Nie Nie Day Auctions are Here.

Happy Nie Nie Day to you! (What's Nie Nie Day? See here.) On the schedule: auctions. And more auctions. And then some auctions. Followed by a few auctions.

At last count, there are 165+ opportunities to get spendy on an assortment of fantastic products. UPDATE: Make that 275+ opportunities! And wrong again — now we're over 350. (350!) With all proceeds going straight to Stephanie and Christian. So have fun shopping and bidding, and feel free to be generous. Let's keep the love flowing.

Look for the red LIVE to see which ones are currently active. [ 10/01/08 Update: no auctions on this list remain live, but you can find current auctions and fundraising efforts listed here and here and here. ] Also. All of the auctions are being run independently and may have different rules and different end times. Please read the details carefully.

And now. The list:

Extra Big Prizes
1) Holy Cow. Check it: Oh Judy is auctioning a Maroon 5 Signed Guitar — Plus Concert Tickets!!! Dibs.
2) Tangled and True has 5 more fabulous auctions (to add to the 12 great auctions they already hosted). Watch for great prized from The Silly Wagon.
3) There are over 30 items up for grabs at Leslie's wonderful A Room Somewhere blog.
4) Don't miss my auction for an incredible MicraLite Toro Stroller (worth $525).
5) Blue Lily has relisted with a 2nd auction! This is a big one: Blue Lily Photography is hosting an auction on their blog for their largest package, priced at $480. And along with that, a big ol' canvas priced at $370. Plus, there are also 50 holiday cards (custom) included. Nice!

6) You could win a three-night stay at a really cool new hotel called Cable Mountain Lodge in Springdale, Utah. Right at the entrance to Zion National Park which is one of the prettiest places in the whole world. You can find the auction here.
7) Darlybird has offered up a super-charming Nie Nie Themed Collection of Goodies that I'm auctioning off here at Design Mom.
8) Have a Custom Quilt made from the clothes your baby has outgrown — worth $350. You'll send the seamstress 35-40 baby clothing items and she'll do the rest. At Vermillion Rules. Plus she's offered two small quilts in her Love September etsy shop.
9) Hey Diamondbacks Fans! How about 4 tickets to DUGOUT BOX seats valued at $125 a piece plus a pass for parking? Find the auction at Crissybug's Crazy Clan.

11) Artist Paul Ferney is donating a Blank Canvas — to be painted on — the subject is the choice of the buyer. At Jordan's Blog.
12) Also at Oh Happy Day: Gorgeous Custom Screen-Printed Party Invitations valued at $175.
13) I'm hosting an auction for $150 worth of artwork by Sarah Jane Studios. She's amazing. I have her work decorating the halls of both my playroom and my girls' room.
14) Calling All Cougar Fans: Nie's sister C Jane is auctioning off BYU Football awesomeness.
15) Handmade Baby and Kids items, Jewelry and Cards, Children's Books and a wonderful Christmas CD from the girls at Tales From the Crib.

16) Christopher Clark (Nie's brother) will make you Famous! Starting bid: $20 at The Jolly Porter.
17) And there's a gorgeous $550 Chandelier up for grabs at Blissful Living Studio
18) Have a Video Made for Your Next Special Event — A Wedding, a 50th Anniversary, a Sweet Sixteen party. Valued at $300 at La Vie est Belle.
19) Lots of Great Stuff at Ash Madsen's Blog. Like 2 lower level tickets to an October 8th Phoenix Suns basketball game. And 2 lower level tickets to an October 23rd Phoenix Suns basketball game. And. A large picture matted and framed of the 2007-2008 Phoenix Suns basketball team autographed by every player. Bonus: a photography session with Ashley Madsen Photography.
20) Another BIG one. Five super hip outfits (or any single items from their girls and boys line). Fabulous Childrens Books from Lauren Child and other great authors/illustrators. And one Like a Bike (value $325!) from Peek Aren't You Curious at their Design and Discourse blog.

21) It's not an auction, but it's Over-the-Top Generous. Jonathan Canlas, the constantly-in-demand photographer, is donating proceeds from all family sessions booked during the month of Sept and shot in Sept. Plus any reprints associated with those shoots. That's right. 100% of the proceeds. Ummm. You're going to want to get in on that.
22) Ginormous Collection of Fabulous Scrapbooking Supplies by Pebbles worth $550 at In Love With Love. Also. A brand new MAC Brush set and 10 Full-size MAC Products of your Choice, worth over $500 at In Love With Love. I want!
23) Two Nights in either the Cottonwood, Aspen or Lodgepole Cabin in Wyoming. Just 70 miles from Jackson Hole. A $310 value. Neat: The Old Mill was Featured in Men’s Journal Article: 25 Hideouts & Dream Towns. At Carolyn Beth's blog.
24) More Great items at Ash Madsen's blog. Like 3 teeth whitening treatments + trays and whitening gel to take home (retail $250). And. Salsa Lessons!
25) Representative Steve Urquhart will make you his World Famous Waffles and serve them to you fresh at his home. Or freeze and ship them to you if you prefer. I've personally partaken of these waffles. They are exquisite. Bidding starts at $20.

26) Another Cougar Fan Surprise! A Football, signed by BYU's Head Football Coach Bronco Mendenhall and his 2008 - 2009 Players. Sweeet! At The Thompson Troop.
27) More Signed Sports Stuff: A basketball autographed by the entire Boston Celtic team. (They were last year's NBA Champions.) And. A Couple of Football items autographed by Steve Young. At Ash Madsen's Blog.
28) Huge Collection! of Scrapbooking Supplies (over $500 worth) from Sassafras Lass. At In Love With Love.


Jewelry/Sweets/Luxuries
1) A necklace inspired by one of Nie Nie's posts at RHB Designs.
2) Proceeds from the gorgeous Rolo Chain Bracelet at The Orange Bell go to Nie Nie.
3) Jewelry from My Neck Candy.
4) Hand-strung, Kazuri Necklace at A Daily Scoop.
5) Beautiful Jewelry from Darleen Meier (I've featured her gorgeous work on Design Mom).

6) Custom Hand Stamped Jewelry at Just Be Custom.
7) British candy and chocolate — shipping straight from England, at Joanne Brown.
8) Blue Poppy Earrings (one of my fave lines!) at English Trees.
9) A Beautiful Bracelet dedicated to Stephanie at The Blog Shoppe.
10) Two pieces of Custom Personalized Jewelry at Cinnamon*Sticks Boutique.

11) Lovely work from Caroline at Armelle Jewelry (covet!).
12) Butter Yellow Leather Marc Jacobs bag. Really stunning and originally sold for $800. At Knot Sew Crafty.
13) Something Pretty from Bel Kai Designs.
14) Noritake China and Waterford Crystal at Heusen.
15) A legendary Superhero Necklace by Andrea Scher at The Queso.

16) A versatile Patchwork necklace with charm from Twisted Silver at Buby + Bleu.
17) Necklace in Stephanie's favorite color (green) at Openshaws in Asia.
18) Hope glass Tile Pendant at Just Add Cake.
19) Super sweet! Three Toddler Bracelets and Two Adult Necklaces toddler bracelets and two adult necklaces at Eriksens.
20) Woman's Pendant Necklace at The Big Piece of Cake.

21) Baked Goods (mouth-watering) at Entertaining For Monkeys.
22) Homemade Baklava. Overnighted to your doorstep.
23) Sweet Earrings at Simply Sassy Daisy.
24) Bluebird Necklace and Nesting Dolls at Gingham World.
25) Sparkly Creations at Bringing Good Home.

26) A beautiful freshwater pearl/pewter/gemstone bracelet at Adorn.
27) Ivory Faux Pearl Necklace and a Black Rhinestone Dome Ring at Madison Envy.
28) High Quality Handmade Jewelry. Three Women's and two Children's items. Beautiful. At Cinnamon*Sticks Boutique.
29) Leather Designers Guild Clutch at Buby + Bleu.
30) This Just In!: One Dozen, Made-from-Scratch, Magnolia Bakery Style Cupcakes. At Halls of Pemberly. Delicious.

31) Beautiful Antique Key Necklace at Lost Button Studio. So Charming!
32) Little Mermaid Wraparound Bracelet. With crystal, vintage Czech, Japanese and German glass beads, and a ferry token from Denmark. Ooooh. So Cosmopolitan. At Claire B. Cotts.
33) Fresh Baked! Sour Cream Lemon Pie at Compulsive Writer. And handmade soap!
34) Scrumptious Chocolate Cake! at bids2calvin. Plus beautiful earrings.
35) Beautiful Pair of Nie Nie Inspired Earrings at Kids Stuff World.

36) Delicious & Gorgeous Cake. Handmade by a Professional Baking Goddess. At Café Johnsonia.
37) Almost-Famous Cream Puffs — I'm craving them now — at Formerly Phread.
38) Japanese "Sweet"ness (I heart Japanese candy!) at Adventures in Japan.
39) Dooney and Bourke Tote — with cosmetic case, key fob, and ID case. Brand new! at Getting Healthy Together.
40) Beautiful Christmas Ornament from Brand-New-Blogger AndTiques AndMore!

41) Sophisticated Silver Hoop Necklace. Elegant! From Ethiopian Orphan Relief.
42) At The Harkers, a Jemdrops Multicolor Wire Wrapped Bracelet, Vintage Flower Pacifier Clip and Amethyst and Flower Hairpin.


Stationery/Paper Goods
1) Custom Set of Children's Silhouette Stationery at Ambrosia Girl.
2) 100% of all proceeds from any Thursday (8/28) sale at Swanky Paper will go to Nie Nie. Find info here.
3) Custom Card Designs at A Card Maker (in Nie Nie's style!). Plus. This just in: a Weekend Stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in Old Town Scottsdale (Arizona) — also at A Card Maker.
4) Packs of Handcrafted Cards at Heart, Soul and Fun.
5) A Clever Collection of melissahead stuff — like gift tags, bookmarks and a holiday pack — valued at $74, at Operation Nice.

6) Gorgeous Japanese Stationery at Stephmodo.
7) Handmade Cards at Get Up and Play.
8) Brand new Rubber Stamp Sets and all the supplies to make 10 handmade cards (one which says "Delight in the simple things" — so Nie Nie!) at This Is Our Tale.
9) A Collection of Vintage Paperie and a sultry-soothing vocal/guitar CD, at Fredin Family and Life at The Chicken Coop.
10) 100% of all profits made on Thursday at Doodle Bugs Paper will go to Nie.

11) A Set of Custom Letterpress Stationery [set of 40] at Simple Song.
12) 2 sets of 24 Personalized Custom Stationery and 2 signed prints of Santa Barbara Pencil drawing series at Le Papier Studio.
13) A Set of Sarah Stahl Greeting Cards at xo, Miss L2.
14) Handcrafted cards at Three Wheels Turning.
15) An adorable Gift Case filled with Stationery Goodies at Broadway Paper.

16) A Vinyl Sign and a set of Handmade Cards at Welcome Back Kotter.
17) Personalized Stationery, Scrapbooking Supplies and Sea Salt Scrub, Candle & Soap at Mumbo Jumbo.
18) A Love Letter Written by Amy Sharp Doobleh-vay. (Wow!)
19) German photo albums/scrapbooks at Buby + Bleu.
20) Fifty custom 5x7 photo card birth announcements to the highest bidder at Sugarhouse Ink.

21) Beautiful Hand-Stamped Cards at Red-Eye Stamper.
22) Set of 25 Custom Designed Photo Christmas cards w/envelopes at Life As I Know It.
23) Sanity Starter Kit! A collection of darling organizational materials from LobotoME. (I love these products!).


Books/Music
1) Signed copy of Freshman for President and other Election Goodies auctioned by the author.
2) Vintage Teen Home-Ec book (purchased with Nie Nie in mind) at The Modern Hive.
3) Signed copy of 'Bound on Earth' by Angela Hallstrom.
4) Signed copies of Sharlee Glenn's children's books entitled 'Just what Mama Needs, "One in a Billion," and 'Keeping up with Roo'.

5) $35 bandVillage gift certificate, this is good for any purchase at bandVillage.com at XoBeau.
6) 5 signed copies of the book, Culinary Confessions of the PTA Divas at Amuse Bouche.
7) "The First Adventures of Incredible You" Custom Storybook gift certificate at Fun Finds For Mom. (We have this and adore it.)
8) Several Collections of Books are up for grabs at Mrs. MRS.
9) A set of signed AND dedicated copies of two books illustrated by Claire B. Cotts. (Just tell her who to dedicate them to!)
10) Mike Fitzgerald says that anyone who makes a donation of $19 or more to the recovery fund and emails him a copy of their receipt will be sent one of his ebooks (their choice) for free. At The Law of Attraction.

11) Brand new, Unreleased Music, as well as a Personal in-home Concert is up for auction at Debra Fotheringham.


Baby/Kids
1) Super sweet handmade Baby Angel Mobile by Katy.
2) A luxe Nursing Pillow by Blessed Nest.
3) A Kate Spade (yum!) Diaper bag at Lovely Dainty.
4) RococoMocco says that when you buy anything from her Baby Adorned Etsy shop, all proceeds will go to Nie Nie.
5) Vintage inspired originals at The Baby Gardner Baby Bloggie.

6) Handmade Baby Quilt at Orange You Glad.
7) Pottery Barn Kids Goodies at Boys Meet Girl.
8) Onesies, Burp Cloths (and maybe an Apron) at My Sparkle.
9) A Diaper Cake made by Renée at Cutie Booty Cakes.
10) Two Stunning Baby Quilts at Rhubarb Marmalade.

11) "For little and not so little girls." — a petite violette food smock, a cd, a book, a game, a necklace and chocolate at Discomom.
12) A Custom Homemade Bunting at Fredin Family and Life at The Chicken Coop.
13) A Persimmon & Pink Wool Doll and Vintage Children's Book, "Mud Pie and Other Recipes–A CookBook for Dolls," at I Never Grew Up.
14) Two Wipee Cases at A Pruett Life.
15) Maple Teethers at Doobleh-vay.

16) Petit Bateau Onsies at Stephmodo.
17) Vintage French T-Strap Baby Shoes. In Yellow. (Must have!) at Stephmodo.
18) Handmade Custom Slippers for Kids and a Handmade custom Kids Apron at El Paso Represent Yo.
19) $50 Gift Certificate at Just Add Cake.
20) Little Girl's Necklace at The Big Piece of Cake.

21) A Beautiful Hand Sewn Nursing Cover in a print that reminds the maker of Stephanie at Luvs and Life.
22) Second Story Window etsy shop (they make educational games and tools) is giving all of today's proceeds to Nie.
23) Three darling hair clips at Andiland.
24) Two Sets of Custom Hair Clips at Follow Along.
25) Two Sweet Handmade Dolls at Tollipop — so adorable!

26) Cozy Swaddle Blanket at Say Yes!
27) China-related - Food, Fun and Games at Three P's in a Pod.
28) Children's Storybooks — and a bracelet — at Monica Buckles.
29) Bling! A Swarovski crystal studded pacifier with matching Swarovski crystal studded pacifier clip at Baby Bling Las Vegas.
30) Pippalily Baby Sling, Numbers Bib and Burp Cloth Set, Pink Flower Headband at Fun Finds For Mom.

31) Sweet Toddler Pinafore — apples and pears print — at Super Hot Mama's House.
32) All proceeds from the Ciao Bella Baby etsy shop go to the Recovery Fund.
33) A Handknit Cashmere Baby Kimono (love!) at Bolt From the Blu.
34) An Infant Car Seat Cover from My Designer Baby at Fabulous Fun Finds.
35) Binga Hairbows and a Binga Bow Holder at Confessions of a Blogoholic. Girly fun!

36) Lola Dress from Baby Peas & Carrots, up to size 5T. So cute! At Eenie Meeny Picks.
37) Pink Fleurville Mothership Diaper Bag. And. Bebe au Lait Nursing Cover. At For the One.
38) Little Man Tie goes to the top Five Bidders! Fabulous. At Dainty Couture.
39) Fleurville Lexie Tote, valued at $165. Gorgeous!! At Let's Go Strolling.
40) Set of Two Custom Super Hero Capes — Sha-zaamm! Plus proceeds from her etsy shop. At Reese Dixon.


Fine Art/Illustration
1) Artwork by Claire B. Cotts at She Hath Done What She Could.
2) A Painting from the lovely Bushel and Bloom etsy shop.
3) A Painting by Beth that reminds her of Nie Nie at Let the Good Times Roll.
4) In addition to the auction on Design Mom, Sarah Jane Studios is also hosting an auction for a Set of Calendar Prints on her blog. Double-y generous, don't you think?
5) A Painting at Ella and Rory that reminds the artist of Stephanie.

6) Fantastic Paintings/Sketches by Illustrator Guy Francis.
7) Several Paintings by Jennifro.
8) Limited Edition Aurora Broadside letterpressed by Tryst Press.
9) A Great Giclee by J. Kirk Richards at Light Refreshments Served.
10) A Print of a little girl with a balloon titled "Waiting" by the lovely Sarah Jane at Bek's blog.

11) Three Prints at Peekaboo Prints.
12) A Custom Painting of from a photo of the winners choosing, any size, anything they want, at Little Shop of Shavs.
13) An Original Lithographic Print at Fredin Family and Life at The Chicken Coop.
14) A 16" x 20" giclee print of Jack and Jill at Winborg Design.
15)Perfect "Into the Woods" Paper Illustration at A Little Hut (one of my fave artists!)

16) Two adorable Original Paintings at Tollipop. Too cool for words.
17) Handsome WoodBlock Print at Say Yes! To Hoboken.
18) Gorgeous "For She Loved Much" Print by Jeffrey Hein at Say Yes!
19) Creative Thursday — great artist and blogger — is auctioning off $150 gift certificate to her etsy shop. Love.
20) Several Beautiful Oil Paintings at Kyle plus Sarah.

21) Three paintings, two ink transfers, a charcoal drawing, and a intaglio print by Mallory Robin at Ology.
22) Acrylic Painter Juliette Caron is donating 50% of her online sales to the NieNie fund for the next 30 days.
23) Myles Cavanaugh's Paintbox Collections is listing both a Painting and a set of Letterpress Cards
24) Encaustic Collage Painting by Claire B. Cotts. So pretty.
25) Limited Edition Giclee Print of a Carrot Cake Painting. At Candy Yum Yum.


Handmade/Home Goods
1) Focus Jennie will donate any proceeds from her Patrick Lane etsy store directly to the cause.
2) A Happy Birthday Banner (love it!) at Jump Up And Down.
3) When you donate $20 or more to the Nie Nie Fund, email a copy of your receipt to info.at.laundrytree.dot.com, and they’ll send two sample bags of LaundryTree soapnuts: one for you, and one for a friend.
4) Thirteen! separate auctions (vintage jewelry/squash blossoms/antique candle sticks/eclectic jewelry) at Choose the Write.
5) An assortment of items from the cute Simple Finds shop.

6) A "couple of kids things and a couple of grown-up things" at Thirty Handmade Days.
7) Handmade Board/Sign at Practically Perfect in Every Way.
8) All profits from Hannah's Scentsy sales during this next week will go to Nie's Family.
9) Christy at Crafty Conservative is holding a raffle. Every $5 donation gets an entry into the drawing for some goodies — including a $50 Stampin' UP gift certificate and some Etsy finds.
10) Handwoven African Baskets at Momedy.

11) Vinyl Wall Decals (vintage clothes line and under the sea) at Word Candy Vinyl.
12) Several Hand-made Items at Keep Me In Stitches.
13) A Two Foot Clock at Clocks by Staci.
14) Several sweet items up for auction at Ponytail Challenge.
15) Something Special at Kismet Plush Collection.

16) Two Glittering Pieces from the amazing Studio D Sharp. (Tiara!)
17) Two Sushi Plates with two Chopstick Rests and two Sets of Chopsticks as well as a few other misc. Japanese treasures at Acte Gratuit.
18) Proceeds from a cute Headband go to Nie at Auntie Ann.
19) Four cute home items at Dog Days.
20) Sweet Flora Crown by Rubyellen at Cakies.

21) Handmade Witch Hat, A Witch Boot & a Crow on a Moon (Halloween is coming!) at Saying It Simply.
22) Three Handknit Cupcakes at Petey and Lars.
23) $77.00 worth of Scentsy Products at Together is My Favorite Place to Be. Plus! Proceeds from ALL additional Scentsy orders placed through TaraF's web site until the end of August will be donated to Nie's Fund.
24) 13” x 24” custom vinyl project in your choice of available colors and font at Urban Lettering.
25) At Sweet Tweets: a handmade bird collage, owl pillow softie and black bird pendant...all as a threesome in one auction.

26) A Chinese Porcelain and Stone Necklace at The Wheelers.
27) Cherry wall hanging/table topper and two Toothfairy Pillows at Keep Me In Stitches.
28) Bakery Special for 8 (a great gift!) with 100% of the proceeds going to the Stephanie Neilson Fund at Garnish.
29) An adorable Pillow created by The Little Stitch at Kim & Tyler.
30) It's beyond charming! A beautiful Cupcake Pincushion. Made by the famous Portabellopixie.

31) A Scentsy System (warmer plus 3 scents) at Party @ the Peine's.
32) Green Glass Bird, plus Handmade Olivia Greeting Cards at I Heart Provo.
33) $100 Gift Certificate to A Green Candle Company! Nice.
34) Magnet Board! Bid start at $40. Whoever wins, has the choice of their color and design. At Eternal Papyrus.
35) Four Hand-painted Wood Plates at Just Add Dots.


Totes, Bags and Aprons
1) The NieNie Love Pillow in honor of Stephanie and Christian and the Stephanie Apron, made of vintage looking fabric. Lots of red. It's lovely. At Blue Grass Market.
2) Any Custom Item from Modern Myrtle. (Don't miss the gorgeous apron.)
3) Polka-dot Handbag from Kennedy Grace Boutique.
4) Four Custom Embroidered Bags. Plus 2 custom-embroidered burps and teddy bears at Make Mine a Quad.
5) A super-cute Apron at Uniquety.

6) Handmade Scripture Tote at Firelein TomFoolery.
7) Three Fantastic Items (a tote, a necklace and a free blog banner) at Kids Stuff World.
8) Mother-Daughter Matching Apron Set at Run Lucas Run.
9) Choice of three PeaceLoveMom drawstring totes at Buby + Bleu.
10) A Vintage Apron at El Paso Represent Yo.

11) Matching Mother/Daughter Apron set at The Glauser Gang.
12) Claire V. Silk Bag at The Big Piece of Cake.
13) Handmade Bag (in a great print!) at It's My Story — plus a sterling silver necklace!
14) Handmade Purse and Earrings at Live Simply and Simply Live.
15) Handmade Bag and Custom Lettering at Remember This.

16) Christian's talented sister is auctioning a Gorgeous Bag at Lizzy Writes.
17) Handmade Apron from Vintage Sheets and a Grab Bag of Vinyl Lettering at My Little Gems.
18) Three Baggu Bags in your choice of colors and Cup Kozy (cardboard coffee sleeve alternative) of your choice at Fun Finds For Mom.
19) Handmade Bag (winner chooses 1 of 2) in adorable prints at This Little Miggy.
20) An Apron and Vintage Party Book at The Longest Year.

21) Vera Bradley Designer Handbag valued at $80. Quilted. Black. Gorgeous. At She Hath Done What She Could.


Quilts/Fabric/Ribbon
1) A Handmade Patriotic Lap Quilt at Panhandle Sue's Quilting Spot.
2) Gorgeous handmade Patchwork Quilt at Sparkle Power!
3) A Beautiful Twin-Sized Quilt at Life As I Know It.
4) A quilt that I'm sure Nie Nie herself would love at Bloom.
5) A Martha-esque Art Quilt and a Blastoid Cat at Persimmon & Pink — I've totally featured the Cat. Adorable!

6) 200 Yards of Ribbon at Pink Christmas.
7) Quilting Fabric at Lanie Jane.
8) All proceeds from the sale of this Balloon Fabric (Nie hearts balloons!) goes to the Nielsons.
9) Vintage French Eyelet at Stephmodo.
10) A Nie inspired Girls Quilt at So Much Tew Say.

11) A handmade, quilted, Baby Boy Blanket at All That I Am.
12) Hand Quilted Pear Quilt at Say Yes.
13) Retro Inspired Quilt at Positively Organic. Bright and cheerful in pinks, greens, yellows and reds with a kiss of blue.
14) Genuine Handmade Venetian Lace at Café Johnsonia. Too pretty to part with!


Clothing
1) A Little Girls Custom Outfit, out of designer fabric, and a Baby Blanket out of swirl minky, brocade satin and hand pleated ruffle edge at A Bundle of Boths.
2) One of a Kind Organic Tee at The Sweet Line.
3) Fancy Field Frock (that I heart) at Grosgrain.
4) A one-of-a-kind Handmade Sweater (very Anthropologie) plus some pretty little things from her etsy shop at Dandee Designs.
5) The talented gals at Sugar City Journal are auctioning off a tunic top (size 3) and some cute little postcards.

6) Your Pick from the Fall Collection at Pretty Jane. Plus: 20% of all sales through Sept 9 goes to the Fund.
7) Adorable Little Girls Dress (size 4) from Refugee Crafter.
8) Several Childrens and Womens Tops from Treeshirts at Three and Counting.
9) Women's designer tee and tank from PeaceLoveMom at Buby + Bleu.
10) Yummy Handmade Patchwork Scarf at My Longest Year.

11) Vintage-inspired hand knit Shawl. Amazing. At All Things Alissa.
12) Vintage Outfit at Doobleh-vay.
13) A Shabby Apple Womens Dress, Jinwood Baby Shoes & A Pretty Me Girls Dress at Simple Finds.
14) Arden B. Coat at The Big Piece of Cake.
15) Fabulous Vintage Items at A Lovely Lifestyle — sandals, a dress, jewelry, belts and scarves. Sweeet!

16) Everybody's Favorite: A Pronk Happy Skirt and Blouse of Choice! at Pronk Life.
17) Father & Son Tie Necktie or Bowtie Set at Fun Finds For Mom.
18) A Gorgeous Cotton Robe in Peony Pink (choice of sizes) from Pine Cone Hill at The Big Piece of Cake.
19) One of A Kind Nie Tee at Hello My Name is Kimberly. Brilliant.
20) Fun! Straight from The Olympics — an NBC Olypmic pin set, a limited edition GE Olympic pin set (388/1750) and an NBC Olympic hoodie (Men's XL) at A Little of This.

21) Gorgeous! Blue Silk J. Crew Dress at A Cup of Jo. So special.
22) Delman Bruno MaryJanes. (Oh I want these!) Size 8. At Entertaining for Monkeys.
23) Super-soft Handknit Scarf at Everyday Giving. Plus a crocheted Cupcake Purse!
24) A $25 Gap Giftcard. (Yay for Back 2 School Shopping!) at Formerly Phread.
25) Added 8/30: Donate to the recovery fund and you're entered to win a hand-crocheted baby sweater at Just a Little Bit of Quirky-ness.

26) Two Handmade Custom Pieces of Little Girls' Clothing at Fresh & Vintage.


Photography
1) Photography Prints by Jill Scripps.
2) A Photo by Life Kunst.
3) Customized photo enhancement (very chic), and a nienie inspired custom silhouette, by Lynette.
4) A Family Portrait Session (and two handmade diaper/wipes holders) at Year of No Fear.
5) Lovely Photography at Sheenanigans.

6) Elizabeth's favorite etsy sellers have donated items she'll be auctioning off, as well as some Prints and Photo Editing Services at Elizabeth Harris Photography.
7) A Portrait Session and 100 Custom Designer Holiday Cards at English Photography.
8) A Photography Session worth $620. Complete with the high res. CD of all the images at Everything I Love.
9) Reflections of Christ framed image, valued at $350, at Matage.
10) Gallery wrap Canvas Photograph by Maralise Petersen.

11) One Hour of Photography Services by Liz Fuller. If you live in AZ, you could use this for a photo shoot. If not, Liz will photograph a subject of your choice for artwork in your home. At Backward's Attraction.
12) A Photo Session and 10 Indie Actions Sets at Indie Art Photography (gorgeous stuff!).
13) An Engagement Session or Family Portrait Session. This is valued at $150 and includes two 8x10 prints. The photographer lives in Las Vegas but can travel to California and Utah on weekends. Plus, will be in Boston and New York this Christmas season for a week or two and will be able to shoot then as well. At Mrs. MRS.
14) A Full Service Photography Session from Ashley Thalman Photography. Plus! An 11 x 14 Matte Print of the SLC Temple.

15) Photo of the Salt Lake Temple printed on Brushed Aluminum at Smithology.
16) Lee Press is auctioning off 2 8x10 photo prints — peaceful Oregon images. Lovely.
17) A photo session which includes: all gallery images on disc in both color and black and white, with printing release, web-sized files of all images for use on blogs or email and 5x7 print of each image at Color Me Red.
18) Beautiful, beautiful 8 x 10 photograph titled "orange" at Springtree Road.
19) A family/baby/engagement/your choice mini photo session at Jessica Kettle Photography — such a talent!

20) Family session (valued at $400) at Amanda Peterson Photography.
21) A photo session with a 16x20 mounted wall print at Haley Ann Warner Photography.
22) 1 hour Photo Session (family or child) and $300! print credit at Three Little Birds Photography.
23) Score! A $500 Photo Shoot with Nicole Hill of A Little Sussy. She's a total legend!
24) One portrait session valued at $200 (engagements, bridals, family, babies, etc.). Feel free to enter for yourself, or for friends and family in the Utah area that could use a portrait session. At Bethany Jackman Photography.
25) A photo session (family, child, bridal, etc) and a disc of the negatives ($450 value) at Green Apple Photography.

26) Photo Session and Photo Package (includes 1 11x14, 2 8x10s, 4 5x7s) at Life As I Know It.
27) 8 x 10 Photo Print from this Flickr Set. At M Invasion.
28) A Family Photo Session at Drew B. Photography.
29) Amy M has some stunning Photographs up for auction. Six different options. At My Words.
30) Lots of Photo Sessions up for grabs (including a Wedding Package!) at Sloan Photographers.

31) 1 1/2 to 2 Hour Photo Shoot at Ashlee Raubach's site.


Web Design/Video Editing/Blog Services/Tech
1) Three Customized Blog Banners by the talented duo at Team Romo.
2) Custom blog Makeovers (goodbye generic template!) by A Daisy Original.
3) A Year of Custom Blog Headers (one for each month of the year!) at Find the Beauty in Every Day.
4) Custom Blog Header — designed just for you! at Tending Snapdragons.
5) Large Ad Space for Four Months on Coveiter.

6) Excellent Blog Design Package at Ruby & Roja Design.
7) Touchpoint Conference Ticket Auction at Startup Princess.
8) Ash Buckles is offering SEO for Wordpress to get your blog ready for the search engines. Super cool.
9) Through September WELLalarm™ will donate $1 for every purchase from its website. 24/7 access to your medical information from anywhere in the world via "smart" jewelry, key chains, labels and stickers. Find info here.
10) The Opinionated Parent is auctioning Two Premium 3-Month Ad Spaces worth $250 each. Love it.

11) Get Your Custom Blog Headers at Headers for Nie Nie.
12) A Custom Banner for your Blog — three winners! — at Remarks from Sparks.
13) Blog Header Design at Life As I Know It.
14) Custom Wedding Inspiration Board (Yippee!) from blog superstar Snippet & Ink.
15) Custom Blog Makeover! Three Design Packages plus a Giveaway! at BeanPaste.


Local Services
1) Full Service Hair Cut & Color in Provo, Utah from Cat + Tadd.
2) An Original Cake (Yum!) in metro Phoenix area from Me and Mine.
3) One Hour Photo Shoot by Swift Stuff in Southern California.
4) $35 gift card to Remedez, an Aveda salon/spa at University Mall in Orem, Utah courtesy of Formerly Phread.
5) Family Photo Session by April Atwater Photography in Utah County. Includes cd of high resolution images plus 8x10 print valued at $275.

6) A Photo Session Package for anyone in the Las Vegas area by Amy Leavitt Photography.
7) Ooooh! A Stay in a 3-Story Treehouse in Provo, Utah (sounds fun!) at Opening the Box.
8) Hair Cut and Color in Mesa, AZ at the Blotkamp Family Blog.
9) Pet Grooming in Mesa AZ at Trim Time.
10) For Utah county, a photography session to take place in October for family, children, or Christmas card photos at Monica Buckles.

11) In Las Vegas: a family photo session, 10 prints (your choice of size), and a gallery wrap canvas or gallery wood mount of your favorite portrait. Valued at over $400. At Still Life.
12) In Salt Lake Valley, list your house with this agent and he will reduce listing agent fees from 3% to 1.5%.(On a home that sells for $300,000 that's a $4500 savings!) at Cece Can't Sleep.
13) Six hours of private birthing lessons in Utah County from a certified childbirth educator at Pincock Family blog.
14) In Mesa AZ: 1 yr of team membership and costume fee ($450 value) at Dance Company Rez-O-n8. Or, the dance team can perform/give group dance instruction for an event.
15)

16) Every parent's day dream: In Orange County, CA, you can win One Full Weekend of Babysitting(!) at All About the Brown Girls. Now that's service from the heart. : )
17) Freezer Jam (yum!), Babysitting, Slideshow Creation — heartfelt auctions at The Bucklein Bunch.
18) Kerrianne is running the Anthem AZ Triathlon for Nie. You can be her sponsor! With all proceeds going to the Recovery Fund.
19) Delicious Fall Dinner for Someone in the Provo Area at Tanner & Leah Grow.
20) Three Hours Interior Design Consultation in (or Any One Room) in Utah at Elegance Redefined.

21) In the Portland, Oregon Area: A photo shoot for up to 4 people for 2 hours at Courtney B Photography.
22) In Boise, Idaho. A photo session. 1-2 Hours, plus a CD and 8 x 10. At A Little Bit of This.
23) In Utah County. A two hour photo session, online proofing gallery, one 11×14 or two 8×10 prints, and ten 4×6 prints. At Every Little Moment Photography.
24) In Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona metro areas.Three different Photo Sessions, with cd of images and 8x10 print. At Lily P. Studio.
35) In San Diego. Homemade Cookies and Homemade Pumpkin Bread. Yum! At 3 By the Sea.

36) In Draper, Utah. All proceeds from the Nie Nie Booth at the Oh Sweet Sadie! Art & Gift Show will go to the Nie Recovery fund.
37) In Utah. A photo session, cd with copyright, 16X20 wall portrait and 50 holiday cards. Worth $485.00. At Faucet Photography.
38) In Utah. A photo session, cd with copyright, and 16X20 wall portrait. At Shelly Geller Photography.


Not Sure What They're Auctioning Off, But I'll Bet It's Amazing:
1) thepachamama.blogspot.com
2) shehathdonewhatshecould.blogspot.com
3) BennettBlogOut.blogspot.com
4) fisforfrank.blogspot.com
5) simpleebe.blogspot.com

6) butternutsagedesigns.blogspot.com
7) lindsayiscontent.blogspot.com
8) artfulife.blogspot.com
9) mrscropper.blogspot.com
10) lifeatthechickencoop.blogspot.com

11) noodleandlou.blogspot.com
12) sweettweets1.blogspot.com
13) katietimothy.blogspot.com
14) A Lovely Lifestyle
15) Extraordinary Housewives

16) My Happy Little Life
17) The Crazy Good Life
18) mrscropper.blogspot.com
19) nogginsbeanies.com
20) laurascomfychair.blogspot.com

21) vintagefern.blogspot.com
22) adelightfulday.blogspot.com
23) elizabethbryant.blogspot.com
24) Always An Adventure
25) Half the Sales at Deb's Freckles go to the Nie Fund.

26) Heidi is holding some ebay auctions and pledges to give 20% of sales to Nie's Fund.
27) All proceeds from Today's (8/28) Sales go to Nie at Scribble It Online.
28) Any Sales Today (8/28) at Shop Poppy Seeds goes to Christian and Stephanie.
29) Sparkle Jenna is giving 10% of her sales from 8/28-8/31 to the NieNie Fund.


In addition to all those wonderful Auctions, you can read more Great Posts celebrating Nie Nie Day here:

1) Ready For My Close Up Mr. DeMille
2) My Happy Little Life
3) By Common Consent
4) All Mediocre
5) Bennett Blog Out

6) See a Nie Nie movie here
7) Mommy Spice
8) Bloesem Kids
9) Paperwhite J
10) Possibly the sweetest tribute I've read is at HogieWogie. Anyone who needs to up their gratitude level, read this now.

11) Amy & Jeff
12) Kaitlin Farmer
13) A post dedicated to an idea borrowed off of Nie's lovely blog at Shabby Nest.
14) The Yellow Door Paperie
15) Starr Strung

16) Junque Art
17) My sister Rachel wrote this one. It made me cry.
18) The Tip Spot
19) Talk of the Week
20) Happy Life

21) Baby Anne Quilts
22) Little Sweethearts
23) To Think is to Create
24) Musings & Misadventures
25) A great post at Two for Joy

26) Shibori Girl
27) Amuse Bouche
28) Cool Mom Picks
29) Baby Center's Momformation Blog
30) Good + Happy Day

31) Cyndi & Lee
32) House on 8
33) Keeping Up With the Jones'
34) Mel-o-Drama
35) Starry-eyed Barefoot Bride

36) Don't miss the gorgeous paper garlands at The Jet Set that were sent to Nie's hospital room for decoration.
37) Laurel Beard is spreading the word.
38) Thanks for the post May Papers.
39) Beautiful words at Finslippy.
40) Bondville is spreading the story to Australia.


For those of you Sending Cards, here's the address:
c/o stephanie and Christian Nielson
Mari Copa County Hospital
2601 East Roosevelt St.
Phoenix, AZ 85008

Thank you so much for participating! Hopefully it will mean the world to Stephanie and Christian. It certainly means a ton to me.

Nie Nie Day Auction #3: Micralite Toro Stroller from Scandinavian Child

[ Note: There are over 165 different auctions being held through out the internet in celebration of Nie Nie Day. I am hosting 3 here at Design Mom. What's Nie Nie Day? See here. ]



Take a look at this beauty. A full-size stroller, with graceful lines, that weighs in at only 18 pounds. Say Hello to the Micralite Toro. And then open and close it over and over again in one quick move — because it's so easy to do.

In fact the only thing easier than expanding and collapsing this bad boy, is reclining the seat at virtually any angle. And smoothly. So as not to disturb your sleeping baby. Grand! I adore this stroller. And so do my kids. The Toro is a new line from the UK that has only recently been available here in the U.S. Explore the demo to take a virtual test drive, and I know you'll fall in love with this stroller too.






Available in four great colors (I have beautiful emerald), and retailing for $525, the Toro comes standard with color coordinated all-weather foot boot, zip on raincover, shopping basket and airpump. I find it's the perfect compromise between city and country stroller — the large, inflated rear tires make for easy travel over "off-road" surfaces (read: sand and grass), but the Toro is still lightweight and can turn on a dime in tight urban spots.

Great-for-walks plus easy-to-use-for-shopping equals the-perfect-stroller. You can find a list of online Micralite Retailers here. Or. Head straight to Fawn and Forest — one of my favorite baby supply stops.

Thank you Scandanavian Child for the generous donation. A family out there is going to be very happy with their new stroller. : ) Happy Bidding Everybody!

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

How this silent auction works:
1) Please place your bid by leaving a comment with your Bid Amount in the comments section of the item you are bidding on. Check the comments to see the most recent High Bid.

2) Following the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (make sure your comment bid includes an email address or link to your blog or some way to contact you). The winner will pay the amount of their winning bid to the Stephanie and Christian PayPal account. The winner will then forward the PayPal receipt to gabrielle@designmom.com and I will put the winner in touch with the sponsor. The sponsor will send the item.

3) Please bid in increments of whole dollars. The auction will end at Midnight PST on Sunday, August 31, 2008.

4) Thank you for participating!

Nie Nie Day Auction #2: Nie Nie Themed Collection from Darlybird

[ Note: There are over 165 different auctions being held through out the internet in celebration of Nie Nie Day. I am hosting 3 here at Design Mom. What's Nie Nie Day? See here. ]

Prep your hankies my friends. This auction may get you feeling sentimental. The clever shop owner over at Darlybird has paired Six of Her Best Items with photos straight from Nie Nie Dialogues. Making for a Nie Nie Themed Collection that any fan of Stephanie's would love. Love! Take a look:



Gorgeous CakePlate plus Patterned Cupcake Wrappers. Handmade by Mosser Glass. Start you own cake plate collection — just like Nie's.



Lola Ruffled Apron by Funktion. Nie always looks so hip and domestic when she dons an apron.



Let Mr & Mrs Nielson's romance get you inspired to fire up you own. These clever vouchers will help. They include such helpful items as Candlelit Bath, End To Argument and Juicy Kiss.



No one loves a birthday like Nie Nie. Now, you can add pretty tapers like these to your next birthday cake.



Freshwater Pearls and 24 kt Gold make up these delicate little DarlyNest Earrings. Pretty earrings to remind us of pretty Stephanie.



Silhouettes can't help but remind us of Nie Nie. Wear this Sihouette Cameo Necklace close to your heart.

Did you have any idea an auction could be so adorable? Neither did I. And just think. The whole wonderful lot (with a retail value of over $130!) can be yours if you are the high bidder. So get on that. Don't delay. Get your bids in pronto.

Thank you Darlybird for the generous donation — and thank you for being a go to stop on the web for chic gifts, home decor and entertaining supplies. Happy Bidding Everybody!

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

How this silent auction works:
1) Please place your bid by leaving a comment with your Bid Amount in the comments section of the item you are bidding on. Check the comments to see the most recent High Bid.

2) Following the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (make sure your comment bid includes an email address or link to your blog or some way to contact you). The winner will pay the amount of their winning bid to the Stephanie and Christian PayPal account. The winner will then forward the PayPal receipt to gabrielle@designmom.com and I will put the winner in touch with the sponsor. The sponsor will send the item.

3) Please bid in increments of whole dollars. The auction will end at Midnight PST on Sunday, August 31, 2008.

4) Thank you for participating!

Nie Nie Day Auction #1: $150 Gift Certificate to Sarah Jane Studios

[ Note: There are over 165 different auctions being held through out the internet in celebration of Nie Nie Day. I am hosting 3 here at Design Mom. What's Nie Nie Day? See here. ]



Ladies and Gentlemen! Get yours bids in right away for this chance to win $150 worth of merchandise at Sarah Jane Studios. That's right! $150 to spend as you please on any of her beautiful prints and art pieces. Use the gift certificate to buy something for yourself. Or use it to pick out gifts for friends. (Sarah's prints would make perfect baby gifts!)





Sarah Jane's work is delightful. I adore her creations, and you can find her delicate line drawings in my own home — in both the playroom and my girls' room. The colors and styling are up-to-date. The illustration style feels vintage and classic. So charming. Any nursery would be improved with a series of her drawings displayed on the wall.

Cards. Prints. Even a Calendar. Thank you Sarah Jane for the generous donation. Happy Bidding Everybody!

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

How this silent auction works:
1) Please place your bid by leaving a comment with your Bid Amount in the comments section of the item you are bidding on. Check the comments to see the most recent High Bid.

2) Following the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (make sure your comment bid includes an email address or link to your blog or some way to contact you). The winner will pay the amount of their winning bid to the Stephanie and Christian PayPal account. The winner will then forward the PayPal receipt to gabrielle@designmom.com and I will put the winner in touch with the sponsor. The sponsor will send the item(s).

3) Please bid in increments of whole dollars. The auction will end at Midnight PST on Sunday, August 31, 2008.

4) Thank you for participating!

Decor-in-a-jar — by Guest Mom Cathe Holden

If you stand still in my house long enough, you're likely to get pickled.

I pickle most everything, sans the vinegar. Placing virtually any non-food objects in jars creates instant decor. Walking through my house the other day I noticed that I actually have more glass encased stuff than I would have ever guessed. I think of it as 3-dimensional framing.



Simple glass canisters make the best displays. In one I have a nest found abandoned in my father-in-law’s Sonoma vineyard by my kids while picking grapes. In another, cotton picked by my grandfather when he was young. Beads, buttons, nature finds, miscellaneous craft scraps and vintage game pieces fill other jars or bottles. I’ve a candy jar that holds a chubby little wooden horse carved and painted by my dad a few years ago and a large apothecary jar filled with potpourri and old book pages. One of my favorites is a little mason jar that holds a collection of unique rocks from camping trips that my children, as a tradition, find just for me.

Nie Nie Day Update

Friends. You are amazing. The energy and love swirling around everyone's auction preparations is incredible. Every time I read a comment or an email or work on the big post for tomorrow, I get emotional. Over 90 bloggers will be hosting auctions. And the list continues to grow. In my best imaginings, I had no idea the response would be this overwhelming and wonderful.

And no doubt. Hundreds and hundreds of you — maybe thousands even — are preparing to generously open your pocketbooks and participate by bidding. In fact, Stephanie's father is in the Utah State Legislature, and a little birdie told me that many of his colleagues are planning to get in on the bidding too. Beautiful.

I told Ben Blair that I'm hoping people are in a public radio mindset. Like when you hear the NPR commentators say: "pledge your membership of only $75.00 and we'll send you this canvas tote bag with our logo on it." You know the tote bag is worth maybe $5. But it's not about that. You're looking for a way to be generous and supportive. And the tote bag is just a bonus.

I am working fast and furiously to have everything organized and ready to go bright and early tomorrow morning. Be here first thing to see the incredible (incredible!) list of participating sites. And please, please spread the word. Send an email out tomorrow. Put it on twitter. List it on kirtsy. Write a blog post. Make a phonecall. I want to make sure every auction gets the attention it deserves, so that the greatest benefit possible will go to Stephanie and Christian and their dear children.

image from Blue Lily Photography

Ask Design Mom: Boy Clothes

A popular topic in Ask-Design-Mom emails is boy clothes. I get lots of questions along these lines: I have 2 sons. I see lots of great clothing for girls out there. But what about the boys?

And I totally feel their pain. It does seem that for every one line of boys clothing, there are a dozen boutiques focused on girls. Well. Never mind that. There are lots of fantastic lines out there with boys on the brain. Here are some great ones:



Wonderboy
All boy. All the time. Casual pieces that are always interesting. I've met the husband-wife team behind this line at two different trade shows. They are both delightful. They not only design the clothing, they also design the textiles they use. Which is extraordinary. You can find a list of retailers on their site or see some of their line at small concept.




babysusu
For boys through age 4. Beautifully constructed with a dressier, more modern feel. Find this line at places like petitluxe and citibabes.



Original Penguin
For toddlers and school-age boys. Original Penguin launched with golf shirts for men in the 1950's. They have very hip mens and womens lines and they've recently expanded with a selection for boys. This line is perfect for that leave-it-to-Beaver look.

Do you have any favorite boy clothing lines?

Muji Wall Mount CD Player

So a year or so ago. Maybe two. We ditched our cd player (read: moved it to the basement workroom) and replaced it with an mp3 dock. Which is streamlined and wonderful.

But sometimes we miss the cd player.

I noticed this beautiful wall-mount version on Swiss Miss. It's by Muji. Seeing it gave me courage it admit that I'm not prepared to be cd free yet.

Budget Birthdays — by Guest Mom Cathe Holden

When I was a kid, we didn't have a party for every birthday. We did, however, get to choose what was for dinner. Boy have times changed.

Money was very tight when my kids were little. You know how the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Turns out to be a wonderful concept as it put my creativity into overdrive and my kids always had more fun when we created an event rather than simply hosting one.

When my son, Bennett, turned 3, (he’s now 13!) we held a birthday parade. At that time, we lived in a track-house neighborhood, which made for the best of parade routes. We invited guests to bring their bikes, wagons, skates and baby-doll strollers. We tied balloons to everything that moved. One mom pulled the wagon with the “Happy 3rd Birthday” sandwich-board that hid the boom-box blasting parade music. (As official parade director, I’m somewhere in the back.) We circled the hood to find neighbors coming out onto their porches and into their yards to wave us by. You’ve never seen a prouder group of tiny people. No one seemed to care that it was raining on our parade. Soon enough we were home for cake, ice cream and presents before everyone left happy and ready for a nap.



Homemade Invitations: $5...Balloons: $25...Cake & Ice Cream: $20...A birthday we’ll never forget: Priceless.

Meet me in Chicago on Thursday

Actually. I don't think I'll be in Chicago on Thursday. (I'll be celebrating Nie Nie Day.) But one of you might be there if you can act super fast. I've got it on good authority that the Oprah Winfrey Show will be filming a segment with Ty Pennington this Thursday. And they're still looking for guests. Here's the 411 straight from the source:

Do you have a home improvement question that only Ty Pennington can answer for you? Are you in the middle of a home design project and need Ty's help to finish it? Do you have a great do-it-yourself idea that you want Ty to know about? Do you have a home improvement creation that you want to show off to Ty?

Well, we have great news for you! Ty Pennington is coming to “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to help you solve all your home design dilemmas! If you are a HUGE Ty Pennington fan and have a question just for him, we want to know! If you’re interested and have questions/ideas/anything for Ty, please click here to submit your information!

[ Edit: the original link is having problems, so this one is better: http://www.oprah.com/pluglist.jsp?teamTypeName=TOWS Go to the Decorating section, and click on the HAVE HOME IMPROVEMENT QUESTIONS FOR TY PENNINGTON link. Sorry for the confusion, someone else just alerted me to the problem! ]

Fun stuff! Email me if you make it on the show so I can be sure to watch whenever it airs.

Winner — Kayce Hughes Back to School Giveaway

Give a big internet shout out to Jenny, who said "Oh my goodness...love her stuff!! I'd love ANYTHING from her." Because she's the winner of the Kayce Hughes Back to School Giveaway. And now she gets to picks out something lovely for herself. And something lovely for her child. Hooray!

Congratulations Jenny! Send me an email and I'll put in touch with the sponsor so that you can place your order.

Sketchbook: Never Leave Home Without It — By Guest Mom Cathe Holden

As a graphic designer I have sketched and thumbnailed thousands of ideas over the years relating to client projects. Since becoming a parent I find my sketchbooks now overflowing with birthday cake and invitation designs, sketches of my children, ideas for unique products that are sure to make me millions (...lots of those), lists, quotes & scripture that hold special meaning, and many other things that pop into my head on a daily basis. Occasionally I will revisit past sketchbooks to find myself in different chapters of parenthood.

The turning point page is the one with tiny sketches of all the office furniture from my downtown design firm. This page takes me back 13 years ago when I made the decision to leave a corporate life and become a work-at-home mom. It’s a sketch of office furniture that I had in my office with my husband’s handwriting in the measurements. He helped me figure out what would fit in my new home-office in the garage, and what had to go. A bittersweet time then, but a blessing many times over.



I have a preference for large spiral-bound sketchbooks, found at most craft and art supply stores, for business and home. Moleskine blank journals are a favorite for keeping in my purse and car to log my thoughts on the go. Sketchbooks are my form of journaling life, one doodle at a time.

Welcome Cathe!

Oh my goodness. After a 5-week hiatus, we have a Guest Mom again! And she's a really good one. Fantastic. Please say Hello to Cathe Holden.

Cathe is the wife of a fireman and the mom of 3 great kids ages 11, 11 and 13. She works from home as a graphic designer in Northern California’s beautiful countryside among the dairies and vineyards on the outskirts of a wonderful little rivertown called Petaluma. Her blog, Just Something I Made, is a combination of craft and design inspiration.

I invited Cathe to join us here immediately after seeing her wonderful blog. And I'm so glad I did. She has such lovely things to share with us.

PS — Remember. You can enter the Kayce Hughes Giveaway until midnight tonight!

Balloon Wishes & Auction Update

Here is Olive. Sending up our balloon wishes for Stephanie and Christian. Such a beautiful tradition. We were happy to participate.






Here is an update on Nie Nie Day. First of all, thank you so much for the tremendous response, via both email and comments. Seriously. I am beyond impressed. From what I can tell, there will be all sorts of wonderful auctions (40+ and counting) and special posts happening on Thursday — so exciting! I've got a list of links started and I'll continue adding to them as I prepare Thursday's posting.

For those who have sent in questions on how to run your auction, here's the 411. I'm no auction expert, but this is my plan:

On Thursday, I'll write a post about the prize and sponsor and Nie Nie Day. And then I'll leave the first comment, saying something like: I bid $10. The next person could comment: I bid $11. And so on.

As the auction progresses, bidders will need to check the most recent comments, to see what the current high bid is. I plan to leave the auction open through the weekend. Allowing bids through Sunday night.

[ Edit: L Angerbauer sent a helpful email recommending that a good place to find Auction tips is here. She mentioned that the most important instructions to include on your auction are the time the item ends (including an exact hour) and what bid increments are accepted (like no pennies or quarters-must bid in full dollar amounts.) ]

Once the winning bidder is identified, they'll send money directly to the Stephanie & Christian Paypal fund. And I'll put them in contact with the sponsor to get their prize.

For those of you who plan to participate with your own auctions, feel free to run them however you please. You can follow a plan similar to mine, or vary it in any way you'd like. You could even hold your auction on ebay.

Most of all. Thank you. Thank you so much for participating in any way you can. I'm really looking forward to Thursday.

Oeuf Goodies

Have you seen the new "goodies" category on Oeuf's website? Adorable to the last item. Clip on tails = brilliant.

24-25-26

Here's a peek at the calendar at our house:

August 24, 2008
My parents' 40th wedding anniversary. (Not really celebrated, because my father passed away a decade ago, but still acknowledged with a smile.)

August 25, 2008
Olive's 7th Birthday (We're having a family party tonight. I'll share pics later.)
Brother-in-law Jim's Birthday
Niece Lindsey's 12th Birthday
Nephew Colin's 4th Birthday
Roger's Birthday (Roger is my mother's wonderful husband.)
Erin McEvoy's Birthday (Roger's daughter)
Alan McEvoy's Birthday (Roger's son)

That's a lot of birthdays. And they're followed up by one more:

August 26, 2008
Ralph's 11th Birthday

As you can imagine, there is a lot of wrapping, decorating, well-wish-phone-calling, shopping and baking going on at our house. But. In the midst of all those tasks and busy-ness, I want to make sure to commemorate the most exciting, coolest, most important thing that's happening today:


Donna and Roger, with Jared, Liz & Hank

My Mom and Roger are leaving on a mission! They report to the Missionary Training Center today. And they'll be flying to Russia on Saturday. Ykaterinburg, Russia to be exact. Where the annual temperature reaches 70 degrees at the high (brrrr!). To help me get a handle on the geography, this bit of trivia helped: the dividing line of the the European and Asian continents goes right through the city of Ykaterinburg.

I'm so proud of them for doing this challenging, adventurous and worthy thing. And I'll miss them both. And I hope they'll bring me home one of these.

Nie Nie Day

When tragedy strikes someone we love, our hearts swell, and the urge to take action is almost relentless. I know many of us are feeling that way about Stephanie and Christian. We want to take action. To do something. Some of us know them personally. Some of us know them through Nie Nie Dialogues. Some of us just heard about them and can't seem to think of anything else.

Well. I am still feeling that urge to take action. So here I go. I'm officially declaring next Thursday, August 28th, Nie Nie Day. The plan: instead of my usual Giveaway, I'll be hosting a silent auction at Design Mom. With all proceeds going directly to the Stephanie & Christian Paypal fund. What's the prize? Well Ms. Impatient. You'll just have to wait until Thursday to find out. Although I promise it will be great. And something that Stephanie would love.

But that's not all. I'm assuming you're feeling the take-action-urge as well. So here are a few things you can do to celebrate Nie Nie Day:

1) Host a silent auction* on your own blog. For sure you have something awesome hanging around your house — in your gift closet, under the bed, in the pantry. Auction it off already. And relieve your house of clutter at the same time. Or. You could contact your buddy who's an etsy seller and see if she'll donate one of her fabulous creations. Just think how fun it will be if there are a whole bunch of auctions happening in honor of Stephanie & Christian at the same time!

2) Not up for hosting an auction? Then how about writing a special post on Nie Nie Day. You could include a link to your favorite article on Stephanie's blog in celebration.

3) Spread the word via twitter or blog or email or facebook about Nie Nie Day so that more people can get involved. You can use the cute banner above — designed for Stephanie's blog by the talented Lyndsay.

4) Send a card to Stephanie & Christian. There's just something about putting pen to paper. I'll contact the family to find out the best address to send these to and post it on Thursday.

5) Get spendy. And have fun bidding on some silent auctions.

How will anyone know you're participating? That you're hosting a super-cool auction? Problem solved: on Thursday I'll write a post about Nie Nie Day. And I'll include a list of anybody that's celebrating. Just send me a link to your post or auction (or mention on your facebook page or tweet or whatever) and I'll add your link to my Nie Nie Day post here on Design Mom. And we can all visit each other's sites and share the love. How's that sound?

It's like the internet was born for stuff like this.

*I want to note that the silent auction suggestion was given to me by Lauren Beatty of Sweet Bean Shop.

Knock Knock

I posted a really beautiful house tour over at Nesting yesterday. Elizabeth Brantley's home. The owner of Kistner Supply. Go take a peek. Lots of great photos.

Random Giveaway — Back to School with Kayce Hughes

Another Giveaway today. A really good one. Winner's choice. Something for Mom. Something for child. Beautiful. And just in time for the upcoming change of seasons. For Back to School. Sound good? It is good. Very good. And it's sponsored by the independent clothing line Kayce Hughes.



Here's the dealio. Leave a comment to enter. Any comment. And one lucky winner will be randomly chosen to win two things: any item of children's clothing from Kayce Hughes. And. Any item of women's clothing from Kayce Hughes. Perfect. Something to freshen up your wardrobe and something fun for your child as well. And you get to choose what those items should be.

The Kayce Hughes line is perfectly proportioned, finely constructed, and completely wearable. And you can count on it's wearability. Because Kayce behind Kayce Hughes is a mother of 7. For reals. She absolutely know what it means to get dressed in the morning as a mother. I've met her (at the recent children's club show) and she is beautiful and gracious and, as we can see from her clothing line, very talented.




So start dreaming about what you'll pick out for yourself. Possibly the super adaptable Wrap Skirt, available in 4 colors. Or the crisp white Ruffled Top in swiss dot, that you'll want to wear every single day.



And what you'll pick for your child. Maybe the Daisy Dress in palm green (such a wonderful silhouette!). Or the cozy red Pea Coat lined with fleece.

Have fun browsing their site — pondering over the classic lines, the beautiful fabrics, the quality — and daydreaming a bit about how cute you'll look in your new clothes. Thank you Kayce Hughes!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until Midnight PST on Monday, August 25th 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, August 26th.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Smock

Based in Syracuse, NY and printing on sustainable papers, I am loving the collection of wedding and social stationery offered by Smock. Great details. Lined envelopes (which always make me happy). And look how the very charming fill-in-the-blank invitations become extra-super-charming with the help of a good calligrapher:

What to Wear

15-year-old Camille. She is more fashionable as a high school student than I will ever be.

Is this a new phenomenon? I've seen two different links on kirtsy, where two different women (actually, one is 15, does that count as a woman?) take a photo of their outfits each day and showcase them on their blogs.

One is called What I Wore Today, written by a woman named Kasmira in Cincinnati, and the other is written by Camille in Suburbia writing at Childhood Flames.

Both have very different styles — and neither one shares my style exactly, but it's not about that. I just love the whole idea. Real outfits on real people. The clothes they decide to put on each day. So fascinating. It's especially appreciated by me because although they both love fashion, it's not as if they have unlimited clothes budgets — they work with what they have. A good reminder.

Are there more of these daily outfit blogs out there? I could get obsessed.

Imoga

So. I still have a few more posts about clothing lines that stood out to me at the recent trade show. Here's another one: Imoga. Beautiful stuff. And the photos of the fall collection have me ready to rake leaves and pull out a cozy scarf.




They don't have an online shop yet, but they do have a list of retailers.

Ask Design Mom: Cool Man Blogs

So I've received several emails over the last few months asking if there are "Design Mom Blog Equivalents" for Dads/Men. And the answer is Yes. Absolutely. Here's a great one that Jordan sent to me recently:

A Continuous Lean. Very well done. And very male. A couple of days ago, the post was about a flickr pool featuring appliances that had been taken apart. (I snagged the picture above from that article.)

Another one that men seem to love — even though it isn't authored exclusively by males, is NotCot. The black background definitely keeps it from ever feeling frou-frou.

What are your favorite cool dude sites?

Lucky Number 13

It's our 13th wedding anniversary today.

What luck that Ben Blair gets more charming every year. If I'd understood how fun it would be to be married to him, I would have shortened our 2 month engagement. Here's to number thirteen — bound to be our luckiest year yet!


I know it's blurry, but don't you think it captures my adoration?

Potting Shed Kids

The end of the gardening season is only weeks away here in New York, but I just discovered some really charming products from Potting Shed Creations that would make great birthday gifts next spring.

My favorite is the Stone Soup kit — which includes 6 varieties of organic seed (bean, cabbage, pea, carrot, tomato and onion). Plus growing directions, garden stakes, pencil, magic stone in a jute bag and a stone soup recipe.

There's basically enough wholesome activity in that one little kit to fill up a summer.

Olympic Medal Visual Map

From the 1984 Olympics — the first ones I really remember.


From this year's Olympics (so far).

My sister Rachel just posted about this great visual map of Olympic Medals that shows which countries have won the most during each year the games were held. It's beautiful. And fun to watch as you adjust it. (Click the images to see them bigger.)

My mom mentioned remembering how political the games have sometimes been, looking at the maps through the years. Nice find Rachel!

M Lab

With the exception of perfume, I don't think I've ever owned any bath or beauty product that would qualify as expensive. So when M Lab offered to send me samples of their $185-a-container body lotion, I was like, Heck Yes. Because I was totally curious to see if there's a difference in quality compared to the stuff I normally use.

I finished using up the samples this morning. And the lotion really was fabulous. It went on like velvet. It smelled clean and not-perfumey. And my skin felt great. I can only assume the rest of their products are as lovely.

If I ever become a person that can drop $185 on lotion, I can't wait to pick some up.

Weekend Update

Maude at Dylan's Candy Bar

Saturday was just right. We did the grocery shopping and a bit of straightening in the morning. Then we marked something off our we've-always-wanted-to-do-that list: we rode around the city for the rest of the day on top of a double-decker tour bus.

That's right. We packed a backpack full of snacks. We bought tickets for the whole family (kids under 5 are free). We boarded the bus near Times Square. And we toured the city all day long.

It was lovely. The weather was perfect. The views from our above-the-crowd-perch were fantastic. And we learned all sorts of things about the city we never knew before. Things like: there is a bigger ChinaTown in both Queens and Brooklyn than the Manhattan one, and the Financial District's several-ton Bull was left on Wall Street anonymously on Christmas Day, and where Madonna and Bono own apartments.

The tour buses make regular stops around the city and you can hop off and hop on as much as you'd like. New buses come every 10-15 minutes. We took an uptown tour first, stopping near The Plaza to buy pretzels and hotdogs, and then taking a walk over to Dylan's Candy Bar to refill our snacks for the downtown tour.



Bonus: The Project Runway Hershey dresses from last season were on display at Dylan's. Awesome!

When we finished our tours at the end of the day, we grabbed a pizza and headed home. Everyone was happy and tired. I'm so glad we did it. I can't believe how much we enjoyed it.

Unexpected PR

Look what I just found out: On page 55 of the beautiful August issue of Pregnancy and Newborn, there is an article on the best Mommy Blogs — and they called out Design Mom as one of their favorites. I'm absolutely tickled pink. In their words:

"At Design Mom, blogger/designer/art director/mother of five(!) writes about her favorite ways of obtaining child-friendly and functional design while maintaining stylish and serene style. Be inspired by her posts about handcrafted furniture, cool toys, creative art projects and more."



And. I was in very good company — my friends at I'm Not Obsessed and Mom Finds were their celebrity gossip and fashion picks. The best part about this press: I had no idea I was even on their radar. What a nice surprise!

I Heart My New Bag

During our trip out west, my brother-in-law Dell, gave me this amazing carry-all — fashioned from coffee bean sacks and picked up on his recent trip to Guatemala. The interior and handles are lined with satin to prevent the very chic burlap from shedding on the contents. I adore this bag.

Dell: Cierra asked me to pick one up for her on my last trip. So I brought home two just in case.

Me: Just so you know, if Cierra requests anything else, I want one too.

Thank you to Dell. And thank you to Cierra (my stylish niece).

Prayer and Fasting

I heard some awful news that has me in a sad place this morning. Stephanie Nielson and her husband Christian were in a plane crash this weekend and are in critical condition.

You probably know Stephanie as Nie Nie from her popular blog Nie Nie Dialogues. You may remember her as a Guest Mom here at Design Mom — she shared the week with her sister, CJane, writing letters back and forth. (It was super charming.) You may also know Stephanie because her home — which she has poured all sorts of creative and artistic love into — has been featured throughout the interwebs. You can see her home tour at Cookie Magazine online.

Stephanie and Christian, the parents of 4 adorable and very young children, remain in very critical condition. Here's the latest update on what happened, taken from CJane's blog:

"For those just tuning-in: My sister Stephanie (Nie Nie) and her husband Christian were in a plane crash on Saturday evening. From what we can tell, the plane crashed shortly after take-off in Eastern Arizona. The flight plan was to refuel, side-skirt a storm and head home. There were three people on board, Stephanie, Christian and his flight instructor. The flight instructor's condition was most severe following the crash. We've been praying for him to pull through, but got word that he passed away last evening. Now our thoughts and prayers turn towards his family."

The families have organized a fast for today — for Christian, for Stephanie and for the family of the flight instructor. I am adding my prayers and fasting to theirs and if you feel moved to do so, I hope you'll join us.

Stephanie was a teenager when I first met her. A very energetic cheerleader and already hopelessly stylish. (She is the younger sister of Ben Blair's dear friend Chris Clark and part of dating Ben was meeting his friends and his friend's families.) Fast forward several years later and Stephanie's a fabulous young mother. Still hopelessly stylish. And raising her children in sunny Arizona. Highlighting the sunniest parts of her adventure on her blog.

I love following Stephanie's blog. It's one of my very favorite places to visit when I need reminding about how wonderful this experience of motherhood is. She embraces and celebrates parenthood like nothing I've ever seen. She adores her husband. She adores her children. And she adores life. I look forward to her full recovery so she can get back to the life she loves and so we can all benefit once again from the amazing faith and energy she pours out in the world.

The Nielson Family photo taken by Blue Lily Photography.

Hand-Painted Ribbon

I don't know if you've been watching, but it's been extra-fantastic at Kirtsy this week. I've bookmarked like 30 different links I want to share with you or remember for some future project. You can find the top links this week by clicking here.



In fact, here's one that I found like 2 minutes ago: hand-painted ribbon at LeiLiLaLoo's Etsy shop. I'm going to be happy all weekend just because I know this exists.

Gourmet Popsicles

Spotted on Kirtsy. Did anyone else see the gorgeous popsicles from the book Pops! that Joy featured on her blog in the last week or so? Before this lovely summer ends, I really want to make a recipe or two from this very pretty book. And I'm so curious about what the forms are for the little round ones.

photo block courtesy of Oh Joy!

Lotus Springs

This is another find from the children's clothing trade show. Just for babies and toddlers. Lotus Springs Collection — their tagline: Luxury is our Philosophy, Green is our Commitment.



There is something wonderful about the simplicity of their offerings. Only a handful of (gorgeous and subdued) colors. Only a handful of (high-end, eco) fabrics. But really interesting shapes and details. I think pieces like these would be perfect for special events where you need to have your baby looking luxe.

They don't have a list of retailers online — and I'm not even sure of their price points — but I noticed their online shop is "coming soon".

Just Something I Made

So a couple weeks ago I received an email from Cathe Holden and I think I have a full on internet crush on her now. When I checked out her blog, I totally wanted to make out with it. I wonder if she'd ever be a Guest Mom here. . .




Don't miss the photo tour of her beautiful studio tour here. And check out her globe bowl and glitter pins project as well. So much great stuff. I'm going to have to go through her archives so I don't miss anything.

Kistner Supply

I received an email from Kistner Supply last week and was so delighted to see their offerings. They have a pretty great story. Basically, the founder discovered her Grandmother's baby book, filled in by her Great Grandmother, and she loved the book so much that she made a goal to get the original 1904 version republished and started a company to do just that.



Happily for all of us, she succeeded. The republished 100 year anniversary edition of Mother Stork's Baby Book is now in its third printing. And clearly, to purchase one for your child is to have an heirloom in the making. You can take a tour of the inside pages here. Vintage and charming and really just lovely.



Extra fun: the book was so successful, that Kistner Supply has expanded their offerings. Don't miss these gorgeous recycled-cashmere chime balls. They look so charming. I want a basket full.

Pretty File Folders

I use file folders all the time. All. The. Time. And I love it when I come upon pretty ones. Audrey of Bright White Design just sent me a link to these. Pretty plus 100% recycled. 12 folders in 6 designs for $16.50. Nice.



And can I just say here that I can't wait(!) to take the kids shopping for school supplies!!!!

Winner — Blue Poppy Jewelry

It felt good to have a Giveaway again! Watch for more coming up. Thank you to everyone who participated. The Blue Poppy Jewelry Giveaway was a hit! Congratulations to the lucky winner: Sarah of Sarah's Tree Thoughts who said, "Wow! I think I could go for that!"

Yay for Sarah! Please send me an email and I'll get your info to the sponsor right away. And a big thanks to Blue Poppy Jewelry!!

Boo Foo Woo

If I had a regret about this summer's children's clothing trade show, it was that I didn't spend enough time exploring the Boo Foo Woo booth.




Boo Foo Woo is another new-to-me line. When I was walking past their booth, I was in a bit of a hurry — on my way out the door to catch a cab. But their clothing line is so fantastic and colorful and distinctly Japanese that I couldn't pass them by. I had to stop for a moment to pick up their literature, with a mental promise that I would explore their website when I got home.

This is what I've been able to discover. They are in fact a Japanese line (how is everything Japanese so darn cool?). Their English site is now mostly just a placeholder, but you can explore their very cool Japanese site to get a good look at their line — and to see the fabulous names of their collections — like Boo Homes, Back Alley and my favorite: Hippy Happy Yuppy Boo.




The pieces are creative. Detailed. And really just fantastic. I don't know if my kids could handle an entire BFW wardrobe, but a few key pieces would be wonderful. So now I'm on the hunt for a nearby shop that carries their wares. To aid me, I've been digging through their online shop in Japanese and a list of English-speaking retailers.

Outdoor Office

Spotted on Kirtsy. This outdoor office made from a garden shed featured on Apartment Therapy. Beautiful, right? I keep being drawn to these sorts of spaces. Outdoor kitchens. Garden offices. Does this mean I'm supposed to take the kids camping?

Loveland Desk Calendar

At the SLC blog meetup, two of the lovely women I met were Allison and Alma — the stylish team behind the quality blog Petit Elephant. They were both gracious and friendly and luckily for me, they came bearing gifts. (What a nice surprise!) A jar of delicious jam made with love by Allison, and this beautiful desk calendar made with love by Alma and her talented husband Mike.



The animal illustrations are gorgeous and even available as prints in their etsy shop. And I have to point out the clever packaging for the calendar. It comes in a CD jewel case and then you can flip the case open for desktop display. Smart and compact. A bargain at $15.

Thank you for the gifts, ladies! They are both delicious.

Grosgrain

Oh. Go now and visit one of my new favorite blogs. Grosgrain. The lovely author makes beautiful children's clothing for little girls. And then gives it away. I mean it. She gives it all away. And the clothes really are cute. Super cute in fact. Check it: the Train Stop Shirt Dress, the Reversible Birdseed Skirt, and the Popcorn Bloomer and Blouse.





And those are just a small glimpse of her wonderful creations. Why does she do this very generous, very creative thing? Well I have no idea. But isn't the internet great?

Someone should totally kirtsy this.

Fireplace Filler

I don't even have a fireplace. But seem to ever-aware of good fireplace filler ideas. I love how this one was styled in a recent West Elm catalog. Lots of texture. Inexpensive. An easy display for an off-season or defunct fixture.

Cleo Rug

Did you see the new Cleo rug in the latest Crate&Barrel catalog? Me likey. It feels like an update on a classic rag rug. And I always love rag rugs. We've started the redo of the boys' bedroom (bunk bed put together. check.) and a new rug is on my list. The Cleo has great colors to work with. I need to make a fieldtrip so I can see if it looks as good in person.

Random Giveaway — Blue Poppy Jewelry

For reals? It's 08/08/08? Lovely! Sounds the like perfect excuse for a Giveaway. A really gorgeous giveaway. From Blue Poppy Jewelry. Get your comments in because you don't want to miss your chance to win these sparklies:



The Succulent Earrings made of stunning blue-green algae set in sterling silver. Retail price: $78.00




And. Winner's Choice: the Ginger Drop Bracelet. Or. The Cayenne Bracelet. Both featuring sterling silver cabachons and made with real live genuine organic powdered ginger and organic powdered cayenne pepper. And finished with a silver lobster clasp. Gorgeous. Retail price: $86.00 each.

Extra special: the talented ladies over at Blue Poppy can even make the bracelet in the blue-green succulent color if the winner wants a matching earrings/bracelet set. That's right. We're talking custom jewelry here. Is this too cool or what?



I adore the wares at Blue Poppy. Their Starbright Earrings are still some of my very favorite everyday earrings. Know what else I adore? Their fancy new website. Check it out. Super easy to find exactly what you're looking for. Extra bonus — just because it's 08/08/08: Blue Poppy has kindly offered a 15% discount for any reader who places an order — discount code: designmom.

Thank you Blue Poppy Jewelry! I predict many happy shoppers. . .

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until Midnight PST on Tuesday, August 12th 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 Wednesday, August 13th.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Peek...Aren't You Curious

Here's another great discovery from the children's clothing trade show. Peek...Aren't You Curious. A fun name for a shop that showcases several good-looking clothing lines (with charming names like Sgt Fletcher, Little Peanut and Surf Royalty) for girls and boys and babies through size 10.

There are a few ways to find them: 1) they have a few brick and mortar shops on the West Coast (I haven't been to one, but I'm placing bets that they are darling), 2) they have a great online shop, and 3) they wholesale to boutiques, so you may run into their pieces at some of your current favorite children's shops.

Great back-to-school shopping inspiration!

Tea Party Hats

Oh my goodness! Maya sent me a link to her great post on making these adorable Tea Party Hats. I am in love. Aren't they adorable? The post is really excellent. Great photos and clear instructions. I'm feeling a tea party coming on.

Rare Animals Papercraft

Jenn C just sent me a link to these amazing paper animals — and there are instructions! and lots more animals than I have room to showcase!



The site is hosted by Yamaha Motors. I'm not clear on what the connection is between Yamaha and these gorgeous paper creations, but I've decided I'm not going to think too hard about it. Thanks Jenn!

Cookie's Nesting Blog

Check out the great PoppyTalk article I featured over on Cookie's Nesting blog today. It's all about creating a temporary outdoor kitchen. And here's a peek at some of the other fun stuff I've posted at Cookie lately:



-The Rapplekist Bunk Bed. So amazingly cool.
-Gorgeous Nanimarquina Rugs. Dozens of beautiful choices.
-And a how-to on how your kids can make their own Modern Art Masterpiece.

Maude's Cloud Photos

Unexpected flight entertainment: Maude kept busy with the camera phone shooting the gorgeous pink tinged clouds out the window. There's something grainy and otherworldly that's lovely about them.

Serena & Lily Sale

Serena & Lily are having their first ever sale. That's right. First. Sale. Ever. 168 items have been marked down.

Plus. Here's a bonus for Design Mom Readers. Enter DESIGNSLING at checkout on an order of $100 or more, and you'll be entered to win a Market Sling of your choice ($129 value). Plus, plus. If you'd like to receive the free Serena and Lily catalog, you can sign up here.

Redfish Kids

Yesterday I attended the children's clothing trade show. It comes to New York every August and showcases the spring/summer lines of the following year (a fall/winter one happens earlier in the year). It's a great show. Not too big. Not too small. And really friendly.

As I attended this year I was particularly keeping watch for new or new-to-me lines that I could share with you. And I totally scored. I found all sorts of fantastic companies which I'll be featuring over the next month or so. Just in time for thoughts of back-to-school. The first one up is Redfish Kids.




It's a new, small, boutique line, sized for babies through age 6. And I love every piece. Designed by a brave and talented mother of two from Vancouver, the line is season-less and oh-so-wearable. The dresses are feminine without being princess-y. The prints are colorful but not stereotypically child-like. And it's been picked up by artistic celebs like Diana Krall and Sarah McLachlan.

My favorite piece is the Fisherman Jean (pictured above). It's a unisex design, but made to feel either boyish or girlish with two different fabrics available for the waist lining. Very well constructed and dripping with personality. I would love to see my kids sporting a pair of these.

Geometric Spheres

Check out this very cool art project that my mom planned for my kids. First, she copied a circle template with fold marks onto a stack of 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Then the kids went to town cutting out circles.



Once the circles were cut — some as rings, some as solid circles — five edges of each one were folded along a dotted line. Then folded edges were matched up and attached. The kids tried a glue stick, a stapler and double-sided tape to attach the circles to each other. They preferred the tape.



Once the spheres were constructed, they experimented with adding tissue paper rounds (attached with a glue stick) to the empty circles. And then they hung them over Grandma's kitchen table.



This was definitely a big kid projects. It's not a short one. Maude had the most fun with it because she loves making things and working with her hands. Ralph loved the idea but lost interest after a while — it required too much patience and fine-motor-skills to keep his attention.

I think these spheres are so cool-looking! They'd be fun as party decorations in muliple colors. Or hanging over a dresser in a modern or space-age looking kid's room. Oh. And they're big! The small ones are as big as a child's head. And the big ones are maybe 15 inches across. Which makes for a big impact.

Note: I'm looking for an online source on the template my mom used. In the meantime, the Make blog has a similar idea here.

Presidential Paperdolls

Want to get your kids involved in this year's election? Try these Obama and McCain Paperdoll books. Featuring their wives as well. $7.99 from Dover.

Second 5MFM Interview

Hey. Part 2 of my Five Minutes For Mom interview is up. It's all about my Kirtsy Partnership. And you can find more delightful FMFM interviews here — featuring lovely ladies from blogs like Scribbit, Rocks in My Dryer, and Adventures in Baby Wearing.

And here's a behind-the-scenes shot of the interview for those who are curious about such things (like I am):

Motel Soaps

Last week I referenced some Motel Toiletries. Here's the promised shot (a blurry, camera phone shot taken on the motel's bathroom counter). Nice design for a roadside stop, right? And I like that the conditioner is called Tame.

Haus Party

For my final report from BlogHer, I must share a few details about the Haus Party held on Friday night of the conference. It was a launch party for Mighty Haus (the 3rd arm of the Mighty Goods Trifecta that I mentioned previously here).




It was hosted by the talented Maggie Mason and Melissa Summers. My favorite highlights: 1) Haus Keys hanging from tree branches. Each guest got to choose one to wear as a necklace. 2) Dancing. 3) We were sent off with krispy kremes (in the cute little takeout containers) at the end of the night.

I fully on plan on appropriating all of their smart party ideas at some future event.

BlogHer Shout out

[ I know. I know. You're getting sick of San Francisco reports. Bear with me. Just this one and one other to go. ]

I loved my trip to San Francisco. It was busy, but inspiring. In between the party-throwing and Grandma visiting and nephew holding I was able to spend time with a whole lot of thoughtful, smart, funny, kind women (and even a few great men).

I owe lengthy personal thank yous to Gwen Bell, Jenn the Bloggess, Jesse Engle, Maggie Mason, Melissa Summers, Andrea Scher, Jen Lemen, Tracey Clark, Carla from iVillage, Amy Turn Sharp, Joslyn Taylor, Kyran Pittman, Karen Walrond, Isabel Kallman, Scribbit, Janice & Susan, Stephanie Precourt, Liz Gumbinner, Motherhood Uncensored, Shannon Lowe, Her Bad Mother, Oh the Joys, Jon Armstrong and Guy Kawasaki for a continuous stream of fascinating conversation. It's hard to imagine a more interesting group of people to encounter in one weekend.

And most of all, thank you to Laura Mayes and Laurie Smithwick who don't mind even a little bit that I skip out on all the conference classes and just chat it up with people in the hallway.

photo of the kirtsy three by the ever talented Tracey Clark.

Rudi & Daisy

Last year, the BlogHer conference was in Chicago. I don't know a soul in Chicago. This year, BlogHer was in San Francisco. And I have all sorts of friends and relations in San Francisco. Which is wonderful. And which means I spent about half my conference time visiting family.

On Friday afternoon, my dear Aunt Robin K, my cousin Scott and his darling girlfriend, all stopped by the St. Francis — the hotel hosting the conference. We chatted in the ballroom and ate free conference candy bars.



On Saturday, Jordan and I spent a lovely morning at Grandma Rudi's house in Menlo Park. She is all about whatever is in the news, so basically she just wanted to check out CNN on my iphone. And talk about Obama.



From Grandma Rudi's, we headed to Grandma Daisy's house in San Carlos. Daisy still lives in the house where my father grew up, and I love to be there. Daisy is regal and her favorite color is purple. Happily, it was kind of a bonus visit — my super-cool uncle Mark and Aunt Robin S were also there. A great visit. Too short.

It's fine by me if BlogHer is held in San Francisco forever more. I don't see my California family nearly often enough.

Side note: on the way to see the Grandmas, Jordan and I swung by the Ferry Building so we could pick up some Recchiuti chocolates to give them. Mmmmmm. You should probably go get some right now (try the Fleur de Sel caramels). Plus, I kind of want to move in to the Ferry Building. It is a happy place.

The Sentinel

San Francisco food highlight: Jordan and I picked up lunch at The Sentinel before we set off for Guy's house. Then. The next day we ate there again when we met our friend Audrey for lunch. Pretty much, I would eat there every day if I could. So dang yummy.

The menu changes daily. And the chef, Dennis Leary, preps everything himself. The line moves fast, so don't be intimidated if there is a wait.

BlogHer HP Scholarship Winner

Weeks ago — right before I left for San Francisco — I hosted a generous BlogHer Scholarship Giveaway sponsored by HP. And today's the day where I announce the lucky winner.

Congratulations to Nicole who said, "I've seen you a few times in passing here at BlogHer and would love to meet you. What an awesome giveaway. How cool is HP!? I tried out the touch screen today...so very cool. Thanks for offering such a wonderful giveaway! :)"

Yay for Nicole! Send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get your info to the sponsor asap. I hope you had a wonderful time at BlogHer. And I hope this check will help payback some of the costs.

Jordan and Paul's Apartment

Another highlight of my San Francisco trip was getting to stay at Jordan and Paul's house because: a) I could bond with Handsome Moses, b) I was able to see the wallpaper in person (it is gorgeous!) and c) I could borrow from Jordan's closet as needed.

Mostly, I was so grateful to Jordan for doing the event planning for the Kirtsy/Alltop Party. There are few things I enjoy more than working on a big event with my siblings. My brothers and sisters get along best when there's a challenging project in front of us.

Kirtsy/Alltop Party

After the 5MFM interview on Thursday morning, I went straight to Guy Kawasaki's house to help with preparations for the big Kirtsy-Alltop Party. And all the work, work, work paid off. The party was a red hot, super-cool, smash hit — thanks to our generous sponsors and friends like Stephanie from ListenShare and Trae and Jim from YouData.





There was a photo station with a bowl full of fake mustaches acquired by Jordan, and glam dressups provided by Mrs. Kawasaki, and the talented Ms. Juliann behind the camera. There was a button-making booth manned by the highly creative Emily. There was a vintage, red, Italian typewriter where you could type a quick Hello (in lieu of a guestbook). There was amazing food by PSRT Catering. There was amazing swag. The best part: the fabilicious guests of course.





If you get a chance to browse the party photos, you won't be disappointed. And you can see even more here.

Five Minutes for Mom

Here it is, weeks after the event, but I'm just now posting about my adventures in San Francisco. I arrived there very late on Wednesday night, July 16th. The first thing I did on Thursday morning was meet up with the 5 Minutes for Mom Twins — Janice and Susan — for an interview.

This was a delightful way to spend a morning and a huge learning experience for me. It was by far the most formal interview I've taken part in — with a set, real lighting, multiple cameras, multiple takes, interview questions submitted early to ensure relevant conversation, even hair and makeup services. There's nothing like getting your nose powdered between takes to make you feel officially official.

Janice and Susan were such a treat. So enthusiastic about the interview. Endlessly interesting to talk with. I loved seeing them interact as both sisters and business partners. And I loved learning about their entrepreneurial history and discussing their new site redesign. What an inspiring, dynamic pair!


The interview with me was shot in four parts. You can see the first one here.


And you can get a glimpse of all the interviews by watching the trailer here.

Patriotic

I'm back at my desk and I just uploaded a July's worth of photos. One of my favorites is this stack of red, white & blue clothing waiting patiently for the kids to wake up on the 4th of July. It seems like a million years ago already.