apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Cupcakes are ideal for kids because they're small and easy to run around with (which inevitably happens). We see so many pretty cupcake liners on food blogs, but only seem to find the (blah) foil and pastel liners at our grocery store. Perhaps you have better local options, but if not we have three online sources to recommend...

Are you wondering how to keep your kids entertained on cold, wintery days when outside time is limited? So was LiEr so she made this amazing fabric playhouse for her daughter Jenna's birthday (to share with sisters Kate and Emily) that folds up small and has so many possibilities for imaginative play.

Of all the wonderful things at Jackson's first birthday, the photobackdrop is a hands down winner and an idea worth stealing. Chiara describes the festivities: We had a great birthday party for Jackson. His bright cake was based on a Crazy Carousel cake from Cookie Magazine...

When you have a baby family suddenly takes on even more significance - not only the one you've just begun, but your extended family and ancestors who all play a role in the story of your life. My Tree & Me has practically reinvented the visual family tree with a modern, playful spin.

It's a party this month on Ohdeedoh and we're excited to share more of your parties starting with the Monster Truck Party Darleen threw for her son. She says, Lucas turned three and got his request--a monster truck theme party. Let me tell you--there's not much out there for this theme, so it was a little tricky coming up with ideas...

Name: Jennifer Ward
Child: Parker, 5
Location: Brooklyn
Website: Minor Details

Jennifer Ward probably has more strokes of design inspiration before breakfast than we're likely to have in a month. Her antenna is always up and scanning her surroundings (physical and virtual) for innovative ideas, unique products, stimulating colors and other ingredients which combine with her natural talent, creative thinking and clever DIY solutions to form a truly original body of work.

Although we wonder if the individual pieces have the same mobility as lighter materials, wood mobiles will last a long time and may transition to other areas of your home more easily than fabric, plastic or paper ones.

When our son was a baby he was an extremely light sleeper and we were cautious not to create any loud noise (say, a sneeze) that might disturb him. Unfortunately many naps were brought (literally) to a screeching halt by the innocent ringing of our doorbell by the UPS man, mail carrier or Con Ed rep.

Most of us will be doing (or at least buying) less this holiday season, but there's no reason to feel down about it. Less is good for your wallet, your spirit and certainly for the earth. Our plan is to take the subtitle of Anna Getty's book I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas to heart - Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes That Use Less and Mean More.

Speaking of bold color, we love the daring raspberry pink Yvette chose for her daughter Tasmyn's room. She painted it when "Tassy" was two and five years later they both still love it. Read on for a good tip from Yvette about when to choose a wall color.

We're really hoping the wallpaper revival gains more steam in kids' rooms and ferm LIVING is doing their part by adding more great designs to their collection (new decals and soft owl items too!)

We're a bit behind on fall decorating and were looking for something easy, inexpensive, colorful and that would store well for future use. When we saw these beautiful felt leaves by 5 Orange Potatoes (and all the ways she thought up to use them) we knew we'd found our project.

Our son is still too young for trick-or-treating, but not too young for a costume. So we want to show him off and spread some Halloween cheer to our neighbors by delivering some baked goods. The baking itself is effort enough so we were happy to find this super-easy packaging idea with downloadable template.

We're not in a rush for our son to grow up and he can believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and his chances of winning the lotto for as long as he likes. He can even believe in fairies. It's part of the magic of childhood.