Link Love


Spearmint Kitchen shares a simple DIY to modernize a fussy ol’ set of silverware. I want to do this!

It’s getting oh-so-Texas-hot here so flip-flops are on the agenda. Love this tute for Interchangeable Flip-Flop Back Straps for the wee ones.

I think Clare would go nuts for some supervised pin usage (she is obsessed!), making a sweet tissue topiary. So fun and pretty for a party!

I just picked up a copy of this lovely book, Morning Song: Poems for New Parents, for an expectant friend. It combines classic and contemporary poetry with work by Alice Walker, Dylan Thomas, Pablo Neruda and Sylvia Plath among many others. I can imagine her reading this during the late night feedings, which are OVER FOR ME for the moment! Woot!

ALSO

After Jaime’s adventure in decorating with black royal icing, It was interesting to read How to Color Royal Icing Black from Sweetopia.

As a hankie collector, It was fun to see these Vintage Handkerchief Ideas.

Sponsor Fabricworm has added a TON of beauties to their sale section! Check out all that AMH voile in the 30% section!

And over on Babble:
A Letter to My Baby: 6 Mother’s Day Messages from Moms
I’m wondering what to do about the boobs while traveling sans baby
10 adorable parties (if we do say so ourselves) to inspire your next shin-dig.
5 Great Hand Sanitizers, if you’re into that.
4 Maxi Dresses for under $25
Blast Off! Awesome Rocketship Playhouse!
A Son is a Son til he Gets a Wife: Are you a Toxic Daughter in Law?
Calypso St. Barth for Target. Did you get anything? I snagged a few adorbs tunics for the girls but missed out on the pouf. waa! Did you find any goodies?

Have a beautiful weekend Mamas! I’ll be finishing up a last-minute project, attending a baby shower for a lovely friend and wondering why everything in my garden is turning yellow. How about you?
Any comment could win you the oliver + s pattern of your choosing from fabricworm.

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Quinn’s Animal Birthday Party: A Source Guide


I’m so happy that you like Quinn’s party! I wish I could have had you all over rather than my real-life friends who drank my beer and mocked me for making balloon animals. Ahh, Prudent Baby is such a nice place to spend my day.

Do you want to know where I got the goods? Here’s the scoop:

Bake it Pretty let me pick out some of their gorgeous goodies including:
The Giant Polka-Dot Balloon in Goldenrod
The Pink and Orange Round Balloons
Orange Polka Dot Paper Straws
Small White Sugar Eyes and Circus Animal Chocolate Mold

AND Bake it Pretty is offering 10% off for our lovely readers with the code: PRUDENTPARTY


Then I headed to Amazon and found:

Balloons, a pump and a book on balloon twisting. 
At $150 an hour for a professional, I thought it would be worth it to try my hand at a little clownery. Full disclosure: I think I’m hooked. I want to make more. It was super fun. Even at 2 in the morning the night before the party.


These animal masks were the hit of the party. And at under $7 for 12, a no-brainer. A must buy.

The giraffe?A Christmas gift from my husband a few years ago. I think we are going to leave him on the mantle wearing his hat. Love it. And you might remember that tablecloth from The Thrifter’s Revenge.

DIY’s to come on the Cake, Quinn’s little Tank Tunic, the games, and the Easy Party Table Runner. Did I miss anything? Any other questions? Leave a comment and you could win the pattern of your choosing from oliver + s.

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Stash Peek & A Question & A Discount Code & & &…


Eeeeek! My latest fabric order just came in from lovely, lusty favorite-resource-ever Fabricworm. I’m over the moon because it’s SUMMER and it’s WARM (at least it is here in LA, sorry ladies in the cold) and Fabricworm has a ton of stock of LINEN! So I went LINEN MAD! Beautiful Robert Kaufman Linen in so many colors! Breazy, beautiful, affordable (only $3.20 a half yard!) easygoing linen in coral, orange, black, white, hot pink, and lime.

So, umm, what should I make with it? Napkins? Tablecloth? A Hot Mess Mommy skirt? Oh I know a JUMPSUIT! You guys love jumpsuits! I kid. Kind of. I actually kind of want a linen jumpsuit. Maybe with those buttons that babies have so I don’t have to strip to use the bathroom. OK, maybe not.

Anyway, back to the stash. I also tried my hand at mixing up some patterns from different lines. I usually rely on the talented ladies at Fabricworm for this (their custom bundles are genius) but this time I just went for it. What do you think of this pairing of Kokka Trefle Matroyshkas in Pumpkin with Stitch Studios Daydream in Main Caramel? See the other pairing I’m wondering about after the jump and please let me know what you think in the comments. OH, and also FIND A DISCOUNT CODE FOR FABRICWORM after the jump too! You’re welcome.
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GIVEAWAY: 6-months of Say Mmm Plus

My husband is that engineer-type that will drive a creative-type like myself crazy with all his “planning” and “organization” and “effectiveness.” Ugh, his ability to get a job done is so annoying. A perfect example: about 4 years ago in the bliss of newlywed-dom, he suggested that we make a list of all the meals we like to eat in a little notebook and then every week plan meals for each day and shop for what we need. I started to sweat, how could I commit to tacos for Friday night a week in advance? What if Friday came and I wanted lasagna? But I took a leap of faith and guess what? He was right. He usually (annoyingly) is. Meal planning will change your life. It will save you money. And if you want lasagna, or something that you’ve planned for another day, guess what, you have all of the ingredients because you’ve already shopped for them. Amazing. Have you tried meal planning in your house? Want to?

Brian Hutchins from Say Mmm has taken the concept of meal planning to the next level.

He says: After seeing my wife stress one too many times over planning dinner, I left Google to make a set of tools that would help all parents. Say Mmm helps parents save time and money with a set of simple online tools for planning meals, creating grocery lists, and organizing recipes and ideas from anywhere in one place.  It also has some free tools for bloggers to use on their sites.

I’m not kidding, meal planning is life changing. And taking my little notebook to the next level by adding tools like shopping lists & recipe organization and making it all available on my iphone, which I already (sometimes) have with me?  Genius. So who’s in?
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Quinn’s Animal Birthday Party


This weekend we celebrated Miss Quinn Frances’ 2nd Birthday – Animal Style! I couldn’t commit to “circus” or “jungle” so it just ended up as a mash-up of the elements I liked most from each. There was also a little hand-made, a little store-bought and a few things I just had lying around the house. Quinn was only concerned that there be monkeys and elephants. Check!

Over the next week or so I’ll be posting a few DIY’s and the sources for all the party goodies. If you have any thoughts or questions, leave a comment! It could win you an oliver + s pattern from fabricworm!


Read on to see more photos …
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Prudent Project Round Up


Top: Sewing Novice made a Crayon Roll (her very first sewing project ever, totes impressed) | Pandiola Lane made our Pretty Party Dress | She’s Kinda Crafty made Reusable Snack Bags and super sized some into wet bags too.

Middle: @stitchtacsew used our How to Sew Piping Tutorial to make piping for her pillows | Sparklinbecks repurposed an old outfit in to a Snappy Toddler Top |  | Sara and Spice read our tute then made some butter.

Bottom: Jessi made a Top Knot Baby Hat and some Pants  | Keight made a Changing Pad Cover

Join the Prudent Baby Project Pool on Flickr and share your pics, or chat with other awesome Prudent Mamas and upload your pics to our super fun Prudent Baby Facebook Page or tweet them to us. And of course you can keep sending them to us through our Prudent Baby Contact Form. Your “As Seen On Prudent Baby” Button is down there on the left. Thank you!

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A Fun Way to Organize Craft Supplies


So I’ve been plugging away at the Craft Room Redesign Project. Last we checked in I showed you the Hidden Workstation. I love my DIY pleated curtains, but strangely enough, hiding my craft supplies behind drapes did not magically organize them. I had an inkling that one of my thrifty finds, the file rack that files don’t fit in, could make a great little supply station on my cutting table. So I bought a few cases of mason jars and tackled my supply drawers, which looked like this:

See what they look like now and learn all about my mason jar supply station after the jump, and let us know your craft supply organization tips in the comments, you could win this week’s surprise prize, that Oliver & S Pattern from Fabricworm!
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