Honest To Nod

Candy Kisses Nursery by Lay Baby Lay

This nursery from the fall catalog is a bit more girly.  It’s pink, but sophisticated at the same time, and pink and aqua tones make such a happy pairing.  Here is the inspiration we started with for “Candy Kisses”:

Hangin’ Around Lamp / Heart Print / Ice Cream / Owl Always Love You Print / Juju Hat / Hedgehogs in Love Poster / Brass Unicorn, vintage / Bowtie Print / Surprise Party Bedding / White Elemental Crib /Bonjour Heart Pillow / Modern Cube Lamps / Pink Zero Gravity Shelves / Chromatic Pink Dresser / Multiplayer Wall Hook / Chalkboard Globe / Turquoise Half Shell Rug / Retro Rocker / Neon Nighstand / Color Weave Toy Box

And below is how the room came together.  I think this one may be my favorite, but it’s so hard to choose!  The Nod team did such a fantastic job of taking the inspiration and creating these spaces!

It’s so happy and bright!  Those pink acrylic shelves steal the show, and that nightstand is just gorgeous.

I also love this white elemental crib; it’s very clean and minimal and really lets the bedding shine.  How sweet is that pink balloon quilt?  It feels like an heirloom, and is something I could see being passed down to the next generation.   The brass unicorn is also such a fun touch.  One of a kind vintage finds can really add a lot of personality and charm, and I love including animals in children’s spaces.

This pillow reminds me of a piece of candy – so perfect (it goes with the adorable confectionary bedding for big girls)!  It also ties in well with the turquoise rug, which adds just the right amount of pattern.  This room is a great example of how you can use pink in a nursery without making it too frilly.  It’s also perfect inspiration for a toddler room or big girl room, too – it would easily grow with baby and be easy to transition!

Joni Lay is the author of nursery decor blog Lay Baby Lay.  She began writing and curating in 2011 shortly after the birth of her first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience on the side.  The blog is her creative outlet and it is her hope to inspire others to create spaces for their families and little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and also be a place of encouragement in the crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

Milk & Cookies Birthday Party

Hi there! I'm Kelsey Nixon. I host a cooking show on Cooking Channel called Kelsey's Essentials and I recently wrote my first cookbook, Kitchen Confidence. Most importantly, I'm a mom to 2 year old Ollie! I recently threw a birthday bash for him celebrating with two of his favorite things – milk & cookies! He's also a big fan of Elmo and Cookie Monster, so this was an attempt to do something that he really loved, but that didn't have an overly pronounced character theme. After throwing a big party for his 1st birthday where I made all of the food (and ran myself ragged during the process), I decided to just focus on a fun cake this year and not worry about feeding all of our guests an entire meal. By scheduling the casual party later in the afternoon at the park, this worked really well. No one showed up super hungry, yet they were all happy to have a little something fun to eat.

Once I decided to focus on the cake, I knew immediately that I wanted to do a chocolate chip cookie layer cake. I'd never made a "cookie cake" before, but felt like it seemed simple enough to tackle. I altered my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe slightly to make it more of a bar cookie – meaning that it was a bit thicker and more soft on the inside with crispy edges.

I used a springform pan to make the layers the exact same shape, but you could do the same thing with a standard cake pan as well. For the layers of frosting I used a cream cheese based recipe that wasn't too sweet. I was worried that the weight of the cookies would be too much for the frosting, but it ended up working out just fine and the tart flavor of the cream cheese layers was a great compliment to the sweet cookies. I assembled the cake the day before since I had to work the morning of the party and ended up storing the cake loosely covered in the refrigerator. I didn't want the frosting to become too soft causing the layers to shift, but I also didn't want the refrigerator to dry out the cookie. It ended up working out perfectly, and if I were to make the cake again, I'd follow the same method of completing it the day before and storing it in the refrigerator until party time. I sliced the cake with a serrated knife to make sure that I could easily get through the layers.

The cake looked as good as it tasted and ended up being a great conversation piece for the adults throughout the party - I think everyone went home with a verbal tutorial! You can find the full recipe and detailed directions here.

When it came to the decorating details, I used many of the same decorations that we had used at his 1st birthday party. We kept the same color scheme and reused a darling garland (similar here) that felt fun and festive with blues and greens. I'm a big fan of Shop Sweet Lulu and think that they do a great job of curating party decorations. I was able to find some additional details like this number 2 balloon  these mini milk jugs  and these paper goods that helped bring our simple theme to life and made the get together feel celebratory. I used Cookie Crisp cereal to fill the mini milk jugs for favors and also used the crispy cereal pieces to decorate the straws that everyone enjoyed with their milk. I also had some fresh fruit as an option to balance out all the sweets. We used this small picnic table to set up a few details and it was awesome. One of my favorite family purchases for summer!

We held the party at a playground in Central Park that had a small grassy area where we could all congregate. It was perfect for toddlers because the playground kept them contained, yet the adults were still able to mingle a bit on the grass without having to chase their toddlers everywhere. This parachute was fun for both the parents and kids to play with on and off throughout the afternoon.

Overall, I put in a little bit of effort and felt like we all had a great experience – most importantly Ollie had a blast! Since I wasn't so concerned about preparing an entire menu, I was able to focus on Ollie and our guests more. It was a much more enjoyable experience this year! Just like any mom out there, I love the idea of throwing birthday parties for my kids that look like they fell from the pages of Pinterest, but I also know that it's important to be realistic and not overwhelm yourself. This little party felt like a good balance where I focused on a few details (cake, small favors, cookie straws) and let everything else just fall into place.

Happy Birthday Ollie! 2 years old has never looked so good!

Kelsey Nixon (www.kelseynixon.com) is the host of Kelsey’s Essentials on Cooking Channel and author of Kitchen Confidence. Kelsey’s Essentials is also currently airing Mon-Thurs at 3pm on Food Network. Kelsey, her husband Robby, and son Oliver ("Ollie") live in New York City. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Kids Science Club

Hello friends! We had so, so much fun with our recent book club that when The Land of Nod asked us what else we had in store for our kiddos this summer, we knew instantly that we had to expand our group to include science. All of our kids have an interest in the subject and we knew once we put together a little party for the club, they’d be all over it. And they were — despite the sweltering afternoon summer heat (btw, how cute is our motley crew!?!).

Fortunately for us, The Land of Nod carries the most stylish party goods perfectly suited for our club: The Meri Meri Fundamental Party Collection. The bright colors and graphic prints are right up our alley and the incorporation of real scientific principles, concepts and theory make them much more than just pretty partyware. Good looking and smart — a combo we can get behind.

In addition to the party collection, we decorated the entrance to our gathering with a fabulous customizable Pennant Garland spelling out the name of our club. We hung Land of Nod’s gorgeous periodic table of elements Science Banner front and center over our lab for the day. Suzanne’s son Brady is a bit chemistry-obsessed and was over the moon to see the periodic table! We were equally impressed with the quality of canvas and beautiful colors of the artwork. We also draped a graph paper bunting, which we made using our free pennant bunting template, along the top of the elements banner. And even though a table full of sweets was sitting nearby, our kids wasted no time in getting right to the experiments.

We set up three relatively straightforward experiments: making slime; mixing colors; and creating “snow” (you can download free printable blank experiment labels over at A Feteful Life).

I was surprised that the color mixing seemed to be everyone’s favorite. The kids used their custom periodic element initialed lab notebooks (we had to make them after the book club notebooks were such a big hit!) to hypothesize which two colors they needed to mix to achieve their desired result. They took it very seriously and even experimented mixing different ratios of two primary colors to get what they wanted. The “snow” was another messy hit and Suzanne and I were grateful we held the meeting outdoors!

While we waited for the slime to finish congealing, we turned to snack time. I set up a drink as an experiment itself by prepping one of my favorite party drinks: cotton candy + lemonade (a little trick I learned from Sweet Paul awhile ago). When you add lemonade to colored cotton candy … it changes color! Well, the party decided to take it a step further for us. It was so HOT outside that the cotton candy had lost all its moisture and completely solidified. The kids thought it was a hysterical “experiment.” No worries, the lemonade still changed color when we poured it over the petrified candy and earned oohs and aahs from our crowd.

I added periodic element flags to the awesome graph paper straws, which we slipped into the beaker cups. The kids all loved finding their own initialed straw. We served puffed corn snacks and berries in clear cups, which we decorated with leftover stickers from the party collection. For some more sweet, we served up a plate of “whoopie pi,” which sat on a cake stand decorated with a handmade graph paper mini bunting.

We obviously can’t resist DIY accessorizing, so we put together cute labels to wrap around chocolate milk boxes and custom confetti, too. You can find all of the items, including the periodic element flags, in our printable party pack.

To keep the science going after the club adjourned, each kiddo took home an edible experiment: DIY Rock Candy (you can download the free printable favor tag at A Feteful Life). The favor kit included all non-grocery items needed to grow your own rock candy. And I used the bright cupcake wrappers from the Meri Meri kit to top a mason jar containing it all.My kids can’t wait to try it!

It must be obvious from the photos, but we so loved our Science Club. And we think you should have one too! To get you started, we designed an invitation to go with the party pack. Hope your own little scientists are staying busy this summer. Fete on!

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC.  Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.

Fun & Fresh Toddler Moodboard

Mandy wanted to update her daughter’s nursery to a fresh toddler’s room to match her two-year-old’s fun personality. She was hoping for a patterned focal wall and loves the Jenny Lind toddler bed.

Jenny Lind Toddler Bed / Grey Dot Toddler Sheet Set / Widest Stripe Toddler Duvet / Flokai Fluff Round Rug / Andersen Three Drawer Dresser / Precious Metal Navy Nightstand / Checkmate Floor Lamp / Furled Swirl Curtains / Not So Nocturnal Lamp / Studio Pendant / Graduated Tall Bookcase / Dotted Cube Bin / Woven Grey Floor Bin / Fair Weather Garland / Magnifcent Metal Ampersand / You Look Mahvelous Circle Mirror / Chalkboard Growth Chart / Piggy Rocker / Grey Dot Teepee / Once Upon a Hand Puppet Set / Spoonflower Wallpaper

Benjamin Moore Paint Colors: Classic Grey OC-23; Summer Sun Pink 2012-40; Tangerine Dream 2012-30

Design by Kim Grosser of The Land of Nod's Design Services Team. Our Design Services team offers free one-on-one design advice, mood boards and space planning. You have a room to decorate? They'd love to hear from you.

Q&A with Cat Seto

Tell us a bit about yourself…

NAME: Cat Seto
HOMETOWN: Troy, Michigan
CURRENT TOWN: San Francisco, California
FAVE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: Secret Breakfast from Humphrey Slocombe
FAVE BREAKFAST FOOD: Soft scrambled eggs 
FAVE HOLIDAY: Chinese Lunar New Year because we get to do a silly lion dance and light sparklers.
FAVE COLOR: Navy
FAVE MOVIE:  American Beauty
FAVE DECADE: The '80s
FAVE BOOK: Too many to list...but a favorite is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

Tell us about how you came to be an artist?
I have a BFA in painting which I put on the backburner when I had a grant to write the "great novel". But after moving to San Francisco I was hit with horrible writer's block and I started crafting finger puppets to pass the time. After creating hundreds of them I decided to turn those finger puppets into cards. And before I knew it I had illustrated a small stationery collection which I debuted in NY. 

Is there a story behind the name of your company, Ferme à Papier?
Ferme à Papier loosely translates into Farm to Paper. I took my first trip to Paris two years ago and visited biodyamic farms in the countryside along with admiring the chic hipster Parisians in the city. When I returned a series of little drawings and sketches emerged from the trip which I then launched as Ferme à Papier. The entire series is about enjoying the small joys in our everyday.

What are the most rewarding and the most difficult parts of running your own business?
It can be a challenge to balance the creative with the business. Much of my day is filled with answering emails, corresponding on projects and making sure our studio is humming. But there is nothing more rewarding than being able to create something with my hands and share it with my community, retailers and customers. It's a humbling experience and always reminds me of what's important in my creative life.

How would you describe your style?
My collection is painterly, nostalgic and has a Paris meets Brooklyn kind of vibe.

Any other hobbies/interests?
I have a weakness for ice cream and my son and I have haunted just about every spot in the city a few times over. One of my proudest moments may have been when he was able to distinguish vanilla flavors from different parlors :).

Tell us about your new book, Mom Inc.
Mom,Inc. is a guide for establishing a creative business as a mother. It's published by Chronicle Books and co-authored with Meg Ilasco. We give tips on our experiences as small business entrepreneurs and had the fortune of inverviewing 17 other amazing creative moms in design including the moms behind such beloved brands such as Dwell Studio and Skip Hop.

Mom, Inc. available from Chronicle Books

Tell us about your new Equestrian bedding set. What do you love most about it?
I'm really excited about the Equestrian set as horses are a theme that were beloved in my childhood as well as my son's. I used to obsess over the accessories for my model horses so it was a lot of fun to design a sheet filled with horse bits! My Ferme à Papier collection has a deep color palette and I also love that the collection takes this on in a fun, playful mood.

How would you style it in a room?
I think this set would be lovely against all kinds of wood grain and textures...walnut headboards, oak floors, an old, vintage chair. It's also perfect to pair with anything plaid.

Any other favorite Land of Nod products?
I don't know where my life would be without Storagepaloozas. They house all of my son's block, books, crafts and sit perfectly beneath my windows...just genius!

Check out Cat’s stationery line Ferme à Papier and her new bedding set here!

Incorporating Furry Friends into Your Nursery Design

While most people are focused on the arrival of their first child, I wanted to make sure my beloved furry friends were not forgotten and included in all the excitement. My dogs have been there during every step of my pregnancy, so it was important to design a nursery that was fun and safe for my baby and pooches to enjoy. With the help of Land of Nod’s Interior and Events Designer, Kim Grosser, and the rest of the Design Services Team, I accomplished this goal and created a beautiful yet “non-traditional” nursery for my future daughter and a designated space for my adoring companions, Emma and Harley.

By adding simple features and items, Emma and Harley have become part of the nursery design without clouding my original image. Here I have listed some easy ways to incorporate your furry friends while still keeping in mind your overall design aesthetic.

A pouf for your pooch

I wanted a place for Emma and Harley to lounge, while I spend time with the baby. We used one of Land Of Nod’s giant pillow-like poufs that made for a great doggie-bed for the nursery.

Silver Stars Floor Cushion / Garden Trellis Rug / Butterfly Girl Pillow / Charcoal Glider

Hidden Storage

Emma and Harley love playing with toys and in order to keep them from chewing on my baby’s items, I decided the best solution was to keep them separated in this great bin that doubles as a stool for your nursery seating.

Storage Cube 

Wooden Toys

Sticking with wooden toys is a great idea because they can easily be cleaned in case your furry friend decides to take a bite!

 Between a Rock & A Lamp Base / Whale Rattle / Porcupine Rattle / Llama Rattle / Rainbow Stacking Tower (used as display) 

Neutral Territory

I wanted to create a space that my baby could eventually play in and this teepee was a must have on my list.  To get Emma and Harley familiar with our new arrival, I allowed them to rest in the space so they could get more familiar with her surroundings.

Floral Teepee / Garden Trellis Rug / Knit Cat Doll / Plush Goat / Knit Brown Hair Doll / Sugar Cube Plush by Oh Joy

Corri McFadden is the owner and founder of eDrop-Off Luxury Consignment.  As a style expert and successful blogger, she hosts a weekly fashion segment on Chicago’s “You and Me This Morning” and features more tips and tricks on her website, www.corrimcfadden.com and her upcoming site Glitter and Bubbles set to launch later this month.

Baby Bear Nursery by Lay Baby Lay

Hi there!  It’s Joni, from Lay Baby Lay.  I’m excited to share some nurseries created in collaboration with the Land of Nod for the fall catalog.   I love creating inspiration for new and expecting moms looking for ways to make meaningful and imaginative spaces for their little ones, and for these boards I pulled mostly from the beautiful new fall collection, and the Land of Nod team put together the rooms to photograph.  It is so fun seeing the designs come to life, and I hope you are inspired to translate some of these ideas into your home! 

First up, is the Baby Bear nursery. 

This room has a taste of adventure and the outdoors, but still feels clean and bright. The whites in the pillows, shelving, lighting and other details add a bit of polish to keep it from feeling too rustic.

Sources: (1) Adventure a Day Banner; (2) Hanging Around Lamp, White; (3) Overcast Wall Shelf; (4) Aloha Ukelele; (5) Vintage Postcard; (6) Car Love; (7) California Pennant; (8) Black Brimfield Crib; (9) Green Squirrel hook; (10) Blue Bear Hook; (11) Campsite Nightlight; (12) Two Ring Table Lamp Base; (13) Ellipse Dresser; (14) Cinema Floor Lamp; (15) Bear Pillow; (16) Orange Arrow Bedding; (17) Streamline Metal Nightstand; (18) Backpacking Banner; (19) Lattice Floor Bin; (20) Numbers Pouf; (21) Green Patina Rug; (22) Where the Heart Is Map

 

And here is the room, all put together:

I love the rich green pops of color, and all the camping artwork is just perfect.  Don’t be afraid to mix wood tones; the black in the spindle crib and the rich walnut of the dresser pair well together.  Everything doesn’t have to match, and the space will have a more custom feel when you mix finishes.  

I love the simple and graphic bedding.  It keeps the traditional spindle crib feeling a bit more modern.  Adding in collected vintage treasures, like the green children’s books, hand me down baby boots, and postcard mementos make the space unique and special.

This palette will work great for a girl or a boy room, so this is excellent inspiration if you are waiting to find out the gender, or if you would prefer a less frilly space for your girl! 

Joni Lay is the author of nursery decor blog Lay Baby Lay.  She began writing and curating in 2011 shortly after the birth of her first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience on the side.  The blog is her creative outlet and it is her hope to inspire others to create spaces for their families and little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and also be a place of encouragement in the crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

A Midsummer Mingle

We're constantly inspired by the beautiful events put on by the blog community. So, when a few of our blogger friends reached out to us about a sponsorship for a lovely garden party, we just couldn't resist. 

Boy do these ladies know how to throw a party.

(Brittany of House the Lars Built, Mete of One More Mushroom, Eva of Sycamore Street Press, Sarah of Sarah Jane Studios, Merrilee of Mermag Blog, Melanie and Alma of Caravan Shoppe)

Visit One More Mushroom for even more photos of this beautiful party.

Shared Spaces: Great Room

Molly’s family had just added a ton of square footage to their house to create a “great room”, where they will spend most of their time. It had to function as living room, a home office and a play room for her three & five year old. 

Joya Rocker / Variegated Pouf / Gold Bars Rug / Sloane Bookcase / Prairie Desk / Class Act Desk Chair / Twig Mirror / Ellipse Nightstand / Elwood Play Table / Flea Market Barrel Chair / Flea Market Spindle Chair / Gumball Lamp / Modern Cube Lamp / Bird Coat Rack / Bubble Clock / Cork Rail / On the Wall Shelf / Circle Chalkboard / Sequin Heart Pillow / Plush Pooch

Benjamin Moore Paint Colors: Brewster Grey HC-162; Simply White  OC-117

Design by Kim Grosser of The Land of Nod's Design Services Team. Our Design Services team offers free one-on-one design advice, mood boards and space planning. You have a room to decorate? They'd love to hear from you. 

Kids Book Club

All the AFL kiddos are big readers. Well, they aren’t all reading independently, but it’s safe to say Suzanne and I spend A LOT of time reading to our littles. So we thought it would be really fun to have a summer book club for the kids along with a few other friends. And have a little party {with cute decorations} while we’re at it, obviously. Our plan is to do about one per month. We read a book (sometimes a few times), get together for a little discussion and a project, and then follow-up when we can with some sort of related field trip. To help get the kids thinking ahead of time (and allay any nervousness about participating), we had each child think of a discussion question they wanted to ask. And each family will to take a turn hosting and “leading” the discussion.

The kiddos span from rising PK’ers to rising 1st graders (plus a few younger siblings), so for our first book, we picked one of the Magic Treehouse series, which seems to work well for many ages: Abe Lincoln at Last! I have to say, I was pretty impressed. As one mom said, “well, they certainly spent longer discussing the book than the adults have at any book club I’ve been to.” And I totally agree. They all came up with good questions and insightful answers.

To help everyone take notes, write thoughts, or just draw pictures, we made chalkboard name tag notebooks — they seemed to go over well and keep all the kids sitting still(ish) for the discussion. When everyone started to get a bit restless, we switched over to the other big business of our first meeting: the club name, of course! My son Kane spent a good chunk of time making a “ballot box” and the kids all voted on the name. After settling a little ballot-box stuffing, we ended up with a tie and merged two names together to make: The DC Duck Book Worms!

Our DDBWs then did a little craft (making “log cabins”) and all wrote a wish for our “Hope Jar” (the book we read involves giving Abe Lincoln hope with a feather). Then there was lots of pizza and brownies. Running and screaming ensued. The moms hid in the kitchen for cocktail hour. All together, a pretty successful first book club. We plan to have a Lincoln-related field trip once we can pick a good spot — there are lots of options since we live in DC. We’ll report back!

Post by Rebecca

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC.  Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.