Blog - Page 82 of 94 - Nesting Story

Happy Holidays From Nesting Story!

We have been walloped by a major ice storm here in the GTA and our family feels very blessed to still have our power. Presents are wrapped and under the tree and the kids are bubbling with anticipation for Christmas morning. When it comes to decorating my home I avoid sparkles at all costs; my husband strongly detests sparkles and the mess that goes along with them. I tend to lean towards the homemade traditional green and red themes. Here is a peek at some of my Christmas DIY decorations:

Below: a dollar store bucket, filled with birch tree branches, faux evergreen, a few pinecones and some battery powered Christmas lights. Under $20.00

This one was very easy, cheap and fast: I recycled a bunch of mason jars, varying in sizes and added some twine, pinecones, faux snow and battery powered tea lights. They create a very cozy glowing effect. Under $10.00

This is another example of a way to use a variety of sizes of vases and battery powered candles.

Under $40.00

Is it a constant battle in your home keeping your kids away from your tree? Here is a little trick I figured out last year. Set up a mini kid’s Christmas tree adorned with non-breakable ornaments and allow your kids to move the ornaments around as much as they please.

A Kid’s Custom Bunk Bed Design That I LOVE!

When I picture a dream room for my kids I often envision stylish and imaginative built-in bunk beds. A lot of wonderful memories from my childhood are filled with vacations alongside my two older brothers and my younger sister. When on these vacations, whether it was Christmas in Florida or ski trips in a lodge, my sister and I would love sharing a room. Our time would be filled with giggles and make believe. So when I stumble across a fantastic design like this I can just imagine the fun the children inhabiting this room must have!

This colourful beach house kid’s bedroom by Andra Birkerts Interior Design is a perfect mix of nautical, modern and elegance.

Christmas and Seasonal Decor for Kid’s Rooms

As I was decorating for Christmas this year and checking out decor ideas in the stores I was noticing a lot of festive holiday decor ideas that you can add to your little one’s room. Here are some of my favourites…

I am a huge fan of the Christmas themed bedding that Pottery Barn Kids carries each year, especially the Grinch bedding. If you are interested, you better go get it because they are selling out fast! I also think the Elf on the Shelf nightlight from Pottery Barn Kids was very cute!

I thought this was a very clever idea; a decal Christmas tree. What a great activity to do with your kiddies from Rosenberry Rooms.

This one is my absolute favourite! This cabin and moose themed room is from… you guessed it, Restoration Hardware Baby and Child.

This fella is from Posh Tots. Yup, it’s a ride on deer. It has a lightweight, yet sturdy frame which can support children and adults up to 250 lbs.

A Baby Shower and Christmas Decorating

It seems like it has been forever! I have had a busy but exciting past few weeks full of festivities, design projects and the excitement of decorating for a Canadian Christmas!

I was thrilled to host a baby shower for my sister-in-law who is expecting my niece in January. I chose a variety of pops colours to decorate my home, using onesies hanging on a line and buttons instead of confetti to decorate. A book for guests to add their advice for the new parents and a calendar for guests to add their birthday guesses were great interactive and personal touches that my sister-in-law and brother were able to take with them.

My husband and I are so excited to start decorating for a Canadian Christmas this year. Every couple of years we go with family to Florida to celebrate Christmas, a tradition we have continued since my childhood. Last year we were in Florida and this year is the first we will be home for Christmas in our new home. The decorations are up and we are set to go cut down our tree on Saturday. While shopping for decorations at HomeSense I took a few photos of what caught my eye. Soft homemade flannel decor and lots of deer accents!

Whimsy’s Heavy Things – Interview and Giveaway!

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the extremely talented children’s book author and illustrator, Julie Kraulis. Julie is an old childhood friend; our mothers were best friends growing up. I stumbled across Julie again on facebook and was absolutely blown away by her talent. After a lunch filled with reminiscing and comparing life as artists we dove into discussing her wonderfully deep children’s book. Julie recently wrote and illustrated Whimsy’s Heavy Things, which was published by Tundra Books.

Whimsy’s Heavy Things had a huge impact on me because it truly hit home in a lot of ways. The premise of the book is the main character has “heavy things” which is symbolized by actual physical black spheres and these spheres will not leave her and are weighing her down. She tries to find ways to get rid of them but it proves impossible until she actually faces them head on. The beautifully delicate yet intense style Julie brings to the illustrations brings this story to life in an incredible way.

Julie said that Whimsy’s “heavy things” could be interpreted in many different ways; it’s all about what the reader relates it to. I related the heavy things to a couple different heavy things in my life. My son Holden can tend to feel a little more anxious than most kids and for a long time he had his heavy things following him around, even when he was a baby. But in the past year or so we have really started to break down his anxiety and deal with it head on. Since then he has been so much lighter and has realized that life is meant to be enjoyed and can be fun and exciting.

Whimsy’s Heavy Things could relate to so many different life obstacles for both children and adults. Whether it’s deep loss, anxiety or something that is just nagging at you Whimsy’s Heavy Things will be an incredible eye opener of how you can look at your heavy things in a very different way.

Julie was kind enough to sign a copy for me to do a giveaway… just in time for Christmas! All you have to do is LIKE Nesting Story on Facebook and share the Whimsy’s Heavy Things giveaway photo to be entered. It’s that simple! A name will be drawn and announced at 11:00AM on Friday November 29^th. Good Luck! If you don’t win, I highly suggest picking up a copy for yourself or as a perfect Christmas gift on Amazon. Visit Julie online at www.juliekraulis.com and on Facebook.