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Pimp Your Crib: Nursery Themes and Inspiration

LilSugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:00:43 -0800

Every impending parent wants to set up a cozy nest that will be ready to welcome their newborn once he or she arrives. While the fabulous lair caters to the lil bundle of joy, the mama and papa are usually responsible for the nursery design. Whether you plan to raise your wee one with fancy fabrics or a low-key look, we've got options. Before you head out to peruse paint chips and crib sheets, check out our selections for inspiration.

Get Inspired by Cute Celebaby Cribs	10 Lights to Keep the Nights Bright	From A to Z on Decorating Nurseries
Be Bold With Modern Nursery Options	Nursery Design Ideas For Close Quarters	Go Wild With Animal Prints in the Nursery

Show off that sweet lil nursery you just decorated to the nines! Join our Revamping Baby's Room group over on the LilSugar Community and share your before and after pics. Your room and style could be featured on the site.

Come Party With Me: Baby Shower - The Look

partysugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:59:51 -0700

While a baby shower is generally held to celebrate the upcoming birth of an unborn child, they are also thrown to shower gifts on the baby. I consider a baby shower to be the child's "first" birthday. Much like a wedding, guests are asked to bring essential gifts that will aid the parents in their new life with baby. Diapers, bottles, blankets, clothes, and toys can all be incorporated into the look of the baby shower. The theme colors, pale pink and sky blue in my case, should be used as inspiration for the party decor. Although I included the colors in the invitations, I did not work them into the food or drinks, so I definitely want to use lots of pretty pinks and soft blues in the decorations. To see how I'll do it, and to get some cute baby shower ideas, read more

The baby shower I am planning for Naomi Watts is a sit down luncheon, so tables and chairs are a must. Usually you can rent them for the day cheaply at a local party supply store. I like round tables rather than square tables because you get to sit really close together. Make sure you have seating for all of your guests. For example if you have 25 girls coming get 5 five person round tables.
Dress the tables in blue table cloths or simple white ones with pink and blue details. Make centerpieces with vases filled with an arrangement of fresh pink flowers.

Make a diaper cake and place it festively on a table next to the hors d'oeurves. Or make several and use them as the centerpieces on the tables. Likewise make several baby sock bouquetsusing pink and blue socks and place on small tables around the party space.
Instead of using votive holders, place small candles in baby food jars.
Give a baby bath tub as a gift for the mommy-to-be and fill with the punch or with water and floating candles or blown up balloons.

Hang long strands of pink and blue ribbons, or streamers to curtains, mantles, banquets, or trees (if the party is outdoors).
Hang a clothesline across the room and with the pink/blue clothespins, pin baby clothes along the line.

Use pacifiers as napkin rings.
Use inexpensive baby bottles instead of glasses. Cut the tip off of the nipple and place a pink straw inside. Tape a piece of blue paper to the bottom of one bottle and give the guest who chooses this bottle a prize (Starbuck's card, Mac eye shadows, etc).

Tie pretty pink and blue bows using satin ribbon around the space.
Since you asked guests to wrap presents in either pink or blue paper, arrange them in a visible location decoratively to add to the look.
Fill bowls with pink and blue candies, m&m's, and jelly beans.
Don't forget a special throne/rocking chair for the pregnant guest of honor.

How would you decorate a baby shower for Naomi Watts? Share your awesome ideas below!

Multiples Baby Shower: Décor

babysugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:00:17 -0700

For lilsugar's last week of extensive baby shower coverage, we're celebrating the birth of multiples! While twosomes seem to be more normal these days, celebrating their arrival should be anything but common. You've already downloaded the free invites for the soiree so let's get started planning the décor!

Newborn twins or triplets often mimic baby birds and are smaller and more delicate than their single counterparts. They also tend to gravitate to one another like sweet little songbirds. You can create a springy centerpiece using tree branches with birds strategically placed on the twigs. The cheerful display will bring life and a central theme to the festivities.

To see more ideas for creating a winsome aviary affair, read more.

Birdcages:
Use wire bird cages (often found at antique fairs or home stores) and fill them with baby booties, heirloom pieces, or just plain birds. Hang them if you have the appropriate hooks or simply put them around the home for discreet accents.

Eggs:
What goes hand-in-hand with birds? Eggs and nests, naturally! I swiped a package of pastel beaded eggs from Pottery Barn at their post Easter bargain price of $6. Perfect for my bird themed shower, I hung the ornaments in pairs from the pink dogwood centerpiece. Using some raffia, I quickly wound up a few nests to hold the remaining eggs and positioned them around the fete for eye catching pieces.

Flowers:
While any fresh bloom will do, I prefer to use seasonal tree branches for a dramatic display. The sturdiness and height they provide make it easy to perch the birds and eggs. I found three sparsely glittered birds at a local shop and positioned them among the branches. An added bonus, you only need to splurge on the one spectacle as it will take up most of the table space. Some recommended tree choices: dogwood (as shown), cherry blossoms, plum, and green berry.

If the gender of the babies is known, one may decorate according to those colors. Regardless of sex, I adore the pastel palette with hints of brown and green as they bring out the natural side of the flowers and a bird's environment. Because we want this mama to be as relaxed and pampered as possible before the multiple mania strikes.

Don't forget to enter our fabulous April Showers Giveaway for a chance to win a $2,500 gift card to put toward your babe's nursery and/or necessities for your child at Pottery Barn Kids! And, check out the baby shower invitations we've created exclusively for pingg! pingg allows you to email invites to a guest list or print and mail, and send reminders via SMS, online, Facebook, Twitter and more!

View 15 Photos ›

Gift Guide: Modern Mobiles

CasaSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:15:12 -0800

Like decorating your first apartment, decorating your baby's nursery is a really exciting task. But many new moms tend to forget that their $59 polyester pony mobile will end up in the attic within a few months. So if you're shopping for a holiday gift for an infant or a nursery-decorating friend, I recommend wrapping up a mobile that can act as décor long after a baby moves out of the crib.

One of my favorites is this CB2 Abstract Mobile ($19.95), which is very clearly inspired by the work of acclaimed American sculptor Alexander Calder, who invented the mobile in 1931. I have a few more modern mobiles up my sleeve, so read more.

Meet Moms and Share Your Tales in Our Community Groups!

LilSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:01:48 -0800

You've waited in line for your son's soccer jersey, penciled your daughter's art classes onto the calendar, and shuttled your kids to karate. Now that their Fall activities are in full swing, take a few mom-me moments to do the same for yourself. LilSugar's Community offers a place for you to hang out, vent, brainstorm, and showcase your talents. What fits your fancy? Check out and join some of our hottest groups!

Preggers? Join the Pregnancy Posse!	Share Your Good - and Bad - OMG! Moments	Share Photos of Your Sugar Babies!
Join In on the Fun in The Mommy Club	Dish about Recipes in The Children's Table	Get Decor Tips From Revamping Baby's Room

Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Sip and See Baby Shower: Decor

LilSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:00:13 -0700

We’re continuing to celebrate mamas-to-be this month with our extensive baby shower planning guides. This week, we fete the mama and newborn who were not ready to be the centers of attention before the birth with a sip and see shower. Now that you've downloaded your free invites for the festivities, it's time to plan your décor. Given the fact that we are planning this shower as a co-ed open house, we used our invitation colors and event’s theme as inspiration for our decorations. We incorporated orange and robin’s egg blue, as well as a variety of cups, to communicate our theme and create a festive mood. For additional suggestions for setting a fun, gender-neutral setting, read more.

Sip:
Baby and sippy cups make great vessels for a variety of décor options for this event. Whether they are filled with flowers, strategically placed in potted plants or hung from banners, the cups will not only reinforce the theme of the shower, but will spark conversation among guests. We added a few silver baby cups to a homemade pennant banner, but if you are short on time, similar ones can be customized and purchased online.

See:
The shower is many people’s first opportunity to meet the baby and congratulate the family in-person. By scattering photos of the guest of honor throughout the room, attendees can see the baby in his earliest moments and see how much he has grown since birth.

Don't forget to enter our fabulous April Showers Giveaway for a chance to win a $2,500 gift card to put toward your babe's nursery and/or necessities for your child at Pottery Barn Kids!

babysugar Diaries: Welcome Wagon Gets Better Each Time?

babysugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:00:00 -0700

My guess is that the gift stores in baby hospitals aren't fully feeling pains of the recession. Balloons and flowers seem to be popping up all over my neighborhood as the storks keep dropping off bundles of joy. Passing through the decorated doors and helium inflated pacifiers is parenthood's equivalent of the newlywed tradition of the groom carrying the bride over the threshold.

When we brought home our first baby, there was very little hoopla. I asked my mom to take a picture of my new and improved family outside of our house. Had I not made the request, I am pretty sure we would have no evidence of her "coming home." With my son, however, we were greeted with balloons, flowers and a mini paparazzi on our front steps. I don't know what the difference was the second time around, but I'm thinking I should have another baby just to see what kind of "welcome home" is in store for number three!

Did you experience this?

Delilicious: Marshmallow Sprinkle Skulls

LilSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0700

After seeing BabySugar's ghostly cupcakes, I wanted to bake something Halloweenish for my wee ones. I was thrilled when I found these simple and adorable marshmallow skulls – a perfect decoration for a Halloween baked good. With only a bag of marshmallows, color sprinkles and a knife, I turned a regular marshmallow into a spooky skull.

Rather than make elaborate chocolate-coated Madelines as the recipe called for, I made a simple brownie recipe. I cooked the brownies in a muffin tin for easy individual servings. Rather than coat the brownies in frosting to attach the skulls, I waited for the brownies to cool slightly and the warmth melted the marshmallows just enough. If you want to decorate your tasty treats with spooky and squishy skulls, keep reading.

Sugar Shout Out: New Moon Cast Before They Were Stars

PopSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Sugar Shout Out: Halloween TV Sneak Peek!

PopSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Flensted Mobiles Horse Mobile - $28.00	Flensted Mobiles The 4 Viking Ships Mobile - $35.00
Flensted Mobiles Futura Mobile - $64.00	Flensted Mobiles Balloon Mobile 5 - $43.00
Wallter Palm Mobile in Red - $120.00	Wallter Hex Mobile in White - $80.00
Flensted Mobiles Shoal of Fish - $47.00	Flensted Mobiles Viking Mobile - 5 Ships - $45.00
Wallter Butterfly Mobile in Blue - $70.00	Flensted Mobiles Life and Thread Large Mobile - $439.00
Sheesham Iron Strands - $24.00	Flensted Mobiles Jonas and the Whale Mobile - $28.00
Flensted Mobiles Tango Mobile - $124.00