May Brings The Fun

I have been pretty quiet on the blog lately! It feels like summer has arrived and we've been on the road constantly!  We were so happy to be headed to the lake last weekend, and despite the cooler temperatures, as usual, we had an amazing time! My husband and I spent a few days with my parents and then the rest of the family drove up to spend a day with us all. We have our favorite spot that we always camp at and I am always amazed at how quickly I start to feel relaxed and carefree once we head to the lake. Some quality family time is always good for relaxing as well!

                                 

     

May Long Weekend usually marks the first weekend at the lake for the summer season, unless the weather is terrible. Thankfully we had several enjoyable days there, and we are already planning the next weekend we head up there {and looking forward to a few weeks there later in the Summer}.

Last week was a full week with the family! My mom and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch together at one of our favorite restaurants, and it's rare to get a quiet one-on-one chat together!  I spent a day at the farm catching up with my sister and helping my mom plan our huge family gathering we have every summer and my husband and I spent Friday night trucking with my brother as he hauled Anhydrous to the local farmers putting in their crops!

So, after all that excitement and much needed family time... it's back to work today! 

First, I wanted to share a project I wrapped up right before we left for the lake! I made two matching half aprons from vintage 70's fabric and I like to call these aprons Keepsake Aprons. The fabric came from my customers Grandmother who had passed away and they wanted to have this memorable fabric made into aprons to remember her.

Keepsake Aprons are so special to me, as we lost a very special lady in our family two years ago and after she passed away, I received some of her fabric {she was an avid quilter} and we started making aprons out of her fabric to remember her by. So I am always incredibly touched when I get to do a keepsake item for my customers - and the fabric always seems to have a special story that comes with it!

My projects for this week include a retro 60's style apron {I can not wait to finish it and get it up on the blog!}, a gorgeous Japanese-style apron and I am also working on a keepsake apron for my mom {because she's just so special that she deserves one}! Also on the worktable are a few new items I'm playing around with and hope to have up in the shop soon :)

So, hopefully I can make myself stay home and get some sewing done, and when I do get my orders done, the weather is so gorgeous, I plan to sneak off to the lake later this week !! Enjoy that sunshine! 

A Weekend Full of Learning + Fun

Happy Monday, Ya'll! I am feeling so good about this upcoming week! As I mentioned before, I have been under the weather for several weeks, as well as having some back problems, but I have a good feeling about this week and things are looking up :)

First of all, I had an amazing weekend! It was a bit of a struggle with my back, but I made it to the Artisan Entrepreneur Workshop, and the afternoon was jam-packed with loads of great information! It was a good balance of some topics I already felt comfortable with, and some great new ideas to further Bluebirds + Lemondrops Designs!

After the workshop I  met up with a couple friends and went out for a great supper and then headed to Prairie Chicks for their Magazine Release Gala! It was such a fabulous night - great food and drinks, amazing sales, a few fun games, and meeting up with a great group of women that I have gotten to know over the last year! I am so grateful for a group of women that share my passion for handmade designs and fabric!! I came away with some fabric and a few quilted goodies, so it was a successful night :)

                             I seriously can not get enough of these gorgeous colors and designs!!

Sunday was a wonderful day spent with my amazing family {all 27 of them - and we were missing a few!}. Mother's Day is always a big deal for our family, and we enjoyed a nice lunch out together and then a beautiful dessert buffet at my sisters home {she is amazing!}. And finally, Sunday evening brought some much needed down time with My Man :) I think he deserves a little shout out! He is the most supportive and encouraging husband, he pushes me to succeed and try again when I fail. He genuinely gets excited when I talk about my little handmade business and he enjoys helping me plan and dream - what more could I possibly want or ask for! 

So, this week, I am finishing some custom orders I have been working on, shopping fabric for the next big set of custom orders, and I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of a huge fabric order for the Evergreen Artisan Market in November! I have never done a show this big or that brings in this many people, so I have made a plan so I get to enjoy my summer and also get my stock built back up again :) Time for me to get busy!! 

Mother's Day Tribute

What a crazy, but wonderful week! I have been busy in the studio getting the last of the Mother's Day orders finished, packaged up real pretty and delivered! Not only have I been busy with Mother's Day orders, but I have been working on a few bridal shower orders as well, which has been loads of fun:)

Since we are heading into Mother's Day this weekend, I thought I would make a little tribute to the woman who has helped form and mold me into the person I am today.

My mom has three daughters (including me) and one son. She has lived a sacrificial life, always putting the needs of her children and husband before her own, and in the more recent years, the needs of her parents before her own. She is not a perfect person. I have watched her make mistakes and question her ability to be the mother we needed, but she is quick to right her wrongs, she is humble and hard working, and a true Christian mother who always points her children to Christ and lets the love of Jesus shine through her. And she is the perfect mother for us! I have so many fun memories and heartwarming stories I could share, but the best thing I can tell you about my mom is that she raised each one of her children to love The Lord Jesus, she taught us right from wrong, and dedicated her life to raising us to be the best versions of ourselves! She also instilled a love of learning, a love for the arts and the confidence that made us realize we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to. As each year passes, I realize what a gift and blessing my mom is in my life, and I am thankful for who is she is and for the family she and my dad have created. I believe Abraham Lincoln said it best when he stated, "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother".

So, as Mother's Day quickly approaches, I want to celebrate my mother, and celebrate my family, as I would truly have and be nothing without them! If you have someone in your life, whether it's your biological mother, a motherly figure or just a special woman in your life who has influenced and help shape your life, let them know and celebrate them this Sunday and everyday!!

So having shared a little of what's been on my heart this week, now I'd love to share what has been on my work table :)

        The fine art of embroidery is rather new to me, so I enlisted the help of my talented cousin! We spent the afternoon catching up, working on needlepoint, and yes, a lot of giggling! I so enjoyed doing the embroidery on these sweet mother/daughter aprons!

And the topping on this beautiful week, is the amazing weekend ahead! I am so excited to be attending an Artisan Entrepreneur Workshop this Saturday, and I am looking forward to meeting up with other handmade business owners, learning how we can better brand and promote our businesses and generally get more inspired to make handmade designs happen!! After the workshop, I am meeting up with a few friends and heading to one of my favorite local quilt stores for their amazing Magazine Release Gala!! I think this Gala is going to be such a fun ladies night out, and I hear the swag bags they are handing out are going to be ridiculously amazing! And of course, Sunday is going to be a family filled day, and I could not be happier about that!

Enjoy some time with your families this weekend, and remember to give thanks for your mother this weekend, after all, she is the one who gave you life! Happy Early Weekend, Ya'll!

Hello May

Well May has arrived and I have all sorts of happy going on in my life!! 

I adore May! The buds are on the trees, my yard is green, it's time for BBQ, family cookouts, late night fires, star gazing, evening bike rides and never eating inside again until September :) The list could go on and on! Also, May has already brought some excitement to our lives!

I have a new niece that arrived this morning, and she is a doll! As gorgeous as can be, and I can not wait for those precious newborn snuggles!! I also am booked with orders into June, and that is always exciting and good news for me!

However, the most exciting business news that May has brought me is being accepted by the Prince Albert Council of the Arts into the Evergreen Artisan Market this fall at the E.A. Rawlinson Center!! The market runs Friday, November 13th, 4pm-9pm and Saturday, November 14th, 10am-5pm. There will be fabulous artisans featured from all across Saskatchewan, a great selection of live music, and a delightful food Bistro! I am just so honored and excited to be a part of this event, and I encourage you all to mark it on your calendars! I will be working hard from now until then to create some of my best and most creative designs!!


Also, a fabulous event I am fully supporting and having a small part in is Bloom's NICU Gala! The Gala is May 8th, and tickets are available at http://www.obrianseventcentre.ca/ or if you can't attend, donations can be made at http://www.nicuannualfundraiser.com/. This fundraiser is near and dear to my heart and I can't think of a more worthy cause to support!

This week my projects include some hand embroidery on some sweet mother/daughter aprons, finishing all the Mother's Day orders, shipping and delivering them, and basically locking myself in the studio for the week! Hopefully I'll have some fun new designs to share in a few days :)

Happy Saturday!