Pom-Pom-ed!

A while ago I posted some photos of our Crane humidifier, and got quite a few inquiries about the "pom-poms" hanging above the changing table. I'm in the "pom-pom" phase again at the moment (conjuring up some multi-colored poms for Freida's art party on Sunday), and wanted to share the simplicity of this whimsical craft.

Pom-Pom DIY (via Martha Stewart Wedding):

1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

4. Tie a length of monofilament to floral wire for hanging.

In addition to these making for lovely decor, there are ways to get the kids involved in the process! I've done this in the Pre-K classroom and the kids find the whole thing (especially the outcome!) really incredible. I used white tissue paper, and gave the kids spray bottles filled with liquid tempera paints and water. When they sprayed it onto the tissue paper the color "spread" and it made a pretty tie-dye effect. After the sheets have dried you can follow the steps above, and watch the childrens expressions! :)

I did another version of this with Freida (on a much smaller scale) we used coffee filters (white would have been better), and Do-A-Dots to create a similar look. She had fun stampin' away, and after the filters dried she was dumbstruck when I showed her how to "open" up the pom. I left it hanging from her door-knob for a while, then stuck it as a ceiling pendant in her little sukkah.

If you like the look but are more keen on skipping the process, you can get yourself some perfectly-ready-to-assemble, beautiful, whimsical pom-poms through the original "Pom-Pom provider": Kirsten Hadley of PomLove over at Etsy. The shop features the most fantastic tissue pom options, and Kirsten is an absolute pleasure to deal with! She's dubbed the shop with the tagline, "happy, floating. paper", and it delivers! Here's a little glimpse into what she offers:

Happy Pom-lovin'!!

Simple Spout

I just love it when little issues we dealt with all our lives are nixed through the most simplest of solutions! Say goodbye to stacks of dixie cups, germ-infested toothpaste cups, or cupping hands; hello, Tapi. The first "squeezable" tap-gone-water-fountain is blowing my mind! How simple?? And how genius! Perfect for kids faucets, toothbrush-tots-in-training, and family bathrooms in general! And with the array of available color options you can go bold to brighten and add some fun, or opt for white or steel to go as seamless as possible! Tapi from Dreamfarm, $4.95

Hooked on MC Knockoffs

Urban Outfitters is good for something other than being the cult-cliche-hipster-scene final destination (sorry boys!); they have a fabulous eye for goodies! I previously posted how they knocked-off the iconic Eames Hang-It-All ($179.99) with their Saturnus Door Hook ($18.00):

And they've done it again! This time to the limited-edition Herman Miller® Hang-It-All ($249.00), they brought us the Openhiemer Door Hook ($16.00):

Collaborate, baby!

Now this is why the "collaboration thing" totally rocks!! When Gwyneth Paltrow (who was surprisingly fabulous singing at the CMA Awards last night! Watch her performance here.)  spent months in Nashville on set for the indie film "Country Strong", she had an interior decorator work with an empty, raw space and turn it into something she and her family could live in peacefully, albeit temporarily. I read about the renovations on (one of my favorite online-spots!) Goop, and spotted a Blu Dot  sofa in her children's bedroom - almost identical to our Blu Dot for Urban Outfitters find in Freida's room. Here's the catch: her's was retail for $900 vs. ours which was a BD for UO collaboration ($648) swaged on clearance for a measly $125!! Our "Benzo" has wooden legs instead of steel ones, and I'm sure the "Flat Out" is a lot more comfortable to sleep on, but there are ways to score big on design, ladies!

Chalkboard Goes Green

I was teaching the concept of "blessings over food" with my Hebrew School class (3rd graders), and decided to do a little project to culminate the discussion of how special and significant natural sustenance is. Want to rev-up the planting process a bit? Terra-cotta planters + chalkboard spray-paint =

The kids really enjoyed decorating their planters with the blessing and all different sorts of vegetables and herb (we planted parsley - it grows in cooler weather) illustrations. This is such a great way to spruce up your kitchen window-sill (who doesn't want to cook with fresh herbs always on hand?), and a super-cute way to label and mark different species...