We got our 16-month little girl a little kitchen set for Christmas. Just recently she’s joined her big brother in the kitchen and has been having a blast feeding me plastic food. This new activity for her inspired me to create our latest handmade item, the little apron skirt & oven mitt. They’re so adorable and fun that even my son has gotten into wearing the skirt version (I’ll just have to find more boy fabrics).  They’re so cute I’m going to have to make myself an adult size one Check out our newest creation today!

We’ve received such great feedback from our customers that I wanted to share a few with everyone. Our customers really are the best, and they keep us inspired to make these handmade creations!

My son love love loves these [newsboy] caps and I will be ordering more because they are so well made. (5/15/11)

When my son Noah (7 months old) was wearing it [newsboy cap] as we went around town, I counted at least 11 compliments and smiles and adoring looks — on the bus, in the library, on the street, everywhere I took him. (4/6/11)

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that we LOVE the chef hat. We use it all the time now! (3/25/11)

These [cushy] letters look great in my daughter’s room. The seller went out and found new material just for me! She was very quick about doing it and gave me some options based on what I asked her for. She was very willing to cater to my specific needs. I was so impressed with the letters I ordered more from her! (3/9/11)

So adorable! Every time I put my little one in this [hooded poncho] and put her in her stroller she falls asleep! Well worth the money (11/1/10)

This apron is adorable! It’s exactly as pictured. My niece is going to love this (10/18/10)

Ever since we went to the Blooming Butterflies exhibit Little Peanut has got a thing for butterflies.

Awhile back I had cutout a few and taped them to the wall above her changing table. For a long time she wanted to take them down but I convinced her that they were decoration…. until one day last week when she batted her eyes and pleaded with daddy for them. So down they went. (She is totally daddy’s little girl!)

She was trying to make them “fly” by holding one in the air and flapping her arm around. That’s when I thought about attaching them to ribbon so she could wave them around (and so they wouldn’t be littered all over the house!)

I just used tape (but glue would work just as well) to attach the butterflies and made a loop on the end for hanging -

Or for her to put them on her wrist to “fly.”

I bet they would look cute hanging from the ceiling too. Hmmm.. I bet she would love waking up to dozens of them “flying” overhead on her birthday… the wheels are churning!

Click here to download our butterfly template to make your own!

My son is all about pretend play and he especially loves “cooking”. I thought about getting him a kitchen set but then I thought about all the space that it would take up let alone the cost of it! So I put on my creative cap and designed a stove top table cloth that could be placed on his existing table since he ALREADY plays with my real pots and pans!

Here’s what I did:

1) I dug through my fabric bin and found a neutral fabric for my son’s table. I measured 40″ X 80″ to allow for a good drape below the table top surface. I then cut out paper pieces to outline the stove “coils” and “knobs”:

2) Next, I outlined the pieces with chalk so that I could then sew on the ribbon and felt appliques:

3) Here’s the fun part: I sewed on the ribbon “coils”, added the felt knobs and for additional interest and color, stamped on the alphabet in the middle section. No reason why he can’t learn while playing, right?! Now I have a Top Chef in training!

BONUS: You know how I love multi-functional stuff, right? Well, this table cloth also has a red-checkered underside that I can flip over and/or use as a picnic blanket. I also sewed on corner pockets to store items (keys, toys, etc.) that will keep the blanket from blowing away!

Over the past few days the Little Peanut has been spending a lot of time with a little toy dog. Feeding it, giving it water, hugs and kisses… I started thinking about building a small collapse-able cardboard dog house so that it could be put away when she wasn’t playing with it.

While trying to construct one in my head my mind wondered again to this fabric house from UK Lass In US and I go to thinking, could I turn it into a doghouse?! My mind is churning with ideas but nothing solid yet! I did find some of these other amazing houses in the Flickr pool that have really inspired me to get something on paper and get sewing. See for yourself!

Last weekend my family enjoyed two great milestones in our kids’ lives; my baby girl (who is exactly three months old today!) got baptized and my boy turned 2! It was a very special weekend shared with family and friends.

Unfortunately, my family back in Texas was not able to partake, but we definitely felt their love, thoughts and prayers. One of my sisters sent each of them cards – handmade cards too! They were just so cute, I had to share (I believe I mentioned on more than one occasion that I come from a quite crafty and talented family, right?!).

The handmade touch definitely made the sentiments even more meaningful. I will make sure to save these as keepsakes (I see lots of scrapbooks in their future!).

Here is my birthday boy and newly baptized baby girl!

Last week we launched our spring catalog…which was the same time that my daughter made her entrance into the world (her timing is impeccable!). Up until this point, most of my creative inspiration has come from my son who is a rambunctious 21-month old and is now trying to adjust to life as an older brother.

Having a daughter is so different. Pink is everywhere, her cry is girly and she already has her daddy wrapped around her little fingers! These new experiences will definitely inspire me creatively (I have at least five new ideas that I’d like to try out ).

With that, I’d like to introduce my brand new daughter Sophia! (She inspired the creation of our cushy wall letters!)

Whew! I can’t believe 2009 is about to come to a close. 2009 was filled with a lot of happy occasions along with some challenging times–I don’t know too many people who weren’t affected by the down economy. I myself fell “victim” to company layoffs. Without faith and the support of family and friends, I don’t know how I could have coped with all the stress. But I do believe that things happen for a reason, and it opened my eyes to opportunities that I might not given much thought to before.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I would have to agree with that sentiment. I remember vividly one day back in May 2009 when Cathy and I took the kids on one of their first official playdates, and the idea to start a business together came about. In one way, it would help occupy our time as we were both out of work. It could even potentially bring in some income for us while we searched for that elusive job. But the best thing of all was that it allowed us to put our passion for creativity to work. And I’m not just talking about making cute, knitted and sewn baby items, but also the whole entrepreneurial aspect as well – Web site building, promotions, sales, marketing, and more! And so embe was born on July 15, 2009!

These past five months since the launch of our online shop has been very fulfilling. We learned a lot, met some great folks, and developed some partnerships along the way. We continually seek new ideas and are in constant amazement by the community of handmade crafters!

Looking ahead to 2010, we will continue to create, inspire and share our stories as we reach new milestones of motherhood. We look forward to introducing our “Spring” catalog in the coming months and welcome your ideas for what you would like to see. Stay tuned for sneak peeks and additional details…

We wish each and everyone a prosperous 2010 filled with love, joy and creative inspiration!

-Mary & Cathy

mary@embeshop.com, cathy@embeshop.com

Since my daughter started sitting unassisted we setup a play area up against our bed for her and proped up a few pillows so that she doesn’t hit her head on the frame. The pillows were grabbed from the couch and looked to grown up for her space. I decided to give them some new covers to make them more kid friendly (ie. washable!) and to give her something interesting to look at.

We found this great animal print that matches her bed set and picked up a few extra yards of yellow and blue as accents. I wanted to do something different for each pillow and created different stripes and blocks of color. The backs are overlaps (similar to our own embe pillow covers!) so that they can be removed and washed if soiled.

I also wanted to add a personal touch and created a “birth pillow” (you can see it peeking out behind in the photo). I was inspired by some of the posters I saw on ohdeeoh.com. I used inDesign to layout the words with her name, birth day, time, and weight. Then I printed it on iron-on transfer paper in order to place it on the pillow.

My daughter really finds it interesting to look at and enjoys touching it… which has made the iron on transfer start to peel. Hehe. I guess it’s going to be more for decoration then use!

We’ve only been using them for a few days but I think they really help define her play area (not that the toys don’t already do that!) and help keep her safe.

Cathy and I would like to thank everyone for your overwhelming show of support for our business venture! We’ve received the most wonderful emails and comments from friends, family and even a new customer! We also received some great suggestions and product ideas so please keep them coming!

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