Baby Lifestyles Autumn October-November 2013 mag

Baby Lifestyles

Autumn 2013 Magazine

Baby Lifestyles LAUREN HALPERIN Publisher, Creative Director

TARA STEINLE Managing Editor

ELLEN FELDMAN, BETH MERAN Contributing Editors

LOLA STEEVENS Sales Director

AUSTIN “Mr. Z” RAPPAPORT Website Architect

MICHAEL GUSTMAN S.E.O. Management

Visit Baby Lifestyles online at www.BabyLifestyles.com for inspiration, real baby showers, birthday parties, nursery reveals, hot products, news, updats, contests, giveaways, and more Would you like to contribute to Baby Lifestyles? Email our editorial staff at Editor@BabyLifestyles.com Submit your baby shower, birthday party or nursery to Baby Lifestyles at www.BabyLifestyles.com For information about advertising in Baby Lifestyles Magazine and online, contact Lola Steevens at advertise@babylifestyles.com Follow us on Twitter: @BabyLifestyles1 Baby Lifestyles is published bi-monthly by Baby Lifestyles, LLC. All contents ©2012 Baby Lifestyles, LLC. All rights

CONTENTS October/ November 2013

PAGE 9

PAGE 16

PAGE 24

PAGE 34

PAGE 57

PAGE 84

PAGE 95

PAGE 114

PAGE 122

We Heart our Contributors

Alisa Rae Just because you’re having a baby doesn’t mean you can’t make it a co-ed celebration.

Alisa photographed a beautiful unisex baby shower.

Ana Just

Chris Cornwell

Chris helped us double our It’s Halloween time and that means families get their annual pleasure by showcasing some adorable twins in their beautiful pumpkin. Ana took some nursery. gorgeous pictures of one family frolicking at a pumpkin patch.

John Prado

Karissa Knowles

Katie Lewis

John is behind the lens of a beautiful baby shower for lovely Lisette, who is welcoming a baby boy shortly.

There was a little bee buzzing around Karissa as she had a blast showing off a cake smash for a little Queen Bee.

Katie shows us the biggest surprise life has to offer at this gender reveal party with guests showering parents with confetti from party poppers.

Lina Shuster Celebrating Thing 2’s first birthday party with a Cat in the Hat themed soiree for their youngest child was a great idea and Lina was there for all the Seuss excitement.

Melinda Harstad

Melissa of Living Beautifully

Melinda took a familiy out to the Baby nurseries don’t have to be ball game where the gender of pastel and cute. They can be their impending arrival was sleek and classic which is announced in true baseball stunningly showcased by fashion... on the jumbotron Melissa’s beautiful cream screen. colored nursery for Cole.

Hello Boy Photos by John Prado

Cole’s Nursery Cottage For Cole’s mom Melissa, the nursery was something she spent a great deal of time planning in her mind. “I had saved ideas for years and once we found out we were pregnant, it was one of the things I was most excited to start.” Having a little boy, the nursery has been decorated in a way which she felt said "boy".

“We really felt that the nursery was a collection of things we loved, things that represented us, and things that we hoped the baby would enjoy now...or eventually.”

She added in her own handmade touches and special features. The shelves, nursery table topper, and many accessories- pillows, drapes, etc., were handmade by she and her husband.

Melissa stuck to a neutral/calming colour palette and included rustic elements. “We chose to focus on texture as well. Metals, woods, soft fabrics were all used to add interest to the space.”

“It may not be the typical nursery, but for us its perfect and we love it.”

Melissa chose the "Olivia" crib from Baby Mod for Cole. You can read about our crib search here. In the end, she ended up not liking the 'amber' color that the crib base came in and opted to have it stripped and stained darker to match the room’s hardwood floors.

The vintage letters hang above the crib. They are so lightweight that they were easily hung with double sided tape. “We also hung a handmade mobile above the crib that has a rustic--and also slightly Canadian!--theme to it and feel it goes perfectly with the style of the nursery.”

Melissa loves the comfor she found her her nursery chair. “I feel it will be a chair that we can work into multiple spaces and the neutral colour also helps with that.”

Rather than opt for the matching foot stool, she chose this dark leather poof that I found on Etsy.

“It's handmade and I love how it adds a new element to the space.”

The print on the wall above the chair was made by a good friend. “I also added a handmade pillow cover to a pillow I had, along with a cozy throw from Indigo and a bunny from a special friend to the chair.”

TwinHearts

Photos by Chris Cornwell

Baby Mac’s Great Esacpe For her son Mac, Sara wanted a room that was bright, colorful, energetic and fun. No pastels or soothing colors here. This is a room that would be able to grow with him as he got older and keep his attention. Sara started out with the colors green and orange. She already had a zebra striped black and white rug in the room, which she wanted to incorporate, a few cube storage units, and a dark wood crib and dresser with neutral furniture that could be used in a completely different way later on.

Sara's puppy sage chose the color for the paint, bounding into the nursery with the sample in her mouth. "She picked a beautiful color called Four Leaf Clover. And all of a sudden, it was perfect for our little Irish guy. The color was bright and powerful, exactly what she wanted.

As you walk in the room, immediately to your left is the crib and a storage unit. The storage unit by the crib holds a ton of toys in baskets, with a little radio/CD player, lamp and baby monitor on top. Sara selected a mix-matched bedding from Carousel Designs. She alternates between a solid turquoise crib skirt with an orange gingham sheet and a solid lime sheet and a lime houndstooth sheet as her spare sets, just to mix things up.

"I made the pennant name banner out of various fabrics and felt letters from a local fabric store and some ball fringe. I just love the way it turned out.

I love how much color it adds to the room. I made the mobile from the leftover fabric scraps from the pennant name banner I made and hung them from ribbon on a sewing loop. I spray painted wooden beads orange for the top. This was a really easy project that I think adds a lot of texture, color and whimsy to the room."

The back wall of the nursery is a large window which let in a lot of great light. Like the windows in Sara's bedroom, they have white wooden plantation shades, which she loves. She chose a neutral curtain from West Elm on the window, in order to make the name banner pop. "I thought about doing a funky orange patterned curtain, but decided that was probably overkill."

"Baby Mac's closet is packed full of the cutest baby clothes on Earth. Whoever said shopping for a little boy isn't as much fun as shopping for a girl does not know where to shop. Baby boy clothes are so cute. I also bought one of those hanging shoes racks to put in the closet to give a little more room for things. Right now we don't really have many shoes, so it's being used more of a display for toys and blankets, shoes and hats.

The bookcase her father built in the corner is Sara's absolute favorite thing in the room. "I love this SO much! I loved reading as a kid and I really want Mac to love reading just as much. I thought by displaying his books, he'd grow up with a sense of pride in them. Hopefully one day he'll be proud to have read every book on the shelf, like I did when I was little. They're stocked full of some of my personal favorite children's books and lots of our friend's and family member's favorite books that we've received as gifts. I think displaying their covers adds so much color, pizzazz and fun to the room. You definitely wouldn't get the same effect if you only saw the spines of the books."

Pumpkin Paradise

By Ana Just Photography

Cat in the Hat Party

By

By Lina Lina of of Lasting Lasting Memories Memories Photography Photography

Photography Showcase

By Photos by Miss Ann

By Melissa DeWitt

By Melvin Gilbert Photography

By Brianne of Captivated Photography

By Tangled Lilac Photography

By Nicki Hufford Photography

By Captured by JennaLynn Photography

By Monica Bell Photography

By Annie Tao Photography

By Wildflower Photography

By Wildflower Photography

After the sonogram tech has decoded those fuzzy black-andwhite images, the parents-to-be can finally answer the question that’s on everyone’s mind. Is it a boy or a girl?

And what better way to share the news than with a party?

A house full of friends and family, yummy snacks, and a pink or blue surprise. The only thing more exciting than a gender reveal is actually having the baby!

Gone are the days when simply cutting into a cake and peeking at icing will do for a reveal. From confetti poppers to giant balloons, Stephanie Hertel from The Gender Reveal shows how the gender revealing moment is getting into the party spirit!

These giant 36" balloons give your gender reveal party a little flair and your big reveal extra impact. When the balloon pops, beautiful, hand-cut pink or blue confetti flutters down, showering you and your guests with the sweet surprise.

When it’s time for the big reveal, gather your guests and hand out these poppers. Leave the caps on, and then watch the blue or pink confetti fly!

Baseball Fan Gender Reveal

By Melinda of Enduring Impressions Photography

Newspaper Announcements Announce your baby to the world with a completely customizable nuewspaper!

www.NewspaperAnnouncements.com

Revealing Happiness Photos by Katie Lewis

Bee-autiful Cake Smash Photos by Karissa Knowles

A Gender Revealing Unisex Shower Photos by Aliza Rae Photography

Welcome Baby Girl Styling by Kiss Me Kate

Kiss Me Kate was delighted to style Roza's baby shower for the impending arrival of her baby girl. Roza chose a soft and delicate colour palette of pale pink and white paired with fluffy tissue pom poms for a sweet and pretty aesthetic. The theme was simple, stylish and personalized 'Baby Russian'.

Wooden baby blocks, rocking horses, and a jumbo safety pin were just some of the props incorporated into the styling of the table. The desserts featured quintessential baby items such as cupcakes adorned with pacifier toppers.

A selection of cookies were decorated as baby bottles, rocking horses, prams and the like. The celebration cake also featured a very cute teddy bear clutching a blanket Guestsenjoyed an indulgent day of champagne and canapĂŠs and took home a gift bag of sweet treats along with a customized candle by Bombardier Designs.

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. - Marc Brown

Photo by Rebecca at Luna Bella Photography