Jelly Toast Kids | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

My nephew's 1st birthday is Friday, so we're heading to Pittsburgh to celebrate his birthday this weekend. I already purchased some fun presents for his first birthday, but I remembered reading about Jelly Toast Kids on a friend's fun blog, The Scoop on Sprinkles.  Jelly Toast Kids has a cute Etsy shop and they make these adorable owls, plus a whole lot more.

I found Jelly Toast Kids on facebook last week and sent Emily, one of the owners, a note to see if I could get a Pittsburgh Steelers Owl before this coming weekend.  My brother in law and his family are huge Steelers Fans, so it's only inevitable that my nephew is going to be a Steelers fan. Emily got back to me right away and said it wouldn't be a problem!  Jelly Toast Kids owner's are local, so I got to pick up the owl this morning and wanted to show him off before he ventures to Pittsburgh for the birthday party and onto Delaware for his final stop, home! 

Meet Terry the Owl Friend: 

Check out the back of him: 

He even came with a note attached to him, telling a little about himself: 

He's the cutest owl I've ever seen and I cant wait to give him to my nephew this weekend.  I think he's going to be a huge hit with all of the Pittsburgh people, too! 

So if you're looking for a unique gift for a child, check out Jelly Toast Kids on facebook or their etsy shop for owls and more. 

Crown in a kitchen | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

Our kitchen has been through a major transformation over the last year and a half.  We decided to have all the kitchen cupboards and moldings painted (I'll sneak in a before picture), going against every one's opinions of how painting would ruin the beautiful wood.  Some people have very strong opinions of painting over wood.  Me, on the other hand, am all for it and am so happy we went ahead with it! I love, love, love white kitchens!   So after it was all painted, I felt like it was still missing something.  I loved the beautifully painted white cupboards, but felt that extending crown molding to the ceiling would really finish off the kitchen.

I poured through my favorite kitchens photos and the Internet, and decided I wanted to have the cupboards boxed in with a double crown molding at the top.  I showed Rob, the wonderful woodworker I use, and he said it wouldn't be a problem.

So, it's finally complete, except the painters are coming back this week to repaint the crown molding, as the color doesn't quite match.  Besides the color being off, I'm thrilled with how it's turned out and wanted to share pictures of how it looks now.


Here is a picture of my kitchen before, with just a simple piece of crown:

Here's a picture during, showing how he boxed in the cupboards to the ceiling:

And here's an after shot of the cupboards boxed in with double crown molding at the top:

Here's another before:

And another after:

Before:

After:

For fun,  I wanted to show you a picture of our kitchen before the transformation began.  It's hard to believe this is how my kitchen looked before. .  It had way too much wood going on in it.

Boxing in the kitchen cupboards got rid of the dark empty space above them, which, in turn, really changed the feel of the kitchen and made the ceilings seem so much taller. The kitchen cabinets are actually painted a creamy white, China White by Benjamin Moore, but my pictures make it look like a starker white, which they aren't.

Fun Find | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

Yesterday, I met some friends in Sylvania.  Our intent was to meet for breakfast/lunch and check out a little clothing boutique.  Well, the store didn't open at 10 like we thought.  We had some time to kill before some other friends were meeting us for an early lunch, so we checked out some of the other cute shops on Main Street.

We went into a cute little store, Canterbury Home, a store filled with new and old items,  and my friend and I spotted this at the back of the store:

I instantly loved it, but I didn't want to spend too much money on it.  The worker heard my friend and I talking about it and said that a lot of people had liked it, but it hadn't sold, so he was thinking about painting it black.  YIKES, it was too cute to be painted black, I thought to myself. I knew I wanted to use it as a bedside table, but it could also serve a dual purpose as a desk later on down the road when my daughter needed one. I also knew that if it didn't work in my daughters bedroom at home, it would definitely work in her bedroom at our cottage.  And the pink was such a great pink,  kind of like a bubblegum pink. So the guy offered to discount it 30% and I bought it.

I got it home and I really like the pink.  I had thought I might have to change the color a little, but I'm liking how it fits in my daughters room and she, being 3 years old, thinks it's the coolest thing ever because it's PINK!!!!  She immediately filled the drawer with her books and told me numerous times that she thought her pink desk was beautiful and gorgeous!!!)

With the intent of going shopping for clothes, I came home with a desk.  Way more fun for my daughter, I guess!

DIY Cork Board | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

I thought it would be fun to end the week, showing an easy DIY cork board project.  I got the idea to complete this project from Bryn Alexandra Interiors blog and Plain & Fancy Livings blog.  After reading through the tutorials, I decided that I wanted to complete one.  I'm not a big fan of clutter on a refrigerator, so, with limited wall space in my kitchen and no great place to display my kiddos art, I decided to make one for my kitchen.  It turned out to be an easy, yet stylish project, and when my children come home from school with new art, the first thing they do is request that it get hung when they walk through the door.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures when I was completing this project, but you can get the list of supplies and directions from the two links I posted above.  Here's the picture of the one I completed, using linen fabric and nail heads. 

After I showed my friend and sister my completed cork board, they both got creative and covered theirs with fun fabric, ribbon and even buttons to use in their kiddos spaces.  They turned out super cute and I wanted to share pictures of theirs.

In a bedroom, decorated with fabric, ribbon and buttons:

Those awesome headboards are another DIY.......... for another post.

And in a toy room, decorated with fabric and ribbon:

 If you decide you want one, but don't feel like making one, send me a message to get a completed one.

Kitchen update on a budget | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

A friend of mine asked me to help her with her kitchen.  She said she didn't want to spend a lot of money, but wanted it updated.  So I went out and met with her and checked out her kitchen.  While there, she told me she wanted her kitchen walls to be a bright green.  I asked her why, because, in the back of my mind, I was thinking it probably wouldn't be the best idea.  Turns out, she has this fabulous fruit picture that has hung in her kitchen since I can remember and it was her grandmother's and she loved the greens in the picture, so thought she should paint her kitchen green.

Here's some pictures of her kitchen before:

Since her kitchen was already neutral, I had to really talk her into to staying with a neutral paint palette. I explained  to her that her beloved fruit picture would get lost with a bright paint and also, over time, she would tire of bright walls versus staying with a neutral.  Through window treatments and accessories, we would be able to pull the greens that she wanted. 

For the wall color, we chose a beige color,  pulled from the background of the fruit picture.  Her original trim was all painted green and I highly recommended that we change that to a soft white that would flow with the rest of the house.  For the kitchen cupboards, we chose a warm vanilla (which the pictures do not show at all ) pulled from her new table and chairs she had recently purchased. 

The window treatments really gave the kitchen the the pop of color that my friend wanted.  The fabric is an updated damask print that worked well with the colors chosen and her existing items in her kitchen.  For under $1000, with the majority going towards painting the walls, trim and kitchen cupboards, my friend got an updated kitchen makeover on a budget. 

Child's Thank You Note | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

After my daughter's birthday party, I decided to get creative for her Thank You note.  I wanted a unique card, not the typical one that everyone sends out.  So, we went upstairs to her room and I told her she could jump on her bed, but had to hold her dry erase board that I had written "Thank You" on.   She started jumping, I started snapping away and we both had a great time.

After I downloaded the pictures, I was beyond thrilled with them.  I emailed them to my sister for her viewing and it's always wonderful when my sister sends a quick note back that she loves them, as she's a professional photographer and owns a super successful business,  Julie Marie Portraits.   I asked her to design a "Thank You" card for me to send out to all of our friends and family.  She designed a couple for me and I chose the one I wanted and placed my order.  

I received them in the mail today and was beyond thrilled with how they turned out!

front

back

If you're ever interested in having a cute card designed,  jump on over to JMP and contact Julie! 

birthday party for a little girl | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

This past weekend, we hosted a birthday party for our little girl.  She just turned 3 and her only request was that we have CUPCAKES and the princess cupcake toppers we purchased months ago and have been saving for her special day!

I turned our kitchen into the party room.  The hit of the party was the dessert table with M & M's ( I purchased the Valentine ones and sorted out the red ones for another use), strawberry marshmallows, Oreo cookies (her brother's request), cupcakes and cake pops.  I also placed the cupcake party favors on the table (the inspiration for the color scheme)  to make the table complete.

Here are some close up details for the party.  The cake pops were absolutely delicious and a huge hit with the adults, as well as the children.  The water bottle labels were from the same great Etsy shop that I purchased the party favors from.  My mom covered the buckets, found at target for $1, with Serena & Lily fabric and they turned out great and will be used in her room and bathroom to hold things after the party.

I decorated the children's table with fresh tulips, water bottles specially labeled for the occasion, paper and crayons in canning jars for the children to color while they were sitting.  The crayon jars added a fun color element to the table and were a hit with the children.......and we got to save some special "art" from the party.

Here's the birthday girl helping me put her candles in the cupcake.

And after it was all over, she let me do a photo shoot with her for an idea I had for her thank you notes.  Here's a little sneak peak of what I'll be blogging about soon. 

Source List: 

1. Princess Cupcake Toppers:  William-Sonoma

2. Cake Pops from Stephanie Bean 419-461-0958

3. Water Bottle Labels & Cupcake Favors: Favor Box Bakery

4. Glass Apothecary jars purchased at TJ Maxx.

5. Fabric for buckets: Serena & Lily

Jack's Bedroom Tour | Jennifer V Designs | Toledo, OH

I thought it would be fun to give you a tour of Jack's bedroom, since I've already shown you Julia's.  I completed his room when he was 2 years old and now he's 5.  My mom shared with me recently that her and my sister had a discussion about Jack's room ....... they couldn't believe I hadn't had the urge to redecorate it.

The truth is...... I love it! Every time I walk into it, I still love it.  The bedding that I chose, from Serena & Lily, is timeless and works for a small little guy or a big boy.  Their color block shams and initial pillows are my all time favorite, as they give every bed a classic, yet fun look, without being too much!

Jack has a little room off the main part of his room and it's worked out great, filling it with toys that are extra special to him and offers an escape to get away from his sister if he needs a break!:)

My mom made the valences in his room.

The valances are made out of the same Pottery Barn Kids shower curtain that is in his bathroom (I still need to change out the shower curtain tension rod, just never think to do it).  I had purchased the shower curtain several years ago and when I was trying to find the right fabric for his valances, a friend suggested using the shower curtain.  It worked out perfectly!

I've mentioned that I love photographs and canvases of my kiddos everywhere in my home and one of my favorite canvases is of Jack when he was two.  It's an oversized canvas, but it works well in the space.

Hope you've enjoyed Jack's room tour.  We've got a special weekend, as Jack's sister Julia turns 3 tomorrow and her birthday party is this weekend!