Favorite Trend: Silhoutte Children

{Image from le papier studio }

I've been mentally purchasing (am I the only one that does that?) these sweet little sibling silhouette prints for a while now. The problem is: how do I choose just one? Here are some of the prints on my wish list- all from Etsy.

Nella Designs has so many options, with a modern twist

saratams designs are classic and pretty

I like the color combinations from le papier studio.

Stainless steel soap

Have you heard of this stuff? Am I the last one to know about it?

Stainless steel soap is rumored to rid your hands of onion, garlic, fish and other less-than-sexy smells, plus doesn't it just look cool? It could be a design piece of it's own You can buy a bar on Amazon for less than $10. I think I may give it a try? I told my husband about it and he thinks we should just wipe our hands on the fridge. I guess it is sort of a valid idea?

Nautical Nursery: Simple sailboat mobile

I decided to do a series of posts on my son's nautical-themed nursery, since we did a handful of fun DIY projects in his room. So here is the first Nautcial Nursery post. It was not easy to photograph the mobile because it's, well, mobile! So I apologize that the photos are not the best.

This is quick and inexpensive- three cheers for instant gratification!

The supply list is pretty basic

dowel rod

screw eyes

fishing line

paint

wooden cutout shapes ( I found mine at Dollar Tree but they are available at most craft stores).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Putting it to a Vote: Baby Boy Jacket

For now I can't picture us in anything but our big bulky coats and hats. But soon it will be time for Spring jackets! I snagged this little number for my daughter from Old Navy.

Now, my favorite baby boy needs a sharp-looking spring jacket.

I've found three that I like.

The Drummer Boy from Next

This sweet little cardigan aslo from Next

This cool knit blazer from Baby Gap

Which do you like?

Ruffles 4 Ever!

Ruffles are one of my favorite trends. I hope they never go away!

Here is a darling pattern for ruffled leggings from No Big Dill, using the fun pre-ruffled fabric that I've mentioned before.

Someday Sofa

( image from Alice Lane Blog via Veranda)

I love this whole look: the mirror, the light fixture, the ivory and natural tones and of course the furniture. I can just picture this in my house...smeared with jam, crayons and barbie heads protruding from the cushion, a herd of My Little Ponies piled on the end table :)

Still, it is so pretty!

Curl Up with a Good Book

For some time, I have secretly been coveting my sister-in-law's collection of Penguin Classics. Beside their obvious value as great pieces of literature, the book covers are so pretty and make such a great display piece in her home.

Well, Penguin has done it again. Their newest release of classics like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Sense and Sensibility are so pretty! Do you love the covers?

I want the whole collection but my favorites (aesthtetically speaking) are Emma, Middlemarch, Great Expectations, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Little Women . They all remind me of my grandma who is an avid reader and owns both the book and the movie adaption of most of the classics. If you visit her on the weekend you are likely to find yourself curled up on the couch, completely drawn in to Cranford or Tess of the D'Urbervilles and loosing all track of time. It's fabulous.

v

All of the books are available at Amazon.

I am excited to share a project with you soon but for now I have some sick kids that need me. Stay tuned!

It's Time to Celebrate the Boy!

{image from MADE}

I am excited for a new series that launches tomorrow from one of my favorite blogs, MADE. The series is called "Celebrate the Boy" and it is a whole month dedicated to ideas and inspiration on boy clothing, crafts and more boy stuff. If you have a little guy, you've probably noticed there are not as many fun ideas for our boys as their should be. So MADE is out to change it. I can't wait to see what they've come up with this time. Pop on over on Tuesday and check it out.

A Little Etsy Love: Baby Byrds

Happy Valentines Day! Sadly, two of my sweethearts are sick. But I think these sweet little prints from the Baby Byrds shop would cheer them up. Aren't they fun? They are customizable too.

{Image from Baby Byrds}

{Image from Baby Byrds}

My Funny Valentine, a quick paper craft

The inspiration for this project came from this post at the the Idea Room .

Her paper craft is made with a paper quilling technique that is really cool. But when I thought of paper quilling, I could almost hear my high-maintenance children laughing at me, mocking me for daring to believe I had time for such an endeavour. So I modified the project a bit (K.I.S.S., remember?)

So my version is about as simple as it gets.

First I spray painted this thrift store gold frame with Krylon satin spray paint in Ivory.

The background paper is a pink and cream hounds tooth printed paper from the Lush product line by My Mind's Eye that I found at Robert's Crafts.

I decided to incorporate an old book page, and had originally planned to print some Valentine-related sentiment directly onto the book page...and then my printer ran out of ink. So I pulled the laziest crafting move of all time. Folks, instead of intricate paper quilling or a pretty printed font, I scrawled out my message with a Sharpie. Yes, I did. And I'm not sorry.

Valentines are supposed to be heart-felt and really they should be hand-written, so the Sharpie works, right?

I used a glue stick to attach my "hand-crafted" message to my background paper, and to glue a band of black grosgrain ribbon underneath. Then, using hot glue, I attached some flowers made from tights (read how to make them here). I framed the project and that's all she (I) wrote!

Flowers made from tights

At our house, the life span of a pair of tights is tragically short. I am sure many people can relate to that frustration of snagging a brand new pair of nylons, but now you can put your trashed tights to good use!

Here is my tutorial on making fabric flowers out of hosiery.  As a disclaimer, you should know this is not my idea, I saw something similar on one of my favorite lifestyle shows, but this is my version, so here we go.

1. Cut off tights at the upper thigh, at the point where they are reinforced.

2. Snip off the toe, leaving yourself with a tube.

3. This is the Choose Your Own Adventure part. You have to decide how many layers of material you want. If you are using nylons or very thin tights, you'll probably want two layers, but for thick or textured tights, you generally only need one layer.

Since I am using a very thin pair of nylons, I need two layers. So I fold the tube in half length-wise ( if you are only working with one layer, just lay it flat).

4. Regardless of the number of layers you've made, this step is the same. Make sure all layers are stacked on top of each other evenly and then, using the longest stitch on your sewing machine, simply sew down the middle (don't reverse stitch).

5. If you folded your fabric, cut the folded edge open so that that all of your edges are loose.

6. Take one of the threads at the end of the tights and pull gently (if you pull too hard, the thread will snap and you will have to sew it again).

This is a tedious process so gently slide the fabric down each time your thread feels too tight.

7. Once your material is all bunched up, you will look at it and think, "Hmmm...this is too short to work with." Just slide it outward and adjust it on the thread to the width you want and then snip any trailing threads.

8. Twist one end inward in a spiral to make the center of the flower.

9. Hot glue it together as you wrap the fabric around it's self.

10. Glue a piece of felt to the back of the flower.

11. Now you can attach a pin, or an alligator clip or just glue or sew it directly onto your craft ( I attached pins to mine).

It's so simple and pretty, you'll want to snag all of your tights!

linking up to:

"Hoo Do You Love?" V-Day Craft for Kids

Some times the simplest crafts are the sweetest. My daughter and my nephew loved these paintable owl masks that my mom picked up at JoAnn's. They had a blast painting and peeking out of them.

I'll have what she's having

While indulging in the guilty pleasure of reading a People Magazine at the salon, I skimmed through an article on Kate Goselin. In the interview Kate dispelled all of the rumors about plastic surgery and Botox. While I've never given an ounce of thought to Kate's alleged crow's feet, I was interested to read that all of the rumors about her youthful appearance started when she began using this stuff which she calls her "Botox in a jar." I don't know if I need it quite yet but I'm filing the info away for future use. It looks like Ole Henriksen has a full arsenal of tempting skin care products.

Candy Heart Bracelets

How sweet (literally and figuratively) are these candy bracelets from Brown Paper Packages? Read how to make them here.

Rainbow Cake

(Photo from One Charming Party)

These rainbow cakes have been circling the blogosphere for a while now. I think it's time they circled my table...perhaps for a certain boy's first birthday. See the rainbow cake tutorial at One Charming Party

Cure for the Common Winter

Here is a little retail therapy to combat the winter doldrums. These are some of my favorite new Spring clothes from The Children's Place (all photos are from the Children's Place.)