This is my new favorite gift for babies - a travel/play mat that's customized with baby's name, birth date, weight, height and whatever else you want to include. It's a great keepsake and is actually useful. Plus, it looks fancy but is truly a beginner level sewing project. Be careful though, designing your own fabric can be addicting! If you haven't heard of it, Spoonflower is a great little website that lets anyone become a textile designer. I used it to design … [Read more...]
Embroidery Projects and Decor for Kids and Kid Spaces
photo via Oh Hi (spotted at Prudent Baby). I've been stumbling upon lots of kid-friendly embroidery projects lately. And since this Friday afternoon is my big post over at sewing-blog-extraordinaire MADE, I thought now would be the perfect time to share them. All of these projects would look great in a kids' space - I'm especially digging the reverse embroidered name art above. photo via plumpudding. What's even better, most entail kids participation … [Read more...]
Honoring Kids’ Artwork: Part 5 – Transform It
For the conclusion of this series, I've got one last way to keep kids' art over the long term - by turning it into something else. There are a ton of options out there for doing this, ranging from homemade crafty to high tech and professional. Above is a beautiful example of a blog header made from a finger painting. photos via lilla a And here is lilla a's transformation of a child's drawing into a cuddly doll. If you'd like to try this but aren't sure where to start, check … [Read more...]
Lovable Robots
My New Robot at Fall Down Tree (via Cove Street)When I was a kid robots were freaky, not cute. Case in point, ever see Return to Oz (the much darker sequel to The Wizard of Oz)? Remember the wheelies? I had nightmares about them for years. Actually, I'm not sure if the wheelies were technically robots... the point being that robots these days are of the much more lovable "Wall-E" persuasion. And, since it's Valentine's day, I thought we should celebrate their newfound sweetness. Popping … [Read more...]
Honoring Kids’ Artwork: Part 4 – Put It Behind Glass
This is C's very first piece of art, created at his toddler group at age 1. It sits proudly on the mantle in our playroom. Part 4 of this series is all about showing that your little ones' creations are worthy of being protected. Putting the pieces behind glass does just that and floating frames like these are ideal because they work well with art that's not square or rectangular. The above photo is from my living room and is one of the first things that visitors see … [Read more...]
Design Trend: Neutral Walls with Pops of Bold Color
photo via skona hem Last week I did a guest post over at Cove Street on this beautiful grey and pink nursery. (Side note: I met Cove Street's author Katie through the fabulous Jenna, who designed both of our blogs. Katie is also just starting out in the blogging world and has quite the knack for sourcing high end looks at budget prices - definitely go check her out). That post got me thinking about how much I love pops of bright color against muted grey or even white … [Read more...]
Honoring Kids’ Artwork: Part 3 – Hang It Up
photo via Childhood 101 Next up in this series is one of the most popular methods of displaying lots of artwork - simply sticking it up along a wall. It's cheap, easy to do, and allows for lots of flexibility. This art space was created by Christie over at Childhood 101 for her daughter's playroom. How could anyone not be inspired to create here? Seriously, just looking at this has me itching to break out the crayons. Best of all, Christie provided lots of stylish ways to … [Read more...]
More Magnetic Wall Ideas
photo via minor details (spotted on pinterest) When I first posted about C's magnetic wall giraffe, I gave a few suggestions about other ways to interpret the project. If you particularly liked the idea of a cityscape with magnetic citizens, here are a few great examples of skylines to get you started. Something modeled after this large scale wall decal from tangle tree interiors would be perfect (spotted at minor details). photo via I am Momma, Hear Me … [Read more...]
Honoring Kids’ Artwork: Part 2 – Create a Collection
photos via Create-Celebrate-Explore In the last half of this series I'll cover a few ways to establish a rotating gallery at home. For today, lets address what to do with that hand turkey (and other seasonal art) once the holidays have come and gone. First, take digital photos of the pieces and then throw them out. Trust me, you'll feel nothing but relief when that ever-growing pile of construction paper is gone. Second, use the photos to create something stylish. … [Read more...]