Prep Rally...

The next time you throw a party for your little one, send the guests home with some custom swag! Check out this adorable "Paint your own Polo" Party kit by Ralph Lauren, a perfect opportunity for kid's to express their creativity, parent's to promote individualism and to top it all off... 10% of the sale price is donated to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Pediatric Art program. Celebrate art & create a beautiful day for someone!

The Key to Great Design...

We always mention products on this blog by our favorite tastemakers, Serena & Lily, but today our sights were on their expert catalog styling. The Moroccan Key pattern painted on the back wall of this catalog excerpt is a great DIY project for anyone looking for a unique alternative to a typical wall mural. Stencils of your favorite motif (i.e. paisley, flower, animal) can easily be cut from large pieces of cardstock found at any craft store. Tone on tone paint colors look very sophisticated or up the playfulness by using two bright coordinating colors.

Milk, Eggs, & Catch-up...

Take a moment to catch-up with bundle design co. by browsing our archives! We hope you are enjoying our musings on creative children's design; we love to get feedback so please leave us comments!

For today's post, we wanted to pass along a gratifying alternative to the usual children's play kitchen. The Land of Nod has created a lovable and affordable play farmer's market stand that offers up the perfect opportunity to teach children about fruits, vegetables, money and simple math. Thank goodness fresh foods are in vogue! The smart design can be used for other imaginative activities, incorporates functional storage space and has a nifty chalkboard begging to announce specials of the day, puppet show schedules or theatre ticket window information.

Out is In...

In this month's House Beautiful we loved the bright profile of outdoor rugs by high-end retailers such as Williams-Sonoma Home and Vera Bradley. They make a great point that these rugs are designed to resist stains, fading and mildew so they are perfect for indoor use where spill-prone kids play and eat. Color and design options of outdoor rugs have increased with their popularity. After all, they are typically softer under foot than the usual sisal rug and you can't beat the cleaning instructions: hose down and dry in the sun!

Pick Your Pattern...

Creating a room that isn't straight from the catalogue is as easy as C.O.M! Do a little research when shopping well known online/catalogue retailers and see if they offer C.O.M customization, which stands for Customers Own Material.

Some of our "go-to" favs that offer this choice are Ballard Designs and Crate & Barrel. Browse their classic furniture frames and make note of the yardage required to cover it's dimensions, then visit your local fabric by the yard retailer to purchase a pattern that could be your inspiration to the entire space. After shipping the fabric using the manufacturer's instructions all you need to do is await delivery of your piece and look forward to a creative and custom nursery or bedroom.

Growing Up...

This blog is the "newest edition" to our lives and we're thrilled our little one is growing up! Almost 500 hits since we started! We've opened each post so there is now an area to leave comments, add additional information, or ask questions. Your feedback is invaluable to molding this new business and we hope to grow right along with your families. Thank you for reading!

Rock on...

We love smart companies that always look to offer more. The classic and trusted publication, Ladies Home Journal, has launched a shopping website with featured products in categories such as: Home, Travel and Pets. The customer reviews are a great resource and they even have a gift registry function. We nearly flipped over this Empire Rocker by Lawson Fenning for Nursery Works while browsing the wonderfully edited selection under Kids & Baby. It has a lot of look for the price point and would make a comfy, cozy addition to any nursery without skimping on style for design-savvy parents.