give a girl a paintbrush...

Yet another moment in parenting where I am learning to 'let it go' and foster our kid's creative expression.  Because yes, yes our five year old did just paint her wall.

Mama drew the outlines... and then she slap-happily brushed the paint on (while I 'touched up' the final bits... because I just can't fully 'let it go').

This project was the result of her declaring that her side of the room should be her favourite colours - pink/purple.  Her brother could keep all this delightful 'boyish' green on his side.

Sensing and impasse I used the age-old trick of distraction, and offered her the option of just painting some flowers, or swirls... or birds.

Birds, of course!

Our house is filled with them, and trees (and bunting) all throughout our nest.

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It's funny, this was another moment when I looked back with gratitude for how my folks raised me.  Some parents would have likely balked at letting their kids assert their creative fingerprint on their home decor.. my parents embraced it.  I think that was very empowering for my individual expression and confidence as I grew up.  They didn't bat an eyelash (at least outwardly) when I wanted to do all sorts of craziness to my room.  Or, when I wanted to shave half my head.  Or, when I wanted to wear a tux to my grade 8 grad... etc.

As I grow in this parenting thing, I'm learning (even from my own parents) to not sweat the small things - and to recognize what the small things are! 

It's a beautiful thing to see their creativity take flight.

Mel ;o)

 

here + there.

birds of a feather.

beach baby.

day-dreamer daughter.

laundry + leaf holder.

splashing toes.

picking a painting.

summer solstice

aahhhhhhdorable.

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So here's another week, another peek at the moments that filled our nest.

Yes, the summer solstice ushered in a sticky humid heatwave to these parts.

Many a hissy fit has been had (even by the kids too)!  Did you know that one of the first places to start sweating on me is my nose..?!  If that place is a-glistening, my temper gets a-bristling.

Yeah, I'm not a real *heat* lover.

So, it's been lots of hiding in the shade, or kiddie pools, or beaches around here.

In other news, the cafe art show ended up being a fun success, so wooo!  I told Azriel she could pick out a favourite from the 'leftovers' for the kids room.  She grabbed the one right under her nose saying "pink and brown is my favourite, so I want this one".  Cutie.

Oh, and guess what?  Today after work yesterdat... I got to see our big boy take his first real steps!!

He's been free-standing a lot lately - with much applause.  Now he's a junkie for the ovations.. so he waddled across the room last night and delighted us all!  It only took him 16 months to get off his cute bottom!

Oh, he also loves to haul himself up into the brown chair there.. and sit like a king surveying his domain.  The cats have some cute competition for the throne now.

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What's happening in your corner of the world this week?

Have a beauty day,

mel ;o)

A tweet sewing project:

 Hello lovelies,

Here's my latest sewing project that I whipped up as a gift for my visiting (expecting) friend!

A custom bird mobile to match their nursery colour scheme.

When I heard they were using soft creams, neutrals and pale pinks... I was eager to pull together these 'antique' toned fabrics I had.

Instead of hunting down a tree branch (as I usually do)... I opted to use a brown hoop with brown wool looped around it, and some decorative 'vines/speckled bird's eggs'.  While the angle of my pictures doesn't convey it very well, the birds are all layered in a descending spiral.

I hope their sweet lil' yet-to-be-born daughter delights in them as much as I do!

(Side-note: our guy Hudson still is obsessed with the bird mobile we have over his crib... I think it's going to be his next word: "bir-dee"!)

So there's a sneak peek at some of the recent creations from this Nest.

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)

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P.S: the pattern for these fabric birds is not copyrighted to me... I've had lots of well meaning friends share their 'concern' at discovering others sewing these birds... we're all just using the free template found here!

D.I.Y: painted feather Quill & Journal

Pssssst!  Hey all you fine-feathered tweet.hearts.... guess what?

This do.it.yourself project is being featured over at The Paper Mama's blog as part of her fun.tastic 50 d.i.y days of Christmas!

(Can you guess I'm a bit obsessed with painted feathers around here lately.. and there's more to come)!

So flutter on over and check it out if you'd like another creative idea for homemade gifts.

Thanks to the lovely Chelsey for hosting!

Have a beauty day friends,

Mel ;o)

D.I.Y: painted feathers mobile.

 Birds of a feather ~ lets get painting together.

This is probably one of my favourite do.it.yourself projects that I've done to date!

I love how it turned out... and it's so simple to create (or, as my motto goes: 'super.fast.stupid.easy').

 Supplies:

Assortment of naturally found feathers (don't freak a fowl!).

Variety of acrylic paints.

Paintbrush.

Transparent thread/fishing line.

Branch

 1. Brush a liberal coat of each paint colour on to the tips of the feathers (both sides).

2. Accent with a metallic gold for some extra glam.

 *[Behind the scenes shot: painting feathers with my wee daughter]*

 Once your feathers are all painted, and dry, it's just a matter of hanging them from a branch.
Like I said, easy peasey lemon squeezy!

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Note: I strung transparent fishing line to piece of driftwood.
You could paint the stick all fancy and full of patterns too.. I'm just a 'natural beauty' kind of gal myself.

(As an extra accent I strung a few red beads above each feather and hot glued them to the tips of the 'quill' to hang from the branch).

This delightfully modern and wild mobile now flutters over our daughter's play corner in our living room.

Hope it inspires you to enjoy some colourful feathers in your nest too!

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o) 
 

Another Shop update: bird's nest pendants.

 So, I'm not going to lie... once the idea for this pendants hatched in my mind I was really excited to create them!

Slicing and drilling fallen tree branches.

Nestling tiny robin's eggs (blue beads) inside them.

Painting/Sketching a wee nest around it...  fun, fun!

They're the newest edition to my Shop, with the following three nest.lace options:

 Your nest pendant can hang from a Sienna brown suede band.

Silver lobster clasp.

 Second option is a chocolate brown wire hoop.

Metal twist bracket.

Or a delicate silver chain to hang your bird's nest from.

Lobster clasp with adjustable length.

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*Each nest is unique and may vary slightly from the ones shown here.

Wood slices also range from 1/2 -1/4" thickness.*

$20 Cndn. - FREE shipping!

To order, please contact me at:

needleandnestdesign@live.com

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o) 

Shop update: bird's nest brooch.

 Spring has sprung, and we love watching it unfold around us.

Chubby bumblebees hum around our back trees.

Baby squirrels are a hyper blur through the branches.

Young robins are being coaxed to spread their wings and fly above.

 And today while we were out walking we found two fallen bird's nests!

To be honest, I'm always on a robin's egg hunt actually... those shells are the perfect turquoise.

So, since I get so egg-cited about nests, I thought I'd add a few to my Shop here:

Bird's Nest Brooch

Three speckled jade eggs, perched in a wire/branch nest, atop two natural/green fabric leaves.

Brooch pin glued to backing.

2-3" in size. 

These are going for $15 Cndn - FREE shipping!
ALL SOLD!

Please contact me if you want this nest close to your heart:

needleandnestdesign@live.com

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)

recent 'hatchings' from the nest:

Happy Monday friends, just thought I'd show y'all some recent custom creations I've been stitching here lately.

This is a custom lil' hoot that I had fun making:  a stuffed door.stop owl! 

I love the combination of lime.turquoise and grey plumage with wooden eyes for this piece.

It's a heavy lil' hoot too... packed full of river stones and gravel filler (3lbs maybe?). 

I'm glad I got him to stand up and do the job he was made for: guarding a nursery door. 

 

 This was a custom ordered bird mobile to go in the same nursery.

Sorry about the lighting, it's a playful combination of greens.turquoise and white... hanging from a natural branch.

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And, these tweet hearts are waiting to fly under this white painted branch.

A custom order for an expectant mama shopping at GLOW maternity.

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So there's a peak at recent works from this nest.

I still take custom orders, and if you have any ideas/questions about a special project you can always ask:

needleandnestdesign@live.com

Have a beauty day friends of a feather,

Mel ;o)

so predictable...

Yes, I'll admit it.

I'm a sucker.  

Heck, I'm downright predictable when it comes to certain delights. 

Like this darling teacup... with a bird on it?!

Sold.

Sure it holds like an ounce of tea (and I tend to enjoy a good litre at time) but it has a bird on it, friends.. a bird!  

Yes, predictable me.

If you know me at all by now, you probably know a few other weaknesses of mine too.

Anything to do with owls, mushrooms, tree or feather motifs... I'm in!

Incorporate some wood grain, turquoise, lace or doilies... I'm delighted!

Follow up with a chunk of chocolate... I'm drooling! 

This is what kills me when I go in a place like Chapters Indigo and they're selling every element that makes me go weak in the knees.

For someone who 'prides' them self on being a sort of unique individual it's scary to see how pigeon-holed I am by corporations... ha!  Shoot.

This is a major reason I don't like to go shopping.

I know I'll see something that just craves adoption... and despite the moths taking up residence in my wallet... I'll justify to the death my need for said object.

The only things that keeps my splurge-impulse in check:

+budget

+ my ben  

...I won't ever purchase anything that seems wasteful/extravagant (this 'tweet' mug was on sale for $1.49.. easy to justify buying that one)!

...I also won't buy stuff that I know will make Ben cringe and say "where are we going to cram that into our house?".  You may recall his hilarious rant about these issues.

Oh, the joys of a hoarder creative collector marrying a minimalist!

All that to say, I know stuff is just stuff...

...and 'he who has the most toys wins  still dies without them'.

My joy isn't rooted in possessions.

But these small and simple pleasures are a delight nonetheless!
How about you?  What gets you weak in the knees?

tweet.tea.toter,

Mel ;o)

D.I.Y: birds nest mobile

Hello tweet*hearts!

Here's a simple no-sew do.it.yourself project: a spring themed bird nest mobile.

You will need these items:

(Most of which could be found at a Dollar store). 

  With Easter fast approaching - now is the time to find nest/egg decor...

 I wanted to give the branch that 'first look of Spring' with wee green buds popping out.

Simply cut a larger dark green teardrop shape and a slightly smaller bright green version.

Fold them in half and face towards each other... wrapped with brown embroidery floss. 

You can make as many leaf 'buds' as you wish to cover your branch in... I ran a needle with fishing line through the centre of each bud to string it on with.

 The egg decor that I bought could be cut up with wire scissors to separate the sweet little nests and blue egg grapevine... I then attached them throughout my branch.

Back to the felt leaf buds... I attached the fish line to one end of the branch, then started twisting it along the branch - sliding a bud into place every few inches along the way... then, knot your line secure at the other end and you're done!

Now you have a 'spring inducing' mobile to hang in your home and welcome the new season with.

Have a tweet day friends,

Mel ;o)

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P.S: If you're wanting a seasonal mobile - but you're on the other end of the world.. here's what I've created so far:

'Spring showers' Cloud Mobile

 

 

 

Doily Snowflake Mobile

 

 

 

 

hoop-la-tee-da.

 Greetings tweet-hearts!

Thought it was about time to show you more stitchery goodness coming out of this nest recently.  

Above was a gift I made for my cousin's two daughters: Ava & Alexis.

My last craft show displayed this new series - "The Patchwork Forest" as one of my latest lines of painted/quilted hoops.  My love of all things woodland gets to gush out in these pieces.

Patchwork Forest Series - $35 per hoop/ $60 for two hoops.

The background is from a vintage quilt, stretched over an 8" hoop.  

I hand-painted each cute creature onto canvas and stitched it onto the quilt.

These are a limited edition due to the nature of the quilt... but I hope to keep having fun with the woodland theme in more future projects!

There's a lot more on the go creatively here too.  I have commissions to work on in all my mediums right now: hoops.sewing stuffies.paintings.pottery.  

I love that if I get 'bored' in one medium, I can hop over to another project!

I'll keep you posted as the projects get polished off.

If you have any ideas/commissions you'd like to discuss, feel free to contact me too.

Creatively yours,

Mel ;o)