Sandberg Ramblings

Well now that Ames is 15 months old his room is officially done!  I've been dreaming of this room since before we were even expecting a baby.  I always knew I wanted a room that was somewhat gender neutral,  with a mostly neutral color scheme and pops of bright color.  It's taken me 3 years to make and collect everything for his room, so it's definitely a project that's near and dear to me.  The green chair I found at an antique store while we lived in Iowa,  and when I got it home,  I realized on the bottom that it says it was also made in Iowa.  So it's a pretty sentimental souvenir from our time in Iowa -  especially since that is where Ames was born.  I also made quite a few things in this room -  like the mobile and some of the artwork  and my mom made the beautiful quilt  and helped me with the curtains.  Ames loves to hang out in here during the day too.  Mostly reading...

Don't worry, not all of my DIY gift ideas are for kids,  but today I had to share these super easy baby toys.  Next week will be more devoted to grown up gifts :)  I saw some baby toys practically identical to these on Etsy,  but I wasn't about to spend $15 a pop on something I could very easily make myself.  The trick was finding the supplies I would need.  After a little searching I found what I needed,  and now I have supplies to make several of them for about $5-6 a piece!  Here's what you need for one toy:  (3) 1/2" wood beads (5) 3/4" wood beads (1) 1" wood bead (3) crocheted beads (2) 1 1/2" wood rings  (2) 14" strands of 10 lb. hemp cord  You could use whatever combo of beads you would like of course, this is just the recipe for mine.  If you only want to have to buy 1 or 2 sizes of beads instead of 3, I'm sure it would still look great!  I purchased my beads a...

I'm starting off my DIY Gift Series with these cute little guys... Say hi to the Caravan Shoppe Ollibots ! If you haven't discovered Caravan Shoppe , you're missing out!  They have a variety of cute printable downloads to make your own toys, holiday decor, and more.  I made these cute blocks last year.  All you do is purchase the download, print it at your local copy store, and assemble.  The download comes with great step by step instructions and tips. I plan on keep a couple for Mr. Ames, but I'm also going to gift some as well.   If you're going to try making these guys yourself, here's a few tips I have after doing it myself… 1. Have the download printed on full sheet label paper like they suggest.  It makes assembling them so much easier!  Then you can just cut the pieces out, stick them in place, and mod podge over the top. 2. Watch your magnets as they are drying!  Magnets are at...

1 .   Gorgeous Giclee Print 2 .   J.Crew Colorblock Coat 3 .   Brown Booties are high up on my Christmas list 4 .   Anthropologie Felt Garland - I'm thinking I may try my hand at making one 5 .   Jenny Lind Bed - from Walmart!  Almost identical to the one from Land of Nod but with a much lower price tag.  Great for a little girl's room! 6 .  Zebi Baby Elephant Romper 7 .   Skip Hop Diaper Bag - cute, versatile, and a great price!

6 weeks until due date! Crazy crazy!  I'm finishing up my hospital bag and then we are pretty much set to go.  I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and I asked if I was measuring big outside since they say Ames is big, but apparently my belly is right on track. :) So we'll see how big he really ends up being.  We are planning to go on one last little getaway before he comes over Landon's fall break. Since we moved to Iowa, we've gone to Nauvoo every October. Then on our way home we stop at this cute pumpkin patch and get our Halloween pumpkins for the year. I will miss this fun little tradition!  Also, I've had a few requests for the cute pattern my mom used for Ames' baby quilt. It's from this book... Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky  The actual pattern she used from it is called the Modern Baby Quilt.

Shopping for a boy can be challenging, especially a baby boy. Once they hit 12 months it seems like  there's a much better selection of cute things to choose from, but baby clothes are a different story.  This has been a good thing for me though. I think shopping for a girl would be overwhelming because there are almost too many cute things.  I've done a bit of searching and created a great roundup of stores that have great baby boy clothes.  My top 3 stores are: Zara H&M  Baby Gap Zara and Baby Gap can be a little bit more expensive, but honestly I think Zara is worth it... their clothes are that cute, and Baby Gap has great sales and coupons.  Other good stores are: JCPenney  - specifically the Joe Fresh & Little Maven brands American Apparel OshKosh Old Navy Carter's - they've really stepped up their game  Walmart and Target have good finds every once and a while, but I feel like their 12...

I'm not usually one for themes, but I'm having fun putting together idea's for this Star Wars boy's bedroom for a client.  What do you think? How do you feel about themed kid's rooms?  Outer Space Removable Wall Mural || Star Wars Character Poster Prints || Lamp ||  May The Force Be With You Print || Rugby Stripe Bedding || Star Wars Sheet Set || Euro Bed Shams || Accent Pillow  

While I was in Utah a couple weeks ago, my new baby before the baby arrived!  That would be my new camera.  I've had so much fun playing around with it and getting ready to take pictures of baby Ames when he arrives. I ended up also getting a 50mm portrait lens that I am in LOVE with. Pretty much all of the pictures below were taken with it. I'm no photographer, and don't plan on being one, but being an art lover, I've always wanted to experiment with the medium of photography and now I can! It's also been really nice to be able to take better quality pictures for this here blog.  I hope you enjoy them! 

As I've said before, since we will be moving in about 3 months, our little Ames won't have a nursery for a while. For now I've transformed a little corner of our bedroom into his temporary "mini nursery." The top of our dresser, my sock drawer, and a section of my closet, have turned into a changing table and clothing storage. We're getting closer and closer to being completely ready!   This experience has been really good for me.  I've really been able to focus on what's most important and not stress over things that don't really matter. It's made me cut back and realize what the necessities for having a newborn really are.  I've still had fun making fun little things like the artwork and mobile, but it's honestly nice not to have an entire nursery overwhelming me. Although it would be nice to have more storage space :)  A big thanks to my friend Karissa for letting us borrow her bassinet for a couple months!  Well I...

I'm so excited to share another home tour with you today!  Today's tour is the home of my friend Whitney Lynch.  I grew up in the same neighborhood as Whitney and look up to her both as a designer and mother.  She received her degree in Interior Design from Utah State and was able to do an amazing internship in New York with designer Jamie Drake and was later hired on to the design firm. After living and designing in New York for a couple years, her and her little family moved back to Utah and moved into their amazing home in Daybreak. Whitney still works part time as a designer for Drake Design Associates and is a wife and mother to 2 adorable boys, Maddox and Breaker. She has such a fun and bold design style which is reflected in her gorgeous home. It is another testament that it is possible to have a beautiful and well designed home with small children.  Thanks for letting us take a peek inside Whitney!  ...