Simply Seleta

{recession friendly} birthday party

This sweet little soul turned four yesterday.  He's our youngest.  Oh, I have so many feelings about him getting older.  Today I'll spare you a mushy gushy mommy post and instead share the creative side of his birthday.  

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We had a party with his friends from school.  I wanted some stylish yet boyish aspects to his party, but needed to keep it budget friendly.  Hi, recession.  Truth be known, I think it's far more fun finding clever ways to create style without spending a lot. 

My inspiration for his whole party was this cool font.  I made the invitations using it and loved the way they turned out.  The font is free and you can download it right here.

 
It also inspired me to make little tags to go on the party favor containers.  

So about these tags. To save some bucks, I used supplies that I already had.  Yep, I'm a paper junkie.  All I used were brown paper bookmarks, twine, a hole puncher, a little imagination, and my printer. 

How to make:

1.  print out your names in the font of your choice
2.  cut them down to size
3.  tape them with double sided tape to stick on.  I think a better idea is printing them on adhesive paper then cutting down to size
4.  punch your holes at the end of bookmark and cut the twine
5.  tie with a bow

What I like is that once you've opened your gift box, you can save the tag as a bookmark or label for your child.

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Back to the party favors.  Let me first tell you that I'm totally obsessed with party favors.  When hosting, I like for kids to leave our party happy with a little container of goodies.  And it's hard to find favors that are both budget friendly and playworthy.  Candy is not an option.  It would be cruel to the moms to load up their kids on cake and send them home with a bag of candy.  Oui?  Plus, the idea of trinkets in a cute container seems very retro to me.  Love that.

Each box varied, but had three surprises from these little items I picked-up:

- individual party play dohs from target
- soft soccer, baseball and footballs from target [right here]
- crayons from the dollar tree that actually looked very anthro-ish
- glam dress-up rings and bracelets from wal-mart [for the girls]
- pig flashlights from michael's
- adorable small stuffed animals from IKEA for only 49 cents each [right here]

I started getting pretty excited when I saw the boxes coming together.  Obviously I need more excitement in my life.  Chinese to-go boxes from Michael's gave it just the look I was hoping for.

 

A patient friend helped me organize and stuff our little gift containers.  Thanks, Kim!

They turned out pretty cute.

We covered the tables in paper and I quickly scribbled faux placemats on with a marker.  Thanks Laura, for the idea!

Before the happy party goers arrived.

 

After.

Polka dot cake by Publix.  Holla' to Tom in the bakery department, he rocks. Anyone who can listen to the creative rantings of a crazy mom and still make the cake turn out beautiful is a baking genius. 

The sparkler candle adds drama and is from Sea + Jae.  You can get them right here.  I now use them on all of the offspring's' birthday cakes and absolutely love them!!!

Funny, it looks like some of the kids are missing from the group shot above.  I guess they bolted during the singing part?

Or maybe they were on the jumpy thing we had outside...it's fair to say that the bounce house with slide was a much bigger hit than any aesthetics I attempted to add to our simple party.  Ahhhhhh, kids.  It's refreshing how easy they are to please!

Now we have a very happy four year old...who slept very well that night.

budget friendly + mod

Hi I'm jennifer {seleta's friend/co-conspirator} and I'm guest blogging while she is resting and out on "sick leave."  I had to share my latest discovery from peddler's {to the trade} which is a great resource for affordable home accessories. 

A little about me...I'm a residential designer here at the beach and have a weakness for organization and A-N-Y-thing related to design or fashion.  Feel free to check out my work right over here.

Now, about these cool new products I recently came across during a search for unique home accessories for a client.  Peddler's  has a vintage/industrial vibe which works well when I'm trying to blend old and new for a more "lived in" palette.  I think their pieces are very anthropologie-esque {did i mention i'm an anthro fanatic?}, sort of reminiscent of days-gone-by or maybe something you'd come across in your grandmother's attic??? 

Hoping to use these industrial barstools in my client's kitchen.

And maybe one of the foundry mold mirrors in her powder bath with the fluted wire pendant light hanging above the sink.

 

 

These pieces would add warmth to the room and certainly spark interest.  What do you think?  Stools retail for $250 each and wire pendant $129.  Not bad!

To give you a better vibe on the client's space, here are the fabrics I'm playing around with:

 

Other peddler pieces that caught my eye were the tall wire cubby shelf {everything needs to be in its place}

and the low gym shelf {would be ideal by my back door for storing beach stuff, things for the dog, shoes, etc....}.  The entire wire collection is so functional for life here at the beach {can you say S-A-N-D} and very affordable.

 

Tall shelf $190, low shelf $275. 

Also considering this print block table, think it would be perfect for a cozy covered porch or in a child's playroom.  Very whimsical and unexpected, don't you agree?

Thanks for letting me share my most recent finds and latest obsessions.  Hope to continue popping in {unannounced} to share with you more of my dynamite finds and absolute favorites!! 

xoxo jennifer 

the key to style

Tiffany has introduced a lovely line of sparkling key pendants.  You can see them right here.  As you might imagine, they're quite pricey. 

Total fashion buzz kill.

But there's hope.  Jennifer and I found a way to have a budget friendly version. 

On a road trip last week we found some vintage keys in an antique store in Alabama.  We were literally in the middle of nowhere, not even sure of the town's name.  They were a whopping $1 each.  We each grabbed about five. 

She just popped one of hers on a chain she already had.  We think it looks very Anthro.  In case you can't see, this key has an "H" on it, which is the initial for her last name. 

Perfect.

Fashion rule # 283:  you don't always have to spend a lot to look stylish.

There are thousands of vintage keys on ebay.  I found lots and lots right here.

big pattern {small price}

I absolutely love big patterned wallpapers.  Don't you?  There are so many gorgeous ones out there these days.  But there's a small catch: as alluring as fabulous wallpapers are to the eyes, they can be equally painful on the wallet once you buy and install the goods.  And that can eat up a good portion of your design budget.  

But there's a less expensive way to get the big pattern you want.

I love this part.

Earlier this week I received a nice email from a seriously cool company who sells budget-friendly historical patterned templates for your walls.  I did a double take when I saw their product and had to tell you about them.  They've designed several classic patterns that can be painted on your walls so you can have wonderful, jaw-dropping pattern in your room.  

Company:  Whitewall & Company [right here]

Coolness Factor:  a perfect 10 

Fun Factor:  You can play with different patterns and colors for your room [over here]

Price: $39-$49 for one template

How-to:   They give you detailed instructions on how to do it all on the top right of this page

Let's look at a couple of examples.

My friends over at the interior design firm, Tracery here at the beach loved it so much they used a this pattern in their office.  Holla' to Doug [it's his office pictured].

I should probably mention that Tracery just designed the Southern Living Idea house which you may have already seen.  You really should go visit their blog [right here] where they daily share all of their yummy designs.   Their design website is right here.

Tracery used another charming pattern in one of the bedrooms in their fab Idea House.  Here it is in a delicious red.

It's inspiring to see such an abundant amount of design options for so little $$$.  I think it's always great to have options to add style in your home, especially if you're ready for a change but have a slim budget.  Hello, current economy. 

This could liven up a dining room, bathroom, study, foyer, or even child's room.  The possibilities are endless. 

P.S.  Come back tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.  I'll give you three guesses what it is.  [wink, wink]

[first photo from here, other photos from whitewall & company]

simple pillow idea

A dose of inspiration for your day. 

I found this pillow idea to be quite interesting.  And budget friendly if you can sew.  Easy way to add depth, color and texture in a simple way.  

[photo by Dana Gallagher via Desire to Inpsire]

simple inspiration

These lovely images inspire me to get a little more organized {in a creative way} around our home.  I think it's brilliant how the desk above is organized with fruit containers found from the fresh market.  Love seeing pretty ways to recycle.

And who could say no to early morning coffee with such a charming set up?

This potting bench is so simple and lovely, I think I need to create one just outside our back steps.

Nothing wrong with a small dose of inspiration to start a Monday. 

[photos by james  baigrie]

easy design

On some level this idea appealed to me.  I remain mixed about clips on panels, but have seen it done well before.  Besides, when placed on a wire, somehow clips instantly become cool.  It's definitely great in a modern space.

Shown here are ribbons which add some fun detailing on plain cafe panels.   

I realize this isn't "serious design,"  but I don't think it's meant to be.  It's simply a fun embellishment.  Great way to tie in color to a baby shower, brunch or party.

Depending upon the ribbon you select, this could also be a budget friendly idea for a kid's room, play room, craft room or even college dorm. 

good + simple

Sunday morning I awoke to a scrumptious surprise breakfast made by husband.  It was his specialty: creamy scrambled eggs, fresh juice and pancakes with warm syrup.  All I had to do was brew the coffee for us.

I share this with you not to brag, but to show you these cute [glass] plates that originally came from Target.  These are not vintage, jadite, Anthro, or anything special like that, but I admit to you that I lusted after these plates for quite some time.  Each time I went in to Target, I remained determined that spending an extra $56 on eight plates wasn't a necessity in our life at this time.  Weeks went by, they eventually sold out and I moved on.

Months later, as luck would have it, I found these exact plates at a salvage discount store in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on our trip last week.  Couldn't believe it when I saw them!  There they were, neatly stacked on a dirty metal shelf in the middle of scattered cheap plastic toys and random melamine salad bowls.  Except they were 50% off.  The place I found them?  Hudson's.  A must visit for any of you bargain-hunting Mississippi mommas.  It's not fancy.  Matter of fact it's downright gross sometimes.  But you can find some serious treasures.  You never know what you're going to see in there, that's what makes it so fun to visit.  They rescue clothes, home goods, furniture, and other merchandise from all kinds of stores all over the country.  Always worth a peek.

After using these plates, I'll tell you that they are worth the money.  They are square [which is very cool], very sturdy and deep.  My syrup stayed on the plate because of this depth.  And they stack beautifully. 

Here they are.  You can order them online in sets of four for $28. 

Sidenote:  I also wonder if I love these plates because they share the same shape as {these lovely brackets}

Switching gears, below is a shot of our fresh flowers this week.  I've expressed several times my serious deficiencies in floral arranging.  However, like many of you mentioned yesterday, it's so delightful having fresh buds gracing the interior of your home.  When choosing flowers, I go for inexpensive and easy to arrange.  These are spider mums?  Got them at the grocery store for $3.  Love the color.  They have lived now for a week and a half and still look dandy. 

Yes, there's four hungry mouths chowing on breakfast in the background of this picture.  Notice the three year old on the far left is in full force pout mode.  Head down, protesting that he didn't get enough syrup on his pancakes.  Also notice that no one is reacting.  Welcome to being the fourth child.

Once his bruised ego recovered, he snagged the pocket camera and took a picture from his angle on breakfast.

Speaking of the offspring, they enjoyed some light painting today.  For any recycle enthusiasts out there, I can tell you that the plastic egg cartons make great individual paint holders for kids.

I love that my ladybug oldest daughter has her doll front and center for this project.  She had another baby on her left.  And she kept telling me, "it's really hard trying to focus on my art while taking care of my two babies."  It gave me a chuckle.

It's safe to say that managing this brood was my main accomplishment today.  But it's always nice to have fresh flowers and happy faces.

{not too shabby} storage

I'm intrigued with these completely cheap storage ottomans I found at Tar-jay while we were visiting our Georgia house.  20 bucks each.  Pom Pom is playing design diva and helping me test drive them for a couple of days. Although I may not be able to get past the fact that the top pattern doesn't match up with the bottom.  See how it's not continual?  But like I said, they're 20 bucks.  I think they have potential to look pretty cool here at the beach pad.  They're a good hiding spot for toys or kiddie books.  And certainly great for a last minute [panic] clean-up if someone pops in for a surprise visit.  

Tried to find them online for you, but no luck.  Right here is the closest I could get.  Great for a kid's room.  I will say this much, kids do love them, they're just their size.  Mine have been using them for both climbing and seating.  And off the record, for hiding out before an ambush on another sibling.

The pattern reminds me of a [not-nearly-as-pretty] knock-off of this lovely print by Schumacher.  Of course it's not even close, but hey, it's an attempt.

eye candy...

I have to say that pop of blue in the back of those cabinets really does it for me.  Brings everything to life.  I want to move in this kitchen.

Isn't it amazing what a little touch of paint or wallcovering can do to the back of a cabinet?  It's so very economical and sassy all wrapped up in one.  A great combo.  I saw this amazing cabinet on Pink Wallpaper's site.  She actually did a great post on "wallpapering in a recession".  Love that title.  Go check it out here.

And speaking of pure fabulousness on a budget, did you see Eddie's unbelievable before and after butler's pantry?  It's gorge.  He's been in his new {old} farmhouse for less than a week and he's already done this?  I know, we're not the least bit surprised. 

Check out his before and after here.  He shares his paint color, organizing tips and even style secrets in the post, so it's a must see. 

This pantry has the refined elegance of a Tiffany's box holding a sparkling platinum ring, doesn't it?

[photos: house beautiful, pink wallpaper, Eddie Ross]