Pop Art Pups

Love these giclee art pieces by Sofia Fox for z Gallery. So perfect for kids spaces.  Look closely and you'll see the dogs are made from old map prints.

Frugal Friday: Chic and Easy Fabric Art

I spied these beautiful framed fabrics on a featured nursery room from Spearmintbaby.com.  It got me thinking, how EASY and CHEAP this project really easy.  Even if you don't have a crafty bone in your body you can make this art for your child's room.

To help you out here are a few beautiful and FREE templates from the beloved Amy Butler.  To make this fabric art, start by printing your desired template on computer paper and enlarge or shrink to fit your frame as needed.  Once you have the right size cut out the template and pin it to your fabric.  Try to arrange your design so that it hits the center of the fabric pattern.  Notice above how the damask butterfly is perfectly centered over the fabric pattern?  It makes for a much more eye catching piece of art.

After you cut your fabric designs, glue or tape (double stick tape) the design to your frame back.  You can also use construction or other decorative papers to create a prettier background. 

Hope this helps sparks some decoration inspirations for your homes!  Click here for the Amy Butler patterns.

 

Win a Set of Vintage Barbie Fashion Prints

Have you been a long time admirer of these vintage Barbie Fashion prints by Robert Best?  I have always loved these gorgeous prints for my daughter's room, but not the price tag.  These collectibles sell framed only for $80 and up a print until now.

I spied the Barbie Fashion Model Collection 2010 wall calendar at Sam's Club for $7.88.  Yes you read it right, 12 beautiful 12 x 12 prints for only .65 cents each!  I stopped dead in my tracks and almost passed out I was so excited!  These prints would look stunning as a collection framed and matted in a girl's room and that's just what I plan to do with mine.

You can buy these calendars at any Sam's Club and Amazon.com or this week only you can win yours right here!  For your chance to win 12 gorgeous vintage Barbie prints from One Haute Kid just leave a comment and good luck!  The winner will be announced Thursday, December 3.

Frugal Friday: It's as Easy as ABC and 123

Looking for some wall decor on the cheap?  Try flash cards or wall cards and bonus, their edcuational too.  These are fun inexpensive and an easy way to bring a pop of color to your kid's room or play space. 

Land of Nod has a great selections from modern and bontanical to vintage.

Etsy is also a great resource for unique and beautiful wall cards.  Bibbity cards and posters are huge in the blog world and it's obvious why.

 

Dazzling Decals

I know what you are thinking…”decals, okay so what’s the big deal; they are everywhere”. So I am not going to waste your time on just any wall decals, these are gorgeous works of art from French designers Harmonie Interieure.


I am totally smitten with their whimsical designs and details. The growth chart is my favorite, but buyer beware they come with a hefty price tag. The Euro dollar will get you every time.

Frugal Friday & DIY: Paper Doll Art

What do you do when you need artwork for your child's room and you have a budget of $30?  You get crafty and creative.  I had decided when we moved in June that I was going to make original artwork for my daughter's room with vintage paper dolls.  I found a site that sells reproduction paper doll books and they have just about very series every published.  Papergoodies.com is stocked full of paperdoll assortments from celebrities and fashion, to vintage children's books.

I chose Natalie Wood (one of my favorite Hollywood actresses) and the entire project was very easy and took about an hour to complete.  Check it out, I am so pleased with the results.

Here's how to make your own.  I started with 4 empty picture frames and removed the wood back and matting.  I then glued down burlap fabric directly to the frame board using regular spray mount glue.  I used burplap because I had the scrap fabric left over from a previous project and I wanted the art to have a vintage look.  Plus the burlap makes me think of an old dressmakers form.

While I let those dry thoroughly I cut out the paper outfits and doll I wanted to use for the series of four.  This was the most time consuming party because I was very maticulous about my cuts.

I then did a dry fit of cutouts to ensure proper symmetry within the matted area before gluing. 

 

I also made labels that I printed off regular printing paper and used tiny fabic pins to enhance the overall look. 

When I was ready to glue everything down I used a regular old glue stick to secure everything.  Then I popped each board back into the frames and there you have it.  Chic on the cheap art for your child's room. 

Frugal Friday: Cardboad Safari

I have decided to start a new weekly post called Frugal Friday. Each week I'll try and focus on inexpensive and stylish decorating and gifting ideas to inspire. This week I found a quirky and creative way to bring a little style to your home, it's called Cardbaord Safari and it's fabulous.

I love the idea of hanging these in a little boy’s room for that little bit of unexpected. At $28 apiece for the medium wall mounts they are definitely easy on the pocketbook. I also think painting them a bright color and adding them to a rec room would be a great conversation piece. The Moose is my personal favorite.

Navy and Orange Nautical Nursery

Since I’ve been favoring designs for girls lately, I thought I should throw some love to the boys. So here’s a nautical nursery that’s all sophistication and royal regatta with nothing “dingy” about it. Get it? Okay bad pun. Click on the photo to get the full details.

I try to avoid theme decorating at all costs. If it’s not done properly it can look very cheap. It takes a great designer to pull off a room designed with a theme and make it look fabulous. So here I’ve designed a boy’s nursery that isn’t in your face nautical theme, just sophisticated and modern with subtle hints.

I chose a gorgeous Ralph Lauren large navy and white stripe as my starting point. The chair pictured on the inspiration board is obviously not a rocker but you can see how striking the fabric is when laid on the horizontal. Coordinating fabrics are the geometric orange and white and flax linen. I love the organic look of flax linen.

As for the walls I would add a white bead board all the way around the room covering ¾ of the wall height and the rest of the walls painted a soft oatmeal color. The bead board gives the room an east coast Nantucket feel. The paint swatch to the left of the chair is Oatmeal by Serena and Lily.

The crib is from Restoration Hardware and I think it’s safe to say I am head over heels in love with it. It’s sophisticated and the best part is it converts to a full size headboard! The rug is a soft wool but in a very natural color favoring a woven seagrass. If this was a toddler’s room I would have shown a true seagrass rug, but since it’s for a baby I went with the wool.

Instead of a chandelier or hanging fixture I chose a flush mount antique nickel star. It reminds me of how you would see the North Star late at night in the middle of the ocean on a yacht. I wish! A few other design details not pictured would be adding long curtain panels with grommets. The grommets remind me of a boat’s sail or a true sailor’s knot as curtain tiebacks.

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics: www.CalicoCorners.com
Monogram: JacquelynReese.com
Rug: Pottery Barn
Light: Circa Lighting
Crib, Changing Table, Porthole Mirror and Fan: Restoration Hardware and RH Baby and Child
Art: www.NameYourDesign.com
Bead board Toy Box: Land of Nod
Mobile: Gap.com
Hat: RalphLauren.com
Shirt: Janie and Jack
Paint: Serena and Lily
Garden Seat Table and Arrow Sign: Ballard Designs

Black and Pink Boutique Chic

Let me start this post by saying this room design was A LOT of fun. I love feminine rooms and this one is all out girly. About a week ago I received an email from a mom who reads this blog and wanted to know if pink, black and damask wallpaper would work for a toddler’s room or would it be too much. Here is her question;

My lil one just turned two on July 3rd and we were already planning on transforming her room. I was thinking something fun, pink, black, damask wall paper, boutiquish (if that's even a word ..lol) for her room. Would that be too much for a lil girls room?

My immediate thought was, “How freaking cute would that be for a girl’s room, I want to design a room with that theme.” So I replied back saying stay tuned I would give her some guidance. Below is the room design, but I have added a few design comments below along with a shopping list. Click on the image to enlarge.





Pink and black is a beautiful combination, but you need to keep certain elements to a minimum or your room will end up looking like a Victoria’s Secret store. I would recommend keeping the wallpaper damask pattern to a soft pale pink. I found a paint swatch at Home Depot to help, Ralph Lauren’s Verona Pink VM45. You don’t have to use Ralph Lauren paint because it can get a little pricey, but it’s a good starting point. The wallpaper in the design I found at www.Lowes.com, but I was recently told they don’t sell wallpaper in the stores anymore. Again a starting point if you can’t get your hands on a sample. If you’re going to wallpaper the entire room keep the pink a powder pink tone. Another option would be to only wallpaper the wall the bed is against and paint the other walls a complimentary pink. That can help save some money if the budget is tight.

The fabrics selected are samples only because there are so many options available, but if you are going with damask wallpaper avoid a damask print fabric. Too many competing patterns. I recommend adding a dove gray color in the fabrics as a complimenting color. The tiny dot fabric swatch in the design is actually a soft gray color.

Black can be a dominating element to any design so select only a couple of key black pieces and the rest are tiny accents. For example the black dresser and dress form are large pieces and the pillow and picture frame are delicate accents.
The dresser and nightstand are from Ikea so don’t worry if the kids beat the crap out of it, it’s okay it was cheap. The art is from one of my all time favorite artist Janet Hill. They are inexpensive prints to help keep the budget in check.

A few side notes; the lighting in this design are serious budget busters, but you get the idea. I am sure you can find some reasonable alternatives with the internet. Also, there are a lot of pink tones in this inspiration board-do not perceive that as a design tip. Stick with two dominating tones max. This board is a sample only. Enjoy!

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics – www.JacquelynReese.com
Custom monogram – www.JacquelynReese.com
Mirror – www.Horchow.com
Dresser and Nightstand – www.Ikea.com
Rug, Beanbag, Dress form, Storage Basket, Vanity Seat – www.Potterybarnkids.com & www.Potterybarnteen.com
Pillow and Flower Knob – www.Anthropologie.com
Headboard – www.BallardDesigns.com
Jacket – www.JanieandJack.com
Shoes – www.jcrew.com (crewcuts)
Wallpaper – www.Lowes.com
Frames – www.PaulaPrass.com
Artwork – Janet Hill Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5535176
Chandelier – Petite Paris Flea Market available at www.CircaLighting.com
Lamp – www.christopherspitzmiller.com

Art Worth a Thousand Words

I love this artwork from Rosenberry Rooms. This sweet little pigtailed brunette could be my daughter Jacquelyn. She loves to dance and create her own ballerina moves. The blonde could be any one of her sweet friends; Avery, Lauren, Caroline, Reagan, Stella. Beautiful!

See a Penny Pick it Up…

Then head to the Aaron Brothers Penny Sale. FYI parents, if you have an Aaron Brothers Art and Frame store in your city they are have their bi-annual penny sale. I LOVE this sale because you literally buy any frame in the store and you get a second of equal or lesser value for a penny! Yes I said a penny!!!

They have a great selection of large frames for your walls and smaller ones for table tops. When we moved to Tampa a couple years ago I was devastated when I learned there were no Aaron Brothers stores. WWHHAATT?? I had to pay a ridiculous amount of money to get a few prints matted and framed. I am heading there this weekend. Don’t miss out!

P.S. If you don’t have an Aaron Brothers in your city my apologies for this shopping tease.

Lovely Art

My friend Kate who lives in NYC introduced me to this artist a while back. I adore her art for children’s rooms. Their bold simple and add a pop of color to any room. Below are my favorites from her collection. To view more of her work visit MadebyGirl.com