Friday, January 29, 2010

happy birthday alex


















For my funny man, who helps me do the groceries and always has lots of laughs and giggles. Who's smart and kind and always so helpful and loving. I hope you have a wonderful 6th birthday! You are a great big brother and little brother too, we love you so much! xoxoxo

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

pretty patterns























While I wait for the mini papercut to get into a bit of a schedule, sadly all paper artwork is on hold. But that doesn't mean that all creative endeavors will cease as well. My love of fabrics has grown leaps and bounds over the last year. Much like my love of paper, I can't help but look at all of the beautiful patterns and think 'What could I use this for?'.

I've decided to start some sewing projects for the mini to accompany her lovely bedding that I had sewn while pregnant. I'm thinking of adding a patchwork quilt, a few change pad covers, maybe even a bib or two for her and some pillows for the grown-up side of the room to tie everything together.

I found some fabulous fabrics from the Flora and Fauna collection by Patty Young at Tonic Living that will work really nicely with the leftovers from the crib fabrics, and I also picked up some pretty grey and white fabric from Ikea. The mini papercut seems to like all the patterns, although she did spit up shortly after this picture was taken..oh well, off to do more laundry;)

Monday, January 25, 2010

a new addition























So it seems like I've been posting about the update of our master bedroom/nursery forever, and even though the nursery nook was completed some time ago, the rest of the room has been moving at a snails pace. But look at the beautiful chair we found a couple of weeks ago! It matches with the rest of the room perfectly and it has renewed my desire to complete the bedroom once and for all. We are so close to finishing (all that's left is to repaint our side tables and pick up a couple storage baskets and some new lamps), and now that we've found this lovely chair I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to post pics of the entire room very soon ;)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

babymoon
















I haven't been posting for a bit recently because I've been sleeping. Laugh if you must, but all you mommies out there know how precious sleep is when you have little ones. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with a munchkin who seems to love sleep. For the last week or so, she's been sleeping through the night...and by sleeping through, I mean anywhere between 8-14 hours STRAIGHT!!!! When she wakes up she is full of smiles and coos, playfully kicking her legs and trying to eat her sleeper. But I'm not holding my breath that this wonderful 'babymoon' is going to last forever. Sadly I fear that all of this sleep is due in part to a growth spurt. I hope I'm wrong, but you'll notice the time stamp of this post reads 3:44am. Yup, I'm up feeding the mini, not that I mind, but I think I might be saying good bye to my sleep filled nights. I really can't complain, even when she wakes up in the middle of the night to eat she goes right back to sleep when she's done, but it was wonderful to get a full night's rest. It was nice while it lasted :)

Monday, January 11, 2010

where are my shoes?























If she could only talk, I'm pretty sure this is what she'd say :)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

for you + me...mostly me






















Rag Doll, Oliver at the museum by little BIG pants

I've been browsing a lot on Etsy since Christmas, mostly for items for the mini papercut. I've found numerous shoes and coats that I want to get for her, but when it comes to all the little dolls and toys that I am in love with I have to ask myself...who am I really buying this for?






















Bowser by Tiddlywinks

















Black + White with Yellow Birds Soft Play Blocks by Two Stray Cats

Most, if not all of the toys that I have hearted or am in love with are not age appropriate for her. She's too little to even care, but as I pour over the pages of animals and dolls I realize that I have no intention of letting the mini play with any of them until she's much older, and that my main reason for choosing many is because they would look cute in her room.














Butterscotch Tweed Fox by Sleepy King






















Small Apple Tree Clock by Decoylab

So again I ask myself, who is this really for? I have to admit that I think it's mostly for me under the guise that I'm buying for her. Maybe it's because she's my littlest one or maybe it's because everything I've seen is so darn cute that I just can't help myself!
















Magnus Elephant Plush Animal Toy by Magnus and Mathilda

Either way, she'll be getting quite a bit of mail in the next little while that will probably bring mommy more joy than her! Oh well, she can play with them when she's older;)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

cardboard birthdays
















"No matter how many toys you have, kids will inevitably want to play with the cardboard box the toy came in more than the toy itself."

Haven't we all heard this before? Here at Little Papercuts, we've taken this sentiment to a whole other level :) Our 'Cardboard Birthdays' began when my son turned one. To accompany our farm themed party I made a tractor out of large cardboard boxes...nothing fancy, just a few boxes put together to form a tractor shape and large enough that a few small children could climb inside to 'drive'. We used large plastic serving trays for tires and voila, instant tractor. Well, to say the kids enjoyed themselves would be an understatement! They had so much fun climbing all over that thing that it almost seemed a shame to throw it out. But it gave me inspiration for the next few birthday parties that would follow

I loved that the basic items we used were so simple (cardboard boxes, paper/plastic plates, coloured paper, paint, hockey tape and glue), and with a little bit of creativity they were transformed into some of my son's favourite cartoon characters.


















When Alex turned 2 he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine, so I grabbed 2 boxes from U-Haul (this ensures that the boxes are new and clean since the kids will be inside them) and a cardboard cement tube from Home Depot and put together a train that the kids could play in.



















The passenger cars were just smaller boxes cut in half that they could sit inside. We made a light house out of more cardboard and construction paper, and our paper lantern shade was transformed into Harold the Helicopter. The kids and all the adults were thrilled with our efforts, and I knew that this party would be hard to beat...enter Lightning McQueen:)



















Thomas was followed by Cars when he turned 3. By far the most challenging of all the parties I've done because I didn't want the cars to be square. But by scoring the cardboard from the inside I was able to achieve a rounded car that everyone fell in love with.



















We made 3 cars that year, since he was turning 3, Mater the tow truck, Sally the Porshe and Lightning McQueen the race car. Alex was so thrilled with this party, that he chose Cars again for his 4th birthday, and I took a break from making cardboard characters (I wasn't about to make anymore cars...they take up a lot of space!)

















Last year marked the last 'cardboard birthday' I will ever make for him (now that he's in kindergarten he wants large parties with all of his classmates). I chose WALL-E to celebrate Alex turning 5, mostly because I love that movie, and also because I anticipated that it would be relatively simple since WALL-E is square :)

















With one large cardboard box, some extra cardboard shaped into teardrops and accented with plastic plates for his eyes, paper towel cardboard tubes for his arms, aluminum elbow duct pieces for his neck, rubber floor mats for his treads, and a bit of paint, WALL-E couldn't have been more perfect! We made it big enough that the kids could sit inside of WALL-E's trash compacter, and we even made his little cockroach friend who sits on his shoulder.
















Again we utilized our paper lantern shade, this time transforming it into Eve, simply by adding a balloon suspended with fishing line for the body and some white poster board cutouts for arms. I loved this party, and so did my son:)























Even though these projects took a lot of planning, I will miss them :( No matter how much work they were, the look on my son's face the mornings he woke up to find Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen sitting on our kitchen table, or WALL-E sitting outside his bedroom door will forever be etched in my mind. Complete Joy :)

Monday, January 4, 2010

i spy
















I spy with my little eye someone who should be asleep. Can you see my little night owl?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

tutu love


















As mentioned in a previous post, my daughters were lucky enough to receive tutus from The Girly Place for Christmas, and today we decided to do a little impromptu photo shoot of Alison in hers.

















Alison has been taking ballet for about a year and a half now, and as you can see in some of the photos, she looks every bit the prima ballerina. But I have to admit, I love how the pics of her turned out with her stripey legs and chunky boots :) We had so much fun taking these photos! The tutu is wonderful!

If you haven't had a chance to check out The Girly Place, then what are you waiting for? Mom, wife and crafter, Joanie is the mastermind behind this wonderful shop. Her tutus are excellent quality and boast tons of 'fluff'. They come in different lengths and a variety of colours. She even has one that is a dress, very cute! And while you're there, be sure to take a look at the assortment of hair bows and flowers as well as all of the adorable felt foods. I'm especially fond of the fortune cookies (I think I may have to purchase some for Valentine's Day). Oh, did I forget to mention she also has the sweetest baby shoes too!






















images courtesy of The Girly Place

We are absolutely in love with our tutus, I'm pretty sure you can see how much A loves hers :) AND as an added bonus the lovely Joanie used the pics of A in one of her listings in her shop. You can imagine the squealing that's been going on here ;) !

Saturday, January 2, 2010

my blue bird
















© 2009 Jo-An Yu

With the completion of the master bedroom/nursery drawing to a close (I will be posting pics soon), my eldest has been asking for an 'upgrade' on her room. While I am very fond of A's room, it may be time for a bit of a renovation. Considering that her room is currently pink and green, and her favourite colour is blue does weigh heavily into the equation.






















image courtesy of decorpad

So the search begins for the perfect blue decor for my blue bird tween, shifting gears from yellow and grey goodies and adornments to blue and brown with a hit of citrus green...no rhyming intended ;)

Friday, January 1, 2010

hello 2010
















Happy New Year Everyone! We had a wonderful 2009, topped off with the birth of our youngest daughter in October. We look back at a year filled with joy and laughter, and a few bumps along the way, but we're eager to start fresh and see what 2010 has in store for us. I send a heartfelt 'Thank You' to all of you who have joined us and stopped by to see what we've been up to here at Little Papercuts. I can't wait to see what kind of fun and mayhem lie ahead! Wishing you all a fabulous and properous new year!! XOXOXO