Well it’s here! Mr. Rad’s room tour! Welcome, welcome, welcome! Mr. Rad’s room is a tiny basement room with a low ceiling. I made the letters and I will be sharing a tutorial on those soon!

I tried to utilize space and make it feel more open by keeping the closet exposed, and by turning the little built-in-desk the room had into the changing table. Now that we’ve been living in the room for a while I’m VERY pleased with how much thought I put into things! Haha, because this was my second baby, I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted to use the room.

For example, this bookcase consists of items that a baby (or his toddler sister) can play with and mess up. The moccasins, which are more decorative than utilitarian at this point, are on the top shelf so I’m not constantly rearranging them.

Our basement, which we took over from renters about a year ago, has open closets. I searched long and hard for a dresser that would fit in the closet, so I wouldn’t have to use the limited wall space elsewhere. Also, I had like NO money…haha, so I sold our old dresser and got this one for the same amount from Wal-Mart!


The FABULOUS gold tigers were a gift from the lovely Chelsea Costa of Lovely Indeed!

Here’s the closet, crib and built-in desk in context. On the right is where the desk is, I made this cushion and cover with some elephant fabric and faux fur I had on hand. The 3″ foam (what I used to make the cushion, it’s available at Jo-Ann) was a little expensive, but I only needed a bit.

Underneath the desk is this fabulous felt bin, it’s great-looking storage for diapers, wipes, and blankets.

The wall hook is from The Land of Nod, and I LOVE having it above the changing station. It’s the perfect place for a lil man’s giraffe towel, or a favorite sweater when you dress the babe.




The little sailor suit was Eric’s. His mom is SO amazing at saving things. And this Rifle Alphabet Print might be one of my favorite things in the room.

This was the MOST important part of the room to me…the place where I spend the wee hours of the morning nursing and rocking Mr. Rad. The log works super as a little table OR a footrest, and I like having a nightstand for my nursty (the giant hospital mug with a straw you get, you know, your trophy for having the baby) because nursing makes you SO thirsty, and also it’s a place for my phone.The bear pillow is the perfect size for resting my arm while I nurse. My only regret is that the accent wall (super easy and done with these Walls by Mur decals) is super stimulating and sometimes a bit distracting for Mr. Rad! Haha. But that’s not really too bad a thing.

Rad loves the bear I made him. Haha.

A huge thank you to The Land of Nod for gifting me the following items:
(read more about the partnership here!)
Magnet Hook Strip, On the Grid Nightstand, Bear Throw Pillow, Yellow Stripe Crib Sheet, Tree Stump Seat, Canvas USA Map, Rifle Alphabet Poster, Felt Storage Bin Swiss Cross Box, (similar) Red Floor Lamp, Red Wood Bus, Yeti Throw Pillow

OTHER RESOURCES: . Walls by Mur Decals, Leather Triangle Mobile, DIY Mounted Masks, Ikea Faux Fur Rug, chair, crib (no longer available) and bookshelf from Ikea, Pendelton Blanket (on chair), Squirrel Bookends made by Meta from One More Mushroom

And a HUGE HUGE ginormous thank you to my girl, Heather Mildenstein, for taking the pictures of the nursery and Rad! I’ll share his newborn pictures soon. Heather is the best in the world.

Thanks for taking the tour!!! I hope you liked it and have a great week!

xo,
Alison

The post Mr. Rad’s Room Tour appeared first on The Alison Show.

1. Walls by Mur Decals 2. Leather Triangle Mobile 3. Magnet Hook Strip 4. On the Grid Nightstand 5. Bear Throw Pillow 6. Yellow Stripe Crib Sheet 7. Tree Trunk Seat 8. Canvas USA Map 9. Rifle Alphabet Poster 10. Felt Storage Bin 11. Swiss Cross Box (similar) 12. DIY Mounted Masks 13. Ikea Faux Fur Rug 14. Floor Lamp

So I’m just about ready to post some pictures of Rad’s nursery! But I thought before I did that, I’d share some of the inspiration behind it!

I don’t normally put quite so much thought or effort into my home decor, but as I’ve mentioned before I’m trying to keep a cleaner and more orderly home, and putting some thought in the design seems to help me do that!

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the lovely ladies from The Land of Nod a couple of times now, and they were kind enough to offer to gift me some items for my lil man’s nursery! I had SO MUCH FUN scouring the site and looking at some odds and ends for the tiny boy’s room. The Land of Nod has been such a pleasure to work with and I can sincerely testify (as I’ve been using the items for a few months now in my home) that they have fantastic quality.

Plus they have a new feature where you can register for baby shower items! UGH! If they had had that when I was doing my registries for Gigi…oh man! But you youngin’s can still take advantage of it.

As you all may or may not know, I don’t make money on my blog, so once in a while I will agree to do a sponsored post about products or things I love. Being able to be gifted these fun items was truly a blessing and a huge perk for me (if you’ll remember my husband lost his job during my pregnancy). And I can’t wait to show you them in action in Rad’s rad room.

Rad’s room is the only room in the house that is “decorated” and we all love being in there. Ha, even Gigi gravitates towards his room. Having so many fun things in his room makes nursing at 3am a little more bearable, and having a place for everything really does help me to want to keep it clean. So now I shall move on to Gigi’s room, and then to the other rooms in the house. Wish me luck…and the lottery.

Alright! Have a happy week!

xo,
Alison

The post A Wild Lil Man’s Room Inspiration appeared first on The Alison Show.

Um, so yeah. This could possibly be the cutest thing that has ever happened on The Alison Show. Or on the planet. Ever. I can’t even handle it. Or this!

I decided Mr. Rad needed some tiny pants that ACTUALLY fit him. For some reason you can find newborn and 0-3 month onesies that fit a tiny man, but you cannot find pants that fit! Or at least I couldn’t. So I used some material I had on hand, drew myself a little pattern, and whipped these suckers up. They were so easy I thought I’d share the pattern with you!

The teal material is one I made a while ago. I printed that pattern on there using my Gocco screen printer. I had just a few scraps left, so this was a fun way to use it! The black onesie is one I dyed, I didn’t get the dye as even as I would have liked, but, meh, he still looks adorable in it!

Read on for the full tutorial!

This pattern is size 0-3 months, but you could easily size it up by comparing it to some leggings you have for your child, and adding the needed length or width. Just keep in mind that you add length with the waist and ankle bands as well. And you will want to make the ankle and waist bands bigger. Again, use your child’s clothes for a good size estimate.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN

TINY HAREM PANTS SEWING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut two pant pieces on the fold of some knit fabric. You could use an old skirt or t-shirt that has stretch. Read more about appropriate materials under the section that says, “Let’s talk about fabric” on my tiny t tutorial, found here.

For the waist and ankle bands you will need some ribbing. If your fabric is super stretchy, you could use the same fabric you’re using for your pants. But ribbing is especially stretchy. You find this at the fabric store, just ask one of the nice ladies. It’s not super cheap, but you only need to buy 1/8 yard and it will last you for a while! If you’re confused about what this is think of the bottom of a sweatshirt…that super stretchy fabric. That’s ribbing. As you can see I started the teal pants with some white knit fabric, but it wasn’t stretchy enough so I had to change to the gray ribbing. If your fabric isn’t REALLY stretchy the pants won’t go over your babe’s bum!

Knit fabric is always stretchier in one direction. When cutting the pant legs and the bands, make sure the stretchiest direction is placed so it will go the width of the body. So, in other words, make sure the fabric is stretchiest around the bum and the waist and the ankles. Catch my drift?

2. Place the two pant pieces RIGHT sides together and sew the two sides and the crotch. Turn the pants right side out.

3. For the waist band I cut a piece of ribbing 11″ (11 inches with the stretch) long and 4″ wide. Then you fold it in half.

For the ankle bands I cut two pieces that were 4×4 inches. Then you fold it them half.

That’s a picture of the waist band folded in half as you would place it on the pants.

4. Unfold the band and then fold it RIGHT sides together the other way, and sew a seam.

5. Now fold the band half (the same way you did the first time) and the seam you just sewed will be sandwiched in the band, and it should be a stretchy little circle.

6. Use pins to section off the top of the pants into 4 sections and the bottom (the side that DOES NOT have the fold) of the waistband into 4 sections. I like the use the seam on the waist band to indicate the back center. Slide the waistband on around the top of the pants and pin in place as shown.

7. Using a large zig-zag stitch sew the band to the pants. Make sure you are catching all three layers of fabric (the two on the waist band and the one of the pants). The band is shorter than the pants, so pull the waistband as you sew, stretching it to match the length of the top of the pants. Picture 7 is what the top will look like when you are done sewing.

8. Flip up the waist band. You’re done with that! Now repeat this process for the ankles.

If you are confused about how to attach the ribbing, my tiny t tutorial shows even more pictures of the same process, but I promise it will make sense as you do it!

I love how Rad looks like a little wrestler in them without his shirt on. I DIE.

I can’t wait to see what you make! These would also whip up as great baby gifts. I have like 4 more pairs I want to make!

Happy crafting!!

xo,

Alison

The post Tiny Harem Pants Sewing Pattern appeared first on The Alison Show.

BUY & DIY clever, right?!

I love tooting my own horn. Though I’m sure I’m not the first one to think of it, but shhh don’t rain on my parade.

PLANTERS TO BUY

Alpaca Garden Pot from Anthropologie

Rope Hanging Planter from Indie and Arrow

Glass Wall Bubble Vase from Urban Outfitters

PLANTERS TO DIY

Hanging Planters made of Clay on Frankie Magazine

DIY Mini Copper Pots from Poppytalk

Coffee Can Planter from Smile and Wave, Rachel also has a lot of great links to other planter DIYs so be sure to check this whole post out.

I’ve been SUPER spoiled post-baby, and sweet Alyssa from Indie and Arrow sent me some hanging rope planters! So now I just need to go get some plants. Then I’ll show you how rad they are.

Any good ones I missed?

xo,
Alison

The post Buy & DIY: Planters appeared first on The Alison Show.

I know, you’re all saying, “HOLY **** Mother’s Day is on Sunday!”

And to that I say, “You kiss your mother with that mouth?!”

KIDDING. No, I say, check out these semi-homemade gifts I’ve rounded up that will make you look like you’ve been planning for months!

LAST-MINUTE MOTHER’S DAY GIFT IDEAS HERE!

XO,

Alison

The post Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas appeared first on The Alison Show.

All of Holli’s fabric can be purchased here on Spoonflower.

My dear friend Kimmy recently had a baby. I know, BABIES EVERYWHERE! A few weeks ago I accompanied my girl Heather to help style some pictures of Kimmy and little Penny in Penny’s amazing nursery. And when I say “style” mostly I mean I move things around and I say, “KIMMY YOU LOOK SO PRETTY, now fix your hair.” I just tell people if they’re making a weird face and that they look skinny–so Heather can focus on getting good pictures. Anyway, I fell madly in love with the fabric Kimmy had chosen to recover her rocker and make her drapes.

Turns out the designer of the fabric is the amazing Holli Zollinger. I had so much fun looking though all of her fabric on Spoonflower and I just know I’ll need some for a project soon!

Here are some pix of Kimmy’s nursery and the fabric in action!

And yes, THAT IS my Gigi mobile, looks super cute with those feminine colors, huh?!

Oh and that little Penny! So freaking cute.

And speaking of cute, I’ve just been enjoying my baby boy and gazing at him as much as I can. He is so freaking cute I die. I’ve also been cuddling and playing with Ginger every other second. I’m really into being a mom right now, and trying to make more time for people. So that means maybe a little less time for blogging/social media, but I still have a lot of content to share (recipes, nursery pictures, baby pictures!) so I’ll do what I can!

But I love you all and hope all is well! xox

Alison

The post Obsessed: Holli Zollinger Fabric appeared first on The Alison Show.

Ladies and gentlemen, the lovely Yao Cheng has DONE IT AGAIN! She has created this GORGEOUS stationary set just for The Alison Show, and I couldn’t feel like a luckier lady! These cards are just too pretty, and I can’t wait to print some up and give them to the hot mama’s I love in my life!

CLICK THROUGH FOR THE DOWNLOAD & INSTRUCTIONS

**PEOPLE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS SO I FIXED THE LINK, THE FILE WILL AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD WHEN YOU CLICK THE LINK BELOW**

DOWNLOAD THE STATIONARY HERE

FROM YAO:

I wish you guys a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Easy instructions:
Download the file and print on letter size paper. Make sure to cut right inside the dashed line and… voila! You’ve got yourself a beautiful card that will fit right into a standard A2 (4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″) envelope. You can just print one, or print two of each to create a beautiful set of stationary. I’d slip a set into a muslin bag and wrap it with some twine.

*Side note: Yao printed these cards on Archival 192gsm Epson Ultra Premium that you can find in most office supply stores.

Want to gift her a print as well? Come visit Yao’s shop and take 20% off your entire order by using the promo code THEALISONSHOW. She has so many goodies!

Thank you SO MUCH Yao!

And I hope you all have a very happy Mother’s Day (soon!)

xo
Alison

The post Free Mother’s Day Printable Stationary appeared first on The Alison Show.

Not that I’m going to be cooking anytime soon…haha, but when I do, I LOVE having breakfast for dinner, you know, BRINNER. So I rounded up a few yummy recipes over on Babble!

Check out all the links here!

xo,
Alison

The post Quick Breakfast for Dinner Recipes appeared first on The Alison Show.

He’s here! He’s here! Baby Rad has arrived.

Rad Eric was born on April 18th weighing 8lbs 1oz. The birth was easy compared to Gigi’s, but we did have to stay at the hospital for some extra days because Rad was “in distress” which basically meant he was working too hard to breathe and then he got jaundice. What can I say, I make a yellow fellow! It was difficult being in the hospital for so long and not getting to hold Rad a lot, but it was kind of hard to take him too seriously because he made the cutest little “distressed” grunts the whole time. Such a man.

But all is well now and we are resting and cuddling, and changing poopy diapers. Ginger is blowing my mind with how adorable and loving she is towards Rad. She pets his hair like he’s a puppy and out of the blue announced, “I like him.” Which obviously made me cry.

And speaking of crying…I do a lot of that too. Haha, one day I will be a normal human again. Or my version of normal. But my mom is here and she is the most wonderful person in the world. Eric and I never ever want her to leave.

But really, I’m already starting to feel less crazy, and we are just all twitterpated with our tiny new boyfriend. We are incredibly blessed and filled with so much love.

Thank you SO MUCH for all your support and well wishing! We appreciate it all!

Lot’s of love.

xo,
Alison

p.s. We ended up naming him just Rad! ha, not Radcliff. We just weren’t calling him that, so we figured, why name him that? But Gigi still calls him, “Baby Radcliff” so we’ve adopted the philosophy that everyone gets to call him whatever they want pertaining to Rad. I mostly call him Mr. Rad.

The post Mr. Rad is here! appeared first on The Alison Show.

Yes I’m quoting Jewel. I don’t even feel stupid about it!

I have been thinking about a few things in my pathetic condition the last few days. And I hope it’s ok if I get sentimental and share them with you. Remember, I’m mostly likely having a baby tomorrow and my hormones are on overdrive.

Wasn’t Monday a horrible day? It was SO weird, bombings at marathons? A little girl went missing (but was thankfully found) in our community.

And this obviously PALES in comparison, but it did contribute to me having kind of an awful seeming day, but I had a 2.5 hour appointment with the midwives with so many ups and downs I finally broke down and started hyperventilating/ hysterically crying and literally couldn’t stop…in front of 3 or 4 people. And even though I know it’s “ok” and “they understand” it’s emotionally and mentally exhausting to have to be that vulnerable in front of strangers. Not to mention you feel like AN IDIOT.

But my husband was there cracking jokes and trying to help me get comfortable. And my sister was sending me encouraging text messages, and my brother missed his college class so he could watch Gigi for us. My neighbor Meg brought me a HUGE Diet Dr. Pepper and donuts earlier in the day. She didn’t ask a bunch of probing questions, she just dropped off the goodies and left. True friends know that’s what I really want!

And that’s just the physical support I received. On Instagram people leave me encouraging and sweet comments. And my love language is TOTALLY words of affirmation so it does mean a lot to me. On my blog you guys take the time to reach out, wish me well, offer suggestions. I’m always humbled and thrilled when you care enough to share. (Even if don’t always have time MEANING I’m not in the metal state…to respond).

So on Tuesday night, after scratching and sobbing and scratching some more, I had to force myself to take a moment and focus on all the kindness and love I’ve been shown, not just by my family and loved ones, but by complete strangers.

At Alt. Summit in January Stefan Sagmeister, who is a designer making a film about happiness and is the creator of The Happy Show (not to mention sexy as all hell) was a keynote speaker. He mentioned that as people we are engineered to focus on the negative. That’s why 10 people could approach you at a party and say, “You look fantastic!” And one person could make a snide remark about your dress, and that snide comment will be the only thing you can think about or focus on.

We’re drawn to negative headlines and to pointing out the flaws in things and in people, before we see the good.

It’s the reason why even though I literally receive DOZENS of nice compliments a day, on my online work, or from loved ones, but still, every time I get a message notification for my blog, there’s a split-second of worry that it’s somebody who has something mean to say. In my 5+ years of online life I’ve probably gotten 10-15 really rude comments. 10! Out of the hundreds and hundreds of nice emails and comments and “likes” and “hearts” and Facebook interactions Instagram comments…and all that jazz. I mean, come on people. That’s an insanely small percentage. And yet I’ve allowed that tiny percent to govern some of my feelings.

And I think the WORST part about that is, by fixating on the negative it’s like I’m not acknowledging the people who are going out of their way to show me love and encouragement. Unintentionally of course, I’m discounting what they are saying and choosing to listen to the bad, or focus on what is bringing me down. BAD ALISON!

And so I return back to Jewel. Over the past week or so, and as I said it’s been kind of a rough one booth personally and in the world, that lyric, “In the end, only kindness matters.” Keeps running through my head.

So, I just want to say thank you. Thank for every nice thing you’ve said, thought, or even shared with others. Thank you especially for the love you show me, but also just the love you show in general. I want to allow love and goodness into my heart and let it change and uplift me EVERY time I encounter it. And I think showing gratitude for that kindness and love helps me do that. So I’m going to say it a few more times, THANKS, thanks a million, bless your heart.

Please consider this a love letter. I am humbled and grateful, and buoyed up so much by the kindness and love I see in my physical and online community. Thank you, thank you.

Even though there are terrible things in the world, even though there is so much pain and heartache, I have to focus on the sugar doodles that were dropped off on my porch, or the nursing scarf an online friend made for me and just dropped in the mail, or the generous jobs or sponsorships I’ve been offered when money has been tight, or life just isn’t worth living.

I apologize for complaining, even though I think it’s ok that we share our “real” feelings, I just hope there is enough positivity and happiness generating from me to outweigh the whining. Especially during my pregnancy!

I’m incredibly anxious about bringing another tiny life into the world. (Not to mention all of the delivery memories that have come flooding back!) But I just have to keep looking at Gigi and remembering the uncontrollable amount of joy she brings into our lives. The light that radiates from her sassy little body—and that I’ll mostly likely be as crazy about this kid as I am about her. She has made me a more patient and understanding person, and if, “only kindness matters,” well, she’s already done more for me than I can ever do for her.

Look at my BABY girl! So small.

I hope you have a fabulous week. I hope I have a baby by the end of it! I hope you can choose to see the love, even though I KNOW it can be hard. It makes things so much better.

I love you all.

Thank you again.

Xo,
Alison

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