Olive's Valentine Bookmarks

Remember how excited I was to help Olive craft up a Valentine Mailbox? Well. On Saturday, we set out to do just that. But upon reading the mailbox instructions more thoroughly, we realized that Olive was supposed to bring in a plain box and that the class would do their box decorating together. This news was met with sadness across the board. So to cheer everyone up, we used our supplies to make Valentine Bookmarks instead. And Olive will give these out to classmates this year in lieu of traditional notes. Here's our report:



We cut some heavy cardstock (green/blue and red) to 2.25" x 6" strips. That's a good, comfortable bookmark size, with plenty of space for decoration. On the back, Olive wrote a to/from note.



Then she went to work glueing, glittering and stickering the fronts.



On some she made a decorative border.



Ribbons were attached when the glue was dry. Since our stickers were little word bubbles, on some of the bookmarks, we used the glue to make faces so that they could speak the little Valentine's messages. So cute!

Apple Pies for Your Sweetie Pies

Seriously. Valentine's Day is bringing out the best of the internet. Yesterday, Kathleen of Twig and Thistle sent me a link to a post she wrote on making mini apple pies. Complete with baking directions, recipe and a pdf template for the darling box. This project makes me so happy I might cry.

Welcome December

Hello! I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was lovely. I was happy today to wake up and greet December. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a really good month. And the goodness starts today.

In just a few hours, I'll be picking up the Kirtsy Girls at the airport and we'll get down to business with any last-minute preparations for tonight. I hope you will be able to make it. Here are the details again in case you need a reminder:

Hands On Kirtsy
It's a Social Media 101 class for beginners. And it's free.
Monday, December 1, 2008
6:00 to 8:00 PM
Hudson Hotel, in the Studio
356 West 58th Street, New York

Kirtsy Meetup
Because we love hanging out with our NY peeps! Seriously, come by and say Hello. I'd love to meet you.
Monday, December 1, 2009
Hudson Bar
8:00 till you go home
356 West 58th Street, New York

Pretty felt ornaments at Crate & Barrel.

Ask Design Mom: Easter Baskets

Ask Design Mom Question:
Dear Designmom, I've been looking for easter baskets for my three kids and have had a hard time finding something that will last through the years and that looks great. You are always posting such great finds and ideas for all the holidays and I am hoping that you might be able to help me find a few resources for fantastic easter baskets. Thanks! Becky

Design Mom Answer:
Great question Becky! And I hear you on the long-lasting aspect. The first Easter baskets I purchased for my kids were sweet, but they broke the second year and were a beast to store.

If you're super traditional, then you may not like my answer, but I'm a big fan of "alternative" Easter baskets. In fact, I look for baskets that are multi-purpose and highly functional — that I can use throughout the year for all sorts of things. I also prefer a small container, because it prevents us from getting out of control with the candy.



Our current Easter baskets are small galvanized metal buckets. The kids decoupaged them a few years ago with crepe paper, wrapping tissue and watered down glue. (Although, I think they're lovely unadorned as well.) After they've done their duty collecting eggs, they go back to the shelves in my girls' room, where they corral Polly Pocket pieces and Barbie shoes and dress-up jewelry. You can see them on my daughters' shelves here.

But if buckets aren't your thing. I recommend looking through home organization departments to scope out other alternative, long-lasting "baskets". Wire fruit baskets would be charming and would show off the colored eggs — no grass necessary. Or a small cloth bin that you could embellish with a ribbon handle so they can carry it during their egg hunt would be perfect. In fact, if you hunt around your house, you may find that you have just the thing on hand already.

I hope that helps, Becky. Happy Hunting!

Small rhombus totes from The Container Store. Metal buckets in galvanized silver and solid colors from The Bucket Outlet. Wire baskets from Organize.com. Natural sling bag by Eco Bags.

Nature Contained

The other day I received a charming box in the mail from Nature Contained. And when I opened it I was both surprised and delighted to discover three pastel eggs resting on a bed of green grass. A delight for the eyes and to the sweet tooth, because the eggs are filled with El Rey Organic Venezuelan chocolate.

To be clear, these eggs are not plastic or foil or paper. These are actual hen and quail eggs, carefully emptied and cleaned, then filled with decadent truffle. What a sophisticated Easter treat. And what a brilliant idea.

Want some of your own? Well, if you live near Tiverton, RI you can stop by their charming shop and pick some up. Or, you can order the ship-able eggs over the phone at 401.624.4484.

Happy Valentine's Day 2008

Last evening we made Valentines for the school parties today. Maude figured out how to make origami heart pockets and folded one for each of her classmates (those are her busy-marker-covered-fingers). She included two wint-o-green life savers in the heart (oh my goodness I love wint-o-green life savers) and stapled the heart closed.

It took us awhile to come up with something cool enough for a 4th grade boy to take to school on Valentine's Day, but we were very satisfied with our solution:



We picked up a pad of Mad Libs. I exacto-knifed them out of their stack and Ralph folded and slipped one sheet into each envelope. Then we printed out sheets of red that said: "I'm MAD about you Valentine!" "LIB it up this Valentine's Day!" and "Have a RAD MAD Valentine's Day".



Ralph cut out the text with fancy scissors and we used double sided tape to attach them to the envelopes. He was very excited to hand these out — he thought his teacher would appreciate the nouns and verbs and adjectives aspect.

Olive just wanted to hand out a box of My Little Pony Valentines. And that's just what she did.

Happy Valentine's Day to You! I hope you get the chance to do something nice today for someone you're fond of.

A Picture A Day — by Guest Mom Leah

Happy Valentine’s Day!



One of my favorite people I’ve met in my short travels here at Tiny McSmall is Kim O’Neil from Good Stock Press & Bindery.

Not only is she one of the sweetest people, she is also a wealth of talent. Kim designs custom heirloom memory books that capture the essence and personality of a family and the story they are sharing. She inspires me to no end with the creative work she does but this latest project she’s working on stopped me my in my tracks…I only wish I had thought of it!

When their daughter was born, this Mom and Dad took a picture a day for her 1st year and then had Kim design a book around the collection. One of the many things I love about this book is that the parents wrote down some of their hopes and dreams and wishes for their daughter, Seneca, and Kim interspersed them throughout the book next to photos. Something to inspire us all!








…and if you’ve never seen one of her pre-designed books, Good Stock: A Family Tale, you need to check them out as well. I did one for my daughter’s first birthday and LOVE it.

Random Giveaway — Coco-Luxe Confections

Well. Lot's to celebrate today. It's Friday, which is always happy. Also, it's February 1st, which means Valentine's Season is officially here — two weeks to watch all the sappy romantic films you'd like and be-deck the house in hearts. Most of all, it means two weeks to give and receive boxes of chocolates. So let's get to it and give away a whole bunch of sweetness from Coco-Luxe Confections!



Coco-Luxe as in luxurious chocolate. And it is. I had my first bite of Coco-Luxe yumminess a couple of weeks ago and it was so good and so gorgeous that of course I wanted to share it with you. So here's what you can win:



One person will be the lucky recipient of the Over the Moon Bundle, a big stack of 5 boxes tied up with a satin bow which includes a generous portion of truffle heaven:
- one 9-piece box of Valentine's Truffles
- one 9-piece box of Dark Chocolate Truffles
- one 9-piece box of Milk Chocolate Truffles
- one 9-piece box of Afternoon Truffles
- one 9-piece box of Assorted Dessert Flavor Truffles
Ummm. Over the moon is right. The bundle retails for $89.95.



But that's not all. Four lucky readers will each win a 9-piece box of Valentines Truffles as well! Featuring Coco-Luxe's delectable new flavors — three each of Champagne, Pure Devotion (pure dark chocolate) and Roses (white chocolate rose and honey truffles covered in Dark chocolate). Each box retails for $17.95.

That's 5 Winners in all!! And five is great! While you're browsing the Coco-Luxe site and wiping the drool from your keyboard, I definitely want you to notice two additional items — not part of the Giveaway, but still very delicious.


The Coco-Luxe Nuts for You Bundle. Truffles and Nuts. What could be better?


And the Baby-themed Truffles. Just right for your next baby event or as a gift for a new mom with a sweet tooth.

Oh my. I want everything they sell. You can even order custom designs for your truffles. Coco-Luxe swears that ANY design is possible — if you can dream it up, they can put it on a truffle. How about having them make a little Valentine's message for your sweetheart. . .

I know there are 5 winners for this Giveaway, but just in case you're not one of them, don't despair. Coco-Luxe has offered Design Mom Readers 15% off on all products for the entire month of February. Just enter code DMOM to get your discount.

What a Giveaway! The perfect thing to get us feeling all sweet and romantic. Thank you Coco-Luxe!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight PST on Monday, February 4th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Elum Letterpress

Katherine Center just sent me a link to Elum, a wonderful stationery company. Luxe journals, desk sets, single cards, wrapping paper. Take a minute and look through their stock. Beautiful, beautiful letterpress work. Valentine's Day is only weeks away, so I'm especially loving these two.



Fun note about Katherine:
You my remember her as the author of her popular novel The Brightside of Disaster (really good!) and from her week here as a Guest Mom. And now, keep your eyes peeled for the paperback version of Brightside at Target — they've chosen her book as a featured pick — so exciting! Hooray for Katherine!! Don't you just love Guest Moms? It's fun to get a peek into the lives of such interesting women.

Wrapping Ideas

I just found this fantastic photo essay from Blueprint all about great-looking gift wrap ideas. Check it out.

Ask Design Mom - Last Minute Gifts

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Gabrielle. I have so enjoyed your blog and all the wonderful ideas and things you share with us. Any tips on generic hostess gifts? We just moved to a new town and are receiving a lot of dinner invitations. Because I don't know the people, I often am not sure what to give as a hostess gift. Your ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks, Abbey

Design Mom Answer: Hi Abbey! Thanks for your great question. I'll start by linking to a few past posts that might give you some ideas. And then I'll add a few more true Last Minute Gift Ideas for anyone going to holiday events this weekend in need of super quick hostess gifts.

A few of my favorite past posts about this topic:
Hostess Gifts
The Laundress
Card File
Beth's Farm Kitchen
Minus Bags
Housewarming Gifts

True Last Minute Hostess Gift Ideas:
When I say last minute, I mean actually last minute. As in you're on your way to the event. You're already a little late, but you'd like to bring a hostess gift. It's night. Gift shops are closed. You don't have enough time to stop in at Target. But if you can make it to the grocery store and hit the express lane, here are 3 things that could do the trick.

1) Fresh Pineapple
A whole fresh pineapple is just so festive. It's practically it's own party. It's fragrant. It's large so it makes a statement. It will be eaten and enjoyed. And very few people buy them as part of their regular grocery shopping so it feels special and unusual. It even looks great sitting on the counter. Add a bow to transform it from produce to gift item.

2) Movie Candy
Forget about the traditional boxed chocolates that come with a little gold bow and are meant to be given as gifts. Grocery store chocolates are bound to be low quality and reek of last minute and little thought. Instead, stack a few oversize boxes of movie candy and tie them up with a bow. For Christmas giving, red boxes of Hot Tamales and green boxes of Mike & Ikes would look festive and be a nice break from the M&Ms in everyone's holiday candy bowl. Choose oversize boxes to make this an especially cute gift.

3) Magazine Subscription
This is an actual thoughtful, useful gift you can pick up at the last minute, literally in the express lane. Grab a Real Simple or Parents or Atlantic Monthly or Lucky or Blueprint or whatever you think your host would like — fashion? food? family? Pull out a subscription card and save it to send in the next day. Roll up the magazine and add a bow. You're all set.

Final note: you may have noticed how all 3 gifts required a bow. And really, since many gifts are at least 75% about presentation, I highly recommend keeping an emergency gift kit in the glove box — especially during December. Put a roll of pretty ribbon, a small pair of scissors and a few gift tags in a ziplock bag and you're good to go for pretty much any gift giving on the run.

Random Giveaway — Ornament Storage Box from Sterling Pear

Awesome Giveaway today. I know you might not believe me. You're thinking the timing is bad. Like, "Hey. If I win this, it won't even make it in time for Christmas. Not cool." But actually, it's very-super-really cool. Because the prize today is the perfect post-Christmas object. Enter your comment to win a Signature Ornament Storage Box from Sterling Pear, which sells for $149.00!



See what I mean? This is the exact thing I'm going to be craving at 8:00 am Christmas morning when I'm surrounded by piles of Things To Store — a really sturdy, well-made, beautiful place to put lots of stuff. Christmas stuff in particular. Surely you'll be craving something similar. And happily for us, Sterling Pear thought of it. And designed it. And had it built. And hooray.

Now. If you find yourself drooling at the site of this storage box, I encourage you to click your way around the Sterling Pear site. Because you will find many more beautiful holiday things to make your heart flutter. (They're not part of the Giveaway, but they are wonderful eye-candy.)



Like this elegant table runner. This classic and understated brass stocking holder. So sophisticated. It's hard not to love a company that focuses on Christmas year round. I look forward to seeing their line expand.

Thank you Sterling Pear!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight (PST) on Sunday, December 23rd to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday morning (Christmas Eve!).
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Elf on the Shelf

Oh my goodness! Look at the fun package we received. It's called Elf on the Shelf. It's meant to be a new Christmas tradition for your family. We've been participating for 3 or 4 days now and we're hooked.

Here's how it works. Mr. Elf comes to visit your home during the holidays. He watches over the home and reports back good deeds to Santa each night. The next morning he comes back and sits in a new location. Your kids get to search him out each day. On Christmas Eve he returns to the North Pole and stays their until next year.

Here's how it goes down at our house. Each morning the kids say, "Our elf is still in the same spot." Then I think "Oh shoot!" And when they're not looking, I move Mr. Elf and they notice he's moved later in the day. But they love it anyway.

The package includes the darling elf (very retro charming) and a beautiful story book that explains how the tradtion works. There's a space in the book to name your elf. We named ours Humboldt.

Side note: this package was a really wonderful thank you gesture from my lovely friend Melissa for a tiny favor I did for her earlier this year. Do I now send a thank you for the thank you? I've never been clear on how that works. . . In case you're reading, Melissa. Thank you! We love Humboldt.

More Handmade Sibling Gifts

Hair Clips for Betty.
This was a group effort. Ralph, Maude and Olive each worked on these hair clips for Betty. Mostly we used scraps of ribbon and hot glue. But Ralph and Maude experimented with beading on 2 of them. Aren't they darling? Betty will love opening her little box of accessories.




Painted t-shirt for Oscar.
Ralph designed and painted a car onto a piece of canvas using fabric paints. We sewed it on to a tee from Target with deliberately rough lines — a good technique for kids. It turned out cute. I like that it wraps around the side.

Do Me A Favor — by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

If you ever meet me, it will probably take you about a minute and a half to figure out that I'm a complete sucker for a good party.

I'll also go ahead and let it be known here and now that one of my all-time favorite things about a really good party is an excellent party favor.

Can you imagine leaving an event with one of the fantastic pyramid favor boxes (above) from Dauphine Press? Just think what treasures could lie inside!

My friend Adrienne (who is the brilliant designer behind these birthday invites) often creates custom party favors for people. And I often watch her for inspiration. I've seen her make yummy cookies, like these from Martha Stewart (packaged in fantastic jars like these Gabrielle featured here); beautifully decorated pretzel rods; diva kits with custom bath soaps and fizzies; hand-painted onesies; custom stationery; and the long list goes on. The woman is amazing.


So I asked her for some help last week when I was charged with making party favors for a couples baby shower.

Now I generally find the couples shower to be a tricky beast—frilly pink baby gifts in one room, soccer playoffs in the other—but favors for a couples baby shower, a definite challenge. So I figured I'd give the varied guests a choice. Options. Selection. Memory books. Or chocolate.

Lucky for me, I found these extremely nice memory books and/or photo albums at,…wait for it,…the dollar store!!! With a little packaging and a custom label a la Adrienne, perfect.

And for those not on a low-carb diet…custom pink M&Ms!




Overall, I'll say the options were a crowd pleaser.

So hey, do you have a party favor favorite? Sometime you've received as you headed out the door?

(Probably my favorite of all time…a goldfish I received at a birthday party when I was about seven. It lived for almost two years. I think that's a record in goldfishland.)



Or what do you wish you'd received? And what would you put in that pyramid box up there?

(I'd suggest not a goldfish.)