Emma is feeling trip proud about her journey to Houston for the International Quilt Market. The Emma collection will be blooming in preppy pinks and greens perfect for DIY projects for girls of all ages. We hope you will visit her at the Newcastle Fabrics booth. Here is our market-bound gal modeling her new Emma dress and ruffled pants, accessorized with her Emma coin clutch … just in case she needs to buy some tasty TexMex.

The minute we received our production yardage, we asked our studio elves to whip up some Emma fun. See more Emma eye candy below.

Here’s an Emma patch quilt hanging in the rose garden. The dot patterns created for this collection make great frames for the appliqué animals toss patterns.

And here’s a favorite around our house o’ girls: A twirly skirt! If you are a girl, I bet you are remembering your own twirly skirt right this minute. So off we go to Houston … twirling all the way. Hope to see you there!’

Z is for the Zoophabet® fabric collection headed to Houston for the International Quilt Market, this weekend with Blue Hill Fabrics. The great thing about Zoophabet® is that you can make personalized, one-of-a-kind gifts for the cute new baby in your life, and your baby shower present will be THE most special, personal, meaningful, amazing present at the party and you will be the BPGW (Best Present-Giver Winner) … not that a baby shower should be a competition … I’m just sayin’.

When our first samples arrived, I tried a swatch, wrapped in a quick bib-like treatment, on our in-house model, Neville. (below) I’m thinking about having a special jacket made for him with an appliquéed “N is for Neville.” I just know he’s going to love it! (Speaking of Nevs, don’t you think the zebra’s expression above sort of looks like Neville’s soulful expression below?

The Zoophabet® collection is printed on velvety soft flannel, as well as a cotton group that is perfect for personalized nursery decor, accessories and gifts. Below are the first strike-offs we received. Even the selvages turned out cute … hm … what can we make with those selvages? Selvage slippers?

Since we received our flannels first, we started our Zoophabet-making extravaganza with some flannel jammies. These would be perfect for your little ones to scramble-into, before jumping into bed, snuggling under a Zoophabet® ABC quilt, and listening to you read Dr. Seuss’ ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! At the end of the story, you can say, “B is for bedtime and S is for Sleepy … you are getting very, veeeery sleepy … ”

When we received our cotton samples, we couldn’t wait to get started because we included two patterns (in two colorways) with the full alphabet. Our magic studio elves dove into a 2-week personalized-project frenzy. Here are a few DIY projects so you can get your creative juices flowing. The first one shown here is the Zoophabet® Quick Quilt … and it really is quick. With just a dash on your sewing machine down the sides of the alphabet squares, it looks like you spent days piecing it. Then, you can buy an extra yard and create coordinating accessories that spell out your special baby’s name or initials on all kinds of cute baby stuff … a pillow, a lampshade, a diaper stacker and, and, and …

And, here are some Zoophabet® pinks: The top photo is a “K is for Katy” Carry All and I’m pretty sure the bottom photos illustrate a “C is for Cathy” Pillow. Hope these ideas get you started on some fun projects … and, be sure to share your creations with us … we will be adding a new Flickr button to the blog after Quilt Market. Sweet dreaming of more personalized one-of-a-kind wonders.

Baby Bot and all his friends will be showing off their softer sides in Houston next week for the International Quilt Market with Blue Hill Fabrics. The Bot Buddies collection will be featured on the softest flannel you ever did touch, as well as cottons that are perfect for decorating the nursery or the playroom. The colorways can be all-boy, as well as a fun look for girl-bots, too. Here is a peek at the flannels. (We won’t see the final cottons until next week at Quilt Market … and, we’ll be sure to share some cotton nursery ideas with you after the show.)

We have discovered two new elves here in Austin to help us take our 2-dimensional fabrics to 3-dimensional creations. Thank you Nancy and Deborah! Here are a few samples made from Bot Buddies flannels just to give you a taste of the possibilities. We only had a few bits and pieces of strike-off material … (which are the fabrics that we check to make sure the colors are just right) … but as soon as we can get our hands on whole yards of fabric, we will be posting some fun DIY projects and give-aways to get you started.

And, here’s something fun … Bot Buddy Toss jammies. Nancy is in the midst of adding some great embroidered touches, but I’m just sending it out unfinished ‘cause it’s already so darn cute. (P.S. I am also re-learning to embroider … part of my new empty-nesting phase … I’ll let you know how that goes!)

If you are already catching the itch to stitch, here are some sneak peeks of some of the patterns in just one of the colorways … these designs come in reds and yellows, too. Have fun dreaming up some great bot projects. And, as soon as we know where you can find all these super soft flannels, we’ll let you know. We are dying to see your flannel fashion!

Roborapture!  Our Baby Bot samples have arrived … and the studio is full of beautiful new products manufactured by the wonderful folks at C.R. Gibson.  We are celebrating with a giveaway of three hot-off-the-press pieces to one lucky winner next Friday.  (See photos and learn more at the end of the post.)  This collection is for a hip new baby boy (and his cool parents!)  The color palette hints of primary colors, but we’ve added a retro twist, so, it will be as comfortable on the shelf with classic Tinker Toys as with modern LEGO blocks.

All of the pieces are printed on a soft matte paper that has a smooth feel to the touch and the embellishments turned out perfectly.  Fun square buttons and gros-grain ribbons add to the keepsake quality of the photo albums.  And the baby books include muted turquoise metal name-plates which can be customized with baby’s own name.

We fell in love with the baby bot bank at the trade shows, but it was reassuring to actually receive our sample with nary a broken limb because of his sturdy, protective (and attractive) packaging.  It almost looks like he is beaming down into our world. Star Trek with a bow.

If you like the cyber cute covers of the baby books, wait until you see the interior pages.  You will want to start filling in the nesting news right away.  We like to illustrate every page, so that it’s not just a record book, it’s a storybook.  And, each baby is the main character.

And, surprise!  We were able to have a coupon tucked inside the box of every single baby book, for 20% off an entire set of nursery art from our fun new “Create Your Own Personalized Nursery Art” website.  You can spell your child’s name with individual letters or all together, AND, you can choose from your favorite little robot borders. Your little fella will be able to spell his name before he starts walking!

So, this week, to celebrate the exciting first steps of Baby Bot and all of his bot buddies, we are giving away a gift bag filled with three new Baby Bots products.  The winner will receive a tightbound baby book signed by the artist (me), a first-year calendar with stickers, and a brag book titled “Just Braggin,” because, as you know, you will have some braggin’ to do.  Just add your comment to the comment box below, and we will pick a lucky winner randomly on Friday, March 4.  And, as robots say, “Pito loki wikute tuji!”  (which actually means “I like fruit,” … I couldn’t find the robot words for what I really wanted to say, which is “Good luck and have a very nice day.”

p.s. Don’t worry if your comment does not show up right away.  We will be checking the comment inbox throughout the day.

I wish I could share more about the city of Atlanta with you, but we really only saw it from the inside of the Rube Goldberg-like halls and tunnels that connected the complex that is AmericasMart.  So, here’s a view of Atlanta, Georgia from the perspective of two artists inside trade show land.

Due to record snowfalls and closed airports, there was some worry among the gift companies that the weather might affect sales, but by the time we arrived, sales were soaring, the halls were packed and buzzing, and showrooms were selling until midnight!  Little Robot, who is the main character of our new Baby Bots collection, was delighted to be featured in the front window of C.R. Gibson.  Normally, I would have worried that he would get a big head, but fortunately, he is humble and spent most of his time playing with puppybot and birdywhisk … and wooing customers.

Photos clockwise from below left:  1. Cathy with Sherrie McCulloch, Director of Infant Products for C.R. Gibson, who made it possible for our three new collections to make it from drawing board to showroom in a few short months. 2. Close-up of the front of the new baby book (you can place your baby’s name in the nifty nameplate).  3. The keepsake box with alphabet cards for personalizing.  We love this product.  4. Cathy signing brag books. It was fun to meet so many retailers, many of whom were moms and grandmoms with their own babies to brag about!  5. The Baby Bot Ceramic Coin Bank, which was definitely the hit product of the day. We just wanted to fill his tummy with coins and give him a hug.

Little Robot’s favorite part of Atlanta was that he was joining two more collections born in the studio, Alex and Emma.  Ellen masterminded these two great groups and the final pieces were gorgeous.  They appeal to parents who enjoy both contemporary and traditional styles. Here is Ellen in front of our twin collections.

The Alex and Emma products are printed on cloth with embroidered embellishments and ribbons, which add to the keepsake quality of the collections.  Alex, for boys, features traditional patterns in crisp blues and whites with accents of navy.  Dimensional insets add a high-end feel to the group, which we like to describe as handsome (in a baby way).  Below are photos showing the baby book and its interior, and two of our favorite pieces, the natty brag book and precious embroidered frame.

Emma, the sister collection, is all about tradition – with a twist.  The colors for this group bloom in preppy pinks and greens.  We wanted it to feel fresh and clean and fun, and it really does. Below is a photo of the book with its sweet interior, as well as photos of two of our favorite Emma pieces: the embroidered frame and the very popular photo clutch, which was a favorite new item at the show.

So, that is what we saw in Atlanta, Georgia.  If you are welcoming some precious new babies to your families, we hope you see some perfect ways to celebrate them in our new collections. We have also created coordinating nursery art for all three new collections (which you can find right here) so that you can spell your babies’ names or place their monograms right above their cribs.  It’s never too early to start learning the ABCs, especially when A is for An Adorable new baby.

Next stop on the magical baby collection tour:  Dallas Gift Show.  We’ll be at the C.R. Gibson showroom signing books on Friday, January 21 at 1:00.  See you there!

WE ARE BACK!  And we are so happy.  We missed you,  dear blog buddies.

You may have wondered why we were so bloginquent (my new word) over the last few weeks.  It was due to an emergency deadline … a wonderful, but close-to-impossible deadline. And, we are happy to report: we did it, thanks to a very supportive family and our great friends/clients.

You may wonder what in the world was more important than visiting with our blog pals … and here’s the thing … it’s a surprise!   We can tell you that we were creating three adorable baby collections that will be introduced in January at the Atlanta Gift Show.  And, we can give you a tiny sneak peek.  See below.

We’ll be sending you more updates when we receive our samples.  In the meantime, we have a few things to do … like go to the grocery store!

And, I believe Ellen has some yarns of potential to knit.

Number 24! Congratulations, Marci, who said, “These are so beautiful! Thank you for the chance to win, I have my fingers crossed.”

We will be sending you your new Welcome Home Noah baby book, calendar, and photo album very soon.

Many thanks to all of you who entered the contest.  Please, stay tuned for more chances to win and updates on this adorable collection.  Again, we toast the online random number generator which decided our winner – you saved us on paper and scissors and a hat.

Tadah!  Our new collection is born:  we are proud to introduce Welcome Home Noah, published by the wonderful folks at C.R. Gibson.  I just received my samples, and they are beautiful!  We want to celebrate with a giveaway of three brand new pieces to one lucky winner next Friday.  (See photos and learn more at end of the post.)  The photo above shows our samples piled around the studio.  The baby books and several other pieces are covered in soft fabric and embellished with silky embroidery thread, which matches the artwork perfectly.  This is my fifth Noah’s Ark themed baby book collection.  I think the reason I receive so many requests for Noah’s Ark designs for babies is that the giver can feel as though he or she is giving a little blessing to a precious new child.

We designed this group to work perfectly for both boys and girls.  And, if you think the covers are pretty, wait until you peek inside.  The interior pages are so inviting that you will want to fill in every page … but lucky for you, a few wonderful years will need to pass before you record the First Day of Kindergarten page.  The picture below shows one of my favorite pages, the Family Tree.  New parents can fill it in before the new baby even arrives, which is a very good idea, since very soon their time will not be their own … for about the next 20 years!

We created unique patterns for each bordered page and lots of illustrations to help you tell the new story that is about to unfold.

One of my favorite coordinating products is the One-Year Calendar with Stickers.  I loved this product when I had new babies and I was trying to juggle work and motherhood, because the important happenings of each day were limited to one little square.  I could handle one square of info a day and I actually had a fairly thorough record of all those important milestones.  My idea was that later I could refer to it when I had a bit more time to fill in the baby book … I’m still waiting for that bit more time, but, at least I know I have all the info ready to go, one little square at a time.  And until you get around to finalizing that baby book, the Calendar is an excellent story-telling venue … when Julianna was little, she used to ask me to read to her right out of her calendar.  It’s usually a pretty satisfying read, with passages like, “Today, you were amazing.” and “Wow, you said your first word.  You are brilliant.”  I recommend this for an excellent self-esteem builder. Hey, I wonder if there is a calendar about me?

We hope you enjoy our new baby collection with your new baby or a special little one you are about to know.  You can find Welcome Home Noah online at C.R. Gibson.

To celebrate the birth of our new baby collection, we are giving away three new Welcome Home Noah products this week.  The winner will receive a bound Baby Book signed by the artist (that would be me), a First-Year Calendar with Stickers and a Grandma’s Brag Book!  Just add your comment to the comment box below, and we will pick a random winner on Friday, March 12.

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Number 32!  Congratulations to Lisa R, we hope that your sister and her new baby boy will enjoy their friendly Noah’s Ark elephants.

And many thanks to all of you who entered the contest.  We will be having several more in the next few months to celebrate the arrival of Welcome Home Noah in stores, so please stay tuned for more chances to win.  Thanks also to the online random number generator which decided our winner – you saved us on paper and scissors and a hat.

It’s our blog birthday!  And, we are celebrating by saying thank you with our first Giveaway.  Please comment at the end of this post and we will choose a winner this Tuesday, February 23,  to receive a birthday present from us: a signed 9×9 framed print from our Noah’s Ark Two of a Kind collection, a one-of-a-kind gift for a little one you know and love.  (photo at end of post)

At this time last year, we started this blog so that we could connect more easily with all the moms and grandmoms (and dads and grandads) who were buying products from our baby collections.  And now we have over 1,000 new friends (that we know of).  It is so much fun to hear from a new mom who can’t wait to start entering her baby’s milestones in one of our baby books, or to hear from a grandfather who is helping his daughter decorate a room for a grandbaby-to-be.  Okay, okay, you’re right … we also use the blog to brag about Neville, our new rescue pup, who is the newest baby around our house, although in dog years, he is already a first grader.

We have enjoyed sharing new Cathy Heck products with you, while at the same time giving you a little glimspe into the amusing life in the studio. We like to show you our inspiration, and we love to hear about yours.  We are especially proud when our studio tales inspire a budding new artist to stretch her wings and fly.  We have also taken great pleasure in sharing some of our favorite finds in Austin and Berkeley, and hope you will be able to enjoy some of our local discoveries.  If you know of others we should try, tell us.  We’ll try to visit, especially if it involves the tasting of food!

This year brought the launch of our new site, Cathy Heck Nursery Art, from which anyone can help to create baby’s first artwork. The site is interactive.  It is so much fun to spell a baby’s new name with a group of canvases, choosing from cute characters and coordinating patterns, The canvases are archival giclée prints which we print right here in our Austin studio.  And, recently, we added the opportunity to order all of the designs printed on archival fine art paper, framed or unframed.  Go see!

Another fun milestone for this year was the creation of a beautiful new baby book collection for C.R. Gibson.  It is called Noah’s Ark Welcome Home, and it really does feel like a big warm welcome-home hug.  The products will be hitting the stores this month.  You will see much more about this adorable collection soon, but here is a sneak peek.

So, happy new blogosphere year to all of our new (and old) friends and please keep in touch.  We love to hear about the projects that you are creating using Cathy Heck products.  Send us your stories and pictures.
And don’t forget to comment at the end of this post so that you can win your Cathy Heck Studio Blog Birthday present.  See a photo below before we tie a birthday bow around it.

Add your blog link to the blog hop.