Design a Beautiful Nursery on a Budget

baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

Babies are expensive, but that doesn’t mean their room has to be, too. We love the nursery Mila Mae, the newest {and beautiful} addition to our large Italian family, calls home. Sweet Mila has a lovely, special place to call her own, and her mom is sharing the details with us. Kerri designed a pretty room for Mila, without maxing out the credit card. Win, win!

Her nursery is clean and white with touches of pink…and we love it.

Here’s how you can do it, too.

1. Shop at Ikea.
We all love the affordability and chic design to be found in the never-ending aisles at Ikea. Kerr’s ombré baskets are from Ikea. They are functional because they hold toys, book and stuffed animals, but they also add the perfect pop of color for a princess’s room. The little white flower-pot tins on the dresser are also from Ikea. They help Kerri organize everything! On the dresser, she holds hand sanitizer, diaper ointment, baby powder, etc. in them.
baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

2. Incorporate family heirlooms.
Kerri incorporated her grandma’s dresser in Mila’s room, which holds sentimental value for her. She updated it with several coats of white paint, and painted the knobs gold. Another special touch is the dress hanging from the gold hanger next to the crib. It’s Kerri’s mothers dress she wore when she was a baby. A piece of 3 generations of women from the same family lives inside those 4 walls! The ultra-glam gold sequins hanger is from The Golden Gurl via Etsy.

baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

3. Add DIY details.
We love DIY details, and although Kerri said she is not a big DIYer, she did manage to spray paint dollar store animals with gold spray paint. Animals are a favorite for little kids, so with the DIY gold animals, Kerri added a childhood favorite with a touch of glam.
baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

4. Buy handmade items from Etsy.
Handmade items add warmth and authenticity to a nursery, plus it’s always great to support small shops. The driftwood wall hanging with tissue paper tassels is from Fleur Lux and the beautiful gold pillows in the crib are from Kerri’s talented friend at Bright July.
baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

baby-girl-nursery-pink-ombre-baskets-white-ikea-gold-crib-nursery-gold-animal

5. Incorporate color, texture and culture from travels. 
The world is a grand and beautiful place with bright colors and a vast array of textures, so it’s nice to bring memorabilia from various cultures home. Plus, its unique decor that can’t be found anywhere else. The authentic Mexican blanket hanging from the side of the crib was a gift Kerri’s parents brought back from Mexico. The impact is big, but the price tag was little – the blanket was just $5.

Thanks for sharing your room with us today, Kerri {Marco and Mila, too}. We love you.

 

DIY No-Sew Mini Football Pennant

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

I been waitin’ all day for Sunday night

The tough get rough in a primetime fight

The last one standin’ gets to turn out the lights

‘Cause I been waitin’ all day for Sunday night

Yea, yea, yeah

Recognize that song {and the foxy lady that sings it} on NBC primetime Sunday night? Well, if your husband/boyfriend/dad/brother/son/friend is like ours, it’s more like, been waiting all day for Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday because we’re pretty certain between college and the NFL, there are big, must-see games every one of those nights!

Yes, it’s that football time of year. Whether you like it or not, it’s here. Might as well make something cute to go along with it!

We made DIY mini pennants that can be used as a DIY pennant drink stirrer, or DIY mini pennant utensils for pre-game tailgate madness or a fun football party.

Can you guess what team we’re rooting for? CO born and raised, baby!

DIY Mini Football Pennant

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

You’ll Need:

  • Colorful craft foam sheets
  • Pencil
  • X-acto knife
  • Hot glue gun
  • Plastic forks or spoons

Directions:

  • Step 1: Hand draw or trace your designs with a pencil onto the craft foam sheets. We created a pennant shape in Microsoft word, and found the Bronco logo, as well as the helmet online. For all the letters, they were hand drawn.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  • Step 2: Cut out your shapes.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  • Step 3: Glue the letters or shapes onto the pennants. Remember to leave a small space on the left side of the pennant for a small slip to insert a fork, spoon or stick.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  • Step 4: Use an X-acto knife to cut a slit at the top and bottom of the pennant, on the left side of the letters/shapes.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  • Step 5: Insert a spoon, fork or stick into the slits.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

 

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  • Step 6: Glue the little tags/strips on the back of the flag, next to the back of the spoon.

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

  •  Step 7: Place in a mason jar because you’re done, and everyone has the cutest DIY pennant utensil ever!

blue-orange-bronco-football-pennant-diy-drink-stirrer-yay-go-helmet-banner-utensil

 

Big Hero 6 Party

baymax-shirt-big-hero-6-party-balloons

Just in case it wasn’t obvious to you, the 3 kiddos above are superheroes. They are smaller in size than their favorite Big Hero 6 characters – Wasabi, Baymax and Honey Lemon – and they don’t have the ability to fly on an armed marshmallow man, but they are brave, kind, smart and amazing kids who possess their own superhero powers.

We celebrated the superhero in them, and all their friends at a Big Hero 6 party this summer. After all, it is one of our favorite animated movies. Even Jessica’s girly, sparkle-loving, princess-adoring daughter loves the kids superhero action film.

So, we invited family and close friends to join us for outside, yard games and a special drive-in movie showing for a Big Hero celebration.

It’s all in the details, so here they are…

DIY Honey Lemon-ade Stand

While Gabriella was all-in for a Big Hero 6 theme, something had to be pink and colorful, and well, girly. She wanted to dress like the scientist character, Honey Lemon and host her own Honey Lemon-ade Stand. Jessica created her stand with a DIY balloon arch made with a Balloon Time helium tank above her new, red Wayfair table adorned with ribbon.

balloon-arch-diy-lemonade-stand-honey-lemon-big-hero-6-party-ribbon

IMG_9821

Drive-In Movie with DIY Cardboard Box Cars

The DIY cardboard box cars were the hit of the party. Each kid had his/her own car at the Big Hero 6 drive-in, along with a ledge to hold their popcorn and candy. Since the party was in the daylight, we opted for a drive-in movie theatre in the garage. There was a bonus we hadn’t even considered – while the kids were at the DIY drive-in movie, the adults enjoyed some kid-free time upstairs.

The cardboard cars were made with cardboard boxes, duct and packaging tape, white paper plates {wheels}, black paper {wheels and grill}, green paper {license plates} and red paper {break lights}.

diy-drive-in-movie-theatre-big-hero-6-movie-showing-cardboard-car

drive-in-movie-big-hero-6-cardboard-box-car

drive-in-movie-cardboard-car-big-hero-6-kid-party-diy

drive-in-movie-big-hero-6-cardboard-box-car

drive-in-movie-cardboard-car-big-hero-6-kid-party-diy

No drive-in movie is complete without a concession stand. We transformed packaging styrofoam into a backdrop with colorful wrapping paper and photos of the Big Hero 6 characters.

big-hero-6-party-backdrop-colorful-wrapping-paper-baymax-drive-in-concessions

big-hero-6-party-backdrop-colorful-wrapping-paper-baymax

baymax-big-hero-6-water-bottles

Yard Games

Before the kids sat to watch a movie, they played various yard games to release their boundless energy.

big-hero-6-party-diy-sign-yard-games

We transformed our favorite Bucket Ball game into Baymax Bucket Ball. The game was played with the same rules, but players tried to shoot the ball into Baymax buckets filled with water, instead of plain, white buckets. To make the Baymax buckets, we simply cut circles from black card stock, and taped them with a large piece of clear packaging tape. The tape also made the eyes waterproof.

big-hero-6-baymax-bucket-ball-kids-party

Another fun game was Go Go Tomago Disc Toss. We bought hoola hoops, and hung them with rope in-between large trees. Players tried to score points by throwing the ‘Go Go frisbee’ into the hoola hoops.

hoola-hoop-frisbee-toss-kids-game-big-hero-6-party

hoola-hoop-frisbee-toss-kids-game-big-hero-6-party

It’s not a party until you break open a piñata. Jessica bought a soccer ball piñata, and retrofitted it with red, fringe tissue paper and black eyes to make it a Baymax head.

baymax-big-hero-6-diy-pinata-kids-birthday-party

Favors/Details

Kids went home with white pint containers with DIY baymax shirts inside, balloons and their cardboard cars.

balloons-big-hero-6-party

baymax-shirt-red-balloon

Jessica’s hubby carved a DIY microbot for authentic Big Hero 6 decor. He made it from packaging styrofoam and the kids helped us by painting it black.

big-hero-6-party-microbot-diy-

Red lollipops were also a detail in the movie we re-created with wrapping paper sticks {spray painted white} and red plates glued to the top.

big-hero-6-party-baymax-diy-red-lollipop-balloons

Invitations were custom-made by Jenna, of course. We went with a modern, clean approach and added a playful Baymax balloon. You can buy the invites here.

big-hero-6-party-baymax-invitation-kids-birthday-cityscape-invite-fleurdelisapaperie-etsy

IMG_1813

VENDOR LOVE
Invites: Fleur de Lis, a paperie
Balloon arch: Balloon Time Helium Tank

 

Make & Mingle: A Macaron Workshop

make-mingle-macaron-workshop-flowers-pastry-kitchen

Macarons are a trendy dessert sweeping the blogging and sweet tooth nation. They are not just pretty, dainty desserts lining the pastry shops in Paris. They are everywhere! The idea of making the macarons can be daunting, so along with Kaitlin of The Every Hostess, we created a hands-on opportunity for women in Colorado to bake macarons in a real pastry kitchen…and sip champagne while doing it.

It was the inaugural event for our new Make & Mingle Workshops, a series of workshops where the creative and social community of Colorado have an opportunity to gather together to make and mingle with one another.

make-and-mingle-macaron-event-flowers-colorado-workshop

Twenty fellow creatives, local entrepreneurs and just overall fabulous women gathered together to get their hands dirty in almond flour and sugar at a favorite Denver, Colorado pastry shop, Glaze Baum Cakes.

glaze-make-and-mingle-macaron-workshop

glaze-make-and-mingle-macaron-workshop

Two amazing {and patient} pastry chefs shared their recipes, top secrets and tips behind the delectable dessert.

make-and-mingle-workshop-glaze-denver-pastry-kitchen

make-and-mingle-workshop-glaze-denver-pastry-kitchen

make-and-mingle-macaron-workshop-pasty-chef-kitchen

make-and-mingle-macaron-workshop-pastry-frosting-filling

MakeMingleMay_2015-56_Fotor_Collage1

make-and-mingle-macaron-workshop-pastry-frosting-filling

macaron-denver-workshop-salted-caramel

Each guest who purchased a ticket was treated to a cocktail of their choice, a box of a dozen macarons, a lovely print from The First Snow, a macaron baking sheet from Wayfair and additional swag items from Fleur de Lis and The Every Hostess. Thanks to all the amazing sponsors!

make-and-mingle-brown-bag-thank-you

make-and-mingle-flowers-art-print-cup-straw-macarons

The space was beautifully decorated with bright blooms from Prema, along with gold polka dot placemats, pens, recipe cards and personalized Make & Mingle aprons for each guest.

make-and-mingle-flowers-light

make-mingle-gold-polka-dot-recipe-card-place-setting

make-mingle-gold-polka-dot-recipe-card-place-setting

make-and-mingle-diy-custom-apron-pink-blue-ribbon

Keep your social media attention on us and The Every Hostess for our next Make & Mingle event. Lots of love and gratitude to all the amazing people who attended, and companies who helped us make it happen!

Vendor Love
Macaron Baking Sheet, Wayfair
Art Print, The First Snow
Floral, Prema Style
Venue, Glaze Baum Cakes
Photography, Meredith Moran Photography
Printed Materials, Fleur de Lis, a paperie

Make & Mingle Instagram Accounts to Follow 
@jsorelle3
@theeveryhostess
@meredithmoranphoto
@wayfair
@firstsnowgirl
@fdlpaperie
@premastyle
@glaze_baumcakes

 

 

DIY Black and White Coasters + Idea Swap

desk-accessory-coffee-coaster-antler-white-black-quotes-diy-gift-dream

It’s National Swap Idea Day. In honor of the swap day, we teamed up with some of our favorite bloggers to create DIY desk accessories to swap with one another. The challenge was to create a DIY desk accessory or DIY desk organization item for under $20. That’s it! Every blogger that participated was assigned to another blogger, so no one went home empty handed…and now we all have a new desk accessory!

I know Jodi and I {Jessica} are in the need of a serious desk overhaul, so we were excited to see what everyone came up with.

Our girl, Christina Williams Blog, was the lucky recipient of our gift swap – DIY black and white coasters with quotes. We all need inspirational and uplifting quotes while we work, and a hot cup of joe to keep us going. So, our black and white coasters with an antler base is a chic way to get rid of those annoying coffee cup rings. Plus it’s a daily reminder to dream and believe in ourselves.

Shh! Jenna secretly wishes she could keep the coasters because it’s black and white {those are the only two colors she likes} and she drinks coffee all day! 

black-white-coasters-diy-idea-swap-desk-accessory-dream-quotes-wood

Here’s how we did it.

Materials Needed:

  • Coasters {we found ours at the thrift store, along with the antler base for $6}
  • White, gloss spray paint
  • Black Vinyl from Silhouette
  • Frog Tape
  • Shellac

Directions:

  • Step 1: Spray paint the coasters, and antler base white. Below is our original thrift store find.

antler-coaster-set-deer-diy-thrift-store-project-idea-swap

  • Step 2: Design or purchase a design from Silhouette with inspiration words. We used our Silhouette electronic cutting machine to cut the vinyl for this project; however, you could easily use Mod Podge to adhere your design and favorite quotes to the coasters, or just paint your own quotes.

black-white-coasters-diy-idea-swap-desk-accessory-dream-quotes-wood

  • Step 3: Transfer the vinyl to the coasters, following Silhouette vinyl transfer directions. Instead of transfer paper, we used Frog Tape.
  • Step 4: Spray the coasters with waterproof Shellac or sealant.

black-white-coasters-diy-idea-swap-desk-accessory-dream-quotes-wood

  • Step 5: Sip while you work.

desk-accessory-coffee-coaster-antler-white-black-quotes-diy-gift

We are obsessed with the Pencil and Air Plant Holder Miranda at One Little Minute Blog sent us. Air plants is just about the only indoor plant we can keep alive, so it’s perfect!

Check out all the amazing projects and women involved – you are gonna LOVE what you find. All projects are featured on instagram, too.