DIY Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

Happy 2nd Birthday to P + P

While I was down for the count last week, my little here blog turned TWO. It’s been a lot of fun having this little creative space, and although I’ve had less time for blogging this year, it’s still just as enjoyable for me. Thanks for continuing to come back here day after day to read and comment and share. Truth is, I blog for myself, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love all the support. It makes taking the time out for a post even more worthwhile. I would love to hear any feedback you have for the upcoming year of p + p. If there are particular things you like or dislike, what you want to see more of, if there is something I haven’t touched on that you are interested in, etc. Comment below! Now, I have put together a recap of some of your favorite posts from the past year:

You enjoyed Nico’s Nursery photos:

As well as the DIY Nursery Letters Tutorial:

The first family dinner out after having Nico:

A very formal affair in which I was proud to be a bridesmaid, and our first big event as a family of three:

The time I regretted wearing white:

But I clearly kept on wearing it anyway…like when we traveled to San Fran:

I wore this pastel coat:

Pops of Spring with Stella & Dot:

I got these fantastic red rain boots from the hubs and wore them on our trip to New Hampshire:

Spent my first Mother’s Day in Coney Island with my new Love, Lori Michelle necklace made with Nico’s initial:

I rocked these amazing hair extensions from Irresistible Me:

My baby turned ONE:

And here is all the gear that got us through:

Lastly, saying goodbye to summer (sadly):

And there you have it folks…you’re favorite posts from the past year. Looking forward to what the 3rd year will bring for p + p.

Speaking of birthdays…since I have been so terrible at remembering them this year (my sincere apologies to those of you, you know who you are!)…I’m taking advantage of the fact that I remembered this one today…and I want to wish a Happy 30th to my cousin and half brain, Misa.

Hope you are all enjoying the week so far!

XO,

Gina

Nautical 1st Birthday Party

Since Nico was born on Labor Day Weekend of last year, we decided to throw a little nautical themed bash to round out the summer. The hubby and I spent the week prior crafting some decorations for the event, and I think they turned out nicely. To create letters like the ONE shown above, check out my tutorial on the letters I created for Nico’s nursery.

My parents, sister, and her boyfriend came up from Maryland, close friends in NY arrived, and Nico had his little buddies to hang with and jam out to the Munchkin Music Club sing-a-long. I decided I did not want to spend the entire day in the kitchen, so we had the event catered by Fairway, and they did a phenomenal job. I think we may have overdone it a bit…just a little bit…as we had food leftover for the entire week and then some. The fabulous cake from Betty Bakery tasted just as good as it looked! We appreciate everyone who came out to celebrate, and we hope you all had a great time!

XO,

Gina

{27} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Finished beachy read, Another Piece of My Heart, by Jane Green. Nothing groundbreaking, but a decent vacation read.

writing A deposition for a court date. I’m a witness! Don’t get too excited, it’s just traffic court…

listening To lots of upbeat music, because Friday I returned to the gym after a 20 month hiatus. And I actually went again on Monday, and went for a run this morning. Hoping to keep this momentum going, because I’m already feeling more energized (apart from my sore limbs).

thinking That we had a really great time last Sunday at the Industry City Dance Party in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Zack was eager to go, and I was a little worried that we would be “those people” bringing a baby into an entirely inappropriate situation, but I was happy to find all sorts of kids and babies rockin’ out on the dance floor with the best of them. It was definitely a party. And not a kid’s party. But the fact that kids were welcomed and deemed appropriate there was pretty cool. Nico (not surprisingly) loved it, and our little fam had a really great time getting our dance on.

smelling My fav scent, Light Blue.

watching All the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos. I was a little annoyed by them at first…people dousing themselves so they didn’t have to donate…didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But after reading this blog post, I have a new perspective.

wishing Nico an early Happy 1st Birthday! He is turning ONE on Friday. I just can’t believe it.

hoping That I can get my act together this week for a party planning extravaganza. And by extravaganza, I mean myself, a glass of wine, my living room, and some DIY crafting.

wearing In the photo above I’m wearing my new ModCloth dress that I got at their 70% off sale! It’s sold out, but check out some of their other sale dresses here. Did I mention I was able to go shopping this weekend…ALONE? It was kind of amazing.

loving My new haircut (also seen in photo above) from the amazing Tim Dueñas. Feels so much lighter and loving having some layers again.

laughing At this adorable friendship on Daily Laughs.

wanting The summer to stick around a little longer. I’m not ready for the beach days to end…

needing To start checking some more things off my bucket list. And as I’m looking at it…thinking about making some edits.

feeling Incredibly nervous as today is Nico’s first day with his new nanny and new playmate. We are going to miss our old one so much, and it’s going to be a tough transition week for all of us, but I’m hoping he will adjust quickly.

craving These sweet cinnamon oven roasted peaches. Thinking this is just the recipe I need for the peaches in our yard this year.

clicking Looking for a few sweet new baby gifts for little ones on the way.

What have you been up to lately?

Hope you are all having a fantastic week!

XO,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

Farewell 2013

I can’t believe it’s time to say farewell to 2013. It’s been a crazy year, but also a really fun one. I want to thank all of you for continuing to check out my posts every day. Your comments and kind words definitely keep me coming back here to this little blog of mine. Your favorite post was when I announced my husband and I were having a boy! That little boy sure has changed our world. You also liked my recipes for garden fresh tomato sauce and homemade pesto. Who knew I could actually be crafty with my DIY Nursery Letters, which you all also seemed to enjoy. And your favorite outfit post was this winter white number.

Now here is a little photo reminder of my trip to Maine, which is perfect for today’s celebrations. I will most likely be in bed before the ball drops this year, because when you have a baby, you can’t stay up until midnight anymore. Instead of drowning yourself in champagne and singing Auld Lang Syne while staring at the blurry fireworks…you sip some sparkling cider, cuddle your little one, put him to bed, and then climb into your own bed to catch up on sleep. The difference in Brooklyn is that us parents postpone celebrations for a chic daytime party with other parents and babies in the neighborhood at the local bar (which I am looking forward to by the way). So we will still be celebrating tomorrow, just during baby-friendly hours. 🙂

I am wishing you all the most wonderful New Year for 2014!

XO,

Gina

DIY: Decorate Wooden Letters for Nursery

I got this idea from a friend who recently had a baby, and I just loved her nursery letters! I really appreciated her filling me in on how to make these yourself rather than spending tons of money to have them made, so I figured I would pass this idea along to all of you! It’s simple, quick (it helps when you only have four letters to work with), and easily custom made for any name, color, or theme. Take a look and get crafty!

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The Before:

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Materials:

Wooden letters

Scrapbooking Paper

Scissors

Paper Glue

Scrapbook Stickers

Pencil

All of my materials were purchased at Michaels

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How to DIY:

1. Choose a scrapbooking paper print that you like and flip it over so you are looking at the back of the paper. You can choose all the same or a variety of patterns in the similar color palette depending on your preference.

2. Flip over your wooden letter and place that on top of the paper. It’s very important that these are both flipped over for tracing purposes!

3. Trace your wooden letter, and then use the scissors to cut out the letter shape from the scrapbooking paper.

4. Flip over both the scrapbooking paper and the wooden letter so they are now face up.

5. Use the paper glue adhesive to glue the scrapbooking paper to the top of the wooden letter. Press firmly and set aside to let it dry while continuing with your other letters and scrapbook paper patterns.

6. Once they are all dry, jazz up your letters with some fancy stickers or other types of adornments.

All finished and super easy!

DIY: Paint a Mirror White

I had been wanting to paint the mirror in our living room white since we moved into our Brooklyn apartment almost two years ago. All I can say is, “better late than never!” I definitely think it brightens up the room, and it was so easy to accomplish that I can’t believe it took us so long to finally paint it! I guess a little nesting was all this place needed. Take a peek.

The Before:

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The During:

Find yourself a place that you can work with a lot of open space, good lighting, and make sure to put something down underneath your workspace so you don’t get paint everywhere.

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Use painting tape to place on the inside of the mirror so you don’t get your paint on the actual mirror. Make sure the tape slides underneath the frame covering the entire mirror with no cracks showing.

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Paint first coat, and let it sit until it fully dries. Then do a second coat over top to make it as opaque as possible. Try to paint in straight lines to avoid bad streaks or clumps of paint. We used Behr Ultra Premium Plus in Pure White PPU18-6. This paint has a built in primer, so we didn’t use a separate one. However, if you choose a paint sans primer, than you should use a primer before painting for your first coat.

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The After:

Once it’s fully dry from the second coat, remove the painting tape from the mirror and Voila! A fresh new look for your mirror (and my living room.)

Happy Wednesday everyone! Get your craft on.

XO,

Gina

A Summer Shower

Recently, the matrons of honor along with the bridesmaids (myself included) and close family threw a beautiful wedding shower for our dear friend Teri that was all about the details. Starting with the “guestbook” above made out of a Jenga game, the delicious mimosa bar with fresh fruit, customized “Rome” (her future new last name) gift bags for the guests, handcrafted custom made gifts, and carefully designed centerpieces, this shower definitely showed both creativity and care in every aspect of the event. All of the bridesmaids are currently married, and Teri was involved with each one of our weddings. This was truly our chance to give back to her and show her how much we appreciate having her in our lives. A custom slide show was designed with photos of her and her fiancé and their loved ones, and we also played a little game where we interviewed her fiancé, Charlie, on camera to see how many questions they could answer the same. It was a great time, and we hope that Teri enjoyed being showered with love on her special day. The countdown to the wedding in October is getting close, and I am definitely getting excited to see these two tie the knot!