Giveaway: Mahar Dry Goods Animal Themed Collection

I have a feeling that Design Mom Readers are going to go crazy over today's very generous Giveaway from Mahar Drygoods. It's not just one thing. It's not just two things. It's a whole ANIMAL THEMED TOY COLLECTION packaged in Mahar Drygood's SIGNATURE VINTAGE SUITCASE!! Including: a Fisk & Fern animal themed coloring book, garden critters finger puppets by Die Ottis, animal ABC magnets and teddy bear by MyMimi — plus a large suitcase.




Mahar Drygoods, an excellent company that's barely a year old (if I remember correctly), has done an amazing job of putting together an envy-inducing collection of vintage and artisan crafted products for children — many of them designed exclusively for Mahar. If you've been reading Design Mom for very long, you've probably noticed posts about their products, like this one on crochet play food and this one about their tiny Doc inspired baby boots.

Well, the products featured in this Giveaway are just as amazing as you'd might expect. And since each item really deserves it's own post, I'll give each one a turn in the spotlight quoting from the excellent writing on the Mahar Drygoods site:



Garden Critters Finger Puppet Set — by Die Ottis
"Austrian artist and mother of two, Sonja Otti has created the wonderful world of Die Ottis. We’re completely charmed by her unique and imaginative characters, which include pirate bunnies, ballerina mice and all manner of delightfully handcrafted critters. Our finger puppets are beautifully detailed right down to their painted eyes and floss antennae. Both the bee and the grasshopper feature a silken gauze material on the underside of their fleece wings and the snail's shell is created from a perfectly suited textured fabric. Every set contains a grasshopper, a snail and a bumble bee sized to fit little fingers and provide hours of hopping, slithering and buzzing fun."



ABC Animal Magnets — by MyMimi
"What's a girl do to balance her day jobs working for the largest toy manufacturing companies in the world? She comes home in the evening and creates her own line of toys and plush by hand! We adore Mimi's wonderfully simple design aesthetic and are very pleased to be able to offer her work to you. Each magnet features a different letter of the alphabet and a corresponding animal. These are a great alternative to the traditional plastic letter magnets we all grew up with and they look pretty darn cute on the fridge door."



Animal-themed Coloring Book — by Fisk & Fern
"More than just an exercise in staying within the lines, Laura Fisk of Fisk & Fern has created a book packed full of lessons in color, animal fun facts, silly stories and activities that will make Jr’s imagination spin. Following Pink Prancing Pig to the National Oinktrosky Ballet and learn why she slathers herself in mud when she’s not performing ‘Swine Lake’; and take a rare glance into the world of the Blue Bodacious Beetles, discovering their special skills in a prestigious Division I circus. Sharpen your crayons and grab a kid, It’s coloring time!"



Teddy Bear — by MyMimi
From the same artisan that created the animal magnets. "Do you remember the story of Flat Stanley a little boy squashed so thin that he could squeeze under doorways, be flown as a kite and fold himself up like paper to travel in an envelope? Well, we're absolutely convinced that if Stanley had a favorite toy it would be the MyMimi Teddy Bear: silky soft, unbelievably cute and flat as a stack of pancakes!"


And my favorite part: a Large Suitcase to house all the goodies.
"These handsome suitcases are the perfect way to present your Mahar Drygoods gift. Any kid or lucky adult will love these suitcases, now offered in two colors: apple green with deep eggplant colored handle and stitching or sky blue with caramel colored handles and stitching. We'll beautifully package your items with recycled kraft tissue, a Mahar Drygoods label, a postcard 'luggage tag' and vintage inspired travel decals. Please note that our suitcases are gift packaging and only available with a Mahar Drygoods purchase. They are not available for purchase a la carte."

The whole collection is so charming — and retails over $100. (I wasn't kidding when I told you it was generous.) I'm sure you're imagining the perfect recipient of this suitcase-of-joy as we speak.

Frankly, the whole Mahar Dry Goods site is charming and I love spending time there. You can read about the Robert Mahar, the creator here and see the Mahar blog here. Illustrations throughout the site are by the talented Jen Corace. Excellent product photography, excellent writing. Well done from start to finish.

If you don't win this lovely giveaway, keep in mind that Mahar Dry Goods can fill a suitcase with toys and products you've selected from their collection in a price range of your choosing, just contact them for this custom service at: hello@mahardrygood.com.

You can enter this Giveaway today, and over the weekend, and through Monday night. Now, on to the comments. . .

Thank you Mahar Dry Goods!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Monday, April 2nd 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Good On Paper

These sparse, sophisticated cards from Good on Paper are so Spring appropriate.

Maude's Birthday Report

I realize I never reported on Maude's birthday party, so here's a little recap:

The party favors turned out wonderfully. My original vision was wide-mouth Nalgene bottles that I could fill with rock candy and a bandana. The final version was a variation of this, but still very cute — and coordinated with the invitations.

I picked up the water bottles at Target. I liked their sporty straps, but the mouths were too narrow to stuff the favors into. No biggie, the kids just received an empty water-bottle with their other favors on the way out the door.


I found an excellent online source on the rock candy, but because I didn't order until the last minute, I couldn't get the candy delivered in time with out paying more than the candy was worth in shipping charges, so I used Gold Nugget Bubble Gum instead and repackaged it as Rock Bubble Gum.


Instead of bandanas, I packaged up bags of 5 sticks ofsidewalk chalk renamed as Climbing Chalk. And I attached the chalk and gum together with carabiners picked up in the Target sporting goods department. So each child went home with chalk, bubble gum, a carabiner, and a water bottle.

Two hours before the party started, the climbing gym called and said they had to shut down for the day because of a gas leak.

I'm not kidding.

Alternative plans had to be made. And fast.

If you're dying for details, I wrote up all the drama in my latest post at NY Metro Parents.

March Giveaway Winners

At the end of each month, I like to feature the winners of that month's Giveaways — in an effort to help the Design Mom community make a few connections — and to give a little shout out to the fine winners. (It's all voluntary of course, If you're a winner and would rather remain relatively anonymous, I promise not to post about you.)

Check out these lovely ladies!!:
___________

Winner of the $50 Gift Certificate to My Charmed Life:

Beth of Folding Laundry
My name is Beth, from Northern Indiana. I have been married for almost 8 years and have 2 children — an energetic 4 year old girl and a lovable 3 year old boy. (They are 360 days apart!) I spend my free time volunteering for Friends of Heroes and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Wanting to offer support, Friends of Heroes originally started over the internet by a group of moms wanting to find a cure for pediatric blood cancer patients. I have been volunteering for close to 4 years now and devote 10-20 hours per week from home on this national organization. Together, we raised over $844,000 and earned 3 pediatric cancer research grants in our honor!

I LOVE to blog, which is what I do in my spare time. I enjoy the community of mothers created by fellow bloggers and I love to learn and honor the differences between women and mothers. I also enjoy shopping (a lot), taking pictures, and a good cup of coffee.


Winner of the Urban Botanic Custom Scent Beauty Package:

Sarah Starr Smith
I am an Herby, (according to the UB personality test). Here is a little of what that means: "An Herby's favorite place to be is at home. They're happiest there when a friend is with them, relaxing on the porch with a cup of tea, talking about the latest drama in life. Herbies feel deeply for others have the gift of empathy. They are very sincere when they encourage others; they genuinely want people to succeed." Yes, I'm a porch girl. It is a great place for me to get centered and connect with friends that pass by. I am also pretty Fruity with equal parts Leafy, Floral, and Woodsy, with just a pinch of Spice.

I live in Valhalla, New York with my husband, Dave and baby boy, Malcolm. The biggest thing for our family right now is getting ready to move to Cleveland, Ohio in a few months. I heart NY and will miss it. I'm getting excited to design a new space, although it's looking like I will be taking down some wallpaper, ahh! I love making things. Right now my projects involve knitting, sewing, and writing. I love to read and talk about it. I love to make guacamole and eat it too!


Winner of the Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art:

Dalene Rowley:
I'm Dalene Rowley, but I channel my latent OCD as Compulsive Writer. After growing up in the Pacific northwest, I traded the lush green of the Willamette Valley for the majestic mountains of the Wasatch Front. My husband, a third-grade teacher, and our four fun kids and I live in beautiful Provo, Utah.

During my adult life I graduated in English and French, worked for a year as an editor and writer for a local newspaper, then got busy being a mom. When my youngest child entered school two years ago, I went to work as a quality assurance supervisor for a press clipping service company. Other hats I wear include the following: soccer mom, band mom, choir mom, softball mom, quilter, sister, gardener and friend.

Oh, and when it comes down to blogging just a few minutes longer or doing the dishes, blogging wins almost every time.

Glass Lanterns by Sean Conway at Target

The other day I received Target's Spring Home magazine/catalog in the mail and of course it was gorgeous.

Check out these amazing glass lanterns by Sean Conway. I couldn't find them online, but they were listed in the mailer as $9.99. Not bad.

Book of the Week: The Stinky Cheese Man

This book was introduced to me as a design student and if I remember correctly, we owned it before we had children. It's a collection of very short, very silly versions of the classic Fairy Tales: Little Red Riding Hood is Little Red Running Shorts. The Ugly Duckling is The Really Ugly Duckling. The Gingerbread Man is the Stinky Cheese Man. My personal favorite is the Princess and the Pea turned into the Princess and the Bowling Ball.

The stories are not isolated. Characters from one story can show up in another. The Table of Contents arrives late. The narrator takes time out of narrating to be featured in his own story. The whole story feels like it's in a hurry. If read aloud, it's a book that makes sense only when you're looking at the pictures — the text and illustration are so completely interwoven.

Lane Smith's illustration style is sort-of dirty and messy. Lots of texture. Bits of repurposed material worked into the drawings/collages. Very distinctive. Sometimes I find them a little on the dark or icky side — but my children don't see them this way at all. My son Ralph studies the illustrations and could easily identify the work of Mr. Smith long before he could actually read.

I think part of the appeal is that parents get a kick out of this book as much as children, and once kids are old enough to get the humor, they feel like they're sharing some kind of inside joke with their parents.

Jon Sieszka and Lane Smith have teamed up on a number of irreverent or slightly irreverent books and my kids seem to just eat them up. Their picture books are appealing from about age 4. Then, their collaboration on the Time Warp Trio Series with titles like See You Later, Gladiator and Your Mother was a Neanderthal, are perfect early-chapter-book-material for 2nd, 3rd & 4th graders.

available here

My New Locket

I took my mom to the airport yesterday. It was wonderful to have her here. In addition to cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and providing good conversation and companionship, she also brought gifts. Mostly fun things for the kids, but she also brought me a treasure from my Grandmother.

This amazing locket had belonged to my Grandfather's brother. Since I'm now a Blair (my maiden name is Stanley) and I'm married to Ben and have a daughter named Betty, I am the grandchild with the most claim on B and my Grandma Lucille sent it to me care of my Mom.

It's a generous inch and a quarter across, and instead of flipping open, it slides. So cool. The picture above shows it open with a picture of my great-uncle inside. Isn't it great? I can't wait to find a chain for it.

Speaking of Interviews. . .

The very kind Kristen from Shakadoo interviewed me by email. And is posting the answers at Love Shak Baby this morning.

Check it out and discover my evil plans for taking over Martha and eventual world domination.

Crescer Magazine Interview

Tuesday morning was beautiful. It was the first day of really, really good weather — which meant people were out on the streets of Manhattan in droves — and even smiling at each other. Better than that, I met Paula Perim, Editor in Chief of Crescer Magazine, at a lovely little restaurant in Grand Central Station.

Crescer is a Brazilian magazine — the equivalent of the American Parents or Child. Paula brought me a few of the latest issues and I was very, very impressed. The photography is great. The articles are important. And remember those really neat pull-out sections in Martha Stewart Kids? The ones on matte paper with a theme, good illustrations and directed toward kids? Crescer has those too — on the same lovely paper.

Paula was in New York doing research. She was meeting with Parents, with Cookie, and with Child to learn about their magazines and tell them about her's. She also met with me because she has recently started a Crescer Blog and wanted to discuss blogging-for-parents.

We were instant friends — especially after she forgave me for being 25 minutes(!) late to our meeting — and we could have talked for hours. In fact we did talk for two hours, over some of the best french toast I've ever had. We talked about the different social classes in Brazil and what she's trying to do with her magazine to bridge the wide social gaps. We talked about the nuances of breastfeeding in public in the United States. We talked about suburban vs. urban living for families. We talked about childcare. We discussed how we both feel mothers have a lot of information, but are looking for inspiration. We talked about blogging. We made plans to go ice-skating with our families when she returns to New York over Christmas.

Paula took notes because she was interviewing me for an article. And then, during the last 10 minutes of our meeting, I took notes. Because Paula asked me to write an article for Crescer to be published in May. Topic: the 21st Century Mother. 3000 characters. Due Tuesday. And I'm getting paid for it. What the. . .? (And this after I just explained to someone that I wasn't a writer, I was a designer.)

Can I say just how excited I am to do this?!! How unexpected and how much fun!

Of course. It will be in Portuguese, so no matter what I write, it will sound prettier than it is. Which reminds me, if there are any Portuguese speaking moms in the neighborhood, feel free to come by and borrow my 4 issues of Crescer. . .

Ask Design Mom: Felt Crafts & Paper Embroidery

The talented and creative Cindy from the really, really wonderful craft blog Skip To My Lou, is our 2nd Guest Expert! Take a look at what she has to say.



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Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hi Design Mom. I love working with felt and I love hand embroidery and want help thinking of some new projects. Do you have any good projects for home, gifts, or kids that involve either? Or good sites to go to? I'm also wondering about hand-embroidered cards — what materials work best? And would I need a backing for these? Thanks!! — Carrie

Guest Expert Answer:

FELT CRAFTS
I see a a lot of talk about felt these days. There are some really creative people out there making some amazing things. There are various kinds of felt. There are inexpensive felt squares sold in craft stores, usually made from acrylic fibers. Fabric stores will sell a heavier version of this on bolts and you can also find wool felt. I would use wool felt for anything you want to put a lot of time and effort into and that you want to last. You can also buy old wool sweaters from thrift stores and make your own felt. It is really simple to do — I have done it many times by accident.


-Betz White is making some beautiful things with felted wool sweaters. She has appeared on Martha Stewart making her teacup pin cushions. She has a darling bunny tutorial on her blog.

-Bella Dia makes beautiful felt pin cushions and a spectacular tea cozy out of felt.

-Here is a link for a cute felt bunny pin tutorial by Maize. Her site is full of great ideas using embroidery and felt.

-Anna Maria Horner has a fabulous felt garland and ornaments. Here is a tutorial for her cute felt owl ornament.


-I loved making felt food for my daughter to play with. It was simple and I used the inexpensive felt squares. You can see a picture here. In fact, I will post a tutorial here at Design Mom in a few weeks about making felt food. I receive tons of inspiration for felt food from Colorfool Blog and My Paper Crane.


PAPER EMBROIDERY
Here is a link on how to embroider on paper. This can be done by hand or on the sewing machine. I could imagine some beautiful cards made with bits of felt and embroidery embellishments. I have sewn a lot of paper on my sewing machine. I find if I use card-stock weight I usually have no problem and no need for backing. It does dull your needle so make sure you change it before sewing on fabric.

-Here are some free stitching patterns for cards. This could be a great way to get kids stitching.


-Lisa Solomon does some clever embroidery on paint chips.

I hope you are inspired!
Cindy from Skip to My Lou



Note from Design Mom:
Thank you Cindy! So many great ideas and useful links. I think I could spend a week browsing craft blogs and never tire of it. If you're a mom on the lookout for clever, kid-appropriate crafts, make sure to bookmark Skip To My Lou — you won't be disappointed.

Pretty Pillows

Just fell in love with these Santee Sioux pillows from Company C.
Not inexpensive, but inspiring.



I like Kyoto Velvet pillow as well.

Ask Design Mom: Decorating the Mantle

Ask-Design-Mom Question:

Dear Design Mom, My family just moved into a new apartment and it has a fireplace with a mantle in our main room. I'm wondering what ideas you have for decorating a mantle? The first thing (and only thing really) that pops into my head is picture frames and candles. Not a totally bad idea, but I'm wondering if that's my only option. In my case, there is also a very large mirror behind the mantle (not mine, it came with the apartment and I can't take it down). Anyway, I love all of your ideas so I was just wondering if you had any on mantle decor. Thanks so much for your advice & your blog. — Beth

Design Mom Answer:

Another excellent question! Thanks for sending it in Beth. And let me start by saying that I think anyone with a mantle is super-lucky. Think of your mantle as the perfect place for an ever-changing display of the seasons or even your moods. As usual, I'll give you a few suggestions, but I hope Design Mom Readers will add their own favorite tips on how-they-decorate-the-mantle.

One idea is to have your mantle function as a catch-all for any pretty little things in your home. If you're life is busy and full, own it, and fill your mantle up with the crazy: assorted picture frames in a variety of styles, and pretty cards you've received, and a tiny pitcher with flowers in it, and some interesting little jewelry box you set aside earlier in a closet, etc. Then lay a branch in the background of cherry blossoms your children spotted on a Spring walk. Make it as busy and interesting as your life. When you walk by it, if an item irritates or tires you, remove it. Add or subtract, or shift things, around as the mood strikes.


This photo is a good example of kind of an ordered crazy on a mantle. Lots and lots of little things that you could add too or subtract from or rearrange.

Or. If your life is too crazy, make the mantle a place of simplicity and order. Try a simple, seasonal, symmetrical display. Something like this: take 7 or 8 glass votive holders, the 2-inch ones you can pick up 4 for $1 at Michaels or Ikea, and use them as tiny vases. Set them neatly in a row, centered on the mantle, with several inches between each vase. Fill them halfway with water and set identical single blooms in each one. 7 yellow daffodils. Or 7 pale pink tulips. Anytime you're tempted to set something else on the mantle — even temporarily — resist. Reserve it as a place of true order that you can sit and study when you need to be renewed. Pick up new blooms on your weekly grocery trip.

Another ordered variation would involve begging, borrowing or buying 3 identical vases. I like a simple square glass shape, maybe 6 or 7 inches across and 8 or so inches high. Center them on the mantle, again, with a few inches between each vase and fill the bottom couple of inches with charcoal grey smooth rocks — the kind you'd find in an orchid display. If rocks are a little too zen for you, fill them with fall leaves, Christmas ornaments, wheat grass, fresh flower arrangements, whatever.


Imagine the sideboard in this photo as a mantle and you've got yourself a tranquil, ordered, symmetrical display. If your house has a more traditional or casual feel, you could still mimic this photo. Just pick out two lamps in a style that would be more appropriate. The concept would still be the same. The fruit in the center doesn't even need a container necessarily. You could just line up some gorgeous pears, like the ones in the Martha photo at the top.

If you're not a symmetrical kind of person, another option would be to let your mirror be the main focus by keeping the center area of the mantle empty and just concentrating some details on the sides. Maybe a tall ceramic vase to the left — pretty with flowers or a branch in it — or pretty standing empty. Then add a group of three low and earthy items to the right.


Pretend this shelf is a mantle. The large, tall vases would look wonderful to one side of the mirror, with the low stacked books and the aged, textural box to the left.

If this kind of decorating makes you nervous, you're in luck. Find a catalog that appeals to you — maybe Crate and Barrell or Pottery Barn — and look at the mantle displays and shelf displays you find in their pages. Feel free to copy or imitate or take inspiration from what you see.


I saw this photo at Pottery Barn. The display isn't on a mantle, but it would look just as good or even better if it was. You could take inspiration from this photo and gather your own collection of lanterns — from tag sales, from Target, from hardware stores, from the mall — and set up your own display. Different finishes, different shapes. Even hang one or two at varying heights. The candles and lanterns reflected in your mirror would look fantastic.

Frankly, it's hard to go wrong. Especially if you consider your mantle decorations as temporary and ever-changing. I hope those ideas help. Good luck, Beth!

My Main Citrus Squeeze

Clearly, I'm experiencing a vitamin C deficiency, because I can't keep my eyes off these citrus pieces by Serholt of Sweden.

My Charmed Life Giveaway Winner

The winner of the $50 Gift Certificate and Mini Charm Diary from My Charmed Life is Beth who said... "Oh my...this is the BEST CONTEST EVER! I Love those charms!! at 7:58 on Saturday night.

Congratulations, Beth! Please email me from the link on my blog and I'll send you your Gift Certificate information right away. And have fun picking out your charms.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway — all 190 (!) of you. Thanks to My Charmed Life. And thanks for reading. More Giveaways ahead. . .

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Penny & Maude

I recently received an email from Jolene of Penny & Maude, letting me know about her small design company based in Oakland, CA that screen prints cool tees for babies and toddlers. Of course I was curious about their wares because of the delicious company name — you know how I love "Maude" . . .

My favorite tees were the two pictured above. What is it that's so appealing about having something screened on both the back and front of the tee?

My Charmed Life Giveaway Reminder

Just a quick reminder: You have until tonight (Monday) at midnight to enter the My Charmed Life $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway. Just go to that post and leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning. Good luck! And, as you've come to expect: more excellent Giveaways ahead.

kisses, Design Mom

Matchstick Garden Books

Here's something perfect for an easter basket or small spring gift: matchstick garden books, available at Zebra Hall toy store.

Each book holds 10 garden matchsticks — "Tear out a matchstick, plant it's tip in soil and you will soon have a flower or herb garden growing. Herb garden contains Basil, Chives, Parsley, and Thyme. The Wildflower Matchstick Garden contains Cornflower, Shasta Daisy, Corn Marigold, and Field Poppy."

The idea is lovely and the packaging is pretty. Two thumbs up.

via shelterrific

Visual DNA

What's your Visual DNA? Go here, click the photos that most appeal, and find out. By the way, I found this at the Sheila Variations when I was exploring some new-to-me blogs. . .

Good bye Dear Lindsey

I can't give a big enough THANK YOU to Lindsey Johnson for the excellent job she did as Guest Mom this week. Each post was thoughtful and interesting and beautiful and full of information.

It's only Monday, but I know you're aching for more of her posts, so be sure to keep track of her wonderful life at Cafe Johnsonia and Just Recipes.

Thank you, Lindsey!! We hope this was the first of many times you'll visit Design Mom Blog as a Guest Mom.

Giveaway: $50 Gift Certificate to My Charmed Life

Just in time to wish you a wonderful weekend, how about a Giveaway? Leave your comment between now and Monday night (3/26) at midnight, and you could win A $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM MY CHARMED LIFE — plus a free charm diary as a bonus prize!!



My Charmed Life came under my radar when I learned about the lovely idea of cake pulls — which I posted about here. You can use your gift certificate to get your own set of cake pulls or put it to use picking out several charms from their extensive collection. And I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say extensive.

Frankly, it was lovely time spent browsing through their collection and deciding which charms I would feature on this post.




And don't forget, you get a tiny charm diary as well — a place to record the nuances of your chosen charms and notes on how and why they came into your possession.

I find the idea of starting a charm bracelet for my daughters — that I can add to on birthdays, or piano recitals, or just to celebrate a new hobby — very appealing. I love gifts you can add to. Really, I just love the look of charm bracelets. Shiny, texture, baubles, details. What's not to love?

Thank you My Charmed Life!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Monday, March 26th 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Dressing A Gentleman: Shirts, Suits, and Ties — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

Every man should have his own style, but within that, there are certain pieces of clothing that each man should own.

• 2 high-quality white shirts, one could have French cuffs for dressier occasions

• 1 nice blue shirt


• 1 dark, year round suit, preferably navy blue


• 3 or 4 (or more) silk ties — one or two solids, and a few classic stripes and conservative prints

High-quality shirts will have the following:


• Split yoke. In the back, coming down from the middle of the collar, most high-quality shirts will have two pieces sewn together. Less expensive shirts tend to have one piece which don't drape as well


• Removable collar stays, also known as collar bones or collar stiffeners, found on shirts that do not have button down collars, and are made of plastic or metal. Less expensive shirts will have collar stays that are sewn inside of the collar.

• Shirt bottom will be longer. They look better when tucked in.


• Gussets, sometimes in a contrasting color than the shirt fabric. A gusset is a piece of reinforcement on the bottom of the shirt where the shirt front meets the shirt back.

• Nicer buttons, sometimes mother-of-pearl

• Thicker, better quality fabric

• Most likely cost more than $60 for a good, white shirt. White shirts are the most popular kind of shirt, so they are hardly ever on sale. For other colors and patterns, watch for sales. Some retailers like T.M. Lewin, Brooks Brothers and Charles Tyrwhitt, offer fabulous sales on shirts if you buy them in threes or fours. You can get 3 or 4 shirts for around $150. That's a steal for good shirts.

Other things to think about. . .
• Take good care of them. Launder and iron regularly. Shirts that are handled with care will last longer and be worth the investment.

• Try buying non-iron shirts. Typical non-iron shirts can be washed, hung to dry, and worn with just a little bit of touching up from a hot iron. Brooks Brothers and Charles Tyrwhitt both carry good, non-iron shirts. These shirts are great for dads.


• If a shirt and suit both fit well together, ¼-1/2" of the shirt cuff will show beneath the jacket.

• Repeat this with me ten times: I will not ever, under any circumstance, EVER let my son, husband, brother, uncle, grandfather, neighbor, postmaster or clergy member wear a short sleeve shirt with a jacket. And if I do, may I have bad luck for 10 years. Got it?

Also, help your man by adhering to this advice regarding suits:

• Tall, thin men look better in a slim-fit shirt and a three-button suit

• Shorter, portly men should wear regular shirts with a two button suit, which he will find is more flattering. (See? And we thought we were the only ones.)

• Tell him to ask for a professional fitting, or have his shirts and suits hand-tailored for an even better fit. Suits off the rack should always be fitted by a knowledgeable sales clerk or tailor to ensure proper sizing.


Personalizing and Creating Your Own Style


Ties are an area where a man can really personalize his wardrobe. Beyond the suggested must-own ties, I suggest buying a few ties each year that can be worn seasonally. Wool, tweed ties for fall and winter, fun floral patterns and bold stripes for spring and summer, etc. I love seersucker and oxford ties.

A tutorial on classic tie knots can be found here on the Brooks Brothers website.


Bold checks in fun colors are another way for a man to express himself. Real men should not be afraid to wear pink and lavender! Some of my most favorite shirts that my husband owns are pink and lavender checks.


Cuff knots come in every shade of the rainbow and are a relatively inexpensive way to vary a wardrobe for men who wear shirts with French cuffs.

It's our duty to make sure our men look good! Some of us are lucky to find a man who knows how to dress. Other men need a little prodding. Keep your eye out for good sales; you'll always be able to find one. I suggest keeping a card in your wallet with your man's sizes for easy reference.

Nothing is sexier than a well-dressed man. (If you ask me.)

Good Morning!

Hey Friends, I'll be back later today with another excellent post from our Guest Mom titled "How to Dress a Gentleman."

Plus a really, really good Giveaway that will be held over the weekend.

I'm off to the airport to pick up my mother. Can't wait to see her.

Displaying Your Photos — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

In my opinion, nothing makes a home your own like the pictures hanging on your walls. Whether it's original art, vintage posters, or beloved photos of your family, pictures on the wall can really dress up and personalize where you live.

Over the past few months, I have spent hours trying to organize, edit, and decide which photographs I want to display on our walls. I've been driving myself crazy!

Then one day I had this thought: Why don't I pick a theme for each room?

Maybe this will explain better what I mean:

Kitchen:



Pictures of kids eating or with messy faces

Bathroom:


Kids in the tub


Bedrooms:



Sleeping pictures, playing around, jumping

Playroom or Kids' Room:


Kids playing or being creative—painting, coloring


Family Room:

Formal portraits and family pictures

Living Room:


Artsy photos of landscapes, nature, etc.

I haven't narrowed down my choices all the way yet, but at least I feel like it's a start. I've been slowly collecting frames I like, too. I'm thinking I really like gallery type frames with really wide, white matting around each photo.

What method(s) do you use to display your family's pictures? What kinds of frames do you like? Do share . . .

Kitchen Remodel

There is a well-done kitchen remodel in the April/May issue of Home Companion. (I'm putting a link to it here, but I don't think you can access it if you don't have a magazine subscription. Irritating, I know.)

Three things I admire and am filing away for some future time: the stunning light fixtures over the island, the unusual aluminum(?) bistro chairs, and the built in mini-office area — which I think is so smart in a kitchen.

The Unique Toddler's Bedroom — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

My Lilly is a very unique little girl. Her interests are varied and wonderful and we embrace all of it. We call her "Lilly Livingston" because she is a born naturalist. Nothing delights her more than rocks, sticks, bugs, animals, and water. (Except maybe cars and airplanes.)

I felt inspired after reading this post by Design Mom a few weeks ago.

Here are a few things I'm planning on or have been using to decorate Lilly's room in order to celebrate my special little girl and her interests.



1. These glass jars can be found at The Container Store. I filled them with some polished rocks Lilly got from her Papa and some sticks we collected while playing outside one day.



2. I bought this at TJMaxx awhile back, but I cannot find a source online for it. I love it. It's supposed to be a lap quilt, but it's the perfect size for a toddler bed.

3. The hand tinted lithographs below are from an old encyclopedia my husband inherited when some family members moved away. It was over 150 years old and falling apart. We carefully removed the lithographs so we could frame them and mount them on the wall.





The Butterfly and Bird Lithographs are by L. Prang and Co., Boston, and the Flower Lithograph is for Tiffany & Co. by the American Lithographs Co., NY.



4. A dear friend gave me this antique rocking chair when I was pregnant with Lilly. We still rock in it (at her request). I love the gold detailing along the top and the seat of the chair.




5. I also want to fill her room with old, collectible children's books. (Another work in progress.) We've acquired a few old A.A. Milne books and some others.

I found this book at a tag sale a few years ago.



She adores cars. Those books, as I find them, will be placed on a lovely shelf, far above the reach of little fingers holding crayons.

6. I still need to find a toy box to accommodate the growing number of toys. (And a bigger apartment, for that matter.)

I really love the idea of creating a home that displays who you are. I would hope if you came to visit, you could look around at our books and our mementos and the pictures on the wall and see who we are — just look past the dirty dishes, the Cheerios crushed into floor, and our hand-me-down furniture—although those things say a lot, too.

BlogHer Business

Check it. Last night I got to meet the actual Girl con Queso in person. She was just as lovely and brilliant as I expected. I was already thinking about her as a dear friend, but now it's official. We met at the opening night party at BlogHer Business here in New York. (I'm not actually going to the conference, but I will be checking in on BlogHer's main site, where there will be live updates.)

After the party, a few of us (GcQ, me and 3 BlogHer Founders) went out for some late night dinner and excellent blogging conversation. A selection of our topics that were thrown around: will the next Martha Stewart be a blogger?, authentic blogging communities vs. online communities backed by businesses, the idea that all bloggers are "press", and the '08 presidential election.

I sure do love talking with smart women.

Book of the Week: Raggedy Ann Stories

I first picked up this book — a reproduction of the original stories first written in 1918 — because the illustrations are so beautiful. The quality and style of children's book illustrations from early in the last century are endlessly appealing to me. Plus, my children's bedrooms tend to take on a vintage vibe and this book fit in well.

But one day, we read it. And LOVED it. I felt a little bit dumb — Raggedy Ann has been a tried and true children's icon for generations, why was I surprised the stories were good? (Maybe it's because many current icons, like My Little Pony and Barbie, aren't based on stories at all.)

The writing is lovely. The language sounds a hundred years old, and I like my children to hear it. And the stories are so sweet and kind — bravery, honesty and friendship are each reccuring themes. Some of those dolls in the playroom are quite snobby to little Raggedy Ann, but she always forgives.

We also have another volume called Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. In my opinion, it's not nearly as good as the original — maybe Johnny Gruelle sold out with the later stories when he realized he had a hit.


available here

Gourmet Easter Goodies — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

I could bore you with my list of "approved" Easter candy, but then you'd probably think I was a little snobby and authoritative on the subject. And I am, but I just don't want you to think that I am. Plus, my list is longer than we have time for today.

But, I did do a little looking around for a few fun, new things I would like the Easter Bunny to bring me.

I'm pretty sure I'd dig something simple and straight forward like this from Lindt.



Wait. . . is it? It can't be. . . a WHOLE box composed of only caramels? Then I wouldn't have to take a bite and put it back because it wasn't a caramel. They're all caramels! Definite potential here. . .



These Robin Blue Truffle Eggs from Williams-Sonoma are lovely. Encased in a hard candy shell, these truffles are made with layers of white chocolate surrounding a truffle center.



I love the pretty packaging on these Italian Caffarel Eggs, also from Williams-Sonoma. Each one has a filling of almond, nougat, or gianduia (hazelnut).

And moving right along to Harry & David. . .



Here you see Belgian Easter Truffles — Framboise Ganache, Tiramisu, Rum Marzipan, Coffee Praline, Chocolate Ganache Praline and more!



Pears and Truffles: Two food groups, one box.

Finally, we come to JellyBelly: Gourmet Jelly Bean HQ

What would Easter be without the ubiquitous jelly bean? There are no better beans than JellyBelly. (Am I right, Design Mom?)

These are new to me:



The Sour Petite Beans include a mix of apple, cherry, grape, lemonade, orange and raspberry. (Count me in.)

Any of these would suit me just fine. What about you? Pipe up and tell us what you want the Easter Bunny to leave in your basket this year. What I mean to say is: Anything new in the candy department I should be aware of?

DIY Modern Bench

I think this project from Andy Lee is fantastic — full, simple instructions on how to build this well-proportioned coffee table. A sheet of plywood and a table saw and it's yours.

Imagine it with a coat of fire engine red paint. I think it would make a cute bench in a playroom.

Sweet Things for Spring — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

On this official, full day of Spring, I'm feeling in the mood for flowers and pastels and polka dots. What about you?


Isn't this wreath from Red Envelope so cute for your front door?


I love this one, too, from Williams-Sonoma.


These plates from Crate and Barrel are just begging for an Easter Petit Four or Lemon Meringue Tartlet to placed upon them.


These also make me smile. I would actually look forward to drying my dishes with these adorable tea towels. Find them here.

Don't forget your feet!

I hope I'm not the first one to tell you about Havaianas. (7)


They are the must have flip-flop. Seriously. I would not lie about something so important. (I wear them all year long. They could almost be surgically attached to my feet.) You have to get some. Right now. They have 43 styles of womens sandals, with many colors to choose from!

How are you going to celebrate Spring?

Girlie Crocs

I saw these ballet inspired shoes last night at Goody Blog, and was so surprised to see they were made by Crocs. I had no idea Crocs made anything other than their standard offering.

I went to their site, and it turns out they have all kinds of shoe designs going on. Maryjanes, flip-flops, skimmers. Waterproof, lightweight, bright colors. These shoes look like summer to me.

Hand Painted Love Boxes for Easter — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

When I was a little girl, the Easter Bunny would always give us a little gift in our basket in addition to the loads of candy. I loved that and looked forward to it each year. One year it was a bathing suit. Another year there were gorgeous aquamarine jelly shoes waiting for me.

I want to keep that tradition going with my own children. Since I'm a sucker for anything hand painted, I had to buy a few these Love Boxes when I saw them.

I bought the Lily of the Valley Box for my daughter, Lilly, for her Easter basket this year.


And I bought this Present Box for me. Because it's darling and I wanted it.


(The pictures do not do them justice. I wish you could see them in real life and hold one in your hand! hey are absolutely darling.)

Each box has a sweet quote inside. And they come packaged so prettily.



Tiffany, the creator of LoveBoxes, just finished her line of Easter Love Boxes.



And lucky for us, she has opened a new Etsy store. In honor of her Etsy store, she is hosting a giveaway today on her blog. (Yay for you!)

Click here to visit the Hand Painted Love Boxes Blog for your chance to win.

You can also find her boxes here on eBay.

Giveaway Winner: Urban Botanic Custom Scent Package

The winner of the Urban Botanic Custom Scent Package is Sarah Starr who said... "Count me in!". Congratulations, Sarah Starr! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address and I'll let put you in contact with Urban Botanic to arrange for your custom scent.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to Urban Botanic. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — it's Giveaway central around here!

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Homemade Ice Cream 101 — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

When my husband bought me an ice cream maker several years ago, we were both a lot thinner. But we also felt like slaves to store-bought ice cream. Do we like store-bought ice cream? Yes. Do we still eat store-bought ice cream? Yes.

However, it was a turning point in our lives when my husband bought some chocolate Haagan-Daz one day and found it to be unpalatable. Was it a carton past its prime? Nope. I'd spoiled him with my homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream. (It's really that yummy.)

Here's a basic recipe for a custard-based homemade ice cream.

[ Click here for a picturesque tutorial on making ice cream on my Just Recipes Blog. I stayed up all night finishing it just for you, so please look at it and tell me what you think . . . pretty please? ]



French Custard Ice Cream

2 cups milk (whole or 2% work best)
2/3-3/4 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
5-8 egg yolks
2 cups very cold heavy cream
Vanilla to taste
Pinch of salt (optional — add at the end)

-Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (3 quart is a good size) until steam rises off the top and bubble form along the edge of the pan, but don't let it boil.

-In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until thick, homogeneous, and light yellow. The sugar will start to dissolve. You can also use a hand mixer for this. It will fall back on itself in ribbons when it's been whisked enough.

-Slowly pour a little of the hot milk into the eggs and sugar. Whisk. Pour the rest of the milk very slowly into the eggs and sugar while continuously whisking.



-Pour back into the pan. Cook over low to medium heat until the custard registers 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer and is thickened.

-Use a fine mesh sieve to strain custard into a clean bowl. Add the cold cream and stir in vanilla extract.

-Refrigerate until very cold. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

-Yields: approximately 1 1/2 quarts.

From there, the sky's the limit.

You can add fresh fruit purees or juice. Add different extracts, such as almond. Chocolate. Anything your little heart desires.

Good resources for ice cream recipes:
My Just Recipes blog — hint, hint. . .
Ice-Cream-Recipes.com
Williams-Sonoma.com (4)
All-Recipes.com (5)

Fabulous Ice Cream makers:



These Cuisinart Ice Cream Makers can be found here for a great price and with customer reviews — along with other brands. But, might I suggest a Cuisinart? I adore mine.

The Krups has gotten good reviews from America's Test Kitchen. Kitchen Aid even makes a bowl attachment for their mixers. Like most ice cream makers these days, you just have to freeze the bowl. No more rock salt and ice.

Summer's just around the corner.....

Giveaways, Giveaways

Just a quick reminder: You have until tonight (Tuesday) at midnight to enter the Urban Botanic Custom Scent Giveaway. Just go to that post and leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning! Good luck.



And since I know you love a good Giveaway, don't miss out on Girl con Queso's new venture. Turns out Blog con Queso just gave birth to Cool Stuff con Queso — a cool new site featuring (surprise!) stuff. And Stuff con Queso is giving away a really hot bag from Darlybird. You also have until midnight tonight to enter the handbag giveaway by clicking here and making a comment.

Some of you may know that both the Queso and Darlybird are dear to my heart. I promise they won't disappoint.

kisses, Design Mom

Cake Decorating 101 — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

In honor of my 26th birthday, I present to you an amateur's guide to Birthday Cake Decorating.

(Click here to view my How-To on Decorating a Birthday cake from start to finish — with lots of detailed photos — on my Just Recipes blog.)

I made my first cake when I was 6 years old. I bought a cookbook for kids from a Scholastic book order. It wasn't the best cake. Over the past 20 years, I've picked up a few tips here and there.

I am all for the whimsical, non-traditional birthday cakes. I've been turned off lately by perfectly shaped flowers ala grocery store bakery cakes. (Maybe this is because I have no clue how to make one?) I love the idea of a cake looking somewhat "rough" and homemade.

When I decided one day to make my own wedding cake, I realized that I needed to do a little research on cake decorating. I went to my local library and checked out every book I could on cake decorating. Then my step-mother graciously gave me her set of Wilton tips and gel icing colors. It wasn't perfect, but I did it. And it was very special.

Since then I have done a number of commissioned cakes for friends, family, and neighbors. Each time I learn what to do differently the next time and get a little better.



Here is where I would start:

-Buy some decorator tips—not a whole set, just a few basic ones to start. Wilton is a great source for that. Find them online or in any craft of party supply store.

-Don't worry about buying expensive pastry bags. I often use freezer Ziploc bags (because they are a little heavier). It makes for very easy clean-up.

-Find a picture of something you like and copy it.



-Practice! Make some icing and practice piping on a piece of parchment paper. Get a feel for which tips you like and the pressure you need to have on a bag and the consistency of icing.

-Experiment with different kinds of icings—it's not all about piping. Not all icing is meant to be piped.

-Look for these recipes:
Seven-minute
Cream cheese
Chocolate Fudge
Ganaches
Glazes

-Play around with different types of cakes, too. Experiment with different fillings.

-Be creative! Explore! Personalize your cakes according to your own tastes and interests!

If I can do it, you can TOTALLY do it. It's fun — like art class. Only you can lick your fingers!

Pretty soon it will be a "piece of cake."

National Badger

I think these animal prints by National Badger are just wonderful. In 3 different sizes: 5 inch = $16, 7 inch = $20, 10 inch = $30. I'd say that's pretty accessible.

And I'm really feeling the illustration style. And don't they look cool grouped on the wall like that? And don't you want to support a company awesome enough to name themselves National Badger?

Close to one million animals and colors available on their site.



via little bits

Giveaway: Urban Botanic Custom Scents

Good morning to any beauty product junkies out there. Here's a Giveaway you'll definitely want to get in on: Urban Botanics is sponsoring a A 3-PRODUCT SET OF YOUR CUSTOM SCENT!! That's parfum spray, lotion and a bath product of your choice — either shower gel or bubble bath — in a scent mixed just for you.



I posted about Urban Botanics earlier and wondered in the post if the custom scents were any good. And now I can tell you the answer. Kelsey from Urban Botanics contacted me and we worked up a couple of custom scents over email. She sent me the body lotion and parfum spray and the whole thing was frankly a lot of fun and I would do it again in a minute.

Here's how it went down. First, I took the personality quiz, next, Kelsey helped me pick a few different base scents that appealed to me. A few days later and surprise! a box arrived on my porch with pretty products made just for me. Having a custom scent is so Sarah Jessica Parker. Wouldn't you say?




Beside having a scent that I love and that my husband loves, I have to say that I'm especially digging the lotion — it's just a really good product. You can read about their simple, high-quality product line here.

Special Bonus for those of you who really want to try this — Giveaway winner or no — Urban Botanic is offering all Design Mom Readers a dealio: contact Kelsey to find your custom scent and you can the 3-product set for $48 + $5 shipping! A tempting deal, no doubt.

Thank you Kelsey & Urban Botanics!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, March 20th 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Wednesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Sitting Pretty — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

Toilet Seats.

We all sit on them every single day. Usually more than once.

The other day when I was scrubbing my toilet, I was once again noticing how old and worn out our toilet seat is. The thought dawned on me that in today's world, someone must be selling pretty toilet seats. And sure enough, a quick Google search confirmed it.

Here are a few of my faves.


I love the colors in this one from Kohler called "Surprise." What a great name for a toilet seat..


This one is great, too. Find it here.


And I love this one found on the Lillian Vernon website.

Other fun links to decorator seats can be found here and here.

Weekly Menu and Shopping Lists — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

Maybe you have system for grocery shopping that you love. Maybe you hate what you've been doing and are ready for a change. Maybe you don't have a system at all.

Until a few months ago, that was me. No plan. Not ever. I wandered aimlessly down the aisles buying whatever I felt like at the moment. Inevitably, we wasted a lot of food and had very odd food combinations that I tried to pass off as "experimental dinners."

Then I discovered the glorious features of the Cooking Light website that allow me to search for recipes and the magic fairies that live within the website create a shopping list for me. (Yay, magic fairies!) This has not only been saving my husband from the doom of experimental dinners, but it has been good for my budget as well.

Cooking Light is not the only one with magic fairies. Real Simple and Cooking Light are connected somehow, so if you create an account with one, then you have an account automatically with the other, too. This allows you to use both sites and have one shopping list.

And there are myriad other websites (click here or here) dedicated to helping you — yes, you — get organized and save time planning out your weekly meals. This also means spending less time at the store or having to go back for something you forgot.

Here's what I do:

First I look at what I have that may need to be used — say a Pork Tenderloin. I do a quick recipe search. When I find a tasty recipe, I add it to my "shopping list." Then, like magic, all the ingredients get put into a handy list just for me. (Yay, magic fairies!)

I repeat this until I have all the recipes I need for a week. I go in and delete the ingredients I already have in my pantry/fridge/cupboard. I can also go in and add ingredients for other things I want to make — like dessert, or snacks.

Once I'm finished, I print my shopping list and head over to the store.

Try it today — you're welcome in advance.

The Happiest Lunchbox

Dear friends, how happy is this lunchbox?!! And how happy is Design Mom knowing that it exists. I find it easier to be a green parent when zip-lock wasting is replaced with pretty.

Melamine in four separate (beautiful) sections.

Introducing Lindsey Rose Johnson!

Get ready for a wonderful week here at Design Mom — Hooray! — because Lindsey Johnson is our Guest Mom. Which means too much fun for everybody. I am just itching to see the lovely posts she's sure to come up with.

Some of you may know Lindsey already from her excellent blog Café Johnsonia. She posts frequently and is always a thoughtful commenter, which makes hers an extra-good blog to get to know. She is also a great friend to many and a woman of many talents. But she's the kind of person who is so humble that you would have no idea how widespread her talents and interests are — if you didn't get a glimpse of her life through her blog (thank goodness for blogs!). I asked Lindsey to write-up a little intro, and she graciously agreed.

Welcome Lindsey!! Now in her own words:


I am totally honored to be your Guest Mom this week.

What can I tell you about me? Well, I'm pretty simple and straightforward.

I am a stay-at-home mom to Lilly, almost 2 ½ years, and Fritz, 9 months. My husband, Fred, is a very smart-dressing librarian and college professor. We live just north of Manhattan.

In a previous life, I slept more. (Ah, I miss those days!) Now if I'm not changing diapers, vacuuming baby powder off my son, or scrubbing crayon off the walls, I'm blogging about it. And if I'm not doing those things, you'll find me in the kitchen cooking/baking up a storm. And if I'm not doing that, I'm documenting it all with my Nikon D70—it's never far from my reach. (I like to think of myself as an amateur photographer.)

I also love all kinds of music, art, art history, and literature.

Someday I'll own my own bakery, Café Johnsonia. And when I do, I invite you come on over and sit down for some kouing aman and lemonade, and we'll have a good chat.

This week on the menu:

Ideas for Easter

Dressing a Gentleman

Birthday Cake and Ice Cream

Displaying Your Family Photos

Decorating a Toddler's Bedroom

And a few more surprises. . .

Paper Flowers

Because my sister is taking a well-deserved blogging hiatus, I was browsing her archives this morning to get my daily fix. I came across a post she wrote about Jude Miller's paper flowers.

While all of Jude's creations are beautiful, this peony is truly outstanding. I could stare at it for a long time. (Confession: I have been staring at it all morning.)

Easter Dresses

I'm looking for Spring dresses for the girls. Hanna Andersson has a few cute choices. But I'm especially in love with the blue stripe. So sweet. So classic.

Sometimes I put the kids in matchy, matchy. Sometimes I just coordinate generally — maybe blues this year.

Hanging with My Peeps

We pulled out the Easter goods yesterday, and to really seal the Easter deal we picked up some Peeps at Target last night. The kids chose yellow and a new green shade that's really quite lovely. On the way back to the car, Ralph, who was so excited to break open the candy said, "I have a feeling the green Peeps are the best tasting of all the Peeps."

Oscar, on the other hand, who is not only my husband's physical twin but apparently inherited his taste buds as well, didn't care for the Peeps.

When it comes to candy, I'm as low-brow as you can get. I love me some Peeps — but only seasonally. (I know they're available now for every holiday, but I find they really only appeal to me in the Spring.) The rest of year, I satisfy my candy cravings with things like Sour Patch Kids, Mike & Ikes and Pear Jelly Bellys.

Trough Sink

I love two ideas from an article in the Feb/Mar Home Companion Magazine.

The article was about a family with several young sons, and when renovating their bathroom, the mother had this trough sink built. I'm not sure why this is so much more appealing to me than a traditional counter with two or three sinks, but it is. I love the idea of seeing a few of my kids brushing their teeth at the same time. And I love that the sink is really big — perfect for teenage girls who are helping their friends experiment with hair color.

Also, I've probably mentioned this before, but I'm an advocate of hooks for towels in the bathroom as compared to standard towel rods. You can fit many more towels in the same space, and kids can hang the towels themselves, easily. In humid areas, they seem to dry out better this way as well.

Ask Design Mom: Found Furniture

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
I found this cabinet at the side of the road with a "free" sign next to it, and was delighted to heft it into my wagon. I just moved to rural Pennsylvania, and am so charmed by the air of history here. I bet this baby has some stories to tell, and I hope to use it to house some fabric & supplies in my craft studio. Decorating makes me nervous, so I'm not sure how to refinish it, & the poor neglected thing has spent the winter on my back porch. I like the look of natural wood, so my inclination would be to just take some beeswax to it, but the mahogany veneer on the top is cracked and peeling, and I'm not sure I can easily find a replacement. I know some of your readers are the decorating sort and the do-it-yourself sort, and I've been so inspired by your personal practical suggestions. I could really use your design help. Thank you! —Valerie

Design Mom Answer:
Growing up out west, I don't remember much "found furniture" — maybe my community was too new. But here in New York it's like found furniture Mecca. Drive through Scarsdale on the right night and you can practically open your own antiques shop. And I can only imagine that historic Pennsylvania is even better!

That's a great piece and I'm sure it's going to work perfectly in your craft space. The glass front is so great! I'll start with a couple of suggestions, and be confident that my refinishing-expert readers will comment with their own ideas.

My attitude toward found furniture is that they are great pieces on which to experiment — no money invested is very freeing. You could embrace it's shabbiness and rough it up all the more, or, if just the top is ailing, consider leaving everything as it is but the top:

-Paint a simple pattern on the top to mask the harmed veneer — like a checkboard pattern at an angle, in colors that work well in your house.
-Decoupage some paper on the top to create a new surface. One sheet of beautiful art paper — or even wrapping paper — would be just the right size.
-Try your hand at replacing the top with a tile or concrete surface.
-If you can say good bye to the natural finish, I think a pretty coat of paint would look great on this piece. And you could wallpaper the inside of the cabinet with something really colorful for a nice surprise.

Because of the glass front, what you put inside is just as important as how you finish the outside. I would love to see stacks of neatly folded fabric in pretty patterns peaking through the glass.

I hope these suggestions get you started. I don't think you can go wrong. Good luck!

Book of the Week: Petite Rouge

This is another book given to my children by my in-the-know friend Audrey.

Petite Rouge, a Cajun Red Riding Hood, was written by Mark Artell and illustrated by Jim Harris. Little Red is replaced by a duck, the forest is replaced by the swamp, and the wolf is replaced by an alligator named Claude.

It's a top notch read aloud — if you read the text as it stands, you'll sound like you have a perfect cajun accent. Most appealing to my 4 and older kids and best when they're wide awake, because listening children have to concentrate — the accent is thick and there a several unfamiliar words. (Luckily, there's a simple glossary at the back for those of us unaquainted with Cajun cuisine.)

The story is charming and the illustrations are terrific. Lots of humorous details: Mona Lisa as a duck, the enormous alligator in Grandma's tiny bed with her frilly night clothes on. Just a fun, fun book.



And while we're talking about Petite Rouge, I must tell you about a new-to-me website: Just One More Book. Basically, 2 friends get together three times a week at their favorite coffee shop and post podcasts discussing their favorite children's books — specifically, books that haven't received as much attention as they deserve.

One of their very first podcasts, featured Petite Rouge. It was episode 2 and now they're on episode 111. In addition to book discussions, they also feature conversations with Authors and Illustrators. You can find all their offerings by scrolling down their right margin. Expect each podcast to last 5-12 minutes and know that this site is "powered by passion" — no ads and no money to be made. What a cool site.

Put on a podcast while you fold some laundry or go through some mail and have fun getting to know some new books.


The book, like everything else in the world, is available here.

My Sunset Road

From a mom of 2 and metalsmith in Boston, this line of jewelry really appeals to me. She designed her line to be "everyday" pieces that mothers don't need to fuss with. Lot's more on her site.

The Incredible Edible Egg

Knowing that by the time April gets here and I'm ready to take on Easter — when the holiday will only be about a week away — I'm trying to get on top of things now. In fact, I'm thinking March 15th (tomorrow) is the perfect day to pull out the Easter box and see what festive goodies have been packed away all year.

My stylish friend Hailey sent me a link to these chocolate quail eggs and I've fallen in love. They're gorgeous. They've got me all Easter-inspired.

From Gumps in San Francisco.

Rock Climbing Party Favors

Maude's Rock Climbing Party is this weekend. And I'm determined to get the favors finished, or at least decided, today.

My first thought was:
Nalgene bottles with rock candy and a bandana inside, with maybe a carabiner attached to the Nalgene handle.

I still like that, but I'm also in a mode where I'm trying to use what we have on hand, and I happen to have a stack of brand-new heavy-weight orange tees. (What? Why?!) Well, I bought them to silkscreen as party favors for Ralph's 8th birthday — but they didn't arrive until the day of the party — and they've been sitting here in their packaging ever since. I don't know if I'm up for silk-screening, but I might be able to do something cool with bleach or maybe an iron-on.

So my second thought is:
Cool-t-shirt with rock candy and a carabiner.

Really, it all comes down to how much time/energy I've got this week. Your thoughts?

Hotel Boxes

Oh man! How much fun to stack up an assortment of these Hotel Boxes and then figure out what to put in them. So pretty.

Watch the (short) slide show here and get excited about the possibilities. See the available patterns here.



via shelterrific

Ask Design Mom: Housewarming Gifts

Something NEW today! Since Ask-Design-Mom questions have been coming in fast and furiously, I thought it would be fun to mix things up a bit and invite some big-name bloggers to post answers as Guest Experts. Our first Guest Expert: the always fabulous Hostess with the Mostess.
_______________

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hi! I love your blog and thought you'd be the perfect person to give me a house warming gift idea. My best friend just bought her first house and I'd love to get her something super cool and unique. She has great style, so I want to get something she'll love. However, my budget is quite limited (around the 20 dollar range) any suggestions? — Veronica

Hostess with the Mostess Answer:
Hi Veronica. There are so many great modern home decor websites out there now that you can definitely find something cool and unique for your friend, even on a limited budget. A hip, out-of-the-ordinary vase or planter is always a smart choice because, in addition to looking great, it's also a useful gift — and looks fantastic when presented with a few of your recipient's favorite flowers (for a personal touch) or an chic, inexpensive house plant.

Other good housewarming gift ideas include modern coaster sets, unique wall art, decorative pillows, unique candle accessories, and fun serveware for entertaining. Of course, you'll need to take your friend's design taste and home color palettes into account when choosing these items, but with all the options out there and the fact that many products are available in multiple colors, you shouldn't have a problem finding something that fits!

Here is a list of some cool gift ideas that should fit within your budget. Hope this helps! — Hostess with the Mostess


From top, left to right by row:
Cube Tube Vases -Set of 3 ($24)
Sculpt Planter ($16.95)
Black & Gray Angelica Floral Vase ($12 & $20)
Stilt Planter ($20)
Nekko Vase ($29)


From top, left to right by row:
Meadowettes Coaster Set ($12)
Stitched Felt Coaster Set ($16)
Floral Wall Art ($10)
cb2 Decorative Pillows ($20)
Celadon Twist Burner ($25)


From top, left to right by row:
Hug Salt & Pepper Shaker ($24)
Studio Platter ($12)
Studio Salad Plates ($6/each)


Note from Design Mom:
Thank you Hostess with the Mostess! So many great ideas and pretty things. By the way, the Hostess has two excellent Giveaways happening right now at her blog. I suggest paying her a visit right away so that you don't miss out. Hooray for the Hostess!

Garnet Hill Clearance

Did you get the Garnet Hill Clearance email?


paisley sandals, $24


summer sneaks for toddlers or girls, $8


pretty clocks, $18 (marked down from $68!)


genie lamp, $48


leather maryjanes, $38

A few bits and pieces. . .

. . . I've been wanting to share:

1) I've been checking out the new site Shakadoo for everything to do with your home. Love Shak, Baby is a section dedicated especially to parents. Looks like fun.

2) Parents magazine has started Goody Blog. They've been going for a few months now and they've got lots of interesting content getting posted frequently. Here are two great posts from the last couple of days: Save Money Like Crazy, and Ask the Unicorn.

3) Remember the playspace-with-potential that we discussed a couple of weeks ago? Well Melissa posted photos of the finished space on her blog. Hooray!

Quiet Please.

Love these wooden door hangers for baby's room — especially Tip Toe. Part of the excellent collection at Little Bits.

Thanks for the link, Cynthia!

Online Shopping Polls

So I gave a client some advice last week, and I'm curious to see if my instincts are correct. If you have a minute and don't mind taking these quick polls, I'd appreciate it.

pic from getty images

Do shipping and handling charges affect the amount of online shopping you do?
	No. They're just a fact of modern-day life.
	If the charges are $5 or under I don't mind.
	I find them really irritating, but they only occasionally drive me away from online shopping.
	Yes, I only shop at sites that offer free shipping or when I have a free shipping coupon.

If you were shopping for a small gift online, would you be more likely to purchase:
	A $15 gift with $5 shipping and handling.
	A $20 gift with free shipping.

Wheat Grass

My brother Josh came by last week to pick up some wheat kernels to plant wheat grass. (I have a large supply. I really love wheat grass and picked wheat up in bulk awhile back. Feel free to come by for your own bag.) I was so happy for a reminder that it was time for this activity — which is practically a spring ritual at our house.

Super easy and very gratifying. Early in my marriage, I learned how to do this from Lisa at Oh Judy. I've had success in glass containers with pebbles at the bottom for drainage and in traditional ceramic containers made for plants. I've had success in low-light and right in front of a window.

If you plant your seeds today, you'll have gorgeous wheat grass in about a week. In fact, mark your calendars now for the perfect day to plant some in time for your Easter displays.



Easy directions:
-Fill and level your container with potting soil. Leave about an inch of space at the top.
-Place an even layer of wheat kernels on the soil. It should be a pretty solid layer with only a little bit of dirt showing.
-Water daily. Keep the soil pretty moist. For a 6-inch container, I would pour in a glass of water each morning.

That's it. You'll see sprouts in about 48 hours. And wheat in about a week. The wheat won't look great for ever — some people trim it with scissors to extend it's life — but I prefer to just replant. Apparently you can also juice it. But in my life, its beauty benefits outweigh its health benefits.

two pics from flickr

Thank you Rebecca!

Rebecca has been an excellent Guest Mom this past week. Her posts were full of wonderful ideas, information, and delight. I know I'm not alone in wanting to sincerely thank her for putting heart and soul into her posts. I just love how women respond to Rebecca — instead of being intimidated by her (very impressive!) life, women are inspired instead. She is an amazing woman!! Thank you, Rebecca.

When you're feeling homesick for Bek, remember you can keep up with her at Ignore the Crazy.

Ask Design Mom: Birthday Present for Mom's 50th

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hi Design Mom! Like everyone else I have fallen in love with your site! Everyday I am excited to see what's new. Anyway, my mom's 50th birthday is coming up, and I'd like to give her something really special. Already I'm organizing a memory book of sorts filled with pictures, letters, etc. from friends and family. But it just doesn't seem like enough! I would like to do something special that is just from me. I'm open to anything, whether it's store bought or home made. Any thoughts? Thanks so much! — Kelly Lewis

Design Mom Answer:
What a fun question, Kelly. And what a kind daughter you are — the memory book sounds like it's going to be lovely. I'll start with a few ideas for an additional gift, and I'm certain Design Mom Readers will have some of their own terrific ideas to add.


Time Zone Mantle Clocks:
One year, because my siblings were (and still are) so spread out all over the world, we bought several matching mantle clocks for my mother. We had small plaques engraved with the different cities where each child lived and attached them to the clocks. My mother would set the clocks to the appropriate time zone for each city or country and could then easily keep track of when to call her kids.

The mantle clocks were small and fit well in my mother's home. They were charming sitting there all in a row. If I remember right we picked them up from Target — something fairly simple, like this one or this one. She used the clocks for a few years, having new plaques engraved as her children moved from one city to the next.


Original Artwork:
Have original art commissioned in her honor is another really thoughful gift. Many artists work from photos, so if you have an existing great photo to work from you can do this as a surprise. It could be a portrait of her, of you as a child, a picture of a grandchild, or maybe a depiction of her as a young mother holding a baby.

Or you could go with a landscape — does she have a favorite view or a favorite hike overlooking a valley or a favorite forest or mountain? You could even go with something more abstract from an artist you or she admires. It would be neat just to know the artwork was commissioned just for her.

Find artists through local galleries or ebay or etsy or use my brother-in-law's blog which features lots of talented artists.


A Gift in Her Name:
Another really wonderful gift would be to donate a sum in her name to a charity or organization she supports. You could follow Bek's suggestion and purchase a cow or some poultry in her name for a 3rd-world family through Heifer International.

Or think of a cause that's especially dear to her heart. My church has a Perpetual Education Fund to help students in 3rd world countries get a college education then return to their countries better able to make a difference. My siblings donate to the Fund in my Grandmother's name on her birthday and at Christmas because she doesn't want any more material goods and because education has always been one of the things she likes to champion.

I hope those ideas spark your own, Kelly. Design Mom Readers, what gift would you suggest that Kelly could give for her mother's birthday?

cake photo from Getty Images

Conquering Poverty — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I saved the best for last.

If any of you read my bio you will remember that I likened myself to an orange. I have many slices that seem to co-exist even though they are often contradictory. Since I have never been one to turn down a platform as large as this, I want to talk for a minute about some of the charity issues that are near and dear to my heart. I know this seems strange after I spent the week dangling wonderful tidbits in front of your screen, things that you didn’t know you wanted to buy. Stay with me, I promise that it will be worth it. It might make you a little bit sad in the beginning, but I won’t leave you hanging in the end.

I want you all to think about raising children for a minute. Many of you reading this are raising children right now. All of us were raised by someone. I want you think for a minute about how much hard work goes into bringing our kids up to be healthy and happy.

Now imagine that you are doing it without food, without water, without a bathroom, without electricity, without a safe place to live. Is it any wonder that every day 30,000 children under the age of 5 die from poverty related issues? You read that right, 30,000. That statistic is according to UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children. That is 10 million children a year. So, this morning while you ate your breakfast and turned on the computer and checked your e mail, 30,000 children died.

Did your heart just hurt a little bit? Good. It should.

This is where you will start to believe me that I am a very contradictory individual. I love to shop. I love to see the wonderful things that Design Mom shows us every day. I love to save my pennies to buy new things. It makes me feel happy and content. I covet things I can’t afford. I enjoy the good life and strive for it at times. Yet, I am also very, very aware that this is a luxury that few people in the world get. I am aware that I possess a unique voice; that of an educated and confident woman. This doesn’t seem rare in our communities, but when you look at it in the context of the world, it is a rare voice indeed. Do you know what? If you are reading this, you possess it too. I feel compelled to use my voice to speak for those other mammas who love their kids and worry about them like do, but weren’t blessed to live in a country where education and health care are freely available. I choose to use my voice and my time and my talents to spark a change and make life, not just better, but POSSIBLE for as many people as I can. I can’t save every woman and child but I will do what I can. How do you use your voice?

(How can this exist in the same person? If I feel so strongly about helping others than how can I justify the money that I spend on clothes that I don’t need or trinkets that aren’t essential for daily life? I am not sure. I am still working that one out. Let me know if you have the answer…)

The next question you must be asking me — or shouting at me through the computer screen — is “why?” Why on earth does Rebecca Bingham need to bother dealing with things outside her front door when most of the time she can barely keep up with what is going on in her own family? I will tell you why. It is because that while I worry about how to raise my daughters to be confident and smart, I don’t worry about how to keep them fed. I worry about how hard it might be for my son to grow up a black man in this society, but I don’t worry about him being abducted and becoming a child soldier in a civil war. I worry that the choices that my husband and I made for our family regarding adoption and race will be things that my children are left to reconcile and work out, but I don’t worry that my husband and I will die and leave them with no parents, no home and no protection. I worry that Lauren is having too much responsibility placed on her as the oldest, but I don’t worry that she will be left to raise her sisters and brothers as the head of a family. I get to assume that my children will live past the age of 5. I get to assume that the police are on my side and if disaster strikes, there will be ways for me to get help. I don’t spend hours every day getting water for my family. I have a toilet that flushes. Those are the deep reasons. On a more superficial level, I worry about how to teach my children to be grateful for the things we have and to be aware of the needs of others. I can’t think of a better way to do this then for them to grow up seeing me spending time and energy engaged in issues that are important to me. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. That is why I choose to take action. Why will you?



Please believe me that this is NOT a guilt trip in any form. I am not condemning consumerism in any way. I am not trying to make anyone feel bad for not being more involved. But I do know that once we know something, we can’t just “unknow” it. I also know that knowledge sparks action. I am speaking about this because being involved in the charities that I have been has given back to me some of the spark and zest for life that I found missing once I left work and became a full time mom. That is what works for me and I really am only speaking for myself here. I have started a few micro-loan projects that I am very proud of. I did it because when I was in Africa last year on other business I saw a need and wanted to do something. I wanted to provide a way for women to have sustainable income. These are projects that provide incentives to communities and families in rural communities in Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique to take in just one more child, even though they are already stretched to the max. I feel so strongly about these issues that I'm helping to start a charity to allow my projects to be more wide reaching and more successful. Please check my personal blog for the link to this charity and a better description of the projects. Our website isn’t live yet (this week…. Cross your fingers…). You can find info on it there.

We all have value and I have a feeling that we are all searching to find our balance. I guess I just want to extend a challenge to you all today to take some time to examine what you have to offer and then just do it. Offer it to someone. There are many ways to serve and make our “woman voice” heard. I believe that there is nothing more powerful than the force of women who are helping others in need. We are a powerful entity. I know that almost all of you are already doing things that make the world around you a better place. I see so many wonderful things happening in our churches and communities. I am so proud of that because it is so important. Some of you will have time to give, some will have money. There is need for both. You don’t have to go to Africa or India. There is lot’s to be done in your own community. You don’t have to have a ton of money. Many charities have programs that cost as little as 15$ a month. For an average of 30$ a month you can sponsor a child to get the medications and food and education that they need to provide for themselves if the are lucky enough to live to adulthood. But, you can also donate time or material things to a local shelter or make soup for the Ronald McDonald house. We can all do something and the choices are endless. Just take one more step on the road. If you haven’t yet found your thing, then find it. If you are already involved, try and get others excited about the things that you do. Don’t let your voice be wasted.

Thanks for letting me share my voice here. Thank you to those of you that already use your voice. Thanks again for your time. Thanks to Design Mom for letting me post here this week. It was really fun. I learned a lot this week and want to especially thank Gabby for providing this place where we can learn to make our homes and our souls a little bit more beautiful. I am off to Mexico today to visit an orphanage and to bring some donations. We are also getting 6 new kids in that I need to interview and photograph so we can get sponsors for them…… but first I need to check out the new Design Mom picks.

Here is a list of charities that I personally have investigated, donated to or volunteer with. This is just my list, but can be a great place to start. I know that there are many of you out there that are involved. What is your platform? What charity do you love? Here is your place to brag and to tell us what is important to you. I hope this can turn into a list of “places to start” and in the future will direct any inquires I get to this post and the comments so lets fill it up.



Here are places that I love:

Volunteers for Prosperity
This shows you places that you can go on a working vacation with your family. This is often referred to as a “volunTOUR”.

Reach the Children

Care for Life

Stay Alive
HIV/ AIDS Education for children ages 8-12 in sub Saharan Africa

Heifer Project International

AHOPE for Children
This is an orphanage that cares for HIV positive children in Ethiopia. They are amazing!! Many of these children are being adopted in the US and Australia. Just a few years ago, many were dying. Grab a hankie and check this site out.

Children's Home Adoption
This is the agency that we will use for our next adoption. They have a wonderful humanitarian aid program.

C Jane's Self Portrait Gathering

Sometimes this blog distracts me. Distracts me in a way that keeps me from making my favorite internet rounds and I miss something really great. Like C Jane's self portrait extravaganza this past Monday. Definitely worth checking out.

C Jane is one of the most charming writers I'm acquainted with. And her community of lovely happiness over at Enjoy It is always delightful.


from citymama1


from dear dairy


from girls that eat pizza

Will someone launch sk*rt already so I don't miss anything else?

Pretty Organized Flickr Pool

For those of you who haven't messed around on Flickr yet, here's something to tempt you. There are bunches and bunches of Flickr "pools" where anyone can join and post photos they've taken based on a theme.

One of my very favorites is this Pretty Organized group, (pretty as in beautiful, not as in almost). Over 1000 delightful photos to jumpstart your own ideas.

Including the shot above, a tiny drop of fun shots from the pool:

Giveaway Winner: Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art

FYI: There will be more posts later today, but this is it for this morning. So check back later for your daily dose of inspiration. And now to the important stuff:

The winner of the Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art is Compulsive Writer who said... "So much fun!" at 9:41 PM on Wednesday. Congratulations, Compulsive Writer! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address and I'll let you know how to place your free custom order.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to Yoon Kids. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — more Giveaways ahead. Hooray for Giveaways!

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Ask Design Mom: Brand New Office Nook

Ask-Design-Mom question:
I love your blog and I go there for inspiration or just for a moment to myself. We are moving to a new house next month. I am excited, but I also have a few frustrations. The house is BRAND NEW, so my husband thinks we need to buy all BRAND NEW furniture. As nice as that is, I feel like it won't be mine...it loses all the personal touch when I go to a big furniture chain to furnish every corner. I need ideas of how I can make it have less of a "big box store" feel and more of an "I created this" feel (while still keeping my husband happy). I'm specifically looking for ideas for a desk nook area. Thanks for your help! — Nicole Madsen

Design Mom Answer:
[Warning, marathon post!] I know just what you're going through Nicole. My sister is moving into a brand-new house and I'm helping her decorate. We're running into the same issues. She needs pretty much all new furniture but she wants the house to feel like her family has belonged there forever. This seems to be on the minds of many — I posted about a related sentiment I'd read on Decor8 a couple of weeks ago.

But let's just focus on your office nook, because it's actually one of the easiest spaces to add lots of personal details. I'm going to start by grabbing some office images my sister has featured over the past few months. (Type in "office" or "craft" in the search field at the top of her blog and all the related posts to these images will come up.)







I like lots of things about these images, but two things especially: 1) they are mostly full of items that are totally bought or new, but they feel totally unique and 2) they look like they are true work-spaces — like someone actually uses them and clutters them up on a daily basis.

The trick is to take advantage of the mix-of-decorating-styles that has suddenly become not only acceptable but oh-so-chic. Look to magazines like Domino, Cottage-Living and Blueprint for good examples of homes that look real and have a mix of styles. That, and do your best not to shop at the enormous furniture stores that aren't likely to sell anything with personality.

Here are my suggestions. Start with 4 pieces: a desk, a chair, a bullitin board/magnet board, and a sideboard/cabinet/armoire. DO NOT BE IN A HURRY. AND DO NOT BUY A MATCHING SET of these items. In fact they don't even have to come from the same decade or century, and certainly not from the same store. In the top picture, notice how great the very modern desk — based on a Parson's table — looks with woven baskets and textured pottery.

Find a used/antique desk from ebay or craig's list or your local refurbished furniture shop. Check out universities for surplus sales. Or look to places like Sundance that don't carry a vast line of furniture but have really fantastic pieces. You're not looking for a deal so much, but looking for a really special, unique piece of furniture. If it's too much work to find an aged desk, go in the opposite direction. Shop the online modern design stores for a super sleek option that will work as a good background for your trinkets and mess — places like Design Within Reach or even West Elm.

For the storage piece, think about repurposing things like media cabinets, lockers, sideboards intended to store china and linens, and old armoires that you can add shelves to. No special sources come to mind, but I would recommend sticking to small shops and out-of-the way stores. If you find something that would be perfect but needs work, you don't necessarily have to do it yourself. I have a vintage metal dresser that I love. I found it in an awful state and dropped it off in the industrial part of town to be sandblasted and powdercoated. Voila: fabulous dresser.

The bullitin board presents lots of options. Order a large frame from pictureframes.com and fill it with corkboard or fabric-covered homasote. Or just paint the wall with layers of magnetic paint. Or have a piece of sheet metal cut to size and mounted on the wall — with or without a frame. Whatever you decide to do, this is where you're going to showcase your personality: pretty cards, random photos, a good-looking menu, a happy coaster. Think of your bullitin-board as ever-changing artwork.

It's hard to advise on the chair, because I haven't seen the desk yet, but just follow your instincts and you'll be fine. Putting together a space should be lots of fun and you should feel free to make mistakes. If you buy a desk and then discover it doesn't work, just craigs list it, no biggie. Once you have those 4 elements in place, you can add whatever else you might "need": baskets for magazines, a bookshelf above the bullitin board, some filing boxes to sit in the armoire, a pretty lantern to hang from the ceiling, a flowering plant, a ribbon rack, etc. In an ideal world we would surround yourself with things we love and that inspire us and make us smile.

Design Mom Readers: What's the best feature in your home office?

Giveaway Reminder: Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art

Just a quick reminder: You have until tonight (Thursday) at midnight to enter the Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art Giveaway. Just click here and leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning! Good luck.

kisses, Design Mom

Wooden Toys — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I love wooden toys. I will take a wooden and mute toy over plastic, talking and blinking one any day. I love that it makes my kids use their imaginations. I hate that they make great projectiles. I love that they carry a sense of permanence that the plastic ones don’t. I can almost make myself believe that if they toys are built to last a long time, the kids just might stay little enough to play with them forever. I still really hate that my son can do serious damage with them. We have plenty of toys that light up and talk around our house, but they don’t always manage to survive the quarterly toy “editing” process like the wooden ones do.

There is a really great store here in Palo Alto called The Playstore. It is full of wonderful wooden toys. Whenever I go in there I wish that I had more of Design Mom’s great toy storage in my house. I could buy EVERYTHING in here and have to limit myself. Our favorite thing is this rainbow. It is much bigger than it looks in the picture. There is also a less expensive and smaller version. We also love these rattles for the baby. My two year old, Cubby, is obsessed with these beads. The Playstore does ship, but most towns have some sort of wooden toy store. I bet there is one near you.


If you don’t manage to find a store near you, you can always try Ikea.


Or Target. They carry Melissa and Doug toys now.


Or Back to Basic’s Toys.


Did I miss anything? Does anyone have a great wooden toy find?

Book of the Week: The Story of Ferdinand

I have a thing for books that calm children, and this is another one.

First published in 1936 this book must be one of the most beloved children's books ever. Ferdinand is a bull who has no interest in doing bullish things. He prefers to sit under his favorite tree and smell the flowers. And then one day he gets stung by a bee and finds himself at a bullfight in Madrid.

My kids respond immediately to this character that doesn't mind doing his own thing. And they also think it's wonderful to see and read a few bits about Spanish bull-fighting. This is an especially good book read aloud.

Apparently it's been banned from time to time because of it's overtly pacifist message, so you can feel a tiny bit rebellious by putting it on your bookshelf.

Written by Munro Leaf. Illustrated by Robert Lawson. Of course, it's available here.

Random Giveaway: Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art

In honor of my husband's birthday and our lovely Guest Mom Rebecca, how about an amazing Giveaway today?!! Remember when I posted about loving Yoon Kids custom wall art? Today's Giveaway Winner will win AN 18" x 18" CUSTOM PRINTED CANVAS of their choice!




At Yoon Kids, custom means you can get exactly what you want. Choose hair, skin and background colors from a terrific assortment of prints. Yoon Kids features hip and stylish wall art with a smile-bringing mix of lovable creatures, patterned silhouettes, and kids being kids. And 18 inches x 18 inches is BIG! (Such a generous prize!!) This won't be a tiny accent for your child's room — it can be the main event — something to focus your decorating around.

Yoon Kids showcases artwork of kids doing everything kids like to do. They launched with their girl's line and are adding their boy's line later this year. Name an activity: snowboarding, soccer, cello, pottery, science. They have it. Even a category called girl band which couldn't be more charming.




But that's not all. The stuff that especially tickles my fancy is their perfect-in-the-nursery nature inspired images. These are some of my faves:





How great that Yoon Kids has taken the guesswork out of custom artwork. And how fun to find and create just the right thing to hang above your daughter's bed, or set on a dresser to lean against the wall, or hang as a series in the nursery above the changing table.

Yoon Kids was started by two sisters who wanted to create wall art that reflects the dreams and activities of today's kids while featuring the clean lines and graphic patterns they love. Each piece is made through a fine art giclée printing process. Water-resistant canvas is stretched over heavy-duty frames and finished with an ecologically friendly coating that protects against sun and water damage. As a result, Yoonkids will maintain their vibrant colors for years to come. Extra bonus: A portion of YoonKids profits is donated to the nation's largest children's literacy organization, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) in honor of Kaitlyn Yoon who was an avid reader.

Thank you Yoon Kids!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Thursday, March 8th 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Friday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Good Mail — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I think that one of the reasons that I love to shop online is because I love getting things in the mail. Who doesn’t? Especially in our age of instant gratification communication (e-mail, crackberry, cell phone cameras, text messages. . .) I appreciate something tangible. Nothing is as good as ripping open a package in the mail and wondering what is inside.

My first experience with this was from my parents. When I moved away from home to go to college, I would often find funny things in the mail. Sometimes it was just a picture with a post-it note sized letter on it. Once it was a package of chili powder (I am still trying to figure that one out). When I lived in England, my dad would send me my favorite pens and cinnamon gummy bears (both cinnamon AND gummy being things that they just don’t appreciate over there). Lately, the mail comes for my kids. A few times a month a small box or envelope will show up on the door step.



Most of the time the box contains some sort of treasure from the dollar store or the local thrift store. Nothing fancy, but something that they know the kids would like. Even baby Norah gets mail. Sometimes, it isn’t even anything fancy. Lately, the kids have been getting the free address labels that come in junk mail to my parents. When they come from Grandpa, they become treasured STICKERS!!!

A few months ago I ran across a blog that talked about “good mail.” Kristi explains in a post that a friend of hers started this. It started as a circle of friends that went to college together who would send each other things in the mail. Sometimes it was a book or a cd compilation. Other times the recipient was the beneficiary of a wonderful creation. The point was to send an “I am thinking of you” type package. Soon Good Mail expanded to their friends from various grad schools. Then, as they all moved across the country and settled into life, the circles expanded even more. Be warned that some of the stuff you will see on this blog is pretty crafty and amazing and there is A LOT of it. You might come away feeling like you don’t have many friends and you aren’t as clever or crafty as you thought you were. I am only kind of kidding. What is evident from the posts is that they get as excited at getting a little something in the mail as my kids do. In fact, I left a comment once on Kristi’s blog and someone that I don’t know sent ME Good Mail. It was so thoughtful and sweet.

Unless you are a blogger that gets lots of hits and has companies sending them things to “review”, the only stuff that comes in the mail is bills or junk. If you are lucky, you might have parents like mine. If you are REALLY lucky, you will find someone to send Good Mail. It is like the mail boxes version of blog comments. I just sent my own first batch of Good Mail. If I had been really on the ball I would have sent it LAST week and had the recipients comment on it. I am not that organized. I didn’t spend a lot of money and it didn’t take that much time, but it was really fun to think about some people in my life that I have been meaning to touch base with. I wrote them each a little note, put in a little treat and off they went. I hope that when they get it, they will get that same little thrill. I hope that they will know how much their friendships mean to me and help me to remember to be playful, humble, responsible or kind. I hope that they will then send some Good Mail of their own. It is a great way to spread the love. Couldn’t we all use a little more love?

Here is a sneak peek of my outgoing Good Mail. Coming to a mailbox near you.

Rock-Climbing Party Invitations

Maude's birthday party invitations came out just right. It turns out Maude is a natural and excellent and fearless rock climber. And there can't possibly be a better time to show-off than your birthday party, when the focus is supposed to be all about you anyway. So Maude's birthday will be hosted by the local climbing gym this year.


I printed the invitations 3-up, length-wise on 8.5 x 11 paper, with party details on the back. I used some spare earthy sheets I had on hand, and one pink sheet for the girliest invitees. The invitations say: It would really rock if you came to Maude's birthday party. Invitee names were added with Sharpie.


The gym requires waivers, so I printed those on yellow sheets taken from a legal pad. I thought that was a cute touch (the legal on legal paper) and practical for two reasons: 1) it will stand out from general papers and hopefully won't get lost, and 2) when I went to print the waivers, I was out of regular paper.


The waivers were folded in thirds, stacked underneath the invitation strips, and then attached to rocks (gathered in the backyard) with some twine we use for yardwork. Since most invitees live within walking distance from our house, delivery should be a cinch.

Petit Collage — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I tend to be wordy, both in real life and these posts. I guess I have a lot to say. This is a short one though. I adore these collages.

Couldn’t you just see these in a room for a baby, a child or even a teenager? They just feel simple and clean and bright. They combine the right amount of whimsy and retro chic.

Happy Birthday Benjamin Blair

Today is my husband's birthday. He is 34.

One of the things I love best about Ben Blair is that he only wishes good things for everyone he knows. This seems like it would be a common attribute among most people, but strangely it's not. In my experience, people often react to good news for their friends as if it's bad news for themselves. As if a success for you equals failure for me. But not Ben Blair. He totally gets that there is enough happiness and good out there for everybody.

He's so fun to share good news with because he's so happy to hear it and so sure that you deserve every bit of happiness you're receiving. If you were to win a major award, and you told Ben Blair, I swear he'd feel the same amount of happiness as if he'd won the prize himself. He would call friends and family to share the news: Hey! My friend (who you don't know and may never have heard of) just won a major award! He would walk around all day or all week on cloud nine. He would genuinely be delighted for you and not feel even a smidgen of envy. He'd just be so glad your hard work was being recognized.

That's just one of the many, many things* I love about Ben Blair.

Two excellent pictures of Ben and Oscar:
from November 2005 by Liz Fuller and
from last Saturday by Ryan Wright.


*Plus also he does a mad dolly.

Ask Design Mom: Kids Toy Storage

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hello Gabrielle, I just discovered your blog and thought – who better to ask this question? Do you know of any good resources for attractive, contemporary but not too pricey kids toy storage? It could be either a toy chest or a small bookshelf unit. I’ve checked all the usual places: Target, Pottery Barn, Land of Nod. I haven’t found anything I really like. I found a really cool toy box on Spacify (the Fuji) – but it costs $420 – more than I can afford to spend on a kids toy box. Any ideas??? Thanks so much! Micaela

Design Mom Answer:
Hi Micaela. Good-looking affordable storage is a tough one. The short answer for affordable, good-looking furniture is (always) Ikea. They have a dozen options either adaptable for toy storage or made specifically for toy storage. I love this paintable/stainable option:


Also, thanks for the link to Spacify — new to me and looks like it has some good stuff. I couldn't find the Fuji toy box you referenced, but I thought this storage was interesting, available in white or natural for under $90:


I'm digging this translucent storage cube (only $40!) from the Container Store. A few of these set strategically around a playroom could be great.


When checking out the usual sources, don't forget PBTeen. Their locker storage makes for good toy organization:


I think I just found the Fuji storage at Sparkability. I can see why you like it — it's gorgeous. Their P'kolino Kubes are also fantastic and more affordable.


If you're up for a project I would take inspiration from this picture:


I posted about adapting a set-up like this for my own kids here. I can see from your blog, Micaela, that you're a green-conscience mother and this kind of flexible set-up, using and repurposing many found materials, might be perfect.

Design Mom Readers, what are your best affordable toy storage solutions?

Girls Night Out

Everyone has a story about wetting the bed as a senior in high school while sleeping in the same bed as two best friends, right? Read mine at NY Metro Parent's Blog.

pic from Music and Lyrics

Kids Clothes — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

I was going to mix it up a bit, but I am going to stick with the clothing theme for one more day. Tomorrow I am going to move on to some other fun things, but today I am going to share my secret weapons in children’s clothes. No matter how you choose to dress your children, we all want a few of the same things; comfort, price and durability. It doesn’t matter if you have a hipster baby or a girly girl.

My quest started when my daughter Lulu was about three years old. She was very tall for her age and had already outgrown the baby sections at the usual mall stores. I just wanted her to have clothes that fit, but kept her looking like a little girl, not a Bratz doll. I started to spend a lot of time in Naartjie (pronounced Nar-CHEE). The clothes are cute and unique and I love the mix and match patterns. Lulu is a girly girl and pretty much only wears dresses. It was a challenge to find clothes that were appropriate for school and play but helped keep her modest as well. The big appeal for me was that she can wear pants under most of the dresses and skirts. It is kind of a mix and match / layering style, this held large appeal for her because she could choose her own clothes and they almost always worked. Naartjie is a South African company that is starting to break ground in the US. In the four years that I have been shopping here, it has been my experience that the winter collections are fine, but nothing spectacular. The spring and summer stuff make me spend my entire clothing budget in one trip. Every spring they have a version of this dress and it is my all time favorite. It is airy and light and it looks great with or without pants. The first time Lulu saw it she declared it “the perfect dress to dance in”. I think it is the perfect twirling dress. One year they didn’t have it and so many people complained they made it part of their basics. I pass on my kids clothes and the first season of Naartjie that I ever bought is currently on its 4th child and STILL looks great.


Lulu models her favorite dress from last spring. She said she wanted to look “strong”. We have these pants in every color and they go under everything. When she doesn’t feel like wearing pants, she wears her Monkey Bar Buddies.


I lucked into a clearance sale of these basics a few weeks ago. Nori now has a whole drawer full of pink, orange, blue and cream. This one is my favorite outfits because I think it looks so pretty against her dark skin and hair.

Pros: the clothes are super soft and can wash and wear. There is lots of attention to detail and sweet touches on the collars and cuffs. The mix and match colors stay the same from season to season, so you can match clothes from one year to the next — this makes them ideal for hand-me-downs. Their “basics” are always 2 for 20$, you can get a lot of clothes for your money. They have GREAT sales, often clothes are marked down to 4.99$ or 6.99$.

Cons: the boy stuff is well made and looks good, but not too different than what you will find other places. The biggest con is that these clothes look MUCH better on than in the pictures. Also, in the stores and on the website the models usually have about 3 more layers than I would put on my kids. So, mentally take away a few layers and picture it on a body. I PROMISE you won’t be disappointed (check out their gallery for proof). Another con is the lack of stores. They are growing, but they are mostly in the West (but you East Coasters have H&M Kids so it evens out). The order process from the website is a little long, but worth it.

My sister Cyndi’s boys always looked so comfy and put together as babies. You won’t find a dump truck or dinosaur in her closets. It is fauxhawks and hipster gear all the way. Her secret weapon for babies is Zutano. These are clothes that are soft enough to sleep in, but look great for the day time too. You pick a color palate that you like and the website will show you all the patterns and colors that match it. Then, choose your body style and you are set. I loved that they have especially cute things for boys. It seems that with boys, you can have the option of cutesy stuff or t-shirts and cargos. This is a great middle ground.


My nephew Thomas was wearing this Zutano outfit today. I made him stop eating grass long enough for me to take a picture. How cute is this?

What are you secret weapons? I want to hear especially from the mamma’s of well dressed boys. I am not sure what to do for bigger kids since Zutano really is geared for babies and young toddlers. My two year old son Jacob lives in t shirts and cords. I am this close to buying a shirt with Elmo on it just to shake things up a bit.

P.S. Check out Mini Boden if you didn’t yesterday. I have a few of the things from the kids section and have been really happy. Their summer stuff is cute, but it is the winter/fall stuff that is extra special. Several commenters said they have kids stuff and are also pleased. Order the catalogue because there is much more stuff in there than on the website. This applies to the adult stuff and the kids stuff. The swimsuits for everyone are awesome!!!

Copper Doorbell Covers

How great would it be to have your home in such finished form that you could concentrate on adding lovely details like these? Available from Flopping Fish.



via design*sponge for h&g

Clothes — by Guest Mom Rebecca Bingham

Let’s kick off this week with fashion, shall we?

I don’t pretend to be the height of fashion. I am not wearing Mom Jeans or anything like that, but I am not exactly the poster child for Anthropologie either. I also have curves. Big ones. It can be a challenge to find clothes that will stand up to the numerous washings, flatter my body type and help me look fashionable and hip but also age appropriate. They also can’t cost eleventy million dollars. Otherwise when my son paints them with Easter Egg dye, I will cry. I am pretty sure that I am not the only Design Mom reader with the same challenge. Am I?

Enter Boden. Have you discovered this yet? This was a happy accident. I am a huge fan of catalogues. I love, love, love them. Apparently, when you order things from catalogues you get put on a list and then you get MORE catalogues. Mostly they are things that I would never buy and they go in the pile for Lulu to cut up and make artwork out of. Occasionally you get a gem. One special day, the Boden book showed up at my door. It only took about three pages to know that I had a new best friend.

Doesn’t every woman want the perfect shirt?


This dress?


Or this coat?


Don’t forget this


This,


Or this.


And I didn’t even get to the shoes and handbags yet. I don’t know who this Johnny Boden is or why he makes such awesome clothes, but I want to invite him over for dinner and offer to baby-sit his perfectly dressed kids. Does any one else have catalogue that you love? Any other secret gems out there?

Happy Birthday to Maude

Yesterday, Maude turned 8. She was only 2 — and the youngest — when we moved to New York and it is amazing to see her so grown-up and taking the role of second mom to her younger siblings.

Because events that occur early in the month tend to sneak up on me, I've scheduled Maude's birthday party festivites to happen in a couple of weeks. So yesterday we just celebrated as a family.

Birthdays at our house start with breakfast in bed. Maude picked the menu: scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles, strawberries with whip cream and milk. In the evening, we had her favorite dinner and then put candles in strawberry shortcake and opened presents. Maude was delighted with her day — the highlight seemed to be the yoga mat she received. In fact, it is 6:15 am and she is upstairs now offering a kids yoga class to her brothers and sisters.

My Husband's favorite part was the strawberry shortcake. It was yummy. I used my friend Heidi's idea: make a regular white cake mix, but add a cup of sourcream before your blend it up, then bake small individual cakes in pretty shapes. When the cakes are done, Heidi adds a thin milk/powdered sugar/vanilla/butter glaze. Each guest receives their own little cake and she serves berries and fresh whip cream on the side. The cakes were really pretty.

I'd been wanting to make these little cakes for awhile and finally picked up a cute pan at Target. My pan isn't any of the ones featured. It's by Wilton and it's available in Target's Easter display. It's a pan with 6 cakes in 3 different flower patterns. I couldn't find a picture or source of mine online, but there are lots of other cute mini-cake pans available.

Welcome to Rebecca Bingham!

I love Rebecca! And I just know you will too. She's smart and creative and kind. Avid bloggers may know her as Bek from Ignore the Crazy. She leaves the best comments — thoughtful and full of information. And she's the ultimate connector. She knows everybody and makes introductions freely. Rebecca sincerely wishes success and happiness to every person she comes in contact with. She is a positive force for good in every way.

Rebecca was asked to write a bio for one of the (many) worthy organizations she's involved with, and lucky for us, she adapted it for her stint here at Design Mom. So, in her own excellent words:

I have to say that I was a bit surprised when Design Mom asked me to guest blog. You may have noticed a trend with her other guest posters. They are very talented. I am not the mom that has started her own business or is a trendsetting dresser. I don’t paint or sew or organize things. I don’t reproduce the front cover of Pottery Barn kids in my home with a can of paint, elbow grease and some furniture I found at a garage sale. I am FRIENDS with those people. My role is more of the appreciative audience. I am the consumer. Without people like me in the world, there wouldn’t be much income for the rest of you mega talented and fabulous women. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to bring to the table though.

When I am asked to describe myself I immediately picture those chocolate oranges that you see in the grocery store during the holidays. You know, the kind that you crack to make each “slice” come apart? I am a chocolate orange. I feel like there are so many seemingly contradictory slices of me that somehow manage to coexist (sometimes more peacefully than others). First and foremost, I am a mother. I get to mother three very different, very bright and VERY attractive children (if I do say so). This is the slice that takes up most of my time and energy these days. The mommy slice works very hard to keep the house relatively clean and get everyone where they need to be at approximately the time they need to be there. In another universe, this part of me would also feed the kids homemade whole wheat pancakes and organic milk for breakfast every day, but seriously, who has time for that? My kids probably watch too much TV and have repeatedly declared their love and devotion to hot dogs and Mac and Cheese (the orange stuff, not the homemade kind). This offends the gourmet cook slice of me, but that is another story.

Two of our children joined our family through adoption, so we also have the adoption slice and the trans-racial family slice of me. That slice spends A LOT of time answering questions by well meaning, but often rude, strangers about whether my children were born addicted to drugs (no, were yours?) and if I plan on having any more “real” children (as opposed to the fake ones that currently keep me so busy) and if I am worried that their real mom will kidnap them (a thousand times NO). Please never do this. EVER! Ooops, that last part was from the angry slice that I usually try and keep a lid on.

Another slice is the part of me that wants to save the world. I feel so very strongly about my obligation to leave this world better than I found it. I stay actively involved with several charities and manage a few micro-loan projects in Africa. I am passionate about lending my voice and my talents to aid those that have one. I feel a very deep sense of obligation to the women and children of the world that need voices like mine. We have the ability to make changes. This is the part of me that is a fan of soapboxes and making long speeches. I struggle to find the balance between doing what is right for MY kids and doing what I can for the world’s kids. I take it day by day.

I can’t end before I mention the parts of me that are just for fun. These are the things that just make me happy. These things don’t make me feel that I am a wife or a mother or an activist or a volunteer. These are the things that make me feel like Rebecca. I pull these out when I need to recharge the batteries and indulge in a little bit of selfishness with my time and energy. I will watch almost any documentary on PBS and am nerdy enough to get excited when I see a new one appear on my DVR. I am a fan of TV in general and think there is something to be said for mind candy and something to listen to when I exercise (or not exercise). I am also a passionate cook. I find it relaxing and fun. I also love to eat, so that is handy.

I also love Design Mom (shameless plug). I strive to create beauty and order in my home and in my world. I want my children to see their home as a safe place that reflects who we are. I may not be able to come up with the ideas, but I can be inspired by those of you that do. I need all the help that I can get. I love that each day brings me a new thing to think about or treasure. It keeps me on my toes and inspires me to make my home and my life a more beautiful and harmonious place. We should never underestimate the value of that.
____________

Hooray for Rebecca!! We're so glad you're here!

Giveaway Winner: Nora Fleming Platter & Minis

The winner of the Nora Fleming Platter & Minis is:

Kristi who said... "How incredibly adorable! What fun little add-ons!" at 11:08 AM on Friday.

Congratulations, Kristi! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to Nora Fleming. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — more Giveaways ahead. Hooray for Giveaways!

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

White Skirts

It's pouring, pouring, pouring rain today. I think (hope) it's going to wash away all the gray, sad, ice and snow. My thoughts are turning toward spring.

I'm very much craving a white skirt. I love both of these outfits.

Reminder: Giveaway and Poll

Just a quick reminder: You have until tonight (Friday) at midnight to enter the Nora Fleming Serving Platter Giveaway and to vote in the Babysitting Poll.

kisses, Design Mom


image from Getty

Cake Pulls

Apparently there is a (long-forgotten) tradition of pulling charms from Wedding cakes:

"Prior to her wedding, a bride would hide several sterling silver charms attached to satin ribbons within her wedding cake. Before she and the groom cut the first slice, her bridesmaids would each pull a charm as a special keepsake of the day. Each charm had a special meaning and foretold luck, romance, or good fortune. Cake pulls also are no longer hidden within the cake. Today, bakers place the sterling silver charms with only the ribbons showing under a plastic film that separates them from the bottom of the cake and protects the elaborately decorated confection."

I love this idea. We are in the midst of planning Maude's 8th birthday party, and this would be so great to do with her birthday cake. After the guests pull the ribbons, they could make charm bracelets for an activity.

My Charmed Life sells cake-pulling kits — and dozens and dozens of charms.

Ask Design Mom: Child's Playspace

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hi Design Mom, Love your blog. Love your advice and thinking and all your links too. Thanks for your help! I live in a city (San Diego) with my husband and 11 month old daughter. We live in an 1100 square foot condo and we have an alcove that was meant for a built-in deskm but I want to make it into a play/toy stash place for my daughter, but don't know where to begin. Thanks! Melissa

PS — Here is a picture of the space:


Design Mom Answer:
Oh Melissa, what a fun project! I love the idea of a small space set aside just for the kids. And the lower walls in the alcove will make it feel just their size. Perfect.

Since you live in San Diego, I'm assuming you have an Ikea near by. This is an ideal Ikea project. If it were my alcove, this is what I would do:


1) On the section of wall with the plugs, I would put a child-size table with 2 chairs. There are many, many cute versions of child-size tables available. At our house, we have two sets of this table. It's good looking and easy to paint. Our tables are painted a terrific shade of blue and our chairs are orange.


2) Against the wall where Elmo is, I would put a small bookshelf. Something with 3 shelves. It doesn't have to coordinate exactly with the table and chairs. I would fill these shelves with good-looking bins for toys, children's books, and a few good-looking classic toys for display. I like the shape of these shelves, and because they're raised off they floor, it's easier to keep the area clean.


3) To make the space feel really special, I would create a small series of framed-artwork to hang at kids-eye-level. This sounds more complicated than it is. Get six pre-made matching frames with pre-cut mats. You'll hang two on the wider sections of wall, and 1 on the shorter sections. Hang them all at the same height, so they create a visual line around the space. These frames are great, and they don't require a mat. I would use brightly-colored artwork to contrast with the frames if I went with these.


For artwork to put in the frames you've got several good options. Buy a spare copy of your favorite picture book and cut out 6 of your favorite images. Or find six happy, child-like postcards. Or have your kids create six masterpieces by their own hands. Or take images from an old calendar. Or use great close-up shots of your kids.


4) Along the section of the wall between the bookshelves and table, set a large basket or bin on the ground to collect bigger toys or awkward shapes. Big trucks, or bouncy balls, or stuffed animals. Maybe something like this.


5) On the ground, to help define the space, put a small area rug. I love this one. In fact, this would be a could piece to using as a color scheme for the space. (Artwork colors, furniture paint colors)

6) I don't mind a clean, neutral wall, but a coat of colorful, kid-friendly paint in the alcove would also be an easy way to help define the play area.

The whole thing could come together easily in a weekend, and your kids are sure to LOVE having their own space. Because I've picked items from Ikea, I've given the space a more contemporary feel. But if your taste runs more traditional, you could implement the same plan, but just pick our more traditional furniture, bins and frames. I hope that helps, Melissa!

Design Mom Readers, if this were your space, what would you do?

Random Giveaway: Nora Fleming Serving Platter

Today's very generous Giveaway makes me happy. I don't know if you've discovered Nora Fleming yet, but you're about to. Today's Giveaway winner will win A LARGE RECTANGLE PLATTER with SIX POPULAR MINIS.— all created by the ceramic artists at Nora Fleming.
Umm. Minis?




Yes. Minis. The extra-special thing about Nora Fleming serving ware is that is comes with interchangeable "minis" to turn your serving platter into a birthday/holiday/picnic/springtime/special day platter.

This is how it goes down at Nora Fleming. First, you pick one of their good-looking serving pieces. My favorites are the ramekin, the cake platter and the rectangle platter. (I love the dot pattern detailing.) Next, you pick from dozens of minis — all completely interchangeable. Like that sweet little bird in the picture above. And the friendly Mr. Snowman below.






There's a mini for every occaision. And more choices every year. In fact, you can even get a sneak preview of the newest minis, available mid-March. Along with the rectangle platter, today's winner will receive these six minis:



What a smart gift your mom/mother-in-law/sister. You can pick out the perfect serving piece for her, then use any good excuse to give her more minis. Birthday? Mother's Day? Add a mini to her collection. Bad hair day? Nothing that a mini can't fix.

Nora Napientek, the mother of a 2yr old and 4 yr old, is the ceramic artist behind Nora Fleming. She used to own a “paint your own pottery” shop in Naperville, IL. One day it was quiet and she began to drill holes in plates and design little figures to fit in the hole on the rim. A bluebird, a pumpkin, a birthday cake...and so on. The ideas just starting flowing from there — different shape platters, different "minis”. All geared around simplifying the art of entertaining.

Here's to being in the right place at the right time with ceramics and a drill.

Thank you Nora Fleming!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Friday, March 2nd 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Book of the Week: Polka Bats and Octupus Slacks

My super-stylish friend, Audrey, introduced my kids to Calef Brown's work when she gifted us 4 of this books. Each is well-loved at our house, but today I'm going to feature Polka Bats and Octupus Slacks. Made up of 14 "stories" which are actually poems, you'll feel cooler just reading it.

One poem, Funky Snowman, is read by my husband in a kind-of hip-hop/beat box/DJ-speak manner:

Funky Snowman loves to dance.
You think he wouldn't have much chance,
Without two legs or even pants.
Does that stop Funky Snowman? No!

Turn up the music with the disco beat.
When you're in the groove you don't need feet.
Crowds come out and fill the street.
Kick it Funky Snowman!

The poem is great. My husband's performance is great. And I have the most wonderful memories of a 2-year-old Olive walking around the house repeating, "Kick it, Funky Snowman!"

The illustrations, also by Calef Brown, are silly, and folk-arty and very hip. This book is great for lots of ages — we've even given it as a birthday gift for grown-ups. One reviewer described it as "A must for uncles who want to be in the know." I fully agree.

Widely available.

Ask Design Mom: Hip Shower Curtain

Remember those lovely ArtGoodies block print towels? Well, Lisa, the artist behind the towels sent in an Ask-Design-Mom question:
I've been on the prowl for a hip shower curtain. I wouldn't even mind if there was partial clear vinyl (it would let more light into my dim shower) as long as the design was modern enough. Any ideas would be great. Thanks again! Lisa

Design Mom Answer:
Excellent question, Lisa. I've done one post on shower curtains previously, but it was featuring curtains that would fit in a traditional, classic bathroom. Something modern and hip is a whole different story. I have no secret sources, but I'll share my favorites with you from the usual suspects:


One of the happiest, light filtering, shower curtains on the market right now is the Ribbon Curtain in warms or cools from Garnet Hill, (also pictured above). Their Yo-Yo curtain is hip as well.


Wrapables has some good options. I like the Paisley Scarf, Bespoke, Chroma Works, Clematis, and Damask (in either red or blue).


Reliable Target has some lovely picks. I like Fern Burnout (hard to see in the pic, but white-on-white and very current), Pieced Nylon Stripe (in reds also), Thomas O'Brien Modern Blue, Kenjo Fabric, and Paisley Vinyl.


Painted Stripe by Martha Stewart Everyday

What about you, Dear Readers, any special sources on hip, modern shower curtains?