Baby name over crib

Tracy at Petite Suites painted this very stylish baby name over the crib. I love the uniqueness of the diamond shape with the letters. Diamond shapes are not that hard to paint. To finish up the name - order decals in the letters and color you need. Decals are not only easy to apply, but make your project look spectacular.

Girls Garden Room

Great attention to detail and a lot of love went into this beautiful garden bedroom. The garden scene on the wall is such a perfect compliment to this entire bedroom. The fabric on the dressing table coordinates with the bedding which is so lush and inviting. This is one lucky little girl. Remember it's all in the details! Designed by Betty J Weir Interiors.

Wednesdays - What Color is That??

It's hard not to be impressed by the colors pink and brown - such a favorite color combo. Kristin DeMarco from Gifted Notions Design Studio created this darling nursery. This room was designed for a fantastic couple expecting their first baby girl. They live in a very contemporary home so they wanted a nursery to reflect their style. The bedding was the inspiration for the warm wall color and custom glider. The chandelier by Maura Daniels is the icing on the cake!
Paint color is Swing Brown by Sherman Williams. Bedding is by Dwell Studios. Rug can be purchased here at Design Dazzle. To view more photos of this room click here.

Hair Bow Holders

When my girls were little I painted a unique hair bow holder, it was shaped like a dolls head with curly raffia hair to clip the hair bows too. It was very cute - but now that I look back it's quite dated. Well things have changed.....check out these up-to-date and too cute hair bow holders. It's like having a nice piece of art do double-duty. Created by Erika Vazzana - to see more of her creations go to The End Design.

Shelving Ideas

Who would have thought to use a branch to make a shelf? This could be such a fun idea in certain rooms such as a fairy room, ladybug room, garden room, bugs, etc... Let your imagination have fun and create your own shelf. Images from wokmedia.com

Cinderella Princess Bed

If you can dream it, they can build it. Sweet Dream Children's Interiors is a full-service, custom children's furniture company. They specialize in unique, one-of-a-kind theme beds and designed this Princess Palace bed for a VIP client. JoAnn Means, the owner of Sweet Dream, observes, “The most popular and unique theme bed we currently make is our princess castle bed. This set is a beautifully detailed creation that we customize for each little girl. Special features like built-in drawers, bench seats and shelves in the “towers” on either side of the bed provide plenty of storage for clothing as well as ways to display personal treasures. We can even build hidden storage drawers into the stairs."
Check out the the grand stairway leading to the balcony, pink turrets and hand turned spindles - all these details make this an over the top princess bed! Love the curved slide, just imagine your little princess sliding down that in her ball gown - cute! At Sweet Dream Beds...the sky is the limit, and the possibilities are endless. To view more custom beds - sweetdreambed.com

Great Idea - Bulletin Board Project

BEFORE:

AFTER:
A couple coats of pink spray paint (Rust-Oleum's Sweet Pea) fabric, ribbon and a little tweaking here and there -make for a functional bulletin board. Alana at Gray Matters crafted this darling bulletin board - check out more instructions at gray matters blog - graymattersmd.blogspot.com

Wednesdays - What Color is That??

Isn't this the coolest room ever?? Designed by Wilshire Design Group and murals painted by Leah Watson. This is NASCAR fan heaven! Wall paint color is Monarch Foggy London - Millennium Collection. A roll-up garage door is used as the headboard for the bed. Racing logo was painted using an overhead projector and a steady hand. For more photos of this room check out our boys rooms gallery.

Girls Room on The Bachelor

Check out this hot pink girls room that was shown on the tv show "The Bachelor" - warning - these images aren't the best. The cast of women share bedrooms and whoever came up with this room was thinking hot pink!! Love the clever idea of the silhouettes on the headboard. Three beds are lined up on one wall with three matching headboards. Want a similar color in a girls or teen room? Try Vivacious Pink #6850 Sherwin Williams or Pink Moment #6857 Sherwin Williams - pink moment is more of a warm color pink. The walls and headboard frame are all of the same color pink. The inside of the headboard looks to be a very pale pink, with the silhouette painted the same color as the walls. Love it!! This room was shown on week 3 of The Bachelor.

Stuffed Animal Couch

Not sure what to do with all those stuffed animals your child has collected. Here's an idea - a stuffed animal couch. This couch is displayed at Harrod's - not sure if it is for sale - but a fun couch. Just wondering how comfortable this couch is???? Photo provided by memimenam

Wednesdays - What Color is That??

Deciding what color to paint a room is a daunting and confusing process. Isn't it much easier to choose a paint color based on what you have already seen painted in a room? So to help with this task - we are introducing "What Color is That??" We will be posting photos of kids rooms and providing the name and brand of the paint that was used to paint the room. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that painting your room the exact color as seen in the photo will make it look exactly like that room - but it will give you a starting point. There are so many factors that come into play with colors - lighting, room size, ceiling height, floor color, is the room facing north or south, etc? Also, on-screen color representations may vary from actual paint colors. Every computer monitor will display these colors differently - but remember it's a start in the right direction.

This surf shack room is painted with Benjamin Moore Swiss Blue 1B-815 paint. Check out more photos of this room here.

DIY project - How to make a silhouette of your child

I remember going to Disneyland and seeing the silhouette artist cutting out these fine, detailed profiles with small sharp scissors. I wish I would have had my kids silhouettes done when they were little. Silhouettes were very popular in the 1800's and were an inexpensive way to have a loved ones portrait done. The invention of the camera ended the popularity of them. But they have been making a comeback in the last few years. I’ve included instructions below on how to make your own silhouette. This art is perfect for a child’s room or makes a great gift.

With the light behind your child – have them stand at a 45 degree angle to you. Have someone stand in front of them looking at the child – so that you can take a photo of the child from their side profile. Take several photos – the nose, lips, hair and chin are important – you can also include the top of the shoulders.
Print your photos onto paper and adjust the contrast – you want a good outline. If you are needing an oversized silhouette for a focal point on a wall, Kinko's is a great place for having oversized pieces printed on blueprint paper. These copies are 36” in size and are a little pricey - but would be a really cool project for a wall in a playroom or kids room.

Instructions to make a fabric silhouette:
Choose suede, felt or a fabric that does not ravel for the silhouette. Iron Heat N’ Bond fusible adhesive fabric onto the fabric that you will be using for the silhouette. Do not remove the paper backing from the Heat N’ Bond. Place photo on top of Heat N’ Bond paper backing and trace the profile of the subject with a pencil or pen. Cut the traced silhouette – it’s easier to move the fabric, not the scissors, as you cut. Peel off the paper backing from the Heat N’ Bond. Voila, you have your silhouette! Carefully place the silhouette to where you would like it positioned on your background fabric. Spray adhesive works great to temporarily affix it to the position you prefer. With fabric side up press silhouette with a dry hot iron, fusing the silhouette to the fabric. Heat N’ Bond can be purchased at most fabric or craft stores.

Instructions to make a paper silhouette:
Trace the profile onto black paper or for a different effect use wallpaper. Cut out the traced silhouette – it’s easier to move the paper, not the scissors, as you cut.. Position the cut out onto the background paper, most use white as the background. Apply glue to the back of the silhouette, cover the entire back surface to the edge.

Not interested in doing this yourself? Cutouts by Karl does fabulous custom silhouettes from your photos. Photo images by Cutouts by Karl.

Railroad Crossing Coat Rack

All aboard! This unique coat rack is a perfect addition to a little boys room. We're having a sale on this item until January 29th. Regularly priced at $159 on sale for $129 and FREE shipping. For more details and to order click here.

Transportation Table and Chairs

We are having a SALE on this bright colorful transportation table. Regularly $189 on sale for $129 with FREE shipping! This table is perfect for 2-6 year olds. Supplies are limited - for more details and to order click here.

Design Plan Pink Brown Nursery

This pink and brown nursery design plan was designed by Bryn. The background color is Surf paint color by Martha Stewart/Valspar. To view the enlarged design plan details and links click here. Thanks Bryn for such a fun design plan love your choices. To have a design plan/idea board made for you -check out her blog. brynalexandra.blosgpot.com

Busy mom? Need to get organized? This is the second year I've been using the Mom Agenda and I really love it. Mom Agenda is a day planner geared for moms to keep the family organized a week at a glance. Created for moms by moms.Mom Agenda is offering a New Years special - these planners are 20 - 40% off - so hurry!!!


Click on the above link to see all the various styles and colors of day planners and more! Unique week-at-a-view format with space for mom and up to four children. Features monthly views too. Featuring the momEssentials pamphlet that can be removed and reused from year to year.
5 stylish, stain-resistant colors: Fuchsia, Marine (New), Chocolate, Lime, and Leopard (New).

This huge wall decal sure brightens up this kids room. These decals are priced at $160 and are made in Australia (not sure what the shipping would cost). If you prefer to spend about $15, Sherwin Williams paint store has colors-to-go for $5 each. With white walls as a background you would need to purchase 3 colors and use a overhead projector and a drawing on a transparency. One year I used a birthday card and copied it onto a transparency sheet and used the overhead projector - perfect for art challenged people like me. This simple project would take 3-4 hours with drying time in between.
I like the addition of the oars to the bedroom. But I know in my sons room these would have become weapons! Hopefully these are attached to the wall:) More decals here.

Here's to a wonderful and happy 2009.

This boys room is very simple but yet makes a statement. A camouflage wall mural works great for the focal point wall. The simple accents work with the life ring headboard, oar for a coat/hat rack and nautical lighting. Love the bed - very simple boat bed. Here is a bed that would work well in a nautical room - toddler sized boat bed.