July 4, 2012 · 5:52 pm

School of American Ballet Invites Macy Berry to Enroll

Macy Berry, Brooklyn, New York

I am delighted to share my family’s wonderful news, my daughter Macy has been accepted into the prestigious The School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center.  Macy has always loved to dance and enjoyed a few years with Joffrey Ballet School when SAB auditions fell into our lap.  We weren’t looking for change but after learning more about the school felt that the classical technique that they offer is more of the style that Macy enjoys.  She has been placed in level III at SAB and is excited that she is one level below learning Pointe, her biggest goal.

Alfred Eisenstaedt dancers at George Balanchines School of American Ballet lined up at barre during training.

Alfred Eisenstaedt ballerinas on a window sill in rehearsal room at George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet

“The School of American Ballet, the official training academy of the New York City Ballet was established in 1934 by legendary choreographer George Balanchine and philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein”  “Many SAB students have unique opportunities to gain performing experience through the School’s affiliation with New York City Ballet.  Younger students are featured in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Coppelia, among other ballets”  – http://www.SAB.org   While learning about the school we found an amazing 16 minute video.  We think it gives an excellent overview and inside look  at what SAB is about from auditions to alternative high school education.

Students from SAB’s Girls IV class perform Coppélia Photo by Paul Koknik

Macy Berry Ballerina

As we learn about the opportunities that a path with SAB can bring, Macy becomes more interested in becoming the best dancer she can be.  Everyday she is stretching, dancing and studying ballet terms to stay in shape this summer.  She starts classes in September for a 90 minute class 4 times a week.  We will sorely miss our trips to Joffrey Ballet in the West Village but I am excited to explore more of the UWS.   Hudson and I will be spending a lot of time there while Macy is dancing her heart out!

Snowflakes from The Nutcracker
New York City Ballet photo by Paul Koknik

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker
New York City Ballet photo by Paul Koknik

At least 5 years ago Macy cut this image of the Waltz of the Flowers out of the NY Times, we laminated it and it has hung around her room since then.  We look forward to seeing more ballets this year and maybe one day Macy’s dream of being that Dewdrop in the middle will come true.

5 Comments

Filed under City Mouse + Country Mouse, The Chic Tween

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 7, 2012 · 2:35 am

Dylan’s Candy Bar Invitation

After a promise made more than two years ago, Macy’s dream party at Dylan’s Candy Bar in Manhattan will come true in just a few short weeks.  This weekend 10 special little girls received this original and SWEET birthday party invitation.

Although a Dylan’s Candy Bar Sweetie Pie birthday party is all-inclusive and the fill in invites they provide are perfectly fine, I can’t help myself from using this opportunity to create something fabulous.  I knew from the start that I wanted to send the girls candy necklaces with the invitation but the style of the card came to be after I stumbled upon the bracket shaped cards from Paper Presentation.  They come in a color called Fiji that looks like the exact shade of teal that is a Dylan’s Candy Bar signature color.  Once I had the bracket card, designing the rest of the invite was a piece of cake!  Here is how I created this special invitation for my special little girl.

  • For the address label wrappers I used Photoshop to create a striped design in Dylan’s Candy Bar colors, I downloaded the bracket shape from Paper Presentations web site & I printed them on full sheet label paper.
  • The base of the invite is a 5×7 pre-shaped bracket card from Paper Presentation.
  •  The bracket cards also come in 4×6 for layering but Im not sure how I would print on that shape so I made my invite on regular paper, carefully measuring the words to fit within a 4×6 space.
  • I didn’t want to put directions on the invitation, so I added an additional lollipop shaped card.  To make this I used an image of a lollipop from a candy website and altered it with a brush stroke filter in Photoshop.
  • The envelopes are regular 6×9 white envelopes, we hand delivered nearly all of them, a padded envelope would be better for mailing.
  • Real candy necklaces make this invitation extra sweet!

  • The address label wrappers, lollipop note and printed bracket cards are cut out and ready for assembly.
  • I wanted the candy necklace to still be edible so affixing with tape and glue were out of the question.
  • I sewed the necklace to the back of the card with two quick loops of thread.  It was very important to do this BEFORE glueing on the printed front bracket card layer because the stitches needed to be hidden on the front.
  • The first side of the candy necklace ties on at any point.
  • The spot to tie the second side is judged by how you want the candy necklace to drape.  I stood it up and held the spot with my finger.
  • Theres no right or wrong way, just as long as the necklace is entirely within the boundaries of the card.  Macy liked the shape because it looked “like a smile”.
  • Using spray adhesive  (outside on a surface protected by a paper bag) coat the back of the printed white bracket card layer.   Adhere it to the front of the  base bracket card with the candy necklace sewed on the back.
  • Full sheet label paper makes the address label wrapper supper easy to peel and stick but you could print them out on regular paper and glue them on instead.
I can’t wait to share Macy’s 10th birthday party at Dylan’s Candy Bar with everyone, look for that post after June 23rd.

2 Comments

Filed under Celebrations, SugarCoated

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 2, 2012 · 9:01 pm

Tea Party Treat Toppers

I am so ecstatic to share these beautiful tea party treat toppers.  Michelle at Daydream Believers, a fellow mom, blogger and crafter extraordinaire asked me to design treat toppers and cake decorations for her daughter’s 3rd birthday party.  Since we speak the same birthday party language, it was a lot of fun working out the details for the toppers with her.   Michelle used the toppers I sent to add to her own fresh-baked treats and cake, you can see her party on her site HERE.

All of the toppers were made from fondant dried hard enough to ship and still yummy to eat.  I presented Michelle with 8 sketched topper ideas, to which she chose these 3 styles.  Each one was a piece of art!  The most traditional and elaborate topper was compiled with 3 layers of fondant and tiny hand rolled roses.  So exquisite!  To add an element of formality and sparkle I painted details of golden luster dust on each topper.

The larger teapot was for the cake, Michelle added it to a Bundt cake.   I found this a very fitting cake style for a traditional tea party.  I also made oversize pearls painted with pearl luster dust.

Inspired by the beautiful colors that I mixed for the toppers I couldn’t help experimenting with some flower techniques, the results were these beautiful brooch like blooms with pearl nonpareils centers.

 

Just because you don’t have cake artist in your town, doesn’t mean you can’t have beautiful sweet treats at your next party.  Ordering fondant toppers from an Etsy seller is very easy to do!  Please contact me at nberryid at gmail.com if you would like to order toppers or cake decorations of any kind.

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under Baby + Child, SugarCoated

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

May 8, 2012 · 4:42 pm

Maurice Sendak, Beloved Author and Illustrator

Maurice Sendak

Its a terrible day for terrible creatures because Maurice Sendak has past away.  Like many other people I read about the life and accomplishments of this beloved author and illustrator today.  My favorite description of him was by The New York Times:  “Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche,”  I was also intrigued to learn that he was born in Brooklyn and one of his first professional commissions was window displays at the toy store F.A.O Schwarz.

His beloved book is a favorite of ours to read and share and I was inspired by his beautiful illustrations to create a party for Hudson’s 2nd birthday in February.   Oddly enough I had just posted my party pics last week and it was my current post until this one.  Please enjoy my party pics HERE and join me in honoring this wonderful children’s storyteller, if you don’t already own this delightful book add it to your children’s library today.

1 Comment

Filed under Celebrations

April 23, 2012 · 12:03 am

Where The Wild Things Are Party

LET THE WILD RUMPUS START!

For Hudson’s 2nd party we choose a Where The Wild Things Are theme.  Always a classic and beloved story, we have given the book by Maurice Sendak as gifts many times.  I was not only proud to do this party for my son but to share it with thousands of readers on a very popular party site called Amy Atlas Events.  Amy Altas choose my party for a featured guest dessert submission, you can see the feature HERE!  It was a big honor to be featured among the best parties on the web!  If you don’t follow her blog you must check it out, and by the way her first book is coming out this week!

I have to give some credit to my talented sister Jes again for helping me come up with ideas for parties, we often work together on my niece Emma’s parties and I always bounce ideas from Jessica for my own as well.  She mentioned adding fur to the back of the invite and it was a brilliant idea that I can’t believe I haven’t come up with before!  So here is our awesome Wild Thing invite:

I can only imagine the Monster Party possibilities for this treatment on cards! To make the back of the card I cut the fur patches out the size of the card before I affixed the fur to the back of the card with spray mount.  Sticky fingers and fur can be a little messy, so if you try this, use utmost care in handling, have everything laid out on kraft paper (paper bags cut open-work too) and don’t rush!  To make the front of the card I scanned in images from the book to use on paper goods and for the first time ever I purchased a font to use in Photoshop.  This was a big deal for me, as I am self-taught in photoshop and pretty clueless to much of what Graphic Designers learn in school.  I just make it up as I go along and do what I need to do to get the job done!  These cards were hand delivered but an oversized envelope would allow for extra room the fur needs, I don’t think it would need extra postage, it wasn’t heavy but again, I didn’t try to mail any.

The fur started an inspirational goal for this theme, I continued searching for ways to express the wild forest feeling of the story through texture.

Real wood is a perfect natural texture, so I hiked it over to the New York Flower District to shop for some wood cuts.  My scores were a (very heavy) tree cut to use as a cake stand, a few birch branch cuts I used to stretch a paper bunting across and shorter ones to use as small display stands.  The flower district is an amazing couple of blocks just south of Madison Square gardens, it used to be a very large district but like most of Old New York times are changing, and there is only a couple of blocks left.  You must go early, like before 8am early, by 11am the vendors are putting their leftovers back into the coolers and shutting down for the day.

I repeated the faux fur from the invite as a runner on the desert table, which read more as grass than monster fur because it was green but it worked with the theme regardless.

What about that exotic background?   I don’t think it would have mattered what anything else on the table looked like, the background made it super impressive. All different greens, shapes and sizes and it was all paper, This made it inexpensive but it was all handmade, which made it time-consuming.   I used tissue paper for the top canopy foliage and the leaves, origami flowers, vines and fan flowers were made from construction paper.  You can find cheap packs and multiple shades in teacher/parent supplies stores.   Its better quality than a pack of typical construction paper but not as expensive as archival scrap-book paper, so I didn’t feel bad about tossing it.

Hudson’s party was a small soiree of his playmates,  I have a hard time doing parties small….I can’t help but to make a big production regardless of the guest size but I did restrain myself in the amount of sweets for this party: just cake, cake pops and a take home cookie, this was plenty for 25 guests.  Another table held an assortment of snacks….. and plenty of wine….gotta have the mommy juice around when the kids out number you.

The cake was a two tier yellow butter cake, buttercream icing and fondant decorations.  Each tier represented a part of the book, the bottom was the forest in buttercream & fondant, the top was fondant scales in the style Maurice Sendak illustrated on the main Wild Thing, Carol’s legs and the topper was Max’s crown simply made from fondant and dried till it was able to stand on its own.   Inside the cake was multi layered in yellow and orange representing the shirt also from Carol.

Cake pops are fun but not as simple to make as people pretend them to be.  This is my second time making pops and I’m still learning the techniques to make them as good as Bakerella.  I did learn that candy melt needs to be thinned out with shortening to make it dip smoother.  I also realized that the cake crumb has to be more finely crumbled in order for the ball to roll smooth….after I finished these.  So all that being said, here are my little cake pops!  I cut triangles from fondant and placed them around the top of the pop to represent  Max and his “king of all wild things” crown.  The pops are in a tin wrapped in natural birch bark that I picked up at the NY flower district, but you can purchase it here on www.Save-on-Crafts.com.  Which is an awesome resource for building party decorations and dessert tables, by the way.  I see many of these same items at the NY Flower District but I can get them for subway fare instead of shipping and handling and its also fun to haggle the vendors on pricing :)

The next treat was one that I probably worked harder on then the cake,  my Carol cookies were super detailed.  A mix of fondant and royal icing, I layered on each facial element to give just the right 2D/3D look.  My favorite part was being able to use the Wilton grass tip #233 to zip through the last element, his fur mane.  After the cookie set up, I packaged them in standard 4 inch wide treat bags and topped them with a card stock topper that I designed and printed using an image from the book and the famous words “Oh please don’t go – we’ll eat you up – we love you so!”  I found it very fitting to give as a departing favor.  On the back it said “Thank you for joining us at Hudson’s 2nd Birthday”

Another favor the children took home was a set of twig colored pencils.  I love these pencils and have also used them as favors at Macy’s Woodland Fairie party.  My husband and I laugh about the twig pencils being a “chic and new idea”,  because you can pick up all sorts of wood pencils and rural decor at a Tennessee or Kentucky truck stop.  So we call them,“Country Chic”, LOL, we are from Tennessee so we can make fun of it all we want :P

A main element for the party was an 8′ long 30″ high vinyl banner with illustrations from the book. I scanned & uploaded my pdf image and ordered the banner on sale at Vista Print.  I arranged these monsters specifically for their relationship to the guests.  The Wild Things were literally the size of the two year olds.  I double sided taped the banner to two cardboard science project boards and used it for a background where the kids played in the living room.  The kids loved it and now the banner lives wrapped around the 24″ cement column in our Brooklyn loft style apartment.  Hudson wouldn’t let me put it away when he saw me rolling it up after the party.

AND here’s the birthday boy, Hudson Oliver Berry, age two!  He had a ball at his party with all his little friends.  Luckily I caught his picture before the party because he had too much fun to hold still during the party ;)

As a very special birthday gift, Hudson received for his second birthday an Eames Elephant!  If you’d like to learn more about this elephant you can read my post about it HERE.

Lastly is a picture of what our guests saw first, a forest covered door that was my husband’s creation.  I solely let him have creative control over this decoration.  I had pictured the leaves arranged different when he explained that he wanted to put leaves on the door.  I was so happy with how it turned out and glad that I let him just do it.  We left it up for about a month!

38 Comments

Filed under Celebrations, SugarCoated

Tagged as , , , , , ,

April 18, 2012 · 1:02 am

Happy Birthday Hubby Cake

We celebrated my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago.  He’s never too picky about a cake, he always tells me to just use the chance for experimenting a new idea.  Sometimes I let my daughter design the cake and she could have easily done this one.  I was inspired by a beautiful paper party napkin with colorful beaded shapes that I interpreted to be twisted streamers.  It was so simple to cut the irregular oval shapes in fondant and line them up marching up and down a plain white cake.  I would definitely recommend this as a DYI :)  Enjoy!

2 Comments

Filed under SugarCoated

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 9, 2012 · 6:25 pm

Vintage Singer Sewing Cabinet

About 10 years ago I received a hand-me down sewing desk with a 1970’s Singer included.  The Singer sewing machine was a beauty but I didnt feel like I  was the right person to invest in its resurrection, so I chucked it.  But I’ve hung on to the sewing desk.  Its been used in several of our homes usually as an entry piece because of its small size.   It came to me in very good condition as a solid wood piece in a hickory stain and although I adore natural wood we recently decided that we would like to paint it gray.  It turned out to be an excellent idea that I dont regret it at all.  We used an oil base Benjamin Moore, color #1483 – Cos Cob Stonewall, its a cool medium gray with green undertones.  It was the same paint that I used to match an Ikea Hack to Hudson’s Oeuf Sparrow Crib.

I don’t have any pictures of how my cabinet looked before we painted it but I do have the manual that had some other models pictured on the back.  When I thought about sharing my DIY of this cabinet I did a little research to find another existing cabinet like mine without much luck.  I did find two similar models just like the ones pictured on the back of my instruction manual.  One is in the excellent shape that mine is in and is going for $300 on ebay in Phoenix and the other not so great shape for $50 at a thrift store in Mesa, AZ. Both with the same type Singer Machine that I chucked.

When we moved into our Brooklyn apartment we stretched the limits of our imagination to repurposed this vintage beauty yet again. I affixed waffled dish towels with a staple gun to serve as an apron with inverted pleats.  This apron allowed us concealed storage underneath,  but you wont believe what we put under there……the kitty litter box!  We had no hiding spot for the cat box in this loft style apartment and by coincidence our size box just happen to fit.  I’ll spare you the gorry details but I promise its under that curtain and yes from one angle it can be seen but wrapping the entire cabinet was not ideal for kitty entry and ventilation.

We have been so pleased with the way our cabinet fits right into our changing style, its been a chameleon of sorts and I suppose I’ll always make it work for us.  I believe thats what a piece of  furniture with good bones does, its always in style and it can be updated with just a change of accessories or a coat of paint.  In fact I am already working on restyling this piece with new objects d’art  I received for Christmas: a Dwell Studio Urchin and a CB2 Neville House.  I was especially excited to match up the Urchin’s bronze coloring to the existing pulls on the Singer cabinet because for a while I considered replacing them with something modern.  Nope, they are complimented perfectly now and I’ve made the first step in adding bronze as metal accent to my home.  Our CB2 Ada lamp stays, (it’s another perpetual piece in the Berry residence) but I am in the market for new art.  Any ideas  anyone?

Dwell Studio Urchin & CB2 Neville House on a refurbished vintage Singer Sewing Cabinet

6 Comments

Filed under NBID, Paper + Fabric

Tagged as

April 8, 2012 · 11:31 pm

A Bright and Beautiful Easter

Macy & Hudson Easter 2012

Today was a lovely Easter Day.  Beautiful NYC weather and time with my children. My son is 26 months and I am amazed to watch his wonderment with each new event we share.   Although we didn’t take him to see a costume easter bunny, he was excited and curious about the introduction of this “new” holiday.   Basically he likes candy and happy anytime he can get his sticky fingers on some.  I think most of all, I’m proud to witness my 9 year old daughter finding enjoyment in watching and showing him how we celebrate holiday traditions as a family.

Park Ave Tulips on Easter Day

Where ever we are, whomever we are with, on Easter we celebrate with finding eggs and baskets hidden by the Easter Bunny.  We put on our finest (color coordinated and stylishly chosen) clothes and go to church and we spent the rest of the day with family.  This year the weather was too beautiful to spend the day inside and I found myself heading toward Central Park as we left our church on Park Ave & 59th St.  Being New York  Zoo Members we often pop in the Central Park zoo just to see the polar bear and thats just what we did today!

Easter at Central Park Zoo

I can’t lie, I think I had the best looking kids in Central Park today! ( I looked pretty good too in my new green dress,  but nobody ever takes mommy’s picture)

After the afternoon in the park, I made the classic Betty Crocker Easter Bunny Cake, I think everyone has seen or made this cake.  My mother made it in the 80’s and its at least been around since the 60’s according to this blogger who found a 1966 copy of Betty Crocker’s Cake and Frosting Mix Cookbook.  I made my bunny’s ears out of rice crispies covered in icing and coconut instead of paper and added uncooked spaghetti noddles as whiskers, but there really isn’t much reason to change anything else.  Its a classic just the way Betty designed it, way back when!

I hope you enjoyed your holiday and spent it making memories with the ones you love!

Love,

Comments Off on A Bright and Beautiful Easter

Filed under City Mouse + Country Mouse, Holiday

March 20, 2012 · 12:55 pm

Happy Beer Day Cake

It’s not really Beer Day, although I’m sure its a holiday somewhere.  This is what my husband said to me when I surprised him with a Guinness Chocolate Cake at 9am yesterday morning.  We came across this recipe in a People Magazine article featuring chief Brian Leth of Vinegar Hill House ( you can see the article here)  Vinegar Hill is a nearby (like 2 miles) Brooklyn neighborhood, one we don’t really explore, but ought to, and Im adding it to our list.  Anyway my husband’s birthday is next weekend and I always ask him what type of cake he’d like.  We had it narrowed down to a Red Velvet or repeat of last years Chocolate Strawberry Tallcake when he threw me for a loop asking for this Guinness cake.  We keep Guinness in the fridge regularly so I surprised him the next morning with the cake, which means I still get to bake what I had in mind next week :)

Chocolate Guinness Cake

The cake really does have a cup of Guinness Stout beer in it and yes I had to taste test the beer to make sure of its freshness…at 8am.  Tasted great!   Other than that it was a pretty standard cake recipe.  Here is the recipe per People Magazine:

Guinness Chocolate Cake

1 cup Guinness Stout

10 tbsp. butter unsalted butter, softened

6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

2 cups granulated sugar

6 tbsp. sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree. Butter a 9in springform pan and line with parchment paper

2 Heat Guinness and butter in large saucepan over medium-low until butter melts, remove from heat. Whisk in cocoa and sugar.

3. Combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; whisk into cocoa mixture.  Whisk in flour and baking soda.

4. Pour batter into pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until cake is firm.  Remove to wire rack; cool completely.  Remove from pan. Spread frosting on top.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat 8 oz. softened cream cheese until smooth; gradually add 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, beating at low speed just until blended.  Gradually add 1/2 cup cream; beat until blended.

I followed the recipe almost exact, except I used Salted Butter and more than 2 cups of powdered sugar in the icing.  I also baked it in two 8″ round pans so I could stack a pretty cake.    So can I taste the Guinness?  No not really, but it doesn’t taste like a standard chocolate cake either, more like a brownie that is on the bittersweet side.  My husband loved it regardless and was super excited that I surprised him and thats what matters most!

4 Comments

Filed under Celebrations, SugarCoated

Tagged as , , , ,

March 9, 2012 · 2:34 pm

Red Riding Hood Cape

For my niece’s 4th birthday I made her a red riding hood cape.  Macy sat by me and drooled the entire time I made it.  Only because I promised her that I would make her one next did she not complain that Emma was getting such an awesome gift.  Although the gift was a surprise, I think that my sister had mentioned she wanted me to make emma a red cape one day, so I already had a little  bit of direction to get started.  Im not great at making clothes, I can do basic skirts and dresses.  Im better at embellishing pre-made clothes but I figured a cape couldn’t be that hard.  I was right, it wasn’t hard, it turned out great and I can’t wait to make Macy’s soon.  (she has already picked out the colors – navy with a kelly green lining)

I ordered the fabric for this cape from Fabric.com.  Its a great resource if you want to shop from your sofa and are not too worried about seeing the fabric first hand before you buy.  They offer free shipping after $35 and all of their fabrics seem to be discounted (at least they seem discounted compared to NYC prices).  I choose a red wool but it was the patterned lining that I had more fun looking for.  I’ve been an admirer of Amy Butler fabrics for a while but I haven’t had a project in mind for them.  This was the perfect time to try one out.  I choose Passion Lily Cerise Pink from the Soul Blossoms collection.  Which by the way, you can also get in a blue colorway wallpaper from Graham and Brown

I’m brave enough to come up with my own patterns for most projects including a cape but I decide to give the internet a whirl and see what DIY offerings were out there.  I stumbled across a crafty site called FleeceFun.com that offers free printable pdf patterns.  It had the perfect cape pattern all ready for me to download and a video tutorial to walk you thought how to do it! So how does a printable pattern work? When you download this pattern its about 15 pages to print out, you line them up and tape them together to have a full scale pattern ready to cut out.  Although I liked the fleece fun pattern, there were a few details that it lacked for me. I wanted my entire cape lined, this pattern just shows you how to line the hood.  Also I wanted Emmas cape to function more as a coat, so the edges needed to overlap not just meet.   I can’t tell you how I made all that happen for me, I just did.  Thats how most of my projects are, I just do it.

Isn’t it beautiful?

And isn’t she beautiful in it?

Happy Birthday Emma!

P.S. You can see my sister’s photography site here!

4 Comments

Filed under Baby + Child, Paper + Fabric

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

February 27, 2012 · 11:15 pm

An Eames Elephant for Hudson

Purdy Matter on one of the original 1945 plywood Eames Elephant

I’ve been in love with designs from Charles & Ray Eames since I learned about them in design school and to celebrate my graduation my husband gave me my first piece of their iconic furniture, the LCW.  Since design school, each time I get a chance to “need” a new piece of furniture I always pick out mid-century modern classics.   My history of furniture teacher said that furniture is the best investment you can make, so that could be my excuse or it’s just that I have an obsession with that era and with chairs in particular.  As Hudson’s second birthday was approaching on February 4th we were at a loss about what to get him. We felt that we over did it at Christmas and he didn’t need nor did we have any room in the toy box for more toys…..but I always have room for a new piece of furniture :)  So we decided that it was now or never, he was the perfect age to play with an Eames Elephant and if we didn’t get it now then it would not really be a toy for him later.  I just adore this little elephant and just as the rest of my mid-century lovelies Im really into learning about the history of its design.  Unfortunately doing just web research I can’t find much info on the origin of the 1945 design.  I had hoped to find a drawing or a picture of the Eameses with one of the original two prototypes.  Im sure that in a real book somewhere is all the info I want so ill be on the look out for that, until then I have a bit of history to share and I also have found some great new pictures of how people are having fun with the reproductions of this precious pachyderm.

The only known original Eames Elephant is safe in the hands of the Eames family

The plywood elephant was among a menagerie of plywood animals that the Eames designed around 1945, the same time they were designing and experimenting with splints and chairs.  But none of the creatures – elephant, frog, seal, bear and horse – ever moved beyond the concept stage.  Their fabrication was too challenging to be mass-produced with compound curves and tight angles. Two elephant prototypes were made and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art from 1945-46 and the only surviving elephant is safe in the hands of the Eames family.  To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames in 2007, Vitra decided to master the art of producing the plywood elephant and released limited edition plywood elephants, 1000 each in natural and red stained maple.

source – kandpreadme.blogspot.com

Hive modern still has a limited edition plywood elephant for sale see it HERE!

source – moderity.se

The response was overwhelmingly received and all 2000 copies sold out immediately at $1900 each!   Since the cost and limited production made for an instant collectors item, Vitra decided to develop a second series of elephants made from plastic in 2009.  A nod to the fact that the Eameses were the first to use plastic in furniture in the 1950’s and also making this new series affordable to buy for the intended user – a child!  Current pricing of the elephant is $290 and comes in red, ice-gray, white, lime and pink.  You can find them stocked and ready to ship online in stores like DWR, Hive Modern, All Modern, Modern Seed and Design Public.

Vitra Eames Elephants

This brochure for the new elephants is FANTASTIC, besides being made by a graphic design student, it has the flat pattern of the two components for constructing mini paper elephants.  So its marketed for kids but I’m thinking of all the other things I could make like….a fondant cake topper, swoon!

see the brochure HERE

If  you are a furniture lover or design professional without a child, don’t let that deter you from adding this beautiful sculptural piece to your home, it looks like a “stool” to the adult crowd or consider the Vitra miniature in either Red or Natural plywood for $185 as a book shelf decoration.

Vitra miniture

With the release of the 2007 Limited Edition elephant, Eames Demetrios, the grandson of Charles Eames and director of Eames Office and Chairman of the Eames Foundation, produced a film ” A Gathering of Elephants” to stir excitement for these beloved creations:

Hudson loves to trumpet along with the elephants and move to the african drum beat, its a great little film!

Then, just this january a second elephant film was released, “Elephant Safaris – in to the Wilds

Im excited to share that this film was brought to my attention by a tweet from Eames Demetrios himself!

Its only been a few years since the release of the new elephant and I’ve searched around to see how its being used and displayed.

Check out this playroom at the new London Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse!!

At the Vitra Design Muesum (what are Bleu and Pinky doing there?  wink wink)

I found several Flickr pictures that show this outdoor “elephant pin” from the Basel Vitra Design Museum.  They must be rearranged daily, each picture had them doing different things.   It makes the little guys seem to really have a playful personality seeing them “running around” this pin.

Singapore: Saturday In Design via How We Create

In Hong Kong, an auction of artistic re-designs of the elephants for  the ‘Ambassadors of Design’ via Alive Not Dead

And of course my own contribution to the bank of elephant images

Hudson and the Eameses

Nose to Nose with his pet elephant

This little elephant is so much fun to photograph, I can’t wait until a warm spring day when we can take him outside and take more pictures!  Hudson already loves playing with him, since the back is sloped he likes to run his cars off of it like a slide and once I caught him trying to climb through its backside, that would have been a good picture!

Eames Elephant in Ice Gray

6 Comments

Filed under Baby + Child, Chairs 101, NBID

Tagged as , , , ,

February 22, 2012 · 10:56 am

Another Party Feature!

I am so excited to share that Macy’s Woodland Fairie Birthday Party is being featured on a fabulous site for party inspiration and resource.  The Party Wagon has given my special party the royal treatment with photos and write up.  Im touched at Ms. Lydia’s thoughtful introduction of me and my creation.  I’ve really never been “described” before….I love it!  Its an honor to be complimented by other party stylists and enthusiasts and Im very thankful that the Fairy party will now be shared with many more people looking for party ideas.  Thank You Lydia!

See the party at the The Party Wagon HERE

1 Comment

Filed under Celebrations

Tagged as , , , ,

February 15, 2012 · 11:43 am

My Party Featured on Amy Atlas!

What an exciting day for me!  Hudson’s Where the Wild Things Are party has been chosen as a Guest Dessert Feature on Amy Atlas!  Amy Atlas is the goddess of “Sweets Tables”  and an inspiration for anyone who looks for ideas for party styling.  Heres a peek at my feature and you can see the rest of it HERE

8 Comments

Filed under Celebrations

Tagged as , , , ,

February 14, 2012 · 1:27 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Just a short post to say Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.  I hope you have special plans with you family and friends.  Macy, Jacob and I made cookies for Macy’s class last night.  I’ve made a lot of cookies this past month, its been alot of fun and as always each project is a learning experinece for me.  Here are some of our favorite of the 30+ cookies we made last night.

And here are the treats Macy is passing out today in class:

Yes I copied this idea straight from this month’s Better Homes and Gardens. See it HERE  I tweaked the idea a little with a printed topper (it has a fill in “To:” & “From:” on the back) and royal icing decorations.  What I really loved about this treat is the style of a packaged cookie.

A  4″ x5″ slip of scrapbook paper is inserted inside the bag and the cookie rests on it.  The topper is  4″x4″, folded in half and you have to cut the cellophane standard treat bag down a bit for to get this size. Yes a ribbon tied on the top would have been cute but a staple works GREAT!  and is a lot quicker ;)  My only tip so far in making these treat bags: don’t package these too early, day of party is best.  I found that the butter in the cookie created a slight oil stain through the paper when I made these for Hudson’s birthday party last week.  P.S. can’t wait to share that party soon!

Comments Off on Happy Valentine’s Day!

Filed under Holiday

Tagged as , , , ,

February 12, 2012 · 4:49 pm

Deer Hunting

I love animals.  I love their beauty and I love when their beauty is represented in interior design.  Just as long as no animal was injured for us to enjoy that beauty.   We have amazing manufacturing techiniques today and I see no reason why we can’t duplicate all the beauty of the animal kingdom …so that there is still an animal kingdom for the next generation.  Thats why I am in love with faux deer heads.  Resin or wood, painted or even mixed media, there are some really fine options out there to celebrate your love for animals.

Brooklyn Bedroom

This is my Brooklyn bedroom, I used a white resin deer head from Z Gallerie to mix up the media in a gallery arragement.  We lovingly named our deer Bambi :) and have even decorated him at christmas!

Bambi in his holiday best

I get asked about our deer all the time and I thought I might give my readers some resources to hunt down a good one . Heres our deer from  Z Gallerie  – Small !6″ $50

And also from Z Gallerie – Large 39″ $250

Dwell Studio has a great paper mache selection of animal heads in pretty colors for kids or adults – 13″H  $76

I found several great faux animal head examples on Etsy!  So glad that there are American artisans taking part in this design trend.  Here are a few of my favoirtes:

 Mahzer & Vee has many animal statues in fun colors! Faux Taxidermy Deer Head – 21″H $100

Lucy Haus has deer heads in gray, white, gold or any color you would like!   Cocoa Gray Faux Deer Head Mount – 23″H  $150

 BeJanked is offering rhinestoned moose and elephants that are sure to be a conversation piece! The original Rhinestone Taxidermy: Moose – 13.75H $600   Elephant – 18″H $275

Ruby’s Lounge  also has wallpaper embellished resin dear heads in many patterns and colors.  Kelly Summer – 18″H  $335

Lastly, I am really excited to feature this whimsical alternative to real animal taxidermy.  Jordan Elise has created Horrible Adorables, these “quirky faux taxidermy mounts of strange creatures and wonderful wonders”.  Each odd little character is one-of-a-kind, constructed of foam, wool felt and real glass taxidermy eyes.  I found these creatures at the Regnegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn last year and have thought about them ever since, I think I might have to have one for Hudson!

Check out more of the Horrible Adorables at Jordan’s Etsy shop , Artstarphilly and creature gallery

1 Comment

Filed under Brooklyn Love, NBID

Tagged as , , ,

January 27, 2012 · 8:20 pm

Winnie the Pooh and Owl too! Cake and Cookies

Owl Cookies

What a busy little creative weekend I had last week!  One of my projects was a cake and cookies for a sweet little girl’s 2nd birthday party.  It wasnt a themed party, just an adorable Winnie the Pooh cake and Owl cookies that were recognizable and loved by the little girl.  My owls were piped in aqua royal icing with fondant details on a sugar cookie.  For the cake, I duplicated a classic white cake with blue trim that was shown in the little girl’s cherished Winnie the Pooh book.  Then I add a toy Pooh and friends that her mom provided, this is such an easy way to make a simple cake beautiful and custom in just minutes. This cake was a special Strawberry recipe that my daughter requests often for her parties, so pretty pink!  The icing was a very basic 4 ingredient buttercream: confectioners sugar, salted butter, vanilla and milk….so delicious!

If you dont have the time or skills to make a simple cake but would still like to decorate for someone special, consider buying an iced and undecorated cake from you local bakery.  I have decorated store-bought cakes when I was in a pinch for time before. I dont think that a cake has to be elaborate for you to express your creative skills and party theme.  My mermaid cake was a “cake decorating emergency”, we traveled to Tennessee to host Macy a birthday party but our luggage with my party supplies didnt make it with us.  And there have been several times I’ve had a plain bakery cake waiting on me to add fondant to for my sisters events because I could only fly in for the weekend and didnt have time to bake.  No matter how simple you decide to make the cake, its all about execution and presentation.  Practice makes perfect! It took a long time for me to level and stack my cakes perfectly and to make buttercream porcelain smooth.  But most importantly I always use a cake stand or platform, it’s usually the center piece of the table and you want it to stand above other dishes.

7 Comments

Filed under Celebrations

January 9, 2012 · 8:35 pm

The Chic Tween {Navy Base}

Macy Berry is The Chic Tween! Crewcuts Sweater, Lands End Shirt & Target Skirt

I am officially naming my 9 year old daughters style and coining the phrase “The Chic Tween”.   Macy definitely has her own modern yet classic style, she’s Chic.  We have always experimented with her fashion, towing the line between cutesy and mini-me.  I cant help but live vicariously through her clothes since its hers that need replenished more often than my own.  We have always loved some outfits more than others but recently I think she has come into her own style and it seems that we have been able to curate a collection rather than single outfits. I’m proud to say that after years of denying her character sneakers, sweat pants, hoodies and over styled graphic t-shirts, she can pull together a classy outfit without our assistance and with our beaming approval because we have figured out that its not about quantity of items she has, its about the quality and the style we carefully help her choose .

The Chic Tween - Target Dress & Sweater

A tween is a girl that is between a teenager and child, its a new term for girls that are younger than pre-teens.  The age of a tween is subjective, but basically around 7-11.  A tween’s clothing size is in the section for 7-14 year olds and we have yet to understand what a 7 year old and a 14 year old have in common in fashion or lifestyle.  Dressing Macy became hard a few years ago when she no longer fit in children’s size 6 and we were forced to scrape together age appropriate clothing out of clothing sections that frankly look like tramp starter kits.  The past year Macy has found a love for navy as a wardrobe base, (and I have too!)  It spans the gap between colors like no black or brown can and always looks spot on, whether dressed down with Converse or up with sailor stripes.

The Chic Tween - Crewcuts Dress & Necklace

The Chick Tween - Lands End Shirt & Shorts

Its my goal this year to document Macy’s outfits and clothing collections more regularly to share and inspire other moms to have fun with their daughters wardrobes.  Keeping a Chic Tween in fashion doesn’t mean always shopping at Bloomingdale’s or Crewcuts but definitely check out their sales and clearances for great items.   Most of Macy’s clothes come from Target, Lands End and Zara, catch their sales and it costs next to nothing!  From our experience pulling together a clothing collection doesnt happen in one trip.  Some parents do one shopping trip for the start of school, then maybe for winter season and then summer season.  But in reality, buying new clothes really never has an ending with kids, I mean they are kids, growing out of clothes, ruining them and losing them.  Their wardrobe is never complete and always in need.  We are constantly picking up a new piece here or there, to replace or add to Macy’s wardrobe.  We have limits and regrets and after 10 years have learned that we have to really love the item to get it(high or low priced) and I will never pay $100 for crewcuts ballet shoes.  A couple of other good rules to go by: Don’t jump too early for over priced items, they will go on sale.  Don’t settle for the wrong item, if it doesn’t work or your daughter says so wont wear it, she wont and its a waste no matter how inexpensive you get it.   And know when to just get it, even if its a swim suit in January, because its sad to come back and find that perfect piece is gone.

The Chic Tween - Navy Base Collection

 The very heart of Macy’s wardobe is currently styled around navy basics.  We feel using navy as her neutral has allowed us to use color as layers, not as the canvas and we have been able to buy better pieces because we’ve kept the quantity she needs lower.
Here is how Macy’s {Navy Base} comes together:
Shoes – A riding boot, a ballet flat, a sneaker and a special occasion.
If you stay away from the department store shoe sections you can actually find REAL leather boots for girls that cost half as much.  Gap always has a leather riding boot and this brown one is from Zara $36.
You can pick a ballet flat almost anywhere, this navy one with toe cap is Zara $20
Converse is the most versatile tennis shoe for girls, it looks great with jeans or a dress.  Gym day doesnt have to mean a no style day.  All converse are not created equal.  We prefer Jack Purcells, they are made better than Chucks and they stay looking great longer.  They cost more but are worth it for the look, longivity and comfort. A basic blue is always available but Macy has rocked them in watermellon before too.  You can find them online at Zappos or Piperlime, J Crew carries them also, $50
I say special occasion but what little girl doesnt try to wear her sparkly shoes with every outfit?  Being a dancer, Macy especially appreciates this jazz shoe style from Zara $25 
Dresses – A long sleeve and a short sleeve
The style is up to you and whats on the market but we have been very happy with a nautical stripe cream and navy dress similar to this navy and white stripe from Crewcuts $43
A great collection going on right now is the Harajuku Mini at Target designed by Gwen Stefani, it has a nautical theme and many pieces are navy.  This vintage looking dress is  from Target and only $24 ! 
The reason I say a long sleeve and a short sleeve is because by adding tights and a cardigan either of the dresses can be worn in the middle of winter.  And as long as the fabric isnt a winter weight (corduroy, velvet or wool) the long sleeve can be worn with sandals on transitional spring and fall days.
 Skirt – a pleated full or apron style
A five pocket denim skirt is a standard, but try stepping out of the crowd with a chambray apron style skirt, it was a steal from Target $12.
If you dont find any this style you can always get the standard school uniform skirt, nearly all the stores carry them every season now.  Choose the one that is cotton instead of the cheap polyester.  Macy has never had to wear a school uniform but has wanted a navy jumper and the pleated skirt every year (to accessories with pins and colorful knee socks and cardigans).
Cardigan Sweaters – these you really cant have too much of
Jackie O, Boyfriend, Cropped, Wrapped and Embellished, there are SO MANY styles continuously on the market.  This is where you add your color layer so don’t buy navy.  Macy is really into this apricot color, she identifies it with “J Crew” but other stores are picking up on the color, this one is Crewcuts (and on sale) $24  Yellow always looks perfect with Navy too, Gap $30.  Other favorite colors of the past have been Kelly Green and Raspberry.
Shirts – Striped and Graphic
A striped boatneck shirt will never go out of style for you or for your daughter.  Look for a 3/4th sleeve for greatest versatility.  Lands End has a great one every year, Macy is pictured in it above.  This one is from Crewcuts (and a more than I would pay) $50. 
There is a fine line between good and bad graphic tees.  More than often they are over the top and just ugly in my eyes.  We look for simple graphics and little works of art. Some words are okay but never brands or logos  Sometimes they are from gap, sometimes like this heart one are from crewcuts $20.
Skinny Jeans and JODHPURS
I still love flare and boot cut jeans, but they just arent in style or on the market at the moment.  Skinny Jeans – Yes.  Jeggings – NO!  I didnt even picture jeans, we all know that they are a navy basic, they always have been.  Just wanted to hate on Jeggings for a moment.  So jodhpurs are classic ridding pants…that go great with ….riding boots!  But the style has jumped the ring and doesnt necessarily read equestrian anymore.  Instead of stretchy leggings look for a thicker knit pant, they arent always refered to as jodhpurs or have the patch at the inside of the knee but they keep their shape better, are warmer and arent skin tight.  Ralph Lauren stocks them at department stores, Gap ususally has them and these are Crewcuts $38
 
Trench coat – your mini me daughter!
How cute are little girls dressed in trench and pea coats?  Macy rocks this classic from Zara $40 in navy.  Many stores carried them this fall and I suspect will still next year, look for a fall clearance one now to wear in the spring.
Accessories – Belts and Jewelry
Macy loves belts, in fact I think she’s becoming obsessed.  It started when one of her dresses came with a skinny navy belt.  We added it over the cardigan layer and BAM!  realized that she could do this in so many outfits.  Now she has started shopping in my closet, this braided leather one from Zara $10  wraps around a couple of times and fits any size because the pin goes through the braid.   Keeping her happy in sparkles, a glitter belt like this one is like the glitter dance shoe, it goes with everything too, Zara $10
 I’m not a huge jewelry person, I like my basic silver pieces but I try to help Macy not get in a rut like I think I am.  Plus being a little girl she can have more fun with her pieces than me.  J Crew’s woman’s jewelry is over priced, period.  But their Crewcuts pieces are reasonable and sized to fit.   Macy usually gets a piece of  jewelry for her birthday and we have seen that Crewcuts lasts longer than something from Clares.  We also love to add to her charm bracelet with the Charm It collection at the Gap checkout counter.  The necklaces and bracelets pictured above are from Crewcuts $10-16.
So thats it!  If you look at the collection board above you can see that everything will work together, the outfits are endless and its only a handful of pieces!  Macy is pictured in several of the pieces above but when she looked at this board she started getting excited, “oh this will go with this, and that goes with that”  I think she put together a few new outfits!  I honestly cant say that this is really all the clothes she has, she has a few other shoes and clothing that is not navy but one day we realized that we were gravitating toward navy more and more and then it felt like her mornings became easier to get ready.  I hope my examples can help you build a collection with your daughter, whether its with navy or her favorite color its really not hard to make the right pieces go a long way.
 
Close on on Macy’s kitten heels is my 4 year old niece emma, here she is in a sweet Harajuku Mini dress, “waiting for the boys to come home” in Fort Bragg, NC.  Photographed by my sister CapturedbyJes

Comments Off on The Chic Tween {Navy Base}

Filed under The Chic Tween

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

January 1, 2012 · 6:19 pm

Macy’s New Years Tea and Cookie Party

A couple of years ago Macy hosted a New Years Tea Party to celebrate with and get to know her new friends from school and girl scouts.  Besides having treats and tea, the girls decorated cookies and played games.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The invitation for the party was a sparkly paper cookie in a treat bag with metallic lined envelopes, super easy to make on thick watercolor paper and so fun for the girls to receive in the mail! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We choose traditional and chic New Years colors silver and gold and picked up just a few decorations at a Party City to decorate the table.  Metallic paper plates, doilies, stars, large sequins, party hats and confetti bursts.  I rolled metallic paper into cone shapes & decorated with glitter for the girls to use as mock megaphones.  Each girl had a glittered place card that we later used as tags for their cookie bags.  And since this was a tea party, Macy and I searched at a  few thrift shops for traditional tea cups for everyone.  For the rest of the table I used my real serving pieces for finger sandwiches and other mini snacks.  
 
 
After tea was served I demonstrated how to use royal icing in a piping bag for cookie decorating and we had several waxpaper bags filled for the girls to use.  Each girl got a circle, butterfly & a crown sugar cookie that Macyand I made the night before to decorate. 
 
 
As parents came for pick up we served coffee and my famous red velvet snowflake cake, it’s always nice to invite the parents to come back early at pick up to socialize and have a treat too.  I hate when pick up is rushed and hectic, I like to spend some time chatting with the other parents.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Macy was the Hostest with Mostest at her tea party, she made time to play with everyone and entertained from the head of the table.
 
I wish there was one more picture to share….I was just weeks away from having Hudson at this party!  At 35 weeks pregnant, I was running around in my party dress, apron and no shoes (I was afraid I’d trip over the constantly moving 7 year olds in my heels) serving tea and teaching the girls decorating tricks.  I’m sure I was a sight to see and sorry I dont have a good picture from it!
 
Wishing you a wonderful New Year!  Cheers!

Comments Off on Macy’s New Years Tea and Cookie Party

Filed under Celebrations, Holiday

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

December 21, 2011 · 10:25 pm

Have a Berry Merry Christmas!

The Berry Family Christmas Card 2011

 
 
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
 
Love, Nikki, Jacob, Macy and Hudson

Comments Off on Have a Berry Merry Christmas!

Filed under Holiday

Tagged as , ,

December 17, 2011 · 11:55 pm

Merry Christmas and a happy New York!

Merry Christmas and a happy New York card

This has been our Christmas slogan since we found these Christmas cards a few years ago at a Barnes and Noble.  I’ve never sent out this card but I use its wording almost every year and by now I’m sure our friends and family know that I didn’t misuse “York” instead of “Year”.  I don’t quite think that any other state could be inserted – “happy New Jersey” um no, “happy New Mexico” no way!  Theres just something magical and memorable about New York at Christmas time, whether you have visited for the tree lighting, ball dropping, ice skating or just like to watch your favorite Christmas movie every year (Home Alone 2, Serendipity, Miracle on 34th St – pick one!), you know what I mean when I say “Merry Christmas and a happy New York”!

Macy seeing the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall 2006

 
 

Rockefeller Center Tree 2006

 
 

Zuccotti Park 2007 (isnt it pretty with out the protesters?)

 

Nutcracker Ballet at Lincoln Center 2007

 
 
 

Wall Street Stock Exchange 2008

 
 
 

Macy's Toyland 2008

 
 

2 Comments

Filed under Holiday

Tagged as , , ,