August 2008

First of all, I just want to thank everyone who participated in the NieNie auctions yesterday (some of which are still going on). Whether it was The Baby Gardner auction or one of the other 300+ auctions throughout the blogosphere, I just have to say, WOW! I am overwhelmed by the response and I know that every member of the Nielson family is touched beyond words. The Baby Bloggie personally had almost 600 visits yesterday. And I’ve heard that other blogs had record numbers as well. Can’t you just FEEL the love? Congrats to Alta, the winner of our auction and to Kristinia, the winner of our giveaway. Your items are on their way!

We’re always trying to bring new stuff and a broader variety of items to the shop. I’ve been really excited about working with one of our new artist contributors, Heather Hales. I’m going to recruit her to do an artist interview with us in the near future (she doesn’t know that yet), but in the meantime I just have to show you one of the incredibly adorable things she’s making exclusively for The Baby Gardner:

This vintage-inspired Playful Monkey Blanket is brand new at The Baby Gardner and a keeper for sure. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to hunt for vintage-inspired monkey stuff, but it’s not easy to find. Sock monkey fabrics are everywhere right now but other than that, not so much. So anyway, I’ve been on a mission to get vintage monkey things into the shop. Laurie is working on a really great project (more on that later) while Heather has been working on this irresistible hand-embroidered monkey blanket. Really sweet, right? And the best part? It’s personalized!! Enough said. Grab one up at The Baby Gardner and stay on the lookout for more banana-friendly fellows.

Welcome! The Baby Gardner is privileged to host one of many silent auctions being held today in honor of Stephanie Nielson. We celebrate NieNie today. And our hope is to raise awareness and funds to alleviate some of the financial burden on this precious family — so they can focus solely on the recovery of NieNie and Christian (read our last blog post for more info). Won’t you please join us?

Check out all the silent auctions today and bid like crazy! All items have been donated and ALL proceeds will go directly into the Stephanie Nielson Fund via PayPal.

The Baby Gardner’s auction today includes a bushel of bluebirds for baby. This is ONE auction lot that includes all of the items described here:

1. Bluebird Buddies Crib Shoes: Hand-stitched wool felt crib shoes are loaded with personality with these adorable hand-embroidered baby bluebirds. One-of-a-kind and irresistible, they’ll be the topic of conversation wherever baby goes. (Size: Small; 0-3 months)
2. Bluebird’s Melody Vintage Tote: This is the perfect size tote for always keeping the essentials handy. Vintage embroidery, linens and crocheted trim all add to the charm. Baby bluebird plays a delightful melody on his violin. Turquoise gingham creates the tote straps and lines the interior. (Dimensions: 9”w x 9”h)
3. Bundle for Baby Layette Gown: This little gown is bundled and tied — ready for gift-giving!. Soft combed cotton gown has a charming vintage graphic in the center and crocheted trim. Tied with vintage-style ribbon. Gift card attached. 100% soft combed cotton. Heat-transferred graphic. Elasticized closure at bottom. Mitten cuffs. Machine wash cold, delicate cycle. Tumble dry low. (Size: one size fits most newborns)
4. Bluebird Greetings Note Cards: Set of 6 blank note cards with envelopes. Blank interior. Endless uses as thank-you notes, gift cards, etc. Heart above bluebird reads ‘Greetings’. (Dimensions: 5-1/2” x 4-1/4”)
5. Little Girl Silhouette Gift Tags: Set of 12 oval tags with lovely scalloped edging. The finishing touch for that special gift. This adorable vintage silhouette depicts a little girl playing with her doll.Blank back for your personal message. Cotton twine ties.
6. Momma Bluebird & Babies Burpcloth: 100% cotton feedsack-style burp cloth is oversized and ready for anything. It’s soft, lightweight cotton makes it handy and portable, soft on baby’s skin, and large enough to handle a multitude of spills. Heat-transferred graphic. Machine wash cold, delicate cycle. Tumble dry low.

RETAIL VALUE: $105.00

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BID:

• Please place your bid by leaving your 1) NAME, 2) EMAIL ADDRESS, and 3) BID AMOUNT in the Comments section for this post.
• Please be sure the bid amount you specify is larger than the most recent bid listed in the comments chain. This allows the current high bid to be easily viewed and identified at any time during the auction.
• Bidding will end this evening (Thursday 8/28/08) at 11:59pm GMT. Any bids placed after this deadline cannot be accepted.

IF YOU WIN THE AUCTION:

• Once we have contacted you and confirmed that you have won, please pay your high bid amount directly to the Stephanie Nielson Fund (via PayPal) by clicking the donation link on the sidebar. (Please reference ‘The Baby Gardner Silent Auction’ in the Notes area on PayPal.)
• Please forward the email receipt from PayPal to info [at] thebabygardner [dot] com along with your shipping address. We will then get your package shipped out to you.

GIVEAWAY ENTRY:

• As a small thank-you for participating in our auction, all bidders (even if you are not the high bidder) will automatically be entered in our drawing for a special giveaway gift.
• The winner will receive this White Doves Felt Hat for Baby created exclusively by The Baby Gardner. [Size: 3-12 months; hat circumference: 17"] Winner will be chosen at random. We will contact the winner via email for shipping information.

Thank you all for your generous and caring support of Nie and Christian and their family. We know this outpouring of love will be cherished always. If you have any questions about the auction details or the items in the auction, please feel free to contact us at info [at] thebabygardner [dot] com.

Nielson family photo courtesy of Blue Lily Photography

Stephanie Nielson (known as ‘NieNie’) is a very popular blogger who’s talent, faith and humor has drawn many to her little corner of the internet. I didn’t have the opportunity to know Nie before the accident, but I soon discovered if you don’t know Nie, you probably know someone who does. I can’t tell you how many blog friends I have who have shared stories about what an incredible person she is.

In case you don’t know, NieNie and her husband, Christian, were in a terrible airplane accident just last week. Both of them have severe injuries and will require extensive time to heal, but by the grace of God, they are still with us! They have four small children who are being cared for by family. Insurance will only go so far. Above all else, the family asks for prayer, but we also realize what a financial strain the family will be in.

All of us — those who know Nie and those of us who feel as if we do — want so much to help in whatever small way we can. This Thursday many artists and designers in the blogging community will be hosting silent auctions for Nie and her family. All proceeds from these auctions will go directly into the Stephanie Nielson Fund via PayPal.

Items from The Baby Gardner will be auctioned on our blog this Thursday in honor of NieNie. If you place a bid (whether or not you are the winning bidder), you will also be automatically entered to win a special giveaway from The Baby Gardner as a small thank-you. Winner will be chosen at random. All details for bidding will be posted at the time of auction. Bidding will begin Thursday at 7:00am PST and last until midnight.

Please join us in prayer for Nie and Christian and their family. If you are interested in helping in other ways, you can donate directly to the Stephanie Nielson fund by clicking the link to the right. You can also view a list of links to all the silent auctions by visiting Design Mom’s blog on Thursday.

Little Lamb:

How many adorable nicknames do you have for your favorite little one?

Click on the image for a larger view. Enjoy!

Well, as promised, here are some pics from my son’s room. Aidan just turned 3 so we’ve been going through that transition from a nursery to a little boy’s room. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the great thing about vintage-inspired nurseries is they really are timeless (what an oxymoron!). They can transition easily as your little one grows.

In Aidan’s room, there’s very little I’ve changed other than replacing the crib with a bed and tackling the mountain of toys that seem to be taking over. The paint color is the same. The color palette is the same. The random vintage touches have stayed the same.

In his nursery I wanted to go with more of a 40s-50s vintage touch as opposed to the Victorian vintage I used in Gracie’s room. I had a bunch of vintage ’stuff’ that I really loved and had gathered here and there. None of it really had a single ‘theme’ like cowboys or fire engines, it was purely ‘vintage’ in a totally random sort of way — and I loved it for being so.

So I knew that in order to get all of my chotchkies to work together, I had to make the colors in his room work. I painted the walls a light apple green and chose a quilt with blue gingham, white and apple green stripes. On the windows, I sewed long curtain panels using a light denim and used a wide apple green and white pinstripe ribbon to make the tab tops. That was my foundation and then the fun really began!

Aidan’s vintage plush toy collection, a wooden truck, a red wool pillow with a vintage graphic, a vintage pop gun, a bisque cowboy, the three bears… totally random but totally works. Color is the key!

You know, vintage really is a matter of perspective. What’s vintage to me may not seem vintage to someone else. When I started the shop, I felt like we needed to establish some sort of vintage standard even if it was subjective. So our adopted ‘Vintage Description’ for the shop basically states that anything dating earlier than 1975 is considered ‘vintage’ to us.

Well it hit me recently that I fall into that category! I’m VINTAGE? What?! Just because I lived the generation that once had Madonna hair and obsessed over The Police, does not make me vintage now, right? (Agree with me, people.) So I got a grip and calmly reminded myself that vintage is just a matter of perspective. And the great thing about getting older is that you begin to appreciate the things that remind us of a simpler time.

Which led me to get a little nostalgic and take a trip through some old family photos… ‘vintage’ in varying degrees of course…

The first photo is my dad decked out in blue when he was 3-years-old (circa 1947). His mom (my grandmother) had entered him in a local ‘Prettiest Baby’ contest the day this photo was taken. He won first place! Doesn’t he just look thrilled to be there? Hilarious, right? My dad still had this photo AND the trophy he won that day — both of which I quickly confiscated once I was old enough to appreciate them for what they were. Today the trophy sits on my son’s dresser and this photo hangs in his room. Kinda cool, huh? (Footnote: I thought the polka dots made it a little more playful. How I love the many wonders of scrapbook paper!)

The second photo is my mom when she was around 4-years-old (circa 1953). This was the Little Miss Peanut Pageant which she won! What a ham. Every time I look at this photo I can see glimpses of myself and my daughter. It’s amazing all that we pass on to our children. This little charmer hangs in the hall.

And finally we come to moi. Here I am at my 4th birthday (circa 1978). I guess it does kind of have a vintage flair already. Those rounded corners are a dead giveaway, not to mention the Dorothy Hamill hair on my mom and the bright yellow dress I’m wearing. What I wouldn’t give to have that hair again! This one stays in the family album, but the funny thing is that some day one of my kids will probably pull it out (thinking it’s really cool and vintage) and maybe even frame it for their children to appreciate — just like I’ve done with my parents’ photos.

Weird how that works, isn’t it?

“Hi. My name is Deanna and I’m a vintage fabric addict.”

I can’t seem to ever get enough of it. No matter how many plastic totes I have stacked to the ceiling, I can never resist the temptation. It just sucks me in. Case in point…

Even if I sewed every day of my life, I don’t think I could use all of this but it’s too wonderful to part with. My biggest weakness? Vintage feedsack and juvenile prints. Can’t you tell? I have all sorts of ideas that just swirl in my head when I look at this stuff. And I do sew some things for the shop, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. You know what I mean? And don’t even get me started on my chenille collection.

So they say the first step in beating an addiction is admitting you have a problem… people, I clearly have a problem.

I think it’s a tradition (bordering on a contest, granted) that a new mom wants something special on her hospital-room door when she gives birth to baby. It’s a right of passage — almost like saying, “I did it! I survived! And I have the most amazing baby in the world in here to prove it!”

… At least that’s what I’ve noticed where I live. Whenever I hit that maternity ward (whether visiting a friend or when I had my own babies), I always look to see what everyone has on their doors. It’s a treat — like driving around looking at Christmas lights! Some of them get really elaborate and others simply come from the hospital gift shop. Either way, it’s a celebration of joy and every new mom deserves it.

So maybe you’ve already thought about this small detail? Or maybe this blog entry is sparking a brand new idea for you (we like to do that here). If you have a love for vintage, may I suggest the Personalized Vintage Tussie Mussies at The Baby Gardner, created by artist, Julia Miller? You’re sure to have the most coveted door on the ‘block’ with one of these! Each one is totally unique and can be personalized with baby’s initial. The best part? These are so stunning, Mommy can take it home to hang in the nursery or on baby’s door.

One of my dearest friends, Renee, is pregnant with her second child — a boy (her first). Renee’s dad and her husband’s dad are both retired Navy, so she had this great idea to decorate Baby James’ nursery in a Navy/nautical theme. Perfect, right? Well, in addition to that she really wanted a vintage flair to it which made it a definite challenge. But with all the WWII memorabilia out there, I thought, “We can do this!”

So I began hunting and hunting and hunting for vintage + nautical + baby themed items (no pressure here). A lot of what I found was either sailboats (not really Navy or sailor) or serious WWII collectibles (no babies in sight). I was getting frustrated looking at eBay and searching all the flea markets and antique shops in town. Then one night like a shining beacon (cheesy pun intended), I found this:

Now, come on. Is that perfect or what? I about (excuse my expression) peed in my pants when I saw this! This is the cover of an authentic vintage coloring book from 1943. Can you say inspiration piece? I’m framing it for her to hang in the nursery. I can’t wait to give it to her.

Of course I really couldn’t stop there. Finding the coloring book gave me the shove I needed to keep looking. So, in addition to that, I’m giving her some other vintage-inspired goodies. I won’t show them all (I went a little crazy), but here’s the highlights…

Vintage-inspired Whale Rattle: The vintage fabrics are great. And he has a little braided ‘stream’ coming out of his blow hole. Truth be told, I loved this so much, the artist is making them for the shop! Grab him up at The Baby Gardner!

Sailor Blankie: Another vintage goodie for Baby James will be a small blankie made especially for him by his Aunt Dee using this vintage-inspired sailor fabric and minky-dot backing. Pretty adorable, right?

So what do you think overall? Did I meet the vintage nautical nursery challenge?

While I’m writing about Renee and Baby James, I have to get your opinion on one other thing. Please settle a debate we’re having. Renee had asked for some help picking colors and fabrics for his nursery based on the vintage nautical theme. I sent her two groups: 1) Classic Navy & Red or 2) Nautical with a Modern Twist of Red & Green. I’m not going to tell you which she picked or which one I encouraged, but I can tell you that we didn’t agree. Both are great, but I had a definite favorite and so did she. The question is, which one would YOU choose?Renee and I are more like family than friends, so the fact that we didn’t agree on this is so typical. But I love her dearly and I cannot wait to be an aunt (again) to her precious baby boy. Maybe our saga with her ever-so-complex nursery theme will inspire you!

Nautical in general seems to be a really popular style these days. If you’re pondering that one, why not make it even more unique by infusing it with a vintage twist. It is doable!

UPDATE! Looking for unique vintage nautical items for baby? We have some great new additions in the shop, including:
• On the Seashore Invitation or Birth Announcement
• Personalized Nautical Soft Blocks Set with Drawstring Bag
• Ahoy Sailor Toddler Set
• Vintage-Inspired Wally the Whale Onesie
• Little Moby Dick Baby Rattle

Some of our most popular items at The Baby Gardner include our embroidered crib shoes. The talented artist behind those and many other vintage-inspired creations at The Baby Gardner is Laurie Minick Miles . I was so thrilled to discover Laurie and her amazing talent. And even more than that, I’ve since been blessed with a great friend. Thank you, Laurie! Here’s a little insight into the artist behind the work…

Tell us a little about yourself…
I live on a farm in SE Iowa. Our farm has been in my husband’s family for more than 100 years. I have a degree in journalism and worked as a newspaper reporter for 6 years, but quit to raise my girls (Katie, 10, and Ellie, 5). I do at-home medical transcription. My husband is a farrier (horseshoer). We have 13 horses, 2 dogs, and a bunch of farm cats.

How did you get into sewing, embroidery and softie-making? How long have you been doing it?
As a kid, I did liquid embroidery with my Grandma Martin. I started doing cross-stitch in college and did that for several years, making Christmas stockings for my extended family. I made my first softie (a teddy bear) in 1996 and my love of softie making grew from there.

Tell us a little about your business name, Old School Acres. Where did that name come from?
At one time our house was a one-room schoolhouse, Fairview School. It’s a bit of a play on words, too. Because the majority of my items are sewn by hand, I consider that “old school” sewing.

What type of items do you create?

The majority of my items are vintage inspired/styled. I love sewing by hand. Right now most everything I make is baby/child related, but I also make owls for grown-ups. Wool felt is my favorite fabric to work with and I use it as much as I can. I also really enjoy cutting up old wool suit coats and using all the materials in my owls.

Among all your styles and creations, do you have one that is your favorite?
The elephant baby shoes are one of my favorites. And my owls rank up there, too. And the pigs. And…well, you get the idea.

Are you working on any projects at present?
Where do I start?? LOL I have pig and dog softies almost done. But I have a long list of projects that I hope to get to soon, including toy bags, personalized baby shirts, and a monkey softie [all of which will be featured at The Baby Gardner]. On the artsy side, I’ve got a few owls in the works, too.

You have a blog as well (link at right). As an artist/crafter, what do you feel are some benefits of having a blog?
My blog is mostly a craft-related blog, but I also share about life in general on our farm. I have made some great friends through the blogging world. It’s fun to share ideas and get feedback. My readers are really supportive and I appreciate them so much. A blog is great for getting others excited about my work. I usually share the process along the way, even the bad stuff like when my puppy chewed up some special-order softies. It is humbling that people care about what I’m doing. And doubly humbling that they like my stuff.

What are your future plans for Old School Acres?
I hope to cut back my transcription hours to concentrate on sewing. I have a list a mile long of projects I want to do. My girls are always asking me to make things for them and it’s hard to find time to fit it all in.

Thank you, Laurie, for giving us a peek into your busy world and your crafty passion. Laurie’s vintage-inspired originals are a popular and adored collection at The Baby Gardner. We’re really excited about the new designs she’s working on for us. You won’t want to miss them!