DIY Striped Straw Necklaces

August 22, 2014

Post by Christina of Just Call Me Chris

When I was a kid, my sister and I used to make beads like this out of magazine pages. We made hundreds of paper beads. It was my goal not to let any magazine ever go wasted again. I bet my mom loved having bags of those paper beads all over the house. Twenty-some-odd years later, I’m still making things… so I guess nothing really changes.

When I remembered all the fun I had making those beads, I thought it might be fun to do a similar project with my four-year-old. She’s not quite old enough to make paper beads on her own yet, so we took a shortcut by using paper straws as our beads. The nice folks at Party Pail sent over some straws for us to use in our craft project. I love the combination of thin and thick stripes on their straws. We combined the straws with some colorful wooden beads and got to work.

Want to make some necklaces of your own? You probably have most everything you need hanging around the house. Yarn, tape (not pictured), scissors (also not pictured), wooden beads, a handful of striped straws (Party Pail gave us the orange, pink and green ones for this project), and a clip of some sort (or anything else you can attach to the end of the yard to keep the beads from falling off).

Step 1: Cut up the striped straws. I didn’t measure exactly, but each straw made about 10 beads.

Step 2: Tape one end of the yarn like the end of a shoelace. This makes threading easier for small fingers. Next, attach the clip to the opposite end of the yarn to keep beads from sliding off while you’re working.

Step 3: Start stringing your necklace. Charlotte loved making up different patterns and she named each design. One was called “cotton candy” another was “pink lemonade” and one was the “unicorn necklace,” of course. Once you’re done beading the necklace, tie the ends together with a square knot, and cut off all but about .5″ excess yarn. You can easily tuck the ends into one of the straws to hide them.

That’s it. Now throw on a necklace (or six) and hit the town. We made necklaces for our stuffed animals, for our friends and neighbors and we still have plenty of supplies to pull out for our next play date.

Christina Williams is a blogger and graphic designer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. She’s a night owl and a bookworm, as well as a mother to three children ranging in age from two to eight. She shares her latest DIY and design projects along with her adventures in parenting on her blog, Just Call Me Chris.

Bold & Blue Kids Study Space

August 21, 2014

Post by Rachel Shingleton, blogger and product designer at Pencil Shavings Studio

Let’s get ready for back to school with a totally bold and fresh approach to study spaces for your little student. I love a gorgeous cobalt blue – it pairs well with so many different colors! This space is grounded with a fun stripe rug that pulls in all the colors echoed throughout the rest of the room. And it’s got plenty of pop with the funky accessories and tongue-in-cheek balloon animal bookend. Fallen in love with the desk below? It’s 15% off until midnight August, 25.

Balloon Animal Bookend / Blue Campaign Desk – 15% off till Aug 25 / Now You See It Acrylic Desk Chair / Hues You Can Use Orange Art Print / Perfect Pitch Storage Caddy / Bold Stripe Rug / Toucan Pillow / Stripes Around the Cube Bin

Designer Rachel Shingleton never met a color she didn’t love. At Pencil Shavings Studio, she writes about how to integrate color and style into interiors, fashion, and decor. She also designs a line of paper goods, home decor, and tech goods for her shop. Named Better Homes & Garden’s Editor’s choice for top decor blog, she love helping people find a way to bring color and cheer into their everyday lives.

Try This Fall Trend: Boys’ Adventure

August 20, 2014

Written by Anna Passadori, Nod’s resident trend expert

For this fall trend ‘boys’ adventure’ room I wanted to create a place where a child’s interests and hobbies can shine, in a tasteful way that parents can live with. The basis of the look is clean, modern with an urban preppy vibe. Other inspiration comes from boys favorite hobbies such as dinosaurs, science or transportation. The idea is to create a clean, modern space that highlights your child’s toys and collections as pieces of art.

The simplicity of this room allows the toy collection to shine:

Boy's Adventure: Toy Collection [image]

Add in crisp preppy colors such as navy, red and green:

Boys' Adventure: Crips Preppy Colors [image]

The clean modern lines in this room create an impactful, vibrant space:

[image]

Create an artful display of their favorite toys. Paying attention to scale and color, use repetition to create a visually pleasing presentation:

[image 1 / 2]

Now, try it yourself!

Chalk Around the World Globe / Metal Letter / Electron Pendant Lamp / Prehistoric Dinosaur Wall Hooks / Pitch Perfect Storage Caddy / New School Desk with Bench / Cinema Floor Lamp / Green Tailored Rug / Red Stack Up Metal Bin

For more inspiration, click here!

Anna develops and designs exclusive product for The Land of Nod. She hails from the west coast and has traveled the world to source product. She loves anything Marc Jacobs, Sofia Coppola or stripes! (So, if anyone can get a photo of Sofia Coppola wearing a striped outfit by Marc Jacobs, please send it along.)

Almond Butter Banana Smoothie

August 19, 2014

Post by Rebecca of Not-So-SAHM

I am loving our lack of schedule this summer, but I’m finding that it’s creating difficulty at breakfast. Without the need to get dressed and head to school (and with the luxury of having snacks available at home), the kids have been skimping on breakfast and then asking for snacks 20 minutes after I’ve cleared the table. It’s driving me a bit nuts, but this almond butter banana smoothie has been a great way to get some filling protein in them fast. It’s so creamy, it’s almost like a milkshake. Click over to Not-So-SAHM for the full recipe!

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC. Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.

Lately Lily Joins Us For Camp Nod

August 18, 2014

It’s no secret we are BIG fans of Lately Lily (have you checked out our new exclusive bedding we carry?!).

So we were so excited to have Lately Lily illustrator Micah Player in our South Coast Plaza store to read their brand new picture book, “Adventures of a Traveling Girl.” Afterward, Micah gave the kids a special drawing lesson on how to draw Lily.

Such incredible drawings came out of the art lesson. Check them out, and thanks so much to the entire Lately Lily team for this very special in-store event during Camp Nod!

Artisanal Toast for Kids

August 15, 2014

Post by Michelle Sterling of Avery and Augustine

I’ve been watching the artisanal toast trend gain momentum over the last year and have been wanting to give it a try. One Saturday, I made three versions for Avery to snack on while doing some reading in her bean bag chair. All on thick-cut brioche from a local bakery, version one was obsidian blackberry jam + French butter, version two was royal blenheim apricot jam + quark and version three was coconut jam + French butter. Avery had no favorites in particular—she loved them all! She agreed that books and toast made a perfect afternoon break. (And some nice downtime for the rest of the household!)

Need more tasty recipes and delicious bites? Check out our Let’s Eat Pinterest Board.

Post by Michelle Sterling of Avery and Augustine. You can see her work and read about her two young children and their first forays in cooking, art and everything in between at Avery and Augustine.

Land of Nod Locations Host Camp Nod

August 14, 2014

Back in July, we held our 2^nd annual Camp Nod week at The Land of Nod stores. Camp Nod was a week full of creative events for the kiddos to participate in. A camp where you can create arts and crafts projects, and then have fun playing with Nod toys in the store afterwards? I’d say it was a hit! We wanted to share a few of the craft events we hosted with our Honest to Nod readers, so you all can try these fun activities at home!

Garden Day
We provided 3″ terra cotta chalkboard planters, chalk, soil, and Zinnia seeds for the campers. At the beginning of the event, we asked each camp attendee to decorate their planter with chalk. Some drew their name, a design, or some just enjoyed some minimalism. The best part about this is that they can always redecorate their planter for a future activity. After decorating, we helped them fill their pots with soil and handed each of them three Zinnia seeds to tuck into the soil. We loved watching them “garden!”

Make Your Own Sock Puppet
We provided the campers with kid-sized tube socks and plenty of fun supplies like feathers, fabric markers, pipe cleaners, pom poms, felt sheets, googly eyes, and craft glue dots. The crafty glue dots made this activity less messy, and the kids had so much fun creating their sock puppet masterpieces.

And afterwards, our What’s that Stand For was a perfect stage for the campers to play with their socket puppets.

Balloon Animals with Shop Sweet Lulu
We partnered with our great pals Shop Sweet Lulu to help us host another balloon animal activity with our campers. We hosted this event last fall with them, and it was such a hit we knew we needed to bring it back for Camp Nod. The DIY Balloon Animal kits are offered on their site, and include one balloon, one 15″ balloon stick, cut cardboard pieces with the animals’ faces, and adhesive glue dots.

The campers first blew up their balloons with their help of the grownups, and attached it to their stick. Afterwards they took the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth from the cardboard cut outs and created their animals with the adhesive glue dots. Campers loves showing off their pigs, bears, and chickens they created!

We hope you have as much fun with these activities as we did at Camp Nod! We can’t wait for more fun next year!

Kids Playdate Ideas: Nature Theme

August 13, 2014

Post by Rebecca and Suzanne of A Feteful Life

Hello, hello! We’ve done books, we’ve done science, and now we’re taking on the great outdoors. The AFL crew is always up for a new adventure and thanks to Land of Nod’s awesome outdoor imaginary play toys, we were able to “set up camp” in our backyard and start exploring the best of what summer has to offer… Nature.

I just love the S’more the Merrier Campfire Set. It was the center of our camp that also included the Indoor Explorer Pup Tent (which I got the kids for Christmas last year and continues to be one of their favorite toys), some lanterns and cushions. And what would an AFL kids party be without a journal of some kind for the kids to take notes of what they observe as we explored.

Ants, ladybugs, worms and dirt?! Yes, please! Who wouldn’t want to eat bugs if they looked like these.

We were so in love with the Meri Meri Fundamentals party collection we used for the science party, we knew that we needed more! This time we used the Meri Meri Toot Sweet Charms collection along with the coordinating paper straws and fell in love again. While the charms collection doesn’t immediately make you think “nature,” we thought their colors and whimsical feel were the perfect fit for our party. We pulled out the blues and greens from the collection and created some DIY food tents, drink flags, favor tags and journal labels. You can find all of these (and more) in our printable party pack.

Hanging above our craft and favor table was this awesome “I LOVE DIRT” pennant banner that we made out of the Land of Nod’s Achievement Banner Flags along with some simple streamers to add some color. Some simple seed starter pots, dirt & packets of seeds were the perfect favor so our kiddos could keep discovering the wonders of nature long after our party was over.

Once Camp AFL was all set up the kids came out and went straight to work roasting our pretend s’mores (marshmallows dipped in chocolate and coated with crushed graham crackers — yum!) over the campfire. Then they filled up on some more provisions before we got to crafting and exploring.

The kids crafted up some scarecrows, trees and flowers thanks to the Eco Crafts Kit. There were so many options for them and it was fun to see them follow the directions but also add their own personal creative marks on their projects.

Once they finished crafting, they grabbed their journals and magnifying glasses and we set out on an adventure walk to find rocks inspired by the I Love Dirt book by Jennifer Ward. It has some simple but great ideas to help you get out into nature and start exploring with your kids.

As I mentioned above, I made each kid a field journal and on the inside cover a made a rock scavenger hunt to help the kids look at the rocks more closely and to see just how cool a simple rock could be. We also had a bucket of water on hand to wash any dirt off the rocks and also to see how the colors or the rocks changed when they were wet.

There’s no better way to end a surprisingly hot afternoon of exploring than by eating ice cream, right? The kids love getting dirty with this faux dirt of crushed oreos, chocolate ice cream & gummi worms. Now get out there and start exploring!

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC. Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.

Outdoorsy Boy’s Bedroom Design

August 12, 2014

Post by Kim Grosser of The Land of Nod’s Design Services Team.

Carol is getting ready for the new school year, and asked us to dream up an outdoorsy bedroom update for her son’s room. She wanted it to be functional for homework, offer lots of storage and be a fun space for him to play after school. Below is the outdoorsy boy’s bedroom design created by Design Services.

Ellipse Bed / Branching Out Coat Rack / Camp Iwannadrinkawawwa Quilt / Indoor + Outdoor Blue Rug / It Takes Two Wall Art / Iconic Sheet Set (Arrow) / Bear Pillow / Vintage Wooden Arrows / Car Love Wall Art / The Ocean, The Sea, The Wave Artwork / Foundry Nightstand / Charming Hamper / Bubble Wall Clock / An Adventure A Day Banner / Archery Garland / Between a Rock and a Lamp Base (White) / Teacher’s Pet Backpack / Light Years Table Base (Dark Blue) / Tug O’ Lamp / Stack Up Metal Bins / Modern Schoolhouse Desk / Perfect Pitch Storage Caddy / Orange Moving Blanket Sham / Tracy Walker Animal Wall Art

Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Lido Green 617

Design by Kim Grosser of The Land of Nod’s Design Services Team. Our Design Services team offers free one-on-one design advice, mood boards and space planning. You have a room to decorate? They’d love to hear from you.

Little Rockstar Nursery Design

August 11, 2014

Post by Joni of Lay Baby Lay

It’s Joni again! Today, I’m excited to share another nursery from The Land of Nod fall catalog. This is my “little rockstar” nursery design and it has a bit of a science/astronomy feel with a modern edge. Here is the inspiration board we started with:

Bear on the Moon Canvas / Little Twigs Wall Mirror / Star Bright Decals, Silver / Electron Pendant Lamp / Origami Wall Shelf / Between a Rock and a Lamp, Black / Carousel Crib, Kelly Green / Cube Bookcase / Shine Print / Chalk Around the World Globe / White Campaign Dresser / Periscope Floor Lamp / Milo Glider / Star Pillow / Framework Metal Letters / Iconic Baby Bedding (Drops) / Tailored Rug

And below is how the room all came together. I’m really crazy about the new green Carousel Crib, and it makes such a gorgeous focal point in the room. The bright white walls make everything feel so dreamy, and the silver metallic accents of the stars and the mirror really brighten the space. I think I could live in here!

I also love how neutral it is. This room could easily be used for a girl or boy, but it doesn’t feel generic at all.

The light fixtures are also fantastic. Everyone’s favorite rock lamp looks super chic in black (I’d like this in my bedroom, please!) and that Periscope Floor Lamp would add the perfect glow at bedtime.

The Twigs Mirror adds just the right bit of texture to all the straight lines and geometric shapes elsewhere in the room (love that geode detail!). I’m also a big fan of those Origami Bookshelves. They are super versatile; you can line them up on the wall, or place them on a shelf. Such a fun way to display books!

This Milo Glider is super clean and sophisticated with clean lines and white fabric (and it has a copper base!), but it looks very cozy at the same time – such a win for a nursery chair! What do you think about this dreamy nursery design? Hope you are inspired!

Lay Baby Lay started in 2011 shortly after the arrival of my first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience. This site is my creative outlet and the place where I am able to express all the ideas running around in my head. It is my hope that you will also be inspired to create spaces for your little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and maybe find a little encouragement in this crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

Summertime Kids Lemonade Stand

August 8, 2014

Post by Michelle Sterling of Avery and Augustine

Lemonade and summer just seem to go hand in hand. We outfitted this kids lemonade stand with a kid-friendly drink dispenser paired with mini cupcake liners filled with savory snacks. This was Avery and Nate’s first experience with this quintessential summer activity and they loved every minute of it. The brilliant thing about this stand is that it can be turned into a puppet theater, farmer’s market kiosk, post office and whatever else you can dream up—what an amazing prop for pretend play!

Q&A with Nod Artist Stacie Bloomfield

August 7, 2014

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Hi I’m Stacie & I really like to draw animals, drink French press coffee, and eat Indian food. I find inspiration in heirloom quilt patterns, my Midwest upbringing (though now I suppose I am a Southern girl) carefully curated color palettes. I currently live in Springdale, AR with my mathematician husband, Nathan, my incredibly energetic daughters Violet & Lucy, and my 2 pups Wallace & Zeus. I am a tad unorganized, spill my coffee on most of my original drawings, but I am always punctual!

NAME: Stacie Bloomfield
HOMETOWN: Springfield, Missouri
CURRENT TOWN: Springdale, Arkansas
FAVE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: Chocolate Chip
FAVE BREAKFAST FOOD: Pancakes with tons of butter and syrup
FAVE HOLIDAY: Thanksgiving
FAVE COLOR: Turquoise
FAVE MOVIE: The 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries!
FAVE DECADE: The 1950s (I am a sucker for the feminine dresses from that decade).

When did you become interested in becoming an artist?

I have been drawing as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of my free time drawing portraits of all of my friends and family. I had always known that I wanted to study art in college and graduated with a degree in Design Arts from a small liberal arts college in Springfield, MO. I took a few career detours (i.e. managing a coffee shop for a while and then working an admin job at a local university) but eventually found my way back to art once my children were born. I couldn’t find nursery art that I loved, so I made my own!

You draw a lot of animals. What type of animals are your favorite?

I love drawing bears and birds! I enjoy taking the fur on bears and using it as a blank canvas to explore different textures and patterns. And birds are simply lovely to draw because of their beautiful colors and feathers! I take a bit of artistic license when it comes to how I interpret my Gingiber animals. 😉

Is there a story behind the name of your company?

When I was an undergraduate, I had a graphic design project to create a magazine all about myself. When I was searching for what to title it, I turned to an old Latin dictionary and began searching through the “G’s” (which is my favorite letter). When I saw the word “gingiber” with the 2 G’s and that it was an older version of the word ginger, I ran with it! Years later when I started my illustration company, I didn’t think twice about using my old standby of Gingiber, and now I’ve never looked back!

What are the most rewarding and the most difficult parts of running your own business?

I love creating work that I love! I know that if I create something that I am pleased with, most likely my customers will see the passion in the illustration and love it, too! I love setting my own hours and interacting directly with my customers. I also love my small business community, and all of the amazingly talented people who share the same creative lifestyle as myself!

The most difficult part of running my own business is deciding which of my ideas to run with and which ideas need a bit more tweaking. I literally have so many directions I would love to take Gingiber that prioritizing what needs to come first is important because I only have so many hours in a day. Also some times of year of crazy busy (holiday, yikes!) while others are slow and steady. Finding the balance planning for the future and setting myself up for success is a yearly challenge!

Tell us about your kids and how you balance work/mom life.

I have a 5 year old named Violet, a 2 year old named Lucy, and a 3rd baby on the way due December 30th! This baby better not come during my holiday rush! I feel like work life balance is constantly evolving. During the school year my oldest goes to school M-F, while my youngest is home with me most of the time. I send her 3 days a week to a Kid’s Day Out Program, and that is when I get the bulk of my work done in my studio (outside of my home). I find that I can’t get work done efficiently if I am at home, so getting out of the house 3 days a week helps me to focus. I try to not work as much when they are home, but usually I catch myself on my phone returning emails 🙂 And working during the summer? I still haven’t found that rhythm. Somehow everything gets done, though! Coffee helps!

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

Recently my husband and I have been talking about wanting a honeymoon “do-over” in Charleston, SC. I know it isn’t exotic, but when we last traveled there, everything that could go wrong went wrong! Missed flights, hurricanes, lost reservations, etc. It was a great way to start a marriage 😉 Yeah, I’d like a do-over!

If you could possess a superpower, what would it be?

The power to read minds, specifically my 5 year old daughters. She is feisty, and I would love to get a glimpse at what is going on in that little head of hers.

Tell us about your new Sheepish bedding set. What do you love most about it?

I am crazy about the entire set, but I think the linen blanket with the French knots representing the sheep wool is absolutely dreamy! It feels sort of like an “heirloom”, and I think it is a very special piece.

How would you style it in a room?

I would love to see this set in a classically inspired room a gorgeous black wooden bed with spools, paired with a beautiful vintage upholstered chair in an unexpected color like kelly green or hot pink. Of course the room would be filled with books, well loved toys, and wall art from some of my favorite illustrators like Ashley G, Leah Duncan, or even some prints from Gingiber. 😉

DIY Felt Letter Pennant

August 6, 2014

Post by Joni of Lay Baby Lay.

Today I’m posting a little DIY on how to make your own felt letter pennant. This can be such a fun detail in a nursery, and you can express whatever you’d like: “adventure,” “be brave”, “stay wild”, a monogram, anything you can dream up. It’s really simple, and also really inexpensive (always a bonus!). You can use felt sheets for the letters (here is a great source for a gorgeous color selection), but if you want a larger pennant, you will want to get a ½ yard of felt rather than a sheet.

I know it can feel intimidating to freehand cut the letters from the felt, but just go for it. Have some extra felt on hand in case you need to try it a couple of times, but it will look really sweet with a hand-drawn look, so don’t stress about getting the letters perfect!

Have fun with it, and be creative! I used the same technique to make the pillows and door hanging in my girls’ shared room, so you can change up the colors and fabric for a completely different look!

Lay Baby Lay started in 2011 shortly after the arrival of my first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience. This site is my creative outlet and the place where I am able to express all the ideas running around in my head. It is my hope that you will also be inspired to create spaces for your little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and maybe find a little encouragement in this crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

DIY Wall Banner

August 5, 2014

Post by Joni of Lay Baby Lay.

If you caught Timothy’s nursery in the fall catalog, then you probably spotted this canvas banner. I made it especially for his room, and here is a little info on how to create one yourself!

I found this vintage postcard from Etsy, apparently from the late 1800’s. I scanned it at a very high resolution (600 dpi) and then added the text using Photoshop. I sent it to a local digital printer and had it printed onto unstretched canvas. You likely have a printer in your area who can do this – just search for “digital printer” in your city, and they will be happy to help you, I am sure! You can find the wooden dowels at Home Depot or a local hardware store (these are 1” diameter). Trim the dowels to size, leaving a little to hang over the sides, and stitch a pole pocket on each end of the canvas. If sewing isn’t your thing, you can use some stitch witchery instead! Then drill holes in the top dowel, and thread through some suede cord or yarn for hanging.

Finally, here is another approach for a wall hanging, if you can’t find a printer or you’d like to try a different look.

What you need:

(1) Two 1” wooden dowels, trimmed to desired length; (2) Metallic Gold Thread; (3) White Burlap (or other white fabric); (4) Felt sheets (I used four); (5) Fabric Dye (I used Rit Liquid Dye); (6) Scissors; (7) Fabric Glue; (8) Yarn or suede cord for hanging

To make your banner:

(1) Trim the fabric to the size you would like (Mine is 24” x 36”).

(2) Fill a sink or galvanized tub with hot water and pour in the dye. Dip the fabric into the dye and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then let it hang to dry (probably outside!).

(3) Cut out the letters from the felt. I think it’s best to freehand them. It gives it a little more personality!

(4) Once the fabric is dry, lay out the letters, and use the fabric glue to tack them down.

(5) After glue is dry, stitch over each letter with the gold thread. If you prefer not to stitch them, just use a little extra fabric glue to ensure they will stick.

(6) Stitch (or stitch witchery) pole pockets on the bottom and the top.

(7) Insert dowels, and tie yarn or cord around the top dowel to hang!

Joni Lay is the author of nursery decor blog Lay Baby Lay. She began writing and curating in 2011 shortly after the birth of her first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience on the side. The blog is her creative outlet and it is her hope to inspire others to create spaces for their families and little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and also be a place of encouragement in the crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

Try This: Frozen Play Doh

August 4, 2014

Post by Rebecca of Not-So-SAHM.

My kiddos love play doh and they love getting messy. This frozen play doh combines both with the added bonus of cooling everyone off! It’s incredibly easy to make — you likely already have the ingredients on hand. We used ours to set up a little ice cream shop and they played until it eventually melted in the sun! Head on over to Not-So-SAHM for the full recipe.

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC. Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.

Boy/Girl Shared Bedroom Design

August 1, 2014

Post by Tim Whitworth of The Land of Nod’s Design Services Team.

Kayla and her family were moving into a new home where her son and daughter would be sharing a bedroom. She requested something fun and true to their personalities from Design Services. She asked to incorporate curated pieces, but also wanted to make sure they worked well together.

Black Jenny Lind Bed / White Jenny Lind Bed / Petit Chateau Bedding / Thin Stripes Pillowcase / Polar Bear Sheet Set / My Grey Chambray Duvet Dover / Knighty Knight Bedding / Green Moving Blanket / Scallop Sheet Set / Noir Stripe Pillowcase / Candy Bow Pillow Case / Hot Pink Ruffle Throw Pillow / Yellow Ruched Throw Pillow

Design by Tim Whitworth of The Land of Nod’s Design Services Team. Our Design Services team offers free one-on-one design advice, mood boards and space planning. You have a room to decorate? They’d love to hear from you.

Timothy’s Nursery Design

July 31, 2014

Post by Joni of Lay Baby Lay

I was really excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with The Land of Nod to create a special space for my friend Keri’s youngest baby, Timothy. He came along very shortly after his older brother (they are 15 months apart!) and he arrived right after his family moved into a new home, so Keri was thrilled to get to have a space made just for him in the midst of being a bit unsettled.

To start the design process, I asked Keri what she would like the room to reflect. She said baseball is a big part of their family (she grew up loving it, and her husband played it often growing up, and his father is an umpire) and they also love hiking and the outdoors. In an effort to bring in those two elements, I had Keri find some old photos of her husband playing baseball as a kid (so cute!) and found some vintage outdoor photos and postcards to incorporate as well. We went with a classic blue and white color scheme with pops of yellow. Here is the inspiration:

I love how the paint on the walls turned out! (The white is Sherwin Williams’ Snowbound, and the blue is Sherwin Williams’ Buoyant Blue). The room isn’t very large, and has an angled ceiling, but painting the lower half of the walls blue really complements the angles without making it feel awkward. It also makes the room feel larger and more airy.

There is also a long 4’ wide dormer, so to make use of it, we turned it into a little reading space with bookshelves and a comfy pouf. It’s a fun challenge to try to make the most of the space in a room, and I think this is the perfect use of that little nook!

I adore this crib. The finish is just beautiful and it’s great for a girl or a boy, so Keri can use it again if needed. It feels like an heirloom with the spindle details! It also goes so well with the Jenny Lind bookcase nestled close by. I made that canvas wall hanging for Keri from a vintage postcard. It says “be brave and courageous,” which I meant as an encouragement for little Timothy, but she says it has been a great reminder to her as she is enduring some health challenges with Thomas, his older brother. I love that a nursery can be a place of inspiration for everyone in the family!

The campaign chest is just gorgeous! It has the feel of a hard to find vintage piece, but works like new. This dresser will be able to grow with Timothy, and is a natural fit for a big boy room and beyond. It’s always a win when you can find pieces that will outlive the nursery.

The rocker is also beautiful – it has the feel of a vintage mid century piece, but with modern proportions. It’s really comfy, and the wood tones go really well with the crib. And those shelves – ahh, I love the gold brackets! Such a pretty way to keep books and essentials close by, or to display heirlooms out of reach of tiny hands.

This was such a fun project; the Land of Nod team is so fun to work with and they made the whole process a joy. It was honestly a great reminder of why I do what I do at Lay Baby Lay; I love inspiring other moms to create happy, imaginative spaces for their little ones, and the beautiful pieces created and curated by the Land of Nod are such a perfect complement!

Candy Kisses Nursery by Lay Baby Lay

July 18, 2014

Post by Joni of Lay Baby Lay.

This nursery from the fall catalog is a bit more girly. It’s pink, but sophisticated at the same time, and pink and aqua tones make such a happy pairing. Here is the inspiration we started with for “Candy Kisses”:

Hangin’ Around Lamp / Heart Print / Ice Cream / Owl Always Love You Print / Juju Hat / Hedgehogs in Love Poster / Brass Unicorn, vintage / Bowtie Print / Surprise Party Bedding / White Elemental Crib /Bonjour Heart Pillow / Modern Cube Lamps / Pink Zero Gravity Shelves / Chromatic Pink Dresser / Multiplayer Wall Hook / Chalkboard Globe / Turquoise Half Shell Rug / Retro Rocker / Neon Nighstand / Color Weave Toy Box

And below is how the room came together. I think this one may be my favorite, but it’s so hard to choose! The Nod team did such a fantastic job of taking the inspiration and creating these spaces!

It’s so happy and bright! Those acrylic shelves steal the show, and that nightstand is just gorgeous.

I also love this white elemental crib; it’s very clean and minimal and really lets the bedding shine. How sweet is that pink balloon quilt? It feels like an heirloom, and is something I could see being passed down to the next generation. The brass unicorn is also such a fun touch. One of a kind vintage finds can really add a lot of personality and charm, and I love including animals in children’s spaces.

This pillow reminds me of a piece of candy – so perfect (it goes with the adorable confectionary bedding for big girls)! It also ties in well with the turquoise rug, which adds just the right amount of pattern. This room is a great example of how you can use pink in a nursery without making it too frilly. It’s also perfect inspiration for a toddler room or big girl room, too – it would easily grow with baby and be easy to transition!

Joni Lay is the author of nursery decor blog Lay Baby Lay. She began writing and curating in 2011 shortly after the birth of her first baby as a place to provide fresh and unique nursery inspiration with a little dose of motherhood experience on the side. The blog is her creative outlet and it is her hope to inspire others to create spaces for their families and little ones that are full of imagination, color, and delight and also be a place of encouragement in the crazy but wonderful journey of having babies and watching them grow.

Milk & Cookies Birthday Party

July 17, 2014

Hi there! I’m Kelsey Nixon. I host a cooking show on Cooking Channel called Kelsey’s Essentials and I recently wrote my first cookbook, Kitchen Confidence. Most importantly, I’m a mom to 2 year old Ollie! I recently threw a birthday bash for him celebrating with two of his favorite things – milk & cookies! He’s also a big fan of Elmo and Cookie Monster, so this was an attempt to do something that he really loved, but that didn’t have an overly pronounced character theme. After throwing a big party for his 1st birthday where I made all of the food (and ran myself ragged during the process), I decided to just focus on a fun cake this year and not worry about feeding all of our guests an entire meal. By scheduling the casual party later in the afternoon at the park, this worked really well. No one showed up super hungry, yet they were all happy to have a little something fun to eat.

Once I decided to focus on the cake, I knew immediately that I wanted to do a chocolate chip cookie layer cake. I’d never made a “cookie cake” before, but felt like it seemed simple enough to tackle. I altered my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe slightly to make it more of a bar cookie – meaning that it was a bit thicker and more soft on the inside with crispy edges.

I used a springform pan to make the layers the exact same shape, but you could do the same thing with a standard cake pan as well. For the layers of frosting I used a cream cheese based recipe that wasn’t too sweet. I was worried that the weight of the cookies would be too much for the frosting, but it ended up working out just fine and the tart flavor of the cream cheese layers was a great compliment to the sweet cookies. I assembled the cake the day before since I had to work the morning of the party and ended up storing the cake loosely covered in the refrigerator. I didn’t want the frosting to become too soft causing the layers to shift, but I also didn’t want the refrigerator to dry out the cookie. It ended up working out perfectly, and if I were to make the cake again, I’d follow the same method of completing it the day before and storing it in the refrigerator until party time. I sliced the cake with a serrated knife to make sure that I could easily get through the layers.

The cake looked as good as it tasted and ended up being a great conversation piece for the adults throughout the party – I think everyone went home with a verbal tutorial!

When it came to the decorating details, I used many of the same decorations that we had used at his 1st birthday party. We kept the same color scheme and reused a darling garland that felt fun and festive with blues and greens. I’m a big fan of Shop Sweet Lulu and think that they do a great job of curating party decorations. I was able to find some additional details like this number 2 balloon, mini milk jugs and adorable paper goods that helped bring our simple theme to life and made the get together feel celebratory. I used Cookie Crisp cereal to fill the mini milk jugs for favors and also used the crispy cereal pieces to decorate the straws that everyone enjoyed with their milk. I also had some fresh fruit as an option to balance out all the sweets. We used this small picnic table to set up a few details and it was awesome. One of my favorite family purchases for summer!

We held the party at a playground in Central Park that had a small grassy area where we could all congregate. It was perfect for toddlers because the playground kept them contained, yet the adults were still able to mingle a bit on the grass without having to chase their toddlers everywhere. This parachute was fun for both the parents and kids to play with on and off throughout the afternoon.

Overall, I put in a little bit of effort and felt like we all had a great experience – most importantly Ollie had a blast! Since I wasn’t so concerned about preparing an entire menu, I was able to focus on Ollie and our guests more. It was a much more enjoyable experience this year! Just like any mom out there, I love the idea of throwing birthday parties for my kids that look like they fell from the pages of Pinterest, but I also know that it’s important to be realistic and not overwhelm yourself. This little party felt like a good balance where I focused on a few details (cake, small favors, cookie straws) and let everything else just fall into place.

Happy Birthday Ollie! 2 years old has never looked so good!

Kelsey Nixon (www.kelseynixon.com) is the host of Kelsey’s Essentials on Cooking Channel and author of Kitchen Confidence. Kelsey’s Essentials is also currently airing Mon-Thurs at 3pm on Food Network. Kelsey, her husband Robby, and son Oliver (“Ollie”) live in New York City. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Kids Science Club

July 16, 2014

Post by Rebecca and Suzanne of A Feteful Life

Hello friends! We had so, so much fun with our recent book club that when The Land of Nod asked us what else we had in store for our kiddos this summer, we knew instantly that we had to expand our group to include science. All of our kids have an interest in the subject and we knew once we put together a little party for the club, they’d be all over it. And they were — despite the sweltering afternoon summer heat (btw, how cute is our motley crew!?!).

Fortunately for us, The Land of Nod carries the most stylish party goods perfectly suited for our club: The Meri Meri Fundamental Party Collection. The bright colors and graphic prints are right up our alley and the incorporation of real scientific principles, concepts and theory make them much more than just pretty partyware. Good looking and smart — a combo we can get behind.

In addition to the party collection, we decorated the entrance to our gathering with a fabulous customizable Pennant Garland spelling out the name of our club. We hung Land of Nod’s gorgeous periodic table of elements Science Banner front and center over our lab for the day. Suzanne’s son Brady is a bit chemistry-obsessed and was over the moon to see the periodic table! We were equally impressed with the quality of canvas and beautiful colors of the artwork. We also draped a graph paper bunting, which we made using our free pennant bunting template, along the top of the elements banner. And even though a table full of sweets was sitting nearby, our kids wasted no time in getting right to the experiments.

We set up three relatively straightforward experiments: making slime; mixing colors; and creating “snow” (you can download free printable blank experiment labels over at A Feteful Life).

I was surprised that the color mixing seemed to be everyone’s favorite. The kids used their custom periodic element initialed lab notebooks (we had to make them after the book club notebooks were such a big hit!) to hypothesize which two colors they needed to mix to achieve their desired result. They took it very seriously and even experimented mixing different ratios of two primary colors to get what they wanted. The “snow” was another messy hit and Suzanne and I were grateful we held the meeting outdoors!

While we waited for the slime to finish congealing, we turned to snack time. I set up a drink as an experiment itself by prepping one of my favorite party drinks: cotton candy + lemonade (a little trick I learned from Sweet Paul awhile ago). When you add lemonade to colored cotton candy … it changes color! Well, the party decided to take it a step further for us. It was so HOT outside that the cotton candy had lost all its moisture and completely solidified. The kids thought it was a hysterical “experiment.” No worries, the lemonade still changed color when we poured it over the petrified candy and earned oohs and aahs from our crowd.

I added periodic element flags to the awesome graph paper straws, which we slipped into the beaker cups. The kids all loved finding their own initialed straw. We served puffed corn snacks and berries in clear cups, which we decorated with leftover stickers from the party collection. For some more sweet, we served up a plate of “whoopie pi,” which sat on a cake stand decorated with a handmade graph paper mini bunting.

We obviously can’t resist DIY accessorizing, so we put together cute labels to wrap around chocolate milk boxes and custom confetti, too. You can find all of the items, including the periodic element flags, in our printable party pack.

To keep the science going after the club adjourned, each kiddo took home an edible experiment: DIY Rock Candy (you can download the free printable favor tag at A Feteful Life). The favor kit included all non-grocery items needed to grow your own rock candy. And I used the bright cupcake wrappers from the Meri Meri kit to top a mason jar containing it all.My kids can’t wait to try it!

It must be obvious from the photos, but we so loved our Science Club. And we think you should have one too! To get you started, we designed an invitation to go with the party pack. Hope your own little scientists are staying busy this summer. Fete on!

Rebecca and Suzanne are bloggers, graphic designers, and event stylists living in Washington, DC. Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. Suzanne is a big fan of good design, good wine, and her two rambunctious little boys. They share DIY lifestyle and event styling projects at A Feteful Life. Rebecca also blogs kid-friendly projects at Not-So-SAHM.