reading, and you're bound to get a little artist. Gotta foster those creative genes early!