A Little of This & That… Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family
A Little of This & That… Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

DIY Felt Bows & Bow Ties

I’ve been meaning to capture the steps for this little project for some time. Remember when we hosted a gender reveal party for Taylor earlier this year? (complete with video – me about to fall over from shock, Kevin with the most complacent and calm reaction I-ever-did-see.) It was a really fun way to learn the gender of baby #2, especially since we waited to find out with Liv.

As a fun little accessory for the party, a friend and I made about thirty felt bows for our friends and family to guess what baby would be. Those that voted ‘girl’ wore the bow on their head, those that voted ‘boy’ on the collar of their shirts. Super easy and super fun for photos!

Gender Reveal Party : Bow or Bowtie? : PepperDesignBlog.com

When a reader recently asked how to recreate the felt bows, I thought I’d put together a snapshot series on assembly.

Felt Bows | PepperDesignBlog.com

Once you have your two felt strips cut (one large, one small), assembling all of the bows takes just a minute or so each. I came up with a little assembly line for all of the bows that went something like: fold long strip, scrunch together, wrap small strip around center, stitch in place. Very simple – my brother even chipped in during crunch time prepping for the party.

I used a bobby pin in this collage because that’s what Liv and I have been using to make little hair accessories. For the actual party I used alligator clips (found in the hair accessory section of most grocery stores and pharmacies) so that guests could easily clip the bows to their shirts or into their hair.

feltbows_alligatorclip

An alternative look to wrapping the center section is to stitch while the bow is scrunched.

Felt Bows | PepperDesignBlog.com

We made bows in blue, lavender and mustard in mini sizes for Liv’s beautiful and often crazy curly hair (which is long enough to put in a pony now!).

Felt Bows | PepperDesignBlog.com

And here are more shots of the larger bows on family and friends at the party. Plus the other games we played to bet on the gender prior to the big box & balloon reveal ;).

Taylor’s Newborn Photos

I can’t believe that little Taylor Rose is already three months old. I packed up her newborn clothes just recently after a failed attempt to dress her in a nightgown, only to find that the sleeves hit at her elbows and the legs at her calves! Time for the next size up. Amazing.

Here are a few shots from her first few weeks… I’ll let the images do the talking.

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

IMG_8810edit_2bw_buttbw_flipped_500

IMG_8862edit_BW_Crop_400

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

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Here’s the b&w version of the above, can’t decide which I like better. Looking back at these photos, clearly I love me some newborn baby bums and tummies!

Which one did we choose for our birth announcements? I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show off the sweet interaction of big sister and little sister…

Taylor's Newborn Photos | PepperDesignBlog.com

Plus a face shot for the back of the announcement (I knitted that mint green wrap for her while I was pregnant, I hope it will be one of those cozy blankets that she looks forward to curling up with at night as she gets older). We partnered up with Tiny Prints to create the invites – their selection is amazing! The minute I saw the metallic dots design I fell in love with the colors, but they have so many baby girl announcements to choose from. Did you know you can order your envelopes with liners now as well? I end up using scrapbooking paper most of the time because I love the little detail – but choosing one of the Tiny Prints options would make that process even easier. I’m looking forward to them expanding that feature even more – and hopefully adding more colored envelope options too. Oh, and I’ve peeked at their new holiday line collection – so great.

PS Liv’s newborn photos here. What a comparison! I can’t believe I have TWO baby girls – remember when we found out the gender??

This post was sponsored by Tiny Prints, a partner of PDB for the last three years! We always enjoy working with them because of their great selection, but opinions are always my own.

Gilt & Favorite Fall Finds

One of my favorite flash sites is Gilt. Simply put, their editors do an amazing job at curating really beautiful collections. I took a tour of their latest sales and found enough inspiration to put a board together for our soon-to-be renovated master bedroom (+ bath, more to come!). All from Serena & Lily – which also happens to be a favorite ‘look book’ (or ‘how can I recreate this’) catalog of mine. Serena & Lily on sale on Gilt? I’m there.

Gilt | Serena & Lily Bedroom Inspiration Board | PepperDesignBlog.com

They’re also my go-to for wardrobe staples. Here are a few looks/items that are catching my eye this fall:

Gilt | Fall Wardrobe Inspiration Board | PepperDesignBlog.com

Not the cheapest flash sale out there but one that carries my favorite brands (you know, the ones that you save up for that practically last a lifetime and that you continue to pull out of the closet to wear year after year). True staples. Plus, they’re favorite brands marked down 30-70%.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all of the fantastic baby and toddler finds that I’ve scooped up over the past couple of years. These are the clothes and shoes that will easily earn a second life with Taylor (even if Liv wore the heck out of them the first time around). Here is what’s on sale right now:

Gilt | Kids Clothes Inspiration Board | PepperDesignBlog.com

Aden & Anais, Free People, White & Warren, Seychelles, NOM. Brands that I love but always wait until their clothing/shoes/house finds are discounted (and found on sites like Gilt). Sometimes they’re good deals, and sometimes they’re great deals (those grey cropped trousers are $7). Gilt pretty much has my fall wishlist covered. You can check them out here to get $25 off of your first purchase.

PS Gilt is an affiliate partner of this site.

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