10 Amazing Nursery Ideas For Your Baby Girl (Take 2!)

Oops, sorry if you got a notification for a new post and either saw a draft or nothing at all! I guess I pulled a “Jenna” and hit publish too soon. Thanks to my neighbor Sandy for pointing it out to me haha!

Anyway, I’ve been pinning so many cute nursery ideas to Pinterest that I thought I’d show you a few! All of these pics link to the original Etsy listing or blog post, so go check them out. You can also find these and lots more fun ideas on my “Baby Girl Nursery” board on Pinterest – so make sure to follow me to keep up to date on fun new stuff that I add!

10 Amazing Ideas for Your Baby Girl’s Nursery, by Rural*ish on Pinterest

1) Hang a custom sign on her wall, like this one (who doesn’t love a sleeping babe!):

Baby girl nursery sign handmade by Ellison Made on Etsy

2) Or this “Isn’t She Lovely” one (I’m humming a little ditty in my head!):

Handmade baby girl nursery sign by Lost Sock Designs on Etsy

3) She’s got a whole world of possibilities ahead of her! Add this hand-painted, custom globe to a shelf or changing table:

Custom globe handmade by Pretty Little Doodads on Etsy

4) Speaking of changing tables, re-paint a vintage dresser in a modern color for a fun alternative to your big box store changing table!

Vintage dresser-turned-changing table image courtesy of Liz Marie Blog

5) I love how these pretty baby blankets look stacked in a wire basket:

Image Courtesy of Project Nursery

6) My Rural*ish “Adelynn” baby rag quilt looks pretty awesome in a wire basket too!

Baby girl rag quilt by Rural*ish on Etsy

7) I LOVE this scrappy fabric baby mobile – so much soft loveliness for Baby to stare up at!

Baby girl scrappy fabric mobile by The Glittered Barn on Etsy

8) Or this feather dream catcher baby mobile – swoon!

Baby nursery dream catcher mobile by The Big Sky Place on Etsy

9) And finally, add a little personalized touch with a monogram for baby. I love the shabby chicness (is that a word?) of this pink and lace monogrammed letter:

Baby girl monogrammed letter handmade by Sea Love and Salt on Etsy

10) Or add a monogram of her full initials in a frame, like this!

Baby girl monogram image courtesy of Project Nursery

So that’s it for now, but remember to go check out my Rural*ish on Pinterest for more amazing ideas I’ve found!

So I went to write a blog post…

…and ended up just changing my theme, haha. Well, it’s a step in the right direction, anyway. More blog posts (hopefully) coming soon. When I figure out what to write.

P.S. Hi, Uncle Jeff

“Brave One” now available in my shop!

The Rural*ish “Brave One” rag quilt is based on a baby quilt I made for my friend Danielle, who just had her third (!) little boy – Asher. This little one will have to be a Brave One indeed to keep up with his two rambunctious big brothers!

This rag quilt is so so modern & graphic with its black and white tribal and geometric patterns!

If you read this post about starting up my Etsy shop, you may remember that Danielle is a very creative mama who also LOVES fabric. Here are the fabrics that she picked for Asher’s crib:

Asher’s bumper fabric

Asher’s sheet fabric

I got sucked into a fabric vortex on this one, in part because the PRESSURE WAS ON making a quilt for a fellow fabric fiend. Tribal is all the rage right now but it was surprisingly hard to find 5 coordinating tribal prints that matched Asher’s nursery. So I decided to go straight black and white, which I’d never done before, and I. LOVE. IT!!!!

Turns out even black and white was difficult – who knew? I spent hours and hours looking for the perfect black and white arrows that were the right proportion. This was my first attempt (below) – the top feather/arrow fabric is actually more of a muddy gray and the white (in person) was more creamy – can you see how it doesn’t quite match? No can do.

My second attempt at arrows I decided I would splurge and pay twice as much for Spoonflower fabric, which is where all of the really awesome arrow fabrics seem to live. After waiting weeks for the fabric to arrive, my heart sank when I ripped open the envelope and saw arrows that were way too gigantic. I didn’t even take a picture of it, I was so mad!

So then I gave up and decided to just go with 4, which turned out just great.

I almost went with a gold back to match the crib bedding but we ended up with green because it matches Asher’s dresser almost perfectly.

Brave One’s finished size is roughly 32×40. This size is perfect for a baby shower gift, tummy time, a play date at the park, cartoon watching, or to use in the carseat or stroller, like this little brave one:…isn’t he ferocious?! This lil hunk o’ cheeks is how I get my baby fix these days!

Here’s what Asher’s mama said about his quilt:

“I absolutely LOVE Asher’s ‘Brave One’! Cannot say enough awesome things about my Rural*ish rag quilt.”

 

via CUSTOMIZE IT Black and white tribal geometric rag by ruralish.

 

 

 

 

P.S. I’m linking up with “Show and Tell Tuesday” at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics – go check out some other fun projects!

Dutch Oven Peach Dump Cake

We are fairly new to dutch oven cooking around here but take the chance to practice every time we go camping. Really, I should be practicing in my back yard but haven’t gotten that hard core about it yet! We are coming into camping season here in Northern California…in fact, our first camping trip is a little over a month away! My friends and I already have our menus planned…that’s how seriously we take our camping food, haha. So that got me thinking about what sort of dutch oven deliciousness I should make, which reminded me of the peach dump cake we made on the same trip last year…

Cooking with view – you can’t beat it!

This recipe was super easy, even for us newbies (a-hem…that’s why they call it “dump” cake…you literally just dump everything in), and you really cannot beat eating a warm (paper) bowl of peachy deliciousness in camp!

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 50-60 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: barbequelovers.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of peaches – homemade canned peaches are even better
• butter
• 1 vanilla cake mix
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• oil or shortening

Directions:

1. Lightly coat the inside of the dutch oven with cooking oil or shortening
2. Pour the peaches into the dutch oven
3. Pour the dry vanilla cake mix on top of the peaches
4. Add several pats of butter evenly spaced on the dry cake mix – about 5-6 total
5. Lightly dust the top of the dry cake mix with the cinnamon and brown sugar, to taste

Place 8-10 briquettes on the bottom of the dutch oven and 18-20 pieces on top of the oven.

Cook for ~38 minutes and check to see if it is done. It will be done if you can put a fork in the cake mix and the fork comes out clean. If it is not done, check again every 5 minutes.

Need I warn you that this will be HOT?! So please be careful. 🙂

This was so, so yummy but I will tell you that it is very sweet with the store bought peaches. We like things a little less sweet, so last summer I planned (way) ahead and canned some peaches for this summer’s dutch oven treats. That way I could control the sweet factor. Nothing like being prepared! If you are not a canner and don’t want it too sweet, I would buy peaches in light syrup.

Enjoy, and happy camping!

 

 

 

 

P.S. Want more dutch oven inspiration? Follow my “Dutch Oven” Pinterest board!

 

Work in Progress Wednesday – Canyon Lake Rag Quilt

Last I left you all, I had just finished up my “Canyon Lake” rag quilt kit for my mom. I loved that fabric so much that I’m sewing one up for my Etsy shop, too!

Pretty fabric+Pandora+the right tools=Mama’s happy place!

I’ve been in Fabric Land this week, which is one of my favorite places to be! I’ve got a couple of projects going on right now. I just finished this one up tonight, which is a kit for my mom to sew up. She asked for my help picking fabrics for her neighbor’s upcoming grandbaby. Baby’s parents are are young and hip (Mommy is a clothing designer for Gap – the pressure’s on, gulp!) and are going with a coral theme. You just KNOW that I had lots of ideas! I gave Mom several to choose from, and this is what we ended up with:

So. Gorgeous! I love how it clearly reads “coral” but is not over the top with it. It’s also hip and trendy, in an understated classic way. The chevron print brings in some modern funk and geometric pop to the softer florals.

We decided to go with a creamy muslin for the back. We talked about a coral back but Mom liked the idea of keeping it light, and so do I. You might say, “cream, for a baby blanket?”! But my quilts are meant to be used & really do get softer and softer the more you wash them so why not!

Way back in the day, my mom turned me on to chenille rag quilts, and we’ve each sewn a ton of those over the years. When I saw my little niece’s rag quilt in this “new” style about 8 years ago, my mom was the first one I told, I just couldn’t believe how COOL it was! I am really not a seamstress (seriously, what’s a pattern?), so Mom and I talked through it and she helped me figure out how to do it. At the time though, we thought we had to use flannel to get the raggy look, so for many years that’s how I made them for my friends. But, let’s face it, there are not as many fun and modern fabric options with flannel! I do see more and more fun flannels coming out, but at the time it felt pretty limited. So when I discovered that I could use cotton quilting fabric and still get that raggy look, a whole new world opened up, and I was hooked!

I offered to sew the quilt up for Mom, but she really wants to do it herself. There is just something about handmade gifts that are so special, and these neighbors mean the world to her so it really had to come from her. So, I decided I would make her up a rag quilt kit. This was my original idea for my Etsy shop, and something that I will likely add into my shop as I get up and running. For people who know how to sew (even beginners!), rag quilt kits are a great place to start because the boring, tedious parts are already done and you can jump straight to the fun part -sewing!

See? Doesn’t ironing look tedious?

But the pias were napping, the windows were open on a beautiful sunny day, and I was listening “Mom music” on Pandora (probably Gregory Alan Isakov, which I could listen to allll day, much to PIA’s chagrin, haha) – so I’m in my happy place here!

It was a productive naptime. I got the front fabrics ironed and cut up. You know, with my skinny Old School metal ruler (which is actually a step up from the wooden yard stick that I’ve been using for years).

That was so yesterday.

Today, I bought THIS (a treat for myself for making my first sales!), and my life is changed FOREVER.

Where have you been all my life, Omnigrid? Oh yah, that’s right. I was afraid that I couldn’t figure out how to use you. Thank goodness for YouTube!

And here it is, a kit for Mom:

I loved the fabrics so much, I decided to make a rag quilt for my shop, too. I’ll be calling this one “Canyon Lake” because that’s where I’m hoping to see this new little baby all wrapped up in my mom’s rag quilt!

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with Fresh Squeezed Fabrics’ “Show and Tell Tuesday“.

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I don’t baby my rag quilts – I USE them! This is my “Delta Breeze” rag quilt when we went camping in Yosemite a few years back. I used it for picnics, covering the pias up when it got a little chilly, and adding a little glam to our campsite. Pia1 even took a nap on it under a nice shady tree at a rest stop on our way home. When we got back, I just threw it in the washer and it got even raggier and softer! Sigh…this is making me want to go camping!

Treasury Tuesday: My peek at Pantone’s radiant orchid on Etsy

“Radiant Orchid” is Pantone’s color of the year 2014 and the color reminds me of my “Sorella” baby girl rag quilt. Turns out lots of other Etsians think it’s pretty, too – click through to check them out!

“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”  –Pantone’s color of the year 2014

So many fun shops on Etsy – check them out!

The little rag quilt that could: How my baby sister, beautiful fabric, and Instagram helped build my confidence and get me moving

When my Lil Sis asked me to make a baby rag quilt and coordinating big sister quilt for one of her besties, I was stoked! I hadn’t had an excuse to sew in a long time, and I had been pinning, pinning, pinning pretty fabrics with no project to use them on. She wanted a baby size rag quilt for the baby (good for tummy time, the carseat, stroller, and crib), and a smaller “foofy” (her word, not mine, I swear) version of it for Big Sissy so that she felt special, too. What a fun idea!

We started at the very beginning of the process together, which was new for me because I usually have complete control over the fabrics I choose and how they all come together. I wasn’t exactly sure how it would all work, but everything flowed naturally and smoothly from the very beginning.

First, I showed Lil Sis a boatload of fabric ideas from my (super secret) Pinterest boards and she narrowed it down to a handful of ones she liked.

Then I put those fabrics into a layout so she could see how they would look all together, like this:

Next, she hid in the stairwell at her work and called me, ecstatic. She oooo’d, she ahhhh’d, she gushed! So I took that as a “yes” and got down to business.

I ordered the fabric…sigh, it kinda just makes my heart stop.

I cut it up, and I got to sewing.

And as I was sewing I began to feel some familiar feelings….like that, “Hey, I LIKE doing this!” feeling!

That, “Hey, this is so beautiful!” (tingly) feeling!

That, “Hey, that’s right, I’m GOOD at this!” feeling!

And finally, that “Wow, these rag quilts are ah-mazing” feeling!

Baby sister rag quilt

Big sister rag quilt

Along the way I kept Lil Sis up to date on the progress on Instagram, which was also new for me. It was a really fun way to engage my “client” in the process and to build anticipation and enthusiasm for her final rag quilts.

@ruralish: Creatin’ @lilsis: 😍 can’t wait!!

@lilsis: ❤

@lilsis: I think the butterflies are my favorite now ☺

@ruralish: All sewn up & ready to snip! @lilsis: “Beautiful Sis!”

@lilsis: ❤

@ruralish: Home stretch! @lilsis: “This is the sneak peek I showed her!”

@ruralish: All done! @lilsis: “I want it now!!! Need to enjoy it before it goes to its new family!! 😍 thank u Sis, it’s absolutely beautiful, I can’t believe how you carried out my vision perfectly, you’re such a pro! ❌❤️❌❤️ 😘😘😘😂”

@ruralish: Almost ready to mail! My sis wants me to send it 1 day mail because she can’t stand to wait, haha. @lilsis: “It’s been so fun making it with u from afar, I’m very excited to see them all finished up, just can’t wait!”

@ruralish: Final journey to Baby & Big Sissy! @lilsis: ❤

Since Lil Sis lives about an hour and a half away, I had to mail the rag quilts, which was a good exercise for me to go through since I hadn’t done that before (and quite, frankly, mailing was one of the “issues” that was hanging up my shop). I tied them up nice and cute:

Packed them up nicely:

And mailed them off!

And everyone LOVED THEM! ❤

After YEARS of overthinking everything there was to overthink about opening my Etsy shop, this whole process was a major confidence booster for me! I realized how well sewing rag quilts fits in with my life as a stay at home mom – even if I am sewing 15-20 minutes here and there or after everyone is asleep, it’s getting done. I remembered how much I enjoy sewing – it’s cathartic and forces me to sit down and zone out for a little while (a MUST with a 5 and 3 year old to keep up with). Seeing my sister’s enthusiasm along the way, her joy to give these handmade gifts to her friends, and her friends’ reactions, I was reminded how EXCITED people get about my rag quilts and how much they enjoy receiving them!

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I am calling this rag quilt “Sorella”, which is Italian for “sister”, because there are a bunch of sisters in this rag quilt story! Also, I think it’s pretty. 🙂

“Playdate” rag quilt is featured in an Etsy treasury (yay!)

I’m so excited! My baby boy “Playdate” rag quilt was featured in an Etsy treasury! See it? See it? Third row down, fourth pic over. Thanks “crazyforstitching“! ❤

This is encouraging because it means that:

1. crazyforstitching most likely did a search for “baby boy” and actually found my listings, so my item descriptions and tags are working,
2. She liked one of my rag quilts enough to include it in her treasury, and
3. Treasuries mean more exposure! Of course, every shop needs exposure, but Rural*ish is only a week old so I will take what I can get!

All around a good confidence booster for this Etsy newbie. 🙂

I finally did it – my Etsy shop is OPEN!

After three years of daydreaming about it, talking about it, over-thinking it, over-analyzing it, over what-if-ing it, and basically stalling, I finally, FINALLY opened up my Rural*ish Etsy shop! To say I’m just a little bit excited is an understatement. What a relief to get over this first hurdle. There is still lots to figure out and do, but it feels so good to see my little shop open and full of the quilts that I’ve been working hard sewing over the last couple of months!

Lots of family and friends have encouraged me over the last few years, but this year was a tipping point thanks to a few key people.

First, PIA got an idea that he wanted more mountain biking trails in our town. First he started a blog, then a Facebook page, and basically just put one foot in front of the other. In less than a year he has built tremendous local support for his cause and his first trail project is in the works! It’s been so inspiring watching him work on something that he is passionate about and turning a little pipe dream into a reality. It’s kind of hard not to feel like a slacker with my own little pipe dream when I’m around him, haha. Most importantly, I saw first-hand that you do not have to have everything “figured out” to move forward…you just figure out the first step, then move on to the next. PIA also nudges me when he knows I’m stalling…which I get mad about until I realize that he’s usually right, haha.

Watching PIA work to get new trails in our town is inspiring. He didn’t have things “all figured out” when he first started.

Then, there’s my friend Danielle, who hosts the cutest, most ah-mazing kids birthday parties ever. She and her friend had this little idea to open a local party prop business. These two girls worked their booties off, and Pinwheels and Polka Dots was born. Danielle also sews and is a die-hard Etsy fan, so having her around to bounce creative ideas off of is invaluable.

My friend Danielle is is so creative and inspiring! She turned her creativity into a party prop business. She also loves Etsy!

Then there’s my friend Abby, who is my only live-and-in-person friend who has an Etsy store. “Hukapino Baby” sells the cutest, softest burp clothes for your little one. Abby is so matter of fact about running an Etsy store (well, about everything actually, haha) and has this “get over yourself and just do it” attitude that made my stalling seem utterly ridiculous.

My friend Abby has an Etsy store and a “can do” attitude that is contagious.

I reached my tipping point a couple of months ago when my baby sister asked me to sew a baby quilt and matching big sister quilt for one of her besties. I hadn’t had an excuse to make a quilt in awhile, so I was excited! At first I was most excited to pick out pretty fabric, because you all know how much I loooovve pretty fabric – any excuse is a good one! I had so much fun with my sister, not only picking out pretty fabric but also sewing it up and keeping her updated along the way on Instagram. I realized how well this business fits in with my life as a stay at home mom, and it was enlightening to see how she responded to the process along the way. My sis was so excited to see it all come together and to finally receive it in the mail (she didn’t even want to unwrap it because it looked so pretty and she didn’t want to mess it up)! When she passed it on to her friend it was like I had my first real-life customer. And. It. Felt. GOOD.

When my sister commissioned some baby quilts from me it was like I had my first real live customer – and it felt GOOD!

I am a big believer in signs, so with all of these signs coming at me, it was hard NOT listen up, get over myself, and finally open my shop!

Now let’s go sell something! I’ll keep you posted along the way as I figure things out….

P.S. Family and friends, if you at any time over the last three years got to listen to me yammer about “maybe someday” (probably more than once if you’re around me enough!), thank you so much for listening and for your support! It means the world. 🙂