Swimwear for little girls

You know what I realized this morning while packing my daughter's backpack for a day camp?
My poor baby does not have a decent swim suit!
After taking swimming classes twice a week during the whole school year, her 1-piece was mercilessly eaten by the chlorine in the pool. It is now a stretched-out, pale pinky thing that barely resembles that cute little bright neon pink/white striped swim suit with a saturated navy trim, I purchased just last year.

"My little princess deserves beauty"- I declared, and started a search on a mighty Internet.

I needed something stylish ( of course!), not too childish, not overly sweet or cutesy, NOT anything with Disney characters on it, and not expensive.

Here is my round up of little girls swimwear that are cute, bold and most importantly AFFORDABLE!
Because you know you going to buy her a new one next year!

Tell me your favorites in the comments below ;)

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Swaddling Memoirs

There was a moment at the hospital I remember so clear like it was yesterday.The visiting hours were over and I was in a room by myself with a tiny baby in a clear shoebox-like container next to my bed.

While she was peacefully sleeping, I had a mini tsunami of emotions swirling in my gut.

 It was a mixture of excitement, relief, happiness and fear - all melted in one big pot of soup.

Do I pick her up?

But why? She is sleeping..

But why not??? I want to hold her!

What if I break her? What if she cries and I wont be able to sooth her?

Now how do I pick her up..? Uhhhmmm...

I could not imagine that a few months later, I would be able juggle three hundreds things simultaneously with a baby propped on my hip.

And to help me get there I will forever be grateful to one person - my mom.

She was there almost everyday  and she taught me everything. First and foremost - SWADDLING!

Thank you , thank you, thank you - goes to the large squarish cotton sheet we call swaddling blanket!
Thank you for gently embarrassing my baby in your soft, cozy layers. Thank you for your great artistry of re-creating that safe, little space she called home for 9 months, thank you for soothing her in your breathable comforting cocoon.

Once I mastered the technique of swaddling, which my dear mom has faithfully kept in her memory for 26 years, just so she could pass it on to me, my life has gotten so much better!
I learned , in a few swift moves, to turn the screaming, cranky, so-want-to-sleep-but-I-can't baby, into a quiet little burrito, snoozing away into a sweet sleeping babyland....Aaaah!

Now, whenever I see a kicking and screaming tiny little baby, a couple months old, and trying so hard to fall asleep in his/her designer little onesie...I think to myself: :I could wrap that little thing into a nice sleeping bundle like a pro!"

"So what is this magic swaddling blanket you are talking about?" - you ask me.

Well, it is just a simple large sheet of fabric.

BUT... there are some rules:

•  It must be natural fiber, like cotton, in order to breath and not overheat the baby

• It must be large, in order to wrap the baby correctly and to last a while

• It must have a cool, hip pattern on it, because your baby deserves to look like a STYLISH burrito!

There are a lot of debates out there on whether you should swaddle babies these days. But if you ask me, it is a matter of a personal choice. To me it was an easy and natural way to sooth my kids. I saw that they needed it, and I gave it to them, in accordance with basic safety rules, of course. Like, never put your swaddling baby on its stomach. Duh??!! Or don't wrap your baby too tight. Again, duh??!!

And when the need for swaddling decreases, you will see it, you will feel it.

The baby will fight you, will kick more, will cry...And you will know- he/she has outgrew swaddling.

But even when that happened to me, I found myself using the swaddling sheet in so many other ways!

• Covering the baby during nap time - lightweight and breathable, it was perfect for naps in an air conditioned room-  the baby wasn't cold and wasn't sweating either.

• Covering up during breastfeeding. There comes the time for all breastfeeding new moms out there, when you are so exhausted and sleep-deprived, you don't care who sees your breasts anymore. The baby needs to eat? HERE. But let's face it - normal people, that are not super exhausted or sleep deprived,  feel just a little uncomfortable. So cover up with a light, cotton sheet, mommy!

• Cover up in the stroller, cover up from the wind, cover up from the sunlight.

• Set up an instant changing station anywhere.

• Throw it in the diaper bag for "just in case". 

My swaddling sheet was the single most used item I had. 

With the exception of a sound machine, which my son still uses to this day and he is 5! Ha!

But if you out looking for some good swaddling sheet options, check out our new, ORGANIC cotton swaddling blankets with modern, fun, stylish patterns. Our swaddling sheets are large 36x40 and will work hard for you well after the baby's swaddling love affair is over.

Plus, our swaddling blankets come with 2 sizes ( what??!) baby hats in coordinating design, which makes this the ULTIMATE baby gift option if you have a baby shower to attend!

And to complete this swaddling memoirs of mine, I will leave you with this link to get your swaddling skills up and going! 

Get your swaddling blankets here and practice right now!

Stylish Kids Fashion or Mini- Adults Clothes

This may seem like a ridiculous question, but why do we call kids’ clothes, well, kids’ clothes? Take a moment and picture a little kid.

 What is being worn, from head to foot? Does she have sneakers and a pony tail or a messy bun and a statement necklace? Is he wearing aviators and skinny jeans or sweatpants and a tee shirt? Does it matter?

Does a kid’s clothing item just mean it is sized for a two or five year old, or is the style of clothing distinctively different? Kids should be kids, right?

 That doesn't mean they will always be dressed in “play clothes,” but does it mean they should be coiffed and stylized? Should kids be wearing carefully designed outfits, often complete with accessories and hairstyles? Is the term kids’ clothes an archaic one or does it have to mean saccharine colors and juvenile cartoon characters?

Of course, this subject isn't so black and white. But, you've probably noticed that there is a growing trend of dressing kids (from infants on up) in “adult” styles. Again, what does it mean? What makes it so that we know at a glance whether a kid is dressed as a kid or as a mini-adult?

There seems to be an important distinction between a kid wearing the same kind of thing an adult would wear, such as a button down shirt or ballet flats, and being stylized like a mini-adult. While the line might not be completely clear cut and not all time is play time, do the clothes remind you that the child is a child?

We also see this debate played out in the retail space. More and more companies are changing their tactics when it comes to kids’ clothes. The products themselves are different, but so is the styling. Little boys with hipster glasses and half-tucked Oxfords; girls with oversized scarves and mixed prints seem to be the new norm. Have you noticed how advertisements have changed?

How do you define kids’ clothes?

All images are on my Pinterest Board "Stylish Kids"

Gender Neutral Nurseries and Kids' Rooms

A themed nursery that would be fun for a boy or girl

Decorating nurseries as “gender neutral” has been a growing trend for a couple of years now, 

perhaps linked to more parents’ decision to wait until birth to find out the sex of the baby? This trend toward neutrality can also continue as the child grows, with gender neutral kid rooms, especially with shared spaces. When it comes to decorating for kids, what does gender neutral mean? What picture comes to mind when you think of that phrase? 

For some families, neutral is the keyword. With tone-on-tone whites or grays, for instance, the color scheme is distinctly neutral. These neutrals provide a soothing, calming space and work well for both sexes and varying ages, making it also a good fit for shared spaces.

 Simplicity in color palette

 

Sometimes, gender neutral means not focusing on traditional colors of blue for boys and pink for girls, but using other colors for either sex.

A blue with green undertones plays well with a bright yellow

 

You can also play with using traditional colors in nontraditional ways.

The navy add sophistication to this bubble gum pink

 

Green and orange add a new twist to the traditional baby blue

 Remember the shared spaces mentioned above? Certainly, having kids share a room is nothing new! There has been increased interest, though, in how to decorate those rooms to make them enjoyable for both kids, whether boys, girls or a mix. Usually when having a little boy and girl share a room, the palate centers on a neutral color, such as white, with small pops of color.

Having a neutral foundation with pops of color helps this room work for a little girl and her baby brother

 

 Another great way to decorate a gender neutral room is to base it around a theme, instead of a color. For kids, neutral themes such as safari, circus, chevron, woodland, or zoo would all work well, as would a favorite children’s story, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

These beautiful murals carry the theme throughout the room and would transition well as the child grows

What is your favorite nursery style?

New Babysitter Tips and costs for hiring one

Babysitters - what would we do without them? Are you terrified to leave your kids with a new person? 
I was lucky enough to have 2 sets of parents ( mine and my husband's) who volunteered + kindly agreed, on other occasions, to babysit our kids while we were away. The kids love them and grandparents have had a chance to bond with them even closer. But if you are in a situation where no family member can help you out, be prepared with these neat tips to help a new babysitter. 

Learn everything you need to know about how much to pay a babysitter here.

Let's make cute baby things!

There are some many great fabrics-by-the-yard in the shop, but what to do with them? Here’s a roundup of some easy and adorable projects,  thanks to the Internet.

If you can sew a straight line, you can make this charming playmat. The Purl Bee has put together a tutorial, which even includes instructions for adding hand-quilting (a wonderfully peaceful task!)

Contoured burp cloths stay put better and they’re easy to make. Hop over to “Floating on Cloud9” for the free tutorial and pattern. 

Your little guy will be a little man when wearing a necktie onesie! There’s a free pattern and instructions. After you master the necktie, try a bowtie! 

Fun twirly skirt for a baby girl!

Soft Floor Cushion is a must when you have toddler around. They just love lugging it around, jumping on it, laying on it, hanging on it - you name it! Susan form "Living with Punks" provides a great tutorial!

And if you looking for some fun fabric, don't forget to check out NewMomDesigns.

Curtains for Kids Rooms and Nurseries

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Why have them?

Of course there is a number of reasons why people hang draperies on their windows.To add lived-in look, coziness, add a splash of color and privacy. But when it comes to the nursery/kids room, the number one reason for me is to make the room dark enough during the nap times. It's the first thing I ask when someone talks about a difficulty of putting their child to sleep. 

Daylight is the enemy of naps. My children  are 6 and 5 now, and they still nap on weekends. And I know, it is partially due to darkened rooms. 

And partly because I said so.

Lining - do I need one?

So we have established that window treatments are a must in kids rooms. Now, why do you need to have a lining for curtains? Lining can help with the structure, fabric draping, sun fading, insulation, sound barrier and sunlight blockage. Now, If you have separate shades, plastic or wooden, then you probably can get away with a regular lining for your curtains. But if the curtains are the only window dressing in your nursery, then I would recommend black out lining. Wonderful invention - offers 100% privacy ( which probably would not hurt in a master bedroom either) and complete sunlight blockage. You may even use a small nightlight, that's how dark the room will be if you opt out for black out lining. Your little one will fly away to Sleepyland with no problems, in a darkened, quite room like that.

Hanging method

Again, many many options here. My favorite for kids rooms are:

- Simple Rod pocket

- Clip rings on a rod
- Ties
-Grommets

Here are some example of good window treatments.

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Tall, graphical drapes work really well here. Simple rod pocket.

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Another example of well chosen curtains, in this case, for a closet. Great fabric design, length and a clean concealed rod pocket.

via Pinterest

Bold, bright, eclectic - drapes here make the room. Clips rings on a rod.

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So sweet and tender, these curtains sing "newborn is here". Notice a roll of blackout shade on on the back.This way you can enjoy the see through sheer of sweet white curtains, and have the darkness when necessary.

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Another great way to dress windows. Add blackout lining to this, and you are set.

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Awesome drapes! I am a fan of bold stripes, and the contrasting trim just adds that special something. Note the length here. This is ideal - from top to all the way down. Love it!

And here, you can see what I meant by "chopped curtains". 

What not to do. 

I really really DON'T like this way of hanging curtains! Notice the rod placement - such an odd spot! It just sort of cuts through the window frame... I just want to reach and pull it up up up! 

The curtains could have been cute if they were full length, but chopped like this?..hmmm: no-no in my book.

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Aren't these curtain tie backs are adorable??! So stylish and cool for a Nautical theme room!

Tips for awesome window curtains

 Please don't chop your curtains to the length of the window! The room will look SO much better and more elegant if you hang your curtains a few inches below ceiling and go all the way down, so the drapes barely touch the floor. It will make ceilings and windows look higher, and the visual composition will be proportional and well balanced.

If your room is full of bright, colorful patterns + colored walls  - aim either for solid/ textured drapes or very small,tiny pattern that reads as solid from afar. This way you unify the color scheme and not overwhelm it visually. 

If your room is pretty simple, calm with neutral wall color - you can make a statement with bold, graphical draperies, in bright, contrast colors.

Matching curtains to the bedspread is in the past. Better to use similar and /or complimentary colors for all textiles in the room.

Curtains and accessories for kids room don't have to be super cute, over the top cuddly, fluffy and cartoonish, in order to be appropriate. There are so many well designed playrooms and nurseries that use sophisticated color palettes, patterns and textures, stylish artwork and elegant accessories. The rooms still look kid friendly and cozy, plus they grow along with a children.

How to patch up kids pair of jeans, in a fun way!

Have you had a kid come back from school with a hole in his/her jeans? Of course, you have.
Me too.  Before tossing them, I quickly looked online for other options and found a great post on mending a wardrobe. 

Here is my process of mending a pair of my son's jeans:

I kinda like it...

1 Bed- 3 Looks - 3 Ways to style a bed for a little girl

1. Bright & Bold

Organic Duvet+Pillow Sham with Chartreuse leaves & birds from NewMomDesigns

Accent pillow cover with Large Coral chevron from NewMomdesigns

Trellis Sheet and Pillowcase in black/whitefrom Overstock.com

This is fun and cheerful color combination is suitable for a chatty, bubbly girl like my daughter. She loves color and all things nature! Colorful bedding looks especially bright and yammy on the white background. Add a few additional pops of color, like this Red Chair that doubles a side table. For artwork, you can simply tape your child's drawings with washi tape like this on the wall behind the bed to personalize the space even further.

 2. Lovely & Charming

Organic Duvet with Bullfinches from NewMomdesigns

Organic Pillow sham with mustaches from NewMomDesigns

Sheet made from "dearStella" fabric available at major fabric stores

This is for a shy, romantic girl. She is feminine and almost fairy like, with a quiet sophistication, but not without a sense of humor!

Style it with detailed objects, decorative details...This calls for things lacquered, antiqued, glossy with signs of patina, like an old handheld mirror and a jewelry/ music box.

3. Subtle Safari
Organic Duvet cover + Pillow sham with Happy Hippos from NewMomDesigns
Pillowcase made from "dearStella" fabric available at major fabric stores
Accent pillow cover with  Pink Delicate chevron from  NewMomDesigns

Your child loves African animals and trips to the zoo? You don't have to paint her room green and brown, and buy a bunch of stuffed lions and elephants. Jungle theme room can subtle and tasteful, and YES, it can be done for a girl! Pair the safari colors with soft pinks and peach and oranges for a summery, warm color palette. To style this bedding, you can pick up a bamboo side table or a tray at your local thrift store, get a couple simple wall decals like these, maybe a modern lamp - that's all you need to convey the theme.

Kids artwork display...continued

As you already know from my previous post, my daughter loves to draw. She has an enormous amount of drawings, watercolors, collages and doodles. Of course, once in a while I have to go through her drawer and sort, and when I do, I always feel sad to toss some, and I feel sad for keepers, because there is no way to display them all. And these "masterpieces" are really good and fresh, and truly original.
So I wanted to share with you some ways to introduce your child's artwork into your life:

1. The simplest one - FRAME IT and call it abstract work. I discussed it here along with pictures:

2. CUTOUTS - appropriate for those who like to color.
Here is what I did from my daughter's coloring: cut out the shapes, animals or whatever your child has colored, paste onto a white foam board, Optional: select a few of the pieces and paste onto thick card-stock first ( i used cereal boxes or something like that) , then onto foam blocks. This way you will have more dimensional art...

3. Hang them on IKEA curtain rods on a white wall ( in corridor OR inside the kids room) This method will work for all those crafty thingies they bring home from Day care or pre-K.

Source: style-files.com via NewMomDesigns- unique textiles on Pinterest

4. Make a textile of doodles - can simply enlarge your child's doodles, and trace with a fabric marker onto a duvet, pillowcase, or a sheet. Maybe curtains even... I wanted to do this for soooo long!

Source: younghouselove.com via NewMomDesigns- unique textiles on Pinterest

5. This is my latest find and I love it! Make KEYCHAIN from your child's artwork. I guess you could also print your doodles onto a mug, mouse pad, tray, etc in order to preserve kids artwork without the actual papers laying around. Cool!

Source: etsy.com via NewMomDesigns- unique textiles on Pinterest

Do you have a favorite way to display your child's artwork? Please share in comments!

Cooking with kids

The other day we had a fun, little cooking project with Alina. Perhaps, those of you with kids, are already familiar with this, or even made these when you were kids. But for me, this was the cutest discovery!
Alina had so much fun making these cute, eatable octopuses, and then ate them proudly!

What to do with kids artwork?

Yesterday I got a bit tired of looking at the empty frames on my wall, waiting for the inspiration to strike. 

I decided to take action and use what I have in the house to fill up a few spots.

Guess what this is?

If you guessed "your daughter's first watercolor painting",  you guessed right!

She did it last year, when she was 3 y.o., and I found them fascinating, and kept them in special folder.

She painted a few pages in a regular ruled composition book, and I cut out the irregular shapes and pasted them together on a white background.

Looks like a great abstract piece of art! 

Here is another example:

These were done with colored markers.

Simple and effective!

How do you display your kids art? Leave a comment ;)

Birthday party favors for kids

My daughter's birthday is coming up this week - August 17th. 

While the big party will be held on the following Saturday in our backyard, a smaller celebration will take place on Wednesday in Alina's daycare.

Now, every once in a while my kids come home with little plastic bags filled with candy and small chatchka-like toys that usually get broken that same day and thrown around the house. That means someone had a birthday in their group and the kids all got their goody bags after the party.

It is an easy and the most affordable way to complete the task of making children favors for the birthdays , especially for the daycare... I myself made little sugary goody bags last year...

 Guilty...

However, just recently my kids came home each with a box of puzzles - a favor from someone's birthday party. They were SO excited! It kept them busy all evening and they still play with them sometimes.

 I was grateful to that parent for the thoughtfulness and appreciated the lack of sweet, artificially flavored candy that usually dominates kids favors.

This time I wanted to follow this example and get something that would get kids attention and make use of their skills rather than their teeth. Still I wanted to minimize the wallet damage and make it look presentable.

After searching a discount store for a while I found something that I  thought would make a good fit.

It's a small book with a single black dry-erase marker. A child is supposed to fill in the pictures inside the book, like a castle with missing doors and windows...

Under $2 each, it will keep the little one busy for at least 15-20 min.

Wrapped in pretty pink tissues and placed in chic black and white bags ( value pack)...they don't look half bad! 

I am pleased with how everything turned out: not too baby-ish and not useless breakable waste...

This packaging sort of tells you it is coming from a girl, doesn't it? ... :)

I may drop one lollipop in each bag just to sweeten the whole drawing experience a bit :))

Cool blog! Get your kids here.

Simple and clever crafts to do with kids on this amazing blog!

Finger painting activity that produces almost fabric-like pattern. Cool!

How I potty trained my child

(Image of a potty I actually used for my daughter)

I am sure there are many funny, weird, unusual, even tearful stories mommies can share about their children overcoming potty training. For me it was smooth and painless as it can be, at least for the first time, with my daughter.
Now, the time has come to train my son, and I thought this is a chance to share my previous experience-  perhaps it will help someone. So here we go:

Back to when I wasn't a mother, I had no idea how to deal with children. I never babysat for anyone, and wasn't involved in raising or even helping with kids of any age, wasn't familiar with any milestones in kids development, not to mention, how to help kids to meet them. So when I had a baby, the strangest thing I wondered about is how am I ever going to potty train my children?
Where I come from, it is very common to potty train kids at a very young age, by 1st birthday ( I even know a young mother who potty trained her 9-month old baby!!!!)
Anyways, I just could not imagine HOW could one explain to a baby not to "do their business" in a diaper anymore! It seemed like an impossible mission to accomplish. Period. But.... when my daughter started to walk around (12months), I started to notice that whenever she was "doing" something, she tried to hide behind a sofa or a chair, and she clearly expressed embarrassment if I were to look at her or ask her a question during that moment. I was amazed at how the need for privacy was sort of programmed into a human conscience from the very beginning! 
From this moment, I had a lot more confidence that the potty training WILL happen for us, because it's a natural process and Mother Nature had already did the prep work.
So it was summertime and once in a while I would take my daughter's diaper off  and let her run free. Of course, accidents started to happen. No worries, I was expecting them, in fact, I was counting on them. I realized that as long as the child is in diapers, he/she don't realize what is going on during...you know.. They feel something warm, ticklish, uncomfortable, but don't know what that really is! When the accident ( #1) happened for he first time, my daughter was simply shocked, confused and in tears! This is THE moment, I thought.  Calmly, with a smile on my face, I reassured her that everything was fine, and then directed her to the potty, explaining that THIS was the place where this kind of thing should take place.
After that, I kept her diaper-free more often, and every 20 min or so, I'd ask her whether she wants to use a potty. After a while she was initiating her visits to the bathroom herself! Accidents still happened occasionally, but I was able to leave her without a diaper longer and longer every day. Still put one on before nap and bedtime, until noticed that the diaper was completely dry anytime day or night. And so it happened....  by her 26th month, my little girl was fully potty trained. Nature took its course, and my fears and confusion were far behind me.  Now, it's her brother's turn. He is now 25 months, but boys are late bloomers, they say... So I am giving him a couple more months to catch up ;) Already he is showing interest in using the potty, pushing me out of the bathroom so he could do it all by himself ( and then play with toilet water while I am not looking - so sneaky, this one!)
So this how it happened for us. Hopefully, we'll be a completely diaper free family soon.
How was this process for you? Do you have a funny story to share? I would love to hear it, dear readers! I am sure someone somewhere will benefit from this.

Oops can be beautiful! Who knew?

Have you seen this book? So cool! Being a creative person that I am, I cannot resist buying it.
It's called Beautiful Oops! I think it's great for promoting creativity and seeing positive things even in oops! ;))) Especially when these oops happen every day in large quantities!:)
Frankly, I am buying it for myself ( love children's books!!), and then when the moment is right I will pass it along, promise!

Have you started your gift shopping?

I found this adorable mini bowling set on Etsy and immediately decided that I have started my holidays gift shopping. Here are a few of my favorite kids related items from Etsy. 

I pre-ordered this for my kids. Boy, do they love to smash things and see them falling... 

Don't they all??

And how enchanting is this??? 3-D fairytale or something...

What about this cute little guy? I am sure he is looking for a loving home this year... ;)

I love everything from this store! Really. Having a hard time selecting what to buy...

More to come soon, I have to go do something about this annoying cold that's been just killing me over the last 3 days, starting right after our Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, Thanks winter season - 3 days terribly sick, all by myself with 2 little kids cooped up in the house is exactly what I needed ;)

Is everything new just well-forgotten old?

Let me tell you a little story.After Alinas Birthday back in august, I was left with a number of tissue paper pom-poms of various sizes. I knew I wanted to re-use them - they were large, colorful, 3-dimensional things that took a lot of effort to make. Now I've seen people use them anywhere from nurseries to front porches,  and I thought why not? Anyways, I wanted to hang them in random heights to create a nice vertical composition, but I had no tools at the time to attach them to the ceiling. But when I propped one on the wall vertically .... I kind of liked it! It looked fresh and creative, I've never seen them being used this way, and so I've decided to proceed with that. But for some reason, I couldn't come up with a good arrangement,  and colors were not exactly my favorites.  It's kind of like when you have a really good idea, but need time to work out all the details to make it really great. So up until this day, the tissue pom-poms are still up on the wall in some random unsatisfying order, and every time I look at them, I say to myself: "gotta do something here, I am not liking this, etc"
So today I am browsing a few new blogs, and I stumble upon ,what I thought was my great original invention, pom-poms up on the wall.
 First thing in my mind - "Damn it! I am not as creative as I thought I was".
Second thought in my mind - "Finally, Thank you, I know what I need to do now!"
And just like that I was hooked on this new blog, and decided to share with you this lovely way to add some 3-dimensionality to your walls. Enjoy!

These are done with paper napkins from IKEA, I love how wonderfully sophisticated these look! Hell with my plain pink and yellow pom-poms!!!  I got to get my hands on some IKEA napkins :)

P.S. Make sure to check out Dana Made It blog for TONS of great ideas on decorating, cooking, sewing and what-not! Seriously, do it! She has over 4500 followers, that should tell you something.