Sunday Picnic in the Park- Tiffany

Last Sunday, we were finally able to hang up the winter coats and dress down in layers.  The weather was nothing short of beautiful!  We feel so cooped up all winter and we made sure to take full advantage of the 70 degree weather and sunshine.

I want to remember days like these because I realize how quick the years really do pass.  

Our twins are nearly two and it seems surreal that this milestone is so near.  I try to capture something from these moments to have something to look back on- in all the chaos of our non-stop lives, it is a reminder of things that the camera lens captured but our eyes might have missed.  We opted for a park day and a picnic to take in the weather. We get to the park near our home and start on the playground.  My husband and I chase the twins in every direction as our oldest daughter Bella begs to play tag or walk the trail.  It's a challenge to balance having two toddlers and a 7-year-old.  I sometimes know I am that overprotective mother that has to be there when my child teeters climbing up the playground stairs but it keeps me sane to be right there.  So, we work through these challenges with our outings and find ways to balance the age gap. We come to an agreement and all decide to walk the trail.  My daughter reminds us that there was a creek area and we soon find ourselves stumbling upon our new favorite place!  This creek offers a world of discovery for the twins and keeps the interest of my oldest (a big wooohooo!).  My husband tries to teach Bella how to skip rocks (something that I fail miserably at every time).  I cautiously watch on as the twins pick up rocks and dirt and throw it with all their tiny might into the creek.  I will add that we walked away with only one small rock drop on the head.  This is a win for this rowdy bunch!

As I am looking around I see happy kids- all three of them!

My mama heart is so full!  We finally are able to pull all the girls away to go to the grassy area and set up a picnic.  They were all either so excited for the picnic or so starved from all the playing, but either way they dug right in!  All the girls made their own plates and avoided fighting over the food for the most part!  The picnic came to an end when everyone started running off in different directions. I packed it all up and we loaded back in the "Tesla" or van;) As we drove away, I thought it was one of those outings that actually was a complete success.  So many times I have this idea of how I hope the things I plan will turn out- and they rarely do.  With three different personalities you can never predict what the day will bring.  But this one...it was a beautiful thing!

 

Until next time...

Xo,

Tiffany

DIY bow ties! - Heather

Wedding season is in full gear, and this year I have a very special one to look forward to.  My big sister (a.k.a. I.B., short for ‘itty bitty’) is getting married in June!  On top of this being an amazing occasion, I get to dress my little men up in some dapper finery; meaning bow ties, suspenders, and all!  They will be the adorable little ring bearers (hopefully the kind that will actually bear the ring down the aisle.)  Being the D.I.Y. person that I am, I decided to choose a fabric that would fit well with the wedding palette and construct my boys’ bow ties myself! 

I chose a pastel and gold confetti-esk print with a cream background that will complement the darker chambray shirts they will sport.  I snagged some suspenders and pretty adorable chinos from H&M that come in an array of colors and are constructed with a chino fabric, but are casual enough that my boys will wear them ragged after the wedding (something I nearly always consider when purchasing for my little ones.) 

Now…Onto the D.I.Y. portion!  (Disclaimer:  I am no professional seamstress/garment maker. This is my method and I was pleased with the final product.  Professionals, please look away;)

 

You will need:

Scissors

Measuring tape

Pins

Needle & thread

Fabric or tacky glue/glue gun

Alligator or other clip to secure bow tie to collar

Approx. ¼ yard of preferred fabric (I was able to make two bow ties out of this)

 

       1.        Begin by cutting your fabric into roughly a 14”w X 6 ½ “ h piece

 

2.        With the long side horizontally in front of you, fold ends in overlapping eachother, stopping with the top piece of fabric about 1” in after pressed under .5 in.  (sort of like a letter is folded in the mail, both sides folded in and overlapped)

 

3.       Now you will fold the short sides in to meet as well, this time just meeting in the center, slightly overlapping to prevent them from pulling apart when you pinch the fabric to make the bow tie look.

4.       Now holding everything in place with your fingers, pinch the bow tie in the center (I made two pleats in mine) and secure with a pin.  You can either do a stitch on the sewing machine, or with a needle and thread.

5.       Now cut a smaller square of fabric to 2” x 3” that will be used for the middle binding.   

6.       Length wise fold the raw sides in to meet at the center

7.       Wrap the fabric around the center of your bow tie, raw sides hidden under. 

8.       Position however tightly you want and overlap in the back.  I folded the edge under to keep it hidden, but this step isn’t necessary as I don’t think it would be too obvious if omitted. 

9.       Secure with a hand stich. 

10.   Now, take the clip you have chosen and slide it under the binding behind the stitches you’ve just made, upper side of the clip against the under side of the bow tie. 

11.   Secure with a bit of glue.

12.   Sit back and relax.  Give yourself a pat on the back and admire your adorable little bow tie. 

Ok folks!  That is IT!  Not too hard and it allows you to select the PERFECT fabric to fit your occasion.  Not to mention, bragging rights. 

Keep an eye out for my follow up post, ‘Getting your child to wear a bow tie for an entire evening.’  Ok, I’m totally kidding on that one...but I will take pointers if anyone has them. 

Thanks for listening and I hope this helps snazzy up your next occasion!

Xoxo, Heather

My Twin Girl Nursery- Tiffany

Before I even knew if we were having a girl or boy and before we discovered we were having twins, I had a vision for what I wanted the nursery to look like.  The one inspiration that kept coming to mind was my Native American heritage and how I could incorporate that into a dream nursery.  I never expected that I would love it so much that I would find myself randomly walking into it just to admire what it became.

The planning got real when we finally found out at just over 18 weeks that we were having identical twin girls.  No more was I divided between color schemes and choosing masculine or feminine design elements.  I laid awake for hours each night imagining what I wanted this room to look like, how the layout would work with two cribs and of course pinning and online shopping till no end. 

I kept with the original theme and decided the color scheme would be lavender, mint, gold with whites and creams.  While I wanted it to express my heritage, I also wanted to convey this inspiration in a girly way.  I started looking everywhere on the internet for the elements that I was envisioning.  From there, everything just started coming together.

We started with tearing out the carpet to lay a laminate flooring.  Then chose a simple cream paint color without a yellow undertone.  We then changed the hardware on the closets to coordinate with the gold in the scheme and added some major closet organization. I think being organized with two babies was one of the things I stressed most about during this planning process.

For the cribs, I chose a simple modern style crib by Babyletto. For the crib bedding, I knew that I wanted my husband's grandmother to make them quilts that they can have as a keepsake.  I was having trouble finding fabrics at local stores and online that fit what I was picturing.  I decided to work with a designer on Spoonflower to make fabrics that went along with the overall vision.  

For the other furniture, we repurposed my old baby dresser and added decorative wood elements with new hardware and we also did a DIY side table that would fit into the space.  We purchased our rocker/glider from Pottery Barn after trying out multiple others and decided on this one because the size would allow me to feed both babies comfortably at once.  

The triangle painted wall was done entirely by my husband and took him over 60 total hours for him to complete by hand.  It goes without saying that we are all lucky to have him and his handiness;)

Other touches of artwork and handmade elements make up the rest of the room to complete the vision! 

Cribs // Babyletto

Wall Decals // Open Heart Creations

Nursery Prints // See Nikki Create

Fabric Garland // Penelope and Lala

Feather Mobile // The Dream Barn

Arrows // Mineral and Matter

Fabrics // Pellerin Design c/o Spoonflower

Sheepskin Rug // Ikea

Similar Rug // West Elm

Ceiling Light Fixture // Land of Nod

Table Lamp // CB2

Hanging Cloud // Baby Jives Co.

Wooden Camera // Fawn Over Baby

Fawn Dolls // Live Sweet Shop

Gold Poof // Land of Nod

Rocker/Glider // Pottery Barn

Curtains // DIY to add ribbon.  White plain curtains from Ikea

Curtain Finials // Spray painted from Ikea

Book Shelfs // Painted from Ikea

Picture Frames // Ikea

Quilts, pillows, diaper basket cover // Handmade

Baby Beds // Made by my husband

Deer Antler // DIY by me

Baskets // Home Goods

Gallery Wall Items // Hobby Lobby

Hello and Welcome to Our Little Tribe! ~ Heather

If you’re reading this, then take my intro as a warm cyber hug!  I’m so glad you are willing to be part of my tribe through this blog as I share with you different parts of my and my family’s life.  Tiffany and I have ran the brand 'Hip Little Tribe,' and are now so excited to be opening up more into our every day lives as mothers and creative women!  I’d like to start with a crash course of random observations and facts to help you get to know my half of the tribe a little better;

Moi ~ loves books, pad thai, cheesy sci-fi or paranormal tv shows (i.e. lost girl, True Blood- I know, I know…they’re not award winning.  I like them anyways.)  I’m a graphic designer, Chronic diy-er, handmade gift maker, and compulsive furniture mover (I can’t stand to look at the same arrangement for more than a year.  It’s a personal thing.)  I love to create artwork with color, but my home and wardrobe palette is predominantly made up of neutrals.  I went to Kent State University (go golden flashes!) where I studied fashion merchandising.  I worked at Nordstrom for many years as a visual merchandiser where I styled departments and store windows.  I’ll forever be a ‘Nordy.’ There’s more, but lets move on….

Hubby (Ryan) ~ My man candy.  Grows a mean beard, loves old westerns, 80’s movies, and is a ‘crossfitter.’  The end (also pretty private.)

Now for my two little muses.  They inspire me, which is ironic because they also leave me very little time to DO things.

Heston Lee (Big Boy) ~ A ball of energy from birth.  I would label him ‘spirited’ and very, very clear on what he wants out of life.  He loves his ‘Christmas outfit’ (a green and red striped one piece) and will ask me nearly every day if he can wear it.  He’s fond of gloves to the point he’s worn them to bed.  He loves to ‘trick’ me, make boats out of pillows, and forts out of blankets.

Lane Gray (Guy)~ My little ‘baby.’  A sweetie pie from the get go whose first reaction is to smile, second is to laugh.  Ok, and third might be to wine but he’s still adorable.  Complete opposite of child #1.   Don’t let the smiles fool you though, when determined, watch out.  He loves, and I mean LOVES music and is known to wiggle whenever he hears a tune, however distant it may be.

Famliy life is such a blessing and is for certain a juggling act.  We struggle to make our moments together meaningful, while still giving ourselves the basics that we each need.  I am by nature an introvert, meaning I need ‘down’ time to recharge.  Those moments of solace are very hard to come by these days, but I do manage to squeeze them in and get some graphic design or creative time in when the little ones are tucked in bed.  Some days I feel I do great as a mother, and others I sort of want to huddle up in a ball and have someone rock ME!   But all in all we live a very happy, and blessed life.  Our family is by no means perfect, nor are my parenting skills, but I am very lucky to be where I am and in the company of these people I so deeply love. 

Through ‘Our Little Tribe’ I hope to share my experiences, and what has worked for me. I want to talk about the golden parenting days but also the days where I questioned how I could get through.  I’m am a make-a-holic, so be prepared for many DIY’s and décor posts.  I think we all need a little inspiration, and I hope you can get some of that here. 

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you back soon! 

xoxo, Heather

 

 

An Introduction Is In Order

Hello! 

I’m Tiffany and just one of the mama’s taking up this hot piece of web space.  My life is simply put an unpredictable, semi-catastrophe waiting to happen. So, it should make it all the more exhilarating for those reading. 

I am the wife to a Special Ed teacher/construction business owner/baseball excellent (I am not sure how any of us can follow that line-up).  We have a 7-year-old daughter and identical twin girls who are nearly two!  I have a Fashion Merchandising degree from Kent State University and a true love for all things fashion, decorating and Pinterest- which should cover everything in between! I reside in a suburb outside of Cleveland and without leaving here, a big career in fashion wasn’t a reality.  I am now in the healthcare HR industry and while I love it, I can’t deny that my inner originality is dying for an outlet. 

                                              

Sometimes I wish I could say I’m an ordinary, simple type of person.  But, I know and accept that I’m not!  

I’m a bit quirky and klutzy, a total idealist and a tad OCD (Okay, a lot!)

Heather and I took the past year to follow our passions by opening the shop Hip Little Tribe with children’s tees.  The idea behind it was to try to make a difference doing something that Heather and I both loved in the fashion industry.  We drew inspiration from our children and from the life experiences we had and the world we observed our children in around us.  We wanted a company that was modern and playful but that stood for being uniquely you and encouraged an anti-bully characteristic that was at the core of our everyday motivation. We originally started this blog as an extension of the brand to involve other’s in this movement towards change and will continue to keep up that section of Letters With Meaning.

It wasn’t until recently that we decided that the blog was something we wanted to give more attention to and moreover our family.  Finding a balance is always a struggle and we realized we can still advocate for a cause we cared about while also bringing more of “us” and our passions outside of that to the following of friends we have connected with over the past year. 

I am hoping to have a footprint that I can look back on and remember the moments that shaped our family.  A place where I can be taken back to the way I lived life and the things I loved doing. And for all of you, I hope that this is a place where you can be entertained by the transparency of my views on motherhood and be inspired by the DIY projects or the decorating I share.  I am looking so forward to this experience! That's all for now and we hope you will visit again;)

XO,

Tiffany