Very Colorful Baby Shower

Throwing a gender neutral baby shower can stress people out. Should all the decor be blue and pink? Or just yellow? Or is yellow old news and everything should be orange or gray or minty green? By removing the gender factor, pulling together a nice color scheme can feel tricky. So, how about choosing all colors? If I could do it again (I had a gender neutral baby shower), I might use the following as inspiration because I truly love it.

Where To Find These Jewels

Felt Acorns by Sewn Natural

Jones Soda from Amazon

You're My Favorite Pin by Bust My Buttons

Scalloped Color Block Napkins from Target

Rainbow Invitation by Tambo Creations

Heart Night Light by Light Box Furniture

Rainbow Toddler Bedroom

A while back I made a moodboard for a rainbow nursery. Thanks to Pinterest, I learned that people dig rainbow nurseries. Between the general population's interest and my current bedroom decorating project, I decided to update the rainbow theme from a nursery to a kid's bedroom. Below are some of the many beautiful items of inspiration that I found.

(image sources - below)

Where To Find Everything Above

Garima Dhawan Duvet Cover from Wayfair

Rainbow Raindrops Post Decal from The Land of Nod

All in One Music Toy from Pottery Barn Kids

Personalized Kid's Rainbow Bunting by Made By Eden Grace

Ferris Wheel Pillow by Janelle Tweed

Sherbert Inspired Nursery

It's Friday, which seems to be moodboard day. Today I was inspired by the Sherbert crib bedding from The Land of Nod. It's a simple stripe pattern, but the range of color presents so many decorating options. You got pinky/coral, light gray, turquoise, muted lime and a touch of lavender. I focused on the pinky/coral, turquoise and lime, but there are so many delightful combinations. Or, you could just go buck wild and decorate with all five.

image sources below

Where to Get These Sweet Finds

Sherbert Striped Crib Bedding from Land of Nod

Baby Owl Clock by LeLuni

Today is Great Pillow from Serena & Lily

Senegalese Storage Basket from Serena & Lily

Turquoise Heart Art by Of Carola

Something Lighter, Something Pink and Red and White

Posts have been heavyish lately with meaty discussions and money debates.  So, today I'm going with something lighter and fully off topic: I've been thinking about my daughter's bedroom.  As you may remember, I lived (yes...lived, past tense) in a small NYC apartment.  For the first four months of my daughter's life, we all slept in the one and only bedroom.  My husband and I had our bed and she had her crib.  We skipped the co-sleeper/bassinet phase because there was no space and no point - the crib was about two feet from the bed.  It was a small apartment with a small bedroom.

When my daughter was about four months, my husband and I moved to the living room.  We slept on our sweet Ikea pullout couch for the remainder of her first year...and some.  For a while there, our living room was our bedroom was also her playroom was sometimes our dining room.  It got really complicated.

This is Ikea's Manstad and the pullout couch that I speak of, same color and everything.
I don't think they sell it anymore in case you were wondering.  

During the past couple months, our family of three has made some big changes.  For starters, my husband and I no longer sleep on the couch.  That's because we no longer live in that tiny, awesome NYC apartment.  In fact, we no longer live in New York.  We recently headed north to the Boston area and can now officially call ourselves Massholes.  We're thrilled.

With our new geographic location has come more space.  Much more space.  For starters my daughter has her own room.  Or, should I say, my husband and I have our own room.  And so, I've been thinking about what most women consider when they're still pregnant - the nursery.  Although, I don't think it's technically a nursery because I no longer have an infant.  So, I suppose, I've been thinking about a toddler bedroom.  Not so much mobiles and Boppy pillows, but mini chairs and chalkboards.

My vision is red, pink, white and birch.  Something like this...

I made this little mood board using the website Olioboard (super fast, super easy, super free) and here are the links to all the above products:

1) Red kid's adirondack chair by Loll Designs 

2) "To the Moon and Back" pink pillow from One Kings Lane

3) Red three legged lamp from Lamps Plus

4) Wooden rocking horse from Land of Nod

5) Nightstand by Posh Tots

6) Tea set by Plan Toys

7) Poodle Pouf from CB2

8) Pink cotton rug from Dash & Albert 

I paid zero attention to cost when I made my mood board and, unfortunately, basically all items are beyond my budget.  Other than that adorable wooden tea set, which is $25 (a likely 2014 birthday or holiday gift for my daughter).  Cost aside, you can get the feel for what I've been thinking about.  I hope to turn my vision into reality with more budget friendly items.  Maybe I'll even share as the process gets underway...a la Young House Love (my favorite blog).

How did you go about decorating your baby's nursery?  Or your toddler's bedroom?  Where did you shop for furniture and accessories?  What was your inspiration?

Blue Boy Baby Shower

Maybe I created today's mood board because I love Jones soda, maybe not.  Either way, here are a bunch of fun and yummy items to pull together a classic, blue baby shower.

Clockwise from top left

Cupcake toppers by Apple Candy Design ($2 digital file)

Blue gummy bears ($10/1.5 lbs on Amazon.com)

Jones blue bubble gum soda ($55/24 on Amazon.com)

Blue polka dot paper straws by Back to Zero ($4/25)

Lucky star origami by Origami Delights ($13/100)

Lavender, Violet, Eggplant Nursery

After all that gender neutral talk last week, it's time to head back to the world of girly girl and boyee boy.  Never said or written boyee boy before.

Today's mood board features all different shades of purple to create a perfectly feminine nursery.  Just like I have been inspired to write about gender neutral baby stuff, I've also been inspired to pull together  a pretty purple nursery palette (say that 3 times fast).  More and more of my friends, who know they're having girls, are opting for purple nursery decor over pink.

(Clockwise from top left)

Lilac/grape cabin quilt euro sham from Serena & Lily ($68)

Medallion rug from Pottery Barn Kids ($399-$699)

Marcella tote from Z Gallerie ($59.95)

Pearhead wooden elephant bank from Diapers.com ($25.29)

Bizarre crib bedding from Land of Nod ($29-$89)

Art print from Once Upon a Paper ($20)

Baby Boy's Airplane Nursery

Guess who learned some tricks on Inkscape?!!

You probably don't know what/who/where about Inkscape.  It's a free version of Photoshop...which is design software for your computer.  Now that you know what Inkscape is, you probably don't care who learned some tricks on it, even though you've already guessed that the someone is me.

So how, if at all, do my new found talents on Inkscape affect you?  I'll be able to deliver you some better looking mood boards because I can now cut around the edge of objects.  Woohoo.

And we're off with a baby boy's airplane nursery.  Blue and gray/silver seem to be the best colors to work around.  Though I imagine any pop of something else could be easily added to that mix: red (like below), yellow, green, orange, etc.

Come Fly With Me crib bedding by Land of Nod ($29 - $172)

Airplane Pillow by Little Korboose ($25)

Airplane nightlight by Pottery Barn Kids ($39)

Little Paper Planes craft book from Uncommongoods.com ($20)

Iron airplane sculpture from Pier 1 Imports ($39.99)

Airplane wall decal by Graphic Spaces ($50)

Gender Neutral Baby Shower

Last week I was somewhat successful in finding cute gender neutral baby clothes (here).  This week, I'm continuing my journey to proving that unisex baby stuff can be just as good as girl and boy baby stuff.  So, today I'm sharing some ideas for hosting a gender neutral baby shower.  I'm sure you've been to some.  Maybe one?

For starters, there are plenty of gender neutral colors: yellow (obviously), orange, most shades of green, gray (so modern and chic), white, black...yeah.  I'm not sure that a black themed baby shower would be cool, but a black and white, retro baby shower could be awesome.  I'm thinking checkered table cloth, jars of licorice and marshmallows, oreo cookies and milk, old typewriter print on stark white paper, newspaper wrapped favors.  Cue a mood board.

Oreo

Modern black and white invitation by Kottage on 5th ($16 for digital file)

Newspaper fabric by Kokka Girls ($8 for 1/2 yard)

Black and white check linen oilcloth featured on Remodelista

Black licorice (image here)

Dictionary favor tags by Crafty Clementines ($25 for 50)

Or, veer away from color themes and go with a more complex theme.  Showers themed around holidays and seasons are easily gender neutral.  An autumn themed baby shower with reds, oranges and browns would be just lovely.  With the 4th of July coming up, a red, white and blue baby shower would be totally appropriate and gender neutral.  Again, a mood board for some visual inspiration.

4th of July Invitations by Ashley Kate Designs ($25 for 10)

Red, white and blue pinwheel (image here)

Star spangled banner by GFetti ($6)

Bomb Pop

Baby shower BBQ invitation by Tipsy Graphics ($16 for digital file)

Also check out the images below from previously posts.  Each image represents a different baby shower idea that I touted and all would work perfectly for a unisex baby shower.  Click on the caption to head to the original post.

from Orange You Excited for a Gender Neutral Baby Shower?

from Lemonade Themed Baby Shower, Pucker Up

from Mint Baby Shower, So Fresh and So Clean

from Rubber Ducky Baby Shower, Quack Quack

from Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower, Ttttterrific

from Nursery Rhyme Baby Shower, Hey Diddle Diddle

from Summer Baby Shower, Bzzzzz

Lemonade Themed Baby Shower, Pucker Up

I was paroosing Etsy last week (as I often do) and came across these adorable lemon shaped bookends.

By Design Atelier Article ($44)

So, I pinned it.  I'm trying desperately to pin more.  I've been a member of Pinterest for a little while now (HERE is my pinterest page if you'd like to take a peak), but I'm pretty delinquent at keeping up with my boards.  The bookend was a good add to my "A Colorful Home" board.  It is the "pop of color" that Brad Goreski won't shut up about and it reminds me of summertime, which I am so looking forward to.  

I decided to let this beautiful bookend inspire a mood board for a lemonade themed baby shower.  I immediately loved the idea, which was reinforced by all the fantastic stuff I found. 

1. "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy" T-shirt by Vicarious Clothing ($17)

2.  White and yellow paper straws by Bab's Giddy Gappers ($0.75/straw)

3.  Lemon cake truffles by Cocoa Confections ($36/box of 18)

4.  Invitations by Totful Memories ($15 for digital file)

5.  Bunting by Fresh Squeezed Baby ($30)

6.  Tumbler of lemonade image and recipe at Delish.com

7.  Pink lemonade cupcakes image and recipe at Sweet Tooth 

Tree Inspired Nursery

I've pulled together some ideas for a tree themed nursery.  I know, TREE themed?  I started with the more general idea of nature themed, but I kept finding tree items that I loved.  The natural colors are good for a boy or a girl and the overall feel is mature even though these are baby products.

1. Tree of Life crib bedding by Poids Plume ($425)
2. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ($12 on Amazon.com)
3. Organic wood tree teether by A Summer Afternoon ($12)
4. 3-D Personalized Tree Art by Domestic Notions ($64.80)
5. Lumbar tree pillow by Classic by Nature ($30)

Houndstooth Everything...Before it's too Late

I had an amazing post idea about how the Republic presidential candidates are a lot like the men of the Jersey Shore.  Seriously.  Then, I remembered that I write a baby blog.  I found zero (reasonable) ways to connect the concept of "baby crazy" with the GOP primary elections.  And so, instead, I'm bringing you a post about houndstooth.  But, in case you were interested, here are the parallels...you can imagine the reasoning:

Vinny = Mitt Romney

Pauly D = Ron Paul

Ronnie = Rick Santorum

Situation = Newt Gingrich 

I've been in a houndstooth mood this winter.  It's a classic pattern, but can easily be incorporated into a modern motif.  It works for clothes, accessories, furniture and home decor...including toilet seats (here).  If I were a mood board, I would look like this:

images (here, here, here, here and here)

Or, maybe like this:

The tragedy is that houndstooth is a seasonal pattern - fall and winter appropriate.  So, before the spring is upon us...which I'm crossing my fingers is soon...here are some fabulous handmade, houndstooth gems from Etsy.

Onesie by Dread Pirate Design ($10)

Two bibs and burp cloth set by Vintage Kandy ($18)

Diaper clutch and wet bag by Bushy Tails ($15)

Black loafers by Ivory and Moss ($28) and
Brown loafers by Baby Love by Abbie ($15)

Grey blanket by Sew Wonderfully Made ($34)

Orange You Excited to Decorate a Gender Neutral Nursery?

Another gender neutral color (other than yellow...and green...which is the new yellow) is orange.  Maybe orange will become the new green?  Orange and turquoise is a trendy color combination, but a little too modern and loud for my taste.  I prefer bringing the orange down with white, cream and tans.

1. Macaroni pumpkin crib bedding set by Nurseryworks ($330-$340)
2. Orange slice pillow by Winter Petals ($39)
3. Chunky baby blanket by How Cute Are You? ($25)
4. Owl coin bank by Z Gallerie ($12.95)
5. Orange dandelion photograph by Carl Christensen ($15)

A Hootiful Nursery

How many times have I written about owls?  Well, first their was my post on an owl themed baby shower.   Then I worked owls into my first ever mood board.  For today, I've pulled together an all owl (all awesome) nursery decor post.  Below are some beautiful products that are diverse in both look and price.

1. Owls Sky cribset by Dwell Studios ($360)
2. Owls Sky coordinating throw pillow ($34)
3. Nightowl Crib Bedset by Rosenberry Rooms ($399) 
4. Treetop Friends Crib Bedding by Rosenberry Rooms ($220)

Three Little Owls digital print
by Bella Byte Design Studio ($9.99) 

Owl Mobile by EvelynX Gift Shop ($60-65).
Use coupon code "NEXTSTOPBABY" to receive
a 10% discount off your total purchase at EvelynX!

Drawer knobs by Monkey Baby Boutique 
(price ranges on style and quantity)

Porcelain Owl Lamp by House 8810 ($44) 

Owl Bookends by Pottery Barn Kids ($29)

Owl wall decal by Tweet Heart ($12)

Feeling Moody

Today - my first mood board.  In an attempt to be a real blogger, I'm doing what real bloggers do.  I've made a mood board.  As a virgin mood boarder, I did a little research to determine exactly what I was doing.  According to my beloved UrbanDictionary, a mood board is:

1) A collage or collation of images and text expressing a certain topic or subject, often used to generate ideas or for project work.  Getting past the "mood board" stage of a project is often a big step for anyone who thinks they are soled.

OR 

2) An idiot's idea of hard work

I'm not sure which definition is more funny - the first for its complete disregard of the English language or the second for its substance.  Either way, turns out I didn't make a mood board.  I made more of a "stuff I think is great" board.  

My inspiration is a tiny, urban nursery.  I read a couple of nursery decor blogs like Chic Cheap Nursery and Project Nursery.  I love to see the design ideas and now that I'm a pseudo baby blogger it's good to keep up with other baby blogging peeps.  But, there's a huge assumption made by these nursery decor blogs (my favs included): the parents-to-be have a whole room that they can dedicate to a nursery.  Some of us...ahem...live in one bedroom apartments.  This means that one room will serve as the bedroom for the parents and the newborn.  And who wants to turn their bedroom into a Winnie the Pooh meets Lemonade and Sunshine nursery?   

So, my "mood" is neutral colored (white, beige and grey) decor that works in a bedroom and a nursery.

It's my first shot at this, so be easy.

1. 8 x 10 Heart Print from Aidari - The simplicity of the design is mature and the message is fitting without being cheesy.  Though sometimes acceptable in nurseries, cheesy doesn't fly in the bedroom-nursery uni-room.
2. Benjamin Moore Natura Paint in Hot Spring Stone - It's the Switzerland of colors, so very neutral.  The grey undertone is soothing and there's something striking about it, though it feels akin to a blank canvas.
3. Herringbone Throw by Serena & Lily - It's hand woven in Maine, comes in a five gorgeous colors and would be perfect draped over a rocking chair or wrapped around an exhausted mother and sleeping baby.
4. Owl Pillow from Classic By Nature - The owl applique is made of faux white leather and the background is made of grey twill cotton.  It's modern and grown up, but the owl image still brings in a playful vibe that is apropos for a nursery.
5. White Chandelier Mobile from Lil Sprout Creations - Pretty.  So pretty.  This mobile has the whimsy suitable for nursery and the elegance suitable for a bedroom.
6. Owl Table Lamp from West Elm - It comes in white (above) or gunmetal.  The owl decor thing is trendy right now in nurseries and non-nurseries alike, for good reason.  It's simultaneously non-serious and serious - a fun contradiction in terms.