Louella Court

Doll Baby

{Posted by Amanda, VP}

I am happy to announce that I am back to Two Paperdolls after the recent birth of my daughter, Mila Ash. This little person of 6 pounds, 4 ounces came into the world on July 19. It has been a wild ride of sleepless nights, blow outs and giggles. I love being a mom. It's really fascinating how she is half of my husband, and myself, but completely her own individual. 

 Here are some newborn shots taken when she was only 10 days old:

 

{photos taken by Alison Conklin}

She has grown up quite a bit since then! Here is my flower on Halloween:

 

Ciao for Now..

{Posted by Amanda, VP}

This is my last day at the dollhouse for a while. We will welcome the little munchkin into our world in the next few days... I thought what better time for a photo opp, than now :-)

 
 

My co-workers threw me the most adorable farewell potluck lunch filled with home made goodies (even from my male co-workers) and a pink tub of books and treats. One of my husband's personal favorites had to be Tickle Monster, which he read this week in preparation. It comes complete  with "monster mitts" to tickle your favorite little one with...

 

Thank you all for your love and well wishes, we can't wait for her arrival.

The Countdown is On...

{Posted by Amanda, VP} 

As many of you know, I am expecting a little girl in three short weeks! Yikes. I have spent the last several months preparing the nursery as my husband and embark on parenthood. The big question is, with all that preparing... Are you ever REALLY ready? 

Throughout the course of our pregnancy we have called the baby 'owly'... Ever since I started thinking about the room, I knew I wanted to do an owl theme, so maybe that's how it came about. Either way it stuck :-)

In the course of me searching for the perfect bedding, I could not find the perfect combination of modern, whimsical and feminine... so I made my own! I picked out six fabrics with the help of Emily from Tip Toe Studio and she created this...

I tried for a calming space that was light and airy, but also feminine. It is complete with a re-upholstered chair that my mother used to the four of us kids in when we were babies. I think it's important to have some sentimental touches that give the room a soul. 

Now we just need the baby!

 
 

9 By Design

{Posted by Amanda, VP}

My new guilty pleasure: 9 By Design on Bravo TV. It is a show about a husband and wife duo design team, owners of Sixx Design - Bob and Cortney Novogratz. They are in the business of buying and renovating properties in Manahattan and amidst their crazy lifestyle they manage to raise their seven children ages 1 through 12 (two sets of twins). The uber hip couple tackles six large scale projects in the first season, which includes a 24-room hotel and a 10,000 square foot glass house on New York's West Side Highway. 

Here are some examples of their work:

 

 

 

In the midst of it all they managed to release a new book called Downtown Chic: Redesigning Your Dream Home From Wreck to Ravishing. 

 

Catch the episodes you missed through On Demand, or jump right into the season every Tuesday night on Bravo at 10/9c.

Self Propelled.

{Posted by Amanda, VP}

It all started as a very casual talk at a picnic with my niece regarding homework. Next thing I know my husband is investing 12 hours into a home made car that self propels from a mouse trap. Call this the "Adventures of Jeff Part III" if you would like, regardless, when he puts his mind to it he never fails.

My niece had a project due for her 8th grade class. The last project of the year for this middle schooler. The criteria was as follows:

1. Vehicle must have at least three wheels or two rollers.

2. Vehicle must have at least two axels.

3. Vehicle cannot use any motor, engine, compressed air, or chemical

reaction to facilitate motion.

4. Vehicle must use potential energy for motion.

5. No factory built vehicles permitted such as K-NEX and Legos.

6. Project due date... June 4th (this Friday)

**Must go 7 meters or more**

Well if that isn't a challenge, I don't know what is! 

My husband decides he's up for it and ventures off to AC Moore, Do It Best Hardware and Home Depot the following evening after work to pick up the following goodies for his home made venture (about $50 of supplies):

 1: 2 foot 8-32 metal rod

8: 5/16 1 1/2 washers

2: wooden dowels

4: CD's

8: 8-32 locking nuts

4: plastic wheels (didn't use)

2: rubber wheels (didn't use)

graphite powder

metal silicon grease

Napier gun oil

roll of nylon string

plastic ties

staple gun

rotary saw

hack saw

mouse trap

electrical tape

paint and brushes

fish eye screws

2 finishing nails

The concept was first drafted on paper to lay out the initial design. There were a total of three cars built and several variations over the course of two days. He likes to call the final car: "Version 5.6".

In his words: "Other ideas were two 9 volt batteries that would heat a metal plate. A small cap of water would be on top with tubes coming out. Steam would propel car. Idea three was to make a car with a sail: a dowel rod would come down with a needle attached and puncture a small hole in a balloon wrapped in tape. The air would fill the sail and push the car..."

From a man that is about to become a father in a mere seven weeks, he is definitely not lacking the imagination he will need to build forts out of mere pillows or make airplanes out of paper. Bleh. That's so childish and trivial.

Here he is with all of the parts laid out, even pink string...

 

The first car looked like a million bucks, but only went six inches. This car had to go 42 times that. At this point he changed his goal to be more about the physics of movement rather than the aesthetics. His next car was more oriented around power. When he first released it, it did a giant front flip and then broke in half. At about 1:30 in the morning on the first night he had the big break through when he started to think about how gears and machines work. He realized that the axel was spinning very fast and the only way to make the stored power last longer was to have it transferred to a larger output mechanism - i.e. bigger wheels. Friction was his biggest enemy. Using CD's as wheels seemed to solved both problems. The exact length and strength of the wooden dowel that would wind up and propel the car was a huge variable as well. 

Here was the finished product. Next time your kid comes home with an impossible science project, just call my husband. 

 

 

And Baby Makes 4.

{posted by Amanda, VP}

This past weekend we had our first photos taken, as a family, since our wedding in 2006. 

Alison Conklin captured them perfectly, and here are my favorites so far...

   

If you want to see more of the shoot, click here. Thanks Alison for such beautiful memories :-)

Tribute To All Of Our Moms...

{posted by Amanda, VP}

Being an "almost" mom myself... I have a renewed sense of thankfulness for my own mother (and I haven't gone through labor yet!) I am forever grateful for all that she went through to bring myself and my three siblings into the world.

I am looking forward to lunch with her on Sunday... a day dedicated to the moms of the world that are our shoulders to cry on, heal our skinned knees, multi-task like it's their job and do it all with a smile to boot :-) 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Don't forget to pamper all of the mothers in your life this weekend.

Here are a few more of our new Mother's Day cards... hot off the press! You can purchase them at our studio in Wayne for $5 each OR here. Enjoy!

 

  

 

Surface Art

{posted by Amanda, VP}

In designing the perfect nursery I decided upon a wall decal graphic, as opposed to a mural. I wanted to keep my design simple and clean amidst the silvery gray walls and white trim. I also wanted to give it a modern edge, while keeping it cute and feminine.

This is the decal I chose from Etsy (I would give you the shop, but they were not particularly pleasant to deal with):

It turned out more amazing than I thought, and I will post photos of the room when I am all done! 

This has opened up a whole new world of wall decaling. It can jazz up any space and give a clean pop on top of a solid color that a picture or wall paper just cannot accomplish.

In my search for the perfect decal I stumbled upon some of my faves...I now have plans to decal about five walls in my home :-) AND they are so easy to apply.

Wall Tat                                        

 
 

                                   Another Sticker In The Wall                               

  

Wee Gallery     

Elly Nelly    

 
 

Wall Tat                           

   

Happy decaling... get creative this spring.

 

Bamboozled

{posted by Amanda Bennett, VP}

My love of bamboo extends beyond the floors in my house... Check out these perfectly 'green' bamboo items made from a completely renewable resource!

Recently purchased from Petit Collage for Baby Bennett's nursery...

 

Mod Spring Chair from Trendir...

      

 Elephant Clock from Decoy Lab...

Function meets intelligent design with this home by ROEWU architecture ...

  

   

Thinking Pink

{posted by Amanda Bennett, VP}

The adventures of Jeff (my husband) continues...if you know him at all, you probably wouldn't be surprised if I told you that this showed up at my office today...

 

In the winter months, he replaced his love of golf and the putting green in our front yard with air gunning. After Jeff inquired about purchasing a firearm, and I gave him a firm "NO", Jeff decided he would go out and by a powerful air rifle instead. His clever rational was that it was technically not a firearm even though it can take down a 300lb wild boar. After this first purchase his typcal relentless research began and endless hours on forums and internet sites were spent.  He has sent some of the guns to a special gunsmith in South Carolina who is known only as "Charlie Da Tuna" to have them "tuned".  Soon after he started to learn about airgun tuning and taught himself how to do the work himself.  One day I found him in the garage building what he told me was a "Mainspring Compressor".  What it looked like to me was a bad science project.  Nevertheless, he managed to completely disassemble one of his favorite rifles and rebuild it to shoot smoother and more accurately.  He wouldn't admit it, but I have a feeling he wasn't completely confident in his own safety when he pulled the trigger for the first time.  Did I mention there are about six scopes laying around too?  I won't get into that, but his most recent interest in the sport is night vision.

Currently, a gun rack now hangs in my basement with four different airguns... and containers of pellets line the shelving units in the basement. Every couple of days another little trinket arrives on my doorstep, just symbolizing his love of the sport. 

Recently he attempted to get in touch with Tom Gaylord,a living legend in the air gun world, celebrity contributor to Pyramid Air and host of American Airgunner tv show. He wanted to thank him for his knowledge in the sport and let him know how much is has meant to him through a tough year or so. Jeff purchased Tom's picks in air rifles. Thinking that his efforts would go unnoticed, he received this email back shortly thereafter:

Jeff,

I read your very nice email about all the pleasure airgunning has brought you. Edith (Tom's wife) and I will pray for the safe delivery of your daughter in July.

I hope you join is on the daily blog, because I think that's where I have the most fun. Airgunning is still a great source of pleasure for me, and when someone like you tells me how much you enjoy it, I feel rewarded.

As for my picks, I think about guys like you when I write them and when I select them. They aren't just picked for convenience or money. I really mean it when I pick something. And so I'm pleased to hear that you are enjoying them as well. 

You have a long time to enjoy this hobby. Airgunning has never been as alive and vibrant as it is right now, so you are in on what will perhaps someday be called the "Golden Years." When you get to be my age others will ask you what it was like to live through these times, and you will have wonderful stories to tell.

I hope you continue to grow with the hobby and that airgunning continues to be a source of pleasure for the rest of your life.

Tom Gaylord

 

 

In appreciation, his staff sent us the Daisy Pink 1998 BB Gun as a shower gift for our baby on the way. While I don't necessarily want my child having a gun, especially BEFORE she is out of the womb... I appreciate the the thoughtfulness :-)