DIY Birthday Party Garlands

Cam's 6th (SIXTH!!) birthday is almost upon us and although we are sticking with our trend of keeping parties more on the simple side of things, I can't help but oogle at all the fabulous DIY celebratory decor popping around out there. Garlands are one of my most favorite ways to decorate for a party and I always find a great way to reuse them afterwards. I don't even need to make garlands for Cam this year, but if I did, I'd have a hard time picking from this set! Some require more DIY than others (one is even just a DIY arrangement, really), but I love them all.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

p.s. I also love these simple and free printable party banners, which would be super easy to jazz up!

Art Prints for Kid Spaces

It's been almost 9 months since we moved into our "new house" (I think it will always be "new" to me). We did a lot of work before the move -- renovations, decorating, furnishing .... At some point a few months in, I just lost steam. The main things had all been done and I was sick of architects, designers, contractors, and people in the house generally. Between that and the fact that we like to collect art slowly, our walls have largely remained empty.

And now I'm OVER that. But instead of going out and dropping large sums of money on art that we make snap decisions on (cause that would never happen, right?), we've been purchasing reasonably-priced prints that we might some day replace when we find that perfect piece. And the kids' areas are no exception. I've been combing online art sources for prints that work well in kid spaces, but that still work with my overall aesthetic. I can't buy them all, so I thought I'd share my favorites with all of you! Some we have, some are on my to-buy list. But all I love. Happy decorating!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

5 | 6 | 7 | 8

9 | 10 | 11 | 12

13 | 14 | 15 + 16

17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Artworks: Easy Glitter Bunting

Happy Valentine's! We're are SO excited that our little three-day weekend turned into a five-day break thanks to a lovely little winter storm. We think mom is SUPER happy too. In any event, yesterday, mom was showing us photos of the hearts A Feteful Life made at WestElm's St. Jude charity event this week (WestElm is trying to make the longest heart garland ever and for every heart made, they'll donate $1) and we got to thinking. First we wanted to make our own heart garland. So mom got out a bunch of Valentine's supplies. Then we decided we wanted to decorate just doilies. No problem.

We stuck to our watercolors and loose glitter. We were a little heavy handed on the glue, so mom left them out to dry overnight and strung them up on some baker's twine this morning. They are glinting and glittering in the winter sun! Mom thought it was such a super easy decoration to make because the doilies already have holes in them -- stringing them up took no time at all.

The bunting is up now for Valentine's Day, but we think it would look wonderful for any celebration. Glitter for all!!!

Here's what you need:
- a pack of doilies
- watercolors
- white school glue
- loose glitter
- baker's twine

Just paint your doilies whatever color you'd like. Let them dry just a bit and make a design with glue. Sprinkle glitter liberally. Once they are dry, run the baker's twine through the existing holes on the doilies to make your bunting. Revel in the glitter that will be all over you and your house.