Dinner Flags

From's jordananneferney's Flickr set "Church Spring Party."
As someone who likes to know what she's about to eat, I love the adorable flags on these sandwiches. What else could I put flags on? Dinner tonight? Maybe.

Party Hat Party

From "Church Spring Party 2008" from Oh Happy Day.
Jordan throws the best parties. So simple, yet so creative and so fun. Rob's and my birthdays are too close together to get to celebrate on my own, but if I did, I'd have party hats this year!! The red's striking, but we don't do red in my house--something about collegiate team rivalries. In honor of my birthday, we'd have to do green!

***Edited to add further instructions from Jordan:
"Materials Needed: Exacto knife, Cutting Board, Cardstock, Scotch Tape, Tissue Paper, and Floral Wire.
I looked at a few stores for party hats that were all one color but all I could find were large hats. I think that hats look much cuter on the small side, so I made my own. I bought a pack of small hats and made a template. Here is the template of a party hat to print out if you need one. Just print it out and use it to cut out the shape onto cardstock.
After you cut out the shape put the tab through the slit and tape it down on the inside. You can decorate the hats anyway you want but I will show you two that I made. The first one is the flower hat. Follow below to make the napkin ring-sized pompoms. Then poke a small hole with your exacto knife where you want to put the flower. Tape the wire on the inside of the hat. Attach ribbons and voila! The second type you just measure out a two inch wide strip of tissue paper the length of the bottom of the hat. Double up the tissue and fold it in half. Then cut it 2/3 of the way through to create the fringe. Wrap it around the bottom of the hat with the fringe facing upwards. Scrunch the fringe so it is fluffy. Then take some leftover fringe and wrap it around the floral wire, scrunch it up so it is fluffy. Then put the wire through the hole at the top and tape it on the inside. Add ribbons and there you have it!"

From Martha Stewart Crafts:

"Napkin Rings
With just a few changes, these follow the same steps as the hanging pom-poms.
1. Stack four sheets of tissue. Cut a 10-by-5-inch rectangle, going through all layers. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.
2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue.
3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.
4. Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure."

The round balloons can be found here: http://www.ttballoons.com/tuftex_balloon_color_chart.htm

Home Sweet Home

Images from Something's Hiding in Here's "home sweet home" set. Love, love, love their style. Here's a couple details that I might able to incorporate one day.

If I'm ever lucky enough to have a really tall wall like this, the birds take the edge off without being extremely loud and obnoxious. Maybe I could find some Blik decals that would work?
Oh, how I love the swing in the bedroom. It's unexpected but yet still cozy. It needs a good view though. Something's Hiding in Here is lucky to have a wall of floor-ceiling windows that her swing looks out over.

DIY Crib Project

Melissa's DIY Crib Project from Design*Sponge's DIY Contest.
Apparently there was a lot of "discussion" about the safety of this crib. But I love, love, love anyway. I love the wide slats and I love that it sits right on the floor. As a height-challenged person, I hate cribs with tall legs. When I was baby-sitting, I always had to "toss" (maybe drop is a better word) the baby in because I was so short.

Also, my daddy made my crib for me (and later my sister)--and I would love for Rob to help in a similar endeavor.

Here's the directions with Grace's safety commentary:
"Material Costs (approximate):

Wood and hardware: $80
High density foam: $10
Bumper pad kit: $15
1 yard of oilcloth: $6
3 yards of decorative cotton fabric: $15

First, we went to the hardware store and bought all of our supplies; 3/4 inch plywood for the base, 1″x3″ boards for the frame for the base, casters, 1″x2″ boards for the external framework, 1/2″x6″ and 1/2″x8″ boards for the slats (slats should be placed no more than 2 3/8″ apart and none should be loose or missing) and two solid wood pieces to close the front and back of the crib (please see note below). If you plan on doing this project or something similar, you’ll want to draw out detailed plans ahead of time and bring a calculator with you to the hardware store to figure out quantity. Remember that lumber is labeled according to its PRE milled size, e.g. a 1×3 is really 3/4″x2 1/2″.

After cutting out the base to size, I reinforced the bottom with 1″x3″ boards cut at 45º angles at the corners. Then I cut out notches to fit the 1″x2″ boards to make the vertical frame. After cutting all of the vertical boards to length, I cut notches out of the top of the 1″x2″ boards for the cross bars. Before assembling everything, I sanded all of the wood until smooth (all wood should be sanded completely smooth and constructed without lips or overhangs that may catch baby’s clothes), then applied a few coats of child-safe wood finish (ask your local hardware store for non-toxic options available). Once assembled, I added the finishing touches of white paint to the exterior.

[PLEASE NOTE: Crib slats or spindles should be spaced no more than 2 3/8″ apart, and none should be loose or missing. In addition, the back and front of a crib should always be solid with no decorative cutouts. If you follow these instructions you’ll need to use additional wood to completely close each end of the crib]

I used the bumper pad kit (found at JoAnn Fabrics), and cut the pads to fit the dimensions of my crib/co sleeper. Bumpers should never be thick or pillow-like, if you choose to use them make sure they are thin and are removed when the child is old or large enough to stand (they can be used to climb out of the crib and there is a recorded risk of suffocation). I followed the pattern provided in the kit, making the appropriate adjustments to fit our crib design. For the mattress, I used a high density foam cut to fit snugly in the crib frame and to be no less than 26″ below the crib sides (if you can fit two fingers between the crib and the mattress the mattress is too small). Once it was cut to size, I made a cover for it by measuring the dimensions plus half the thickness of the pad, plus seam allowances. I inserted a zipper to the cover to allow for easy removal.

[PLEASE NOTE: the photo above was arranged and styled for a photoshoot. Cribs should always be placed away from windows to prevent children from potential danger with cords, curtains or blinds]

[PLEASE NOTE: Bumper pads have been linked to infant suffocation in some cases. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that, if you decide to use thin, non-pillow-like, bumpers you remove them when the baby begins to stand]"

Modern Monthly Photos

Modern Monthly Photos from Apartment Therapy: OhDeeDoh.
Another wonderful way to record the growth of your baby through his/her first year.

Patterned Vase

Patterned Vase by Making It Lovely.

When I was a kid I decoupaged a glass plate with a patterned napkin for my mom for a gift--it turned out really cool. This is a similar idea with a much more useful vase, and even more versatility since there's no glue involved. This might be what my friends get for Christmas this year!! Could I possibly etch the glass to make it even more personal?!?

"You’ll need a simple, straight-sided vase. If you plan on putting fresh flowers inside, you’ll need a smaller vase or container to fit inside and hold the water (I used a little flower pot). You’ll also need a large sheet of paper, scissors, a pencil, and some tape.

My flower pot only went about halfway down, so I trimmed my tulips to a length that would look good when they were set inside the larger vase.

I set the vase on its side, and rolled it along the paper, tracing the top and bottom arc with a pencil. Then I cut out the shape while Violet watched. :)

I set the paper inside the vase to check for fit. It was a little tall, so I just traced around the top with a pencil and then trimmed it down.

I set the smaller container inside, and that’s it! A simple, quick project."

Leather Case

Leather Case from the Blueprint blog.
Love this. Could totally see them lined up on a shelf, holding important papers. Maybe photos from a special trip.

Directions:
"Print this pattern out, and play around on a photocopier until it's the size you want (for my business-card cases, the template measures about nine inches across, from tip to tip). Then trace it onto leather. Using a mini hole-punch (the kind scrapbookers like), make small holes at each of the four tips, as shown on the pattern.
Now just fold the leather into an envelope shape: Bring the left and right flaps inward and line up the holes. Hold them together with a great little piece of hardware called a button-stud. Insert the back piece of the button-stud up through the holes in the flaps. Then fold the bottom flap of the envelope upward, securing its hole over the stud -- I also put some glue beneath the edges of this flap to help it stay flat. Now just screw on the front piece of the button-stud, and push it through the hold on the top flap."

Button studs found at: Standing Bear's Trading Post and Tandy Leather Factory