Last Minute Gift Idea: Housewarming Style

I know the blog name paints a pretty clear picture of my time management situation and no one really wants to hear me talk about how I can't find time for things like picking up last minute gifts for friends. But.. I'm going to say it anyway.

'Hopping' in the car for me includes but is not limited to feeding the baby right before leaving so she won't scream in the car seat she hates (often while walking through the house using my free arm to herd older child), packing snacks and the rest of the diaper bag, managing diaper and last minute potty stops, etc. then dressing and hauling two kids to the car who might otherwise still be in pajamas. All this to drag them to a store to shop for a gift for someone where they'll sit in a cart or stroller waiting for me to amuse them while I try to find the perfect item as fast as possible. Sound like fun? If it sounds familiar we both know the answer to that question!

Instead of the fun time described above, I chose to make a housewarming gift for a friend this morning and I think it's cuter than what I could've just picked up at the store!

I used a 5x7 frame without its matte, cut flower patterned scrapbook paper to fit, and applied a 'Home Sweet Home' sticker from the same package of stickers that I've been using for the projects around our house that I showed you here and here.

I made this framed Home Sweet Home 'print' very last minute using items I had on hand while the babes were still sleeping. Although it might seem like it should be easier to run out and pick up a gift last minute, making something from what I had at home actually saved me time and the results are (hopefully) a gift that stands out from others.

There may be days where all I can manage for a last minute gift is a bouquet of flowers but until then, I'm crafting one!

Puppy Dog Tails First Birthday Party

I started planning our boy's first birthday party when he was a newborn. We watched as our families and friends threw their children parties for many years before we were able to view one through the eyes of a child of our own so it felt like much more than just a birthday party to plan.

There are so many cute party ideas out there but I had trouble finding something that felt like it fit, most likely because an infant can't be very clear about their likes. Most days, the little one's favorite thing to do was watch our dog or play on his red and white gingham play mat. With only that to go on, my Puppy Dog Tails theme was born! Forget snakes and snails, this boy is all about cute and so was his party.



I love the red puppy dog tail hooks from Ikea that I knew would fit the party theme well and would be great to use as anchors on a 'look at my first twelve months' style banner.

Warning: This little gem of a project requires a year of advance planning and a commitment to a photo shoot at least once a month! I bought onesie number stickers and each month took a photo of him wearing one. It was a really special feature at the party for guests to look at and see just how much the baby changed in such a short time.
Can I have a favorite month? O.K., it was ten months.

The cake was one of my favorite parts of the party. My sister and I decorated it with enough fondant to dye our fingers blue and red. We molded the brown fondant into a little dog rump and made a pile of mud with chocolate frosting that looked like it had the dog's head buried inside of it. I crushed some oreos and sprinkled them on for dirt.

Here is a close up of the puppy tail on the top of the cake:

It wasn't perfect but it was about to meet with one year old hands!

For other decorations, my sister and I painted wooden puppy masks and the kids looked adorable posing for photos with them.

Bright paint cans were decorated with the puppy dog tails and filled with paw print glow lights and other small favors for the kids.

I used red dog bowls from the Dollar Tree with painted wooden bones to hold snacks. Kix and Cocoa Puffs cereal worked well for baby friendly snacks that looked like puppy food.

The birthday boy enjoyed the day and we are so glad that we could share it with family and friends. As a military family it isn't common to be close enough to home to have family there for special occasions and we were grateful that for this special day we did. 

Personalize a Nursery: Planes, Trains, and Trucks Banner

 It felt a little silly when we bought a house with four bedrooms even though it was just the two of us and Scout at the time. Scout doesn't realize that he is a dog and sleeps in our room so we ended up having what were basically three guest rooms. I filled one of them with office furniture, books, and crafting supplies and turned the closet into office supply storage. The two bedrooms that used to belong to the boy and girl that lived here before us were blue and purple. I started working full time before we even moved in so we put beds in those rooms and really didn't look at them again. We had no need for guest rooms anymore after military orders somehow stationed us in our hometown and our visiting family no longer needed to stay the night! Of course the hope, as always, was that the rooms would be for our own children but after so many years waiting we were never certain that was going to happen. Looking back I find it interesting that I didn't paint those rooms right away, like they still belonged to the little ones who had lived here before until mine was ready to move in.

Four months after we moved in, we were beyond any word that goes here when we found out we were going to have a baby. When we found out that we were having a boy I decided that I wanted to decorate his room in red, white, and khaki/beige. I know I've mentioned before how I love red. I just can't get enough of it. Part of the reason I got married in December was so that my wedding dress could be red and white. I really like the way touches of red work in a boy's nursery in place of blue and made up my mind as much as any pregnant mind can be made up that I would avoid using blue. The response when people shopped our registry for baby gifts was amusing because people really, REALLY want to buy something blue for a boy and there was not a single blue item on there!

We chose Benjamin Moore's Bleeker Beige for the wall color. It reminds me of a great pair of khakis that go with whatever shirt you are wearing. Decorating a room without using themes that can be overdone or common nursery colors and without spending a fortune required me to make my own wall hangings and repurpose others. I made the letter N shadowbox wall hanging with ribbon and scrapbook paper and had the red star already. I had a collection of Ikea Bastis hooks because I loved them as leash hangers and just because they are so adorable. I knew they would be fun to use for the banner hangers. Puppy dog tails in a boy's room. What could possibly be any cuter?!

I made the banner for the nursery using some of my favorite red and white gingham and thick white scrapbook papers. Our boy loves trains, planes, trucks, and helicopters so I'm glad I chose pictures of things that represent what he likes rather than hanging a banner that I saw for sale somewhere that was popular at the moment. He can enjoy looking at it from his crib now and it will look cute in his room over time as he grows into toddler and little boy styles. (Why do they have to do that?)
I used clip art for the truck, planes, and train, traced them onto the white scrapbook paper and then cut out and glued them to the gingham paper. I threaded white yarn through and hung both sides with the puppy dog tails. It was a quick project and I always intended to laminate or mod podge the paper to make it more durable.  I hung the banner under a monogram made from Pottery Barn Kids letter decals. For a long time the banner hung in the nursery like this:

Not too bad for a sleep deprived mom who admittedly struggled with time management to the point of eating in the shower. Almost a year went by and I realized it was time to get to work finishing it or the banner might be damaged when we move. I took thick poster board and cut backing triangles for each pennant. I used spray adhesive to attach them and then applied several coats of mod podge to make them stiff and durable. Here is the new banner:

 I love the sweet and personal touch that it gives the room and my little one loves to look at it. Above all, it is a good feeling to know that I made it just for him.

For the most part, I managed to keep the color blue out of the nursery, but this Noah's ark mobile is one of my favorite things in the room. I found and just fell in love with it at Mango Tree Imports, a fair trade retail store in Ballston Spa, NY.  It is bright, unique, perfect because my son's name is Noah, and I think it will continue to work in his room as he gets older without seeming too babyish. There is so much to look at on this mobile and it's so beautifully made, it steals the show. We like to spin it and watch as the animals fly out to the side like the swings ride at the fair.

There is a lot to be said for making sure items in a child's room have personal meaning and aren't just a trend or a hot at the moment theme. I'm sure there is going to come a day when he wants me to buy him Chuggington bedding or some other character related decor so I wasn't in a hurry to force any on him when he was still too young to tell the difference between the Very Hungry Caterpillar and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Hope you enjoyed this little nursery tour! If you made a banner for your little one, are they a "planes, trains, and trucks" baby or what items would represent them best?


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DIY Nursery Art

This was a VERY simple and quick project that adds such a nice touch to my son's nursery. We are big fans of red around here (his bathroom is red) and his nursery is beige, red, and white. I happened to have some red ribbon and the polka-dot patterned scrapbook paper on hand.

I find these shadowbox- type frames with doors at TJ Maxx and chose a white one for this project. They typically cost $14.99 but I've found them for even less on clearance. I have found that after a while, decorations for children's rooms all start to look the same to me. It can also be a challenge to find pieces for children's rooms that are bright red. This is a quick and easy way to add a personal touch and a custom look to a nursery.
Just a few snips of the scissors (and hot glue burned fingers) later, I had a cute and unique piece of nursery decor.

 I used hot glue to attach the ribbon border. The shadowboxes are usually sold with stick pins so I used them to attach the polka dot scrapbook paper to the background and then glued the 'N' to the paper. Done! There are a few bumps in the ribbon- it's not perfect, but I love its handmade look and that it doesn't look like mass produced kid art!

  

Like I said, it was a simple project! Let's face it, the simpler my projects are, the lower the chances I'll have to eat in the shower.