birthday tradition.

this time, last year, i began a new birthday tradition for my girls.

i guess it really began with emma's 2nd birthday in 2008, when i ordered her a birthday shirt with a big, cute "2" on it. i did the same for her 3rd birthday, and then her 4th, and it was when i received that shirt that i realized i was completely capable of making one just as cute!

when rylie's 1st birthday came around 8 months later, i got to work on a super cute "1" shirt that tied in with the "pinwheels & sunshine" theme i had going for her party. i equipped myself with some fabric scraps from hobby lobby, a white t-shirt from target, an embroidery hoop, needles & embroidery floss and got to work... not sure exactly what would come of my endeavor.

i was extremely excited when several hours of cutting fabric and hand stitching turned into this:

rylie's "sunshine & pinwheels" 1st birthday shirt

emma was so tickled by the shirt, that she asked me to make her one for HER birthday (as if i wasn't already planning exactly that)! :)

so, when october rolled around, i stayed up 'til 4am on a school night so my sweet girl would have her very own birthday shirt to wear to school on the day she turned 5 years old. :) i came up with something to match the "alice in wonderland"/"mad-hatter" tea party theme.

emma's "mad-hatter tea party" 5th birthday shirt

my sweet girl on her 5th birthday
{can we pause on 5-years-old? please?}

i decided on that day, that i would make a birthday shirt for my girls every. single. year. {until they beg me to stop!} my hope is to one day combine each numbered birthday shirt to make a t-shirt quilt for each of my daughters... so they'll have a snuggly reminder of all the love and hard work i hand-stitched each year for their fun special-day memories. :)

and, of course, last week, i stayed up until 5am on the 2nd birthday of my youngest little. rylie is in love with elmo at the moment, so her party was all girly elmo fun... and her birthday shirt had to match! :)

rylie's "girlie elmo" 2nd birthday shirt
{in progress}

"all done!" ...as rylie would say :)
everything is handstitched... i guess the
small imperfections give it character, right? :)

rylie was super excited about her "mo-mo" shirt, and looked super cute in it all day long on her 2nd birthday. the best part? when we were leaving her nonna's house, after cake & presents, i told rylie to lift her arms so i could take off her shirt and get her jammies on. she very emphatically told me, "no, mama!! no! want mo-mo shirt!" 

she didn't want to take it off. :) and who am i to argue with the birthday girl?? 

so she slept in it. 

sweet "baby" girl... all birthday-ed out. :)

she has no idea how happy that made my heart. i absolutely love that my girls enjoy the things i make for them. hopefully one day they'll understand how much love went into the creativity and labor behind the making of those special things. :) until then, this mommy will continue to create and hand-stitch and craft and paint and bake and whatever-else lovely things that i think my littles will enjoy, just to show them how much i love them. :) 

but this tradition... i think it'll be one of my faves. i hope my girls will adore it as much as i do. :)

creating.

happy summer! :)

i've just begun my second summer as a teacher, and would LOVE to keep up with my blog more. i've pretty much had to cut any "extra-curricular activities" out of my life during the school year so far... but i'd love to instill some balance on that front. i'd love to figure out how to continue to do the things i love & enjoy... the things that refresh me.

things like crafting. and printing. and designing. and expressive writing (i.e. this blog). :)

we shall see.

so in an effort to do just that, i updated my blog that features my little paper design "business." emma kate designs has been barely up and running for most of its existence. basically, i design and create digital & paper elements for my own family's parties... :) but, once in a blue moon, i get the chance to do something for a friend, or maybe even a stranger who just happened across my work via "the internets." :)

i added some projects that hadn't been featured yet, and also changed the layout, background, colors, etc. of the blog itself. AND... i made-over the logo! it's quite a possibility that it's a work in progress at the moment, but i like the new look... it's fresh, whimsical & modern. not so stuffy and formal.

here's the new logo:

what do you think??

you are more than welcome to show yourself on over to ekd's site. feel free to peruse the pretties that i've posted in the past, and treat yourself to a little sneak peek of a certain "baby" girl's 2nd birthday celebration. :)

here's to a crafty summer vacation! {hopefully.}