JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

How many of you have already heard of Lay Baby Lay? I just ran across this lovely little site a few months ago and I fell in love with the nursery pictured below! The owner of Lay Baby Lay, Joni, designed the room for her daughter Vivi. I love the colors and the gray dresser is fantastic!!! You can see a few more pics here.

Joni offers up all sorts of yummy décor, products, projects, and color schemes for baby and kids rooms! Decorating spaces for the little ones is so much fun as you can really get creative and have lots of fun. I cannot wait to get started on baby girls room! Ok, if you are an expecting mommy, already a mother, or if you just love looking at kid décor then be sure to check out Lay Baby Lay!

Images via Lay Baby Lay

Good Morning creative people! You know, I love me some pancakes! Oh, especially really dainty ones that’s adorned with colorful sprinkles, decorative candles, pats of butter, and drizzles of flavored syrup to tickle your taste buds. Remember on Friday when I said I had some wonderful party pics to share. Well, here they are. The first set is from Ashley Meaders. She creates pretty nifty things for weddings and parties and such and here she styled some great things to make for a great spread! I think what makes these pancakes so special and worth posting are all of the wonderful accessories around them: gorgeous flowers, pretty china, handmade name tags, vintage dishes, iced beverages in pretty jars! All intricately placed to be celebrated! Be sure to check out Ashleys website. She creates so many great items to make a party feel extra special!

Ok, now, I totally fell in love with not only the photos from creative mom extraordinaire Rubyellen Bratchers blog called “Cakies” but I just adore the fact that she takes so much pride and puts in so much creativity with her 3 daughters! I am always inspired by creative people but creative mothers..oh they make me so happy. Imagine if most moms were willing to tap into their creative energy to fill their children’s lives with handmade joy! How awesome would the world be? Pretty awesome in my opinion. I tell everyone: “Creativity can embellish the world, and a creative mom can save it”. LOL. Anyhow, back to the photos shall we.

Ruby celebrated her daughters first (she has 3 daughters named Brave, True, and Soul…how insanely sweet is that!) birthday by throwing one lavish breakfast party for her. I love the vintage feel and simplicity of this. My favorites are the vintage syrup containers, the yellow balloons, and the pretty pancake batter. This totally makes me want to make a ton of pancakes and invite people over to eat them ,yet I fear my accessories would not be as grand and vintage as Rubys…lol. Anyhow, even if you have no party to celebrate, you can still celebrate the mornings (especially the weekend mornings) by taking a little extra time to make your breakfast something special with color, thrifted dishes/fabric, and lots of creative love!

Oh, and for a triple bonus, enjoy this video Rubyellen made with her daughters…it’s so cute! Ok, hope you all are having a great Monday morning!

While I think that throwing extravagant birthday parties for kids can at times be a little over the top, I do think that when you use your creativity without spending an arm and a leg is worth celebrating! I love the party ideas form One Charming Party! I first saw the Baking Party a while ago through an e-mail from Amy Atlas. I love everything about a baking party! It makes me want to throw one for myself. Couldn’t you imaging a party with 4 of your favorite creative bloggers, surrounded by sprinkles, icing, and cookie cutters! How fun would that be….who says you have to be a kid to have a themed birthday party..lol. Anyhow, if you are looking for some fabulous ideas for your kiddos next birthday bash, then One Charming Party is a sure link of inspiration. PS: They also have free tutorials and printables!

You see the cute little necklaces below..they are made out of ribbon and gum-balls..haw fantastic!

I love everything about an art party…so colorful! The cake is superb and the color-wheel cupcake toppers are so cute!

Hi Guys! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Ours was pretty good. We finally got our downstairs painting completed..woo hoo!

Ok, on to other news. You know, it’s quite funny, we really do not celebrate most holidays traditionally, but I must say that the artist in me cannot help but to be attracted to holiday colors and packaging and décor. I mean really, how can one not have the slightest urge to make something sweet and heart shaped, or dye eggs even if you do not celebrate Easter, etc.? So, let us just say that we tend to bake around what I have affectionately coined as “Love Day”, as we do often, yet we use the ready available red white and pink and a dash of chocolate. I mean, if we baked and crafted with such colors and said I love you on any other day, does that make one less celebratory of the original holiday? Who knows, but what I do know is that I whipped up some pretty yummy red velvet cake pops this weekend! I was rather lazy and did not bake the cake from scratch..totally boxed it up this time around. I would love to make some carrot cake pops or maybe some chocolate ones dipped in ganache…yum! While dipping them some of them fell of the stick(tip: do not make them too big & make sure your chocolate is not too cool.)…but no worries..I just covered them in chocolate and decorated them to look like little chocolates. I also used a heart shaped cookie cutter and poured the melted candy chips over it to make make mini heart shaped cakes!

These little cake gems are so easy to make and can offer the creative imagination so many sweet ideas when it comes to decorating them. Above is a video that pretty much sums up the cake pop process. The first time that I ever heard of a cake pop was through Bakerella…Isn’t she amazing! Anyhow, I hope this video inspires you; and if you have kids then they are going to love them and you for making them, whether it’s “Love Day”/ “Valentines Day” or not! They would make the perfect little treat for a kids birthday party don’t you think?

I am not sure whether I am more in love with the bubble gum colors and frill of Paisley & Posies designs or if it is the playfulness of the candy coated photography. Both really make me smile! I can’t help but to want my little girl to run around the house in a tu-tu. I think they are full of magic and fun!

Good morning everybody. Hope you all had a sunny filled weekend!

Here is a sweet idea that would surprise any kid on any given morning. Colorful pancakes! I fixed these this past Sunday and our son was so thrilled at the sight of them. These are perfect for sunny spring and summer mornings. Just separate your pancake batter into bowls and stir in any color you like. I used a neon green, pink, and blue! I don’t like to use food coloring often, but when I do, I must say that it’s tons of fun! Yay for pretty colors!

I have always wanted to makeover my cleaning regimen and one thing in particular that I have been meaning to do is to get rid of all the clashy boxes and bottles that the laundry detergent and cleaning supplies come in. In fact, I have done this with our cereal. I made some simple white drop cloth bags to keep our cereal in because there is nothing more irritating to me than seeing a bunch of cereal boxes lined up on top of the fridge.

This photo pretty much sums up what I envision in my head. This idea really does make a difference in how you feel when you go to do laundry or tidy up. I actually have a few of these type of bottles(mine look just like these and are french lemonade bottles in which you can find them in the soda aisle at the market). I mean for most of us cleaning is not a pretty task, so why not add a little decorative flair to such a mundane activity and make cleaning a bit more cute!

OMG I love these! How cute. This company called MIMI’Lou out of France creates some of the most cutest wall decals for the little tots. These are my favorites. I also wanted to post this because for those of us that cannot afford such a splurge for the little ones, these sort of images can work for all the artsy moms by using a stencil transfer or freehand drawing of your own designs onto a wall or nestled within a corner or two, or you could use different fabric patterns to fill in shapes such as circles, mushrooms, hearts, and flowers!

Oh how darling. Not only do I love the name of the website “Dimples & Dandelions”, but I adore these bedding collections for girls! From pretty and frilly to simple and chic, these designs are sure to make your little girl feel like the magical princess she is!

You know, I have re-arranged our little boys room so many times and have purged lots of toys that he has outgrown and even items that he has “collected” from around the house and turned into toys, but no matter what I do, he still seems to find a way to make a huge mess with random little trinkets. I do not necessarily blame him for the untidiness. My theory is that if I had a better way of keeping his room ORGANIZED, then he would have an easier time keeping it tidy.

Whenever we move to our next home (I just do not feel like re-decorating this apartment of ours) I want to design his room with lots of “cubby” holes, wide bookshelves, and plenty of organized spaces. One thing about decorating a child’s room is that we as moms can get a little bit unrealistic. Sometimes we try to make it LOOK good and we tend to forget about the practicality of it for the little ones…lol.

So while browsing the web for inspiration, I came across a cool flickr group called “Ikea Shelves”. I grew quite fond of these shelves featured in an array of kids rooms!

I have been meaning to share this little tip for quite some time now. If any of you moms are like me, then you may have kids who thinks that a happy meal or any kids meal at a fast food restaurant is super exciting. The problem on our end is that we do not eat that much fast food that would include cute boxes and trade marked toys. So, to make a long story short, I decided to make my own happy meal for the little one not too long ago. I fixed him chicken nuggets and fries and packaged it up in a brown paper bag that I glued coloring sheet and activity cut-outs to (the front is a free Phineas & Pherb coloring sheet that I trimmed, and the back is a cut-out of a free activity worksheet). He LOVED it! You can find all sorts of activity sheets for free on the web. Simply scale them down a bit to fit your bag or box. I also included a few of his crayons so that he can “play” as he ate. I also used some card stock paper and made a little box to put the chicken nuggets in and made a pouch for the fries and lined the box with tin foil.

I plan to make more of these for him with different foods and I will gather up some inexpensive toys to include in them. I loved this idea because for all of you who prefer not to give your kids fast food, who are vegans and vegetarians, or if your child has to follow a special diet, then this is a fun way to make their meal happy without the side effects of processed food from the local fast food joint! So, when you have a moment, definitely give this idea a try, your kids are sure to love it!

How adorable! I love these pieces from Fawn & Forest! Their kid products are contemporary, fun, and colorful. I especially love the mobile below & I am trying to think of a way to make one of these myself to hang over the crib for our baby girl which is due in May! I’m thinking pastel butterflies! I will keep you posted on that! Anyhow, if your kids room or nursery has a contemporary feel, then you should head on over and check them out. Even if you do not have a contemporary feel in your child’s room, they still carry some adorable pieces that would fit any style of decor!

Colorful inspiration for a cute and fun playroom for a little girl!

Every now and then I will be highlighting some of the most inspiring mamas in the blogosphere..lol. I have sent out many interview requests and cannot wait to share their motherly inspiration here on Inspiring Mama. First up in our inspiring mama collection is Amanda of Mandajuice. Enjoy…she shares some great words of motherly wisdom & advice!
Who: Amanda
Where: Mandajuice
Why: I really enjoy Amandas humorous in your face sort of writing style on her blog, I like her honesty, her love for her children, her amazing dedication to taking photos and videos of her children and family, and I am beyond inspired by her weight loss story. You can find parts 2-9 on the left rail of her blog.
Occupation: Writer! Aspiring novelist.
Hometown: Vancouver, WA
Number of Children: 2
Her Perfect “Me Time”: Couch, coffee, Kindle.

Inspiring Mama: What do you enjoy the most about motherhood & what do you least like about it that you wish you could change?

Amanda: The answer to both questions is the same: the decibel level. I love having a chaotic house filled with noise. But sometimes I wish they’d all shut up so I could read.

Inspiring Mama: Since becoming a mother, what have you learned from your kids about yourself and or life?

Amanda: I’ve learned that we’re all born into our personalities. When you have one kid, you get this God complex where you actually believe that you have a say in who they become. By the time you have two, you realize you have NOTHING to do with it. We are all born to be the people we become. I should have known this before having kids because I come from a big family. All four of my brothers and sisters and I are so totally different that it’s impossible to imagine we share any DNA. But we do. I love watching old home videos because I was just as bossy and independent at six as I am now. I try to take a lot of videos of my kids because I’m sure some day they’ll look back and see that they were always themselves. I’ll never try to change them.

Her Recipes: Cashew Chicken,Simple Pizza Crust, Mushroom Orzo Pasta, Tasty Roasted Cauliflower.

Inspiring Mama: What do you hope your child(ren) will learn from you and carry with them through life?

Amanda: Optimism. Enthusiasm. Logic. I mostly just want them to embrace those personalities they were born into. And read. I hope my children love words as much as I do.

Inspiring Mama: Considering you were a financial planner before becoming a stay at home mom, do you have any tips or advice for managing the family finances?

Amanda: I think my biggest piece of advice is the simplest one: HAVE A PLAN. I repeat: HAVE. A. PLAN. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see families living paycheck to paycheck, never achieving any goals because they never SET any. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, you still need to be the captain of your own ship, even if the winds aren’t blowing in the right direction.


Inspiring Mama: Just for fun, describe the perfect meal for your son, and the perfect ,meal for your daughter?

Amanda: Both kids love macaroni and cheese (Annie’s organic white cheddar shells) with chocolate milk.

So our little one has been begging me day after day to make some popsicles for him. Although they are probably the easiest dessert to make, I just kept putting it off. Anyhow last night we made what we call mini pops. They are quite yummy and a perfect size for a little treat or snack.

For the strawberry pops we used fresh strawberries, added some sugar. The sugar helps your pops freeze better, otherwise you