New Product: The Bad Boy's Belt

Just a quick snapshot of the newest product in progress: the Bad Boy's Belt.  What little guy in your life doesn't need one of these? 

The belt, adorned with preppy shirt jacquard trim features a nickle-plated military-style buckle.  This may be the only accessory your "bad boy" will approve of!  Toddler and youth sizes, $10 each. 

Working on a few details for additional styles for boys' belts.  Be on the look out!

Rain

We're thankful for it.   

But when you're 14 months old and it's been raining for 3 days, it can leave you feeling a little cooped up. 

So we've had to be creative. 

We went to the museum.

Had a tea party

Did some coloring

(Sometimes it helps the creative process to get your foot in it)



And played with play doh

And looked longingly at mud puddles in our back yard....



...all in the name of indoor fun

Kindermusik Then & Now

McCord just started his second year of Kindermusik at our church and all I can say is what a difference a year makes.  Here are pictures from his first day of Kindermusik then and now.

Then

Now

Now Mc is a walking, clapping, dancing Kindermusik fool! 

We've learned  that exposing babies to music at an early age helps foster language development.  Music is also "instrumental" in helping babies develop reasoning skills required for math and science.  I especially love all of the social interaction Mc gets by being in Kindermusik, but the bonding time for the two of us is why I love it so much.    

New product and blog news

My sewing machine has been busy!  I got a confirmation e-mail that High Cotton was accepted into the St. John's fall festival, so I have been taking advantage of Mc's naptime to get some sewing done.  I've been so excited, I haven't been able to sleep most nights, so that's given me lots of time to sew too.  Whew!  I hope I can keep up the pace.  I have lots to complete in 2 months. 

These giraffes are my first product.  I am especially excited about them because I sketched them out and designed them from scratch.  McCord received the first version that hardly looked like a giraffe at all - so I've had a lot of quirks to work out.  Now we're all set.  Because each giraffe is handmade, no two are exactly alike, but they all share a ruffled gingham mane and knotted tail in common.  Each giraffe is $15.95 (available first for sale at the festival in November) and measures approximately 28" from horn to hoof and about 14.5 " wide. 

Each giraffe sports the High Cotton label

These lovely ladies are adorned in vintage fabric from the 70s.  Many of the designs I'm working on involve vintage fabric and repurposed items.   

And switching gears, I've added tabs at the top of my blog for easier navigation.  I plan to add a products tab where I will highlight the giraffes and other items I create for purchase. 

And just ordered these business cards from a site my sister recommended.  Pay no attention to the etsy site - I've just created it, but haven't listed anything yet.  I hope to get that up and running after the festival.

Feeding the Ducks

Earlier this week Aiya (my mom) came up to spend some time with McCord so I could run around town and get a few things crossed off my list.  One afternoon, the three of us visited the duck pond and met lots of new feathery friends.  McCord squeeled as he saw the ducks swimming towards us from far across the pond.  I want to remember that sheer excitement from a 14-month-old's eyes forever. 

At one point we were surrounded by about 75 ducks and geese and about 10 hungry turtles peeking their noses up from the surface of the pond.  McCord got right in the thick of it and was almost the exact same height as the geese who would come right up to him and wait to be fed. 

With his naturally stoic personality, McCord took his job very seriously.  He very deliberately pinched the tiniest crumbs of bread and tossed them for all the wildlife.  One goose decided he was a little too stingy with his offering and pecked right at McCord's empty hand looking for larger morsels. 

This friendly fellow at their feet was not shy!  He'd wait patiently and then take the bread right out of their hands when they offered it to him. 

I think this guy would have come right home with us if we'd let him!

Remembering

via

God of all creation, our hearts are broken over the destruction and loss we remember this day. And we acknowledge, O Lord, that on that day of human carnage yours was the first heart to break. In our remembering, may we stand with those who mourn and those who cannot stop mourning. Through remembering, may we find new comfort in your care. In our remembering, may we be drawn to a new hope for the whole world and may we gain for ourselves a measure of your peace.

You who can turn the shadow of night into the bright promise of a new day, empower us to shape a world marked by ways of life that lead to justice and peace for all peoples. Fashion in us a people who are more ready to grow in understanding than eager to judge those who are different from us. Form us as a people determined to heal wounds rather than inflict them.

We pray at last that you would cultivate such love in us that we may reach out in compassion to all those who are still wounded by the events of that day; and in seeking to heal others, may we experience a love that makes us whole. This we pray in the strong name of Jesus our Christ. Amen

(Source: National Council of Churches, prepared by Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, Ph.D., pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly, N.J., and the Rev. Jon Brown, a Presbyterian minister and Pastor of Old Bergen Church, Jersey City, N.J.)

This is a prayer our minister shared with us today, and I have been comforted by it and wanted to share it with all of you.

via

Today on our morning walk, Bo and McCord and I saw a white dove flying overhead.  I've never seen one before in the wild.  It kept circling overhead and was very symbolic. 

Labor Day Vacation

We just got back from a great family vacation with my side of the family to Lake Keowee near Clemson.  It is so much fun with children! McCord loved spending time with his two cousins.  Here's a quick snapshot of the long weekend.

We made things



Christmas Ornaments

Tie Dye

(we also did leather stamping, but no photos of that)

We went thrifting where I scored this great coral lamp (in need of a new shade) for $6

The men made a sling shot

... and did some target practice with hickory nuts

We relaxed

We went swimming - what my nephew calls "living the High Life"

We tried to get a photo for the Christmas card

And we dressed alike.

Bo thinks we're a little odd, but he blends in well, don't you think?! 

Happy (belated) Birthday Poppie!