Springtime Kimono Pj's & Designing with Spoonflower

Hello friends! Sorry I have been so MIA lately. We have been sick, sick, sick. Basically every virus going around, we caught it...and one right after the other. But I'm happy to say, that we are seeming to be more or less in the clear and feeling much much better. Which is great, because I'm super excited about spring and Easter this year and have loads of ideas.

To get things started, I thought it would be fun to gift the boys spring time pj's in their Easter pails this year. Like so many, we have the tradition of gifting warm and cuddly pj's on Christmas Eve but I've found that as Easter rolls around, warm and cuddly needs to be swapped out for light and airy, in anticipation of the warmer months ahead. So what a better time to gift a set of spring time jammies, but at Easter?

I'm a fan of kimono style pajamas and the Littles love them too. They are simple and pretty fast to sew and the boys love the fun element of the ties on the sides. I use Amy's pattern, from Habitual, for the kimono top (she no longer has the instructions on her blog but you can email her for them if you wish). And for the pants, I typically just grab a simple pj bottom pattern from my archives. For this set, I used the pants from Simplicity's 3584 pattern.

I've made kimono pajamas for the boys in the past and have really enjoyed using a variety of fabrics. This year, however, I thought it would be fun to design my own fabric to use this Easter. And I'm so glad I did. I like minimal motifs so I decided to start with a simple line drawing of a sweet little rabbit. I then used Spoonflower to create my fabric, which allowed me to choose just how I wanted my repetitive rabbit motif to look. I then ordered a couple of yards and waited anxiously for my fabric to arrive. When the fabric did arrive, I couldn't have been happier!

And if you want to purchase some of this bitty bunny fabric, you can! Just hop on over to Spoonflower and shop away. I also have a couple of other Christmas motif patterns up for sale now and a number of additional fabric designs are spinning around in my head that I just can't wait to share. I'm thinking a corresponding line of fabric to accompany these bitty bunnies would be a fun start and great for a little baby quilt. I can't wait!

And in the mean time, Little O is head over heels for his new bitty bunny pj's. He loves to put them on and snuggle in our quilt with his cuddly "Darth Bunny" (named by Little O as this little bunny has his very own Darth Vador costume...a true dream come true for Little O).

He knows he's not officially allowed to wear them to bed yet (as it's not Easter yet) but he steals every chance he can get to sneak them on and pal around.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make matching or corresponding kimono pj's for Little A but I'm excited for the possibilities. And I'm excited for spring! I need me some green grass, some springtime sunshine and breeze and some serious spring cleaning!

So what about you? Do you do add any fun surprise in your kids Easter baskets? I remember one year my mom gave us all swim suits and I was in heaven. I think this is a really great idea too (helps get your kids out of the winter rut and looking forward to summer's sunny days!). I'd love to hear what you do! Or what are some things you remember your parents added to your Easter basket to make things extra special?

I'd also love to hear if you have ever used Spoonflower before and what you think of it. Have you designed your own fabrics? Purchased designs by others? What is your experience?

And now I'm off to finish up plans for Little A's birthday party. He turns 6 tomorrow, and on the first day of spring! So happy spring!