workin' for the boy

Holy moly it's been awhile!  Work has been busier than anticipated (for the typically slower summer months, anyway) which is awesome and all, but hasn't left time for much else.  I have snuck in some projects, most of which I've blogged about already on my more kid/family-friendly blog.  For starters, a few months ago, motivated by the transition from crib to "big boy bed," I made over my son's room.

Neal put the bed together a few weekends before I painted (I think we're both secretly wishing Ikea made something like this bed in queen size).

Carolina Parakeet for the walls, Vintage Orange for the doors, and white for the trim. 

I also hung dark brown curtains to block the early morning sun (and save us from 5:45 a.m. wake-up calls) - those I still need to get hemmed - installed his name letters along the side, and replaced his outlet and light switch covers with much cuter versions I bought from Etsy seller BreakinGlass. 

I was particularly enamored with the ones I picked for my son's room because they tied in the dark brown of the curtains - curtains we had in his nursery in Boston.  They weren't my first choice for his new room but I've been trying to work with what I already have as much as possible.

Following his room make-over I moved right onto his 3rd birthday party.  After passing by a Dr. Seuss display in Michael's one day, we decided to go with a Cat in the Hat theme, which was so fun and easy to plan.  Turquoise and red are one of my all-time favorite color combos and there are a ton of resources (some are even totally free, like the PBS Kids site) for this particular party theme.  I have a pretty long post on my other blog about it (including some potty training details at the end which you may find less interesting), but I did want to repeat a few crafty notes here, particularly as it concerns favor bags (and a little Etsy love, of course).

Don't you think those spiky blue rubbery balls from Target look like the hair of Things 1 and 2 peeking out of the box bag of fun?  Well, I did.

Included in the goody bags were these "green egg" soaps from Etsy seller sherryscotties.

And these Cat in the Hat crayon rolls by Just Because Bowtique.  Now I'm working on putting the finishing touches on my office/studio make-over (making our way through the house room by room).  Here's a sneak peak of the "before" images:

Shudder.  The room's not even 100% done yet and it already looks about a million times better.  Stay tuned for the reveal!