Last Call to Enter

The GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

It is seven o'clock central time on July 9th, and I thought I would remind everyone out there who reads this blog that the GIVEAWAY CONTEST IS STILL GOING ON!

We have some great prizes, including your very own limited edition Hush Baby Toy. Would you like to win it? You know you would. Here's how you can:

Click the FOLLOW button or leave your email in the FOLLOW BY EMAIL to connect with this blog.

Tell your friends to do the same! Once they are following this blog, have them leave a comment on one of the posts telling me who recruited them.

Both the most recent follower AND the person who recruited them will win a prize! Hurry now to be in the running!
QUICK LIKE BUNNIES!


And speaking of bunnies, I have new toys done. True, none of them are bunnies, but they are just as adorable. When I get the photos taken and put up tomorrow, you will have proof that I do not lie.

Also, I have started the countdown for our big move back to Minnesota. Only a few more weeks to go! To be honest, I will be really sad to leave the area we live in now - everything is so convenient and safe and friendly, and with my husband's parents so close, we always have a lot of fun. Even so, I know our new home will be delightful, and can't even tell you how absolutely excited I am to be living in an actual house (right now the three of us all squish into an efficiency apartment that consists of one large room and a teeny tiny space that is not a legal bedroom because it has no windows. Our apartment is also in  a basement, so there is no natural light). What am I looking forward to the most? Having space to stretch out and play and SUNLIGHT! Bring it on! I can't wait for that. I probably won't be hanging curtains for a long time just because I will be revelling in the fact that we will no longer live like moles.

And on that note, I had best get back to work doing stuff that keeps me busy. Have a wonderful evening!

And now for something a little different

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've updated, I know. Busy busy busy.

Busy doing what, exactly? Well, I have been working on a new HBT, but that's not what I'm writing about. Actually, most of my time lately has been taken up by this:

It's a mobile for my daughter. There is a story here:

My husband's grandmother used to make quilts. When she died several years ago, the quilt in the background was found among her belongings. Nobody knew who is was made for, so for my daughter's first Christmas, my mother-in-law gave it to her. This quilt has since become THE BLANKY. You know what I mean. That blanky that some kids have that is so important. My baby girl won't sleep without it. Since she has been born, we have always had to share a bedroom, so she hasn't had a space to call her own that can be decorated just for her.

Until now. Now that my husband and I are moving into a beautiful three bedroom house in Minnesota, our daughter will have her very own space. So I am going a little nuts deciding how to decorate it. Since she loves her blanky and being outside, I've decided a shabby-chic garden theme. Now shabby-chic isn't really my aesthetic, but for babies I think it's really cute.

I've been seeing some really cute fabric birds online lately, and I thought they'd make a really cute mobile. I dug through my mother-in-law's scrap box and found some coordinating colors and prints. I was even lucky enough to find scraps of two prints from her quilt. They must have been found with the quilt.

 

I cut out bird shapes and stitched them together with a very basic running stitch, with the seam on the outside for a cute  shabby-chic look. I had to use clear nail polish on the seams to keep them from fraying. I made a couple of french knots with embroidery floss for eyes, and voila! Adorable little birdy.

I cut some scraps from the same fabric and hot glued them around a large embroidery hoop. Then I threaded beads and birds onto thread and strung them onto the hoop.

I am REALLY happy with how it's turned out. I can't wait to hang it in her room. There are some other things I also want to make to go in her room, but tonight I think I will return to knitting and finish up the HBT I have been working on.

Until later- I hope you are having a fabulous day, and DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR CONTEST! Last day is July 10!

Follow by Email!

Hello and good afternoon to everyone out there! Hope your day is as lovely as mine is shaping up to be. This must be a quick post, as I have a little one getting all sticky while eating watermelon for lunch.

I just wanted to let you all know that you can now follow Hush Baby Toys via email! On the Right hand side of this blog, right next to the posts, you should be able to see a "Follow by Email" sign. Now I haven't tried it out yet, but I think you should be able to put your email address into that little box and hit enter and voila! You will get emails on updates.  This will be especially helpful for anyone participating in the contest (there are still only a lonely five followers. Hoping for at least a few more by the 10th). Now, instead of requiring a blogger or google account, you should be able to follow this blog regardless of what email you use.

And now I have a very sweet, very sticky baby to clean off, and we are out the door to play. Have a lovely day!

New Toys!

It's just like Christmas, isn't it!? Well, sort of. It's nearly as exciting at least.

There is a new addition to the SHOP! Several days ago and a few posts back I posted a bunch of names that were clues to the animals I was making. One of the names on the list is Doyle. Now I have a habit of naming the animals I make after authors that I associate with the names. So. Doyle. I'll give you a moment to put in any last guesses as to what animal it is.


Ready? Here we go. Without further ado, I present the newest addition to the Hush Baby Toys line:

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Get it? Doyle! Like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As in Sherlock Holmes. And...wait for it...HOUND of the Baskervilles. Eh? Eh? It's clever and you know it.


Yes I know there were probably clearer connections I could have made when thinking of the name, but to be honest I was on kind of a Sherlock Holmes kick when I started making him, and it seemed the cutest animal I could draw from the series.

Anyway, currently Doyle is residing in my house, even as his image is residing in the SHOP section of this blog. I encourage you strongly to adopt him today! His ears, paws, and the tip of his tail are knit with super soft 100% cotton, and his ears are garter-stitch (I'm learning the technical terms for the stitches I've taught myself) making them really fun and tactile for little hands.

You may also notice the price of Doyle is less than the other animals I've had in my shop. I'm still playing with prices to see what will go best online. Please bear with me until I find the sweet spot.

Once again, thank you to my fantastically talented sister-in-law for the lovely photos, and to Picnik for making it ridiculously easy to make a simple product collage.

Also, don't forget about the GIVEAWAY! All you have to do is hit that little FOLLOW button on the side of this blog and tell your friends to do the same. I am trying to get 50 followers by July 10th. I have been informed that this might not be possible. If we don't reach 50, then I will give one prize to the most recent person to join and the other to the person who has recruited the most followers. This means that if you want the ADORABLE elephant Rudy (short for Rudyard. As in Kipling - get it?) you need to get out there and do your part! In case you have forgotten just how cute the first prize is, let me remind you:

Until later, have a good one!

Another reminder

about the giveaway! The poster has the basic rules. Please comment if I've left anything out. Good luck!

CONTEST GIVEAWAY NO. 1

That's right all!

I believe I have mentioned that I was thinking of doing a giveaway, well here it is! A giveaway! Just for you!

And I have some fabulous prizes, but first the setup:

Look to the left of this page. You might have to scroll down a bit. What do you see? Well, if you're like me, you will see that this blog only has five followers. Now I'm not complaining. Five is a good number. But I feel it might just be a little lonely. Wouldn't it be happier if there was, oh, say, a zero there to keep it company? I think so. And that's our goal.

GET 50 FOLLOWERS ON THIS BLOG.

So here is where the contest comes into play. I want all of you out there to recruit followers for this blog. Here's how we'll do it.

1. RECRUIT - you recruit everyone you can think of to follow this blog. Have them click the little FOLLOW button.
2. COMMENT - Have the people you've recruited leave a comment somewhere on this blog to say they're following and WHO RECRUITED THEM. This is how you'll get credit for recruiting, so don't leave this step out!

When I see that the numbers have reached 50 followers, TWO PEOPLE WILL GET A PRIZE! The last person to join (the fiftieth follower) AND the person who recruited them. THAT COULD MEAN YOU!

And what are the prizes, you ask? Well, let me show you.

The fiftieth follower will get their choice of one of these:

These adorable baby rattles are made by my awesome sister-in-law. They are large and easy to grab for older babies who just love "shake-uh-shake-uhs" as we call them around here. The ring is about the same size as the bottom ring of a rainbow stacker (to give you a size idea).

The recruiter will receive the awesome elephant in the picture above. Here he is again, if you need a reminder of just how cute he is:

Rudy is not your average Hush Baby Toy. He is a very special edition HBT. Made from a teriffic teal yarn, Rudy stands about 9" from head to toe, or 10" from the tip of his ears to his toes (a full 2" taller than the standard HBT) and about 6" wide. The Rudy pictured above is going to my very wonderful nephew in California, and is featured with black button eyes (he also has no sachet inside him). If you wish, your Rudy will come to you with a lavender sachet in his tummy and the classic Hush Baby Toys closed eyes, all ready for a nap with your little one.


Since this is the first contest Hush Baby Toys has ever held, let's give it two weeks. Winners will be announced July 10th, and prizes will be sent out the 11th.

Good luck and GET OUT THERE!

Just a quick hello!

Good morning, all of you out there in the inter-world. Hope your morning is going as well as mine.

Happy to report that my daughter is now back to sleeping through the night. She used to do this quite easily, but has recently gone through a phase where she'd be up a couple of times a night. My husband and I have really worked hard to get her on a set napping and eating schedule, and I'm glad to say it has paid off and carried over to her sleeping schedule too. She is now sleeping easily through the night almost every night. This means I am getting a much better sleep as well.

Of course for every good news, the universe must balance itself with a little bad news. In this case the bad news is that I have managed to injure my knee. At some point last week while I was visiting my folks in Minnesota, I did something to my knee, and I'm still in a lot of pain. I was pretty active while I was there, so I'm not sure what exactly I did, but a week and a half later, I am wondering at what point I need to see a doctor.

But enough of that. In other news, I dropped off four new toys at the Mom and Pop Place in Neenah, WI. We'll see if they sell like the last four did. FINGERS CROSSED!

There also may be a contest and giveaway in the near future. It will depend on things. Keep an eye out!

But right now the baby is sitting in her seat eating a good morning snack, so I had better go. Overandout!