Baby Announcements

I have always thought that Spring is the perfect time of year for planning a baby but then maybe that is because I have two Summer birthdays. I remember so fondly nesting with the windows open, the sun shinning in and the fresh air in my lungs as I prepared for my little monkey. During the last trimester of my first pregnancy I had this great idea to paint a mural in the baby room. It was such a great idea that to this day I can remember the pain I had in my legs from climbing up and down that ladder day after day, eight months pregnant to try and finish before the big day arrived. But the results were great and my little man loved it. I just had to include this darling picture of him posing in front of Winnie the Pooh.

This also means this is the time of year that when I put my designer hat on I am most likely working on new Birth Announcements rather than weddings. I'm taking the next two weeks to brainstorm some new ideas but I am currently loving this girly girl pink start.

 

I'm also trying to come up with ideas of how to get more of my great friends, family, colleagues and fellow mothers to sign up as followers to my blog. How do you all feel about a personalized invitation give away? I'm thinking if I open up for one week (five days) whoever has either signed up during the week or already was a follower will be entered to win 30 custom invitations, announcements, holiday cards, etc. of your choice handmade by me and mailed directly to you. They could include a photo or not. Let me know what you think.

ART Party Final Invite

After all that sketching and brainstorming Max and I decided to go with an email invite instead of a traditional snail mail. In the end I think the results turned out amazing and I am thrilled with how it looks. I am a huge fan of the online service PunchBowl, www.punchbowl.com. Their designs (in my opinion) are much better than the average online email invitation service and what I like even better is that so many of the designs are free. We have had so many compliments on the invite already.

But my favorite part of using PunchBowl is that an envelope is delivered to your email inbox and when you click it the envelope turns over and opens up to slide your invite out. As a designer I love total design and on an invite that usually means the envelope, envelope liner, stamp, invite and anything else that may be inside. With PunchBowl you get to choose all of these options for your invite. Here are some images of the process.

Yard Remodel for Kids and Parents

The last two weekends here in the Northwest have been gorgeous with sunshine and the upper 70's. With this beauty there is only one thing to do when you live somewhere that rains so much, GET OUTSIDE. My family and I spent the past two weekends finishing a project that has been in the works since we moved here a year ago. We assembled the kid's swing set.

This was no easy task but the results are fabulous. The biggest perk is that since the set has been put up the children come home from school and literally live on it or in the sandbox below. This means extra time for me to enjoy their giggles and get some things finished for myself.

My husband and I built this set from scratch so I was extremely excited when our house in Virginia was purchased that they did not want the swing set. At first we planned on leaving it but just like any project this was a labor of love and I didn't want to start again. The set is called the Fort Gemini and it WAS sold by B.Y.O. Swingset, www.byoswingset.com. The main reason we made this choice was we purchased a hardware kit with blue prints and that saved us a lot of money. At the time the hardware cost us around $300 (w/ slide) and then the wood came from the local Home Depot for around $700. What a steal! I noticed as I surfed the B.Y.O. website that a lot has changed in four years since we bought from them but I can honestly say they have a great product and amazing customer service. 

Would I do it again or just buy one from Costco (or some place similar)? As I say just buy one and assemble it (don't go through the labor of routing all the wood and drilling for all the bolts and setting for all the washers) we are simultaneously starting a fancy new tree house. As an FYI it took a lot of special tools to prepare the wood but my husband is an Industrial Designer so tools collecting is a hobby for him. Oh, the burden of being a designer.

After all of that what I really wanted to tell you about was the amazing transformation our yard and house are undergoing. We purchased a mid century modern home that was previously owned by an elderly woman and needs some definite updating but that has left us lots of room for personalization.

Gardening is a favorite hobby for me and what I really love to do is transform a space with very little money. I love to see it come alive by simply changing the layout or location of plants. Arranging in a way to create an outdoor room and living space and generally make a yard that is more suitable for outdoor living in a warm climate.

Here are some before pictures of how overgrown the yard was and then the process we went through in the back left corner for the swing set and the final results. As the summer continues we have wood chips to go, sod to be set, a patio to be jack hammered up, a retaining wall to build and a lot more. I'll keep you posted as I go. I'm always so excited to share what we do.

Science Fair Catapult

In my last post to catch up from a busy week I want to share our biggest design challenge for the week. With my husband out of town it was full for the rest of us with school, work, Boy Scouts, T-ball, after school art and a science fair. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. But the catapult project turned out awesome and the response he had to it at the fair was fantastic. It was a crowd pleaser for all.

Max and his Dad spent Saturday building the catapult before he left and then him and I worked the rest of the week on everything else you see. We worked hard researching and testing and following the scientific method when discussing the Tension Catapult but by far the hardest part of the project was the display. My son had very particular ideas about how it should look and although I cut out the majority of the scrolls that hold the information he made sure that they went where he thought they looked the best. He did an excellent job and we had such a good time that I hope he chooses to participate next year.

 I loved that when we were working on the project I started to explain what a hypothesis was to my son when he stopped me and said of course I know what a hypothesis is. I asked him to tell me what it was then and sure enough he knew. I don't think there was a chance when I was in first grade that I would have known what a hypothesis was.

Polarn O. Pyret SALE

If you love Hanna Anderson you have got to shop with Polarn O. Pyret. I know school for 2010/2011 isn't even out yet but I am already buying clothes for next year because the deals are just too good to pass up. Last week thanks to Design Mom I learned that Polarn O. Pyret was having a super sale. Everything I bought was long sleeves or pants but you can't beat 50% off for their fabulously made clothes. In fact I purchased some leggings for my daughter for so little that I bought an extra pair for junk clothes and now that they are here I just can't bring myself to let her wear them out for messy playtime. I have also visited Nordstrom Rack and hope to make it over to the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale soon too. I am a big believer that if you spend more in your investment in kids clothes then they will last longer. And except for a few items over the years most of my kid's clothes usually are out grown before they are ripped or torn. In fact I just packed up two more bags of hand me downs from both my kids and I am amazed at how new the clothes still look. 

The clothes shopping scene has changed quite a bit for my house hold this year. I have a son who wants to look trendy but not overdone. He puts comfort before anything else and he hates the inevitable change that comes with one's clothes. I think if we could buy the same tennis shoes in every size and he wore them for the rest of his life he would be happy. The biggest change I have seen with him this year is that he use to be mommy's little shopping buddy and now it pains him greatly to step inside a store to shop (excluding all toy, model, Lego, etc stores). The other big difference is that my three year old daughter is finding her voice and style. I use to just buy what I liked and she was perfectly happy wearing it but not anymore. We have even had to change our morning routine to allow more time for the up to three possible outfit changes. On one hand it drives me crazy and on the other I'm so proud.

My favorite feature of Sara's Fall wardrobe so far is the color palette. Now I know she has no idea of what a color palette is and we have purchased all the clothes below from Nordstrom Rack, Nordstrom and Polarn O. Pyret so we did not buy them all together and she could not see what she was doing. But the girl has started developing her own Fall line with a common thread. Take a look at some of the cute clothes and great deals.

I anticipate the teenage years are going to consist of watching a fashion show walk down my hallway and out my front door everyday. We have yearly photos coming up soon so my mix and match hat is on. I want to be able to look back and say they were so cute and so stylin'. I missed taking last years' photo because of the super move from DC to Seattle so I can't miss one this year. I will post a picture here of my kiddos from 2009 so you can see what our photos are usually like.

As a child my mom always loaded my brother and I up with hairspray, dress clothes, ribbons and lace for family photos but I like to keep it simple. Take a look at this photograph I found on Kristin Merten Photography of my two little monkeys. They both have changed so much in two years. If you live in Northern VA you HAVE to get in touch with Kristin. She is an amazing photographer and a dear friend. What I love about her photography is the eyes. Her photos make the eyes of a child sparkle so bright.

ART Party!!! Invitation

I have missed writing and sharing with you this week (so much!) and it's a three day weekend but I had to squeeze a few posts in before the weekend officially begins. Plus my husband is back from his week long business trip and I have passed the parenting duties off to him, maybe for the whole three days.

The first thing I want to show you is how great Max's seventh birthday invitation is coming along. It is so perfect for him and for the kind of artist he currently is. The hardest part is that I don't get to do what I want anymore. In fact for this year he drew hand sketches before I even started designing on the computer so I could have an idea of what he was thinking. Whew. I have said it before and I'll said it again he is hands down the hardest client I have ever had to work with. I think what makes it even harder is that he is just like me and sometimes that means we don't see eye to eye artistically. 

My favorite element he came up with is the ripping of the paper to reveal what is inside. Then inside the card we are planning on repeating the images with more text around "You're invited" so it feels as though you are simply seeing straight through. I'm also thinking another great idea would be to print this on the envelopes and then have the card inside be a postcard with the repeating image. Hmmm. Any opinions you have or other ideas? Please share with me and Max.

I've also started putting the party together and Max chose a very messy paint activity he saw in the Disney movie The Princess Diaries. I don't know that it has a particular name but you add paint to blown up balloons and hang them across the large mural size paper then you throw darts at them allowing the paint to explode on the canvas. We'll definitely need to purchase some rain ponchos or large garbage bags to cover the kids with. Here is a picture to give you an idea of the process. The image is from Duke University's Intro to Visual Practice, Fall 2010 students, a great blog on exploring, sites.duke.edu/artsvis54_01_f2010/. My final plan for the mural is once all the kids have had a few throws of the darts we'll then take everyone's picture in front of it and I will make Thank You notes from the image.

The party goers will also be using kits that I found at Tuesday Mornings to make giant tube, colored sand ballpoint pens. I couldn't beat the price and it is something that can be taken with in their goody bags. I am also buying individual art smocks for the kids and they'll use fabric pens or paint to decorate the smocks. Again another take home goody. The last idea we have so far is Max wants mom to pull out one of her Elementary School art lessons to teach to the kids. Not sure how that will go at a party but I'm trying to find a crazy one to keep their interest.

I just love planning parties especially kid themed parties. I'll keep you updated as we go and in a few weeks I'll be sure to post pictures of all the happenings.

If you have a terrific idea for the art party please leave it as a comment to this post. Thanks.

Let Them Eat ART Cake

Over the weekend the planning began. We are a month out from a super seven birthday party at our house. My son has chosen an ART party and the invitations have entered the concept stage but that still leaves some other important details...like the cake. I have been searching the web for some brainstorming ideas and I have to admit that after finding these amazing sugar cookies by Rosie at www.sweetapolita.com that I think I might have to make these cookies instead of cake. I can't wait to show my son when he gets home from school today. Rosie's cakes are amazing and you must take a look. I have become an avid follower of her blog and cannot wait to see her new website that is in the works. 

Over the past years the birthdays at our house have consisted of cakes and themes based on pirates, race cars, carnival, a garden party,  Lego, magic, dogs and Ariel. I grew up in a house where my mom always made our birthday cakes and she was amazing. Next time I am up there I will have to take a look in the old albums for some of her cakes to share with you. Thus I cannot imagine not making my kid's cakes although every year I am so tempted to just buy one.  I've included a few pictures of cakes from last year's birthdays that I made. I would post some of my older cakes but I have to say that making cakes takes a lot of practice and I just can't bring myself to share those old images with you.

Elementary School Clay Tiles

The next big project of the day was finishing up the glaze on the clay tiles that my group of First Graders made in class last week. It was my last lesson for the school year so we went out with a bang and got our hands dirty with some clay. It was so fun for me and the kids and I thoroughly loved that they screamed out loud when they saw what we were making, even if their teacher was not thrilled with the loud shout of joy. The best part of the process is that every class in the school is making their own set to compose a mural out on the playground. I've included a picture of what our goal is but only time will tell if we are really going to achieve these results.

 

If you are interested in doing this project at home is is really quite easy even if you don't have access to a kiln to fire the clay. Simply chose some modeling clay that can harden either by air or in the oven, work it in your hands to soften the clay then roll it out with your rolling pin until it is about 3/8" thick. Next chose whatever you want to texture the tile. You can use some amazing items to do this like the bottom of a shoe, kitchen tools, a piece of jewlery or you cna specifically purchase texture plates for this type of project. Once your tiles are created there are so many things you can do with them. Just imagine the possibilities and the memories you can make with your little ones.

Here are the actual tiles the kids made. They did an amazing job.

Monkey Baby Shower Invitations

Yesterday was an amazingly busy day so I thought why not post about everything that consumed my Thursday. A lot of my days are filled with custom invitations but yesterday I was simply a production artist for a friend of mine who was crafting the sweetest monkey baby shower invitations.

I absolutely love the bananas she came up with and grouping them as a bunch on the final invitation is going to be perfect. I wish I had one of the final designs to share with you but in its place I found a few other great baby products to share.

I fell in love with Baby Aspen at www.babyaspen.com and this little monkey gift set for baby is just too cute. The best part is that it is gifted to someone in the banana box the monkey is holding. 

There are so many great things on their site that it was hard to chose just one thing to share with you but if I still had an infant I would buy either the baby chef or doctor. I know you will fall in love too.

 

Growing Your Own Herb Garden

I know a lot of us enjoy cooking and summer time allows such great options for local grown foods and farmer's markets but what about your own backyard? It is currently beautiful weather here in Seattle so yesterday the kids and I got outside and planted our new herb garden. All of this really got me thinking though. What herbs do we need to make a well rounded cooking garden? And how could I grow more things in some of the unused spots in the yard? I found some amazing ideas and although the first picture is of an indoor herb garden it is way to cool not to talk about.

The planter you see above is called the Cocoon and is designed by Måns Salomonsen of Sweden. You can see more of his amazing design work at www.salomonsen.se. I love the look of the Cocoon but my favorite feature is that it is made of a clay that absorbs water from the cultivation. When it evaporates the storage is cooled down keep the fruit fresher longer. All I know is I need to find a way to get myself a Cocoon for my modern home. 
 

I also found some great criteria for how to choose the herbs that make up your cooking garden. It is not so much about selecting the perfect group to make a complete garden but more about you and your family and how they eat. Thanks to www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/ the first MUST I have already accomplished, the herb garden must be close to the kitchen. Now if only I had the Cocoon it would be IN my kitchen. Next is to make sure you plant in full sun. Your herbs will grow in shade but they are not going to thrive there. It should also have variety and the option to grow something different to offer your family some exploration in flavor. Love this idea but I'm not sure how it will go over with my three year old. Finally, make sure you plant enough to give your family enough supply. If there is only two of you then you need a lot less space and herbs than if you have three little ones running around. And MY last guideline was to make it a fun process for me and my kids. Now they are actually fighting over who gets to cut the first herbs for me. Do you think they will still be this excited once they start eating them? 

I also found this great space saving DIY project at More Design Please that I just have to try before the summer is up www.moredesignplease.com/moredesignplease/2011/3/9/diy-hanging-herb-garden.html. Honestly how creative must you be to think of using a shoe hanger for a hanging herb garden AND it looks great. I'll let you all know if I give this one a whirl and if you try it out before me please share your experience with it.