Ask Design Mom: White Dress for a Girl

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Gabrielle, I'm looking for a white dress for my school age daughter. Any suggestions? xoxox, Emily W.

Design Mom Answer:
Oh. I love this question! Summer is the perfect time to shop for a white dress. I found lots of pretty options. Some are splurges. Some are over the top expensive. And some are quite reasonable.



I love this drop-waist style by Jean Bourget. And this ruffle dress from crewcuts.



Olive Juice has three pretty styles in white — and on sale too! — try here, here and here. And check out this luxe silk organza affair at Flora and Henri (pictured at top).

Some many lovely choices. It makes me long to see my girls in white all summer long.

Neat Receipts

Do you remember seeing the Neat Receipts? It's a little device that quickly scans and stores receipts and business cards as searchable pdfs. And then it exports the information directly into your financial software files or as expense reports. Pretty handy if you keep track of tax deductions or have a home based business. It's the kind of tool that my order-seeking brain craves. But alas, I've never had the excuse to pick one up, because they're PC-only. And I'm a mac.

So imagine my delight when I heard a version had recently become available for Mac users. Be still my heart.

We just so happen to be in the midst of overhauling and questioning how we keep our financial records. What we'll keep on paper. What we'll keep electronically. How we intend to back up e-files and hard copies. How often we'll update the records. Where we'll store information until we can input it. What we can throw away.

We don't know exactly how our system will fall into place. We're still experimenting. But I'm thinking Neat Receipts is a handy little tool that might help us get where we want to be.

Stuff White People Like

Some time ago I noticed a blog listed on kirtsy called Stuff White People Like. And it was so funny. And I loved it. And I shared it here. And then I forgot about it.

And then I remembered. Because last week I received the brilliant book, based on the brilliant blog. And once again I can't stop talking about it. I want to send a copy to everyone I know. And quote the entire contents to you in this blog post. I want to tell you to go out right. this. minute. and buy the book so you can learn about white people stuff like NPR and Oscar Parties and David Sedaris and Native Wisdom. And Cleanses. Because white people love Cleanses.

Seriously, you will love Stuff White People Like. You will belly laugh. And look for excuses to quote from the book to impress your friends. And wonder aloud at the insight, humor and genius of Christan Lander. I think it's my new favorite hostess gift.

Hello Again!

Nice. It feels good to be back.

And now that I'm back, the first thing I want to do is give a big thank you to Burgin for going above and beyond with the fantastic posts last week. She was amazing, right? Yay Burgin! Please come back any time.



Second, I have to tell you that in addition to having a whole week to catch up on work and house and miscellaneous and sundry (which was wonderful), we had a terrific school's-out-summer's-here weekend as well. It was all about WALL-E on Friday — Ralph says it's now his favorite Pixar flick. Grimaldi's, ice cream and the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday. And on Sunday I spoke to a gathering of teenagers from my church about all the cool things to do in the city this summer. Which got me totally pumped for all the cool things to do in the city this summer!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? Of course you did! Come on, share the fun stuff.

So Long, Farewell — By Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Well, it’s been fun kids. I want to thank Gabrielle so much for allowing me to occupy her space with my rants and raves over the last week. She is such a gracious hostess that I’m crossing all my extremities in hopes of a realio, trulio party invite one day. (Pick me! Pick me! PICK ME!)

Thank you all for the lovely comments, and those of you who skipped on over to my blogs, the door’s always open. To follow me in my quest to collect all the vintage children’s books in the world, come back and see me again at Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves… or to hear me ramble on and on and on about said kid and my life here in the hottest state, come on down to Scribbling in San Antonio. Remember, Monday is the day you can win a book for free, and the rest of the week, well… that’s just filler.

Have a happy fourth gang!!!

Sighning off.

TRAVEL — The World of M. Sasek — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Many of you mod-savvy moms out there will already be familiar with M. Sasek. Yet, as a blogger of vintage kids’ books, if I didn’t post on him here under the realm of kids and travel on a blog with the word design in the title, I would be remiss.

Quite possibly one of the coolest mid-century children’s books authors ever, Czech artist, illustrator, and author — Miroslav Sasek — created a series of travel-related books for tots (sort of) called “This Is”. Wonderful illustrations infused with real-life historical tips and a sharp sarcasm make these a great way to introduce your kids to new places without ever leaving your living room. Some of the titles have been reissued, but for the others, you’ll have to join the search along with the rest of us.

This is Paris (1959, reissued 2004)
This is London (1959, reissued 2004)
This is Rome (1960, reissued 2007)
This is New York (1960, reissued 2003)
This is Edinburgh (1961, reissued 2006)
This is Munich (1961)
This is Venice (1961, reissued 2005)
This is San Francisco (1962, reissued 2003)
This is Israel (1962)
This is Cape Canaveral (1963) (Later published as This is Cape Kennedy)
This is Ireland (1964, reissued 2005)
This is Hong Kong (1965, reissued 2007)
This is Greece (1966)
This is Texas (1967, reissued 2006)
This is the United Nations (1968)
This is Washington, D.C. (1969)
This is Australia (1970)
This is Historic Britain (1974)



This drawing is of the Amarillo Livestock Auction from my son’s all time favorite — of course — This is Texas. Check out a slide show of art from the whole “This Is” series here. You won’t be disappointed.

TRAVEL — Get Moving — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

August has driven cross country twice. Flown to New Orleans, Charleston, Seattle, New York, Santa Fe, and Indiana — some on multiple trips. Most recently, we spent a month in Mexico, getting to know the locals in San Miguel. Even at times when I’ve been home sick, lonely, travel weary, or have found a language barrier to be isolating and frustrating, it didn’t seem to matter much to him. Always resourceful, kids adapt to situations pretty easily if parents keep their cools.

I always try and make each trip engaging for him — making sure he samples the local food, he listens to the local music, and that we have plenty of books on hand so that he can get a feel for the place and its culture. If we stop longer than a moment in any spot on the globe, he’s liable to instantly make friends. He’s seen way more than I ever saw when I was three, so I know how lucky August is.

As a single mom of three on a tight budget, my mom didn’t have a ton of money to spend on vacations. Even so, by the time I was 12, I’d been up and down the east coast any number of times and hit every historical hotspot from NYC to Gettysburg. Granted, in today’s gas guzzling, $4-a-gallon era, it is not as cheap or environmentally-friendly to own the road. (My husband is trying to make up for the giant carbon footprint we left on our driving trip to Mexico by taking the bus to work four times a week.)

Even if you don’t have the time, money, and inclination to get out and show your child the world, you can at least make the next town over seem like paradise. Just north of San Antonio where we live is a little town called New Braunfels. They have a children’s museum way better than ours, a nice main street full of restaurants and shops, a wildlife park, and a snake farm! Taking August there for a day trip… I might as well be jetting him to Paris. There is something about going to a new place (even those close to home) that ignites his imagination and opens up his world view.

So no matter where you go or what you do — a cruise to Jamaica or a bus ride two towns over — get your kids moving. They’ll love you for it.

TRAVEL — Money is Time — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

My husband and I enjoyed our honeymoon before the marriage — taking a sabbatical from our careers to fly round the world. I’ve always thought Social Security should fund a brief mid-life retirement so people can recharge or switch gears if they want to. Sans a government check, we worked, saved up, and loved every hard-earned minute of our new found freedom, but anywho... 16 countries and seven months later, we thought if we can come out of that close-quartered experience still loving each other, we must be doing something right.

The moment August was conceived we began planning and saving for various trips back to share our favorite spots. The safari through Tanzania he’ll take at 11, where he’ll poke his head through the sunroof of a Land Cruiser and see a lion in the wild for the first time. The summer between junior high and high school when the whole family will grab Eurail passes and explore the French countryside. Sipping coffee with August and his fiancé in Hanoi right before their wedding day. To me, saving up for these big life journeys is just as vital as a 529. We’re not loaded either, so these trips have already found their way onto my husband’s savings spreadsheet. Though I realize that’s not the dreamiest sentiment, in the long run, the payoff will be priceless.

We recently attended a friend’s wedding in New Mexico, and in lieu of a traditional registry, they registered online with Traveler’s Joy. I wish this had been around five years ago when we got hitched. Instead of registering for flatware and a china pattern (most of my friends got married over 30 and already had that kind of stuff anyway), they registered for all things honeymoon-related from plane tickets, a new camera, and matching luggage to candlelit dinners on the beach, UV-protective hoodies, and snorkel trips for two. Way more romantic than a toaster oven.

Shoot, a registry like this could work as a funnel for your child’s graduation gifts. Or for a baby shower! Or maybe you already wanna start planning a second honeymoon? Or would that be like registering for a second baby shower? Too presumptuous?

ART — Stuff for Walls… Yummy. — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

August’s room is in a constant state of redecoration as sometimes it more closely resembles a science lab or a library than a child’s room. When not filling his walls with paintings by his grandmother or dinosaur posters out of National Geographic magazine, I am constantly on the lookout for original art and prints I think he might enjoy. I bought one of these hysterical Donald Roller Wilson knockoffs off of eBay all the way from China when he was first born, and he is still obsessed with the “crazy monkey”.

I love all things Etsy – who doesn’t really? – and in addition to the rad drawings by Rebecca Horwood I mentioned the other day, August also has this little moose ditty by Nate. One of my favorites though is a print of a painting by the amazing Austin artist Jay Long. I am madly in love with his stuff, and Jay’s silhouette paintings are unbelievable to see in person.

A few years back, I visited a friend in NYC and checked out her newly designed nursery in Brooklyn. As her husband is an architect and she’s a pretty swanky magazine editor, of course everything about it was tasteful and inspiring. The highlight of the visit was a print that seemed vaguely familiar and absolutely intriguing. I immediately researched it and discovered it as a poster called “The Land of Make Believe” — a work created by the artist Jaro Hess for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. Just as its title implies, it maps everything from where Little Red Riding Hood visited grandma to Jack climbing the bean stalk.



Right away, I found a vintage copy on eBay, and wrapped it up for Lost in Texas’ daughter as a birthday gift thinking there would be an abundance of vintage copies available. Sadly, I have yet to find another, and have been too cheap to splurge on the new version. Perhaps you will not be so thrifty once you get an eyeball full of its awesomeness. (Even though Lost in Texas adores her daughter’s “Marimekko frame kit”, she, of course, made room.)

ART — Painting, Coloring and All That Jazz — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Create an art space for your child that is permanent, varied, and always open. Pick a spot. Mount an easel. And leave all the supplies out. So what if the paint dries up because junior’s been too busy building train tracks all week. If the supplies are open and there, there is no schedule and a kid can create when the mood strikes him without having to wait for mommy or daddy to ready the spill proof cups or debag the crayons.



And speaking of crayons, I am sure these are made out of some toxic chemical that is going to peel back the ozone layer, but what’s up with Crayola’s new Twistable Slick Stix Crayons? The colors are amazing. They are almost like paint, but they are definitely crayons. Everything August draws with these is so vibrant and alive; I wanna mount them on the hood of my car for the world to see.

ART — Art Museums Are For Babies Too! — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

As the daughter of a museum director dad and a painter mom, I started going to museums the moment I came out of the womb. Somewhere I read once that you shouldn’t “drag” kids into an art museum until they are older, and I think that sentiment is total baloney. My son was propped up in a stroller the first time he visited the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, and though we stayed only 35 minutes, I’ll never forget the moment he looked at Jackson Pollock’s White Light and screamed “Look at all the pretty colors Mom!” He then went on to tell me Christina in Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth looked like our neighbor Mary Ann. When it came time to pick out something from the gift shop, he selected postcards of both paintings. Awwww. (Museum gift shops are the best places to shop for awesome kids’ stuff, and the MOMA Design Store is worth a trip to NYC all by itself.)

The key to taking kids’ to art museums is to let them take it on their own pace. Don’t go expecting to see everything. Choose one exhibit and stay as long as the child feels comfortable. Ask your child to tell you about what they see. Engage them in the full experience. Talk about the colors. Count the shapes. Most museums encourage kids to come in and have a look see. After all, they are the next generations of patrons (and donors). On a recent trip to Santa Fe, we visited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and the admissions provided us with a copy of the children’s book My Name is Georgia and pointed us to a bench to read before taking in the show.

I find that memberships make the experience much more enjoyable. They allow you to stay five minutes or 50 and really feel comfortable letting your kid set the pace. Even going a handful of times over the course of the year can earn your money back, plus you often get invited to member exclusive events that are kid-centered. Your local museum should be a place your child feels comfortable. A place he or she can call his own. It shouldn’t be looked at as a treat to be enjoyed only once a year on a school trip.

I know going to museums seems like a luxury, and those on a tight schedule and budget can feel overwhelmed. However, it’s these little moments with your family can build a lifetime of cool memories and expand your little one’s world view. Plus, maybe you’ll learn something along the way.

Still not convinced to make the trek out? One of my favorite museums as a child — The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC — has a super cool interactive Website for kids where they can mix and match classical paintings, create a work of abstract art, or build a virtual mobile ala Calder.

Music — Peter and the Wolf — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Though I don’t remember exactly what version we had on LP, Peter and the Wolf had a huge impact on me when I was young. Somewhere between wanting to dance the lead role in the Nutcracker Suite and lusting after Joshua Bell, it seeped into my subconscious and took hold forever. Imagined by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 as a gift for his son, it was written expressly with children in mind, so any version is a wonderful way to expose your kids to classical music early.

It is the story of a boy and his grandfather, a bird, a duck, a cat, a handful of hunters, and a wolf – with each character identified within the score by a certain kind of instrument. The bird by a flute. The duck by the oboe. The cat by a clarinet. The grandfather a bassoon. Three French horns for the wolf. Timpani and bass drum for the hunters. And Peter by the string instruments.

Right now August rocks out hard on a 1978 version on LP by the Philadelphia Orchestra with David Bowie as narrator. One of my proudest moments came last week when as August and I were watching a live music performance, I pointed out an oboe and a clarinet in the orchestra, and he told me they were the duck and the cat, respectively. Nice, right?

Music — Random Fun Music Picks — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

As Huey Lewis sang so poetically all those years ago (yes, we are that old), the heart of rock ‘n roll is still beating. As third generation lovers of that voodoo sound, it is up to us as parents to pass those musical legacies onto our own kids. Picking and choosing what pieces of the puzzle will help them have the right combination of rhythm, soul, and mojo can seem like an endless task, but this is the part of your kids’ childhood where you really get to have fun.

Below is a small play list of must-have adult songs that appeal to kids (some of my son’s faves) and will help them begin building a musical foundation. Plus if you get them hooked on the good stuff early, you won’t have to listen to The Backyardigans theme song EVER AGAIN. Where you go from here is up to you.



1) Blackbird by The Beatles, “The White Album”
2) Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds”
3) ABC by The Jackson Five, “ABC”
4) Children Go Where I Send You by Nina Simone, “The Amazing Nina Simone"
5) A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash, “Johnny Cash At San Quentin”
6) Brass Monkey by The Beasties Boys, “License to Ill”
7) Picture Book by The Kinks, “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society”
8) Come On In My Kitchen by Robert Johnson,” The Complete Recordings”
9) Move It On Over by Hank Williams, “20 Greatest Hits”
10) Roly Poly by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, “Anthology (1935-1973)
11) Glow Worm by Johnny Mercer
12) Two Headed Boy by Neutral Milk Hotel, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”

Music — Music Together, LPs and More — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Music education is as important for children as learning to read or write. It is the spiritual tonic that binds us all together, and makes it possible to communicate no matter where we are from or what language we speak. As the daughter of a pianist and a mess-arounder on the guitar myself, I started my son early — first in Kindermusic as a baby and then through to Music Together — so he could begin to learn basic melody and harmony.

Of course, real music education starts at home. I wanted to make instruments accessible for August, so in addition to his obligatory box of musical fun, he got a five-piece drum set for his third birthday. The awesome Vintage Drum Center offers up a nice selection of tot-sized kits, and really helps those of us who have no idea what we are doing navigate the cymbaled waters. I am holding off until he is five to bring piano lessons into the fold though… don’t wanna be too stage mom.



He loves the old spoken stories and music available for download on Kiddie Records Weekly, and got his first real live record player a few months back. I love the feel of changing vinyl for my son. The thoughtfulness of selecting an album, taking it out of the sleeve, placing it on the turntable, setting the needle, etc… etc creates an air of patience and appreciation for what he’s about to hear ~ whether it’s vintage Little Golden Records or Turandot or The Muppet Movie or The Beach Boys or Nat King Cole or Mario Lanza or Raymond Scott.

The way I see it, the more music related things he has filling his life the better. It is what marketing people like to call high touch, multiple touch. Being exposed to a thing often and in places that matter will incorporate said thing into your life in a way that makes it stick. Here’s to sticking!

Nature — A Few of His Favorite Things — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

August lives and breathes three things — books, water and animals, though not in that order. Above all else, animals are his thing. He gives every person he knows an animal alter ego. He is a duck. I am a duck. His father is a rhino. His grandmother is a camel. His girlfriend is a horse. The dude lives, plays and sleeps the animal kingdom.

SLEEPS – His bed is a corral for every stuffed creature from aardvark to okapi to zebra, and at night his noggin rests on a pillow case I made out of Alexander Henry 2D Zoo fabric. He has an inflatable moose head on his bedroom wall, and I love to buy him original animal art like this little ditty from Etsy artist Rebecca Horwood.

PLAYS – Except for a few dog breeds, he has every Schleich animal ever made and loves to make animal lines that snake throughout the house. Fellow San Antonio blogger and ex-New Yorker like myself, Lost in Texas, gifted August a Hansa stuffed tarsier for his birthday, and ever since, I’ve been obsessed with finding a way to afford the entire set (including the three-toed sloth and life-size kiwi.) Plus his grandmother gifted him a set of vintage Pelham puppets, and the donkey and dragon sure do like to dance Sound of Music-style.

LIVES – When the Walton Ford show came to San Antonio, he made take him three times, and was still begging to go back weeks after it was packed up and gone. But even better than seeing animal paintings in a museum, he loves to see them in real life. We’ve promised him a trip to Africa when he turns 11, but for now, August has visited 18 zoos and aquariums across the US (I know, I know… zoos are evil, but how else will he get to see a real, live polar bear). By far his favorite is the Georgia Aquarium — a place so spectacularly designed and gorgeous to look at, it is hard for even an animal rights activist to not audibly gasp when they see a 20-ton whale shark swim by.

Nature — Butterfly Alphabet — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Though this is probably old news by now, a few years back August was gifted a Butterfly Alphabet poster by his aunt, and I still adore it. Kjell Sandved was working for the Smithsonian when he realized you could find all the letters of the alphabet hidden in the wings of the world’s butterflies. Each picture lets you experience a sort of intimacy with the winged creatures that only lepidopterists enjoy. (Look it up.) You can even get your child’s name spelled out in butterfly letters. How cool is that?

Nature — Sense of Wonder — By Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

We all need nature, and the sooner your child learns to appreciate and love the outside world, the richer his connection will be to the people, animals, and plants that flourish around him. My parents read The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson right after it came out in 1965, and it forever changed how they would pass the natural world onto my sisters and me.

Summers when I was a child never officially began until my mom took us down to the corner store to buy butterfly nets. Many a June/July day was spent watching a caterpillar turn into a luna moth through the side of a Mason jar or nursing an injured baby squirrel back to health. I grew up exploring 20 acres on the marsh and was always tromping, digging, and climbing. Even if your kids are apartment or city bound, you can get them to stop and spy a line of ants or smell the flowers where they grow, even if only in a window pot.



In my son August’s case, when he can’t be trekking around our farm looking for roadrunners, chasing geese, and searching for deer tracks, I’ve brought the outside world in by turning his room into a mini ecosystem filled with mice, hamsters (How rad are these new Habitrails?), goldfish, cotton, pine cones, leaves, feathers, sea shells and just about anything else you can feed or find.



August has a special shelf just for his vintage Little Golden Guides and loves to sit for hours with a 1977 Audible Audubon player (just like the one I had way back when) and name the birds by sight while quietly listening to their songs. The first television we ever let him watch were nature videos and the 1974 documentary Animals Are Beautiful People is still one of his favorites. (Check it out if you wanna see a sidewinder literally run across the desert!) My husband is waiting in the wings to share his childhood fave Hatari! with August, and though the African animal trapping scenes are awesome, the John Wayne love angle can probably wait a few years.

As with anything, if you choose wisely, you can infuse nature into every aspect of your family life. That is why I love the Children & Nature Network, a non-profit organization with the one and only goal of giving every child in every community a wide range of opportunities to experience nature directly. They are all about getting kids back to nature no matter where their roots are grounded.

Books — New or Old... It's All Good — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

If vintage books aren’t your thing, there are a ton of great illustrators and writers creating classics now for the next generation. Author and certified readiologist — Esme Raji Codell — keeps a wonderful blog with current (and past) recommendations worthy of any child’s bookshelf. The two Aussie mums at We Heart Books do a great job highlighting anything that is literary-related for your wee one, and they sort their picks by age so you can choose appropriately.

As for me, I love David Wiesner, Mo Willems and Christopher Wormell, but my favorite contemporary picture book author is Eric Rohmann. When August was only a year old, he wanted to hear Rohmann’s Caldecott Medal-winning book, My Friend Rabbit, over and over again. He was so enthralled with the stories and pictures of both Rabbit and The Cinder-Eyed Cats that I felt compelled to write the guy a letter (because that’s the kind of thing you do when you are book obsessed) telling him how special my family thought his talent was. Three weeks later, a box arrived on my doorstep filled with posters, an autographed copy of Clara and Asha, and a hand-doodled letter thanking us for being inspired. Needless to say, we are now his number one fans for life.



New or old, books are an important part of any child’s early development. I made a point from the moment my son first shifted in my belly to have books tucked in every corner of our house so that at a moment’s notice we could be trekking out to the hundred acre wood (Pooh) or sneaking over to the Plaza Hotel to share scones with Skipper Dee and Weenie (Eloise).

Once out in the world, August graduated out of board books pretty quick. Though some are really beautiful and teach our babies important lessons like how a cow goes and the basic ABCs, too many parents lean for too long on these books. My advice? While you have your child sitting there in your lap, still unable to run or crawl away, why not try engaging them in a longer picture book or even a chapter book? Turning your child onto full stories when they are still lap-bound will help them build an incredible attention span and become early talkers. I know sometimes is seems like life is too full to read to your kids all the time and hearing Curious George for the 120th time is mind numbing. But, trust me, if you make the commitment to seek out the books you loved as a kid, passing on your favorite stories just might help you stay engaged for a little while longer.

Books — Random Fun Picks — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

I find books by scouring my local hotspots and discovering titles at random, but sometimes I hear about a book that sounds so awesome… so amazing… so grand that I just have to have it right that moment or I will DIE. A friend will tell me about a great book August doesn’t possess, and it will eat me alive until I have it in my hand and am reading it aloud to him.

Here are just a few of the titles that in past moments have made me insane with greed. Perhaps they will spark a flame, and you too can lose sleep thinking about all the books out there that some child other that your own is enjoying.




OUT-OF-PRINT
1) Switch on the Night by Ray Bradbury, pictures by Madeleine Gekiere
2) The Crows of Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley, by Barbara Cooney
3) The Tyger Voyage by Richard Adams, pictures by Nicola Bayley
4) Grandpa’s Farm by James Flora
5) The Circus Baby by Maud and Miska Petersham

IN-PRINT
1) D'Aulaire's Book of Animals by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
2) Zoo by Bruce Minari
3) Summer by Alice Low, pictures by Roy McKie
4) The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse
5) A Very Special House by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Maurice Sendak

You can join me in my obsession daily at Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves… but be warned. It is contagious.

Books — Eye Heart Vintage — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Before I quit work to stay home with my son and have a go at writing, I spent my early career in book selling and publishing because, quite simply, I love books. I love the smell. The cut of the cover. The guts and the mysteries they hold. So when my son August was born, it was only right that I begin to build a classic book collection for him. Slowly, I picked out special gems ~ starting with Where the Wild Things Are and moving on from there. Very quickly, however, I found that buying my son all the favorites I’d loved as a child was beginning to put me in the poor house — dropping around $25 for a quality hard cover.

Even though I am somewhat of a thrift nut, it never occurred to me to buy vintage until one day – perusing at a used book shop – I stumbled across a copy of Why I Built the Boogle House written by Helen Palmer (aka Mrs. Dr. Seuss) for $1.25. Written in 1964, it is a fabulous book. A hilarious book. A classic book. It is no longer available in print and was only (did I mention?) $1.25. From there, the floodgates opened. I realized there is a world of books out there just waiting to fill my son’s imagination… at yard sales… library sales… junk shops… thrift stores… online. Books that are not only classics, but that can be purchased for as little as 25 cents if you find them before the for-profit collectors do.



That epiphany was over two years ago, and August’s collection now is somewhere in the thousands. Though my car is a veritable book mobile, and August’s many cases are stuffed two rows deep, I figure, what the hay. You can never have too many. Really, children’s books are the ultimate conduit for teaching us not just about the world, but design and illustration and how words flow from one into the next to form a perfect union of communication. They are art on the go, and inspiration in your pocket.



I do buy August new books for holidays and birthdays, just so he has some in his collection that aren’t inscribed “To Cousin Willy, Love Aunt Edna, Easter 1971”. For the most part though, he’s falling in love with books that some other child already adored. Which is a pretty sweet thought, after all.

Hello. It's Nice to Meet You. — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

My name is Burgin Streetman, and that’s me in the middle circa 1974 squashed between my two sisters. A long, long time ago (5 years) in a land far, far away (New York City), I was the director of marketing and publicity at a big time book publishing house, but I gave it all up for the love of my life, a front lawn, and a chance to realize one of my lifelong dreams — to rear a TEXAN. I am madly in love with my three-year-old cowboy, August, but I’ve made the hard decision to only have one child and really give props to you moms who juggle multiple kids at once. (Design Mom – You are a god, a saint and a lunatic.)



Deep into anything vintage, I swamp my son’s life with so much moldy kids’ stuff, he’ll probably have respiratory complications later in life. I love reading (never get to do it), travel (probably do too much of it), and modern design (though I can’t afford most of it). Blogging is a pastime for me (way more often than I should) ~ both at Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves reviewing one crusty old children’s book a day and at Scribbling in San Antonio ranting about life’s little highs and woes.

I write freelance occasionally for the alternative weekly and the daily paper here in San Antonio. Though currently, my heart and soul are working on a memoir about growing up in South Carolina. You can expect it to come out somewhere around 2020, about the time my son graduates from college (fingers crossed), and I have more than two moments to myself.

There is so much I wanna share that my head is spinning, but I’ve decided this week will be broken down to the five essentials I think every kid needs for an inspired childhood.

BOOKS. NATURE. MUSIC. ART. TRAVEL.

That said, I want to thank Gabrielle for allowing me to fill your heads with nonsense. Here’s to the week ahead!

Welcome Burgin Streetman!

It's going to be a great week! Burgin Streetman is here. And she's taking over. Three posts a day. Monday through Friday. I've already had a sneak peek of the first 3 days and I think you're going to love what she has to share.

I hardly know Burgin at all. But it's hard not to love a lady that admits she blogs from the bathroom now and then. I can also see from reading the posts she's sent over for this week, that she has completely dedicated her life to raising her beautiful son. Which is wonderful.

And while you're in Burgin's capable hands, I will be taking the week off from Design Mom, so that I can focus on some kirtsy stuff. And getting ready for summer to officially begin at our house — the last day of school is Friday!!



Speaking of getting ready for summer, before I go, I have to share this wonderful idea from clever Lisa, to help keep boredom at bay this summer. She made a huge poster to hang on the pantry door. And filled it up with everything her kids could imagine wanting to do this summer — hunting for snakes, selling Kool-aid, climbing a tree. Now, when they get bored. Because they will get bored. She can look to the poster for inspiration. Brilliant.

I love the idea so much we made our own poster this weekend. I'm telling you, it has me super-psyched for the summer.

So. I hope you have a wonderful week. I hope you help Burgin feel at home. And I'll see you on Monday. (Except really I'll check in on Friday, because I have an amazing Giveaway on the schedule. And I'm pretty much addicted to this blog.)

Soft. Yet Hard Core.

Guitar softies from The Greatful Thread. I totally want the houndstooth one. Rock it.

Ben Blair is Looking Hot

Because Ben Blair was out of town last Sunday, we had a belated Fathers' Day Celebration. He's been sporting his Dad Day Gifts all week and I've noticed that I'm especially loving the following items:

Flip Video Camera.
This gift was a huge hit and has been in pretty much constant use since the box was opened. But Ben has hardly touched it. The kids on the other hand, won't put it down. It's so awesome. All three of the older kids are suddenly movie-making moguls. I picked this for Ben, because he has wonderful visions of making fun movies with the kids. And he's determined to open up some time this summer to make it happen. FYI: I chose the black version, knowing my kids would be handling it a lot, and hoping the dark color would hide some of the wear-and-tear.

Carnaby Sneaker.
Ben has been wearing these with pretty much everything in his summer wardrobe. And they always look just right. I have such a thing for white sneaks right now.

Skinny-er Tie.
It was time to update Ben's tie collection. I picked out one by Joseph Abboud, similar to the one shown. It seemed like a good place to start. And Ben looks great in it. He pairs it with his favorite dress shirt, the Windsor slim fit from TM Lewin.

shirt and tie image from GQ

Little Matisse

Check out the children's art project I posted about yesterday on Cookie (including instructions). It's fingerpainting multiplied by cool.

Book of the Week — People

My mom recently posted about this book — People by Caldecott medalist Peter Spier. I was so happy to be reminded of it. We had this volume in our home growing up and I remember loving to study and stare at the detailed pictures of cultures and people from around the world. And I remember being completely fascinated that there were so many, many different sorts of people — it was definitely my first introduction to a global way of thinking.



Once, my mom was helping my Dad decorate the bulletin boards in his classroom. For one large board, she created cut outs of people based on the drawings from the book. I LOVED it. I stared at it for hours (it was probably minutes, but I was 10 or 11, so holding still at all was pretty impressive). I couldn't imagine a more wonderful bulletin board.

I think I'm going to pick up a copy for my own library.

Custom Summer Hats from Small Potatoes

Looking for shade? These cute sun hats at Small Potatoes caught my eye. This clever company will make you a hat from any fabric they offer on their site.

Jan Eleni

I like this so much! Jan Eleni is an interior design company that focuses on rooms for children. And their work is super appealing. (They have a flash site, so I can't link directly to their portfolio, but just click "our work" from this page.) Out of the ordinary design. Really beautiful. And they sell pretty vintage-print bedding as well.

I wonder how they feel about working with really, really, small bedrooms. Like the one I'm working on for my sons. . .

Weatherproof Blankies

Crabmommy sent me a link to these beautiful, functional, weather proof baby blankets by Rugged Idea. Just in time for summer picnics, parades, and fireworks watching. In three sizes. And lots of colors. Perfect to keep in your car or stroller for just-in-case weather.

American Sign Language Matchbooks

Spotted on kirtsy. American Sign Language Matchbooks. Made by JK Keller.

I generally like people. But something about this project made me feel an additional huge surge of love and appreciation for the human mind. Also. Now I want to send secret messages via ASL and matchbooks.

Fancy Pantsy Onesies

These super-fancy onsies from Lou and Lee's etsy shop are making me happy today. They're so over the top that they've moved beyond silly and into the super-chic zone.

Meetup This Summer?

So we bought our plane tickets yesterday. Seven plane tickets. We had to buy them in two batches. Because Travelocity won't let you place an order for more than 6 at a time. Which is their way of telling me I have too many kids.

Figuring out our flights for the summer took all sorts of strategy sessions on the part of Ben Blair and myself. This is the how it finally went down.

The whole family flies from New York to Las Vegas. We rent a van, load up Ben and the kids and send them off to St. George (about an hour or so away) to hang out with the cousins. Then. I get back on a plane in Las Vegas and continue on to San Francisco for the big blog conference. Then. A few days later. I fly from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. Where Ben Blair will meet me with the kids and we'll hang out with more cousins in Logan, SLC, Provo and Moab. Then. We'll eventually make our way back to St. George. And fly home from Las Vegas. This configuration involves no less than three airlines. And I'm not kidding even a little bit about the strategy sessions that it took to put this trip together. But all the effort was so worth it. We can't wait!

I'm thinking it would be lovely to have some sort of blog-tastic Meetup while I'm in Utah. Maybe at a yummy restaurant? Or a great park? I'm thinking Friday, July 25th in Salt Lake. Would that work for you? Let me know. Because if you're in the area, I'd love to meet you!

Don't you love the colorful luggage photo? I found in cake walk's flickr stream.

You're Like A little American. With your little American Body.

Stay-at-home Dad, Alex Z, sent me this comic relief about organic kids. My favorite part: "Made from the milk of hormone-free, constantly hugged goats."

Shokay

Finding socially responsible companies is such a delight. So I was super happy to hear about Shokay from my friend Esther. Shokay offers a range of luxury items knitted from Yak down — down sourced directly from Tibetan herders. Pillows, blankets, accessories, children's items. They even feature the biographies of the talented Tibetan knitters on their website.

It's June. Which means it's too hot in my neck of the woods for many of Shokay's gorgeous knitted items, but I've got a couple of pieces earmarked for the coming winter. In the meantime, I'm admiring this amazing stuffed yak. (I realize it's a complete splurge, but I've never seen a toy yak before, and seeing this one makes me realize I could totally get into yaks.)

Summery Contests

I've been hearing about all sorts of fun contests happening around the interwebs — maybe these will help jumpstart your summer.



The Crafty Crow is hosting a Funny Food Contest*. Five different categories. Which means lots of ways to be creative. Your kids would LOVE this!

No Cleaning Here is hosting a Recipe Contest. Not just any recipes. Scary, strange recipes. Time to hit the family cookbooks.

Kaboodle is hosting a My Favorite Spring Dress Contest. And I even know one of the semi-finalists! Go vote for darling Erica Jenson looking fabulous on a vintage cruiser.


*If it was a Charming Food Contest, I would enter these cheese and apple boats featured at Tutus and Turtles. Simple and adorable.

Winners — Father's Day Diaper Bag Giveaway

Another great Giveaway from another great sponsor. Congratulations to the 2 big winners:

-simply kris who said, "what a nifty gifty. i dig the style."
-Liz who said, "Swell bags! I will keep my fingers crossed. Happy Dad's Day!"

Happy Father's Day to you lucky winners. And thank you to the generous sponsor, Allen Ave!

1 Litre

Packaging makes all the difference, no? I'm not actually picky about my bottled water — I generally drink from the tap. But it's hard not to believe 1 Litre water would taste like liquid heaven.

Found on kirtsy.

Kice Kice

The carefree, comfortable look that the Kice Kice line pulls off is appealing to me. And I'm loving the calming colors.

Yeondoo Jung

The Artist Yeondoo Jung, takes drawings made by children and interprets them as photographs. I can't believe how happy these images make me.

Thanks for the link, Christy!

Happy Monday!

Today is my favorite Monday, because Ben Blair is back in town and sitting on the chair next to mine and we are working side by side which is my favorite way to work.



Plus. The lovely blog Petit Elephant has a kindly interview of Design Mom posted today. Including my latest favorite photo of Ben and Me.

Plus. There is a slice of cake, baked by my talented friend Juliane, waiting for me on the kitchen counter.

So all in all, it's arguably the best day ever.

Random Giveaway — Two Diapers Bags for Dad

I'll bet you can't wait to tell your husbands and fathers Happy Fathers' Day! How about a Giveaway that you can enter especially for the Dads. Two lucky winners will each receive a $98 manly diaper bag from Allen Avenue!!


One will receive the Cevan Metro Black Stars & Gear.


And One will receive the Cevan Metro Brown Biplane.

What good-looking bags! And I love that there's nothing overtly "diaper" about them — they're cool enough to be totally unisex. Plus, check out the long list of features here. Clearly, they were designed to fit and carry everything a modern parent could need.

Won't your husband be relieved to have a non-quilted, non-embroidered, non-flowery bag to carry when he heads out to the park with the kids? And if he's not into it (cross your fingers), you can always claim it for yourself.

Thank you Allen Avenue!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Monday, June 16th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced on Tuesday.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Tasting Party

Spotted on kirtsy. This fascinating article from the NY Times about a tiny fruit that makes everything taste sweet. And now the only thing in the whole world that I want to do is host a Tasting Party.

Also spotted on kirtsy. Goodyblog is having a HUGE Father's Day party. With $5000 worth of prizes. It looks awesome. Don't miss it!

images from the NY Times

This Little Piggy Stayed Home

Check out Cookie's Nesting Blog to see the reliably great posts — and two of my recent additions to the line-up. You can find some incredibly good-looking city posters by Ork that I highly recommended in last week's post. And a round up of the best piggy banks that have crossed my path — and that I just shared today. Here's a sneak peek of a few of the pigs:

I heart our new jeans! — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

Yesterday my partner and I spent the day photographing our new 100% organic denim line: LOVE IS Organic Denim. We got lucky and it was a glorious day. We only received our spring 2009 samples the day before which was a little scary — but luckily they turned out great.

For us, our denim line (while of course being about offering a completely organic product) is about kids loving how they feel in them. And we were thrilled to have a few models — aka our kids and their friends who happened to be a size 6 — refuse to take them off. That’s the ultimate compliment.

Our core line in stores this August is so simple: perfect fits, no gapping at waist, nice long legs and really really soft. They truly dress up or down. And for spring 2009 we added some surprises. Some glitter for girls and a spider for boys. Some subtle but fun twists.

And no the glitter is not organic, but the denim and all the dyeing and processing is — everything other than the glitter and metal buttons! So many companies use organic cotton then wash it in chemicals and try and pass the product off as organic, which it no longer is. Look out for that label organic cotton. It’s telling you only half the story.

Anyhow, I am really proud of the graphics on the newest pieces — as I painted them myself! I like to see an artist's hand in graphics, so many graphics are so clearly created on a computer. But I have no formal training, so it was a bit of a shot in the dark. I looked at lots of butterflies and spiders and started painting. Lucky for us my goal of a graphic with an organic sensibility seems to have worked. And I felt like I was back in art class — one of my favorite places.



I also need to say how incredible our photographer Kate Connolly is! She helped shoot our website pictures 2 years ago and can capture kids so honestly. She is bi-coastal and (for now!) still accessible. Check out her site and hire her quick, before she gets too big. Kids like her, and she can work in crazy conditions. Really. We just had a mess of kids running amuck and she somehow gets the product, their personality and represents our belief of good honest kids being kids.

All our jeans have the question in the waistband: What will you do in these jeans? We are so excited to get them on kids all over and see how they answer that! My son, in the middle above, apparently will cry bloody murder in his if put on gravel straight after naptime. I hope you all don’t mind me going on about our new jeans. But other than my monkeys, this has been my life lately. Thanks for allowing me to spend time on such an amazing blog chatting with such interesting parents. I will be joining in your conversations whenever my jeans and kids allow!



Oh. And this is me in my office at my computer, so you don’t think from my bio picture that I am still 12, wearing Norma Kamali with buck teeth. Mom and dad fixed those years ago!

A Simpler Home

Spotted on kirtsy: a less-is-more house that I am craving.

Whenever life gets really hectic (like during the entire month of June), I always wish I had a simpler house. This one is so well done. You can see more photos and read the article in Danish (if you know how to read Danish) here.

Small Magazine Summer 08

The latest edition of Small Magazine came out this week. It is always a visual treat. And I never regret taking some time to click through its pages. (For those new to Small: it's an online magazine. All about small things. Like children.)

My Green List — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

So clearly I like lists…I can’t help it! Rather than fight it I have made another one to share with you all. I have been making an attempt over the past few years to green up our lives as much as possible…so here are my favorite eco-friendly discoveries.

1.Dr.Bronner’s Magic Soap in Peppermint. This is the best smell ever, and I use it to clean everything. But my favorite day is floor washing day where you walk in my house and it smells so clean and fresh. Seriously. People actually comment on the house smelling good!



2.Stella McCartney has the most amazing skincare line ever!! The recyclable packaging is subtle and chic — great on the counter. And the quality of the products blew me away. I use the Milky Cleanser, both Elixirs and the 5 Benefits cream and my skin has never been softer and happier. I even tossed all my old products (Dermalogica, La Mer and Natura Bisse if you were wondering). Wait. Don’t worry. I didn’t toss them until I used them all up. Try Stella's stuff!! She has such an amazing philosophy as well…

3.Ode Magazine has great writing and interesting articles.



4.Clementine Organic Playdough Kits are incredible. First of all they (again — me with the smells) smell so good!! In fact they are actually edible. Though I am not sure how much nutritional value you’d be passing along! Anyhow. The tools they come with, the box they come in, the whole deal, a gorgeous gift.

5.Unpasturized organic milk. Takes a little looking to find, but this has been a happy change for all our tummy’s and avoiding those hormones is especially important for girls. Plus it actually tastes so much better I cannot begin to tell you!



6. Rockstar Organic Hair Products are superb. Organic, smell- sorry!! Like the beach and fruit, but not sickly sweet, just clean- and work. Especially the detangler — look at my guys curls — I know. Knots!!

7. We use our artwork as wrapping paper. I just keep it in a drawer and tie it with some gorgeous silk ribbon. The ribbon is so pretty it gets recycled, and the paper makes my kids so proud. For big gifts I copy my cool friend and use newspaper — looking for the right section for that person. And again, the special silk ribbon.

Boodalee Pillows

Tania sent me the link to these new throw pillows by Boodalee. Perfectly captured graphics. I love the look and feel. They offer a big enough statement that you could use one as inspiration for a whole room.

NYC Neighborhood Guide

For those of you thinking about relocating to NYC — or for those of you already living in the tri-state area — you'll want to take advantage of the excellent Neighborhood Guide that Mommy Poppins has put together. In the Westchester section, she even posted an interview of little ol' me.

By the way, if you live in a New York neighborhood and have information you'd like to add, I'm sure Mommy Poppins would love to hear from you.

Child's Artwork Collage — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

I have to share the most gorgeous, creative, chic way of enjoying your child’s artwork. Jan Eleni, a child-centric decorator, stylist, genius has come up with the Jan Eleni Collage.

I loved it so much, I convinced her to allow us to offer it through our store. We have had one up in the shop and everyone comments on it.

Basically she edits, reproduces and shrinks your child’s artwork and creates this stunning archival piece that is modern and true all at once.

I am having one made of each of my children’s work as they hit they age of 8. Someday maybe I’ll pass it on to them.

Books — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

My absolute favorite pastime is wonderful independent bookstores. Yes, reading too. Although this particular place in my life isn’t so great for reading — or at least remembering what I have read! Anyway. My point was that to me, a good hour in a great bookstore is like a mini vacation.

Books grab me. Sometimes the story. Sometimes the cover. Often the beauty and smell of the pages. The weight in my hand. I’ve been to independent bookstores in every city I go to and my favorite (lucky me) remains right where I live in Connecticut. Diane's Books in Greenwich is simply the best.

And not just for books for grown ups, it's also spectacular for kids. I have never been steered wrong — and often I simply start to mention a direction and they manage to read my mind. Their advice is always rich and dead on. Diane, the owner, has such a passion for books, stories and reading. She’ll even stay open late — as she did for me tonight.

I’ve been finding parallels in my preference for independent retailers that line up with the locavore movement for food. (Which as an aside reminds me of a book I love: Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. I digress again!) I try to shop locally and support my local independent retailers over the chains.

Greenwich has changed so much from when I was a child — the Five and Dime is now a Saks! As for kids stores, it is ours, Baby Gap, and Best and Co..Ugh!

Back to Diane's. She’s the best. Call her for books as gifts and for your self — and go there if you can. Come to LOVE also! Shopping locally you get an opinion, a point of view, an interaction. Probably something different and special. Quality over quantity.

So the great books I left with tonight are for kids:


Pippi Longstocking, which has always been a favorite, is now available in an edition illustrated by Lauren Child of Charlie and Lola fame. I am so excited to share this with my daughter.


The Lonely Moose by John Segal is beautiful and sweet. And funny. With a wonderful comment on friendship.


The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers is also about friendship.

And for me:
The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins. My coolest writer friend recommended this.

Red Bird by Mary Oliver is a collection of incredibly true poems. I keep it by my bed and say I’ll read 3 before sleep, but like chocolates, I cannot stop very easily. Just one more I tell myself until the chance of going to bed at a reasonable hour evaporates.

Lastly a Random:


The Backyard Birdsong Guide by Donald Kroodsma, is a true birders science book that can be appreciated by kids and adults alike. It is part bird book with pretty and clear illustrations and on the other part you press a button and have a clear perfect sound guide of the birds call. Very cool.

Fair Warning

It was light posting yesterday. And it will be light again today. For various reasons. The main ones being: 1) It's Field Day at the elementary school today. 2) I'm on a conference panel this afternoon and tomorrow (wish me luck). 3) Ben Blair is out of town.

Thanks goodness we have a Guest Mom this week!

I promise to go heavy on the posts on Thursday and Friday so you'll forgive me. : )

My Current Design Obsessions — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

So last week I had a bit of a personal family health drama which put me in the mood for a funny movie. Normally I go for “relationship” movies but I just wanted something to make me laugh. So I marched a few friends to go see Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler — two of the funniest gals around. It had all the requisite laugh out loud moments. And many perfect pregnant/mom jokes. Terrible ending, but definitely worth the 10$.

Which got me to thinking, I need to see more funny movies. Maybe my kids are on to something loving all the silliness. Definitely walked out feeling up. So my friends and I started discussing our favorite funny movies. I'm having the hardest time recalling mine — maybe Vacation, Parenthood, Wedding Crashers? My husband said Caddyshack...predictable. He couldn’t believe I have not seen Meatballs. Do I want to? I am not sure that’s my humor. I’d love some recommendations. My kids laugh at PeeWee’s Playhouse — it’s pretty funny to re-watch. Where have all the witty movies gone?!

And now. On a completely different topic. This being a design blog and all, here are some of my design obsessions:



Henry Beguelin makes me swoon. I figured out a way to get even more than the shoe/bag/jewelry quota this year by getting 4 gorgeous barstools! The leather gets better and better and seems immune to the mac and cheese that I routinely scrub off them. And the bottom is sewn together like a corset…incredible. They took forever to get but were so worth the wait.



Ruby Palmers watercolor paintings are perfect. I first happened upon one in the NYC boutique Albertine (incredible for off beat up and coming designers) and bugged the lovely owner to share the artist with me. Fast forward and she makes these beautiful, completely original watercolors that I can barely keep on the walls in my store. I am not that into the “kid prints” that are out there and seem to pop up in every room I see. Hers are unique, surprising and have a sense of humor as well. Kind of like our beautiful children, no? For my kids big birthdays I try and give them a piece of art. Those gifts last. The little plastic ones (yes, I admit I have some plastic here..horrors) don’t.



Dolphin Studio Calendars are these silk-screened, take-your-breath-away calendars. They are inspiring on so many levels. The color. The designs. The family and how they make them. Wow. Get on the list to get one next year!

A few things — by Guest Mom Kristin Fine

A funny thing this blogging. I am not really sure what Gabrielle is going to include in my bio, so I’ll tell you what I think you should know about me before I begin spouting off. Connecticut girl with a heart in NYC. Four kids — a 9-year-old Gemini girl!! And 3 boys — 6, 3, and 22 months. Including one named after Axel Vervoordt — this is a design blog so I figured that's relevant. 2 dogs. One funny loving husband — in finance, athletic, and a metro-sexual (hate that word, but you get the gist) and no, those descriptions of him are not mutually exclusive.

I have an amazing business partner and friend in Katie whom I started a kids lifestyle store LOVE with about 2 ½ years ago. We just launched an organic denim line for kids. It seems like it's taking forever to hit the stores! I have to wait until August. Amazing how long it feels between an idea and seeing it finished — when according to everyone working with me, we have been on fast-forward with the whole project. Below is a snapshot on the swing at our house of one of our denim samples. And there is a shot in this month’s Cookie Magazine as well. Adorable little girl on a bike with “dad”.



I have a passion for expensive dark chocolate, Tomas Maier, jeans and books. I love beautiful things — it could be a twig or a diamond. I prefer asymmetry to symmetry. I love the beaches in Long Island. I don’t like mean, exclusive people. My kids inspire and entertain me to no end, and I am not quite sure how I have 4 of them. I didn’t eat salad until I was 21. Now I try to buy local and organic as much as possible — my nanny calls my youngest the organic baby. My kids only want to eat broccoli from the veggie department. I spend too much time in the car. I wear really big sunglasses, usually Chanel. I like to run — New Balance is my preferred shoe.

Oh my — hopefully I haven’t completely lost all those potentially reading my blog. I promise to focus now and hopefully share a little something of my life this week. Maybe even something interesting. My friends seem to think I sometimes pass along good info. So as not to leave you with nothing on the first day, here are some of my best bets!



In Paris: favorite bistro is Chez George.
In NYC: best eyebrow god is Paolo Siqueira and best haircutter is Stephanie at Serge Normant.
Great childrens museum: Staten Island Children's Museum.
In Greenwich: I really like the Mexican place, Boxcar Cantina, with the kids but generally am frustrated with the state of affairs in CT food.
In NYC: adore Sfoglia on 92 and Lexington — call ahead and sneak into a bar reservation if you are lucky — you must order the cheese plate there!
On TV: The Riches which is so wrong so frequently I adore it.
Great homemade toy for kids: a boot box (bigger than a shoebox) with some sand in it, a few sugar cubes, some little trucks and spoons and forks as shovels. Hours of entertainment. Voila!

Welcome Kristin Fine!

I'm so delighted to have Kristin Fine with us this week. I've never met her, but keep hearing lovely thing after lovely thing about her fabulous little shop in Greenwich, Connecticut — just a short drive from my home. (Must. Schedule. Fieldtrip.)

Things I know about Kristin from the bio on her website. In no particular order:
-She is the mother of four (ages one to eight).
-She was once a fashion model.
-She grew up in Greenwich where her parents owned toy and decorating shops. (Isn't that every kids fantasy? Their parents owning a toy shop?)
-She studied Political Science and Italian at Columbia University.
-She lived in Italy and worked in Japan. (Italy and Japan? That's a design education right there.)
-Through her travels, she has developed an esteem for things made with love — things made with careful detailing, personal expression and hand craftsmanship. And that's what she strives to carry in her shop.

I can't wait to get to know her better. Welcome Kristin!

New Stools

We are shopping for two bar-height stools for our office. Currently, we use two vintage barstools with dark red leather upholstery. They are adorable, but the leather is absolutely disintegrating before our eyes.

Instead of getting them reupholstered, Ben suggested using this opportunity to replace them with a stool that includes some back support.

Right now, I'm crushing on these tractor seat designs (available in 13! colors). I"m especially digging the yellow.

Lettuce & Tomato

Did you see these fresh dishtowels from Crate & Barrel? At two for $8.95, they'll make the perfect hostess gift for any backyard BBQs this summer.

Random Giveaway — Serena & Lily Cribset from Layla Grayce

[ Congratulations to natalie who said, "I would be in heaven if I won!!!" Yay for natalie! Please email me from the link on my blog and I'll put you in touch with the sponsor. ]

It's Friday. The last day of this iteration of Ask-Design-Mom Week. I think it's been a great week — I hope you do to. Thank you to everyone who has sent in a question, answered a question or read a question. This is one seriously inquisitive bunch. Seriously. Had I all the time in the world, I could have covered twice as many questions and still not run out. Impressive.

And now it's time for a big finale Giveaway to show you my gratitude. How about a gorgeous cribset of your choice from the Serena & Lily collection — sponsored by one of the loveliest little shops around, Layla Grayce!! That's right. The winner gets to pick from one of five beautiful designs. In fact. The five most popular Serena & Lily designs. Each valued from $539 to $969:


There's the Ben. Animals on parade in the coolest way. In the coolest colors.


The Greta. Soft and pink and a subtle sort of girly.


The Kate. A bolder version of the Greta in a luscious lime green.


There's the Rex. Laid back in madras plaid.


And even the Ruby. Flowery and pristine at the same time.

How will you ever choose? Each one is adorable. Each one would improve your nursery in a major way. And each one is just a tiny sample of the elegant collection of wares found at Layla Grayce. A shop full of the finest things for you, your children and your home.

Thank you Layla Grayce!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Monday, June 9th (Not Friday, June 6th — oops!) to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced at the top of this post on Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom Week: Interesting Wallpaper

Ask Design Mom Question (actually it's two questions):
-Do you have any suggestions where I can find some funky wallpaper? — Thanks! Olivia
-I have wanted to do wallpaper in my bathroom and I cannot find a place that have cute/different wallpaper do you have any ideas? — Thanks, Erin Garner

Design Mom Answer:
Great questions. I love that wallpaper is making a comeback! Sometimes you just crave a certain look that only wallpaper can provide. I remember my mom taking me to wallpaper stores as a child and I would flip through those giant sample books for as long as she would let me. So inspiring. I should totally go do that. . .



Anyway. In addition to a fieldtrip to the wallpaper store, I'd recommend:
-Jill Malek, hand-printed wallpapers — too nice for the bathroom! — but perfect for a touch of luxury somewhere else.
-Funky, bold colors and clean lines at Pottock Prints.
-A wide selection of beautiful designs at Fabrics and Papers.
-Options that are both childlike and sophisticated at Mini Moderns. I think their tick-tock snow would be darling in a bathroom or family space.
-This green willow paper from Warm Biscuit Kids.
-And if you're not reading Design*Sponge, you should start. Grace does a fantastic job of featuring the latest and greatest in wallpapers — and all home related design. Design*Sponge is where I found the fantastic yellow floral wallpaper in the photo.

Dear Readers, what wallpaper have you been admiring lately?

Ask Design Mom Week: Toddler Dress Pattern

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hello Design Mom. I’m wondering if you might know where I can find a pattern to make a simple toddler’s a-line dress. Thanks, Kimi

Design Mom Answer:
Thanks for your question, Kimi. I've been told there are many experienced seamstresses that visit this blog now and again — I hope they'll chime in with their suggestions.



While they ponder the question, I'll send you to two places: you could pick up this vintage pattern on etsy. Or you could visit Oliver + S to see if any of their darling toddler patterns will work for you — like this swingset tunic.

ASk Design Mom Week: Headbands

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Gabrielle! I have a question for you. We will be going camping soon with some friends and while I don't mind being outdoors and getting down and dirty, I'd like something cute to hold my too-short-for-a-ponytail hair back, especially since I don't plan on bringing a hair dryer on a camping trip! Do you know of any cute hair scarves or cloth headbands?
— Thanks! Katerina

Design Mom Answer:
First of all, your camping trip sounds like the perfect summer adventure. I'm sure you'll have a great time! My preferred camping head gear is a classic red bandana. Good-looking. Easy to spot if I'm hiking with others. Absorbent for mopping up perspiration on a hot day. And it can work as a sling in a pinch. But if you're looking for something beyond a bandana, here are two suggestions.



I recently received an email about a just-launched hair product called Knot Heads that promises to work with all hair lengths in all sorts of interesting ways. You can check it out (including demo videos) here. And. I've heard rave reviews about Pinkbench head bands. Adjustable to fit your head with a vow to "stay on and not hurt". Sounds good to me!

How do you handle "camp hair" Design Mom Readers?

Random Giveaway — Kaboost & Letter Ice Trays

[ We got two winners!! Congratulations to:
1) Alleen who said, "Love the Kaboost!!"
2) kim b who said, "Count me in! We could definitely use the Kaboost and my son would love the ice cube trays!"
Hey you lucky ladies! Please email me from the link on my blog and I'll put you in touch with the sponsors. ]

So many great ideas today! Thank you for helping me answer all these wonderful Ask-Design-Mom questions. Here's another Giveaway to say thank you. And this one is more about the toddler/preschooler and less about the baby. Plus. There are two winners on this one — yay for double prizes!!

And now, let's discuss those double prizes. Two winners will each receive:



A Kaboost system. Designed to take any 4 legged chair and turn it into a booster. It holds up to 300 lbs and stays attached even when the chair is moved around. Now little Johnny can sit at the table just like the grown-ups, while he throws his peas at the light fixture. And you don't have to buy another piece of furniture. The Kaboost is easy to use (check out their quick how-to video) and comes in four colors — only one of which is electric green. Brilliant. You can find your own Kaboost system at Target.



Also. The two winners will each receive a set of letter and number trays from Letter Ice. These will be absolutely perfect for entertaining and teaching your preschooler this summer. Which letter is in your lemonade, Oscar? Let's make juice pops with the numbers, Betty! But they're not just for ice. You can use them to make cookies as well. Or to make Jello. Or to make muffins. Because these trays are all about multi-tasking. I tell you, I want some!

And I'll bet you want some too. Happy Commenting — and remember: two winners on this one.

Thank you Kaboost! Thank you Letter Ice Trays!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Friday, June 6th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced at the top of this post on Saturday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom Week: Daddy-to-be Gift

Ask Design Mom Question:
Dear Gabrielle: I wanted to ask if you could post something that would make a unique/thoughtful/creative present for a daddy-to-be. My husband (like myself) is a graphic designer, and I'd love to find something to show him how thankful I am for all his support throughout my pregnancy. He's been amazing, super-caring and just wonderful all around! Any ideas? Love, Sabrina

Design Mom Answer:
Perfect timing on this question, Sabrina! Father's Day is just around the corner. I've got a couple of suggestions for a Daddy-to-Be, keeping in mind you're both super-cool graphic designers.



You could get him the Photographing Your Family book produced by National Geographic. Your husband may not know it, but taking photographs of his beautiful baby is about to become his new obsession. And this book goes a long way to taking the mystery out of capturing a great shot. If he already uses a good camera, you could also include a new lens with the book. Or. If he doesn't own a good camera, now would be a smart time to invest. Sometimes, when a new baby arrives and Mom is busy nursing on the sofa, Dad doesn't quite know how to get involved. A camera in his hand becomes very empowering.



For something more fun-loving, consider these very cool tin wind-up toys designed by Jesco von Puttkamer, hand-made in Nuremberg, Germany. Although not designed for children (watch for sharp edges) they are the sort of item that can make your workspace both sophisticated and welcoming-to-kids at the same time. A collection of these is sure to make you the coolest Dad in town. Available at Unica Home.



For an heirloom gift — something your husband can hand down to this forthcoming child of his — a vintage Rolex would be ideal. Thousands less than the price of a new one, and somehow much more young and cool than the latest editions. A few of my hippest friends sport refurbished originals from the 1970's with re-painted faces in orange and green — beautiful timepieces that I fully covet.

If you're in New York, you can find a selection at Bergdorf Mens. If you're not in New York, Travis, my friend and vintage Rolex connoisseur, recommended doing a search on ebay. The four watches pictured were found with a "Rolex California" search. Travis also mentioned that he'd found Samson328 to be reliable — and that Samson would probably be willing to locate a timepiece if I had something specific in mind.

How about you, Design Mom Readers? What are your best Daddy-To-Be Gift Ideas?

Ask Design Mom Week: Upholstery Fabric

Ask Design Mom Question:
I saw your post about Joel Dewberry fabrics, which made me think you might be a good person to ask this question of. I want to have a chair recovered and looked at a local fabric shop for fabric. Since then, I've seen much cuter stuff online, but I'm wondering how I know what type of fabric I'll need. For chairs, do I need to get something labeled "upholstery weight"? Thanks for your insight! — Kate M.

Design Mom Answer:
I love this question, Kate. Because I want to know the answer as well!



The fabrics I come into contact with are generally labeled "fashion weight," "quilting weight," or "home decor weight." So, whenever I've tackled an upholstery project, I've headed straight to the giant rolls of decorator fabric and looked for labels like "Home Decor Weight" or "Upholstery Weight".

But frankly, I don't know what technically qualifies fabric as good-for-upholstery. Is it Width? Thread count? Thickness? Materials? All of the above?

If anyone out there would like to take this opportunity to instruct Kate and myself, please do so. : )

Ask Design Mom Week: BPA-Free Bottles

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hey Gabrielle. I'm pregnant with baby #2, and am planning on buying BPA free bottles (glass or plastic) and sippy cups. Trouble is, they are so new that I have no one to ask recommendations about the best brands. Do you think you could ask your readers to share their favorite BPA free bottles and sippys? I've heard some complaints (online) about the nipples of these bottles. I hate to invest in these before I hear any personal recommendations. Thanks! — Carrie B.

Design Mom Answer:
Thanks for the question Carrie! I'm sure you can count on Design Mom Readers to give you lots of good PBA-free recommendations. (Design Mom Readers, thanks in advance for chiming in with your PBA wisdom.)



From a purely aesthetic standpoint — I'm design-focused after all — I love the Wee Go Bottles from Baby Life that I spotted in the March 08 issue of Parents Magazine. Aren't they pretty? I'll take one of each, please.

Random Giveaway — Onsies by Alyssa Coberly and Blanket by Jacqueline Yeo

[ Congratulations to lovelylittlelovelies who said, "absolutely adorable!" Yay for lovelylittlelovelies! Please email me from the link on my blog and I'll put you in touch with the sponsors. ]

Everyone has been so helpful — answering Design Mom questions, sharing their best tips, leaving kind feedback. Thank you!

So, how about more gorgeous baby stuff to give away today! The handmade, etsy sort of gorgeous baby stuff. Because the current baby boom is going to overwhelm all of us with gift giving. Count on these fabulous giveaways to ease the burden and give you great ideas for the stack of baby announcements on your desk.

[ And remember, you've got two days to enter each of this week's Giveaways. Which means, you can also enter Tuesday's Tiny McSmall and Persimmon and Pink Giveaway until Midnight tonight. For reals! ]

Now. Let's get to the prizes:






First, a set of 3 baby onsies from Alyssa Coberly of {jig.}. A girl set. Or a boy set. Your choice. In a beautiful box. A perfect gift!

But there's more. The winner can customize them with the name (or names) or their choice. Sets are available in sizes 3-6m or 0-3m. And all the onesies are very high quality 100% cotton interlock with short sleeves. They will ship out from Chicago the very day the winner places her order.

Everything Alyssa makes is adorable — she has one of the best etsy shops and most charming blogs out there. Go Alyssa!




Second. An instant-favorite blanket, designed and crafted by Jacqueline Yeo, and sold on her For The Record etsy site. Another perfect gift idea! It's made with the softest fleece on one side, and very fine jersey on the other side. The appliqué is done on the jersey side of the fabric. The blankie measures 30x38" and is stitched all around.



Bonus: since each piece is handcrafted, you can have it customised with the baby's initial or name! Fantastic. Who wouldn't want to own such a beautiful blanket?

Thank you to our sponsors: Alyssa Coberly and Jacqueline Yeo!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Thursday, June 4th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced at the top of this post on Friday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom Week: Artwork Storage

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hello, My name is Karen and I live in NJ. I was searching for some ideas so I can save some of my 4 and 2 yr olds precious artwork and preschool projects without having to buy a boring tote? Any suggestions? Thanks! Karen

Design Mom Answer:
Another great question. Thank you Karen. The reality is, I get a version of this question maybe once a week. How-to-store-artwork is just another one of those dilemmas of modern-parenting, no less a topic of conversation then grocery bags.



It just so happens, that I wrote up a big, long post with lots of ideas for artwork storage and display for The Savvy Source — they posted my article on Saturday. Maybe some of the suggestions will spark your own ideas.

Happy Birthday Kirtsy!

I interrupt Ask-Design-Mom Week with an important announcement: It's Kirtsy's Birthday!!!

To celebrate, there is a big, huge contest going on. (I know, I know. No big surprise. Kirtsy is all about big, huge contests.) Go check it out. Wish kirtsy a Happy Birthday. And enter to win over $625 worth of prizes from four fantastic sponsors.



What's kirtsy? It's my other website. That I love. And it's my secret for finding all the best stuff happening online.

Ask Design Mom Week: Nursing Covers

Ask Design Mom Question:
Gabrielle, Hey. I just recently found your website through a friends blog and I love it! I was wondering if you know of any stylish, but affordable nursing covers. Thanks, Justina

Design Mom Answer:
Hmmm. Depends on what you mean by affordable. : ) A quick google search will give you lots of good-looking options in the $30 to $40 range — from shops like Modest Mums, Obuba and Peanut Shell.



But if you're looking for a real deal, here are two suggestions:

1) Pick up a yard of pretty fabric and ask a friend to whip one up for you. My sister in law, Megan, posted about a cute one she made here. It sounds like a very straightforward project.

2) Use this $7 clip to turn any baby blanket into an impromptu nursing cover.

What about you Design Mom Readers? Seen any especially good deals on nursing cover-ups?

Ask Design Mom Week: Pretty Binders

Ask Design Mom Question:
Have you ever run across any good looking binders? I really need to get organized but can't find any binders that work well AND look good. Any suggestions? Thanks! — Jenilyn

Design Mom Answer:
Great question, Jenilyn — and it's come up before. Clearly, many women are seeking out pretty binders. And it's no surprise. Good looking organization tools inspire us to put them to use. Happily, there are lots of great sources out there.

-Try Russell and Hazel. It's one of my favorite sources for great-looking office supplies — including binders.
-See Jane Work is another great source, also with a selection of good-looking binders.
-For a strictly modern look, try the sleek selection at Paolo Cardelli.
-Like color and pattern? Track down stores that carry the Vera Bradley line by Lifeguard Press.



-And last night, on an errand to Target, I noticed this great new Greenroom eco-line. Very nice-looking. With binders under $6.00. And yes. I stopped in the middle of Target, with four of my kids in tow, to take photos of the binders. Because that's how Design Mom rolls.

Hey Design Mom Readers! Seen any good-looking binders lately?

Random Giveaway — Binth Baby Book from Tiny McSmall and Handmade Doll from Persimmon & Pink

[ Congratulations to sarah starr who said, "Happiness is all around in this giveaway. DM - you rock." Yay for sarah starr! Please email me from the link on my blog and I'll put you in touch with the sponsors. ]

After the last post, I've got Baby Journals on the brain. So why not give one away? Enter your comment to win two super stylish products for your own little bébé — a gorgeous Binth Baby Book from the lovingly-edited collection of Tiny McSmall and a charming Wool Doll or Blastoid Cat of your choice from the lovingly-handmade collection of Persimmon & Pink.

[ And remember, you've got two days to enter each of this week's Giveaways. Which means, it's not too late to enter yesterday's Tiny Sprouts Giveaway. You lucky duck! ]




Let me tell you about this Binth Baby Book. It's fresh and modern and completely original. It arrives in a handsome keepsake box and is bound to become a cherished family heirloom. Nicely sized, with lots of space for both photos and notes. It retails for $110 — which is basically a bargain for a book that is entirely screen printed. Printed on recycled white stock with cotton cloth cover.



And it's just one of dozens of perfect items available from Tiny McSmall (don't you just love that name?!), one of my very favorite shops to find "just right" items and gifts for babies and children.




Plus. I want to introduce you to these fantastic creations — wool dolls and blastoid cats — by Persimmon & Pink. Too charming for words, right? And lots of choices so that you can find the ideal new best friend for your child. The lucky winner gets to pick any doll. Or any cat. And you might want to keep checking the Persimmon & Pink etsy shop, because new additions arrive all the time.




Happy Commenting. Thank you Persimmon and Pink! Thank you Tiny McSmall!

-------------

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Wednesday, June 4th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced at the top of this post on Thursday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom Week: Baby Memory Book

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Design Mom, I've just been blessed with my first child — a big beautiful boy called Spencer — and am at a loss as to where to find a great memory book/album to record all of his milestones. My husband and I were lucky enough to have wonderful mums who recorded all the little, and big, details of our youth and we would like to do the same for our son. Particularly those events that happen in the first few years. Any advice or suggestions you have on where I can find one will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance, new mum, Stephanie (Cairns, Australia).

Design Mom Answer:
Hi Stephanie. Congratulations on your new baby! And thank you for the question. Discovering the perfect baby book is a treat. And luckily, there are lots of interesting choices out there — and new ones created everyday. I've posted about some of my favorites here and here. Rachel, a previous Guest Mom showcased a couple of gorgeous custom books here.




Of the several I own, my favorite is a smallish one that is sold at the Metropolitan Museum (for less than $20). It's called simply Baby's Journal and it's written and illustrated by Marie Madeleine Franc-Nohain. It was adapted from Le Journal de Bébé, a book in the collection of the Museum that was first published in Paris in 1914.




It's lovely. Full of mostly blank pages with charming illustrations across the top, where you can record thoughts or attach photos. It's beautifully made and very well-loved by my kids. (As you can see, the silver ink on the book cover is wearing off from all the handling by little hands.) The current printing has a cover that's different than the one I own. If you'd prefer the cover I have, it looks like Amazon lists some vendors here.

Another favorite, although I don't own one, is the Binth Baby Book, which I've exclaimed over before. But I'll wait until the next post to tell you a bit more about it (wink).

What about you, Design Mom Readers? Do you have a favorite Baby Book to recommend?

Ask Design Mom Week: World Map Ideas

Ask Design Mom Question:
Gabrielle, I'm new to your site so I don't know if you've already posted about this or not... I'm looking for a cute idea to help my girls learn world geography. Ideally, I'd like something made out of recycled material (but somewhat interactive) that I could hang in their room. I don't want it too stuffy. I'm not running a school! Just something cute and fun (and funky!). Any suggestions? Thanks, Christina

Design Mom Answer:
Oh! I love maps. And I love decorating with maps. Great question, Christina.



My initial response is to send you to a post I wrote about using maps in my home (I favor the actual school maps), but after re-reading your question, I can see the solution I use isn't what you're looking for. Let me see what I can find something less formal out there and get back to you.

But before I head off on a map hunt, let me tell you what a friend of mine did: She gathered old National Geographic maps from a thrift store and covered an entire wall with them. She used wallpaper paste to attach them to the wall. They overlapped in lots of places and looked aged and creased and worn and really lovely. One was a big world map and the rest featured specific countries. She kept a pointer nearby to make the maps interactive.

Design Mom Readers, have you see any great maps out there?

Edit: talk about interactive! Check out this giant felt world map on etsy.

Ask Design Mom Week: Graduation Party

Ask Design Mom Question:
Gabrielle, I am attempting to throw my husband a graduation party. He is the first guy in his family to EVER graduate from college. Plus, during this time we got married, had two kids, moved to a different state and found a new job. In other words my man deserves a great party! I am stumped. I am trying to come up with some ways to make it all about him (we will be celebrating while visiting my in-laws the day before my sister-in-law's wedding.) Any ideas? Thanks! — Lyndsay

Design Mom Answer:
Congratulations to your husband, Lyndsay! I agree that a party is in order. Since you have two young children, you'll be houseguests at the time of the party, and won't have access to your own home or usual resources, I would recommend keeping the decor and refreshments simple. Your instinct to "make it all about him" seems exactly right and I would focus your energies there.



One way to make sure he gets attention that evening is to seek out anecdotes and tributes about him from friends and family. If they're submitted beforehand you could have them bound into a book and at some point during the party, everyone can gather around your husband as a few favorites are read aloud. Or, you could nix the book idea and instead, have guests prepare to share a short tribute at the party.

For simple decor, let your food do the work. You could take your husband's college colors, say brown and orange, and keep all the refreshments to those two colors (this seems to work best if you just serve desserts). Lots of different kinds of chocolates. Oranges or apricots. Colas or rootbeer or orange soda in bottles that show off their color.

Those are just a couple ideas to get your imagination going, Lyndsay. And I'll bet Design Mom Readers will chime in with lots of their own great graduation party ideas. I hope the party is fantastic!

image of Harvard gates found here

Random Giveaway — Tiny Sprouts

[ Congratulations to threeunderthree who said, "Please please pick me! I've been trying and trying to win a giveaway forever and I promise I'll share the love if I win this one!" You are the big winner of the Tiny Sprouts Giveaway! Send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the sponsor straight away! ]

To thank you for helping me out with good ideas and suggestions during Ask Design Mom Week, I'll be hosting a new Giveaway Monday through Friday — and each one will be open to entries for at least 48 hours. So let's get started!

The first one is a great one. It will make you popular and win you friends. And I'm not even kidding. The lucky winner will receive 12 months of adorable gifts worth $350 from Tiny Sprouts!



Here's how it works: each month you can choose a darling item from Tiny Sprouts' darling offerings. Then. You can choose a recipient. Then. Tiny Sprouts will send off the gift in your name. Making you look like the most thoughtful person ever. See what I mean about being all popular?

Would you rather keep all 12 months of gifts for yourself? Well. I promise I'll never tell.




Tiny Sprouts offers hand embroidered items for newborns, babies and toddlers. That's right. HAND-embroidered. As in embroidered by a hand holding a thread and a needle. How cool is that? Onesies. Hats. Cozy pajamas. Bibs. Blankets. Even a darling Growth Chart. It's definitely worth browsing the site just to see all the cute photos.



Thank you Tiny Sprouts!

-------------

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have 2 days — until midnight PST on Tuesday, June 3rd to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced at the top of this post on Wednesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom Week: Cradle Bedding

Ask Design Mom Question:
Gabrielle, in your travels online or in boutiques have you ever come across bedding for a cradle? I see anything and everything for cribs, but not a cradle or bassinet!! I'm on a desperate search for something beautiful and stylish, and if it could be organic, that would be fabulous. If anything comes to mind, please let me know! — Stephanie

Design Mom Answer:
You're absolutely right Stephanie! There are dozens of excellent options for crib bedding, but cradle bedding can be hard to find. I'm going to go search some of my best sources and see what I can find. In the meantime, I'll ask Design Mom Readers to chime in with their favorite sources.



And I should also mention, when I was faced with the same problem for our bassinet, I picked out some beautiful fabric and hired a friend to sew a few sheets. (Yes, although I'm not any sort of impressive seamstress, I could have probably sewn these myself. But let's be honest, it would have been procrastinated for. ev. er. Hiring it out got it done.)

Cradle pictured by Leander — I love how it can hang from the ceiling.

Ask Design Mom Week: Play Makeup

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Gabrielle, I have a question and I think you might be able to help me. When I was little, I loved doing face-painting with my mom and brothers and sisters, especially at Halloween, but at other times, too. We had a nice set of non-toxic face paints from Discovery Toys, and did tiger faces, clowns, mimes, etc.

Discovery Toys no longer carries this set. I'd love to find something similar for my kids, but I'm concerned about finding something safe for their skin. So far, the only "natural" kids' make-up I've found is body glitter and lip balm for little girls, which would not make my 5-year-old son, who wants to look like a pirate, happy. Do you know of any reasonably non-chemical-laced face-paint sets for kids? Thanks! Esther

Design Mom Answer:
Face painting is the best! Thanks for the reminder that it's a great year-round activity.




Snazaroo and Palmer are two good brands to try — and they're not very expensive. I haven't seen a list of ingredients, but they describe their products as cosmetic grade and non-toxic. If you want control of what exactly goes into the paint, here's a quick recipe to try.

Face painting would be the perfect solution to a boring summer day — and then you could send your child through the sprinklers for quick clean up. What about you Design Mom Readers? Any great face-painting tips we should know about?

Ask Design Mom Week: How to Spruce Up a Closet or Pantry

Ask Design Mom Question:
I have just added shelves to some old closets in the kitchen, hoping to make it a pantry. I have done the same with an upstairs closet that will house the upstairs laundry room. Sadly, I used a terrible handyman and the shelves look, well, like my three year old did them. I think I will redo them in the future when the budget allows for something better, but for now I have two questions: 1) any tips on how to spruce up an old-ish pantry? and 2) when it is time to re do it, where do I go to get the inside of a great closet or laundry room designed? Thanks! — Rebecca.

Design Mom Answer:
Great questions, Rebecca! This is a fun place to start the big Ask Design Mom week. I'm going begin with your second question about design services for closet interiors.



I've never actually used a service like this, but whenever I see ads for companies like Contemporary Closets or Closets by Design, I'm always tempted to schedule a free consultation. According to their websites, they focus on places like closets, garages, laundry rooms and utility rooms — and they'll tackle very big or very small jobs. If anyone reading this has used a closet design service and wants to share their experience, please do so — we're super curious.



As far as sprucing up a pantry goes, since it's a small space, it's the perfect opportunity to try out some bold color. Pick a shade that might be overwhelming in large quantities, but will provide a nice surprise whenever you open your cupboard.

You could add the color with a coat of paint, a layer of wallpaper — or even good old contact paper (is contact paper still around?). For a less permanent solution, you could try papering the back of the cupboard with the new adhesive wrapping paper from Hallmark. It's coated with post-it note stickiness across the whole roll — which would make it easy to reposition and easy to remove.

What about you, readers? How do you make your pantry a happy place?

images from the Container Store