Punkins!!!

I made some pumpkins for the kids this year - including Hurley.  They are painted, glittered, lettered, blinged out...

Gracie's is high gloss white with a metallic silver stem that I also put silver glitter paint on.  She has a pink "G" that is blinged out.  Then I sprayed the whole thing with glitter.

Bentley picked out his own pumpkin with DeDe and Duppy and I just gave it a little overhaul.  It's covered in a pearl/iridescent paint and the stem is covered in black glitter.  The glittered black "B" also has two little black motorcycles on it since he's so into cars & bikes these days.

Hurley gets his own pumpkin, too!  His I painted metallic gold and the stem is black glitter.  The "H" is white with black glitter paint.  I found two little buttons of dogs with floppy ears and bones so I painted them gold, dabbed their noses with silver glitter, and here it is!

These are nothing compared to the pumpkins I know Gampy is going to show up with though!

~E

Craft Central

Where have I been you ask?  WELL.  When I decide to throw a party, I go for it.  I'm ALL IN. So with Gracie's Christening coming up in OHHHHH 6 WEEKS or so...the psycho in me has already started planning, picking decor, and crafting.  So I spent about a week+ figuring out how I wanted to decorate and coming up with ideas, then the last week or so crafting & such.  LOTS of crafting. 

First were the invites...which I had to hand stamp with a pink crown and then attach rhinestones to each.

 

 

 

 

 
My girl was a good helper!  Any further pictures of my crafting will likely be in black & white so as not to give away the decor!!

Here are the few sneak peeks you are going to get...

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a good thing I started early because when I did a "rough draft" table layout the other night I immediately panicked and realized there needs to be some serious editing.  So back to the drawing board with some ideas...

Lots of posts to come!

~E

Craft Time

I've been feeling very crafty lately.  A few mini projects...

1) Headbands for Gracie!

At AC Moore I purchased a single stem of blue/purple hydrangea, some assorted colored blue beads and blue swarovski crystals, thread, craft glue, matching colored felt, and 1/8" wide elastic cording.

I pulled 2 flower buds off the hydrangea and glued them together at an angle.  For the crystal center I used craft glue - which wasn't great and I have to look into a better kind - and teeny tweezers to place them.  For the beaded center, I used a needle and dark blue thread to sew them into the flower.  Measure the length of elastic you will need...Gracie is about 14 and 1/2 inches right now...and glue the open ends to the back of the flower, then cover with a small cut circle of felt that matches the color of your flower.

And here is my model!

2) I also whipped up a couple of onesies for my lil girl.

My model again...

3) Cute hand-stamped gift bags! 

Buy the brown paper (or white) gift bags and use letter/number stamps to decorate the outside of the bag.  I used blues on our friends' because blue was their wedding color.  These were small individual letter vintage stamps that I used but there are a variety of sizes/styles you can pick up at the craft stores.

  

Happy Crafting!

~E

Pallette Art

I have seen a zillion things made from old shipping pallettes ~ entire walls, shelves, frames ~ and when I saw this gem on Pinterest I knew I had to recreate it for the nursery (I don't know who to credit so if anyone does please let me know so I can give props)...

I showed my hubby as I knew I'd need his help as my handyman and he was up for the challenge.  Our neighbors have a huge burn pile so we walked out back on day and scored this beauty...

I chose a dark walnut stain because the crib is a dark color and I wanted to try and balance it across the room with something else dark...

Next was a free-hand heart cutout from cardboard that I could trace onto the pallette; and I already had plenty of pink paint to use for color...

Then it was up to the best handyman EVER to hang this beast...

And here you have the final piece...

I love how it turned out.  Thanks for helping me tackle this project handy hubby!  ily

~E

A few new Nate projects...

Here are a few recent Nate Berkus projects from his show that I wanted to share.  Being very opinionated when it comes to design I had to add my thoughts, too...

1) Frame Trays: Have a frame laying around that you aren't using? Pick a piece of your favorite fabric, meaure to size, and place it within the frame instead of a picture.  My thoughts: You may need to remove that backing piece that leans the frame up if using a frame designed for a desk/table so that your new tray will lay flat (frames designed specifically for wall mounting, however, may not have this piece at all).  You could also paint/spray your frame a pretty color, or even use a picture or piece of artwork instead of fabric (I'm picturing a colored frame with a neutral pattern or black & white picture maybe?!).

2) Clothing as Art: A nicely patterned dress or shirt you no longer wear?  Cut it up and turn it into art!  Cut a piece, pull it taut and attach to your frame backing, and hang it on the wall.  My thoughts: If doing more than one, use like colored frames or like/complementary colors in the fabrics in order to make your new display look cohesive. I don't like things to be too "matchy matchy" but I do like them to look unified & cohesive.

3) Sweaters as Pillows: Have a sweater you don't wear anymore?  Turn it into a pillow!  Cableknit, cashmere, ribbed, whatever texture - this will only cost you the price of a pillow insert if using a sweater you already own.  You could also hit a consignment store and look for a sweater to work with.  My thoughts: I think I've mentioned before that one of my favorite ways to change up the look of a room quickly, easily, and inexpensively, is to simply swap out or rearrange a few throw pillows.  The colors shown below from Nate's site would typically be a little blah for my taste, but for winter I can picture a couple of chunky white or gray sweater pillows, maybe with a brooch added for some sparkle. 

4) Accessories as Art: Have some pretty jewelry laying around that you aren't using?  Display it! Purchase shadow boxes to diplay your big, chunky, pretty necklaces and arrange them on the wall, or take a bracelet and use it as a napkin ring.  My thoughts: Don't do this with your nice, expensive jewelry. ;)  I would say "OK" to mounting some elaborate necklaces that you don't wear, and places like Forever 21 are a good place to find cheapy bracelets that can double as napkin holders.

5) Pretty Magnets:  Brooches or baubly earrings that you don't wear any longer?  Turn them into magnets!  Remove the pin or backings with wire cutters and attach a piece of magnet from your local craft store. My thoughts: We have a stainless fridge so we don't have the ability to hang magnets, but instead you could take your pretty baubles and attach them to a pillow for some quick glitz & glamour, then easily remove or change in the future (I mentioned above, too).

**All photos are courtesy of The Nate Berkus Show website.**

These were some goodies I had to share, and add my two cents!  Thanks, Nate!

~E

Mobiles?

I realize this is a little random, but flipping through my most recent Lucky Magazine I came across the most beautiful, natural looking, handmade feather & wood mobile.  It immediately inspired me with the thought of trying to replicate it for my mudroom (maybe to go with my big beehive when I finally hang it?!).  Although, with my love for design combined with both my love for my son & the addition of several new babies in our friends'/families' lives, I guess it really isn't all that random!  Here are some mobile ideas, starting with my inspiration for this post...

FEATHERS!
The January Lucky featured a beautiful feather mobiles from the site SHOPAfterAll. I must be into feathers lately! They have a few gorgeous feather mobiles, but my two favorites are the Pyramid Mobile ($225) and the Hanger Mobile ($150). I think it's pretty self-explanatory which one is which...

 {Above photos courtesy of SHOPAfterAll}

I saved some twigs from the batches I collected for my holiday decorations and didn't spray them silver - I'm thinking they'll be perfect for this project.  And in my many trips to JoAnn Fabrics prior to the holidays, I know they have some pretty feather options to choose from.

CARD STOCK! (Plus other goodies for custom looks!)
It took me awhile of searching mobles to find one that I liked for Baby B's nursery.  I really wanted something modern and colorful.  I discovered Frazier & Wing and their variety of handmade, modern mobiles and garlands.  Their card stock mobiles range from $75 - $200.  Here are a few pics...

They also make custom one-of-a-kind mobiles, a few shown below.  I'd love to make something like this one here with the branch, card stock, and poms, and it looks like some beads, too...

{All above photos courtesy of Frazier & Wing}

FOAM!
Although the Frazier & Wing mobiles were quite unique, they were a bit more than I wanted to spend.  I did lots of looking on Etsy and finally settled on something from The Wonderland Studio, made from aluminum wire & foam.  With names like Constellation, Nebula, Supernova, & Milky Way, they are modern, colorful, and very reasonably priced depending on the model and size you choose (they start at $32 but go up over $100).  Here are a few of the MANY to choose from (and this Etsy shop is based out of New England)...

This is the one I have over Bentley's crib, The Nebula Mobile in Tropical Spice...

{All above photos courtesy of The Wonderland Studio}

YARN!

When I was poking around one of my FAV blogs the other day, Spearmint Baby, I came across this cute yarn mobile.

{Photo courtesy of Spearmint Baby}

On Shari's post, she cleverly thought of using a variety of styrofoam balls from Michael's/JoAnn's and wrapping them with yarn for the solid balls.  It just so happened that when I was watching The Nate Berkus Show the other day, he was doing some simple, fun crafts with actress Amy Sedaris and they were making yarn balls, similar to the hollowed version in the above mobile.  Nate was using what looked like jute and making them for a dining table centerpiece, but I thought of this mobile immediately.  For the hollowed balls in the mobile: 1) blow up balloons to the size you want, 2) dip your yarn in a 1-to-1 mixture of glue and water, 3) wrap your balloon with as much or as little yarn as you would like, and 4) once dry, pop and remove the balloon. 

{Photos courtesy of The Nate Berkus Show website}

For the mobile above, I bet you could use fishing line or some other sturdy (maybe a pretty metallic) threading to attach, arrange, and hang your mobile.  I think this would be another fun one to recreate, but I need one of my preggers friends to want one or else I have no reason to attempt this one right now!

METALLIC FOIL!

The always trusty Martha Stewart featured this pretty gem in her December 2010 issue, the Metallic Foil Paillette Tree Mobile.  Although this one wouldn't work for a nursery, it would certainly be doable as a holiday decoration or maybe even a children's playroom if created & hung very safely.  Martha features step-by-step instructions on her website ~ CLICK HERE for Step #'s 1-3; CLICK HERE for Step #'s 4-5.

{Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart's website}

Last, one of the most simple ideas is to hang paper pom pom's above a crib or elsewhere in a baby's nursery.  These guys also make great decorations for parties - for either children or adults, especially for weddings (my friend filled the tent she was married under with paper poms!).  I was set on hanging some poms in Bentley's nursery but my hubby drew the line - he has let me design this ENTIRE house from top to bottom, aside from most of the lighting (although I usually pick the fixtures and then he'll approve based on ceiling height, etc.), and also the "technology" (speakers 'n stuff) so I caved.  But I have them sitting in a basket on the floor for now, just for a pop of color. Etsy has TONS of shops that carry poms, price per # of poms (you can get singles or I've seen bundles of up to 40) vary but the biggest difference I've noticed is lead time since they are handmade.  Fiesta Pom Pom usually has a quick turnaround (the shops will have it posted).  Anywho, my first inspiration for this idea was the FAB Holly at Life in the Fun Lane, in her daughter's room...

{Photo courtesy of Life in the Fun Lane}

Here are a couple of snapshots of Bentley's nursery, where you can see I used a pom pom for an accessory on a shelf for a pop of color, and the basket of poms in the corner of his room...

Until he was born I plopped one in his crib for another pop of color (you can see part of his Nebula mobile from The Wonderland Studio here, too)...

So, that feather mobile REALLY inspired me and I wanted to share some ideas for mobiles with you.  Hope you enjoyed, especially if you have a lil one on the way!

~E