a little gardener...

I love this picture of a sweet little Loop and Lil fan tending to the garden while wearing one of our dresses. Spring is coming!

what a doll...

Hello little blog – it's been a while! I think I'm finally getting the knack of this motherhood thing (yeah right - does anyone ever?), so after a whirlwind holiday, I've had a little time to start the new year out with some new projects.

Violet loves to clasp onto any toy she can find, so I decided to make her a little dolly friend, and liked it so much that I'm going to start selling them in the shop! I'm still perfecting the shape, but I'm really happy with the hand-embroidered face and the machine stitched hair. Violet's little friend pictured above is named Olive.

It's good to be back!

it's genius...

We made a quick stop last weekend at the newly opened IndieGenius, a new "shopping mall" in the Bishop Arts District. Opened by Julie at Make, it's kind of like a permanent Urban Street Bazaar, where makers have booths, similar to an antique mall.

I snapped a few pics of displays from fellow Etsy Dallas'ers Three Yellow Starfish, Cut Out and Collect, and Tefi, but there's lots more to see.

And all of the Etsy Dallas artists I saw will also be at the Jingle Bash this year, which is this Saturday! I won't have a booth (this baby needs to get on a nap schedule so I can get back to L+L!), but I'll definitely be there shopping. Details here.

boo...

I started and finished Little V's Halloween costume while she was taking her morning nap, which means it took less than 30 minutes to crank out! It's the first thing I've sewn since she was born, so I'm glad it was painless. She'll wear it with a little white hat. Happy Halloween!

nursery mini tour

In between the activities associated with taking care of a three month old (so much laundry!), I managed to find five minutes where Little V's nursery was clean, and snagged a few pictures, as promised in this post. Here's a peek:

Since we didn't know whether Violet was a he or a she until she was born, we painted the walls grey and now I want to paint every room in our house this color. It's so soothing! Her dad and I had a great time putting together this room for her, and hunting down things that were in our own rooms when we were little to include. We're also glad her room includes lots of things bought and made by the people who love her. She hasn't told me so, but I'm pretty sure she likes it!

new to the shop...

I've listed a few new tee designs in the shop. They're also available in a few other sizes, which I'll be updating soon. I'm also working on photographing some new dresses and shirts for the shop as well. All in good time...

a birthday cupcake for me...

I've blogged before about Anthropologie's birthday coupons/giveaways, and how they inspired me for a little L+L giveaway. So I was really excited when I saw this year's birthday coupon arrived in my mailbox. The little birthday candle is actually attached to a necklace, but what I found most inspiring was the cupcake punched into the card stock with a needle. I'm thinking a punched shape or logo would be a fun addition to a business card or hangtag. The wheels are turning...

baby gear: puj tub

Well, not much is going on in the world of L+L here since I'm just trying to keep this baby fed, diapered and napped, so this blog may get a little baby centric for a while. My apologies if this doesn't interest you and you'd rather hear about the stuff I'm sewing! So, I decided to post about some of the gear that I've found helpful so far in taking care of Miss Violet.

I had originally registered for a larger plastic bathtub, but browsing around one of my favorite blogs, found this post about the Puj Tub. I had read some about this tub, but the free shipping to readers of the blog sold me, so we ordered one, and I have to say I love it. It disassembles and stores flat, which is great for our small house, and the soft sides seem to cushion the Little Miss during bath time. I also like that she doesn't slide around in the tub like babies seem to do in plastic tubs. Keep in mind that this tub only works in a pedestal or bathroom sink, not a kitchen sink, but it's perfect for us right now. See a video about the tub here.

counting up....

I got the idea to photograph Violet weekly against a fabric backdrop from these guys, who I tell my husband are my "blog friends" (people you creepily know everything about through their blog, and feel like their friend, but they have absolutely no idea that you exist.) I knew all that fabric I've collected through the years would come in handy!

LOOP + LIL related posts will be scant through the upcoming weeks, because I've got my hands a little full. I hope you understand!

and everything nice...

It's a girl!

Violet Louise was born July 7 at 5:18pm.

There are no words...