Don't you agree?
I don't know that I've ever seen such adorable baby boy shoes. Now, I just have to see if they can accomodate his extra wide, extra thick, Fred Flintstone feet! I spotted the shoes at Livie & Luca.
Cute, classic little boy clothing and shoes can be so hard to find sometimes. Everything seems to be licensed with TV and Disney characters, and that drives me insane. Insane, I tell you! So happy to have found these cutie shoes for his little tootsies.
If Sam could talk, he would have said: Mama, I am NOT going to smile. No way. I won't even make eye contact with this bearded fellow. You can meow and bark and dance around and do all of the things that make me belly laugh at home. They are just not going to work here. Anyway, you look ridiculous doing that in the middle of the mall. Get me off of here. Who is this guy anyway? Mama, I'm going to count to 3, and then I'll start crying really hard.....
Meanwhile, Mario was all about making sure Santa knew he wanted Buzz Lightyear and clay. Clay? Like, as in Play-Doh? Or serious clay? Guess I better go back to the craft store this weekend. And, as you can see, he was quite happy to force his fake smile for the camera! I can't wait for Christmas morning to see his face when he opens his presents. Cannot wait.
My sweet baby boy is already 10 months old, and I never did show you his nursery. Where does the time go? He's crawling everywhere now and walking while holding onto furniture. He laughs like crazy when Mario makes funny faces. He smiles all the time. Smiling Sam. That's his nickname.
I have his room decorated in a pale green/cream/light blue color scheme with a classic vintage baby theme. That's my dad (also a Sam) in the picture below.
See that afghan up there on the chair? My Great-Grandmother crocheted it when I was born, and it's still in perfect condition for Sam to use. {On a side note, why it is blue and not pink, I have no idea! Maybe that was the only color yarn she had left. Although, now that I think about it, my room as a baby was light blue. My mom said the carpet in the room was blue, and they couldn't afford to replace it, so I got a blue room. Clearly, I was pink-deprived as a little girl, so I'm making up for it now!}
Anyway......here are some sweet little details from his nursery. I tend to use a lot of baskets, dishes, trays all around the house to hold or store things. This is one of 5 diaper baskets.....one in almost every room!
Sam is using the same bedding that Mario used as a baby. I couldn't really find what I wanted so I had it made. The fabric is called Circus Toile and has little scenes of animals at the circus. I like that it is fun and childlike yet classic.
Knowing I would never find coordinating valances, I sewed the window treatments, a simple tab-top, lined valance. Took me forever. You would've thought I was sewing a fully lined 3-piece suit.
Little bits of vintage here and there. I got the "Goodnite Sam" wooden block idea from the book, Flea Market Baby. Do you know that book? Oh, I love it! It's full of inspiration if you like a vintage-y look for a nursery.
Some cherished baby books made by my friends Pam and Dana.
On the walls, I mainly hung pictures of family members as babies. Among them are baby pictures of my mom, my dad, my grandfather, George, his mom, and also a picture of me. I scanned them all and converted them to sepia to unify the collection of portraits. Here is a picture of George's sweet mother, Angelina, taken in Italy back in the 1940's. Doesn't she look like porcelain doll?
The baby picture below is my Grandfather, Eugene. I recently had Sam's portraits taken in this same pose and placed both pictures on a shelf in his hutch.
My friend Lisa sent Sam the wooden blocks when he was born. The sides of the blocks are inscribed with his birth date, newborn statistics, and a welcome message. I LOVE this gift! You can get them here.
Here's a shot of the side of one of the blocks.
This special painting hangs above Sam's crib. It was painted by my dear friend Holly, and I absolutely adore it. I cannot get over how talented she is. I wish I could paint like this. I told her she needs to sell her paintings, like she used to. {but I know it's a LOT of work}. She may still do custom orders, but I'm not sure. If you're interested you could email her to find out.
Maybe my Sam will have a son named Sam someday and he can hang the painting in his nursery. I like to think about stuff like that.
Here's a detail shot of the froggie and the branch. Isn't is adorable?
I stitched this fabric bunting about 4 years ago, when I was preparing for Mario's arrival. I made it several yards long and have some hanging in the play room also.
A different angle:
And here is the changing table/dresser/hutch full of vintage baby pottery, books, animals and other baby things. {I'm looking forward to using this piece in my little studio space one day when I'm all done having babies.}
That's about it for Sam's Place. I do hope you enjoyed the tour!
Lots of NEW shop goodies coming soon. {Sweets, Halloween and Autumn items, all new ribbons, and more.}
Have a wonderful Monday!
....showing you some pictures I took today.
Oh, I could just eat him up.
I just can't believe Sam is a month old already. I finally got all of his birth announcements made and mailed. I was planning to purchase them and then managed to convince myself at the last minute that I needed to make them. I always prefer something handmade, but just didn't know if I was up to it. I did them little by little, whenever I could squeeze in a little crafting time. It felt good to create something, and I'm so glad I did. These are pretty simple, but just perfect for the occasion! After all, I sent out 75 of these babies, so I was not looking for something complicated. My kitchen table has looked like this for 3 weeks. Glad to have it all cleaned up. I will not, however, be making my Christmas cards this year! Mark my words......
Thank you all for the Baby Love. We enjoyed reading all of the comments and well wishes you left for our family and sweet Sam. He sure is snuggly and we pretty much hold him and kiss him non-stop! He doesn't seem to mind though. He'll be 2 weeks old tomorrow, and I wish I could stop the clock and keep him teeny tiny forever.
After I posted the previous post, "Introducing Baby Sam", I went back to read it again and realized that an entire section I had typed was not there. It was about my husband, George, and Sam. I'm not sure if I accidentally deleted it or what.....but I felt so bad that it was not there. And there wasn't a single picture of George in the entire post. So, I decided it was meant to be that the portion got deleted and that he deserved his own post anyway. So, here is what was supposed to be in the last post but wasn't.
Sam arrived 6 days early and is a special gift for all of us, but especially for George since he was born on George's birthday, October 30th! We couldn't get over it! Of all the days in the year, he came on his papa's birthday. I think it's so sweet that they will share that special day every year. And this year will certainly be a memorable birthday for George.
He was such a wonderful support for me this entire pregnancy. I was in much more pain than I was with Mario throughout the pregnancy and also the labor. Toward the end, he did everything for me, and never once complained about a bit of it. I'm a lucky girl. I don't want to gush on and on about my husband, but I just wanted to make sure he got the acknowledgment that he so very much deserves. Thanks, honey, for everything.
My dear friends Pam and Dana took me to dinner last week and spoiled me with so many thoughtful and special gifts for the baby. Before I show you everything, I just realized that I don't think I've told you his name! We have decided to name him Sam! (Samuel George, actually). My dad's name is Sam, and he was named after his grandfather, Salvatore Bruno Galucci. (Sam is the English version of Salvatore.) George and I are both very traditional and into family names, and I'm just sentimental that way to begin with. Mario was named after my husband's late brother Mario. The name has been in the Singarella family for many, many generations, and I'm so glad we passed it on to our son. I'm equally happy to be naming our second son after my father. It just means so much to me. I can't really explain it well in words. So, Sam it is! Now if he would just make his debut......
So, anyway, back to the baby gifts. To give you some background, Pam and Dana and I all met when we used to work at our local scrapbook store. I worked there a few years ago when I was pregnant with Mario. We are all into paper arts and tend to be drawn to a vintage style. Our styles are all different yet have a common thread running though them. I guess it is our love of old things. These pictures do not do the books justice. In person, they are even more amazing. This first album was made by Pam and is just incredible. She made a 6x6" book from layered cardstock and filled it with pockets, tags, embellishments, tabs, pictures, quotes and more. This is the cover:
And here are some of the many pages from the inside of the album:
Pam also made this precious quilted bib and burp cloth by hand. I am amazed at anyone who can do such beautiful hand stitching. I'll have to save this for very special occasions.
She got Sam some adorable newborn outfits too, but they are currently upstairs floating in a sea of Dreft. Is there anything that smells better than baby clothes washed in Dreft? I think not.
This is the fabulous album that Dana made. Just look at that cover! There is lots of space inside to add photos of the baby. She took an antique children's book (copyright 1887) and cut the covers off. Then she created her own pages using cardstock and all sorts of vintage pictures, cards, trinkets and other special items tucked inside. Here are a few close-ups of the inside pages:
Dana also bought the beautiful sterling silver spoon that is pictured above with the bib and burp cloth. How sweet is that? A silver spoon surely to be an heirloom for many generations in our family. And she found an old children's storybook called "Cowboy Sam"! It's the yellow book up in the very first photo. I think it will look cute sitting on the nightstand in the nursery.
As you can see, I am lucky to have such thoughtful (and creative) friends. These albums are very special, and I so appreciate anything made by hand. I can't wait to fill them with pictures and journalling as Sam grows and changes. Thank you, my dear friends for taking so much time and care to create these gifts. I will treasure them.
