gifts for the birthday girl (and a whole lot of slackin').

i made madelynn a doll cradle and quilt for her birthday. i decided that since it was such a small quilting project, i would make up a super technical design for practice and then do it all wrong because i don't actually take the time to look up how-to's. it's terribly messy--so don't look too closely--but i was actually pleasantly surprised by the result. i didn't actually quilt it though. once i finished piecing together the top and making the binding (for the first time, woo-hoo!!), i decided to forgo the quilting part, fearing i would ruin all my hard work. plus, i don't know how to do it and didn't want to look it up. ;)

the cradle was so amazingly simple once i worked out my design, which there isn't much to. because my head nearly exploded every time i bent over (we suffered a major sinus bug around here for about a week!), my parents graciously helped with the power tools this time (my hubs would have helped, but he's been super busy with things like being a rock star and growing out his 'stache).

 i wanted it to look very natural and kinda vintage, so i didn't paint it. plus, i wasn't sure which kinds of paints/stains are best for children's toys and the environment and didn't have the time to look it up.

i ended up ordering some of this beeswax polish to finish the cradle. and i'm in love.

so are my wooden spoons. 

(only the top spoon is polished in the photo).

:)