Joanna Goddard, Cup of JoIf you cross your fingers, tap your red shoes together three times, throw coins in fountains, and wish on shooting stars and birthday candles, then Ez from Creature Comforts might one day make over your room. The design blogger, artist and Nesting contributor has a knack for creating warm spaces and making budget decor look fabulous. She recently made over her daughter's bedroom, as a 10th birthday present, and the results were eye-popping. (The before shot is above.) Let's take a peek at the room now...
Happy 10th birthday to your daughter! What's she like?
Ten is such a great age, and it's a delight to see all the wonderful ways she's learning about herself and life. My daughter is very passionate about animals and nature. She's also naturally athletic (unlike me) and has an innate talent for anything artistic. Oh, and she's hilarious!

Does she have any nicknames?
Oh, man, does she ever! We go a little overboard with nicknames in our house. The main ones are "Little Wonder" and "Beepy," and others are improvised to fit any (and every) situation.
The vintage fabric flower garland is from Sparkle Power.
Did you work together on the bedroom makeover?
Yes, we sanded, primed, painted and moved furniture together. I wanted my daughter's room to be all about her. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so this was a great growing experience for me. This was strictly a weekend project, but I was ill during the process, so it took a month!

Her bed looks like a hideaway!
Finding the Ikea curtains was the launching pad for the entire room. So far we've used her bed for craft projects, board games, card games, reading, a hair salon, drawing and sleeping (of course). It's actually even better than I had imagined.
What does your daughter want to be when she grows up?
Much like most 10 year olds, this is constantly changing. Currently she is hoping to become a hair stylist or a model. Last week she was planning on becoming a zoo keeper.

Where do you guys you live?
We live in a geodesic dome (affectionately named "the igloo"), in the itty-bitty town of Santa Margarita, California. Our town isn't terribly glamorous (you could blink and miss it), but we're surrounded by beautiful nature, so we spend lots of time outside taking photographic adventure walks and playing with our dogs, Stellaluna and Orey.
You found amazing artwork for the room. Where do you buy art?
Art was a huge inspiration for my daughter's space, and I'm passionate about supporting independent artists, so it was fun to find and display all of these lovingly created works of art. Some of my favorite pieces in the room came from: Hadley Hutton, Holli, Studio Violet, Lab Partners, My Folk Lover and Heidi Burton. And I got the wall graphics from Nouvelles Images (also available on Amazon) and Decoylab.

What advice would you give for decorating a child's room on a budget?
First, paint is the most affordable way to change the look of a space. We chose Behr lemon drops. Second, functionality is key. I would have loved the look of a giant floor rug, but it would have been a wreck before too long. So, instead, I purchased five small throw rugs (all machine washable) that she can lay down and arrange exactly as she wants. Third, come up with new uses for old things. Nails, cotton twine, and wooden clothespins were all that was needed to hang an entire wall of art in my daughter's room. Imagine the cost of standard frames for all of those pieces!
What are your daughter's final words on her new and improved room?
She says it's "the best room in the whole world."

Want more? See all our Cookie house tours...

We've long been fans of etsy, the online marketplace where we hunt for nursery art. But we've never discovered a seller like this: Parker, a 9-year-old from Kansas, has a shop featuring her awesome drawings of animals and dinosaurs. We love her use of white space, bold color and 3-D bubble letters; her drawings (all priced under $5) would look fabulous on a nursery wall to help inspire younger babes to pick up the crayon. Go, Parker, go! --Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo

Want more? See our favorite framing tricks and find more rad nursery art.

Tired of plain walls? If you want to perk them up but shy away from wallpaper may we suggest peel and stick wall graphics. Boodalee is a small company owned and operated by Jeanice Skvaril, a mother with a background in product and graphic design, and specializes in modern bedding for children but with a twist - a new collection of wall decals. We're loving that you can match the decals to the bedding!

We also like that you can work with your child to arrange them however you'd like to give the wall a more personal, creative touch. Fun! --Holly Becker, decor8

We are not-just-a-little-bit obsessed with kit homes these days. When the word "pre-fab" comes up in conversation, we no longer say eewww and make a funny face. Instead our hearts start thumping and we beg for photos and sources. If you saw this year's February issue of Dwell, you can imagine how we basically devoured it. Because it was page after page of delicious kit home content.

In case you'd like to share in our obsession, you'll be happy to know many of the prefab articles we loved are online.

These maple collar hangers by designer Anna Thomas for Loyal Loot are not just witty--they're genius. The modern, fun collar shape keeps your coat from being warped by hooks or hangers. Check out their site to see the cuff and pocket versions for bags and keys.

Bring a little medieval magic into your living room with this adorable, DIY castle from Sweden's VeraVera. The easy-to-build, sturdy Borgen (Swedish for "castle") has its own ladder, two floors and a lookout nook at the very top made from flexible medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Our tipster over at Malo Blogg sent it to us and said she loved it so much, she wanted to move right in! See more pictures there.

These six-page embroidered cloth books made from repurposed or vintage fabrics are probably the cutest thing we've seen all week. Esty crafter exlibrishandmade will create any book featuring your child's name and work with you to include your favorite theme, fabric, and colors. Plus, they're machine washable. Love!

Norman Copenhagen just launched a lovely line of Danish Kids Furniture. The Play Series is designed by Jesper K. Thomsen and handmade in Denmark. We love the collections playfulness and, in fact, wouldn't mind all of it in grown-up sizes.

If the bare trees and chilly weather are giving you the blues, spruce up your home (and your mood) with a terrarium. These miniature in-house gardens have a certain old-world opulence that can brighten up any tired room with a little bit of green. Learn how to create your own by checking out The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature by Tovah Martin. Each chapter contains unique terrarium designs for beginners and experts alike--plus a special section to get the kids involved too!

Want more? Check out these easy-to-make terrariums your kid will go gaga for.

Something must be in the water around here because just about everyone we know is expecting. That is why we were happy to see this fabulous idea for a shower. We've gone to the source to find out all the details about this beautiful party. We sat down with Brittany Gharring of Most Likely Late, the person behind the party to find out more.

What was the occasion for the party?
It was for a girlfriends baby shower. I was tired of the pastel pinks and boring blues. I wanted to do something a little different, but still sophisticated. We had all our friends contribute to the collection of "safari themed" cookies- from elephant ears (French pastries) to laughing hyenas (snicker doodles).Don’t forget the milk too! I used my milk jug collection to serve an assortment of beverages [at the watering hole].  My girlfriend Elisa York created the invitations and it all started from there. Once you have a concept and the invitations are sent out that is when the planning begins!

Where did you come up for the idea?
It was inspired by Martha Stewart, there was a cookie-to-go favor at a wedding reception. Also the baby's room was safari inspired with burlap, animal prints, and shades of brown so we tied that into the theme. I had a stack of brown fabrics with different prints and textures so we went with a brown and white theme and hung safari animal flash cards from a line of twine in the entrance. We kept the cookies pretty classic. Nothing with neon frosting or blue sprinkles (we'll save that for the birthday parties).

How did you make all the tags?
The tags were dark chocolate brown with white writing. I am really thrifty and pride myself on doing almost everything myself so I created these using a really old version of Adobe Illustrator. Just a basic rectangle with reversed rounded corners. You could print on label paper but that gets super pricey so I used double stick tape and a super-thick cardstock. I save my fancy paper for simpler tags that can really show off the paper. For the favors I stuck the tags to parchment paper and used a thin enough glue that didn't seep through the paper. Guests filled their bags to the brim with cookies. It was nice to have the extras be the favor--easy clean up!

What sort of things did you do at the party?
The milk and cookies bar was the main event, which was fun because people could mix and mingle. I created a little animal game to match up safari babies to their mothers.

What advice would you give to someone throwing a similar party?
Make the cookies in advance. Each cookie jar contains about 5-7 dozen cookies, so call in for reinforcements. There were plenty of helpers on this one, I just sent out recipes of the cookies I wanted to display and we each made a couple. We all used the same size ice cream scoop so they were all about the same size.

Thanks for sharing, Brittany!