4 little flower girls

Just prior to finding out I was pregnant I received an order from one of my daughter's teachers. She needed 4 pieces of art for the flower girls at her upcoming nuptials. It was a fun undertaking, seeing as all the girls were different ages, and had very distinct likes and dislikes...just thought I'd post what the final results looked like. Enjoy :)

creativity withdrawl

With the absence of any real 'art' work to be done, I've been finding myself in a creative slump. I always knew how much I loved to work with paper and create, but up until now I had no idea just how much I need it. With the mini papercut due in the next few months, all real Little Papercuts artwork is currently resting nicely on the back-burner, not because I don't WANT to do any of it, but because I physically CAN'T do any of it:( Ideally I would have liked to continue working on name art right up until late August or early September, but as my belly expands, leaning over a work surface to create intricate pieces are next to impossible.
Thankfully I've had my sister's nursery to tide me over until I'm able to work again. I've been finishing up a little project for her baby's room that does not require a desk, but allows me to work with my beloved paper and scissors, plus a bit of glue and ribbon to boot! The mobile will hang above her little one's crib, and I can't wait to see how everything finally comes together...so far we're on a role!

nesting has begun...i wish i could say the nursery reno had too

So for the last few weeks I've been in full-on nesting mode. Plans for the nursery/master bedroom have taken on a life of their own, but being 6.5 months pregnant is not lending itself to mobility or stamina. Having said that, I'm trying to power through and get the room cleared as much as possible, with the sporadic help of my hubby, to prepare for painting. I'm really excited to see how this venture turns out, primarily because I wouldn't really consider the room a nursery (which is really going to only consist of a corner of the master bedroom), but more a much needed face lift for the bedroom.

In addition to scouring tons of baby blogs and decorating sites for inspiration for our room, I've also been lending a hand in the redesign of my sister's, muffintopdesigns, baby room. I had mentioned some time ago that I was helping her to plan her nursery, but with the early arrival of her mini muffin, as well as the joys of morning sickness on my part, what was to be a perfectly completed baby's room, never quite saw the light of day. Needless to say, both my sister and myself have been on a rampage, searching for baby bedding for her, and fabric for me...I'm attempting to make my own crib set to co-ordinate with the decor chosen for the bedroom. I've had lots of inspiration and decided on a pale yellow/gray/white colour scheme. I've chosen fabric, furniture, bedding for my bed and have an overall idea of how I'm hoping my room with look in the end...I have my fingers crossed that what's in my head will actually be able to come to life:) We'll see!

birthdays, 1st communion, ballet exams + a wedding

So the past few months have been jam packed with activity here at the Little Papercuts home. Besides planning for a new baby, we've also seen my son's 5th birthday, my daughter's 1st communion and ballet exam, not to mention that I was matron-of-honour for a friend's wedding just recently. We were hoping for a relaxing summer, but with the 'mini papercut' arriving in mid-October, things are in full swing around here!

























My son turned 5 at the end of January and we threw him a big WALL-E themed birthday party, complete with a life-sized WALL-E I made from a few cardboard boxes. Needless to say, my little one loved it, as did the other kids and their parents! It really does go to show that no matter how many toys you have, kids will inevitabley want to play with a cardboard box:)























My daughter also celebrated her 1st communion and participated in her very first ballet exam. We are extremely proud of her, as she is with herself, and we're happy to report that she received a PERFECT grade on her ballet exam!!!!























Because this was her first year in a real ballet class, we weren't sure as to how she would fare, and to be completely honest we would have been happy had she just passed...but she showed us! We're taking a break right now from the summer ballet session, but she's looking forward to starting up again in the fall.























As for the wedding, I won't be posting any pics from it, due in part to the fact that I was almost 6 months pregnant, it was raining and I was extremely hungry when a good portion of the pics were taken. That's not to say that the wedding was not beautiful and a really wonderful event...I just won't be posting any pics:)

so much to catch up on

So yes, it's been about 5 months since I've spent any time to blog, and while I feel terribly about it, I do have a few valid reasons. The biggest of them all being that I am currently in my 6th month of pregnancy:) When I first found out back in February, I was immediately thrown into a whirlwind of project completion, not to mention HORRIBLE morning/all-day sickness. Honestly, I wasn't sure the the nausea would ever subside, but I'm happy to report that those days are gone! But between trying to tie up loose ends with work and trying to function while sick with 2 other kids to tend to, my blog has been neglected.

I've had my ups and downs so far with this pregnancy, but so far so good! Unfortunately this has also meant that all Little Papercuts artwork is being put on the back burner. Thankfully I was able to complete all the orders that came in right before the morning sickness kicked in, but it also meant that I have had to cease taking any new orders for the time being. While this has made me very sad, I'm happy to say that I do look forward to being able to do artwork again once the baby is born and into a bit of a routine. So to those of you who are willing to wait, 'thank-you'.

Having said that I will be posting pics of artwork that was completed prior to my 'hiatus', as well as my new project...the nursery! I am very excited about my new baby nursery, partially because I LOVE kids' spaces, but mostly because it means I will finally be able to renovate my bedroom...which I hate!!! So stay tuned, there'll be lots of stuff to write about:)

babies, babies + more babies

For those of you who have been following my blog, I had mentioned some time ago a nursery I had decorated for a girlfriend of mine who was having her first baby, a little girl named Sydney. While her husband had posted a very blurry pic of said room on his Facebook account, and received numerous compliments on it :) , I have yet to post any pics myself. So for those of you who've been waiting, I thank you!























This is the first nursery I've designed, that didn't belong to my own kids, but I've been busy with my sister-in-law's nursery recently...she's expecting twins within the next 2 weeks, a boy and a girl (incidentally the palette is very similar to Sydney's because my sister-in-law loved this nursery so much). I'm also giving a hand to my sister muffintopdesigns who has her own mini-muffin due at the end of April. Pics of the twins nursery as well as the mini-muffin's pad will follow shortly, but for now hope you enjoy Sydney's nursery!



















Sydney's room was quite a challenge seeing as the room itself is only about 10'x10' and three of the four walls are comprised of sliding french doors or sliding glass doors that lead out to the balcony of her parents' condo. Oh, and did I mention the room is really a den, which means there are NO closets! Needless to say storage was an issue in this room, but we were able to create a clean uncluttered appearance by choosing pieces that utilized not only the horizontal space, but took advantage of the vertical space as well.























By incorporating a long low dresser that does double duty as a change table and clothing storage, and placing tall bookcases on either side, we created the look of a built-in piece, but all of the individual pieces can easily be used once the family moves into a larger home, whether it be in Sydney's new room or else where around the house. We were also able to find great storage boxes at Loblaws ( a grocery store, for those of you outside of Canada) that house extra diapers, blankets and clothing that need to be grown into, all of which are hidden neatly under the crib.




















The colour palette of the room adds to the modern grown-up feel of the space, while the over sized flower that graces the wall above the crib adds a touch of whimsy that every little girl deserves. I've always felt that while kids'rooms need to be fun and playful, they needn't be filled with cartoon characters that most kids quickly outgrow. For me, a child's room should have as much detail and attention paid to it as any other room in the house, if not more. Originally Sydney's mom had said that the doors that led into the living room would be closed off once the baby arrived, but after completing the nursery she chose to keep the doors open because she loved the room so much! Now if that's not a compliment, I don't know what is:)

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!!

Life has been so hectic and so busy in my neck of the woods, I've had absolutely no time to update my blog. I'm so ashamed, but glad to report that my absence has been due to the loads of work I've been doing! Orders have been steady even though my website is STILL not finished, so I have no complaints. I am really hopeful that it will finally be completed sometime within the next couple of months, but I will have to find some free time to focus on it.

So, the last few months have been crazy, to put it mildly. It's like this every year for us, beginning in November and finally coming to a halt in February. And this year it's been no different. My daughter celebrated her 7th birthday in November, followed by Christmas, Christmas concerts, new ballet classes, New Year's and a January filled with 8 birthdays and Chinese New Year. Not to mention that within the next couple weeks, our family will be welcoming twins! My sister-in-law is having twins, a boy and a girl, and we've been preparing the nursery...sorry no pics yet, but they'll be coming soon.

I'll be updating everyone within the next few days with lots of pictures of orders that were completed and new projects I've been working on. And as promised, there will be pictures of the nursery I completed almost a year ago, as well as the nursery for the twins.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I know we did, and our new year is already off to a great start:)