Happy Valentines Day!

My kids are out of school today. And all next week as well. A nice mid-winter break. We will be baking heart-shaped cutout cookies this afternoon. And planning for our annual Valentine Breakfast tomorrow. And I have a cute gift for each of the kids from the ladies at You Can Make This — pics on Monday or Tuesday.



This morning, I was one of the super lucky attendees of the Red Dress Collection Show that kicked off Fashion Week here in New York. I'm working on my report. I'll just say here that it was delightful. And all about red and hearts. So very Valentine's Day Weekend appropriate.

Speaking of which, I hope your Valentine's Day is lovely. And that you give sweet things or kisses or kind words to everyone you love. My Valentine gift to you?: the Peek/Business Card Giveaway is open through Sunday night. Five winners!

Clever perforated Valentine stationery from delphine studio.

Book of the Week: I Like You

I think both me and my sister Jordan post about this book every February. It is hard to imagine a better Valentine's Day book — and I don't think it even mentions Valentine's Day at all.

It's called I Like You. It's by Sandol Stoddard Warburg. And it's just the most charming book ever. Kids love it. Grown ups love it. The illustrations are adorable.




My friend Renae Chambers gave me a copy when we were roommates during my freshman year, and it's been a favorite every since. I tend to misplace my copy from time to time — loan it out, give it as a last minute gift, leave it somewhere — but a new copy always seems to find its way back to me. My current edition was a gift from my friend Audrey, who took perfect care of my kids while I was in Mexico. Thank you, Audrey!

Buy a copy for your friend. Or your crush. Or your own book collection. Or for anyone that needs some kindness. You will love it.

Maude's Valentine Friendship Bracelets

Have you reached Valentine's Day overload yet? I hope not. Because I've got more good stuff coming your way. Yesterday we finished up Maude's school Valentines. Maude is a maker. Last year, she gave origami hearts filled with treats. This year, she is way into friendship bracelets — and she wanted to make one for everyone in her class — so she did.




It took her about 3 hours total. An evening, a morning and an afternoon work session. She used an especially simple pattern so she could work quickly. Also, she kept a specific classmate in mind as she picked the colors for each bracelet — so, for a boy who's a big Yankee fan, Maude would choose white and blue. They turned out wonderfully and Maude felt great about them.



I was wishing I had a copywriter at my side while we came up with Valentine messages. Mostly we used the words "friend" and "knot." We printed the messages on cardstock, trimmed them out, punched two holes and threaded the bracelets through, ready to be tied on to wrists and ankles.

Here's a pdf of the 6 friendship bracelet messages.

More Valentine's Day Goodness

So many fun links today! Here's more:

1) Kirtsy has a great contest this week. It's called the Blend of Love Giveaway. Choffy is the sponsor. It's not coffee. It's chocolate that's brewed like coffee. Or something. I honestly don't really know. But the packaging is sure pretty.

2) I wrote a post about love letters (and included a Valentine's Day stationery roundup) over at the Mom It Forward blog. Do you write love letters to your one and only? Go take a look and tell me what you think.

Ralph's MadLib Valentines

Last year, Ralph gave MadLibs for Valentine's Day. And this year he wanted to do the same. So we decided to spice things up with a new presentation. We did this project last night, which means the photos are a little dim, but I think they're still very use-able.



To make these, we trimmed out a stack of MadLib sheets with an exacto knife. (We buy our MadLibs at the local drug store. They come in 2-packs of 6x9 sheets.) Then we trimmed spare pieces of origami paper and craft paper to make 3" x 6" strips. Any text weight paper would work for this.



We rolled up a MadLib sheet, then rolled that roll in a strip of decorative paper.



We used craft floss to wrap the roll (10 times around is about right) and tied a shoe lace knot.



We printed out a sheet of messages that said "I'm mad about you," "I can't lib without you" and "You have mad skillz." (Here's the pdf of the 3 MabLib messages in case you'd like to use them as well.) Then we trimmed them out, hole punched them, and attached them to an open end of the shoe lace knot.



Ralph was very pleased. And I loved how all the patterns and colors looked piled on the table.

Mini Valentine Boxes

Brooke at Inchmark has a pretty little Valentine project posted today. Check it. I've said this before, but if you're not regularly reading Inchmark, you should definitely add it to your blogroll. I especially love her library book feature.

Thanks for the tip, Katie

Japanese Lollipop Tags for Valentine's Day

Do you love all thing Japanese? Me too. And so does Danielle Thompson. She's designed a digital, printable package all kawaii-ed out with fruit. (Kawaii is Japanese for cute.) I want those lollipop tags! They would make the hippest valentines ever. Seriously. I am so in love with these.

Also. In case you're curious, the Japanese lettering says "cute" "japanese" and "colorful" in a repeated pattern. You can find lots more photos here.

Random Giveaway — Valentine Crush

I heart February. I heart hearts. I heart Valentines Day. I heart making things for people I love. I heart giving things to people I love. I heart you! You are my total Valentines Crush. And I have some treats for you. Treats to make your February 14th as sweet as possible. Observe the ultimate Valentines Day prize package — filled with gifts for you and the people you love:


1) A gorgeous necklace from the Great Heart collection at Sweet Tooth Jewelry. Made of recycled sterling silver and red wool felt. The heart is 47mm wide, the chain is 26in long. You'll want to wear it every single day. The necklace retails for $66.


2) Miss Oops Pucker Protector. A lip balm cleverly disguised as a gloss. You need to get your lips in shape for your big V-day makeout session. Miss Oops will do the trick. Each tube is $14.

3) Love to Love You fragrance set from Carol's Daughter — 4 different scents including Roses & Honey, which has been unavailable for a few years but is back by popular demand. They say that smell is our most powerful, primal sense. Use that fact to your advantage. Each set sells for $36.


4) Set the mood with two romantic albums in the From the Heart Series. You'll receive the Billie Holiday and the Frank Sinatra CDs. Valued at $24.



5) Fine stationery to send your messages of true love near and far. You'll get a set of 12 cards from Sarah Jane Studio. Folded cards printed on luxe white, slightly textured paper with matching pink envelopes. Four each of 3 brand-new designs. They are adorable. And so is this one. The set sells for $18.


6) For your sweet little babe. Or toddler. You'll get a limited edition 2009 Kiss Tee from Little Uni. A heart shape in pink heart petal fabric on an asphalt grey or heather grey tee. You pick the size and sleeve length. Tees from $28.


7) And here's the finale. For your daughter/niece/friend, the ultimate in Valentines Day accoutrements, a Vintage Hanky Skirt and Matching Purse with Lucite handle from Kayce Hughes — available for a limited time only. Your girly girl will go ga ga over this. And the same is true for pretty much everything in the Kayce Hughes line up. Retail value is $75 for the set.

Well hello! That's over $250 worth of heart-worthy goodies. Just for you.

Happy Valentines Day! (I know it's a little early, but I wanted to share these goodies in plenty of time for you to receive them.) And a big thank you to the sponsors for the wonderful prizes!

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Guidelines:
-You have until Midnight PST on Sunday, February 8th to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment. One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday, February 9th.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Valentine Craft Supplies

Guess who's ready to get her craft on?

Remember making Valentine Mailboxes as a kid? It was my favorite part of the Valentine holiday. I would ponder what I was going to make for days. I remember one year I crafted a sheep out of a round oatmeal container — I made curly wool by carefully rolling strips of paper around a pencil. It was awe-inspiring. Well. For whatever reason, the tradition of making your own mailbox has largely been abandoned at my children's school. We've never once been asked to make one.

Until today! Olive has a Valentine box due on Monday and I am stoked. We've gathered all sorts of Martha supplies at the ready. Ribbons. Glitter. Stickers. Punches. We are good to go. If we decide we need more stuff, expect to run into us at Michaels.

More Print Your Own Valentines

From Three Wheels Design. Print your own valentines. Cute robots, smitten pirates, sweet lovebirds, and hearts overflowing. For $3 per design, you get a PDF file and can print as many as you like. It's like DIY but with a little help.

Pig + Love

This card by Linda & Harriett has me feeling all Valentine-sy.

Sixx Design

Jordan first introduced me to Sixx Design. The super-fabulous husband-wife team of builder/interior designers, Robert and Cortney Novogratz. When they named their company, they had six children. Thus: Sixx Design. Cute! And now, number 7 — named Major Robert Novogratz — arrived on January 20th. Even cuter!

I can't believe how happy it makes me to know about this family. Lots of kids, and they're not letting that stop them from doing interesting things. Inspiring in every way.




I want their book, Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home: from Wreck to Ravishing, It covers all the Sixx Design projects to date — including the completion of their latest house, a six story glass residence on West street facing the Hudson River.

While I wait for the book release, I'll just covet their home in Great Barrington (pics above). Or their home in Brazil:



Oh. Also. Because I find this family endlessly fascinating, I asked their PR rep if I could send them some email questions. And the answer was yes. So if there's anything in particular you'd like me to ask, let me know.

Milk Carton Wallet

I think this milk carton wallet project is clever. It would be just right for my 9-yr-old, Maude. In fact, I'm thinking this will be the perfect thing for her to make as Valentines for her classmates. You can see a how-to video here.

Now the question is: which milk/juice company is making the best looking cartons? Maybe something covered in an Amy Butler print...

Thanks for the link, Ann!

Print Your Own Valentines

Thinking ahead? Up Up Creative is offering "school style" print-your-own Valentines. $5 for the template. And then you can print as many as you'd like. Don't miss the one that says: You Are the Tweetest. Good for your favorite school children, and your favorite Twitter addicts.

3-Gift-Guideline at Real Simple

Feel like you're giving your kids too much this year? Too little? You can read about the 3-Gift-Guideline I use in a post I wrote for Real Simple.

photo from Real Simple Photo Galleries

More Homemade Christmas 2008

Olive has been working on gifts for her siblings over the weekend. She's especially happy with the headbands she made for Maude and Betty. We think the creamy-colored one will coordinate perfectly with the tutu Ralph made. I'm super happy with them too. And already have plans to borrow them.




Materials: we bought a 3-pack of black headbands at Target for about $3. We bought fake flowers, for $3 to $4 per stem, and coordinating ribbon for $1 per roll from Michaels. Each headband will use between 1 and 2 yards of ribbon. Total materials for 3 headbands was less than $20. Just for comparison, a similar headband, like this darling one at CrewCuts is $16.50.



To make: wrap the head band in ribbon using a hot glue gun to attach. We had the best luck keeping the ribbon smooth by starting it at each end of the headband and meeting where the flower would be placed. Once the headband is completely covered in ribbon, it's time to add the flower.



Pull the flower off of it's stem, and trim the remaining plastic so that the bottom of the flower is flat. In front of a mirror, put on the headband and move the flower around until you're happy with placement. Mark where your want to place the flower with a pencil (the pencil mark will be covered by the flower). Attach the flower with hot glue. Done.



This is an incredibly fast project. And the headbands turned out beautifully. The fake flowers we bought each came with a large bloom and a small bloom. We didn't want the small blooms to go to waste, so as an afterthought, we glued them to small barrettes. Cute.



For Ralph, Olive made chocolate-chip-cookies-in-a-jar. For Oscar, Olive is going to do something cool with pencils — I'll try to post pics soon. To see more gifts my kids made, you can go here.

12 Days of Christmas

For the first time this year, my family is delivering Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts to another family. The basic idea: consider a family that might need a little extra cheer this year. Then, starting on December 14th, for 12 days you anonymously deliver a small gift to that family, representing each day from the song. Then. On Christmas Day, you deliver the last gift in person — and if you're the caroling sort of family, you could sing the song as well.

My parents used to have my siblings do this when I was growing up, and I was reminded about it when I read my sister Rachel's post earlier this month. We loved it as children. And my kids are having a terrific time with it this year. There's something so magical about giving secret gifts.

Here's what we've given so far this year, and some alternate ideas as well from my sister and other sources. Note: I'm not too picky about how closely the gift ties in to the song. At the end of the day, it's fun to receive any small gift.

1st A partridge in a pear tree
We gave a small basket of beautiful pears. Pear flavored Jones soda would be cute as well.

2nd Two Turtle Doves
We gave two Dove chocolate bars, small bird ornaments would also work

3rd Three French Hens
We delivered a hot breakfast with 3 slices of French Toast. I also love the idea of 3 rolls of French wired ribbon or French milled soap.




4th Four Calling Birds
We took pics of yesterday's gift — we found some some small bird themed kitchen towels and a scrubber on sale at Target and paired them with pom pom birds from Martha's craft kit. Stationery (as in calling cards), or a bird call whistle would also be perfect.

5th Five Golden Rings
We're delivering this today — 5 round, gold, candles. Growing up, we always gave a can of pineapple rings. Five round ornaments — ball or snowflakes — would be good. Or even five gold bangles.

6th Six Geese a Laying
We're not sure what we're doing for this one. I like my sister's ideas for a breakfast cookbook and quiche. Or maybe we'll deliver a half dozen eggs. Another way to go is to pretend "laying" means sleeping and give a sleep mask or pillow or something rest related.

7th Seven Swans a Swimming
We're giving 7 bath fizzy balls.

8th Eight Maids a Milking
If we can find one, I'd like to deliver a bottle of fresh, local milk. Alternatively, I like the idea of hot cocoa and a mug.

9th Nine Ladies Dancing
We're thinking a DVD of the Nutcracker ballet.

10th Ten Lords a Leaping
The kids want to give an actual lordly looking Nutcracker for this one. Cozy socks or slippers is another good idea.

11th Eleven Pipers Piping
I found a snowglobe with 2 angels trumpeting. We plan to use that.

12th Twelve Drummers Drumming
A Christmas CD

Next year, to make things even easier, I'm thinking I'll buy a collection of 12 Days ornaments (like these gorgeous ones from Land of Nod that I linked to earlier) and deliver one each day.

One more note: when I take on something like this, I like to consider my strengths and weaknesses. I knew my biggest challenge would be having to load up all the kids each day to make the delivery. So to solve it, we chose to give to a widow down the street, so that my kids can make deliveries by foot.

Does your family do The Twelve Days of Christmas? What are your best 12-Days ideas?

Homemade Sibling Gifts 2008

This is the third year that my kids are making gifts for each other. It's turned into one of our best family traditions — requiring more thinking and time than is ideal, but my kids LOVE it. As I've mentioned in years past, I prefer the gifts to be usable and practical.

For 2 year old Betty, who has lately become obsessed with all things ballerina, Ralph made a tutu. My friend Jill gave me this idea and it is such a great project (thank you Jill)! It's virtually no-sew.

Cut elastic to waist size and stitch together — that's the only needle and thread required. Then cut lengths of tulle from a 6-inch-wide tulle ribbon roll. Fold the tulle piece in half and then thread the ends through itself around the elastic. And that's it. You just keep repeating till the elastic is covered.



We used an entire roll of champagne colored shimmer tulle (25 yards). It was on sale for $3 at Michaels and provided 33 lengths (about 2 feet long each) to tie to the waist band. We also used 3 rolls of ribbon in peach, cream and sage green. They were .50 cents, also from Michaels. They provided 11 lengths each and were attached between the tulle pieces for accents. We already had elastic, so the whole cost for the tutu was $4.50. And it turned out beautifully. I think Betty is going to be beside herself with joy when she opens this.

Another note about this great project. You can make the tutu any length you like, by using longer or shorter pieces of tulle. So this same idea could work for an older girl as well. Also. If I'd had another roll of the tulle, I would have used it and made the tutu twice as full. (I've posted more specific directions and photos here.)




For Oscar, Ralph decoupaged a bucket to corral his matchbox cars. We used a bucket we already had, plus modge podge and sponge brushes in our art supply stock. So the only cost on this one was .69 cents for a piece of car-themed scrapbook paper. I heart decoupaging. It breathes new life into all sorts of things.

A super simple project. We first cut wide strips of the paper the same height as the bucket. We put a layer of modge podge on the bucket, added the paper strips, and coated the tops with more modge podge. We did 3 top layers of modge podge, waiting between each for the last coat to mostly dry.

I have it on good authority that Santa is putting a pack of cars into Oscar's stocking, so he'll be excited to put this bucket to use immediately.




Ralph used fabric markers and stencils to customize knapsacks for Maude and Olive. They'll use the knapsacks to carry their shoes/clothes to dance class and gymnastics class. Very straightforward. Just place the template on the fabric, color in with fabric markers, and set with a hot iron. We had all the supplies for this project, so it was a freebie. Ralph was the most happy about and proud of this particular gift.



For her sibling gifts, Maude made tie-dye t-shirts. A project that doesn't take much time and provides really satisfying results. We adapted instructions from here and here with t-shirts found for about $5 each at Old Navy and Target.

Tie-dying is addictive. If we hadn't run out of dye, I think we would have started coloring boxers and undershirts next. Maude is so pleased with how the shirts turned out she can hardly stand to keep them a secret.

Olive will put together her gifts this weekend. We're not sure exactly what she's making, but some of the ideas on the list are: ribbon belts, embellished headbands, baseball caps with vintage scout patches found on ebay, decoupaged wood blocks, and homemade hair conditioner. She also likes the idea of taking a photo portrait of each sibling and then framing it to display on their nightstand.

You can see more of what we made this year here. You can see what we made in past years here and here and here and here. What do you like to do for sibling gifts?

Catalog Christmas Tree

Jill of Blue Poppy Jewelry sent me pics of the Christmas tree she fashioned out of catalogs this year. Built around an over-turned wire tomato trellis. Things I can learn from this: celebrating Christmas should not require a major output of cash. And. The transformative power of twinkle lights should not be underestimated.

Advent Calendars

One way the blogosphere really shines in December, is when it shows off a new crop of advent calendar ideas. A few worth noting:

An adorable advent garland at Jessica Prague — designed by the talented Candice Stringham.
A textured, textile advent creation at Pretty Swank.
And this one spotted on kirtsy. A simple solution in festive colors. By someone who speaks French.

Ask Design Mom: Stocking Display

Ask Design Mom Question:
Dear Designmom, I was wondering if you had any fun ideas of where and how to hang up stockings. I have no fireplace or cute mantel. (sigh.) Do you have any suggestions? — Allison

Design Mom Answer:
I feel your pain, Allison. I too have a fireplace-less home. In fact, over the last decade, I've lived in a series of 3 fireplace-less homes, and I've solved the where-to-hang-the-stockings-question a few different ways.



1) Right now, our stocking are hung in a row over the piano — using very small nails. They look great! And if you don't have a piano, this would work just as well over an entry table.

2) In years past, I've used the banister on the stairs for a stocking display. If you have an open stair case, this is a wonderful solution. Just use pretty ribbon to tie the stockings along the length of the hand rail. Bonus: it's easy to the the spacing nice and even by using every other opening in the banister.

3) My friend uses the side of a tall bookcase to hang her stockings in a vertical row and it looks fantastic.

4) I think Christmas Stockings hung from the footboard of a bed are just about the most charming things ever.

5) Last idea: when I was about 5 years old, my family was living in a small apartment while we built a home. I remember watching my mom hang our stockings from the ceiling. And thought is was wonderful.

What about you Design Mom Readers? Where do you hang your stockings?

The Nutcracker

Saturday night we went to The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, performed by the New York City Ballet.

We won tickets a couple of months ago at a Scout Fundraising Auction, and had been looking forward to this eagerly. We had 4 tickets and debated whether one parent should take the 3 oldest kids, or 2 parents should take 2 kids and decided on the latter, so it was date night with Olive, Maude, Ben Blair and me.




Dinner first. Followed by the Nutcracker, with fourth row orchestra seats (oooh la la!). Then we bundled into our coats and walked out of the theater. . . into a light snow fall. At which point we started using words like magical and lucky and amazing.

It's hard to beat silk party dresses, ballet and a snowy December night in the city. It plum wore my girls out.

Vanilla-licious Gifts

Last year, my friend and kirtsy partner Laurie, told me all about how she made vanilla extract as gifts for friends and neighbors. I thought: brilliant! and quickly made a note to try it out in 2008. Then. I got an email from Laura yesterday, (she's another friend and kirtsy partner). Turns out she spent Saturday night with her lady friends making vanilla extract, vanilla sugar and vanilla almonds. Delish. Not only that, she also emailed full photo instructions, including sources. Score!

Which is a sign of course: I am meant to make vanilla-y things this year. And I'll share the instructions here. In case you'd like to join me. I should note. Laura was quick to point out that the mastermind behind this project is Lisa of Laundry Tree. Thank you Lisa! And now, notes and recipes in Lisa's words:



Vanilla Extract Recipe
We found great recipes at both Instructables and Andrea's Recipes. Some recipes call for Everclear. We used Svedka and Smirnoff vodkas.

16-ounce jar or bottle with tight-fitting lid
16 ounces vodka, top-shelf brands not required
6 vanilla beans

Cut the six vanilla beans in half lengthwise, leaving about 1 inch connected at one end. Put the beans into the jar and pour in the 16 ounces of vodka. Cover tightly and store in a cool, dark place for about 8 weeks. Give it a gentle shake about once a week.



Vanilla Sugar Recipe
From Food Network. We used spent beans from making vanilla. Dry them a couple of days before adding them to the sugar.

1 vanilla bean, whole or scraped
2 cups granulated sugar

If vanilla bean is whole, slice down side of bean with back of knife and scrape seeds into airtight container with the sugar. Bury bean in sugar and seal tightly with lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 weeks. Use as you would regular, granulated sugar.



Spiced Nuts Recipe
From Cooks.com. We substituted vanilla for water. Also, we recommend only 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice — 1 tbsp. is too much).

1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tsp. water
4 c. mixed nuts (or all pecans)
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

Combine egg white and water, add nuts and toss to coat. Combine sugar, pumpkin spice. Toss in mixture. Place in single layer on slightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and cool on wax paper and break up large clusters.



Design Mom Note: It seems to me, that any one of these items — the sugar, the vanilla, the almonds — would make a lovely singular gift. But in Houston, it's genetically impossible not to be over-the-top generous. So these ladies packaged up all 3 items in one bag — and threw in some homemade lip balm for good measure. (I'm exhausted just typing it.) To my friends and neighbors, if I manage to get some vanilla made, please don't be offended if it's vanilla and vanilla only. : )

Edit: It gets even better! Lisa just sent me the pdf links where you can download the beautiful labels she designed. Is she the bestest friend ever or what?!:
Vanilla Extract Label
Almond Label
Sugar Label

Links to Other Sources
Vanilla beans
Amber bottles
Gusseted poly bags (outer)
Reclosable bags (inner)
Brown satin ribbon (outer):
Pink ribbon from Hobby Lobby
Labels

Christmas Clothes

So Friday morning was spent antique-ing. Then Friday night was spent getting the kids Christmas Outfits put together.

Most years this doesn't happen till mid-December. Or even Christmas Eve. But this year, we had tickets to the Nutcracker for Saturday the 6th, and I wanted the kids' clothes ready to go by then. Because other than church, the Nutcracker is pretty much the only other event this month that requires something festive and a bit formal. I'm very happy with the results — the whole family looked great this weekend in greys and silvers, blacks and reds.





Ralph just needed a tie. Maude needed the whole shebang — dress, tights, shoes. Olive also needed everything. Betty had a great dress, but it was too summery, so we added a red turtleneck beneath. Oscar's red shirt from last year still fit fine. He just needed some new pants.

Sources. Oscar's grey, pin-striped pants and red socks from Place. Betty's black and white damask print dress from Shabby Apple. Betty's red, ruffled turtleneck from Place. Betty's tights, plus tweed-and-patent maryjanes from Target. Maude's silver silk dress from CrewCuts (amazing markdowns!). Maude's plaid tights and velvet flats from Target. Olive's plaid silk dress from Gymboree. Olive's tights and shoes from Target. Ralph's red tie from CrewCuts — was $30, now under $10.

Christmas Cards

Last night, while chatting with my friend Laura about Christmas cards, I came to a decision. The Blairs are going to rock it old school this year.

No family photo. No essay or family update. Just a beautiful card. Signed with an actual pen. And if I'm up for it, a short, hand-written personal note as well (short as in one sentence or so).



Some years we're up for something more elaborate. Some years we skip cards altogether. But for those years where time is crunched (like this year) I don't think there's any shame in going with classic, tried and true, holiday correspondence. A beautiful card to add a little cheer to someone's home, and a short note to say hello.

Now. Off to pick up some gorgeous cards. I like these by Lexie Sullivan.

Etsy Stockings

Inspired by the stocking photos and ideas I posted about last year, I have been putting together a collection of assorted stockings. And I feel like the collection is taking shape nicely.

Three etsy stockings I bought over the weekend: a super-bargain-vintage-felt stocking with braiding and jingle bells. A beautiful linen stocking made from fabric repurposed from a dress by xoelle. And a red floral stocking by Ahna Holder.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving day and Thanksgiving weekend were satisfying. For the first time, we had a Thanksgiving dinner with just our family. No cousins, neighbors, Aunts or Uncles. I don't know that we'll do this from now on, but there was something simple and lovely about it. We're a big group even with nobody else there, so the table still felt full and overflowing. And because I wasn't hostessing, I could give the kids more attention. Teach them how to make pie crust and put together the stuffing.



The other part of Thanksgiving that I loved was the productivity factor. I think I've mentioned I'm a productivity junkie, and this weekend was a total fix. I don't think I stepped into my office once. Instead, we did things like rake the leaves, get the house in shape for Christmas. Decorate the tree. Make our first batch of snowball cookies. And see James Bond.

Because we were away from family this year, I was afraid we'd all feel some homesickness. Happily, we did lots of video-talking with cousins over skype — even my parents in Russia. I'm thankful for skype.

What did you do over the weekend that you loved?

Thanksgiving Traditions

We don't have any super solid Thanksgiving traditions. Every November this fact surprises me.

One thing I do attempt is to pull out Ox-Cart Man (featured earlier here) and make sure we read it. It's not especially a Thanksgiving book — it covers all four seasons and never even mentions Thanksgiving. But the cover looks Thanksgiving-y to me. And the characters are quite pilgrim-ish.

Plus reading it tends to make me feel thankful for what I have. In the book, the father brings home gifts for his family: a pot, a knife, a needle and a bag of peppermint candies intended to last the whole winter. It helps me remember how plentiful my life is.

Plus, plus, it's my favorite children's picture book.



Two other traditions I'm wanting to share with you:

1) My friend Laura B is trying something new this year. Every day in November, Laura is taking a photo of something she is grateful for. Then. She'll take her 30 photos and make some kind of gratitude project with them. Maybe publish them in a blurb book. Or frame them in a series. She's not sure yet what she'll make, but I sure look forward to seeing it. Laura invited lots of her friends to do it with her — and now they'll have a great excuse to get together and work on their gratitude projects. Great plan, right?

If you like this idea, don't feel like you have to dismiss it because it's no longer November 1st. Just take 6 photos today and catch up.

2) My friend Danielle B keeps a jar on her kitchen counter next to a small pad of paper and a pen. Anytime she or her husband think of something they are grateful for, they write it down and put it in the jar. They do this all year. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, they read all those little slips of paper. Brilliant!

If you haven't been doing this all year (I certainly haven't), the same idea would also work quite well from now until Thanksgiving Day.

What are your Thanksgiving tradtions?

Spooky Snacks — by Guest Mom Mrs. Dub

Halloween is a sacred occasion at Mr. Dub's workplace. Their annual party is NOT to be missed, both because it is over-the-top and because, well, you gots to make nice with the boss sometimes, you dig?

Every year, they put on a killer Halloween party with serious prizes (= $$) for various things like coolest costume and best plant photo. (We dressed our spathaphyllum as Hugh Heffner surrounded by Miss Dub's baby dolls, but the photos were mysteriously deleted when I accidentally hit delete. Maybe it was a sign?)

This year we have our eyes on the spookiest snack contest. Last year there was some freaky contenders, but this year I want to win. There is a fine line between clever and repulsive, so I'm leaning towards something tasty with a seasonal twist. Here are a few ideas I found (once again) on the BHG website, although some aren't very creepy. But someone needs to make something you actually want to eat, right?

p.s. Mr. Dub just informed me we are making this rat-infested cheesecake via Delish. Looks like a winner!

Halloween Costumes 2008

The Chili Cookoff ended last Saturday with the annual trunk or treat. My favorite part of trunk or treat is that it forces me to have the costumes ready to go well before Halloween night. Our family didn't have a costume theme this year (like our Classic Halloween Monsters from last year). But all the kids were happy with the results.

Ralph is a mime (and shoot! it looks like he's trapped in a box). Maude is the Paper Bag Princess. Olive is a ballerina. Oscar is a dragon. And Betty is not that into it:

Glamma Fabulous — by Guest Mom Mrs. Dub

Glamma Fabulous is a woman with so much creative energy that you can't stop by her home without making an impromptu craft or two. She can turn anything ordinary into something extraordinary, which makes her (as the name implies) fabulous. Glamma is a local artist, mother to five talented women, "glamma" to 10.5 grandkids and wife to a man who makes the meanest ribs in the West. Her speciality is holiday crafts, and Halloween is her favorite. You'll have to visit her blog to understand the depth of her H-day passion. I'm especially digging her Nightmare Before Christmas-esque decorations.

Making Nice With Halloween — by Guest Mom Mrs. Dub

Warning: Halloween isn't really my holiday. I know, poor timing on the Guest Momming, right? Actually, no holiday is really my holiday because I'm very much an "every-day-is-a-holiday" kind of spontaneous person, so any form of obligatory tradition rubs my anarchist self the wrong way. Mr. Dub calls me a communist; I prefer impulsive.

Ideological reasons aside, Halloween is typically neglected at my house. I blame the limited black-orange combo and cheesy, gory décor of years past. It just felt tasteless to me. Plus, I live in an apartment (sigh), and one has to limit seasonal accents, or it ends up looking comical.

However, things have changed in the last few years. There is now a whole slew of Gothic-inspired Halloween décor that is classy and cool. Plus, green, purple and white have rounded out the Halloween palette, giving us more visual possibilities.

This year I'm really digging on black and white — black birds, white pumpkins, black and white polka-dot ribbon — though you need a dose of orange for good measure. Here's a sample of what I'm currently adoring:


{1. I heart this black feather wreath from Pottery Barn. It hints at gore but has a lot of glamour. I'm sure you could make this yourself, but I don't condone killing birds. Besides, it's on sale.

2. All you need is some black paint and a homemade stencil of something spooktacular to make these classy creepy pumpkin silhouettes, seen here.

3. The intricate lattice work on these green gourds look Victorian, giving these pretty pumpkins an antique glow. Of course, Martha is behind this labor-intensive project. My hands hurt just thinking about it. Probably not worth it.

4. An easier, but equally delightful pumpkin display found on Delish. Little bits of ribbon glued around small gourds scream "Halloween," but could easily be swapped out for a fall ribbon palette come November.}

And there's so much more out there, like this slideshow from Better Homes & Gardens' website. I must admit this magazine used to cater to people who collect roosters, but it's recently become one of my favorite home mags thanks its increasing variety and modernity. Just check out a sampling of their pumpkin designs. Swoon!

Book of the Week — Ghost Poems

During the month of October, instead of our usual bedtime story routine, we like to turn off all the lights, light candles, and read Halloween books. We have a handful of scary/Halloween books in our collection, but I like to supplement with library books. I picked up Ghost Poems a couple of weeks ago and it has been a hit.




It was first published in the 1970's and the illustrations are by Tomie de Paola — which is perfect. His drawings hit the right balance between spooky and charming. And the poems themselves are a well-edited collection. Some silly, some actually a little scary. But all kid-appropriate. And there are a wide-variety of styles from lots of different poets and sources.

It's an old book. So you can't buy directly from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. But they have links to other vendors.

Welcome October!

Remember last year's Spooky Halloween Branches? I loved those! But this year, that idea was kind of shot down by my kids who were like been there done that, let's make plates instead! And I was like, sure, why not, I've got all sorts of time to work on a breakable, lots of sharp objects project. Let's do it!



My kids had been begging to do Danny Seo's plate project ever since I came home with the elephant after the Method Party last May. A series of Halloween themed plates seemed like the perfect reason to make it happen. I believe I explained this plate-how-to once before, but here it is again, keeping kids in mind.

The process:



1) Gather the supplies. Plates you don't mind painting over — use your old mismatched pieces or pick some up at the local thrift store. Enamel paint. Brushes (sponge brushes are just fine for this project). And full sheets of printer label paper.



2) Draw or print the shapes you'd like to feature on your plates on the label paper. My kids picked Halloween shapes. Bat, cat, skull, jack-0-lantern, scarecrow. Plus two profile silhouettes — which they consider spooky.



3) Cut the shapes out and apply the stickers to the plates.




4) Paint the whole plate. We used only black paint for this Halloween series, but I've also done this in fall colors with leaf silhouettes. The sky's the limit.



5) When the paint is dry (I did two coats with drying time between), use open scissors to scrape the label into itself all around the edges. Once the label is removed, I used an exacto knife and a fine paint brush to scrape/touch up the edges as needed.

6) Bake according to the directions on the paint bottle.

What kids can do: decide the images, draw the images, cut out the images, put the images on the plates, paint the plates. But the scraping should really be done by an adult.



The plates looked super cool on the wall, but I was still wanting something more. So we wrapped glass containers with strips of orange tissue paper and placed tealights inside to create our orange glow.



Then we staggered their heights by stacking them on thick books. Dusty old, antique tomes would have been perfect — but I settled for removing the dust jackets of a couple of dozen thick novels (read: the Twilight series) until I had enough black and orange covers to do the job.

Welcome October!

10/2 Edit: A couple of people have been curious about how to hang the plates. I use a plate hanging product that's similar to this one. You can pick up plate hangers at any hardware store. And for you DIY-ers, I was flipping through an old issue of Martha Stewart (Oct 1998) and found a tutorial on how to make your own wire plate hangers.

DIY Pewter Ornaments

For those of you who like to get a head start on the holidays, check out this great make-your-own-pewter ornament kit. You carve the ornament and bake the clay ornament, then send it back to F is for Frank. At that point, they cast it in pewter and send you 4 copies. Fantastic.

What will you make? Something simple? Something detailed? Ornaments for the relatives? Ornaments for your tree?

Happy Independence Day!

Look how cute these magnet six packs are! Designed by Kate Grenier and made from recycled bottle caps. A set for Democrats. A set for Republicans. Or. If you're feeling bipartisan, go with the American Collection.

Today's Blair Family Plans: parades, bbqs and fireworks. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July! God Bless America!!

PS — remember, you have a whole week to enter the Tretorn Family Shoe Giveaway.

Easter Download

I realize I'm not the only one Easter snuck up on this year, but forshizzle, I almost missed it. I started the month with big plans — hopeful thoughts of getting wheat grass planted in plenty of time. But it didn't happen. Here's how it went down at our house:


Easter clothes were purchased on Saturday.


Easter decor went up Saturday evening.


Easter eggs were dyed (rubberbands make the streaks) on Sunday afternoon.

And our pathetic Easter dinner (taco salad was on the menu, because I'm seriously not kidding about Easter sneaking up on me) was saved by an invitation to a real-Easter-dinner-plus-egg-hunt Sunday evening. Where the food was so yummy and the company so delightful that this Easter-that-almost-wasn't was possibly our favorite Easter yet.


One last highlight: an unexpected Easter package from Lindsey — full of an assortment my very favorites — pear Jelly Belly's, sour candies and caramels. It was a generous package, but she picked my favorites so precisely that it lasted about 5 minutes in my able hands.

Mark Your Calendar: Easter Grass

Easter comes early this year. If you're planning on using wheat grass in your Easter baskets or in your spring decorating, plan on planting it this weekend or early next week so it will be lush and tall and super green for the big day.

My so-easy-they-hardly-count-as-instructions instructions are here. You typically need between 1 and 2 weeks to get the grass to the really pretty stage.

photo from flickr

Valentine Mixed Tape — by Guest Mom Leah

Valentine’s Day has snuck up on me this year…I can’t believe it’s already the middle of February! In honor of tomorrow, I put together a little “ode to parents and children” mix last night. It has some old favorites and some new ones too…most importantly, it will hopefully appeal to both parents and kids alike. In any case, I thought I’d share it in case you, too, feel a little sentimental this Valentine’s Eve.

To Fight off the Ennui

I'm quite sure that like me, you sit around most of the day wondering how to fill your time. For example, today, the housekeeper has already ironed the sheets with sprays of linen water. The chef has just finished reviewing the dinner menu with me. The nanny has the kiddies on a snow-shoeing adventure. And my pedicure isn't scheduled until tomorrow. Well, here are a few items I'm going to check out to help me fend off boredom (wink).


1) Skip to My Lou has put together some Last-Minute Valentine Ideas. For boys. For girls. Just print and assemble. Can't get much easier than that. (I think my oldest son, Ralph, will be all over those whirly-gigs!)


2) I love this great new parenting blog, Letters to a Parent. Letters written by parents to parents concerning their philosophies and approaches to raising kids. Real words from real people. Brilliant. I've already sent in the names of five of my favorite blog writers in the hopes they'll be asked to write essays. And if you're interested in submitting an essay too, go for it! You can see the guidelines here.


3) Speaking of Brilliant Ideas, look at the smart and simple Valentines that Design Mom Reader Ann Williams came up with. Colorized photos of her darlings. She printed them for friends at school and emailed them to far-away-family. Love it. (And what handsome boys!)


4) CWDKids is hosting a Kids Care Contest and is looking for nominations of children across the USA who are making a difference in the lives of others and their communities. They'll help one child continue their good work by making a $5,000 donation (nice!), in the child's name, to the charity of his/her choice as well as a $500 CWDKids gift certificate (sweet!) and recognition in a future catalog. What child will you nominate? Find the details here.


5) Good ol' Mod*Mom has some amazing Valentine Giveaways going on. Like really amazing. Don't miss out. You can enter through February 14th — that's tomorrow!


6) And last but not least — Design Mom Reader Josie Brown sent in this super-smart lego table idea. Low-cost — the whole project was about $75. Very functional. And good-looking too. Lots more pictures on her site so you can see what it's all about. Josie, submit this to Ikea Hacker already!

There. Something to do between the soap-watching and eating of bon-bons.

Animal Noses Plus etc.

e-Mom at Chrysalis sent me a link to these great animal nose paper cups by Pick Your Nose. Fantastic! Just think of the birthday party you could plan around these.





And then, the animal cups reminded me of these amazing Animal Hand Paintings that I found on sk*rt (I'm not kidding when I say I find the coolest things on sk*rt) from a link that Alpha Mom submitted. (There are a ton of pics and they are all super-cool, go check it out.) My kids were so delighted when we looked at these.


Plus also. Speaking of cool things on sk*rt, there's a fantastic new giveaway that just started today: The We Heart sk*rt Users Contest!

Roses are Red.
Violets are Blue.
Sk*rt Rocks the Casbah.
All because of You.

Go to the sk*rt contest page or the sk*rt blog to find out how you can win one of five Valentine-sy prizes from Shutterfly.


Like a 12-inch Valentine Day Photo Book, valued at $54.99. The content is guided, so all that's needed is to add photos and titles. The headlines and thoughtful designs are all set in place.


Or, for those of you that prefer to design your own book, you might win a 12-inch Love Book, valued at $54.99. And especially perfect gift for guys who really want to impress their long-term special someones.


Or maybe you'll even win a Valentine's Day Sterling Bracelet, valued at $49.99. The kind of treasure that's just right for Mom or Grandma — sure to become an heirloom gift.

Great prizes, no? And we make it so easy to enter because it's absolutely true: We heart sk*rt users.

One last note, if you're curious about who won the Fat/Super Tuesday Contest, watch the sk*rt blog — the winner was announced here.

Valentine's on my Mind

Happy weekend! Tomorrow I'm teaching a class about doing art projects and crafts with kids. Fun stuff. I'm off to finish my preparations. I'll leave you with 3 Valentine-sy things that made me smile.


Gorgeous paper globe ornaments by Heather Bailey. Great link, Maya! Thanks.


A Wheat Heart for your Sweet Heart at the Scandinavian Design Center. Warm up this heart-shaped wheat-filled bag to comfort your child after a scraped knee or slip it into their pocket to heat their hands on a chilly day. The same idea as the heating pad my daughter made for Christmas in a sweeter, smaller application. A perfect valentine token. via Fun Finds for Mom.


Super-de-duper-sweet cards by Kit Allen. For boys. And girls. I heart the librarian. Thanks for the link, Lori!


Quick reminder: you can enter the amazing Virtual Baby Shower Giveaway through Sunday at midnight. Great prizes from great sponsors. You don't want to miss out.

Ask Design Mom: Looking for Gorgeous Chocolates

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Hey Gabrielle. A friend just had a baby (#3) and she's a chocolate freak and I want to send her a great "chocolate" gift — but everything I find is . . . . how do I say, lacking in the "well packaged" department. Valentines is coming. Do you have any favorites? Know where to look? Best, Laurie

Design Mom Answer:
Very timely question, Laurie! And I've got the perfect answer. Look what arrived at my doorstep yesterday:



It was such a pleasure to open up this little package from Coco-luxe, that I put it back together and then took pictures while taking it apart. Just so I could show you.





The little icons tell you the flavor to expect — and some are very unexpected.

Ben's been out of town for a few days and I thought I would save these for his return. So I haven't tasted them yet. But I'm very much looking forward to it. A perfect little Valentine treat.

Merry Christmas!

Here is our pretty wreath at night. I love the long ribbons. I love how they move in the breeze. I love how the red and green look against the door. I love how it looks lit from above.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday. I'll be back Wednesday, January 2nd when my kiddies are back in school. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Handmade Sibling Gifts 2007 — 3rd Installment

Olive is a first grader. I thought long and hard about what she could make for her siblings that would be useful and beautiful and that she could really truly contribute-to/participate-in. This is what we came up with.


Three Bean Bags for Oscar. One Heating Pad for Ralph.
Basically two versions of the same project. Olive picked the fabric from my fabric box. She helped cut it. She chose the orange thread. She controlled the sewing machine presser foot, while I guided the fabric. She turned the heating pad right side out. She filled the heating bag with beans. She filled the bean bags with wheat (they have exposed hems, so we didn't need to turn them right side out). They turned out great. Olive was very proud of herself.

If you haven't tried a heating bag like this, I highly recommend it. We were given one by a neighbor, in a great ticking stripe fabric, over 6 years ago and it's barely showing any wear. You just microwave it for a couple of minutes and the heat lasts for ages. At our house, the heating pad functions almost like a band-aid or a mother's kiss — it kind of cures everything. I scraped my knee, I need the heating pad. I didn't win at Scrabble, I need the heating pad. I imagine Ralph will think it's very grown-up to have one of his very own.

And bean bags are just one of those things you need around the house when you have kids. They're an instant game. Who can throw the bean bags closest to the circle on the rug? Let's play catch with the bean bags. The bean bag is hiding, let's find it. Our current supply is mostly lost. Oscar will love these new ones.



A Bag of Chalk for Maude
Maude really loves rock climbing and gymnastics. Both of which require chalk to keep her hands dry. I have no idea where you buy the real stuff, but Olive made a container full by grating big sticks of sidewalk chalk with our box grater. The grater worked like a charm and the chalk dust turned out to be quite colorful and lovely.




An ipod Cover for Ralph
I also want to show you what Maude made for Ralph. Remember his ipod from his birthday last August? Well. Maude used this idea from Martha to make him an ipod cover from felt. The button isn't functional as a button, but the cover was too plain and Maude thought a button would look good. She's so right. And the button does help keep the cover sort-of weighted down. Bonus, it's so big and so easy to work with that it was a great opportunity to teach Maude how to sew on a button.

There is still one more sibling gift to work on this weekend — Ralph's gift for Maude. I'll let you know how it goes.

More Christmas Stockings

Back on November 21st I answered an Ask-Design-Mom question about stockings. If you're still hunting for a good idea for this year or next, here is another photo I found super inspiring.

I love the idea of collecting a variety of stockings. Some hand-knit. Some woven. Some simple. Some with texture. When you see and fall-in-love with a particular stocking you could buy one, instead of enough for the whole family. Maybe pick up one from Sundance on a ski trip. Or something pretty in a Christmas clearance sale.

I also love the look of stockings as part of the overall Christmas decorations in a home. At our house, I know we can hang 7 stockings legitimately — one for each member of the family. But why not display a row of 11 or 15 that we've collected over the years? On Christmas Eve, the kids could each pick their favorite to have Santa fill.

Perfect Red Dress

Still haven't picked up a holiday dress for your lovely daughter? Here's one that nobody else will have. Because it comes from a shop called Oneity. And Oneity just launched online.

I think the lines and shaping of this little number are adorable. The shade of red is holiday perfect. And the price is more reasonable than a dress from any of the big children's stores. In girls' sizes 2 to 10 years. (A skirt in the same delicious fabric is available as well. In sizes 18 mos to 8 years.)



Hot sewing blogger Gina is a Oneity fan. She mentioned that the clothes are very well made and that the company philosophy is all about helping communities in developing countries. If that's the case than it sounds like I'm a Oneity fan as well.

Edit: Just heard from Oneity with two more interesting tidbits about these lovely dresses. The fabric is a very nice cotton sateen and was originally used by Hermes — nice. And these dresses are made by women in Madagascar Africa — also nice.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

This year, my sister Sara's family sent gifts to my family (like many big families, we only send gifts to one sibling each year). It's such an amazing gift and such a smart idea that I have to share. Knowing how much my kids love to put on the Nativity pageant on Christmas Eve, she scoured her local thrift shops and came up with perfect costumes for all the main parts.

These costumes have all the right details. Great jewelry for the wisemen. Special containers for the gold, frankincense and myrrh. The shepherd has a super cool belt. The angel has a beaded halo. Sara embellished and altered her bargain finds as needed.

It is such a wonderful gift idea — and it's not too late if you know the perfect recipient for this sort of thing. You could even start with Mary & Joseph and the Angel this year. Then add the Wisemen and Shepherd another year.

The packages arrived this weekend — marked Open Upon Receipt. And my kids have been in and out of the costumes ever since. They've been working on an "improved" script for the special production and there has been lots of debate about who will be which parts. Luckily, we'll be sharing Christmas Eve with two other families this year, so we have plenty of people to choose from.

The costumes came stacked and folded with cards identifying the character and any applicable notes on the back (like: wear bracelet on the upper arm). Here they are in all their glory:









And here they are on the models (with the shepherd featured above):



Thank you, Sara! And thanks to Steve, Zella, Ruth, Ike and Lucy — who I'm certain contributed in many ways. We love the costumes. They're just right.

Ask Design Mom: Advent Calendars

Question:
Hi Design Mom. I just found your website a month ago, and I love your recommendations. I'm on a search a stylish advent calendar that we can use to help our son anticipate Christmas for years to come. Looking for a wooden one, I think. Thanks, Kelly

Design Mom Answer:
Great question Kelly. You're in luck. My favorite advent calendar belongs to my sister and happens to be wood. It's the one pictured above. I really like it. Especially because the only thing about it that makes it an advent calendar is that it has 25 compartments. You could keep it on display all year with little trinkets and jewelry and stuff because it's a neutral color.

Unfortunately, she bought it a couple of years ago at Pottery Barn and it's no longer available. But I keep thinking this would be a good project to approach a woodworker with — have someone build one for me to my exact specifications. I've had similar (in scope) projects built and it's much less expensive than you might think.


For something a little sleeker and metropolitan, I like this mirrored one from Target. Tres chic.



This one by Ali Edwards, which I also found via my sister, is more of a project than an object, and I looove it.


For something more childlike, this cloth one from PB Kids fits the bill.


Another cute one from Target — and on clearance for $15. Wood and sweet. But a little boring. It needs some red — maybe ribbon on some of the knobs or maybe a few ornaments dangling from the knobs. Or I might switch out the knobs themselves for something simple and colorful.


Oh. And look at this cute stocking version from etsy site.

Lots of great options out there. I hope you find the perfect one for your family.


Update: Just heard from Martha B. of Nibs. Here's a link to her own excellent post on advent calendars. Lots more ideas.

Holiday Cards Part 2

The requests keep coming in for Holiday Card suggestions — especially photo card suggestions. I did one post a few weeks ago on holiday cards. Here's another edition today, heavy on the photo cards.


from Made by Girl


from Sweet Ivy Designs


from Push the Envelope


from CocoBlu Studio


from Melissa Cherniske

Funnel Paper Goods

I know you're out there. You've got presents for the kiddies hidden in closets. Stuffed on high shelves. In the basement. In your neighbor's basement. But at some point, you are going to have to retrieve them.

And wrap them up.

Luckily, I've just discovered a new favorite wrapping paper source: Funnel Paper Goods by designer Eric Kass. With names as wonderful as the patterns — like Uncle Bob's Pajamas and Rangifer Tarandus — wrapping will be anything but tedious. Bonus: most of the prints are neutral enough that they will serve long after the tinsel has been swept from your home.

Also, I think these prints would look especially good tied up with some of this twine.

Christmas Card Photo

Remember these awesome photos by Jan Von Holleben I linked to a couple of weeks ago? Well. I also shared them with my kids. Up on seeing them, their brains almost exploded with the possibilities. They immediately started suggesting scenarios and similar photos. So Ben and I figured we could use Jan's brilliant technique and create an image for our Christmas cards — satisfying our kids and checking our cards off the holiday list in one fell swoop.

We're not sure if this is the final shot yet, but I share this with you now in case any one out there wants to try something similar in time for Christmas. Very fun. Very satisfying. And it gets better with each try. Here is the progression of our attempts and a few tips we learned along the way.

1) The content. We wanted to take advantage of the flying aspect, so we decided the angel speaking to the shepherds would be perfect. We call the image: Unto You a Child is Born! We also immediately decided the babies wouldn't get to be in this particular image. Neither one can hold still for even 2 seconds.

2) We practiced without a real backdrop, standing on the couch and staging the kids on the area rug, just to see if we could get the hang of it before we committed to more work.





3) Next we attempted the photo with the backdrop. Initially we tried to use the black pavement of our driveway for the night sky, and the grass that meets the driveway as the ground. But it was just too cold the day we shot the photo, so we moved it inside.



4) We shot indoors in the afternoon and there was still plenty of light. We used rolls of black garbage sacks for the backdrop. (The garbage sacks were kind of hard to work with. I think the driveway would have been easier.) We stood on a ladder to take the shots. One thing I really liked about Jan's pictures is his use of every day objects as props. We tried to do the same, using diapers for the angel wings and keeping the costumes simple.

5) We love our little Canon Elph. But it's not a real, real camera. So we could only get the photo so clear. At which point, we called for a favor from Guest Mom Sara's husband, Travis Stratford. He came with his awesome camera and awesome camera skilz and we shot again. This time at night. Can you believe how much clearer his shot is? Awesome.



6) We are trying to decide if this is the final shot or if we should make one more attempt. Things we would change at Travis's smart suggestion: make Ralph's clothes more contrast-y against the black. And mess with the light sources so that angel Olive looks like she's illuminating everything else.

7) A few last notes. The kneeling and standing were harder to pull off than the flying. The whole project would have been easier if we'd changed the title to "Angels We Have Heard on High" or something like that and had all the kids flying. And if we'd kept shoes on our shepherds that would also have helped. The shoes help keep their feet straight.

If you attempt one, I hope you'll share. We can start a flickr group of Jan Von Holleben knock offs.

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas

It was a really good weekend. We picked up the Christmas tree on Friday. We had a big Christmas party at our church on Saturday. We woke up to snow on Sunday — so Sunday afternoon was all about baking cookies and making hot cocoa. With fresh whipped cream.

Ralph played Joseph in the Christmas pageant on Saturday. Maude & Olive were both lovely angels. Alas, we didn't get a single photo. But I love these shots of Olive helping me test the Christmas lights, and Betty getting up the courage to touch them.

One last note. If you're looking for a new and better way to store your Christmas lights, I highly recommend rolling them into a ball. My sister Jordan taught me this and in my vast Christmas light experience, it is by far the best storage solution. Plus, they look really cool when you plug them in.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving. I haven't been out yet, but no doubt the grocery stores are buzzing with busy shoppers and full carts. Homes everywhere are anticipating guests and being scrubbed and polished and decorated. Kids across the country have a half day of school and many will arrive home to the smells of pre-Thanksgiving baking. Cinnamon. Cloves. Pumpkin pie. Apple pie. Ready or not, the Holidays are here. And I say Hooray!

We head out to Plymouth around noon. I'm crossing my fingers the road trip will be swift and that I will find my children especially charming during the entire ride. I have no idea what my internet access will be like, so I'm saying goodbye until Monday. But I've tried to pack in the posts this week so that I won't miss you too terribly.

I do have 2 more things to mention before I sign off. First, as you know, Rochelle has been doing a fantastic job this week as Guest Mom. And I'm bummed to have to cut her week short. Luckily she has tons of great ideas and has promised to come back again in the late winter/early spring, when it's time to make garden plans. Thank you, Rochelle!



And my big finale news:
Be here Monday. To take part in the Design Mom Holiday Giveaway Week. I'm so excited. There will be 4 Giveaways each day. That's 20 Giveaways. You will have 24 hours to enter each one. The winners will be announced the following day.

And these aren't so-so prizes being sponsored. They are awesome. They are generous. You will love the vendors. Some are big name. Some are boutique. But every single one was picked with an eye toward design.

And I'd love it if you would help to spread the word. With 20 Giveaways in one week, it feels like there's something for everybody. My little Christmas gift to you.

Have a great weekend. See you on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!

1930's Country Gentleman cover via Curtis Publishing

Ask Design Mom: Christmas Stockings

Question:
Hi Gabrielle. I was hoping that you could help me because you never fail to find the most beautiful things. I am looking for Christmas stockings that are beautiful and interesting, but I am having a hard time finding anything that works. Most of my searches come up with the handmade stockings with the kitschy snowman and elves on them. Do you have any suggestions where I can look? I would really appreciate it! — Alissa

Design Mom Answer:
Thanks for your question, Alissa. Goodness gracious, I do love stockings. And I was so happy to see two designs that are gorgeous — and that are priced at the very reasonable $20 each — at Crate & Barrel.


The Noel Stocking. I think the shape of these is great.


And the Clarendon Stocking. With the piping and ribbon and the stripes. I'm practically swooning.


And predictable as I am with the liking of the stripes, I'm also coveting the stripey design in the picture above by Hable Construction. (But man oh man I do not like the typeface used in the monogramming.)

Catalog Favorites — Garnet Hill

One habit of mine, when I sort the mail, is to look through a catalog and pull out the pages of the few things that stand out to me. I seem to like to edit down already well-edited collections, to just my very few favorites. This doesn't mean I don't like anything else in the catalog. It's just that certain items seem to catch my eye at the moment for assorted reasons. Sometimes there are lots of items. Sometimes just one or two.

Here are my favorites from the Garnet Hill Holiday 2007 catalog:


Orla Kiely Pocket Tote. At close to $500, this would be a major splurge for me. But that doesn't mean I can't admire it.


Belted Asymmetrical Cardigan. Look how cute those 3 buttons are. And I think that shade of blue is divine.


Ole Million Faces Game. A 1920's reproduction. This would be a good looking toy for someone's desk.


I didn't check if Garnet Hill sells any of these items, but I thought the outfit on the girl in this picture was terrific. I love when my kids clothes look this interesting.


Beaded Wrap Blouse. This looks so clean and sharp. I love crisp white shirts.


Hand-knit Advent Calender. How great is this? And I know for sure it's cute, because my sister noticed it too.

Holiday Cards

If I was exceptionally organized, I would plan to address my Christmas cards over Thanksgiving weekend. But I'm still dreaming of which ones to pick. The stationery and paper world has exploded with amazing designs over the past few years and there are so many excellent choices out there.

Here are a few cards I like from a few new-to-me (several have just recently launched!) companies:


by Your Every Whim


by LLH Designs


by Alston Wise


by Blonde Designs (get a discount in the Marketplace)


by Jill Smith

Gifted — by Guest Mom Joslyn Taylor

For the past few weeks there’s been a common refrain across the blogosphere alongside any holiday gift-related post…”I know it’s early, but…” Well the gift guides have come out in full force, and I wanted to share the one I’ve pulled together to tie-up my week posting over here at Design Mom (thanks Gabrielle; it’s been a really fun experience!)

Before I started assembling the list, I spent some time thinking about what makes a gift meaningful. Contrary to the bounty below, I firmly believe that something handmade or passed on is infinitely more exciting to give and receive than something store bought. My favorite gifts of all time include a beautiful sweater knitted by my friend Jane when my daughter Amelia was born and (after coveting it for years) a ring passed on to me by my friend Achlee.

In lieu of a traditional gift, I also love the idea of chipping in with your siblings or a group of girlfriends and sponsoring a “sister” via Women for Women International. This is an amazing organization that helps women in war-torn regions rebuild their lives through financial and emotional support, job skills training, rights awareness and leadership education and access to business skills. I’ve sponsored three “sisters” through the program, and it’s been incredibly rewarding. But, despite all my best intentions, I still end up buying a slew of gifts each year online. I’ve assembled my favorites below, trying to include something lovely and unique for everyone on your list, from a teacher, co-worker or neighbor to your best friend, sister, hubby and kids. I’ve also tried to include items at every price point starting at 5 dollars and with nothing over 75 dollars. Here we go!

Stocking Stuffers and Sweet Small Gifts
Any of these would be great as stand-alone gifts for a neighborhood buddy or classmate, as a topper for a larger gift or to fill up the kiddo’s stockings. I especially love the thyme plant in the little ceramic egg, the pretty note book from Nantaka Joy and the set of personalized pencils in a little monogrammed pouch.


Gifts from left to right, top to bottom:
Nantaka Joy “I Love…” notebooks, thyme egg plant, sweet baby shoes from Pearl River Mart, fun press up robot from environmental retailer MUJI, Viv & Ingrid mother of pearl hair tie, Bicheno pocket mirror from Craftsbury Kids (don’t forget the free shipping via the Design Mom Marketplace – Thanks Gabrielle!), Lillian Vernon personalized pencils, MUJI’s flip book and farm in a bag

Kiddos
There are so many great mid-range things for kids this year. Some standouts include a groovy falcon shirt for your nephew (or with a skirt and some funky tights, my daughter would completely dig it), a beautiful and poetic pop-up book, an oversized tub of colored pencils, gorgeous alphabet cards by Ida Pearle that would be perfect broken up and framed for multiple gifts and a sparkly apple tote that would be equally appropriate for a hip girlfriend to stash her lip gloss.


Gifts clockwise from top to bottom: Binth matching game, Falcon t-shirt from MIMMO, Pamela Barsky black piggy bank, Animus by Seonna Hang


Gifts clockwise from top to bottom: alphabet cards by Ida Pearle, Craftsbury Kids’ Morning Glory blanket set, peace baby blocks from Olie Bollen, tub of colored pencils from MUJI


Gifts clockwise from top to bottom: Wheely Bug, Buddha Board, yard snake from Branch Home, Little Red Riding Hood blocks from MUJI


Gifts clockwise from top to bottom: felt and cotton dolls from Esthex, hand-crafted elephant pull toy from Germany, Stacrobats, apple tote from Viv & Ingrid

Something for Everyone
I would be happy to get any of these things (husband if you’re reading this, hint, hint). I think the best gifts fall into the genre of things the recipient wouldn’t necessarily purchase for themselves, like a pair of bright yellow gloves, an oil diffuser that’s looks as good as it smells or decadent chocolates (See’s are my absolute favorite – reading Gabrielle’s posts about her love for See’s candy confirmed that she was a kindred spirit).


Gifts from left to right, top to bottom: cozy gloves from J Crew, Iomoi personalized paperweight, Jayson Home and Garden’s porcelain orchid vase and urchin box, Hayden Harnett coin purse, J Crew starburst ring, Pamela Barsky ceramic birds, Juliska vase, silhouette plate from Rust designs


Gifts clockwise from top to bottom: Jacques Torres chocolate gingerettes tin, Jayson Home and Garden’s log box and bird box images, handmade wooden spoons, Volupsa oil diffuser, See’s Toffeettes

Happy Halloween!

It's a busy day at our house, as I'm sure it is at yours. We carved a simple pumpkin last night so we're ready for our trick-or-treaters. This morning is the Rag-A-Muffin parade at school. Then the Halloween party at the community center for my littlest two. Tonight will be the grande finale. What a great month it's been. I'm looking forward to the next.

Because of all the busy-ness, I'll leave you with 4 things:

1) BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! I'm introducing a new feature on my blog tomorrow. That's Thursday, November 1st. No major clues, but I think it's going to be awesome, and hopefully very useful to you. Be here tomorrow to check it out.

2) You have until tonight at midnight (spooky!) to enter the Projector Rental Giveaway. Just leave a comment on the Giveaway post.

3) Need a last minute costume? I like these quick and creepy ideas from Martha.

4) To celebrate Halloween in good form, I leave you with a bonus post from our recent Guest Mom, Katherine Center, all about one of her favorite Halloween books.

A Spooky Halloween to one and all!!

Trunk or Treat 2007

Every year we decorate the trunk of our car for Trunk or Treat. Ralph gets really into this and makes elaborate plans involving scary music and mist and puts his siblings to work making paper-plate skeletons and lots of drawings. This year, we tried something different.


In our garage, there was a huge magnetic dartboard we'd made for a school fair booth a couple of years ago. It's maybe 4 feet by 6 feet. I realized if we covered the blue paint and the logo, it would look Halloween-y. So we did. Then we added black magnet darts.


We had 5 different baskets of candy as prizes, depending on which part of the target the trunk-or-treaters hit.


We won "Most Spooktacular Trunk" which is the greatest possible accomplishment in the world of Ralph. (Note: I think we may have been the only entry, I was too busy managing the dartboard to make it around to the other cars.)

To make your own giant dartboard, glue two pieces of sheet metal from Home Depot to one piece of press board or particle board. Not all sheet metals work — bring a magnet with you to make sure it will attract. I can't remember what kind of glue we used exactly, but I know it was super-duty and was applied with a caulk gun. The glue had to cure over night and then we painted the metal with little bottles of craft paint. The circles aren't exact, but they're good enough. The center was printed on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of label paper, then trimmed and applied. We used a spray can of clear gloss over the whole thing to protect it and make it shine. We purchased the darts here.

Finished Costumes 2007

Trunk-or-Treat was Saturday. Which means costumes had to be finished Friday night. I'm glad to report that everything turned out wonderfully and the kids were proud of me because I didn't freak out trying to getting it all done. (Mom, Grandma, or anyone else that's interested, I've posted lots more photos here.)


The Mummy.
We half-sewed/half-hot-glued it together. I love it. Ralph loves it. And it's really easy to get on and off. Everything but the head wrap is attached to the shirt or pants and it's all very stable.


The Jack-O-Lantern.
Betty was very excited to put this on. And it was cozy. And she's at the perfect chubby stage, so she filled it out well.


The Witch.
This is Olive's best witchy expression. I keep calling this the Princess Witch costume. Because it has a tutu and is totally girly. We picked this up at Target and embellished the skirt hem with thick upholstery fringe to beef it up.


The Werewolf.
Oscar was napping while everyone else got ready, so when he came downstairs and saw what was going on, he was super-psyched to get into the werewolf costume. Here he is pictured mid-howl.




The Mrs. Frankenstein.
Maude was delighted with how this turned out and so was I. The hair was super-fun to do. I love the belt detail. The turtleneck and dress were picked up from Old Navy (not part of their costume line) and will be absorbed into her regular wardrobe post-Halloween.

Halloween Costume Checklist

I'm having fun this week putting together the Halloween costumes for my kids. Last night, I finished making the embellishments for Olive's Witch and Maude's Mrs. Frankenstein. I also researched how to do a beehive hairdo for Maude. This site seem to have the clearest instructions and just seems like a cool site (note to self: must buy some Aqua Net). Both costumes are ironed and waiting in their closets for the big festivities. Check and check.

Oscar is a werewolf and we're using Ralph's old big-bad-wolf costume. So that one's done as well. Check.

Betty will be a jack-o-lantern. I know they're pretty much available everywhere, but I actually had trouble finding something really charming in her size. So, I picked up a basic fleece option from Target. Not fantastic, but fine. I'll email some neighbors and see if anybody has anything better, but in the meantime, I'm calling this good. Check.

Ralph's Mummy costume is the only one left to make. I have a basic picture in my head of what it should look like, but started to do some research last night to find more solid instructions. There are lots of good Mummy versions out there, but I especially thought this video was great:



I've vowed to complete Ralph's costume today. I'm dying the rags in tea as we speak. Wish me luck.

Something Halloween-y

I was just looking for some Halloween-y ribbon and stopped by Martha Stewart Crafts to check out their options. This fabric-backed tape looks fantastic. And I couldn't help but notice this charming little garland as well. Good prices too.

Halloween Sugar Substitutes

Cute post over at SumThings on ideas for sugar-substitutes to hand out Halloween night — complete with free downloads. I love the concept. Of course, I love sugar as well and will be handing out sweet stuff myself. . .

Holiday Cards — by Guest Mom Zanne Blair

Bonjour! Bonjour!

Are you thinking about them yet? I've been thinking about them since June. Well probably earlier. I know, I know, it's not even Halloween, but if I don't think about it now, we'll be making these the week before New Years, when I'd really like to mail them early in December, this year, for once...

I used to make my own holiday cards. It started in college, when I was but a poor college student, yet I had plenty of art supplies, paper and fabric scraps, glitter and metallic paint around. I've made them just about every year, until I became pregnant. Now, with my 2.5 year old babe, I really want us to make cards again, with her. I used to make ornaments that would go in the cards (sorry...can you believe NO pictures, what was I thinking?), but with 100+ people on my list, I've had to re-think the card thing while being a mom, starting a business and just trying to keep the laundry done and well..you know.

It's on my wish list this year, that our family sit down and make cards together. Izzy is at the point where the glue or paint or glitter won't end up in her mouth (ok, maybe her hair, but we can do punk for a few days, that's ok). Plus, with the nights getting cooler, we'll be inside after dinner, and art is a fun family thing for us. I've started going through our art supply stash (we've been trying to use what we have, not buy more of things we don't really need), it's huge with an artist/painter/printmaker/sculptor Dad and me with paper, fabric, buttons, yarn etc. and wondering what are we going to do?

So...I've been snooping around on the world wide web (one of my favorite past times, I love information....) and thought I'd share some link love:


Pop-Up Card tutorial

Plant Prints
Painting with Leaves
Printing with Leaves
This could be fun with glitter or metallic paint or great color combos. Evergreen trees, poinsettia leaves, pinecones, small branches.


We've been painting beads, but this could probably translate to wooden shapes that could be glued or strung to the card and perfect for mailing.


we could make our own envelopes out of our art


We will add in a family photo (one's like these always prompt a call from a few family members :-). We like to keep in touch, and maybe this year we'll write a letter to our family and friends.

Don't want to make your own, or just don't have the time to make 100s of cards? Some of these seemed pretty cool:


Did you know that you could order cards through the United States Postal System? I had no idea.


And I've always been inspired by the MOMA Holiday Cards


Next to handmade cards, I love receiving photo cards. These from tinyprints.com are tasty.

And maybe we'll make this in January when it's time to put the cards away...

Happy Weekend! Happy Easter!

Just the right pictures to leave you with for the weekend.

Yesterday, the older 3 kids and I dyed, then découpaged our Easter eggs. For the dye, we used food coloring drops, boiling water and vinegar, mixed. We also gave the boiled eggs a rubdown with vinegar before putting them in the dyebath, and they seemed to take the color more intensely.




For the découpage, we used Maude's origami paper and two sizes of shaped hole punches. The origami paper was just the right weight. We punched out shapes in the spectrum of colors, then put a bowl of Mod Podge in the middle of the table. Each child had their own sponge brush and they just went to town.

We went through 4 dozen eggs and were still going strong, but the babies woke up from their naps which meant the whole production had to be put away. I wish I had reserved a dozen eggs to work on tonight just by myself. It was very therapeutic. And pretty much every color combination and pattern had some merit about it, so the work was very satisfying as well.


And a last quick reminder: you have until Sunday night (4/8) at midnight EST to enter the Nordic, Etc. Summer Collection Giveaway involving 2 pillows, a platter & some candleholders. Just leave a comment on that post.


To my Christian Friends: Happy Easter! He is Risen!
To my Jewish Friends: Have a Blessed Passover!

Friday Letter to cjane — by Guest Mom Nie Nie

Hello Sister Love,

It sounds like you are feeling better! I am so glad it is Friday as well. Weekend plans are going to be busy as I am preparing for Easter. Our Saturday morning Easter egg hunt with the godparents is going to be so enjoyable. We plan on dying our eggs this year using only natural dyes. It should be fun for us all.


I am grateful for this recycling idea I found. It looks nice, clean and fun to manage.


I am also grateful for this delilghtful little button clock idea. I have thousands of spare buttons around and this seems like a lovely little way to get them used. What a fun wedding gift for some newly wed lady in a new kitchen


Did I tell you about my new chandelier that I bought for my kitchen? It is brilliant! It adds such a lovely glow. Jane and I had fun adding the crystals this morning to make it shimmer.


I went shopping and found a lovely Easter skirt. What fun! Underneath the skirt, are green ruffles. Even though no one sees it, It just makes me feel beautiful. I think every woman needs a good skirt to put on and feel transformed.


I love you my dear sister. Thank you for being such a wonderful woman. You are terribly inspired by all that is beautiful and good.

Loves,

Sister Nie.

PS — here is a picture Claire drew for you. . . you are whispering “I love you” to each other.

Wednesday Letter to cjane — by Guest Mom Nie Nie

Sister of Mine,

Those eggs are sure to please! What lovely colors you used. As I recall you were the first to create an Easter tree. You were in high school and on a creative kick. Mom took a snapshot of that photo somewhere. Maybe you have it? I would love to see that again.

Remember you bought me that cute pink hat from Anthropologie a few Christmases ago?

I wear it to church on Easter. Since I am not completely done unpacking boxes from the move, I am debating on buying a new hat.

And as for gloves, Lucy and I found some darling vintage cotton gloves at the antique store.

A lady must look elegant on Easter I say!

Stuffing the baskets this year is going to be simple. The girls will receive art to display in their new room.


And for the boys I am going to buy Nicholas and Oliver this adorable quiet book from Kelly McCaleb.


I am also making nests this year with some lovely little birds to glue to the sides. I’ll fill them with colorful chocolate eggs.


Are you making a basket for Ralphy? Or one for your husband? I am re-covering Jimmy’s dog bed this weekend. I will send pictures, its going to be classy — in semi-aristocratic way — he is after all a pure bread Brittany Spaniel!

Lets plan a trip! Sedona? Park City? Your call.

Love to you,

Nie

Wednesday Letter to Nie Nie — by Guest Mom cjane

Dearest Beloved Nie-ster,

Here is a picture of our Easter eggs this year.

As you know, I can't live without the joys of Mod Podge.

These are real eggs that we blew-out (read: dizzy head) and decorated with tissue paper. I like that the Mod Podge makes the eggs more durable. I have a batch from every year since we've been married. I think I deserve an award.

Speaking of awards…or, rather rewards…

I don't have a hat to wear for Easter, but I did get this awesome vintage Easter dress in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Every time I go to Twin Falls I find the best dresses in their second-hand shops. I’ve decided that buying vintage dresses is going to be my first (and hopefully) only collection. Let me just tell you sweetheart, I am up to twelve dresses (including this one featured in Lucy’s engagement pictures)

and five skirts! If only I had lacy gloves. Are you going to wear your hat and gloves to Sunday Easter services? I guess I could wear my swanky rubber gloves from El Paso…

I am having sushi with my friends tonight. I can't decide if I'm more excited to wear my new blue shoes

or eat some Nigiri with a tich of wasabi. Mouth watering choices all around.

c jane

P.S. Tell Jane that I like, love her, like , a whole bunch.

Ceramic Eggs

These glazed ceramic eggs make me smile. The colors. The clean color vs. white contrast. The patterns.

A great alternative if you're not up to making your own. Or a great gift for a grandmother who is no longer interested in getting her hands dirty with dye and glue.

via hwtm

Tuesday Letter to cjane — by Guest Mom Nie Nie

Sister,

How was your dinner? Did Andrew devour the black bean burgers? Yum. Next time you make them, you must make this little bean medley called Cowboy Caviar. It is a good mix of just the right tastes of what spring is. Side dishes are crucial to a good meal you know. Split open the chips and immerse to your hearts content.

2 cups corn
2 cups black-eyes peas
1 cup chopped tomato
1 bunch cilantro
1 sm. Bunch green onions, chopped
2 avacados, chopped
1 t. cumin
1/8 t. pepper
_ t. salt
_ cup olive oil
2 cloes garlic
mix well.

I have been thinking about your tinted chap stick inspiration. I think I have discovered a winner. Murad Pomegranate Lip Therapy hit the spot.


While on the subject of make-up, Oliver continues to put my make-up on. He wakes up at 6:30 each morning, and while I am sleeping, he is applying.

He has single-handedly destroyed my mascara. While in my searches for the finest mascara out there, I came across this. Shu Uemura makes this lovely product that is thick and adds serious volume.

I’m a fan…are you?

For decorating eggs this year all one needs is eggs and very thick glitter.

The glitter adds so much sparkle and pizzazz to the pastel traditional Easter egg. I also plan on hanging them from a live branch I cut from the garden. That way, in a few days when the blossoms on the branch bloom, I will have a live Easter egg tree.

What are you going to wear for the hunt? What about Easter dinner? I am determined to wear my Easter hat to church. Do you have one?

I wish I could spend the holiday with you. I will miss you.

Loves,
Nie

Gourmet Easter Goodies — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

I could bore you with my list of "approved" Easter candy, but then you'd probably think I was a little snobby and authoritative on the subject. And I am, but I just don't want you to think that I am. Plus, my list is longer than we have time for today.

But, I did do a little looking around for a few fun, new things I would like the Easter Bunny to bring me.

I'm pretty sure I'd dig something simple and straight forward like this from Lindt.



Wait. . . is it? It can't be. . . a WHOLE box composed of only caramels? Then I wouldn't have to take a bite and put it back because it wasn't a caramel. They're all caramels! Definite potential here. . .



These Robin Blue Truffle Eggs from Williams-Sonoma are lovely. Encased in a hard candy shell, these truffles are made with layers of white chocolate surrounding a truffle center.



I love the pretty packaging on these Italian Caffarel Eggs, also from Williams-Sonoma. Each one has a filling of almond, nougat, or gianduia (hazelnut).

And moving right along to Harry & David. . .



Here you see Belgian Easter Truffles — Framboise Ganache, Tiramisu, Rum Marzipan, Coffee Praline, Chocolate Ganache Praline and more!



Pears and Truffles: Two food groups, one box.

Finally, we come to JellyBelly: Gourmet Jelly Bean HQ

What would Easter be without the ubiquitous jelly bean? There are no better beans than JellyBelly. (Am I right, Design Mom?)

These are new to me:



The Sour Petite Beans include a mix of apple, cherry, grape, lemonade, orange and raspberry. (Count me in.)

Any of these would suit me just fine. What about you? Pipe up and tell us what you want the Easter Bunny to leave in your basket this year. What I mean to say is: Anything new in the candy department I should be aware of?

Hand Painted Love Boxes for Easter — by Guest Mom Lindsey Johnson

When I was a little girl, the Easter Bunny would always give us a little gift in our basket in addition to the loads of candy. I loved that and looked forward to it each year. One year it was a bathing suit. Another year there were gorgeous aquamarine jelly shoes waiting for me.

I want to keep that tradition going with my own children. Since I'm a sucker for anything hand painted, I had to buy a few these Love Boxes when I saw them.

I bought the Lily of the Valley Box for my daughter, Lilly, for her Easter basket this year.


And I bought this Present Box for me. Because it's darling and I wanted it.


(The pictures do not do them justice. I wish you could see them in real life and hold one in your hand! hey are absolutely darling.)

Each box has a sweet quote inside. And they come packaged so prettily.



Tiffany, the creator of LoveBoxes, just finished her line of Easter Love Boxes.



And lucky for us, she has opened a new Etsy store. In honor of her Etsy store, she is hosting a giveaway today on her blog. (Yay for you!)

Click here to visit the Hand Painted Love Boxes Blog for your chance to win.

You can also find her boxes here on eBay.

Easter Dresses

I'm looking for Spring dresses for the girls. Hanna Andersson has a few cute choices. But I'm especially in love with the blue stripe. So sweet. So classic.

Sometimes I put the kids in matchy, matchy. Sometimes I just coordinate generally — maybe blues this year.

The Incredible Edible Egg

Knowing that by the time April gets here and I'm ready to take on Easter — when the holiday will only be about a week away — I'm trying to get on top of things now. In fact, I'm thinking March 15th (tomorrow) is the perfect day to pull out the Easter box and see what festive goodies have been packed away all year.

My stylish friend Hailey sent me a link to these chocolate quail eggs and I've fallen in love. They're gorgeous. They've got me all Easter-inspired.

From Gumps in San Francisco.

Happy President's Day

My kids are out of school this week for winter break. Maybe we'll pull out the glue gun and make these cute penny lapel pins to mark President's Day.

Enjoy your day off!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I heart Design Mom Readers.

Were I able, my Valentine to you (inspired by the very wintery day here in NY) would be a pair of super-feminine, embellished slippers that you could wear while curled up on the sofa with a cozy blanket and a mug of steamy cocoa. And hopefully the slippers would make you smile and feel Valentinesy every time your feet peeked out from under the blanket.

Where are the kiddies in this scenario? Sleeping soundly of course.

Have a wonderful day!

Valentine's Bookmarks

Ralph and Maude wanted to make (instead of buy) Valentines for their classmates this year. They ended up making bookmarks. We bought a stack of pre-cut bookmarks from the craft store. Punched holes and added ribbon. Then Ralph and Maude went at them with markers and colored pencils and cut paper. The "to" and "from" went on the back.

When Maude was getting distressed about 4 bookmarks in — because she was doing a lot of cut paper details and it was taking a long time for each bookmark — we pulled out the handy dandy Valentine stickers that Grandma sent last year and that have been waiting patiently in the Valentine box the whole time for their turn to shine. The stickers sped things up considerably. Though Maude was careful to set aside any bookmarks with "kiss" stickers to make sure they weren't addressed to any male classmates.

Both Ralph and Maude were delighted with the results. And so was I. As always, I'm a big fan of projects they can handle basically on their own.

Patisserie Card Company

It's not too late to go out and pick up a sweet something for your sweetheart. Maybe these darling cards from Patisserie Card Company will inspire you to get out the door.

Valentine's Breakfast

At our house, the main Valentine's Day celebration happens at breakfast. I get up early and set a table the kids will think is elegant (read: I use linen and goblets). I light some tealights and sprinkle heart confetti.

The menu varies and can contain pretty much anything we might normally eat for breakfast, but with a romantic/heart/pink spin. The milk is blended with razzberries and something sweet. The waffles are topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The toast is heart shaped. The pancakes have a few drops of red food-coloring added to the batter. Oatmeal is served with brown sugar sprinkled to form a heart. And I've yet to try it, but the egg-in-a-cookie-cutter idea would be perfect.

I also leave a small valentine/gift on each child's plate — and I mean small. A tiny box with some new lip balm/gloss for their coat pocket. Or a new beaded bracelet. One year it was a box of band-aids for each child. This breakfast is no stress for me and has turned into a perfect tradition for our family.



Other ideas I am loving:
In a conversation with some fellow mothers a couple of weeks ago, we exchanged Valentine's traditions from the homes we grew up in.

-One family would wake to find a Valentine surprise under their pillows.
-Another family gave a book (in lieu of candy or trinkets) to each child on Valentine's Day.
-In a third family, the father would bring flowers to each of the daughters — Mom would get a big arrangment and the girls might get a single stem. The mother would give something traditional, say chocolate, to the sons.

The flower idea was also something my own father did and I loved it. In junior high and high school, when it seemed like it would be wonderful to have a sweetheart on Valentine's Day, it was reassuring to know there would be flowers waiting for me at home.

egg photo and flower photo from Getty Images

February Date Night Ideas — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Each year my husband and I alternate making the Valentine’s Day date plans. These are some of our ideas, please add your ideas in the comments section!

Dinner: This should be carefully selected well in advance. Our favorite place we have been together is Paris, so we always fall more in love at French Restaurants. Get a Zagat Guide at any bookstore or scan Time Out Magazine for your local city. These tools rate the quality of the food, type of atmosphere, cost, and information to call should you need reservations. (If you plan to head into NYC and need help, I would love to recommend some of our favs).

Activities: If you want to do something different, check with your local Museums. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a naked scavenger hunt. The art is naked, not the contestants.

Symphony, theater, or opera.

Once we did a handsome cab ride through Central Park. I imagine most cities with a lively downtown atmosphere would have something similar. I told him to meet me on the corner of a certain intersection and he had no idea we would be whisked away by horse and buggy!

I adore picnics at night, complete with candles in jars and blankets. A beach, scenic overlook, or park could be nice spots. If it’s cold, bring extra blankets and a thermos with hot chocolate. Dessert at a fancy place to warm up afterwards might be a nice end to a romantic evening. Morton’s Steak House has the most delicious options (for dinner or dessert, really).

Weekend get-a-ways! Staying at a bed and breakfast set the mood like nothing else.

[ Design Mom note: Tiny (1/2 inch and 1 inch) needle-felted hearts available at Purple Petunia's Etsy shop. So cute to slip in someone's pocket! ]

Book of the Week: I Like You

Jordan posted about this book yesterday, but I think it needs an extra little shout out. And I can't think of a better selection for the Book-of-the-Week right before Valentine's Day.

My excellent freshman dorm roommate, Renae, introduced me to this book and it was my favorite gift to give for a year or two. The whole book is only about 6 inches square, so it feels gift like. The writing is smart and sweet. My heart-strings tug reliably when I read it.

From a perfect review on Amazon:
"Written in 1965 by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, it still makes the perfect present for your best friend. Not just any run-of-the-mill best friend, though. This book is for the kind of friend who yells for you when you get lost in Grand Central Station or pretends to save you when you pretend to be drowning. I Like You is simple and quirky, uses words like "snurkle," and is laden with delightful Maurice Sendak-style pen-and-ink illustrations of alligators dancing, lively children, mirth, and general goofiness."

Give a copy to your sweetheart or friend or child on February 14th, or just because everyone should have a copy.

You can find it here.

Final Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

If your lover isn’t into sweets, perhaps a Cheese of the Month club would be more suitable. IGourmet.com offers 3, 6, and 12 month options to have different cheeses delivered — 3 wedges of different kinds of cheese — at about the same time each month. The beauty of a monthly gift idea is the opportunity it provides to invite friends over. Just have your guests bring different crackers to share.

You can also make your own cheese basket. Trader Joes or Whole Foods always has a great selection of fine cheeses from around the world. Your own selection carefully presented in a basket coupled with a card promising to fill it for a few months, could be a less costly idea. Just don’t forget to follow through on your shopping end of the deal.



Of course roses are the most common flower delivered on February 14th, but perhaps there is a more sentimental flower to select. Think about your honeymoon or special vacations you have had. Is there a flower that will spark romantic memories? As our honeymoon was in Hawaii, I ordered orchids one year to be delivered to my husband’s office. I requested a container that would be on the masculine side of the spectrum.



Another idea for a tropical memory could be a pineapple fruit basket from Cherry Moon Farms. Don’t be shy about talking to the delivery service about customizing the order to include specific fruit you ate on your trip.



I would be remiss if I didn’t include Harry and David, source of the most delicious gift basket I have ever received. Pears and Moose Munch would be a dreamy treat and the last of my post about gifts.

Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #3 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

My final attempt at encouraging Design Mom readership to lick the computer screen is Fannie May Candy.

This is a less exclusive brand, but gourmet and special to my heart. It’s a family love going back a few generations of Chicago dwellers, where I was born. The first store was opened there and is still widely loved by those in the Midwest.

Fannie May Pixies are their best seller and a personal favorite.


The Mint Melt-A-Ways are nothing short of amazing and my most favorite chocolate in the entire world. The only thing can come close to this outstanding flavor is the mint fudge at Disneyworld.


Fannie May is even more awesome by letting you create your own assortment box on-line. Or you can trust their packaged assortment; I assure you it will not be a disappointment.


And really, don’t just hope for a box. Simply send an email with these websites to your Valentine with a loving suggestion. Or order something for yourself. You deserve it!

Valentine's Day Gift Idea #2 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Vosges is about as sexy as chocolate can be.


The Exotic Truffle Collection contains perfect little circles of decadence, topped with hints of what awaits your senses inside. The exterior packaging is as though you are opening a sneaky gift of lingerie, complete with satin bow. Every piece is an exciting adventure to be slowly seduced into your mouth.


The Aztec Truffle Collection is filled with cacao and chilies, potent aphrodisiacs. As strange as it sounds to combine these ingredients, I can attest that they are delicious and give a little spark to the evening.


Carmel, although not very exotic, is my favorite partner for chocolate. I would have to say if I did my own gift purchasing this year it would be a box of these lovelies: Wink of the Rabbit Carmel Collection.


I am not a marshmallow lover, but the Vosges catalogs we receive always take my breath away when I turn to this image of the Carmel Marshmallow.

Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #1 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

The Sterling Truffle Bar is at the top of my giving list for this month’s sweet celebration of love.

It’s a truffle bar triangular in shape with colorful, hand-painted chocolate design. I love how sophisticated and unique they are with creative flavoring options to suit anyone with a sweet tooth.

James Reid is the creator. He was a professional chef for 25 years and lucky for us, his talent connected perfectly with his love for artistry and experimentation to result in this tasty treat.

I hear they are sold at Barney’s and exclusive chocolate shops across the U.S. in addition to being available to order on-line through their website.

White Chocolate Raspberry and Peppermint is a top pick:


Pineapple Ginger Macadamia Nut is most colorful:


Double Hazelnut Carmel has hearts on it, so appropriate for February:

Wax Paper Hearts

One of the most satisfying Valentine decorations I've ever made. I like to pick a small window pane and just fill it up. Lots of ways kids can help. You can find instructions here.

Ask Design Mom: Kid Valentine Exchange

Here's another terrific Ask-Design-Mom question:
Just thought I would throw this question out there and see if you have any fun ideas for homemade Valentine exchange cards for kids. I have three girls 10, 8 and 4. Thanks, Nicole Carpenter

Design Mom answer:
Wonderful question, Nicole! I had such a good time doing a little research for this answer. I went into my old magazine archives and picked out all the Martha February issues. What a treat to reread and remember so many great articles. I'm suddenly feeling all into Valentine's Day.

I found about one bazillion ideas, and a particularly helpful article to answer your question in a 2004 Martha Stewart Kids. I found a link to a shorter version of the text here, but no pics, so I scanned images of the 3 best ideas from the article:


Flower Lollipops. A perfect project for a 4 year old.


Hand-y Valentines. I love the stamp lettering on these.


Dot Hearts

I also found 3 other ideas that might be fun for your older girls:


Sewn Glassine Hearts
I could take or leave the envelopes, but that heart is awesome.


Doily Envelopes from a 1998 Martha
The simplicity of this is smart.

You can also find directions for the Heart Bookmarks here. (From the picture at the top of the post.)
Would be cute clipped to a card, so the recipient could see it was a bookmark and not just a little heart.

Best of luck, Nicole! I think I'm going to try one or two of these ideas with my own kids.

Random Giveaway: Handsome Devil Press Valentine's

Hooray for a Wednesday Giveaway! And it's a little different today. Well, lots different. Because there will be 10 WINNERS! Leave a comment today or tomorrow and you'll be entered to win A VALENTINE CARD OF YOUR CHOICE FROM HANDSOME DEVIL PRESS. You read correctly: there will be 10 winners. And each winner gets to pick their own card. That ups your chances significantly, so keep those fingers crossed.

I love this whole idea. You can go to Handsome Devil Press today and pick the perfect Valentine for your sweetheart — then you'll be all ready to go well before the big day gets here. And remember, at HDP it's always free shipping in the continental U.S.

Take a peek at a few of these cards:






Handsome Devil Press has got it going on. Fresh color schemes. Smart text. Bold typography. Free shipping. I highly recommend placing your order right away, because this is so much better than braving the mall to browse the not-as-cool-card-selection at Hallmark while trying to keep the kiddies from destroying the store's Precious Moments figurines. Also, I hear the camo designs are 100% Dude Approved.

Bonus full disclosure: Lucky you. You can actually pick any card you want, Valentine or otherwise (birthday, thank you, everyday) — but I'm especially feeling the Valentine selection.

Thank you, Handsome Devil Press!!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Thursday, January 25th 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.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Friday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.