Bench Cushion

We got this great bench from Pottery Barn over a year ago, and I keep meaning to make a cushion for it. I've been playing around with a couple fabric ideas.

I've had this fabric from Maine Cottage for awhile that I thought I would use in another project that didn't work out:

It looks nice on the bench, but I think this pop of red would be more fun (fabric from Company C):

On further thought, I think the fabric from Maine Cottage would look better on a seat cushion for my office chair. It ties in nicely w/ the subtle colors from the rug:

I'd like to trim both cushions with some type of piping/cording. I'm no expert at that, but I'll just have to play around with it. Now, I just have to find the right foam for the cushions, and another project will be underway!

Sweet Easter to You!

Last year, I designed The Sweet Little Book of Cupcakes written by the talented bakers of Sweet, a popular cupcake shop in Boston and Cambridge. One of my favorite photos in the book was of these Easter cupcakes. I'm a little afraid of the whole fondant concept, so I think I'll be making an Easter bunny cake instead. I bought the cake mold from William Sonoma several years ago, and I've had two successful attempts with it, and one big flop that left me running out to a bakery at the last moment. The key is to get the cake thick, and let it cook completely.

Here are is a peek at the book:

P.S. Anyone who knows me well, knows how much my son Jake likes pink. I found this adorable shirt at Crewcuts. I've never tried their clothes for him before, so I'm hoping it will fit well when it arrives! He'll be so handsome, won't he? I just love dressed up kids for Easter. Don't you?

Happy Easter everyone!

What did you work on today Mommy?

Jake (sweetie that he is), has started asking me about my day at work while we're eating dinner.

"Today, I designed a book that Auntie M painted the pictures of birds and flowers for."

"A book about birds mom? Are there nests in it?"

"Yes, sweetie, and you can have a book when it's done!"

(OK, it's not really about birds, it's a little inspirational quote book.) Here's a sneak peek:

Welcome to New York

Here's a sneak peek of another fold-out play set I've been working on. The theme of this, of course, is New York City, and will feature 3 fold out scenes of Manhattan with several paper dolls, and NY city characters (artists, dog walker etc) to assemble and play with on the fold-out scenes.

The cover is rough, and I just pieced things together to show the illustrator, Amy Saidens, what we had in mind. I think it's really fun. What do you think? Does it make you want to visit New York?

Mustaches...funny or tres passe?

Part of my job is to spot trends. If you look around, you can hardly miss mustaches popping up all over just about anything. My boss was surprised...mustaches? Really? Well, just look. I'm not sure if the trend is now on a downward spiral, but if you ask me, a fake mustache is usually funny. What do you think? Is there room in the market for another mustache item?

This trend has certainly covered all the major product categories...

Baby:

(From top left, clockwise: Booties: Pleasantly Plump Knits; Onesie: BK Chic Boutique; Pacifier: Piquant Designs;  Print: Sugar Fresh)

Home Decor:

(From top left, clockwise: Print: ReStyle; Digital transfer on Pillow: Black & White Designs; Glass: Bread & Badger)

Party:

(From top left, clockwise: Straws: Sew and Such; Mustaches on a Stick: Loriii; Fake Mustaches: Amazon)

Personal Style:

(From top left, clockwise: Necklace and Ring: Supermarket; Carstache: Urban Outfitters; Shirt: Red Brick Wall)

Stationery/Gift:

(From top left, clockwise: Note cards: Screw You, Martha!; Pencils: Crib Candy; Journal: Sass and Peril; Pen: Seltzer) 

P.S. Jake is lucky he's not a baby anymore. I'd definitely be pushing one of those pacifiers on him!

Simple and Cute

I was browsing through Etsy today, and came across these darling pillows by Sukan. Every now and then I see something, and wish I'd come up with the idea myself! So instead, I'll just share her lovely creations with you!

Painting with a twist

I've got projects on my mind lately, and the desire to play with paint...with a twist! While exploring fun paint projects lately, I came across these cool paint supplies from Rustoleum that I never knew existed.

Of course, I've known about chalkboard paint, but did you know that they have glow in the dark paint, dry erase paint, and magnetic paint? How cool is that? I've always believed that at least 25% of creativity is knowing about the right supplies. Another 25% of the equation is actually having the supplies on hand so you can actually get started!

Have you tried any of these paints? If so, I'd love to hear about it, and see what you made!
Have fun creative friends!

Pelmet Boxes with Nailhead Trim

Voila! Here is a peek of my finished pelmet boxes for our living room...a project that I put off for a good long while before starting for fear of messing up. No worries, my friends, it was SUPER easy, and in total took less than 2 hours to make two of them!

Below, here's how things looked before...we have two windows on either side of our couch. There isn't room enough for full length curtains like I've made for the other windows in the room because they are too close to the couch, and the fabric would be bunched behind our end tables (which are yet to be purchased 3-1/2 years later!). I got these bamboo shades from JC Penney, but overall the look was too plain...don't you agree? I love the fabric I purchased from Hable Construction for the curtains, and wanted to tie it into the rest of the room.

So, my solution was to make pelmet boxes using the same fabric as the curtains on the other windows. I bought styrafoam from Michaels, and these handy u-haped pins...

 

I measured the width of the window plus 2 inches on either side. The styrafoam was a little short, so with a kitchen knife, I cut an extra piece, and taped it on with masking tape. I secured it with the u-shaped pins. Then I cut a 2-inch piece to give it depth and taped and pinned that together as well.

Here's what they looked like when I got them all taped and pinned together:

 

Here's a close-up of how I secured the adjoining edges with the u-shaped pins.

I lay the fabric on the floor, and covered it with a thin batting. I had cut the fabric about 6 inches wider than the area of the pelmet boxes. Then, I just wrapped the fabric and batting around the edges and pinned it all into place with my u-shaped pins (do you note how often I'm mentioning the u-shaped pins? I'm a fan! If I ever need to secure things, my first thought will be of u-shaped pins!)

Ta Da! All wrapped!

But wait, they're a little bland...missing something, right?

Enter nailhead trim! I'm now also a HUGE new fan of nailhead trim, and if I had more time on my hands, I might just nailhead trim the couches in the living room (and go on from there!) It's really cool...it comes in a roll, and every fifth nailhead on the roll has a hole. You insert the tack provided in the hole, and that's what keeps it on....

or SHOULD keep it on. Here I ran into a snag, because the tacks were not holding in the holey styrafoam. SO, back to the u-shaped pins. I secured them close to the base where the pin should be inserted, and then inserted the pin. The pins are actually holding everything together, but unless you look super close, I don't think you notice...do you?

I was in a hurry to hang them up, so my very unprofessional secret that you DON'T see is that I twisted purple pipe cleaners and pinned them to the back, and just hung them on hooks I nailed into the wall. The pelmet boxes are very light, and haven't fallen down yet!

So, I'm not the best photographer, and my living room is by no means "done", but here's where we're at!

I'll need to focus on getting some end tables, and maybe switch out the coffee table for something less damaging if Jake were to hit his head on it. Onward!

Time for Doughnuts!

At bedtime last night, Jake told me he thought we should make donuts (he's 3). I said I didn't know how (thinking it would be best that we don't do cooking projects that involve hot oil), and he told me that you just get sugar, ice, strawberries, orange juice, and more sugar and mix it up and then frost it with pink. It sounds like a bit like a smoothie, but he did speak with such authority that I almost had to believe him!

Enjoy the recipe folks!

(Above, Melissa and Doug wooden doughnuts available at Amazon)

(Above,: DIY felt doughnuts... instructions here)

(Above: The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg available here)

(Above: Doughnut pushpins by Emarie Creations through Etsy here)

Shopping Bags

My mom has always had a "thing" for shopping bags (or "status" bags as she likes to call them) that she's collected from travels all over the world. They always tended to pile up in the garage, only to be parted with when we really REALLY needed an extra bag. I found this image online and sent it to her...I think it's a very clever way to display your favorite bags. Wouldn't it be great in an amazingly huge closet/dressing room?

(Sorry, I can't remember where I found the image...looks like it was scanned from a magazine. If you know, please let me know and I will give credit where it's due!)

Last weekend bonanza

Last weekend, we managed to pull off three parties for Jake's third birthday. (I wonder if this means we'll have to plan four next year?!?!?!). This was done w/ some finesse despite the fact, I was sick, my mom had the flu and was down for the count, and everyone else soon followed in our footsteps, including Jake. It's been a nutty week to say the least! For his friend's party, as much as I love the idea of having it at our house, I just couldn't manage it, so we decided to have it at a local kid's gymnastics place which was great. He wanted an "M&M" party, so I managed to fit in some personal touches like these fun M&M t-shirts as party favors (very easy to make!), and some funky cupcakes. They weren't quite the colors I had in mind, but I realized I bought the wrong type of frosting...some neon color kit, and the only colors that resembled M&M's were orange and green. And, I was somewhat hampered by the fact that Jake woke up early in the morning, just as I was getting ready to frost and decorate them..."you frosting the cupcakes Mom? I'm going to help!". (How do I resist such a sweet offer?)

I always love the beautiful photos of kids parties that I see on blogs with exquisite dessert tables, but I always wonder...what do these talented people actually DO with the kids when they COME to the party? Ten 3-year-olds in our house is a LOT. Yes, I can imagine it if I was guaranteed warm, sunny weather, or had a very large house, but...the 10 kids also each come with at least one parent, and add some family in there, and you've got quite a crowd. Also, frankly, (and Scrooge-ly of me), I don't want Jake eating an enormous amount of candy and sugar even if it IS his birthday, which these exquisite tables tend to feature. The idea of letting 3-year olds loose on a table filled with candy is enough to make me want to immediately go back to bed.

I'm hoping it will be warmer for Easter, and I can invite some of his little buddies over for an Easter egg hunt/party...outside!

Hope you all have had fun weekends!

How sweet it is

Today, Jake is turning 3...and what a wonderful adventure we've had! I absolutely love this age and everything he's discovering, learning, thinking, and feeling. One of my favorite things is, that at this age, he is not yet very influenced by outside pressures. Purple polar fleece is cool, mom is awesome, hugs are great. AND, so is a new soccer bike with a pink Disney horn complete with purple bow. I love it! And, most of all...I love him!