Sophisticated Nursery Art for $15

Ever since I’d planned my first born daughter’s nursery 7 years ago, I had a vision for adding vintage Barbie prints to the room that they could grow with.

Sophisticated Blush and Gold Baby Nursery with toile accents and Jenny Lind crib | Five Marigolds

My inspiration came from places like Posh Tots, Rosenberry Rooms, and other upscale design stores who were selling the framed prints for upwards of $135 each.

Source www.rosenberryrooms.com

Source www.rosenberryrooms.com

Fast-forward to this year. In the process of moving I realized we had four matted square frames that we’d never used! I think it was one of those things that I thought my husband had returned, and he thought I’d returned. Regardless, it was a sweet score that inspired me to revive this decor idea as we began decorating the kids’ new rooms. This time, I found a way to create this art on the cheap. I scoured Amazon for used vintage print Barbie calendars, and found that there are usually at least two 12×12 calendars available for a reasonable price. I believe I bought mine for around $10.

I spray painted my black frames with Rust-Oleum Metallic spray paint I had on hand (love this stuff), inserted my favorite prints, and voila! Vintage Barbie art for less than $15.

Sophisticated Blush and Gold Baby Nursery with toile accents and Jenny Lind crib | Five Marigolds

 

I love the look of three frames above the crib, but I’m debating adding the fourth and making it a square formation when Belle moves to a big girl bed. What do you think?

As for the rest of the room…

Sophisticated Blush and Gold Baby Nursery | Five Marigolds

It’s needs some love. I have big plans, but I’m taking my time.

Sophisticated Blush and Gold Baby Nursery | Five Marigolds

Sophisticated Nursery in Blush, Champagne and Toile | Five Marigolds

Details:

 

Tutu Birthday Party for my Two year-old

What could be better than a tutu birthday party for your little ballerina’s two year-old birthday?

For baby ‘Belle’s party, I wanted to do something that conveyed her love of dancing and tutus and looked special, but that was simple and inexpensive to put together.

First, for my $3 backdrop, I took 3 white plastic tablecloths from the dollar store for my backdrop.  I simple folded them in half length wise, then began rolling them up toward the fold. Once the cloth was rolled approximately 10″ from the fold, I began cutting the rolled tablecloth in strips approximately 3″ apart. Easy!Tutu Ballerina Birthday Party | Five Marigolds

I finished it off with the vintage bunting we re-use for the girls’ parties each year. I love how this small investment adds something special to every party we have for them.

Next, I layered the table with two tablecloths, sandwiched with some tulle. I had planned to make this an inexpensive “tutu tablecloth” but it didn’t quite turn out that way! No problem though – I still love the effect of the pink tulle as the focal point of the table. To finish it off, I placed the tablecloth over the top and bustled it at the center to better highlight the tulle.

Tutu Ballerina Birthday Party. | Five Marigolds

Finally, I placed a trifle bowl upside down and I placed her own baby tutu around the bowl. Then, I just placed the cake on top. Tutu Ballerina Birthday Party. | Five Marigolds

I’d ordered a the cake to looks similar this:

Frilly Cake

So, I was a little disappointed in the finished result from my local Target bakery.However, I really can’t complain for such an inexpensive cake…and really it looks so cute when it’s all propped out with this gold “2” candle and bunting.

Tutu Ballerina Birthday Party. | Five Marigolds

We served ballerina punch, pink Jelly Bellys and dipped marshmallows for a birthday-worthy sugar buzz.

I hope you like ‘Belle’s tutu party fit for a two year-old ballerina. Thanks for stopping by!

Tutu Birthday Party | Five Marigolds

(Very) Small Spaces: Shared Girl Room

Baby #3 is on the way  soon(!) and the nursery is officially done. We live in a 3 bedroom home with cozy (aka ridiculously small) bedrooms which meant lots of creativity and organization.
I tried my best to create the illusion of space with monochromatic touches of taupe and pink with gold accents against white.  We used a pink and taupe toile in the bedding for both girls and carried the colors throughout the room. Here is a mock up:shared girl room3
I’m certainly no designer (clearly!) but because I had such a hard time finding decor ideas for tight quarters, I’m posting mine for all of you out there with small spaces.
Tiny Spaces Shared Girl Room
Do you like how I kept the overstuffed toy box in the shot? That’s just me keeping it real.


Perfect Pink Lemonade Birthday Party

I was so excited for Eve’s first birthday and I knew exactly what the theme would be – Pink Lemonade, for my sweet and sour little girl 🙂

Well, then there was an out of state family wedding the weekend of her birthday which meant significantly toning down the birthday plans. Which was hard for me, because I just love a good themed party. Side note: do you know what else is hard? Accidentally deleting all the photos in my camera from said party, and then racing to take just a couple to prove my baby had a party. Ugh!

So to plan the un-party, I started with the basics.  One of the things I’ve done for all of my kids is purchase just a few birthday items that we bring out every year, including a pendant banner, centerpieces with photos of them over the years, and a “My special day” seat cover.

lemonadebirthday_5wm

We also use this seat cover for all special occasions, from birthdays to the first day of school and other milestones.  It’s a tradition that has become very meaningful to us – when the kids come downstairs in the morning and see their seat cover, they know we’re celebrating them that day.

lemonadebirthday_3wm

Next, I added some cute polka-dot napkins, cups and cute paper straws from Target.  I served a basic lemonade some frozen strawberries. Yum!

lemonadebirthday_2wm

I made these adorable cupcakes.  I’d scoured the interwebs for the best pink lemonade recipe and landed on this one.  Unfortunately, they were just a bit too tart for us!  No problemo – that just left more room for the homemade ice cream we made (and Mmmm does our family love homemade ice cream!).

lemonadebirthday_1wm

So there you have it – a very simple, sweet Pink Lemonade birthday.  Check out my Pink Lemonade Pinterest board for more ideas for our next Pink Lemonade birthday. Enjoy!

lemonadebirthday_8wm lemonadebirthday_10wm