Meet Evy

After 30 hours of labor, our little girl Evelyn ("Evy") Jane arrived on Father's Day June 19th at 4:05 in the morning.  As many of you know, my husband and I chose to wait to find out the gender of the little one. I am so glad we did, it was amazing to pull her up onto my chest and wait with anticipation on the sex.  I was convinced, I mean, CONVINCED it was a boy.  So you must know, I am still in shock that I have a little girl.  We are smitten and think she is pretty darn cute.  

Meet Evy my friends.

I will share more of Evy's birth story at a later time, but now those frozen bags of corn are more important.

the lazy post

I am feeling especially lazy, tired, moody, emotional, anxious and excited as the days wind down until this little babe comes.  So in honor of my laziness, I bring you a lovely post that my friend Alexi wrote about my baby shower.  Lexi, along with many other great friends threw me a "surprise" baby shower last month.  It was so thoughtfully done, with my favorite pregnancy foods, handmade shower scrub as favors, an amazing invitation that Alexi designed herself and a pinata. Yes, a pinata.  I haven't had an Airhead candy strip in so many years :)

So go check out Alexi's awesome blog where she talks about her newly married life, a new puppy and other random ramblings and while you're there, enjoy some baby shower goodness.

Thankful Wednesday

Oops, I'm a day behind, so we'll make this post Thankful Wednesday.

• I am certainly thankful that I have TWO WEEKS left!  Come baby come!

• A sweet midwife who delivered her delicious spring rolls to my house today.  They hit the spot!

• A hubby who is committed to making me comfortable these days. He comes home from work and picks up the slack here in the house right away (well... after he opens that beer) 

• Jersey skirts!  I've had these skirts for years and just pulled them out, hoping they would work with this belly.  Buying maternity summer clothes right now is NOT going to happen.

•  We are thankful for having a state cop (hub's brother) in the family who is crazy OCD about installing car seats.  He gave us a tutorial, however, I don't think we will ever get it in as tight as he did!

•  A feeling of peace as we wait for this little one to come.

• Feeling thankful AGAIN for all of our generous friends and family who have supplied our every material need and more for this baby.  We only had to buy a few things, which blows me away when I think about it. 

"maternity leave" {whatever it may mean}

I put it in quotes because it's not really maternity leave. Shop remains open, orders can/will come in, and I still stamp away your "shiny objects".  I still have to work BUT I have extended the production time to 4-6 weeks.  I have tried to make it VERY obvious of this extension on my website, so hopefully I won't get bombarded with status updates while I transition into my new routine. I can't promise my response to those emails won't be grumpy. I hear you don't sleep much when a new baby comes ;)  

My maternity leave in quotes doesn't mean I will be sniffing my 'just about to pop' peonies in my garden.

It also doesn't mean I will be going to the beach to collect more heart rocks.

Or even lounging in my favorite porch swing...

Well, it kinda means I will be taking it a tad bit easy, trying to soak up these last three weeks of a quiet life.  So, take it as you want, but I like saying " I'm on "maternity leave"", whatever it may mean.

I do know I will be taking in more of this precious face before her life is completely turned upside down.  Signing off for some belly rubs.

Chalkboard window project revealed!

My chalkboard window project ended up taking longer then I expected but I'm in LOVE with the result!  It was fairly easy but the weather didn't coorperate with me, which delayed the project a bit. 

Note: Don't start this project if you have a projected forecast of rain for two weeks straight.

As mentioned here, I went to a local salvage yard and picked up some old windows: one which is painted white and another in a stained wood finish.  Make sure to pick a window with no panes to insure you have a large chalkboard surface to write on.

I found the chalkboard paint at Home Depot, and chose to go with the tintable version which was about $13ish.  After much debate, I decided to tint the paint in the Schoolhouse Green color, to continue the vintage vibe of the project.  

I practiced on the white window first, experimenting with different techniques. I made sure to throughly clean the window so debris wouldn't effect the smooth finish.  Even though I did this step, I still have a few bumps here and there, but it doesn't bother me too much.  I started to apply the paint and realized it goes on pretty thin, which means many coats to follow. 

I let it dry about 20 minutes, felt the paint and thought it was ready for a second coat. OH but I was so wrong. I realized this very quickly when the first coat started peeling off when I went painted over it.  This is what I ended up with: 

I sanded the spot in attempt to smooth it out and maybe, just maybe you wouldn't see my mess up.  In the end, you can definitely see the imperfection, BUT when it's against the wall with no light shining through, it's hardly visible, even when I write over the spot with chalk.  After the hiccup, I had to wait the full 24 hours it instructed on the box. I'm not a patient person when it comes to drying times when I'm in the middle of a project but I obeyed the rules and since then, I had no further uh-oh's. I guess it helps to read the directions and actually abide by them sometimes. Boo.

After about a week and half later, I was finally done applying the paint, about 5-6 coats in the end.  If I was to do it again, I would make sure to brush the paint on the surface in one direction every time.  My chalkboard has a cross hatched effect which is fine with me, but if I went in one direction the chalkboard finish would be smoother and more consistent. Also, I believe if I primed the window first, the paint would of adhered better, and possibly lessened the amount of coats I had to do.

I had the hubby pre-drill holes in the back to thread two screw eyes on each side, about 1/3 of the way down.

Then I attached some picture hanging wire, making sure it was sturdy enough to hang on the wall.

FINALLY it was time to hang it up!  As I said before, I chose the wood frame for the nursery, since the hubs thought there was too much "white" in the nursery. He's worried that the nursery is too "girly" and maybe the wood frame would make it more "boyish".   Here it is, written with 36 weeks which was the backdrop for my recent belly picture. (My dear mother demanded an updated picture)

I chose to put the white window in our screened in porch.  We celebrated my hubby's 30th birthday a few weekends ago and this is what I wrote on it for his party:

I also decided to paint the backside of our medicine cabinet with the same paint.  Much better then the yucky gray color it was before.

 

So there you have it, my chalkboard window project is complete and I LOVE it.  Try it for yourself and I'm warning you now that you will find anything and everything around your house to turn into a chalkboard. I promise.

Since when....

did Payless get so expensive?  I love this new ankle strap, but $49.99?  Really Payless?

However, I can handle these peep toe flats at $22.99. Cute, huh?
They come in red too!
 

But I think I'll be heading in for these woven wedges on sale for $16.99!

Just sharing some online shopping fun will ya'll.  How's that for avoiding work this morning?

It's time to answer your questions...

As most of you know, I am having my first baby around June 22nd.  I can't even imagine how life will change once baby comes, I have a small idea, but I am not putting any crazy superwoman expectations on myself.  So you ask....what does this mean for Magpie Designz?

Answers to your common questions:

• I plan on leaving my shop open during my "maternity leave".  Yes, I know....pretty insane, BUT, I have hired help for the studio.  
• However, even with this help, the production time will go from 2-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks.  This extended time will give me the flexibility to adjust to my new life while juggling a thriving business.  
• The extended production time will start at the beginning of June.  I do not have a specific date in mind yet. It all depends on my comfort level as I get closer and closer to my due date.  You will see an announcement on my home page letting you know of the extension.  You will also have a 'terms and conditions' to check before you submit your order, agreeing that you understand the new terms.
• This means that YOU need to plan ahead and order your jewelry now!
• This also means that if you order in June, you need to be patient.  Do not expect your jewelry right away.  It may get there fast, it may not.  Pretty PLEASE do not ask for a rush on your jewelry or to have it by a certain date. I cannot make any promises.
• The quality and standards of Magpie jewelry will remain the same.  I take great pride in my work and will not send out anything that does not reflect my high standards.
• I should be up and running at full speed in the Fall, just in time for the Holiday rush.  I will be back to 2-3 week production at this time.

Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment if you have a question about Magpie Designz during this transition.  Thank you for supporting my business.  You all give me the opportunity to work from home, create jewelry that is special and meaningful for you while being a new mom.  I am forever grateful for your support and patience as I adjust to this new life.  Five weeks to go!