Happy Halloween

Busy day today. Costume parade at the elementary school, with a party for kindergarteners afterward. Then carving pumpkins at a friends house. Then preparing our own house for Trick-or-Treaters (read: make apple votives). Ben will take the kids around the neighborhood between 5:00 and 6:00pm. I'll make something warm for dinner and our kids will go to bed fully exhausted and with rotten teeth. Ben and I will eat/hide-for-later most of the snickers, twix, kit kats, reeses, etc. while they sleep. And so will end another Spooktacular Halloween.

Pic of vintage Halloween pails via Martha.

Some Calling Cards I'm Working On

They're oversize for calling cards, and a little undersize for seed packets. I'm happy with where they're at and I like the unusual size. The client is a florist based out of a family-owned greenhouse/nursery and I think these capture the history and feeling of the place quite well.

Although I'll also design traditional business cards for the client (sometimes you just need a normal size business card), I'd like to see at least 4 of these oversize ones produced. I think they would be pretty as a series sitting at the register and would be more interesting to hand out than normal business cards. Also, more likely to be kept and displayed somewhere — like on a bullitin board — by a customer.

Last Minute Halloween Plans

Feeling Halloweeny with no place to go? See the 3-D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas in the theatre or rent the original version and settle in for the night with a bowl full of trick-or-treat candy.

This movie came out my sophomore year of college and the whole Design Department organized a group outing and saw it opening night. I loved it. I still do.

My favorite part: when Jack is trying to describe Christmas to the Halloween Town folks and they just don't get it. So he gives up and makes it sound creepy (like Santa Claws) so at least they'll be enthusiastic.

Too Cool Wool

Keeping with the handcrafted theme I started earlier today, introduce yourself to HUT up. Bek sent me a link to their site and their stuff looks fantabulous (thanks, Bek!). All handcrafted. All made from raw wool. It's got me all itchin to try a wool project.

But mostly I just want to look at their gallery and drool. Clothes, desk stuff, table stuff, pillows, some kind of elephant cozy that makes me cry with happiness, and on and on.

I'm such a sucker for this kind of thing.

Goodbye to Emily

I can't say enough thanks to Emily for Guest Blogging. What great ideas!

My desserts will never be the same now that I've been introduced to Chocolate Toppers. And don't even get me started about marshmellow shooters. . .

Emily rocks!

BlaBla Kids

Earlier I posted on keeping an eye out for soft toys that might work as comfort objects. Then Kathryn C emailed me a link to BlaBla and I realized they were the company making the dolls I had posted about — plus they make a ton of other beautiful things. The colors are terrific. The ideas are consistently dynamite. Super creative, wonderful stuff.

Looking for beautiful and unusual gifts? Toys for your tots? Definitely explore their site. Don't miss the veggie rattles and the birdie bank.

New Couch and Permanent Marker

Over the past couple of months, I've been working with my brother and sister-in-law to design their home and it has been so fun. It's really coming together — only a few accent pieces to go. The major items we added were a new sofa and area rug. The very ones featured in the pic above from CB2.

Last Tuesday, about a week after the sofa was delivered, I got a call from Erin and her voice was shaking. Apparently, her darling 2 year old (really, he's darling) had just written all over the couch with Sharpies. (Why were there Sharpies hanging around, you ask? Erin, like all mothers, is diligent about hiding the Sharpies. This was a total freak accident and not even worth explaining.)

I immediately called everyone I knew with microsuede furniture and had them call Erin with cleaning instructions and the instructions were universal: just scrub it. Just scrub and scrub and scrub and it will come out.

Amazingly, it worked. There is no sign of the Sharpie. I was there and participated in the scrubbing and am a witness that microsuede is the ultimate "family" fabric.

I am way impressed.

On a related note: I know it all worked out, but I'm still wondering, what kind of world is this, when a new couch can't remain Sharpie-less for even a whole week?

Stocking Hooks — by Guest Mom Emily C. Spencer

We finally have a mantle after 7 years of hanging our Christmas stockings on our entertainment center.

But now I face the dilemma of how to hang the stockings? We have a wood mantle that is painted white so it's not really something we want to poke holes or nails into. I have seen these ideas for stocking hooks over the years but now I think I will have to make a purchase. I like these very simple ones from Pottery Barn but I also think these natural wood ones from LL Bean are nice too.

Wellies Wisdom

Yesterday, I was dropping off Tania's two-year-old son after preschool and commented on his super-awesome wellies. (I couldn't find a pic of his exact boots, but I like the ones above, too.)

Very wise Tania mentioned she bought them a size too big — not so he could wear them an extra year, but because then they were easier to put on and he could do it himself. And because he can do it himself, he likes putting on those boots. She doesn't need to tie laces (she has a baby to hold) and he feels accomplished and is happy.

We should all sit at Tania's feet and learn.

Bonus: Tania used to get her favorite (unmarked brand) boots from a little boutique in Brooklyn. When she moved away she was sad to leave that boot source but happened upon the same unmarked boots recently at Walmart for $10.

Sea Bags

Saw these fantastic bags in Lucky and can't get them out of my head. Recycled from decommissioned sails.

See more here.

Book of the Week: A Tree is Nice — by Guest Mom Emily C. Spencer

I love that Design Mom highlights beautiful and classic children's books. One of my childhood favorites is Caldecott award-winning, A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry with illustrations by Mark Simont. This book dates back to the 1950's and is a little old-fashioned in it's illustrations but that is part of what I love about it.

It starts, "Trees are very nice. They fill up the sky" and continues with simple, yet beautiful text about the importance and significance of trees. The illustrations alternate between color and black and white and are quite lovely. It's a good book for beginning readers too. My parents are nature-lovers and this book was read to me often as I was growing up although I hate to admit I actually don't own a copy myself. Yet.

Find it here.

More Mobiles

We've already discussed my love of mobiles. How happy was I to see the amazing selection designed by Hanneby. Go browse and be happy.

via clemantine (nice find!)

Pendant Lamps

I really like these "inside out" pendant lamps from PBTeen. Love all three together. Love each one alone.

Placemat Turned Tote — by Guest Mom Emily C. Spencer

I thought this was a pretty cool idea that I saw when I was perusing a copy of Good Housekeeping — make a handbag from a placemat. Since the edges are already finished, the process is fairly simple and details can be added according to taste. I found some pretty placemats here and here.

Directions can be found here.

Now if only I knew how to sew....maybe I can get my husband to make one for me!

Ask Design Mom: Books for Toddler Boys

Amy writes: I wanted to start my Christmas shopping and was thinking about which books I could purchase for my boys, age 1 and 2 1/2. I'm at a loss. They are into all things boy. . .trucks and animals and fire engines, etc. I saw your Caldecott winner list, and purchased The Ox-Cart Man, but was wondering if you could make a Top Ten Books for Toddler Boys list or something like that. Thanks for your help!

So many excellent questions have been coming in lately. I love it! Just for you, Amy, I went through my library then called on two friends, Juliane and Rebecca (both mothers of 4 boys), for more recommendations. And here it is, in no particular order:

Design Mom's List of Picture Books for Toddler Boys

1 Where the Wild Things Are
2 Curious George
3 Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
4 Little Bear
5 We're Going on a Bear Hunt
6 Big Red Barn
7 Make Way for Ducklings
8 Eric Carle's From Head to Toe
9 Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
10 Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
11 Richard Scarry's Things that Go
12 Goodnight Gorilla
13 The Napping House
14 Kitten's First Full Moon
15 Are You My Mother?

Of course, there are others I've already recommended and dozens more that are awesome that didn't make my list, but I thought 15 was a good starting place. I know my readers will have many great ideas to add to these. Please do so!

Stripe Fetish?

Flipping through the JCrew catalog, I was surprised how much I craved both of these very similar outfits. They look like cool mom clothes to me. One model is even carrying what could easily be a diaper bag.

In fact there were several outfits that seemed very reasonable for a mom to wear. I like these as well:

Chocolate Dessert Toppers — by Guest Mom Emily C. Spencer

This idea has become a standby for me for when I am serving dessert to guests. Even if the dessert isn't that fancy, these little chocolate embellishments will definitely make an impression. I pipe out all sorts of designs with melted chocolate depending on the occasion or the holiday and then I keep them in a Tupperware in the freezer. They last for months and I can always pull some out at the last minute to spice up any dessert I am serving.

I made chocolate cowboy hats for my kid's birthday party and placed one on top of each cupcake. In the past I have made hearts for valentines, stars, letters of the alphabet and also just random cool designs like spirals, squiggly or straight lines. Depending on the consistency of the frosting, I like to stand them up to give a more three-dimensional look. The possibilities are endless with different shapes and different chocolates and it really doesn't require too much of an artist's hand. The toppers are fragile, though, so designs can be limited that way.

This is how I do it (warning - this is very amateur and I am sure there is a more professional way). I think there is a specific type of chocolate for melting (that will remain hard at room temp) but I just use what I have in the kitchen — semi-sweet baking chocolate:

-Melt 1 oz of baking chocolate in a Pyrex container in the microwave — stopping to stir every 15 seconds.
-Remove the chocolate from the oven when it has almost melted, then stir and let any tiny undissolved lumps melt.
-Be careful not to overcook as chocolate will be grainy and lumpy.
-Pour melted chocolate into zip loc bag, seal, and cut small hole in corner (size of hole depends on how thick you want your designs).
-Pipe designs onto cookie sheets lined with wax paper.
-Place cookie sheets in refrigerator until chocolate hardens.
-Carefully peel designs from wax paper and put in Tupperware.
-Freeze until time to use.
-Place chocolate topper on only at the last minute as chocolate will start to soften at room temperature and may not hold it's shape as well.

Ask Design Mom: Baby Gifts

Michelle writes: A lot of my girlfriends are pregnant with their first child. Some are really close friends, others are acquaintances. Any ideas for good baby gifts that range in price from $20 to $60? Thanks — I love your blog (and I’m not even a mom)!

What a great question. Thanks for asking, Michelle and thanks for reading. Here are a few ideas:

1) A Knit Blanket
Although they are typically designed as part of a collection, with matching onsies, hats and socks available, a blanket is still a legitimate and useful gift on its own. They are not hard to find. The versions I own from BabyGap and Gymboree are thicker-than-normal and wear well. In fact, it doesn't even have to be knit. Any pretty-in-it's-own-right blanket would be great, like this cableknit one from Amy Coe or these swaddling blankets from Babystyle. It's amazing how many blankets you need as a new mother — especially the first few months. $15 to $30 range.

2) Embellished Burp Cloths
These come in handy in instances the Mom-to-be can't even imagine yet. Good for burping, drooling, spit-up, runny noses, protecting furniture from diaper blowouts, etc. These hit the scene sometime between Oscar and Betty's birth. Previous to their invention, we had to use plain old cloth diapers without a single piece of rickrack or ribbon. How sad. My lovely friend Robyn D. gave me a set of three when Betty was born and I am never without one. Beautiful ones available here or here or you can embellish them yourself. $10 to $20 range.


3) Books, Books, Books
It's never too early to get started on baby's first library. A few good choices:
-A box of Sandra Boynton's board books
-Pick several Dr. Suess books, like The Foot Book, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and Great Day for Up
-1 classic picture book in hardcover, like Where the Wild Things Are or anything on my Book of the Week list
-The 4 Winnie-the-Pooh books (a must have for every child's library)
-Give Olivia or Eloise to friends in New York having a baby girl (both feature strong-willed girls in NYC) $10 to $30 range.

4) A Bathtub
This feels like a big gift. And for sure the new mom will need one. But they're not expensive. $15 to $30 range.

5) Diaper Bag
I would actually recommend against giving a diaper bag unless you know she's hankering for a specific one. Moms usually have to figure out what works for them as far as diaper bags go. $40 to $60 range.


6) Robeez
These are the must-have baby shoes of the moment. The big deal is that they don't fall off. They come in about a zillion patterns. Knock-offs available at Target. $20 to $30 range. Knockoffs $10 to $15.

7) Luxe Baby Beauty Products
The beautiful products I featured here and here would make excellent gifts. $10 to $20 range.


8) Like to make things?
Try these: Sew a few bibs or a hooded towel. Tania makes amazing hooded towels and includes a rubber ducky and a bottle of baby bath when she delivers them. (Tania, how about a post with directions on how to make said towels?) Jordan screen-printed personalized onesies for Betty and they have been universally admired. $10 to $20 range.

9) Baby Monitor
No matter how small the house or apartment, a baby monitor is super-reassuring. $20 to $40 range.



10) A Good Coat or Bunting
Outerwear for babies is something that can be irritating to spend money on, because it can be pricey and you only use it for a few months — but, you HAVE to have outerwear for babies. So, I've loved receiving coats or fleece buntings or jackets as gifts. Try here or here or here. $30 to $60 range.

As usual, I hope my readers will comment with their own wonderful ideas.

[ Edit: I published this yesterday for a few minutes, but it wasn't appearing correctly, so I've fixed it and am trying again today. Sorry about that. ]

P'Kolino Kid's Play Furniture

P'Kolino teamed up with the Rhode Island School of Design to create these amazing play pieces. My kids would love something like this. Totally flexible: work table, play table, ramp, puppet theatre, climb on features, crawl under features. What an awesome toy.

No wonder it runs about $1000. Even more than owning this play set, I want a house where this play set would look at home. Available here.

Cowboy Birthday, Yee Haw! — by Guest Mom Emily C. Spencer

First of all, thanks to Gabby for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. I have been reading her blog faithfully for the past couple of months and I love it! Since I only get to see Gabby in person every couple of years or so (has it been that long?!), it is nice to read her great ideas and glean from her design talent a couple of times a week. Thanks Gabby!

We recently celebrated my youngest daughter's and my son's birthday. Their birthdays are only two days apart and since my daughter just turned 3, I was able to combine their parties into one celebration (I know that won't last too much longer!). Since we only do "friends" parties every other year, we invited some family over for what was supposed to be a low-key, simple birthday party with a western theme. I started to look for ideas on the internet and was delighted to find so many great ideas that we ended up going all out with decorations, games, dinner, attire, and more. It was a huge success so I thought I would share just a few of these ideas with ya'll!

1. Decorations: Bales of hay decorated with bandannas, old cowboy boots, hats, pumpkins, multi-colored corn cobs, fall leaves etc. We downloaded an "Old West" type font and made signs for the food — "Grub," the drink table (which was a big tin bucket full of ice and rootbeers) — "waterin' hole," and the bathroom — "outhouse." We had a sign at the front door stating "Hey ya'll, come around back for a rootin, tootin, good time! It's a birthday party dagnabit!" We burned the edges of all of our signs on the stovetop to add a more rustic effect — very cool!. We also made "Wanted" posters for the two birthday kids with pictures of them in their cowboy get-up. They were "wanted" for things like "sleepin' in," "runnin' around neked," and "leavin' their britches on the floor." Of course, we all wore our cowboy duds. I also had small brown paper bags filled with peanuts in the shell to crack and munch on before dinner.

2. Games: Since my kids were the youngest ones there, I had to gear my games towards the older kids and folks. When everyone arrived, we had a big tin bucket full of water and squirt guns and the guests ran around playing with these for awhile. Then we had a balloon stomp where a balloon is tied to each ankle and then everyone runs around trying to pop each other's balloons. The activity that was the biggest hit was the tin can shoot. My husband made some marshmallow shooters out of PVC pipe and we set up a ladder with rows and stacks of empty soda cans. The kids lined up and fired away! Even the adults got into it! See here for more info about the marshmallow shooters. My husband's design was a little more simple — but this truly is a great toy! Squirt guns or rubber band shooters would work as well.

3. Meal: BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, salad, chips, and vegetable plate. I really didn't want to do two cakes so I made cupcakes with chocolate cowboy hat toppers (see upcoming post for more info regarding this idea). Although I did find some darling cowboy boot candles at a party supply store that we used for the singing and blowing.

Overall the party was huge success! There were more ideas that we didn't even have time for — caramel apple dipping, roasting marshmallows and making smores in our fire pit — and more ideas from birthday party sites for all ages.

Introducing Emily Clark Spencer

A great big Design Mom welcome to Emily Clark Spencer. Emily and I met because our husbands are longtime childhood friends — and thank goodness, because Emily is a wonderful person to know. Accomplished in a dozen ways, Emily is a nurse professionally, mother of 3 and expecting number 4 in a few months. Emily grew up in a home where creativity and art were expected of every member of the household and although she protests that she's too left brained, plenty of artistic ability permeates her life, as you'll see from her posts.

Emily spent the last several years in Hershey, PA and Stanford, CA while her husband finished his medical degree. Recently, she just bought her first home and now faces the awesome task of furnishing and decorating. Most importantly, Emily's ham recipe is a family favorite among all of my 8 siblings and even made the Stanley Family Cookbook. They call it Gabby's ham, but really it's Emily's ham.

New Stuff at Darleybird

I was just visiting Darleybird to see their new stuff and found this fabulous Vintage Coral Bouquet Ring. Exclusive to Darlybird. Handmade in Japan and amazingly only $14.00! So darn pretty.


Then, I saw this Vintage Ethel Bobby Pin that would look great in dark hair (hint) and is only $4.00.


And then, I saw this Mercury Glass Bird Ornament and fell in love. A set of 6 for $24.

So many great things. I love Darleybird..

Yummy Window Panels

Awesome Laurie just sent me a link to these amazing window panels at Urban Outfitters. Some really lovely choices. Definitely check these out.

Thanks for the heads up, Laurie.

Buffalo and Niagara

Last report on our trip, I promise. On the way home from Toronto we spent half a day at Niagara Falls. I had wanted to see the Falls since I was a kid and it was every bit as impressive as I hoped. We visited the Canadian side and the views were spectacular. On another visit we'll try the American side so we can hear the roar of the water and try one of the hikes that take you down near the water. The weather was chilly but not cold and the light was intense. It was really, really beautiful.

After the Falls, we were able to visit our incredibly gracious and super-cool friends in Buffalo. They finally had their power restored — post storm — after a couple of days in the dark, and had us over for pizza and Buffalo wings. We were able to meet their beautiful daughters Rose and Daisy (love those names!) and generally destroy their house before heading out for the night. Their home was so great. Lots of small, creative details that had me taking mental notes all evening. A great ceramic plate collection on the wall. Twinkle lights with little ribbons making a night light in the baby's room. Very inspiring.

We hadn't seen Devon and Michelle in a long time and could have hung out with them for days at a time without running out of good conversation. It was a great, but too short, visit.

Pimp My Ride — Family Edition

Remember my post about selling the Eurovan? Well, we haven't had the heart to do it — especially now that our awesome road trip reminded me that the VW is actually designed for awesome roadtrips. What in the world are we going to replace it with?

Plus, I think it's a really good candidate for Pimp My Ride. In the last episode I watched, the Pimp My Ride team installed a snow maker on the car, three different TV screens in the dashboard, and also TV screens on the mudflaps. Awesome. For sure they can handle my requests.

This is what I want done to our Eurovan:

-Replace the 5 rear seats with a curved bench that seats 6 (we always need an extra seatbelt for a guest/playdate). The bench would start where the back, passenger-side bench starts, but then curve around until it meets the driver's seat. This would be amazing. It would eliminate front row/back row arguments and there would be super easy access from the side door for me to climb in and buckle everyone quickly. We only have one sliding side door, and the bench would block a potential second side door, but I don't mind. The bench would be so great.
-The curved bench also needs to convert to a bed when needed.
-The curved bench needs to be easily removed so we can have pure, unadulterated cargo space as needed.
-Each seat on the bench should have it's own cubby/basket attached underneath, but not touching the floor to make for easier vacuuming. The cubbies should be easily removeable for cleaning out.
-In two or three seats on the bench there should be built-in carseats that are safe for 1-year-olds and up (like volvos) that can convert to regular seats. Imagine: no more installing car seats!
-In front of the curved bench there would be a table that stores flush with the floor and sets up with one hand — the kids could eat or play games or do homework here.
-All ashtrays and existing pockets for stuff should be eliminated so that there's nowhere for apple cores to hide and no hard-to-reach places to clean. Streamline.
-There should be a Dustbuster port that charges as the van runs, so it's ready anytime.
-I don't want a fridge in the car, but there should be cupholders in the bench that have a cooling button.
-TV screens installed in the seatbacks of the 2 front seats.
-Some kind of media station that accomodates DVDs, iPods, cds, tapes, GPS — with no visible wires.
-wifi access.
-Surfaces should be easy to maintain. Leather on the seats, maybe rubber flooring.
-A built-in diaper wipes compartment near the bench that's easy to restock.
-Armorall wipes compartment in the dash (Ben likes to Armorall the car when he's at red lights.)
-A garbage compartment that fits standard size garbage liners. And has a place to store garbage liners.
-Auto lift gate.
-Auto side door.
-Auto windows in the rear.
-Car kit with first aid, tools, chains, cables, blanket, etc. that stores neatly out of the way.
-TV screens on the mudflaps.

What do you think? Is the Eurovan reality show material?

Book of the Week: Nutshell Library

This was on our library shelf in the home I grew up in and luckily they're back in production. I loved them as a child and I love them now. The collection of 4 books by Maurice Sendak (author/illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are) is tiny, each book measures about 2.5" x 3.5". One is about the alphabet, one is about numbers, one is about the months of the year and one is a "cautionary tale" about caring.

The size of the books makes them extra intriguing to little hands — as if they are pretend books. My toddlers have not been able to resist them. They come as a boxed set and each one is hardbound and has it's own little dust jacket. The illustrations are as charming as the size.

The collection costs about the same as buying 1 larger picture book, which I think is reasonable, but if you're buying it as a gift it doesn't have a lot of "wow" impact because it's so small.

Find it here.

Ask Design Mom: Holiday Dresses

Shannan from Michigan writes: I am looking for fairly inexpensive, cute matching Holiday Dresses for my daughters. I have one that is a princess and one that's a tom-boy but too young to know, so I want something a little "foofy", as my oldest, Abbigail would say. Any suggestions?


Thanks Shannan for the excellent question:
For fairly inexpensive dresses for baby to 4T (the big girl options aren't as cute), I think Children's Place is carrying some good looking "foofy" options this year. They are in the $40 range, but if $40 is more than you want to spend, you're in luck, because they markdown every couple of weeks. I like this red velvet ribbon dress paired with this crisp white collared shirt and I really, really like this satin and lace dress in winter white.

Note: Sometimes Children's Place doesn't know when to stop — think Angela's rosettes on Project Runway. I'd have to see it in person, but I'd be tempted to remove the bow on the velvet ribbon dress.


Gymboree also has some way cute and "foofy" options this year in sizes for baby through 12 years. And Gymboree has recently become more aggressive with markdowns, so watch for sales on these as well. I love the Red Tulle Twirl Dress and the Plaid Dress and the (decidely unfoofy but still wonderful) Houndstooth Jumper. They carry coordinating shirts for the sleeveless dresses.

With pretty much all of these dresses I would finish with white tights and black patent-leather shoes. (I find my daughter's holiday shoes and tights at Target.)

Other places I can usually find fairly inexpensive holiday dresses are TJ Maxx and Costco. Both stores sometimes carry Laura Ashley dresses for girls that are gorgeous. The versions at TJ Maxx will be better quality and more expensive, but then again, how often is this dress going to be worn? Does it need to be the best quality? Also, if you have one in Michigan, I found holiday dresses one year at H&M that I loved, loved. So far, I haven't seen anything at Gap or Old Navy that is impressing me for the Holidays — maybe they haven't put everything out yet.

Pretty much everything else I've seen is in the $80 range, which I don't call fairly inexpensive for a little girl's dress. Has anyone else out there spotted a fabulous dress for the holidays? Josh, I certainly hope you'll chime in.