The Shopping Mama

Pink and Green Fairy Girl’s Bedroom

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This nursery is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

Sarah from Frills Fluff and Trucks shared her son’s moon and stars bedroom and now we’re getting a peak at her daughter’s pink and green fairy theme bedroom.

Sarah: My little girl moved into this room when she was two and moved out of the nursery. My husband and I taped and painted the walls ourselves–I have a history of liking designs that require vast amounts of painters tape. She has been in this room for five years and she still loves pink and fairies, so I’ve been lucky! However even though she had been in here for five years, I’m still not done decorating. We live in earthquake country and I still haven’t found anything I’m comfortable hanging at the head of her bed, so you will see that wall is empty! I absolutely love the look of the bookcases (there are two, one on either side of the window) and the dresser around the window. It is a look that works really well in this SMALL bedroom while still containing a lot of storage.

Sarah: The white four poster bed was my bed when I was a little girl and I found the bedding and valance on eBay. The fairy wall prints as well as the light switch cover also are from eBay and were done to match the bedding.

Sarah: This “display” of hairbows is how I store many of my daughter’s bows–they are clipped onto a french memo board for easy access. It is a bit hard to tell, but there are more clipped onto a ribbon that is hanging to the right of the memo board…and yes, there are MORE in the basket on the top shelf of the bookcase. My daughter is known for her bows as they are not a common accessory around here–she just adores them though.

Sarah: My daughter LOVES this dollhouse bookcase–I keep asking her if I can replace it with a desk and the answer always is an emphatic NO!

Sarah: This is the fourth wall of her small room–just a small wall with a shelf and a super comfy Dutailier glider from her nursery days. I planned ahead with this glider and even bought the exact same glider for my second child–someday I’ll put both gliders in the master bedroom or in the family room.

Sarah: On the wall above the shelf is a wreath I made for her last spring. Basically it is a beaded garland wrapped around a foam wreath form (and hot glued to prevent slippage) then spray-painted. I also made the Princess sign that hangs from the shelf–that is just a wood sign that I found for $1 at a craft store and painted then hot glued on a white ribbon for hanging.

Sarah: Above her door is a sweet little wood sign that I bought on etsy.

Sarah: When I redid this room, I knew I had to have my husband put in a really girly chandelier. I love the one I found–it has just the right amount of faux crystals and of course the pink shades are perfect for my girly girl! I bought it online at Destination Lighting, but it was long enough ago that it no longer is sold there. Still, I highly recommend finding or making a chandelier if you want the ultimate in girliness for your daughter.

Sarah: I love adding little details to her room and she is beginning to add a few of her own touches as well as time goes on.

Thanks for sharing your daughter’s beautiful room, Sarah! Love that it is growing with her and that you continue to add personal touches.

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This room was submitted for the Real Reader Room series. We’d love to share your nursery, children’s bedroom or playroom, too, and you’ll be automatically entered to win our awesome prize package. And to say thanks, you get THREE BONUS Entries into every Nursery & Children’s Decor Giveaway!

Vintage Surf Boy’s Bedroom

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This nursery is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

After her son outgrew his jungle nursery, Tiffany wanted to try something unique that better suited her son Cohen’s personality. She decided to redo it in a Vintage Surf bedroom with striking brown walls. Tiffany blogs about the blissful life of a little surfer boy mom at From Pedicures to Puddles.

Tiffany: I was drawn to the idea of a vintage surf theme rather than a surfing room mainly because I didn’t feel like hibiscus flowers and Hawaiian shirts fit my son’s personality…plus I haven’t seen it done before and wanted to try it.

Tiffany incorporated lots of nautical items – like life preservers and oars – without going typical navy and white nautical.

The room has lots of personalized details, like the name frame from friends (left below) and the custom palm tree growth chart (right below).

Paint color sets the tone with rich brown and deep red on the walls. The

Did you notice the VW bus on the bookshelf? Tiffany literally designed to every last detail. Cohen will surely “Hang Loose” in this room.

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Purple & Pink Girls’ Playroom with Reading Corner

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This nursery is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

Kristi, who blogs about life as the mom of twin girls at The Hutton House, shared her daughter’s girly girl twin nursery and now she’s back to share the girls’ playroom.

Kristi: The kitchen is definitely the hot spot… good job, Santa!

Kristi: I bought plain wooden letters, sprayed them with adhesive, pressed on a piece of scrapbook paper, and then cut around the edges! $15 dollars and 30 minutes later, they were on the wall!

Kristi: The reading corner is on the left and the [locked] bathroom on the right, which will get some use someday! The objective of the reading corner was to keep the books in one spot and have a well lit place for them to read! The book rack is a vinyl gutter that we cut to size and painted! I got the instructions from Mama Notes.

Thanks, Kristi! Looks like a great place the girls will enjoy for years. (And, my kids will be over tomorrow afternoon, kay?)

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Moon & Stars Boy Bedroom

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This nursery is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

This moon and stars bedroom has stood the test of time. Sarah painted and set the theme for this room seven years ago! Two babies later, it’s now a wonderfully warm and cozy room for her son. Sarah is quite crafty and created a lot of the unique touches in this room; you can follow all her craft projects at her blog Frills Fluff and Trucks.

Sarah: My husband and I painted this room 7+ years ago (time flies!) when I was pregnant with our first child. We didn’t know her gender and I dreamed up this paint scheme–loosely based on something I saw in a catalog. As it turns out, it has worked well for both our children, one of each gender! I love home decor and recently took down 75% of my son’s wall decor, so there are a lot of empty spaces on his walls while I ponder what will work best for us.

His bed and trundle are family projects that we built from scratch using plans from Knock Off Wood.

Sarah: My husband and I made the raingutter bookshelves ourselves and my son LOVES the easy access to his books!

Sarah: The bedrooms in our house are small so there aren’t many toys; we keep those in the playroom–what used to be known as the dining room. I do have his rocking horse in here though. To the right of that is his dresser–it is Cafe Kids from Costco Online and holds so much! The window treatments are multi-layered in a desperate attempt to get him to sleep later. Layer one is a room darkening pull-down shade, layer two is a cute moon/stars window sheer that I bought off eBay seven years ago and layer three is a set of room darkening drapes. None of the layers work, he is an early riser!

Sarah: Under the window is another raingutter bookshelf and to the left of the window I have a little table with a lamp and shade from Target. The chair is a fully upholstered Dutailier glider that reclines and I love it! I have another one just like it in my daughter’s room. I planned ahead with those gliders and bought them in neutral colors rather than the denim fabric I initially was drawn to–eventually I plan to move both of them into either the master bedroom or the family room.

Sarah: I have a small shelf with star cut-outs above the glider that holds extra board books and other decorative items. There are many other moon and star items around the room including a “Twinkle Twinkle” sign from Etsy above the dresser and this moon (from Home Goods 7+ years ago) above the door.

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A Classic Boy Room for Two

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This nursery is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

We’ve shared a twin girl nursery and now it’s time for a room for two boys. This colorful room comes from Courtney who describes herself as an “on-the-cheap DIYer.” Courtney put this room together for her two boys and is currently working on a girly nursery to prepare for the arrival of a daughter!

Courtney: My boys share a room. They’re 3 1/2 and 2 years old. I went with a neutral base color on the walls with a small blue stripe near the crown molding and a large orange stripe more in the center of the wall. I love the look of stripes and wanted this room to be a fun, little boys room that can grow and change with them.

Courtney: The wall letters/hangers are from Hobby Lobby and work well for holding a toddler’s important things like dinosaur hats and superhero capes. I made the whimsical looking train and car prints that sit on the shelves from scrapbook paper and mod-podge for some free artwork that worked well with the stripes.

Courtney: I couldn’t pass up a deal on the “Horton Hears a Who” clock since the colors were dead on, but the clock was much to small for the space so I spray painted a frame that I had lying around and framed the clock to give it some interest.

Courtney: My favorite part of the room is the area with the raingutter bookshelves. We found 10′ lengths of wooden raingutter in our garage from the previous owners and we cut them to fit the space (about 3′ each), painted them up and placed them low enough on the wall that the boys can access them.

Courtney: The large red toy box was difficult to photograph and is quite “weathered,” as it was my husband’s when he was growing up. I love that it opens and closes in the front and my little guys can easily get in and out of it to play.

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Glow in the Dark Night Light Wall Stickers

by Kate on February 20th, 2011 | 5 Comments | 28 Days of Design

Design: Night Lights Decals

Why We Want it in Our House: These are so.cool! The WallCandy Night Lights actually glow in the dark. Scare aware the monsters and add interest to your little one’s room during the day. Or, decorate your mom space, man cave or kitchen – so versatile and, yes, cool! The set comes with 48 three-inch light bulbs on 18 feet of cord.

Shop! The Night Lights decorative decals set from WallCandy Arts is $48. Use code shop15 for 15% off!

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Check out all our Children’s Décor picks.

redbox Oscar Viewing Party in a Box: a Movie Lover Giveaway worth $200!

by Kate on February 19th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Giveaways

It’s a cliche that parents oftentimes don’t have time to get to the theater to see movies, unless of course the movie is animated. This time, I have true anecdotal experience to support the cliche. Yesterday, I received my redbox Oscar Viewing Party in a box to get me ready for The Academy Awards to air on ABC Sunday, February 27 at 8e/5p. My kids and I were so excited to receive popcorn, decorations and ten movies nominated for various awards including:

The Social Network
The Kids are All Right
Winter’s Bone
Restrepo
Animal Kingdom
The Town
Inception
Alice in Wonderland
How to Train Your Dragon, and
Toy Story 3.

Admittedly, I haven’t watched The Oscars since I was in my 20s, because I never get to see the films and don’t know half the actors. But now, I thought to myself “Even with my husband deployed, I can finally watch some of the movies nominated and actually enjoy The Academy Awards!”

With that very thought about watching the nominated movies, I jinxed myself. A mere three hours later, I was in the local emergency room with toddler boy. He’d been battling a fever for 48 hours and, after his bath when the fever rose again, I made the call to take him in. The doctors and nurses were fantastic – thorough, knowledgeable and efficient. Diagnosis? Ear infection. We were both feeling much better upon leaving only an hour after we’d arrived.

Once toddler boy was sleeping, I had plenty of time to get started watching the Oscar nominees. After the night I’d had, I knew I wanted something light. I love Facebook and popped in “The Social Network.” Finally! One movie down and nine more to go… and that doesn’t even include the ones I want to see that aren’t out on DVD (think “Black Swan,” “The King’s Speech” and “True Grit”). And yes, in case you’re wondering, after watching “The Social Network,” I posted my comments about it on Facebook.

I’m looking forward to the coming week when I’ll view more of the movies and start decorating for my Oscar party on Sunday night. During this week, I’m also loaning out the movies I received so that all my guests will look forward to the awards ceremony as much as I am. I’ve bought the Raisinettes and will fill you in on the party later.

Redbox Movie Awards Game

Critics are already making their award predictions and now you can, too, on the Redbox Movie Awards Game. The game on Facebook allows you to make predictions and have your chance at cinematic glory, including the fun “I Beat Richard Roeper” badge.

Watch! Prepare for the Oscars by watching the nominated movies at your local redbox kiosk.

Win! A redbox Oscar Viewing Party Kit valued at $200!

Prize details: The redbox viewing party includes Hollywood decorations so that your home is outfitted in style, Orville Redenbacher popcorn to munch on, 10 free redbox rentals and the 10 Oscar nominated films listed above.

How to Enter: Tell us one movie you’d like to rent from redbox to prepare for the Oscars.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Like redbox on Facebook.
Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. You may do this every day, just leave a link every time you do.
Prepare for the Oscars with the movie lover’s ultimate prize package from redbox @TheShoppingMama http://tinyurl.com/6gdemuj
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Giveaway ends February 23. Open to US residents.

Thanks to redbox for providing the prize package and the giveaway prize.

Safari Nursery

by Kate on February 19th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Children's Decor, Nurseries, Bedrooms & Playrooms

This bedroom is shared as part of the Real Reader Rooms series sponsored by
The Land of Nod.

This safari theme nursery belongs to “Little Bit” as he’s known on his mom’s blog. Amy writes at Social Studies Momma and shared her son’s room.

The safari theme was important to Amy because she wanted to incorporate some pieces (like the prints below) that she purchased while pregnant with a baby that she unfortunately miscarried before her son was born. She honored that loss by placing them in Little Bit’s nursery. The light yellow paint is accented with brown, green and blue polka dots that match the safari prints.

Amy made the window valance by taking two yards of fabric with an eyelet lace trim around the bottom, trimming and hemming it up.

The changing table is admittedly large, but Amy loves that it is so functional. She bought an unfinished wood crib and painted it black to match.

Looks like Little Bit enjoys his room, don’t you think? Amy’s mom was always on the hunt for thrift store and consignment shop goodies for the nursery. She found both the bitty baby grand piano and the giraffe rocker (pictured above under the window.)