Carousel Designs Blog

Without a doubt, the cradle becomes a special item when your newborn arrives home.  It’s the first place your baby will sleep after coming home.  Having it properly prepared is important as the baby makes the transition to their new surroundings.

There are many types and styles of cradles available including the more modern gliding cradles.  But whether your cradle is the rocking type or the gliding type, the standard cradle mattress size is 18″ x 36″.  It is important to choose bedding specifically made for the cradle so that it does not bunch, gather or leave gaps between the mattress and the rails.

Cradles are designed for use in the initial months when a baby first arrives home.  Many parents keep the cradle right beside their own bed, at least for the first couple of weeks.  And some parents choose never move the cradle to the nursery at all.  When baby is big enough to move into the nursery, they move right into the crib.

Depending on how and where the cradle is used, there are many options for incorporating cradle bedding into your home.  With literally dozens of designed cradle bedding sets available, coordinating your baby’s first sleeping quarters with the nursery or the bedroom is easy with the vast selection from Carousel Designs.  From designer modern fern to simple, solid white – cradle sheets, bumpers and blankets are available a la carte or as matching bundles to suit every new parent’s needs.

John

We’re pretty excited about what has been going on over at the outlet store .  After a bit of brainstorming, there were several efforts made to “sharpen our pencils”, become more efficient and be better able to offer a wider array of discount baby bedding.

Here are a couple of good points from today’s press release:

“Our designer collections are composed of specific fabrics that have been detailed by our design team,” added Allan Sicat, President of Carousel Designs. “Sometimes a fabric vendor will unexpectedly discontinue a fabric that we use as a part of a designed baby bedding collection. When that happens, we must find ways to optimize and utilize those specific fabrics. We salvage the situation by creating new, limited, high-quality products at deeply discounted prices.”

And to add to this point:

The multitude of steps involved in designing a new collection can take many iterations of testing before producing the end product that is offered on babybedding.com. “When we design a new collection we might make several versions of a crib skirt, for instance, to see which one best aligns with the overall designed collection,” stated Rose Grove, Carousel Designs’ lead designer. “Even though a particular crib skirt or comforter creation doesn’t make it into a designed collection, it still remains well made, beautifully crafted and unique.”

The bottom line?  We just opened the door to greater savings on our website.  If you haven’t dropped by the outlet store lately, check it out.  We have made it even easier to buy unique, high-quality, American-made baby bedding on a budget.

John

I was visiting a new parent forum the other day and noticed a mother-to-be discussing how much she should pay for toddler bedding.  It was an interesting read because she was strictly concerned with price, at first.  And then some other people chimed in with recommendations regarding quality.  It made me consider how we use the word “cheap” and how that term relates to “quality.”

Cheap reminds me of the low-cost pots and pans I bought when I first graduated from college and moved into my own apartment.  (Ok, we all did that, right?)  I didn’t pay much initially, but within several months, the pot handles were falling off and I eventually had to replace all of my cookware.  Lesson learned.  Not only did cheap not satisfy my needs, I had to make a second purchase of cookware because I did not consider quality during my first purchase.

Quality is the relative measure of excellence – the relationship of cost verses value.  The highest quality product is almost never the one that costs the least and it is often not the most expensive either.  I am a big fan of research, especially before buying a big ticket item, and I have found that quality can be a mix of objective testing (How well does it hold up in the wash?) and highly subjective factors (How good did it look?).

One thing that has been a persistent focus at Carousel Designs is quality.  At the same time, we are also able to offer inexpensive baby bedding because there is no middleman to inflate prices.  We design and manufacture everything here in our Douglasville, Georgia facility and that makes us uniquely positioned to offer high quality at lower prices.

I took a look at some of our customer testimonials and thought I would share some of the recent comments.  One word that I didn’t see was “cheap”.
There were several references to “great prices”, “reasonably priced” and “fair prices”.
And the word that I found repeated more than any other was “quality”.  It was mentioned dozens of times.

“I would have paid the same amount for a much lesser quality in a national retail store…”
“Thank you for the speedy delivery, and the outstanding quality of your product…”
“It is so rare, these days, to find such high quality items made in this country. I will recommend babybedding.com/Carousel Designs to all of my friends. Thanks!”

John

Minky is a modern “micro-fiber” fabric that is amazingly soft.  It is quick-drying, highly absorbent, and actually quite strong.  And unlike true mink, minky fabric is completely vegan.

My introduction to minky came when someone gave us a minky crib sheet at our baby shower.  Although it was clearly a soft and luxurious sheet, I was somewhat resistant to the idea of minky because it wasn’t made of cotton.  But as circumstances quickly change when there is an infant in the house, I ended up trying the minky crib sheet out of desperation one evening.  That was when my daughter was about 6 months old. She seemed to like the minky sheet just fine.

However, when I later tried to replace the minky sheet with a cotton sheet, it became clear that my daughter preferred, er, demanded, minky.  That night when we put her down to bed, she immediately started crying.  She was fed, changed and otherwise comfortable so we were puzzled.  After about 20 minutes of high decibel protests, my wife asked me, “Could it be the sheet?”

I sprang into action and ran downstairs, got the minky sheet from the stack of folded laundry and quickly replaced the cotton sheet.  Five minutes later, our baby was asleep.  Needless to say, we bought a couple of extra minky sheets and haven’t looked back.

John

I changed my first diaper the day after my daughter was born. And my wife still teases me about it. Because when my wife went to pick up our daughter with her fresh, daddy-installed diaper, the diaper promptly slid down the baby’s legs, jumped off the end of her toes and landed with a thud on the hospital floor.

My second diaper change came at 3:00 a.m. the following morning. Having a new focus on achieving a proper fit, I struggled to even find a diaper in the dark of night and proceeded to get myself soaked in pee in the process. At this point I felt like I needed 4 extra hands and x-ray vision.

As much as I thought I was prepared, I wasn’t prepared for this. I wondered how parents did it. I found myself suddenly admiring all of my friends who were parents – they must be geniuses.

It turns out that being prepared makes a huge difference in the diaper changing experience. Yes, we had a changing table but we were missing a valuable tool – a diaper stacker. Diaper stackers are like an umbrella on a rainy day, like a flashlight during a black-out. A well placed diaper stacker can be the difference between a minor emergency and a full blown hazmat style disaster.

In keeping with our nursery theme, we chose the Pink Paisley Diaper Stacker. It matches the pink elements of our daughter’s nursery and also coordinates with the yellow wall paint.

Depending on whether you are using newborn size disposable diapers or larger cloth diapers, the diaper stackers offered by Carousel Designs hold 25-50 diapers. And they are available in dozens of colors and patterns to match any nursery design. Most importantly, they will be there when you need them most.

Pink Paisley Diaper Stacker

John

Yesterday I came across another great artist who makes Customizable Baby Blocks. 

Not only are these blocks a hip twist on a retro idea, all materials used are non toxic – and that is a great update from the children’s blocks of the past.  These solid wood blocks are a great way to decorate the nursery or for helping your child to learn the alphabet.  And all of the blocks can be customized to create a truly unique baby shower gift. 

These hand painted blocks are offered in a variety of sizes and there is a huge assortment of styles so you can pick the colors and treatment that suits your taste.  Here are some great sample photos on Flickr.  Take a look at the Holy Craft blog for more information and to get your own customized baby blocks.

Baby Blocks from Holycraft

John

We recently updated our dots and stripes baby bedding section and I’m really liking the new collections.  Here are the latest and greatest color combinations with contrasting dots.  Click the image to see the entire collection which includes crib bedding, toddler bedding, portable crib bedding, cradle bedding and nursery decor.

Black and White Dots and Stripes

Black and White Dots and Stripes offer a crisp contrast for the developing eyesight of newborns.  This collection features white dots on a black background and the reverse black dots on a white background.  Black and white stripes are added in the trim and ties.

Blue and Chocolate Dots and Stripes

The blue and chocolate dots and stripes collection features a soothing blue contrasted with brown – great for a baby boy nursery.

Pink and Chocolate Dots and Stripes

The pink and chocolate dots and stripes collection is an instant favorite with the fresh combination of pink and brown dots.

Brown and Natural Dots and Stripes

The natural and brown dots collection features a dark brown contrasted with natural, “raw-sugar” color to create a beautiful, earthy combination.  The crib sheet in this collection is made with organic cotton.

Green and Brown Dots and Stripes

The Green and Brown Dots and Stripes collection features another earthy combination of green apple and dark brown.

Red and White Dots and Stripes

This bold combination of red and white make the Red and White Dots and Stripes collection a real stand out.

Lime and White Dots and Stripes

The Lime and White Dots and Stripes Collection is perfect for a gender neutral nursery.

John

I recently noticed some new parents on a message board discussing their lack of knowledge about the terminology surrounding baby bedding and nursery decorations.  I felt their pain.  It wasn’t long ago that I didn’t know the difference between a crib and a cradle and I certainly didn’t know what a dust ruffle was.  So I put together this short list – let me know if I missed anything!

Appliqué - A pattern or design that has been cut out of one fabric, and sewn on another fabric with a “satin stitch” (a very tight and smooth zig zag stitch). Appliquéd items give a wonderful dimensional and custom look, especially when compared to bedding designs with screen printed or stamped themes.

Cradle Bedding - Cradles are typically used for a baby’s first six months before they transition to their own crib in their own nursery. Standard-size cradle mattresses measure approximately 18″ x 36″. Cradle bedding typically comes with a sheet, bumper and blanket.

Cradle Blanket / Stroller Blanket – A cradle blanket / stroller blanket typically measures 29″ x 39″; a perfect size to carry or swaddle a newborn. They are also a nice size for covering a baby when taking walks in the stroller on chilly mornings.

Crib Bumper – A crib bumper is a protective pad that lines the inside of a crib and is the same height all the way around. Crib Bumpers should have both top and bottom ties for added safety.

Crib Blanket / Baby Blanket – A crib blanket measures approximately 35″ x 45″. These blankets are typically made with two different fabric types on the front and back. They have a variety of uses including swaddling or carrying infants, tummy time or as an emergency changing area (yes, I have done this more than once!).

Crib Comforter – A box-quilted comforter with non-allergenic resin-free poly-fill that coordinates or complements a crib bedding set. Dimensions of crib comforters are approximately 38″ x 48″, depending on the edging. For the early months of infancy, a comforter should not be used directly on or under the baby. However, later on in the toddler stage, a quilt can be a very comforting item for the child. They identify with the theme or colors and it gives them a feeling of security which they have become accustomed to with their nursery décor.

Crib Bedding Set -  A bedding ensemble that will fit a standard crib with the approximate dimensions of 28″ X 52″. Four-piece crib bedding sets include a bumper, comforter or blanket, sheet and dust ruffle.

Dust Ruffle / Crib Skirt – Crib skirts are decorative in nature and hang below the crib mattress area and hide unsightly crib hardware and storage areas under some cribs.

Diaper Stacker - A decorative item used to store diapers – either cloth or disposable. Diaper stackers usually hang near or on the changing or dressing table for convenience and will make diaper changing easier. Diaper stackers should not hang on the crib.

Musical Mobile / Crib Mobile – Mobiles attach to the sides of cribs and hang over the crib area so that babies can look up and be entertained by the patterns, movement and music of the mobile. Crib mobiles should be removed from the crib area once the child can sit up or move to their hands and knees.

Portable/Mini Crib/ Portacrib Set – A bedding set that will fit a travel or mini crib with the dimensions of approximately 24″ x 38″. A 3-piece portable crib bedding set includes the bumper, sheet and blanket.

Valance – Window valances fit at the top of your window for decoration. The balloon valances may be stuffed with tissue for a “balloon” look or may hang straight. Dimensions are 18″ x 84” and are designed to fit the large 2 1/2 inch curtain rod and can be stuffed or left to hang straight. Tab top valances measure approximately 64″ x 16″ and leave a generous 3” header.

I hope this helps some of the new parents (er, dads) out there.  I know I was lost about 19 months ago!

John

It looks like we’re going to be heading into another baby shower season very soon.  We have two sets of friends who are expecting their first child in the beginning of April.  (When did men start getting invited to these events anyway?)  I used to try to find a way out of these events but now I realize it’s a perfect time to catch up with good friends before they enter the world of new parenthood where they will disappear for a few months.

I remember the struggle of putting together invitations and gathering names and addresses for our invitations – email just won’t do for a well planned shower.  There are a lot of companies that now make this process a lot easier and one that I recently noticed is Scribetime.com.  They have a large selection of baby shower invitations and they provide a simple web interface for customization.

Another good site that I noticed for both birth announcements and baby shower invitations is InvitingSmiles.com.  They have a large variety of unique baby shower invitations and baby gifts.

And once you have you invitations in hand, don’t forget to sign up for our baby gift registry so you’ll be able to add baby bedding to your gift list.

When we were decorating for our baby girl’s nursery, my wife and I kicked around the idea of having a mural painted in the baby’s room.  But one of our reservations was that a mural would be permanent and may not be appropriate as our child grew into a toddler.  We also got busy with other family projects and eventually dropped the mural idea.

Since the idea of “the next child” has gotten a little more positive reception in the household lately, I started casually looking into unique art for the next possible nursery-to-be.  I found that some really great art can be printed on a removable surface for a great looking design at a much lower cost (and permanence!) than painted murals.

One company I discovered that has a nice assortment of removable, printed art is imaginativemurals.com.  They offer a variety of murals for the home but I was especially drawn to the Focal Points ™ designs that are printed on adhesive-backed wallpaper.  The Castle Windows mural is an imaginative design for a girl nursery and the Mediterranean Villas design was another personal favorite that would look nice in any nursery.

There are also many different sizes, themes and price ranges available on their website.  I will definitely consider their art when I get ready to design the next nursery.

John