It is an honor to be chosen to help host baby or wedding showers for friends and loved ones. Participating as hostess to one of these blessed events is a thrilling opportunity. Here are some fabulous baby shower decorating techniques that add elegant impact without breaking the bank, and are not too difficult to execute.

1. Try to incorporate personal details with current styles and color trends when choosing a theme for a baby shower. In the spring, a naturalistic baby shower is a wonderful gender neutral shower theme and soft robin’s egg blue, pale green and a warm brown can be used as a color palette. Burlap accents and mercury glass votives are nice additions to this theme as well.
2. Baby girl showers are usually synonymous with ruffles and frills. To create a lovely little girl soiree add fancy frills everywhere. Hot glue pink or ivory tulle in a ruffled pattern along the base of a cake stand. This will create an elegant and fluffy cake tutu. If you have cupcakes instead, fashion mini rosettes from small bunches of tulle, hot glue them to toothpicks, and use them as toppers.
3. For a baby boy shower, a color theme of yellow and gray is a great choice. Chevron patterned fabric in either of these colors will make an excellent backdrop for the food tables. Bright yellow balloon bouquets on each side of the table, on the gift table and on the mailbox will add dramatic impact. Balloons are a must for any event because of their affordability and the huge impact they make in decor. If you are short on tables, you can always use your fireplace hearth or a living room coffee table for a gift table by covering it with coordinating tablecloths.
4. Use inspired treats. For example, if you were throwing the Spring Themed shower mentioned earlier, create birds’ nests out of crunchy sticks dipped in chocolate and add a green, a turquoise and a pale blue peanut butter M&M on top for the eggs. Display them on a dessert table with shaped mints and petit fours.
5. Make a pennant flag to hang on the mantle and create table swags for the front of the food tables out of tulle. To make a swag, lay out a long width of tulle across the table and tying a satin ribbon around the tulle to bunch it up every foot and a half or so, and then secure the ribbon with tape to the top edge of the table.
6. Tulle goes a long way when decorating for a baby shower because of the soft and elegant touch it adds to nearly everything. It can even be used for bows on presents or to accent a diaper cake, which is not only a great decoration but a useful gift for the mom-to-be.
7. Anywhere personal details can be added seize that opportunity. The parents may be able to use some of the shower decor in the baby’s room. For example, use the baby’s name or the colors of the nursery in a welcome banner.

Whatever style or theme chosen for a baby shower, the key to decorating successfully is in the details. The mom-to-be will be touched that so much thought was put into this event for her and her little one on the way.

Valentine’s Day can mean many different things to people, but for kids and their parents it usually only means one thing, card decoration! Exchanging cards with the people you love has become a long-standing tradition for adults and children alike. Children, though, are probably more excited about the decoration part than the actual exchange.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to a simple and fun Valentine’s Day card. Parents and their children can tweak the steps to come up with a unique creation. This craft project will take thirty minutes to an hour (though kids can take their time with the decorating if they want).

1. Decide on the card size. Usually, a home-made card is paper folded into quarters. You can use any type of paper, even patterned ones, to suit your intended design.
2. Use craft materials for the cover. Use ribbons, feathers, and sparkle tulle to create a three-dimensional heart or flowers. Tulle is safe to use and easy for kids to manipulate, so parents don’t have to worry about including this material in the project.
3. Include a surprise! Wrap some candy hearts and stickers in a tulle round circle as a gift to tell that special someone you love them.
4. Write a heart-felt message inside. The thing about greeting cards these days is that they’re too generic. A personal greeting to the recipient will surely make this Valentine’s Day card special.

There are many other possible craft projects for Valentine’s Day that parents and kids can share. Be creative in selecting the materials you use to spruce up your project. Try usual decorative materials like tulle and buttons or be a bit more experimental with uncooked macaroni and eggshells. What matters most is that parents and their kids enjoy a memorable experience working on arts and crafts from time to time.

It’s the holiday season and you’re going to have guests over. How do you make your guest room warm and inviting?

Here Are Some Tips For Creating a Warm, Cozy and Stylish Guest Room:

Get The Best Bed You Can Afford.

Don’t give your guests your old sagging mattress. If you can’t afford a new mattress, get an air mattress. They’re very comfortable and can go on top of a box spring.

Bedding Upgrades.

Besides clean bedding, think about wonderful higher end bed linens and comforters that you would find in a B&B: Multiple pillows, Premium Sheets, Satin comforter set, extra throw blankets.

Fresh Linens

Always have fresh linens available. Spills happen, or you might have those wonderful guests that insist on changing the sheets when they leave. Let them, and thank them.

A Comfy Place to Sit

Have a comfy chair in the room with some throw pillows and a throw blanket. Make it a comfy place to relax with a book.

A Gift Basket of Toiletries and Goodies

Leave a beautiful basket in the room to greet them filled with small travel toiletries incase they forgot theirs and snacks to enjoy. Sometimes people get the “nibbles” in the evening, so place some small wrapped snacks to nibble on and maybe a bottle or two of water. Bonus points if you can find locally made snacks for your out of state friends. Then wrap the basket in sparkle tulle to make it look extra special and welcoming.

Some Reading Materials

Leave a great novel you want to share, short story books, or any magazines your guests would enjoy in the room for them. Sometimes guests wake up earlier then the rest of the house and would love to spend that time reading.

Need a quick costume for your little girl? Every little girl dreams of being a princess. When it comes to playing dress-up, your girl’s princess costume does not need to cost a fortune. Making a costume from Celia Rachel® Matte Tulle is simple and fun and your little princess can help decorate the top and bottom!

You’ll Need:

• 3 yards of tulle in the color of your choice.
• Decorations such as sequins or gemstones (if desired)
• Fabric paint (if desired)
• Glue gun
• 2 yards of matching or contrasting ribbon (may require additional length)
• T-shirt or vest top in the same color as the tulle

Instructions

1. Use the Ribbon to measure the princess’s waist. Lining up the center of the ribbon with your daughter’s belly button, mark where the ribbon overlaps over her spine on both ends of the ribbon.
2. Lay the ribbon flat. Set aside.
3. Determine how full of a skirt you want. If you would like a full skirt, double your daughter’s waist measurement. If you would like a straighter skirt, then add half of your daughter’s measurement to the length of the tulle. For example, if the measurement is 15” to achieve a full skirt, use at least 30” of Tulle and to achieve a straighter skirt use 22.5” of Tulle.
4. Glue the top left corner of the tulle to the first mark on the Ribbon and glue the top right corner of the tulle to the second mark on the Ribbon.
5. Starting from the center of the ribbon, glue down the tulle. Gather the tulle and use a dot of glue to give the skirt a full appearance.
6. Once the glue has cooled and dried, tie the ribbon onto your daughter’s waist. Check the length of the skirt. Hem as needed (you can use the glue gun for this as well).
7. Have your princess decorate the Vest or T-Shirt top with the fabric paints and decorations as desired.
8. Once dried it’s ready to wear!

That’s it! A beautiful and easy-to-make princess costume that can be easily worn for dress-up or Halloween. Your daughter will love it!

How to Decorate a Nursery

Having a new baby is an exciting period in a person’s life. When it comes time to decorate the nursery, choosing the theme, paint color and accessories can become overwhelming, because there are hundreds of options available. Keep in mind when decorating a nursery, the ultimate goal should be to provide a safe, warm and welcoming environment for your newborn. The following nursery decorating basics are great building blocks for creating a comfortable environment for your little one.

Choosing Paint Color

If you are undecided about paint colors, visit a local home improvement store and collect several paint chips from various color palettes. Keep in mind that your color choices no longer have to be limited to pale pink or pale blue, so go ahead and choose purples, reds or greens if they appeal to you, bold colors can be toned down with lighter colored accessories. Once you have a favorite color in mind, narrow the selection down to one or two shades in the same color family. Select one primary color and use the second favorite for accessories.

Choosing Furniture

When selecting a crib, there are several options available such as cribs that can be later converted into a youth bed and/or a day bed. Always select furniture that is well-made and durable. The mattress must be fire retardant and comfortable for a newborn. If you are on a tight budget, look for items that are mismatched, for example, if you found the perfect crib, but cannot afford the dresser that matches the crib, find a less expensive dresser and dress it up with new hardware and/or paint.

Bedding

A fun, colorful bedding set is all you need to get inspiration for the theme of the nursery. Although the crib is the primary focal point of the nursery, how you dress the crib can make a big difference in the overall appearance of the nursery. A newborns skin is very delicate so choose crib sheets that are 100% cotton and comfortable such as the Celia Rachel American Jersey Knit Crib Set. Then dress the crib with a bumper and cotton quilt with a theme or colorful design.

Accessories

Newborns love stimulation so include items that will entertain your newborn. Crib mobiles are great because they are available in different themes and designs. Choose a nightlight and small table lamp that coordinates with the theme of the room. If you want to add designs to the walls, there are small murals available in various themes that can be easily put on and taken off a wall. Pictures should be soothing and relaxing for your baby to look at. The accessories are the part of decorating that allows you to get creative and have fun.

Create a Stylish Dorm Room in Less Than 30 Minutes

Along with college algebra, one of the many challenges new college students face is to transform their small bland dorm rooms into cozy comfortable spaces that reflect their own personalities. No easy task!

Here are some tips for creating a stylish dorm room in less than 30 minutes:

1. Set a color scheme for the room and coordinate patterns with your roommate. This is also a great way for college students get to know one another!

2. Try to get accessories that fill many roles. For example, get an ottoman that has a storage compartment, on which a small tray can be placed so it can double as a snack table.

3. Use brightly colored solid throws along with patterned throw pillows, to provide accent colors and a sense of cozy warmth.

4. Use wall art that reflects your personality to make your room your own. Make sure the artwork is large enough so it does not get lost in the room, yet does not completely overtake the room. Coordinate the colors with your bedding so the colors do not clash.

5. Use pendant lamps or streamline floor lamps for lighting. Make sure to get a trendy bright desk lamp for those late night study sessions.

Following these tips can transform a cramped bland dorm room into a stylish and cozy space for study, rest, and entertaining.