Let Freedom Ring

I have proof that hippies still exist in the 21st century, at least in China.  A few years ago, our friends, John and Katie, and their dog George (our dog Hippo's BFF), packed up a few suitcases and moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Guangzhou, China.  They come to the States once a year for about a month around the holiday season.  On one of their return trips, they came bearing great news:  George was going to be a big brother!

Friends came together and threw Katie a baby shower before she and John went back to 13 time zones away.  The theme of the baby shower?  TIE DYE! 

How fun?!?  Guests at the shower were instructed to bring only WHITE items and the hosts of the shower provided the dye and rubber bands, and Katie provided the "how-to."  This was my first time tie dying and I had so much fun!!!  From socks, to onesies, to blankets - this baby was going to have it all in funky tie dye fashion!  What a great party idea!!!

Though we didn't yet know the gender of the baby, it really didn't matter to Katie... especially because in China people aren't as set on blue vs. pink as we are here.  No gender stigmas based on color of clothing.

Though normally doctors do not reveal the gender of babies in China, John and Katie somehow batted their eyes enough to find out they would be having a baby GIRL!  You know how excited I get about girlie things!!!  Now here's where the fun began:  John and Katie both agreed upon the name Zoë, but were at odds over her middle name.

Isn't she adorable???

Our flower child, Katie, really wanted Zoë's middle name to mean something significant like liberty, independence or... Freedom!  Zoë Freedom!  Not everyone was on board with that, especially Daddy (Hey! He chose the last name!), so they settled on Katherine (though Katie still had her heart set on Freedom).  Katie was determined to let Freedom ring one way or another!

 
And here begins my first international order!  Katie chose the clean and green, super cute "Orchard Park" theme for Zoë's room and she wanted a bulletin board to match.  My instructions?  It had to be a small bulletin board (small enough to fit in a suitcase and it definitely had to have the word "freedom" somewhere on there!

I absolutely love this bedding.  I love the natural look of this bedding... the colors, the trees, the birds - I love birds, but my favorite is that yellow apple - so I was really excited to match this print!  The shapes are simple and bold, so I had to make sure to match that boldness in size proportion and spacial relationship.  Because this is a professional picture that I found when Googling the bedding name, the colors and details were a lot easier to match.

The Final Product:

 The REAL Final Product:

Zoë Katherine!

Aw!  She LOVES her bulletin board!  See?