Busy City

I am currently in love with Monaluna's "Busy City" print from the "Taali" Collection.  I was in love with the "Bah Bah Black Sheep" print, but now I just can't get over the cheery red accents and super cute design.  This print has everything: puppies, birds, bikes, and scooters!  The colors are vibrant and neutral.  Overall, it's just fantastic.  I paired busy city with the "Chevron" and "Posies" prints, also from the "Taali" collection for this burp cloth set.  I haven't made anything for baby bear in a while.  I was thinking I might make him a stroller blanket out of some of these prints.  He could use a new, fresh blanket for when spring comes and we begin to take walks outside again.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  This set of burp cloths is backed with an organic fleece from Green Textiles.  This is the first time I have worked with this fleece and I have to say, "Oh my!".  It's so soft.  It has this great nappy, almost curly texture to it.  The more I washed it, the softer it got.  That's part of the reason I want to make bear a blanket.  This would make a most awesome backing for a blanket.

Gender Neutral Baby Shower Decorations

A Close-up of the Table Runners & Flowers

Last Saturday I helped host a baby shower.  I volunteered to do decorations.  Mom and Dad are waiting until the baby is born to find out the gender, so I kept things neutral.  In my planning I scoped out things online, looking for ideas.  I saw a few showers with beautiful fabric table runners, so I decided that making runners was a definite must.  I also decided that flowers were a must as well.  It's the middle of winter, so I feel like flowers add some life and vibrancy.  

 In an effort to keep things neutral, I chose this "elephant parade" print that I found at Joanne's.  If you look closely at the runner, there is an elephant that is green with white polka dots.  While shopping at Target shortly after Christmas I saw the polka dot napkins and matching green plastic utensils and plates.  They were on clearance, and while a little bold, I thought they would make a nice statement with the table runners, so I snapped them up.  Plus they were on clearance, so how could you not?

 The shower was held at church, which presents some challenges that you don't have when you have a shower at a home.  Metal folding chairs, busy floral patterned carpet, nothing I could do about those sort of things.  Well, if you had an unlimited budget, you could rent fabric chair covers, and a floor covering, or even different chairs, but who has that sort of budget for a baby shower?

One of the Tables

Overall, I was pleased with the results.  They were simple, but nice.  As my husband warned me when I was planning and showing him ideas for the shower "Make it nice, something that satisfies your desire to make it beautiful, but know that it will not look just like the magazines."  Which I know, and it doesn't look as good as the magazines, but a girl can't help but try.