I've moved...

I've made a brand new blog so that I can share everything I make and not just "Paper and Ribbons"ey stuff.

http://whilehenrynaps.blogspot.com.au/

So come on over and update your reader links :)

Bebe Bouton is a success!

4 months ago I announced our plans to launch Bebe Bouton, a store full of our handmade goodies just for little boys. Well, since opening we have been so shocked at how popular our pieces are! Every market we've done, we've had so many mums come up to us and say how happy they are someone's finally catering for boys. And THAT is why we're doing what we're doing.

Lately it's been so super cold in Melbourne, so I started making some beanies. The bear beanies started it all and since then I've made dinosaurs, cupcakes, vikings, knights, aviators, mario, giraffes, elephants, strawberries.... so many awesome beanies, and not just for kids!

A peak at what I've been making at Bebe Bouton

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported us these past few months and helped us to become the business we are today.

This week I have so many orders to catch up on and today's project is an Owl Mobile (you might have seen the one I made for Button's nursery) in greens and blues. I couldn't find the right colours in 4ply (damn you Spotlight) so had to use 8ply, which meant the owls are wayyyyy too big. Luckily I found another amigurumi pattern that's working (thank you Ravelry - I can always count on you).

So, I'd better get back to it. Go check out Bebe Bouton :)

{Guest Post} A Guide of What to Wear this Wedding Season

When it comes to dressing for a wedding it can be difficult to choose the right outfit. There are so many grey areas on what not to wear that it’s hard to keep up. With wedding fashion constantly changing and brides opting for alternative colours to white on their wedding day, do the traditional rules still apply? In short the answer is yes as upstaging the bride and groom is still the ultimate ‘don’t’ of wedding fashion mishaps.

Images from Asos

When it comes to the big day it’s best to keep your outfit as simple as possible and opt for seasonal colours. In summer pastel shades are the perfect choice, if you want to go for patterned dresses choose a floral design or a dress with a subtle feature such as a detailed collar. In the winter season opt for darker shades such as red or purple. A wedding is a happy occasion so reflect that through your outfit. Keep accessories to a minimum; add a simple bracelet or necklace that compliments the outfit rather than a statement accessory. Don’t overdo your makeup especially when it comes to your eyeliner and eye shadow; remember to keep your look subtle.

The Do’s

• Opt for a subtle look on the day Keep heels low, a simple court shoe or wedge is a perfect choice
• Take note of your dress length, the shortest length should be just above the knee
• Check the invitation for the dress code
• Do incorporate appropriate fashion trends such as the peplum look

The Don’ts

• Don’t wear white or anything that could be mistaken for a wedding dress
• Don’t wear black, traditionally this is another no go colour as it represents mourning
• Don’t dress as though you are going on a night out, even if you do plan to party into the early hours
• Stay away from tiara accessories, this includes tiara like accessories like over embellished headwear and jewelled hair accessories.
• Don’t opt for the prom dress trend, prom dresses are like a pre-wedding for teens
• Don’t turn up in casual attire, this comes across like you don’t want to be part of the bride and grooms special day

by Olan on behalf of ASOS

Bebe Bouton - Announcing a new store for little boys

Hooray for little boys! I know I mentioned at the end of last year that I was planning a new venture...well we've launched! Take a look at the new brand, Bebe Bouton...

When I say "we" I mean myself and my talented sisters in law, Gubby (from Love Gubby) and Rache. We've been busy making so much cuteness just for little boys and it's ready for sale via Facebook.

We'll be at our first market this coming Saturday at Emu Plains, Balnarring, so if you're in the area, please come and say hi!!! :)

A crafty Christmas and BIG NEWS

Hey there! How was your Christmas? Well, the Norris clan decided this year was about the kids. There are so many of them now and it's only going to get worse (I assume). And boy were they spoiled!

Henry's haul - and this is just from my side of the family!

Little Button turned 6 months - how the hell did that happen? He's such a happy little boy allll the tiiiime! And he's started sleeping through the night without waking - this is one happy mummy.

Now for this month's craft - I had such a huge list of things to get done for Christmas, but as usual I overestimated how much I could get done. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does that.

A double layer christmas apron - this was so much fun to make. I made the bias binding myself and learnt to ruffle using my machine.

I've had this project half done for ages cos I got stuck on the horns, but it was so worth it. Now to make one for Daddy (at his request of course). I bought the pattern from this shop on Etsy.

My crafty SIL Gubby gave me this idea (and let me borrow her punchie and the bags from Pack It In). They all went to the awesome peeps at work.

My first real quilting project - a stocking for Button's first Christmas! Not bad huh :) The pattern is from Thimble Blossoms. I did have plans to make stockings for hubby and I too, but this one took me aaaaages. The fabric is from the Sew Stitchy line.

My first go at the famous Big Butt Baby Pants by Made By Rae with the cuuuutest christmas fabric ever. I had a bit of trouble with the puckering issue on the butt, but my next attempt was much neater:

Now...for the BIG NEWS!!!!! So for all of you mummies of little boys, have you noticed the distinct lack of cute boy stuff at markets? Well I have and it's kind of annoying. And so I've decided to open a new shop called Bebe Bouton - cos boy stuff is cute too!

Crochet clip-on bow ties - great for newborn photoshoots.

Double bow ties in three sizes for newborns, 6mo-2yrs and big boys. These will have adjustable straps.

I love my pacifier clips - no more lost dummies and they're easy to find when you're reaching to plug bubba in in the car hehe. The ones I've made before have used velcro, but I really like the ribbon. The velcro gets old pretty quickly.

I have more plans, but this is what I've made so far. I'll also be making loads of big butt baby pants and shorts in fun designs with pockets etc.

So, what do you think? I haven't officially opened the store on Etsy yet and I will probably only list the bow ties and pants on there as I'd like to focus more on doing markets. So stay tuned on facebook :)

Wedding Cake Madness

So where was I...November? Whoops.

I've been busy busy the past few weeks getting ready for yet another wedding. I was put half-in charge of the wedding cake. The lovely bride, my new SIL, had seen a cute as cupcake on Pinterest (I'm sure many of you have seen it before - the pink frosted cupcake with lace and 'i do' flag). So my other SIL and I got to work recreating 144 of them. Yep...144.

The vanilla cupcake recipe is the same as that vanilla latte cake I made a few weeks ago from Sweetapolita. The mix made just over 40 cupcakes.

30 little 'i dos'

The finished cake! Gubby frosted all of the cakes - don't they look amazing? I made the little bunting on top as well by stamping and embossing letters in bronze on each little cardstock flag and tying to kebab sticks with gold twine.

The lace is stuck onto the cupcake wrappers with edible sugar flower glue...well most of them are. I ran out with about 30 cupcakes to go and just used royal icing for the rest.

The gorgeous newlyweds and their cake. Congrats you two kids!

For bubba's outfit I made a cute bow-tie. I used this tutorial by A Lemon Squeezy Home. In the end, it was a tad too puffy and oversized for a bub. I'll make the next one smaller, although I think it kind of matched his head size...

My little pudding is 5 months old now!

I've started playing around with royal icing on cookies...not too bad.

I finished up a pair of cute booties using a gorgeous bamboo yarn. It's so soft!

And then all of a sudden Christmas is upon us - when the heck did that happen? Far out this year has zipped by. My tree this year is read and bronze. I always seem to underestimate the size of my tree hehe. I didn't really have my heart in the decorating this weekend...I think after a week at work really took it out of me.

Best cake ever..and some craft

If you ever are looking for a scrumptious vanilla cake recipe, then this is the one you need to make. The recipe is from Sweetapolita here. Oh man, it was delicious, especially topped with the latte buttercream.

Little Button is getting really good at his mini pushups and has started rolling from his tummy to his back and he even managed the other way once.

I'm still working on this quilt for him. First I had to get a clear presser foot to do the aplique around the felt letter, then I had to get a walking foot for the top stitching as it's all so thick and backed with minky. Now I'm undecided on how to quilt it. The bottom half is Humpty Dumpty so I was thinking of stitching round edged brick shapes through it, but I have no idea about the top half of Little Red Riding Hood. Any ideas?

I'm still working on this christmas apron for myself, but I finally found some fabric for the bias edging.

Yep, the starburst rug is almost done! I've joined them all and luckily each block has squared out nicely so no need to blocking. Now for the worst bit...weaving in all the loose ends. Gah.

I have some gorgeous new books to browse through and inspire me:

• Sunday Morning Quilts by the talented Amanda Jean and Cheryl
• Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey
• Women's Weekly Masterclass
• Decorating Cookies by the amazing Bridget Edwards of Bake at 350

Are you getting inspired this week? I can't wait to get stuck into making some cookies :)