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.