Trade Shows + Fundraisers

Wow, what a week! Not only have we been under the weather for a few weeks, but I had a Trade Show on Saturday that I really wasn't feeling! However, I worked my tail off all last week, and come Saturday, I didn't feel too horrible. Also, I have this amazing husband who helped me haul everything and set up for the show, so I was able to take it pretty easy and enjoy my day {yes, he's pretty much owning this husband thing}! The turnout at the show was amazing and I just love meeting and connecting with new handmade business lovers! So grateful for such a supportive town that shops local and supports local businesses! It was a fantastic day, meeting new people, connecting with some I haven't seen in awhile and of course catching up with friends that always stop by to offer support {love ya guys!}.

Not only did the show go wonderfully, but we also made it to 200 likes on the Bluebirds + Lemondrops Designs Facebook page! YAY! Ya'll know what that means, right? Giveaway time!! Yes, I hosted my first online giveaway! Hopefully we will have another one down the road when the page has grown a bit more :) Everyone of those likes and follows I get on Instagram and Facebook just help grow my business, so there really would be little or no business without all of you! Thank you!

One of the new designs featured at the show this past weekend. I find most of my enjoyment {and sometimes frustration} comes from the fine detail in designs. This apron was so much fun to design and put together.

I am so pleased that the new reversible receiving blankets {Little Lovlies} I am now offering have went over so well! Hopefully this week I will have more up in my Etsy shop! I am hoping to expand the Little Lovlies line with more products and items for the Littles in your life! I will share more details when I can!

Also, I just want to mention a wonderful, heartwarming fundraiser that I am so happy to have a small part in this year: Bloom's Annual NICU Fundraiser in support of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal University Hospital. NICU at RUH has saved so many little lives, it's often something we don't think about until we are in need of their services and equipment, but if a little one has to fight for their life, they deserve the best medical equipment and attention possible. I have family that has used the equipment and services of the medical teams at RUH's NICU and I want to do all I can to support this amazing fundraiser! Tickets to this event can be found at http://www.obrianseventcentre.ca/ or if you aren't attending this amazing event, you can donate at http://www.nicuannualfundraiser.com/.  I know they appreciate all the support!


And I just can't resist sharing this apron - I'm so in love with the vintage feel to it and for some reason teal and aqua have been the colors I am drawn to lately!

                                   Happy Thursday, ya'll and here's to a fabulous weekend ahead!

April Brings Exciting Changes

So many fun spring designs and fabrics are on my worktable this week! I love that even though our Spring weather has been erratic at best, everyone is over winter, and the Spring custom orders have been pouring in!

 So, this month I have been busy working on custom orders and home renovations - never a great combination! Our home has been covered in drywall dust (the bane of my existence !), but thankfully we have made great headway with the renovations! We completely dismantled and updated one of our guest rooms, and finished knocking out a wall between the kitchen and living room! Oh happy day! After 1.5 years in this house, we are finally starting to see some serious changes!

  In the mean time, I have managed to sneak a few projects in this week! I just love these beautiful fabrics I ordered from Raspberry Creek Fabrics (check out her Etsy shop - stunning selection)! The fabrics I used are Priory Square by Katy Jones for Art Gallery (and anyone who knows me, knows that I have major weak spot for all Art Gallery Fabrics!).

I call this colorful little half apron, Pouring Rainbows, and the mix of sweet and bright colors just makes my day! Yes, I am aware not everyone gets as thrilled at looking at fabric as I do :) However, I think just about anyone would feel happy when rocking these gorgeous colors in their kitchen (doesn't it make you want to mix up a pitcher of sweet tea ?) Anyways, after the gloomy snow that was coming down last week, I needed to work on something bright and cheery! 

So, next up on the work table? A little bit of a new project for me! Well, not new to me, but it is new to Bluebirds + Lemondrops Designs! It has always been my desire to expand into products other then aprons and that time has finally come! No worries, the aprons are not going anywhere (I love making them too much and I have some fun new fabrics on the way that will be making their way onto the blog in the next month), but I am also expanding into baby blankets! I have always loved making receiving blankets, but with a little more to them then just the basic receiving blanket. These reversible baby blankets are soft quilting cotton on one side and a fun flannel print on the other side!

Interested in a sneak peek? Check out a few photos below of the sweet prints I've been stitching up for the Little Lovlies in your life.

A handful of these new blankets will be for sale at my local show this weekend! So, for you local people, head over to Birch Hills Civic Center between 10am-2pm, and check out all the goodies I will have set up there! CuteClip Soother Clips will also be there sharing a booth with me, so double the fun happening at our table! After the show is over, a few of these blankets will be hitting my Etsy and Facebook shop, so if you aren't local or don't get a chance to come check them out, you will still have a chance to pick up one (or a few) of these! 

Hello, Spring!

   It's starting to warm up a bit, our yard is free of snow, and I can't wait for everything to green up! So, in honor of Easter and all this lovely Spring weather we have been having, I have been stitching up some fabulous Spring designs! Most of the aprons I have been sewing lately have all been custom orders, but I will be working on some new additions to my line up for our local Spring Craft and Trade Show in town! I enjoy being a part of this small town show as it's a great way to get involved in the community and I am always surprised at how many people come from bigger areas to our small commuting town to check out the local vendors! The Spring Craft + Trade Show will be April 18th, and unless my schedule frees up considerably, this will most likely be my last show until late summer/early fall.

  I am also busy whipping up some fun Mother's Day custom orders! I love all my custom orders, because each one is unique and sometimes quirky and always challenges me to try something new. I love seeing what ideas my customers come up with for custom orders, and it is so much fun working with them to make a design unique to them!

Custom orders can be a challenge, but it's a challenge I enjoy :) This week, besides Mother's Day orders and the Spring line-up, I am working on a 1950's retro style apron, complete with a circle skirt, pearled button, and a gorgeous vintage red and white fabric! 

   Of course, I can never just focus on one project! So, I started attending a quilt class! I made a simple Log Cabin style quilt years ago with my aunt, and she is the person who first inspired my love for sewing and design! We had plans together to make another quilt (the Log Cabin quilt was made 14 years ago!), and after my aunt passed away before we could start our quilt, I became determined to learn to quilt and hopefully one day carry on her quilting legacy!

Let's just say, I am far from being the quilter she was, but I am loving the first two columns of my quilt! There will be four more columns, (the columns are longer then shown here) and then I am contemplating a double or triple border and doing the back in grey minky. 

Philip and I enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend with our family! It was so enjoyable having his sister and her husband come for a visit and stay with us for a few days, and we also had three days of family gatherings with his family! When a family as large as my husbands is all together in one place, we have to make the most of it with non-stop family time! It was so wonderful catching up with family from afar, and now we are looking forward to yet another family gathering today with my family! Our lives definitely revolve around our beautiful families, and I feel so fortunate to have the people I love the most living so near to me! 

Happy Easter Weekend + Happy Spring to all of you from us!