Baby's first year: Monthly photo collage

I can't take credit for this idea... I saw it on Pinterest somewhere. I loved the idea of documenting the Bean's growth from the beginning, but needed something time and user-friendly.

It was so easy to do! Just buy a set of alphabet letters (I got mine at the Dollar Store), put baby on a white sheet, and click click click away! I pulled the letters for "month" out and had them in a separate Ziplock baggie, so all I needed to do at the first of the month was grab that and the number I needed. It was easy to remember to do, as every month they grow is a milestone that you're very aware of.

Don't worry about getting the "perfect" shot-- just take a lot of them every time so you can have plenty to choose from. As you can see with my little one, sometimes he was fussy, sometimes he needed a snack (on his foot, apparently, or on the letter "S"), sometimes he was just over it. But put those "imperfect" shots together with the good ones, and you encapsulate baby's personality in 12 shots!

A few notes:
1. I used Collage Maker, an Apple app, to put all the pictures together. Another good free photo collage software for download is CollageIt.

For online collage makers, try Photovisi, Loupe, Collage.com, or Fotor.

2. It's fun to see baby's body grow which is why I had him in only a diaper. I always tried to get a full-body shot and have that in a version too (but for the purpose of posting it on the Internet, chose to just show his face).
3. Keeping baby with the same "scenery" every time helps show growth, a perspective which can be hard to capture on camera otherwise. I've seen people put them next to the same stuffed animal, in the same chair, etc.

4. I am anything but a professional photographer, and I know the lighting varies by picture. If you do it in the same place at the same time of day every time, you would get more uniform lighting (and my applause).

5. I reiterate: take a LOT of shots each time. You know babies go through a range of moods in a quick time span, and you want to have lots to choose from. Plus, it's fun to have all the pictures from each month to look back on.

6. As baby gets older, they will want to grab at the letters... let them! You may want to distract them or get a smile by having their favorite toy nearby.

7. There are TONS of great ideas on the Web with variations of this idea so look around. For example, one I loved (and actually tried the first month) was baby next to the number of balloons of their month. I just didn't want to buy helium balloons every month for the purpose of a picture.

This really is a fun project and the end result is a treasure. Get creative and have fun!

DIY "Goodnight Moon" party

We did it! Our little guy turned one last weekend and we had family and friends over for what turned out to be a really fun party. The last of the "Goodnight Moon" posts, I promise!

Here are some really easy things I did to stay in theme:
First- RED BALLOONS. Anywhere you like-- the mailbox, next to the cake, next to the favors, on the chairs... since the red balloon is a "character" in the story, you can get by putting them just about anywhere.


When I ordered the cupcakes, I just told the bakery "icing in primary colors-- red, green, yellow, blue." Easy, right? Then I printed out the book cover and cow painting from the story as passport-sized pictures, and on one sheet got about 12 prints. Hot glue + toothpicks = cupcake toppers! To mix it up a bit, I wrote "hush" (thanks, little old lady) on some premade yellow flag toppers with a Sharpie.

And because I am apparently becoming a mother straight out of "Toddlers and Tiaras," I also painted the cow jumping over the moon in acrylic. It was a good space-filler.

The birthday boy had THREE wardrobe changes (again, "Toddlers and Tiaras"). Dressy pre-cake:

 Something to get messy in for the smash cake (shameless plug, but I'm actually about to start selling these in my Etsy store.)

And a t-shirt to wear after all the madness.

This was a random find, but at our local Tuesday Morning I found the "Goodnight Moon Game." Yes! A board game made after the book... and for $9.99! I turned it into the centerpiece for the table, and the kiddos got to play the game after we were done eating.

Same rule for the banner as with the cupcakes: primary colors. I separated each word with a picture of the rabbit from the story (this was actually a picture of a paper plate I printed out several times... i.e., there's a set of "Goodnight Moon" paper products out there somewhere on the interwebz. Google it!) 

This rabbit was actually something we already had, I thought he worked for the theme because he was wearing a night cap. The three balls next to him were Dollar Store finds... I'm not even sure what they really are (stress squeeze balls maybe?) but their colors worked-- and they were a buck!

This pales in comparison to the swanky parties I saw online, but for what we were doing it was great and just enough.  Time to start planning the next one!

"Goodnight Moon" Birthday party ideas... the best on the 'Net

Since I've been doing so much combing of the Web for inspiration for the Bean's first birthday, I thought I'd compile what I've found in one place to hopefully save someone else the time looking. Here are some of the cutest ideas I've seen so far (I will add to this as I find things). T-minus 5 days until our big Goodnight Moon bash!

1. Bright candy, snacks, and labels. I love the idea of just using anything with primary colors in it for food. And the picture frame photo booth idea? So cute!

2. Spotlight on yarn. I kept seeing these balls of yarn and sadly it took me a minute to "get" it-- Oh! The little lady whispering "hush" is knitting! Cute space filler.

3. Cows jumping over moons everywhere. They don't have to be the Goodnight Moon cow; your guests will get the point.

4. More primary colors, and a sleeping rabbit. Here's an example of finding something not specific to the theme, but in keeping with it because the colors/ideas work. The Bean has a stuffed rabbit I'll be using with a pillow, too.

Notice this person has also included a "framed" picture like in the book... I did this too, with the picture that has the cow jumping over the moon and red farmhouses. It was really easy, I just needed a canvas, paintbrushes, and acrylics in red, midnight blue, yellow, and white.

5. Keep your birthday boy or girl in theme. I found this adorable shirt on Etsy but needed to stay in budget so I made a similar one with my embroidery machine (not as cute but makes the point). You could also use Avery heat press vinyl to do this. If you're not crafty... just order it!

6. But when baby smashes that cake... Granted this isn't about Goodnight Moon, but it's important to note: you're going to want them to be in something they can get completely messy.  I bought some cheapie baby "undershirts" by Gerber and made an open bowtie onesie, adding the words "Let's Party" on it because... well, it's going to be time to party when we bust this out.

Goodnight Moon! Baby's First Birthday

Well, I have finally decided on a theme for my little guy's first birthday... it's going to be a teeny-tiny family party but I just had to have an inspiration. Colors will be all primary (like the ones on the cover of the book), and I'll probably make a moon... and a cow to jump over it. Wish me luck! The invitations have gone out:

These invitations were really easy to make-- I chose printable invitations (to a bridal shower, actually) from Party City with a color I liked, and cut teeny-tiny books out of photo paper that I put on the photos instead of the little ribbons they had included. A few cute fonts from dafont.com (my favorite site for downloading free fonts) and they were ready!


I know the party won't be anything as fancy as some of the ones I've seen online, but I'm excited about getting ideas from lovely Goodnight Moon soirees like this one!

My Favorite Summer Salad: Kale and Chickpeas with honey and lemon

I have made this salad SO often this summer I figured I should share! There's so many ways this can be done and you'll notice all the measurements are "to taste"; that's because I found that I needed to tweak it myself to make it just right for me. I love how the honey and lemon counteract each other, and the richness of the garlic.

Also, this originally it had avocado and olive oil in it too, but I'm trying to cut calories where I can so I made this lower-fat version. Grilled chicken is also delish in this salad.

Enjoy!

Kale and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

- Kale
- 1 oz. can of chick peas (fresh is always better, but I went with easy)
- 1/2 chopped red onion
- Tablespoon (or more to taste) minced garlic
- drizzle of honey
- drizzle of lemon juice
- drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette 
- Kosher salt to taste
- Pepper to taste

(optional additions: avacado, grilled chicken, pine nuts.. get creative!)

 

Affordable Abstract Art

My mom is an Impressionist artist who has painted for over 30 years. Recently, she started adding abstract art to her portfolio, a great example of which can be seen in this painting she gave me to go over our mantle:

Mom's art in our house

Original artwork can add so much to a room, but it's not always affordable. Here are some pieces I found under $500 I thought were gorgeous!

The first site I discovered was ugallery.

It's a playground of original art, I LOVE it! You can sort by genre, color, and price to find just the piece you want. Some of my favorites:

Sharon Barfoot
Maintaining Balance, $375

Faith Taylor, Pyrite $425

Scott Bergey
The Well To Do, $225

Robert Darabos
Untitled (Red with Squares): printmaking on paper, silkscreen/serigraph, $325

Cheryl Paolini, Rhythm, mixed media $375
http://www.ugallery.com/mixed-media-artwork-rhythm

Next, of course, are a few Etsy finds:

(so sorry for the ugly links, Blogger won't let me link correctly for some reason)

Semi-abstract floral, StudioSabine, $250
http://www.etsy.com/listing/108882202/semi-abstract-floral-original-encaustic?ref=sr_gallery_22&ga_search_query=abstract+art&ga_order=price_asc&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_min=250&ga_max=500&ga_search_type=handmade


1960 vintage oil on board, chris smith on Etsy, $150
http://www.etsy.com/listing/130094763/1960s-abstract-oil-on-board-by-jeffrey?ref=sr_gallery_16&ga_search_query=abstract+oil&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_vintage_rewrite=vintage+abstract+oil&ga_orig_facet=vintage%2Fhome_decor%2Fwall_hanging&ga_original_query=2&ga_search_type=vintage

Large abstract painting, acrylic, Itisfine on Etsy, $473.86

http://www.etsy.com/listing/156031752/large-48-by-36-abstract-painting-acrylic?ref=br_feed_23&br_feed_tlp=art

 

abstract acrylic, wreynoldsorr on Etsy, $350

http://www.etsy.com/listing/155823608/original-abstract-acrylic-painting-on?ref=shop_home_active

Happy Saturday Pretties

It's a beautiful Saturday here in the deep south, so this post is just going to be... pretty. No theme really, just a little eye candy and fanciness from my Pinterest boards.
Have a lovely day!

Pink Peony, Barcelona, Spain

Princess Zinaida Yusupova by Francois Flameng, 1894

Dustjacket Attic

Valentino

Portugal

ballarinas and tutus. (pastels and whites)

Giambattista Valli FW 2012

Pretty Pearls

Tile

drapes... citified

Tiffany, via 1stdibs

Exquisite... handpainted fabric