Jessa ZG Silhouettes on Project Nursery

Hop on over to Project Nursery to see my most recent post on Jessa ZG custom Silhouettes.

Jessa has a unique take on silhouettes. She converts your .jpeg image into modern and pop artwork influenced prints. Her pieces use bold colors, imaginative designs and creative type. The prices are also very reasonable, starting at $40 for an original 12"x12" print. She even offers basic framing services starting at $60 for the print and frame. Some of my favorite designs are featured above.

Her years of experience as an educator, nanny, and illustrator have enabled Jessa to find a niche in the children's artwork market where she takes personalization to the next artistic level. After looking through her designs I had to have one. I chose the Life is Beachy design below. Since we live and my son was born in Manhattan Beach, I thought that the beachy design was playful and would look great in our house.

Make sure you check back on her site Jessa ZG frequently as she adds new designs weekly. And don't forget to take a look at her fun prints and nostalgia stationary.

The Dirty Dozen Produce Cheat Sheet

I was at the park yesterday with my friend Liz and her son Eli and we were talking about trying to purchase organic produce when we can. Since I can't afford to purchase EVERYTHING organic, I wanted to be aware of which fruits and vegetables were the most susceptible to pesticides.

Well turns out the writers at coochicoos were reading our minds. They featured a link today by The Dirty Dozen to a wallet-friendly and easy to decipher guide to purchasing organic in the produce section of the grocery store. This one is going in my wallet asap. I wonder if they mind developing an iPhone app too so that I have one less thing to loose.

Steel & Canvas Toy Bin

I gotta say, I LOVE this steel and canvas bin. About to order one right now for my son's sports balls and stuffed animals. I actually have a picture of this cut out of Martha Steward Living Magazine from a few months ago and and now Apartment Therapy just reminded me about it. The one on wheels is $77 but I can see it being pushed all around the house, so I'm opting for one of the styles below with out wheels. Available at Steele Canvas Basket Company in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Night & Day Boutique

While I was in Texas over Easter weekend a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of stopping into the children's decor boutique Night & Day. Owner Jennifer Howell opened up the store a few months ago because she saw a need for children's design boutique specializing in elegant and classical children's decor. Her sister clothing & gift store Hip! Hip! Hooray! across the street is a Dallas staple and your one stop shop for smocked and truly "southern" children's clothing & accessories.

I have to congratulate Jennifer because she definitely created a wonderful store and has every line that you could want to create a serene and classically beautiful child's room. The store features beautiful vignettes displaying embroidered bedding, hand-painted furniture, french-inspired accessories, and beautifully framed artwork. Her most popular lines include Art for Kids, Bratt Decor, Kristaben, Empress Arts, Maddie Boo Bedding and Bella Notte. She also offers custom bedding design services and of course monogramming. If you are a follower of the design blog Cote de Texas, you will fall in love with this store.

Art for Kids furniture for the classically girly French room

A view of the boutique from the back

Beautiful Kristaben hand-embroidered bedding

More beautiful embroidery by Kristaben, I love the crisp look of this blue and white. Feminine but not girly at all.

Subtle light blue embroidery. Irony canopy cribs make a wonderfully dramatic statement in a nursery. Plus iron cribs show off bedding the best and if you're spending the money on an embroidered set, you are going to want to see it as much as you can!

A view from the front door.

A perfect new baby gift, a receiving blanket with the baby's name embroidered around the edges, and only $60.

Night & Day's sister store Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Adorable smocked and embroidered crabs and lobsters for summertime parties.

Night & Day

6816 Snider Plaza

Dallas, TX 75205

214-369-8616

no website yet, but on its way...

La Petite Magazine Debut

The new on-line children's fashion and decor magazine La Petite Magazine has made its debut! The first issue is short and sweet yet has some inspiring fashion photos, gift ideas and wonderful DIY projects. Definitely worth a read if you have 15 minutes today.

This was a cute way to turn Jenna Lyons's (J. Crew's creative director) nursery into an outfit. (The nursery that has inspired a thousand ceilings.)

This instant lego table is a great idea! Here is the link to the $19 (yes I said $19) table if you are an ambitious Do-It-Yourselfer. At this price, it is ok if you screw up so give it a go!

This project takes a little more measuring but I love the subtle sunshine that you can create with just a little yellow yarn.

Children's Rooms Aussie Style

I wanted to share some wonderfully affordable children's rooms with you featured in the May 2010 issue of Real Living Magazine. The rooms were stylized by Natalie Walton and you can read about her entire thought process here on her blog Daily Imprint.

I think my favorite is the room with the Mavis Monkey monkey wallpaper by Bholu. (It also comes in natural). Where can I fit this in my house??? Tripp's Bathroom?

Thank you to Louise from Table Tonic for introducing me to Natalie Walton's works and Real Living Magazine in her post here last week.

Tripp's Nursery On Project Nursery

My dear and talented friend Liz of Life Iz Photography was kind enough to take some professional photos of my son's nursery so that I could finally post up photos on Project Nursery's gallery. Thank you Liz for doing an amazing job!

This is where the magic happens...

The Netto Collection Moderne changing table with some framed Life Iz Photographs above. (I plan on adding more larger scale photos as Tripp gets older)

The dresser was actually the piece that inspired the room. (I fell in love with the leather handles.) For the walls, I decorated with framed sea horse prints, and Oopsy Daisy artwork.

Yes we do have a full size bed still in the room, since my family lives all over the country we have lots of guests so we needed to keep a big bed in the room for extra sleeping space. It actually came in handy a lot when my son was young and waking up at night because one of us could stay in here with him while the other got a full night of sleep in the master bedroom. Please disregard the sagging bumper, my fifteen month old son is not a lightweight and loves to sleep on the bumper.

Tripp's little closet.

Since I use the whole closet in the master my husband uses the main closet in this room. So we made a little make shift closet in the space between the door and the larger closet. It actually works out quite well. The clothes that are hanging are his current size 18m wardrobe. (This is my old dresser from college and the blue basket is from Target.)

A view from the full bed

For more details on the sources and on my design process for this room, click back to my original post from last June here. (When the crib bedding hadn't been slept on thousands of times).

I had to throw in this photo of when his bedding was still pristine.

Janie & Jack's Sweet Seaside Style by Sheridan French

Few things are more precious on children than nautical inspired clothing, and Janie and Jack hit the nail on the head with their summer sailor details. Their lobster embroidered stripe shorts for boys provide a preppy option for the season, yet pair them with a great t-shirt and they immediately shift to casual/cool. For breezy nights throw this great navy hoodie (featuring a corded embroidered anchor on the back) on your little guy. The braided rope belt is a truly classic accessory that puts a fashionable finishing touch on any look, and stylish plaid sneakers are a great addition to casual looks to kick them up a notch.

For your little sailor girl, what is more adorable than this seersucker striped dress?! Featuring a beautiful collared bodice with piping and etched buttons, this is truly a special piece that won't break the bank. The luxurious ruffle cardigan adds freshness with lovely ruffles, and the bow headband is a great addition to this sweet ensemble. These bow leather strap sandals are colorful yet classic and allow for much versatility (check the website for crib sizes too!), and I can only say OMG at the oversized ombre sunglasses!! Step aside Jackie O we have a new fashionista in town....and p.s. where can I get a pair?!

Happy sailing!
xoxo Sheridan
The Southern Eclectic
http://sheridanfrench.blogspot.com

1. Lobster Embroidered Short 2. Red Polo Shirt 3. Anchor Hoodie 4. Braided Rope Belt 5. Plaid Slip On Sneaker 6. Seersucker Stripe Dress 7. Ruffle Cardigan 8. Seersucker Stripe Headband 9. Bow Leather Stripe Sandal 10. Ombre Sunglasses

BBraithwaite

My Third Children's Design Boutique stop in Atlanta:

If you like shopping at Dean & Deluca, you are going to love BBraithwaite. I'd honestly call it the Dean & Deluca of children's stores. The store is white, pristine, crisp, and filled with treasures that you want to touch, give, and take home with you.

Another mother/daughter duo Chaffee & Nancy Braithwaite opened the store almost five years ago after seeing elegant and sophisticated children's stores in Paris. Nancy is an established interior designer in Atlanta and brings her philosophy of traditional chic southern sensibility without fuss or intimidation to the store.

BBraithwaite carries modern & traditional no fuss bedding & furniture as well as a large selection of baby gifts, room decor, diaper bags, car seats & strollers in this 3,000 square foot space. This is truly a one-stop baby registry destination. Popular lines include Nurseryworks, Serena & Lily, Q Collection Junior, Bratt Decor, Gordonsbury Bedding, Bloom, Monte, and Four Seasons.

They also have a rather large selection of layette and infant clothing which includes lines such as Pixie Lily, Kissy Kissy, Baby CZ and Marie Chantal. BBraithwaite does plan on going up to size 6 in the fall so be sure to check back if your children are over the age of two.

The customer service in the store was fabulous and the sales staff was very knowledgeable. (honestly it was at all of the stores that we visited, must be something about the South).

The store is a vision of modern elegance.

Everyone loves the Marlo Serena & Lily crib set.

A display of a wonderful modern infant clothing line called Zebi.

The bandana bibs were adorable. The whole line made great gifts.

Some more gift ideas:

Felt Animal Storage Bin by Three Sprouts $42 each.

A great price and easily collapsable storage.

These are the same paper animal lamps as written about in my post last week here.

Adorable and only $88.

Ceramic Animal Banks $19 each

(an inexpensive alternative for the Jonathan Adler look and functional)

BBraithwaite

1198 Howell Mill Road

Atlanta, GA 30318

(404)-605-0963

www.bbraithwaite.com

If you are in Atlanta definitely stop by their store or shop their extensive on-line site