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By Sarah Culbertson
Once upon a time a fashion plate from Seattle met a childrens retailer from Chicago, and it was love at first sight. After spending a lot of time together at the mall, they both knew it was a perfect match. So Sarah packed up her fabulous Kate Spade suitcase and headed for the Windy City. Where they lived happily ever after, designing and developing textiles for little kiddos everywhere.
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Hi, Abigail here from Paper & Cake. We may just know a thing or two about birthdays, we've been designing printable party decorations since 2008. Paper & Cake offers original themed-party collections that can be download, personalized and printed out - at home.
Whether you are planning Baby's First Birthday or a Sweet 16, from Dinosaurs to Damask, we've got you covered!
Designing this retro striped Birthday Party set for the Land of Nod has us celebrating! Photos of this ultra cool party are featured in this month's catalog as well, we hope they inspire your next birthday bash.
Download free printable partyware for next birthday bash or check out customizable items.
Post by Abigail: Paper and Cake
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My two year old has been on a painting spree lately, and has actually produced some pretty good looking pieces. While I tend to throw away the majority of her scribbles over time (shhh, don't tell!), I have been wanting to make an art wall in her room to showcase her best work. This custom bunting was the perfect way to transform her paintings:
The lighting in that part of her room isn't great so it was hard to get a good picture, but it really is pretty! Making the bunting was super simple. I first cut out a triangle template from a piece of card stock:
Then I traced around it on all her artwork, trying to include the most colorful parts of her painting:
When I was cutting these out, my daughter said "Ooh, pizza slices!"... ah, to see the world through a 2 year old's eyes!! Quite a colorful array when put together:
Then all it took was some of my trusty twine (buy yourself a roll...it comes in handy for so many things), and a hole puncher to make a hole at the two top corners of each triangle and then string the twine through:
I then tied the twine around a nail at each end of the wall and voila!
Have you found some unique ways to transform your child's art? Please share!
Post by Haeley : Design Improvised
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Every Fall, we take a roadtrip to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We fill our car with lots of books, toys and an iPad or two and head off on an eight-hour trek. Our kids are pretty good about keeping themselves entertained, but I have to admit, I’ve responded to more than my share of “I dropped my toy and need it back right now” requests while driving. This year, I’m making a couple of magnetic toy cases to take things on the road and, hopefully, keep them (somewhat) in place.
For the first one, I decided to create a series of colorblock magnets that Jenna can arrange and rearrange into different compositions.
Here are the materials I used:
Step
1: Paint the wooden shapes
I started by painting a series of wooden squares and circles in a variety of colors. I also taped some of the squares in order to create different shapes and patterns.
Step 2: Attach magnet tape to the shapes
Once the paint was dry, I cut the magnetic tape into small pieces and attached them to the back of the shapes. I used a magnetic tape that already had adhesive on one side, but you could also glue, if necessary.
Step 3: Apply the magnetic paint to the inside of the box
I painted the inside of the box with Martha Stewart magnetic paint. I used 3 coats per the instructions and let dry completely between coats. You can also paint over this with another paint (if you want a different color surface), but I preferred to minimize the steps involved.
Step 4: Add the magnets
Once the magnetic paint was completely dry, I attached the magnets. I also added a ribbon to the inner edge of the box by gluing it with fabric glue. I’m going to see how this holds up, but might end up using a staple gun to make it more secure.
Although I chose to create my own magnets for this one, I’m also looking at ways to “magnetize” existing toys like Legos, notepads and crayons, etc. Maybe this year, we can also avoid losing any toys!
Post by Julee Dyer : Warm Hot Chocolate
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Unfortunately, babies don’t come equipped with instruction manuals. They also don’t come with additional living space. So, this often means taking a space you’d previously been using for something else (an office, a guest room or even a closet in your bedroom) and turning it into a nursery.
Carving out extra space in a home that’s already filled to the brim is definitely a challenge. The best thing to do is to try to throw away all your preconceived notions about how the space functions and look at every nook and cranny as an option. In the room shown here we removed the doors off a closet to create a nursery nook within the master bedroom. While this may not work for a two year old, it’s definitely an option for an infant. We painted the inside of the closet a lively triangle pattern. It gives the “nursery” some personality, while allowing the rest of the space to still remain sophisticated for mom and dad.
You’re probably wondering what you’d do with all the stuff that used to be stored in the closet. We’d suggest investing in some under bed storage for the time being. They’re a great option for storing out of season clothes and linens.
If a closet or nook isn’t an option, just go ahead and create a space. The use of a screen or bookcase as a room divider would work well in a master bedroom. Simply designate a corner of the room for the baby and have some fun with it.
The fact is when you start sharing your home with a baby, you’re going to have to make space, a lot of space. The bedroom is just the beginning, prepare to pack away those martini glasses, too because bottles and sippy cups will also need a home! But the needs for space will ebb and flow, so the more flexible you can be, the better your home will function. Reminds me of my husband’s childhood home. His folks added an addition with a dining room, which was then walled off to be a bedroom for his brother, sure you had to enter it through the kitchen, but it worked. Then when he left for college, the wall came down and his mom got her dining room back. So, don’t get rid of those martini glasses, you’ll have space for them again at some point, I promise.
By Danielle Kurtz
Danielle is the Creative Director at Nod and an over-protective mother of two. She’s also completely obsessed with Pinterest, Twitter and her Kindle, but not necessarily in that order. Danielle loves to craft, sew and crochet, but all her supplies have a layer of dust on them about 5-years-thick, wonder if it's just a coincidence that her oldest kiddo is 5 years old?
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I love the idea of a brother and sister sharing a room, and with a few simple steps, it’s actually not too hard to pull off a cohesive look. When designing a bedroom, I most often start with the bedding. It tends to make the biggest statement in the room. In the case of a boy/girls shared room, I suggest sticking with classic patterns. Think plaids, dots, stripes, ginghams. The patterns are timeless and can work for boy and girl. Use the same pattern for both beds, just change up the color palette based on their preference. (Quick aside, the plaid duvet in the pink is AMAZING!!! It’s the first thing I bought for my daughter from the new fall collection.) Also, mix in some basics in solid colors, so the prints don’t overwhelm. Our sweatshirt and moving blankets are good options.
Next, I’d choose a rug. You can go one of two ways with this. You can pick one that has a lot of color in it, including the colors in the bedding. This will help pull everything together and add a little punch to the room. Or, if there’s a common color in both beds, in this case it would be navy, choose a solid rug in that color. Again, this will help the two beds make sense together.
Then, for the furniture, I’d opt for classic, clean lines. With, ideally, both beds being the same. If you do have one child that’s particularly opinionated, let’s say a super girly, girl that wants a dramatic headboard, then at least try to stick with the same finish on the two beds.
For the accessories, I’d suggest a color-coding system. Since you have so much color already happening in the bedding and rug, think about choosing one color for each child and getting them a lamp, storage and other accessories in their colors. It should cut down on arguments, and look visually pleasing.
Lastly, be sure you give each child a space to make their own. In this case, we used bulletin boards over their beds, so each could display their collections and art.
By Danielle Kurtz
Danielle is the Creative Director at Nod and an over-protective mother of two. She’s also completely obsessed with Pinterest, Twitter and her Kindle, but not necessarily in that order. Danielle loves to craft, sew and crochet, but all her supplies have a layer of dust on them about 5-years-thick, wonder if it's just a coincidence that her oldest kiddo is 5 years old?
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Decorating a functional and beautiful room for your child can be quite a challenge. But, imagine creating a bedroom that has to work for a 2 year old girl and her 6 year old brother. Or a kitchen that must also function as a playroom. Or a nursery that’s also a guest room. Or, even a master bedroom that’s now home to a newborn, as well. These are all real challenges that parents face on a regular basis.
Kids don’t just live in their rooms, they live in the whole house. And creating a home with harmony of function and design can be extremely challenging. So, throughout the course of the next several weeks, I’ll be blogging about some shared space solutions.
And, if you have a challenge that we’re not addressing, I’d love to hear about it. And, I’d be happy to offer some suggestions to help.
By Danielle Kurtz
Danielle is the Creative Director at Nod and an over-protective mother of two. She’s also completely obsessed with Pinterest, Twitter and her Kindle, but not necessarily in that order. Danielle loves to craft, sew and crochet, but all her supplies have a layer of dust on them about 5-years-thick, wonder if it's just a coincidence that her oldest kiddo is 5 years old?
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I am finally getting around to posting the pictures of my mirrors with my embroidery hoops...maybe this is silly, but I really do love the way it all came together. This is the first time we have any sort of "design" in a bedroom of ours so it sort of makes me feel extra "proud", haha! The mirrors do help to open the room up a bit, which is definitely needed because it is quite small.
Don't those bullseye mirrors do such funny things to those on the other end!
Oh, and if you plan to do this sometime...my suggestion is to use Command Strips to hang the embroidery hoops. It really makes things much easier. There is no need to bang a bunch of holes in the wall because the hoops are so light, plus, using the strips makes the puzzle of placing them much easier. You probably won't get it right the first time (at least I didn't) and when you don't you can just start all over again!
Post by Jane : Buzzmills
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