Gingerbread Gillet

A few years back friends of ours hosted a gingerbread house competition. My plan entering the competition was "go big or go home," the same philosophy our undefeated New England Patriots had adopted during their 07-08 season  (Super Bowl XLII had not yet happened...we don't talk about THAT DAY in our house...we were there, it was a painful, sad, sad day). The only way to "go big" was to make a gingerbread replica of Gillet Stadium in Foxboro, MA. Here's a look at the (prizewinning) gingerbread "house":

 Prepping the pieces.

 Construction begins.

 Securing the supports.

 Adding the stands.

 Filling in the field. 

 Paint the lines and fill the stands with fans (aka DOTS candy)

 Adding the details.

 Almost done...

 Add the football (football shaped gingerbread), the team (more DOTS) and the goal posts (Cocktail skewers).

 And DONE!

 EPIC gingerbread!

GO PATS!!

How I did it:
Google several pictures of Gillet Stadium and drew out templates of sides and supports on to craft paper. 
Cut out paper templates.
Used Martha Stewarts Molasses-Gingerbread Cookie recipe to make a double batch of dough.
Rolled out LARGE sheets of the dough and cut around templates with a knife. Baked according to directions and assembled using Martha Stewarts Royal Icing.
Decorated with gel icing and candies.

--Sarah

We're at the NEST!

We are so excited to announce that Bumblebee & Sophie is now featured at NEST Maternity and Baby on Islington Street in Portsmouth, NH. 


The NEST is a super cute mommy and baby boutique that I first happened upon when I was searching for a Bella Band back when I was only a few months pregnant. They are the only local retailer of the Bella Band (btw the Bella Band was WAY worth it, I had two other bands and the Bella was the only band that maintained its elasticity and actually held me in when I exercised). 


Sara McCarthy, the owner, has a passion for organic, locally made and handmade items. She tries to ensure that everything sold in the shop is made in the USA. 


If you happen to be in Portsmouth be sure to stop by: they are carrying a few pieces from our Fall Collection including the "Chelsey Peasant Dress" and the "Poppy Tunic" along with an assortment of pacifier clips.


Check us out!

--Sarah

3:15 AM

At 3:15 AM on December 9th, 2009 the most amazing gift of joy came into our lives: Sophia Jewel Canney. Here's a glimpse at the day that changed our lives:

It's amazing what happens in a year...

Happy Birthday our precious Sophia Jewel. 

--Sarah

Christmas Around Here

I love decorating for Christmas. The last two years the decorating has been somewhat limited since we were on the move in 2008 (Arizona to New Hampshire) and in 2009 most of our things were still in storage (and still are...). This year though, I pulled most everything out and realized it still isn't really that much. I was tempted to go buy or make more, but I'm liking the simplicity of  just a few things here and there and thought I'd share it with you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


--Sarah

From the Studio: Art Sale Recap

We had a fantastic day on Saturday! It was such a festive time, outside the local Lions Club was selling Christmas Trees and every now and then the gray sky would spit out little flakes of snow. It certianly felt like Christmas! 

Quite a few of our dresses and accessories found loving homes and we were able to connect with some very talented artisans. Here's a peak at what we saw:

The set up: only 9 other artisans. Small, but the quality was outstanding.

Bronze Avocado by the Green Foundry.

More Bronze work by the Green Foundry.

Beautiful crochet pieces by 04107 Designs. (She had these amazing, antiqued frames all in white, that she used to display her pieces. They were AMAZING. So whimsical. I wanted them:-)

Rose Dow, displaying her photography of local landscapes in Maine and New Hampshire.

Jewelry displayed by Leslie of Creations by Leslie. 

Amazing pewter box and vases by Anne Thompson of Ann Thompson Handmade Pewter.

Robin Roaf of Mast Cove Pottery had some lovely things on display. Not only is she and incredibly talented potter but she's also the amazing lady who organized this event, and for her it was a family affair. Her daughter Rose is the photographer, her son is from the Green Foundry and does the bronze work and her mother was also there selling her lovely artwork--talented people these folks!

Pretty clay ornaments.

Impression of a leaf on a plate.

Festive boxwood trees.

Stained Glass tree by Gerri.

Another talented artist Burce Iverson was also there displaying his Chinese brush paintings, he understandably did not want pictures taken of his work, but it was beautiful. 

And my absolute favorite thing at the show were these AMAZING bags made from reclaimed sailboat sails. How COOL are they? Every few minutes for the duration of the show (9am to 3pm) I would glance over and covet these bags--especially the gray one with red straps that had a number seven on it. The lady behind Hoist Away Bags, Laura, uses as much of the sail as she possibly can and tries to incorporate elements like logos, grommets and the pattern of the sail into the bags. I really fell in love (you can tell, I took the most pictures of these bags). Unfortunately, the one I really liked was a little out of my price range. But they are still on my radar. 

And then of course there was a few new things we had on display. 

Peasant dress in super cute fabrics, I wanted to snatch this one up for my Sophia. 

Lots of new paci-clips.

So a big thanks to Robin Roaf who made this whole event possible and to all the talented artisans! Can't wait for next year.

Most of the artisans have websites. Some did not. If you are interested in their work I can pass along email information. Just get in touch with us.

--Sarah