Ann Wood's Amazing Ships

I couldn't resist posting this picture from Ann Wood. She's a very popular blogger and designer and just about everyone knows of her gorgeous ships and her famous cake topper birds.
This particular ship, according to Ann, needs repair but how inspirational of her to create this fabulous "shipwreck" display. When life hands you lemons...
You may also want to check out her shop, Ann Wood Handmade, where she sells her amazing creations.

My First Ever Diaper Cake

My daughter's baby shower was yesterday. I was asked to do the decorating. Her last baby shower was for our sweet little Madison and very pink and girly. These are a couple of pictures of that shower to give you an idea.
Since this baby is a boy and it's winter I thought I would do something bright and cheery. My daughter is not into the pastel baby blue boy thing.
Anyway, the cake...
I knew I wanted to do a centerpiece and I had seen diaper cakes before. She definitely needs diapers and I thought I could incorporate both of those requirements with this diaper cake.
There is a bottle of champagne in the middle around which all the diapers are wrapped. The "fondant" is white tissue paper. I wrapped ribbons around each layer and dotted the whole thing with bright polka dots I cut out of card stock. I made the flowers, as you can tell, from tissue paper.

It took a little bit of work to get it right but I think she liked it.

How To: Fabric Flower Corsage

I love this fabric flower corsage. Of course you could pin it to a bag like Blair did over at Wise Craft but it would look great on a dress, sweater or t-shirt.
I absolutely love the fabric she used (and how much do you love that bag!?) but the fabric choices offer endles possibilities.
I got a great response to a previous post I did on a fabric flower tutorial here if you would like to see another great example from Molly Chicken, one of my very favorite blogs.
Complete instructions for the flower corsage are here.

One World One Heart

2/12/04: Contest is Closed. Drawing will take place today. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who entered!

I have decided to participate in a worldwide giveaway. This is just for fun and a way to make friends from all over the globe. I have met some wonderful people from all over the world through blogging. It is so fun to have "friends" from different countries; one learns so much.
So here are the rules:

You must leave a comment on this post here.
The contest is open to everyone.
I must have contact information for you. If your comment does not have an automatic link, just put your email address in the comments. (If you don't want to put your "actual" email address you can say "my name at yahoo" for example.)

The giveaway ends February 12th. (Edit: The giveaway actually ends February 11th; the drawing will be held on the 12th.)

Here's what I'll be giving away:
This is Maxitron.
He is a handmade, one of a kind robot softie made of felt with hand embroidered features. He is my original design and would be suitable for a boy or girl or even adults who collect robots. Please note that Maxitron has buttons. They are sewn on tight but he may not be suitable for children who still put things in their mouths (choking hazard).
Visit the One World One Heart site to see a complete list of all the bloggers who have giveaways. Register for all of them if you like.
Good luck

How To: Baby Kimono

There is something so sweet about these little baby "kimono". Amy Finlayson has generously posted a complete tutorial on how to make these on her blog Habitual. If you want to see even more examples of her kimono, check out her set on flickr.

More kimono fun:
Men's Kimono
Vintage Kimono
and, yes, even Blythe in Kimono

I learned from Nobu at Funabashi Daily Cell Phone that January 12 was Japanese Coming-of-Age Day. Here's how Nobu describes it:

It is a national holiday.( the second monday of January )
Today, "coming-of age ceremony" is held in every city(or town).
It is a ceremony for the people who reached ( or will reach ) 20 years old during current school year.
The women wear a type of kimoni called furisode. To see some pictures and read more see Nobu's post here.

Fairy Tale Dream Nursery DIY

I just had to post some pictures of this adorable nursery. I know it's impractical for most people but you can still get some good ideas here. I just love the dreamy effect of the colors and the lighting. Want to build it yourself? At du cote de chez vous you can download a .pdf file with instructions on how to build it. You gotta love the internet!

Reluctant Model and Knit Pattern

Even though her model is a little reluctant to have her picture taken (still very cute!) The Charlotte p'tite has posted the pattern for this adorable knitted sweater she made. She calls it a vest. I don't knit - wish I did - envy those who do - but I know you knitters out there are always looking for free patterns. So here you go.