Easter dresses

Don't mind the silly faces. That's just the way we are! Just in time I finished the girls Easter dresses. Because it was general conference and we technically didn't have to get dressed up for church, I almost didn't do Easter dresses this year. But come on, they are only going to let me dress them like this for so long, right?  These dresses were inspired (a nice way to say copied) from a few different places. First, the talented Katiedid has darling girls that she makes beautiful clothes for. Then there is this dress from Lilly Pulitzer. I love their bright colors. But $88 for a toddler's A-line dress, seriously? And then I saw Jamie's adorable dress and skirt she made for her girls. And then I looked in the closet and saw the green and pink fabric I had found for $3 and using A-line dresses the girls already had as patterns, it all came together quickly! Next up I want to copy this dropwaist beauty. And of course the matching little sister dress. Isn't that lace gorgeous!? Girls are fun!

Bulletin Board

I've had ideas of some sort of family bulletin board/message center in my head for a while now, and have been inspired by many different images and blog posts, but when I was talking with my friend, Becca, and she brought it up that she was trying to put one together, I got motivated to just get it done!  A few of the inspirations I used: I originally got the idea for a "Learning Board" from a book I read, and really enjoyed, on motherhood called Steady Days and I used her ideas for what to put on the board. There is a calendar on it with pictures, a sticker chart, a few pictures of Spring, a country that we talk about (so far we're checking a few books out from the library on our "country" and looking at it on the map. Maybe in the future I'll get around to cooking foods from a certain country we talk about. We'll see.) and a holiday (I still need to get some pictures of Easter things up!). It's hung low on the wall in our hallway so it's accessible to Kate. I plan to rotate what we put on the board, and it could eventually just become a family message center or display board. For now it is working well. Kate enjoys looking at the calendar especially. Most mornings she asks "What day is it today?" And it's been helpful to direct her here and show her what might be going on that day or the next.

I followed my favorite design blogs instructions for the bulletin board and it was really simple. I got the board at Micheals, although they sell them everywhere. Just paint the frame, use some fabric tac or spray adhesive for the fabric and cover the edges with gimp or trim. I want to do a few more of these for the walls of our office. I love seeing the pretty fabric on the wall--especially since I found it for $3 a yard. If you live near a Home Fabrics outlet, you've got to check it out!

A few other inspirations:

Soulemama's family board

Family Command Center