8 to 5 Sandwich

You ask. I answer. Here are directions to the famous 8 to 5 Sandwich. And a little background.

Ben Blair and I moved to Greece just weeks after I discovered I was pregnant with my oldest child. I was working as an art director at Ogilvy & Mather and everyday we'd order out for lunch. One of the nearby restaurants was called 8 to 5 — because they were only open during business hours and catered to the working peeps in the area.

I ordered their signature sandwich, also called the 8 to 5, on my first day of work. It was delicious. Maybe even heavenly. And it was one of the first meals that seemed to settle my morning sick digestive system. I ordered this same sandwich every day I worked at Ogilvy & Mather. Literally every day. It got me through that first pregnancy and has been a favorite sandwich ever since.

8 to 5 Sandwich

Ingredients:
French Baguette
Avocado
Cream Cheese
Lettuce
Bacon

Directions:
-Take a section of baguette (about 6-8 inches long) and slice it length wise.
-Mash the avocado and spread one piece of the sliced baguette with it.
-Spread the other slice of baguette with cream cheese.
-Add bacon and lettuce between the slices of bread.
-Enjoy a little bit of heaven.

One note. In Greece, they would mix the mashed avocado with some mayonnaise. It was yummy and salty and creamy. But for whatever reason, I've skipped this step for years.

TapeSwell

Here's a cool find. Decorative packing tape from TapeSwell. Dozens of patterns. Available in single rolls or combo packs. My favorites are the faux bois, the purple lace and the tulips.

T-shirt Dresses

Stephanie is such a smartie. While purging her wardrobe, she found herself feeling sentimental about a handful of old t-shirts. So she sent them to Prairie Mama and had them remade into sweet dresses for Ivy, her 9-month-old baby girl. Such a great idea. You can see the before t-shirts here.

Under A Blanket of Stars — by Guest Mom Stacy

I have always been fascinated by stars. The ones in the sky. We used to visit the planetarium all the time when we were little. I even recall wanting to be an astronomer for a brief moment, until I realized that there was more math involved than I was willing to commit to. I just wanted to look at the stars. All the milky, glittery shapes they swirl in the night sky. Under a blanket of stars.

Flash forward—2002. Jasper had just been born, & one of the books I had purchased for his room was H.A. Rey’s The Stars. The colors on the cover, not to mention the content, were a must-have. Plus anything by H.A. Rey is pure genius. I had been toying with the idea of starting a baby blanket business with a friend from college. I had another dream about turning the zodiac constellations into a blanket (I dream a lot! Not sleep, just dream). But how?

We tried a bunch of things. There were a few “for-sures”—muslin, gingham, & ric-rac, especially the giant ric-rac we got in New York. As for the stars, we settled on felt circles. The results were less than stellar. Not bad, but not exact.

2007—after sharing countless felting books & ideas, Jen & I were well on our way creating seven smooches. I wanted to incorporate the constellation blankets. Still wasn’t sure how to do the stars. Then, I discovered needlefelting. Perfect! Not only are there a zillion brilliant shades of wool out there, it’s fun! Pounding that roving into the muslin & batting can be cathartic.



The constellation blankets have now had three incarnations in 7 years. Don’t stop believin’.

I Have A Dream — by Guest Mom Stacy

If you have never washed a wool sweater & shrunk it into nothing, I highly recommend you do. It wasn’t until my friend Jen did ( her brother’s xxl grey Shetland) & turned it into a tote bag that I was curious. Then I had the dream. The dream of the tiny wool kimono (greyish-ivory) with the stand-up collar & big buttons. It was one of those dreams that wakes you up & stays with you for days. This is what we need to do.

Not that we weren’t satisfyingly busy already. Jen has 5 children (10,7,7,6, & 3), & I have 2 (12 & 7) as well as a full time job as a visual merchandiser in a well-known retailer (rhymes with lap). We met one another as co-room parents in the preschool where 4 of the seven smooches were in class together. We had the extra-curricular portion of motherhood somewhat covered, but we had to do this. The felt. The kimono. The babies — all too delicious to ignore!

And before we knew it, we were sewing. And designing. A new hat. A cardigan. A poncho—or is it a skirt? We applied to a juried art show & held our breaths. Could we really do this? But as any mother knows, whether you have 1 or 2 or 5 or 10 children there is no time to ask that question. Could we really do this? Yes, you can do anything you believe you can.

How To Build A Giant Table

Okay friends. Here it is. My attempt at instructions or at least an explanation of how to build the giant table. With lots of photos. And more notes than you probably want. If you're nervous to try it, remember that all I had to go from is some sketches I'd made on a legal pad and the picture of the table from Downtown Chic. So you're already way ahead of me. FYI: the finished table measures 33" high x 53" wide x 107" long.



First, we spent an afternoon assembling materials. We used:
2 two x eight boards, 8 feet long each
2 two x eight boards, 46 inches long each
2 pieces of 1/2 inch plywood, 48 inches x 53 inches
1 piece of 1/2 inch plywood, 11 inches x 53 inches
6 two x four boards, 46 inches long each
4 two x two boards, 8 feet long each, cut to assorted lengths
4 four x four fence posts, 32 inches long each

A full sheet (60" x 114") of metal from Denver Heating & Air Conditioning. Before we left, they used their industrial metal folding machines to make a 1/2 inch lip around each edge so that we didn't cut ourselves while handling the metal.



Costs:
-The lumber was just under $80 at Home Depot.
-The sheet metal was just over $50.
-My nephew already had some long screws (about 4 inches) and a box of black nails.
-We eventually decided we would want to attach the legs with bolts, so that we could easily remove the legs. Sixteen heavy-duty bolts and washers, etc, were about $50 at True Value.

Once we had the materials assembled, we built the table top base. (And I should note, whenever I say "we" I mostly mean my nephew Josh.)



We formed a rectangle using all four of the eight x two boards. The short pieces went inside the long pieces. We secured this box together at all 4 corners with 4 inch screws.



Once the outer rectangle was formed, we laid the six 46" two x fours across the bottom. We attached those with screws from the outside. Then we flipped it over.



Next, it was time to attach the top surface of the table — the wood we would eventually attach the metal to. We couldn't buy a single piece of plywood that was big enough, so we used 3 pieces. Two large pieces and one small one in the middle.



We attached the 3 plywood pieces to the table top base by screwing into the two x four boards through the plywood. Once attached, they formed a rectangle that measured 53 inches x 107 inches.



When the plywood sheets were securely attached, it was time to add a lip around the edge — something to wrap the sheet metal around. We used lengths of two x two board, held them in place with clamps, then screwed in through the plywood to attach them.




And tada! Phase one was complete. During phase two we added the metal top. During phase three we added legs. Here's phase two:

We laid the piece of metal on the ground, top side facing down. Then placed the upside-down table top base on top of the metal.



We marked and trimmed the corners of sheet metal. You can enlarge the images to see our technique. Then we hammered and hammered and hammered the metal until it would keep it's shape wrapping around the table base. We used nails to secure the metal to the bottom of the table top lip.



With the table top complete, we moved it into the room where it would eventually live. (It's incredibly heavy. Seriously.) And then we attached the legs.



The fence posts were nestled inside each corner and secured with clamps. Then we drilled four holes through the table base sides and completely through the fence posts. Two holes on each side. For each leg, four bolts went through four holes and were secured with nuts and washers. If/when we ever have to move the table through a doorway, it will be easy to remove the legs.



And that's it. We turned the table on its feet and it was ready to use.

Except. A few days later, we realized some air pockets had formed between the metal and the plywood beneath. So we did a pretty major fix. Josh's whole family came to help out. We took out every single nail and removed the metal top. We squirted three bottles of Gorilla Glue onto the backside of the metal, spread the glue evenly and placed the top back on the table.




We weighted the metal top down with every heavy thing in the house we could find. A couple of cinder blocks. Books. Boxes of files and papers. (Luckily, Ben Blair is a PhD and has oodles of boxes of paper and books.) We let the glue dry overnight, then removed all the weight and re-nailed the metal under the lip. Obviously, if we were building again, we would have done the glue part before we hammered and nailed the metal the first time.



Other Notes:
1) Our table is at a non-regular height. 30" is standard table height. 36" is standard counter height. Our table is 33" and works best with a 20" workstool. If you wanted a higher table, you could just use longer pieces of fence post. You could make the table shorter, but you might not be able to sit around it comfortably because the two x eight boards extend down quite far — making it hard to tuck knees under if you were sitting on a standard height chair. If you want a standard 30" table, you would be wise to use two x six boards instead of two x eight boards.

2) Since we didn't really know what we were doing, I intentionally picked a table style that would be rough and allow for building mistakes. Let this give you courage if you attempt a table as well. The more scratches, rough spots and gouges the better.

And that's it. Amazing! We still haven't aged the table and are considering our options. I'll definitely report back when I decide what to do. If you end up making a table too, please let me know. I'd love to hear how it turns out.

Josh, the main builder on this project (and the handsome guy in the blue polo shirt here) started a two-year proselyting mission yesterday. I know it's only been a day, but my whole family already misses him like crazy. Thank you, Josh!

Family Tree

Ben Blair's cousin, John Groberg, has come up with a cool new online service. Take the pile of ancestral photos you've been collecting, and use Geneartogy to turn them into an elegant family tree — printed, delivered to your door, ready to be framed. Wouldn't Martha be proud?

If you'd love to make such a display but don't know how to start, take a minute to read John's advice:

"You might feel intimidated at the prospect of collecting all the photos, names and dates. Don't be. You do not need to have everything assembled before you start. Just start with what you have — even if it is only your parents, then add more as you go. We store it all on our site and you can log in and work on your project whenever you want from wherever you are. If there are a few photos that just aren't available, don't let that stop you either. You can input the names and dates and use an attractive looking male or female silhouette (which we provide) in the photo place."

There are currently 3 templates to choose from and Geneartogy is looking to add more. If you're a graphic designer and would like to design additional options, contact John through his website — I know he's looking to hire.

I'm such a fan of any family photo displays. I totally think I'm going to try this.

Vintage Printable

Friends! Find of the year!!!

Vintage Printable has FREE high resolution images of botanicals, architectural prints, old travel posters, and all sorts of other lovely things (like the two examples above). There are dozens and dozens, maybe hundreds and hundreds are gorgeous options. The illustrations are curated by Swivelchair, an anonymous biopharma worker.

To be clear, the images have a high enough resolution, that you can print them up poster size and they'll still look great — not pixelated or fuzzy.

Print one out on the oversize printer at your local copy center, then frame it in a ready made option and you've got fantastic wall art on the cheap. See a great example here.

Sent in by Laurie who spotted it on I Suwannee.

La Maisonette

Stephanie and her husband bought a 400 year old cottage in France. And now they're renovating. You can read updates and reports here. On a scale of 1 to 10, my happiness for them is a 10. This kind of project is absolutely dreamy. That said, my jealously is at a 9. I'm so coveting.

Dearest Stephanie, please keep your eyes open for other pieces of charming real estate in the area.

Letterpress Classes

Did you see these pretty cards Jordan made for Paul? I wish I lived in San Francisco and could take one of her letterpress classes. I noticed the June class isn't full yet — I'm tempted to fly out for it. I'd love to make me some new business cards.

Trash to Treasure DIY — by Guest Mom Lara Fishman

I don't know about you, but for me, Spring brings out the urge to turn the house upside down for a yearly purge. As I'm hauling things out to the curb I have to remind myself: don't be too quick to throw away the stuff you find in your garage — remember to keep your eye out for hidden treasure.

Some of my favorite trash-to-treasure projects so far (pictured above — click to enlarge the pic):

-I turned an old bank door handle that I bought years ago from an online auction into a new towel rack for our guest bathroom. A new coat of nickel plating and presto, it’s good as new.

-I found a group of old lamps from the seventies in storage and were able to revive them as Mediterranean-esque sconces for a client’s bathroom.

-I took vintage Moroccan lanterns and replated them with nickel. One made the perfect hanging fixture for a regal bathroom for a client. The other two were hung in my own kitchen.

-I also love to mix modern and vintage so when I found some amazing old claw foot bathtub pedestal feet, I refurbished them and used them in my master bath. They go really well with the clean lines of the modern cabinetry.

-It’s also relatively simple to take a tired old chandelier and give it new life with a few simple touches.

-And you can easily re-invent something by simply changing its function. I found a vintage Lucite umbrella stand ages ago but have recently started using it in our bathroom as a toilet paper holder.

Are you a trash-to-treasure kind of girl? Any success stories?

Table Project Update

More sneak peeks of the table project!

Isn't it amazing? It's enormous. And weighs 300 pounds or so. I love it so much! I know I owe more details and sources — a full post with more pics is coming. Now. Do I leave it as is? Or try to age it to look like this one?

Painted Piano

The piano looks so good! If you've been thinking about painting your piano, then run, don't walk, to your nearest paint shop and get yourself a quart of high-gloss enamel. You don't have to paint it green, or any particularly bright color. But if you feel like your piano needs a fresh start, this is the cheapest, fastest way to go.

I had been wanting to do this project for 9 years and kept getting intimidated by it. But there was no need for fear. It was actually very straightforward and is one of the most satisfying projects I've finished in ages. Here are my notes, in case you're considering a paint job.



The best candidate for something like this is a piano that's not worth restoring. Ours was perfect. It was the piano I grew up with and it was pretty beat up when my parents originally picked it up for a bargain $300. By the time I inherited it, it was even more war-torn and the first thing I did was get 3 bids on having it refinished and restored. All three refinishers told me it would be about $2000 to restore the inside and $2000 to restore the outside and that the inside was just old, and even if it was restored it wouldn't be as good as new. All 3 recommended sending this one to the junk yard and buying new.

But new was out of our budget. And so was a $4000 restoration. I got some other opinions, and it was decided that the piano was good enough for lessons for the kids (the kids were babies at the time), and that we could get a more serious piano when and if our kids became serious piano students.

So we just kept the piano as it was and I dreamt of at least giving it a shiny coat of paint — for 9 years. Some years I thought a glossy black would be lovely. But then I felt like black would seem like I was trying to make the instrument more formal than it really was. Later I thought maybe a white coat that we could sand down and make sort of rustic would be nice. Then for about the last 3 years I decided turquoise would be the right thing to do, but I never made it happen. When we were moving, the piano was so depressing I almost left it behind. But Ben Blair said we should bring it to Colorado.

Saturday morning I was craving a challenge so I decided to finally tackle the piano paint job. When I got to the paint store I had a vision: go big or go home. I decided on Grass Green then and there. I bought one quart of hi-gloss enamel, one quart of primer, tinted to match the paint, and a paint brush. Grand total: $40.

By Saturday afternoon I had primed it and painted 2 coats of paint. At that point, I decided the green was a little too yellow, so I took the remaining paint back to Guiry's and asked them to green it up a bit. They spent a half hour with me (as the store was closing) getting the color just right. And they didn't charge me. (I will be a customer for life.)

Saturday evening, I added one more coat and then came back to the project on Monday. Monday I did two more coats. Tuesday I did some touch ups. And tada! It's finished.

Unexpected thing: I can already see this will be the signature piece in our home. I had never thought about a signature piece for our home, but because I went with a bold color, now we have one. Every person that comes in the house is drawn to it. Everyone wants to touch the keys. It's been played more in the last two days than it has been in years. Ben Blair wants to host a recital and call it Variations on the Green Piano.

Other unexpected thing: a piano is big. Physically and visually. It's not just a small accent piece. Once you have a green piano, you basically have to design the room around it instead of just work it into the existing space. Which means I need to talk to the landlord about painting the walls...

Seeing our newly painted piano makes me super happy. I think the only thing that makes me happier is when I watch my kids playing it while they're standing on books (wink). Green wouldn't be right for every home, but it's perfect for ours. I feel like I just bought this piano 10 more years of life. Next up: time to get it tuned.

Edit. To answer some of your questions.
1) The color is Benjamin Moore Yellow Green (but in my mind it looks more like grass green).
2) I didn't use oil-based paint.
3) According to the paint store: yes, you should sand off any existing hi-gloss finish before you prime.
4) I don't have any "before" pictures to share. I did have some. But they are gone. Because I am an idiot and mistakenly erased them.
5) Yes, I painted the bench as well. When I have the room more put together, I'll share a photo tour.
6) I did not disassemble the piano, but an expert or less-lazy person would have. I painted with the keyboard closed. Once the paint was dry, I opened the keyboard and painted around it with a smaller brush.

Happy painting!

Table Progress

I've been trying to figure out what kind of table I want in our dining-room-turned-art-space. Should I buy one? Maybe the Strut Table I've been in love with for ages from Blu Dot? Should I build something? Maybe use trestles from Ikea and a hollow core door? Except Colorado doesn't have an Ikea. (What the?!)

Then I saw this photo in Downtown Chic, the Sixx Design book I just posted about, and fell in love. It's so old and worn and beat-up and beautiful. My kids could paint on it or cut on it or dent it and it wouldn't matter even a little bit. So I hired my nephew Josh to help me build something like it. We don't really know what we're doing, but the rough nature of the finished project allows for mistakes. Which is perfect. Here is our progress:


We're building it as big as we can based on the sheet metal that was available. We think when it's finished it will be able to seat 10 very comfortably, and 14 pretty comfortably. Once it's built, I'll decide on the finish. Possibly I'll try to make it look aged. (I have no idea how I would go about doing this, if you have any tips, please share.) Possibly I'll just paint it.

Once it's finished (assuming the table turns out cool), I'll write up something with more details, sources and instructions.

Mini Moderns — Now in Clothing

Mini Moderns, one of my favorite wallpaper/textile design shops has partnered with Clothkits to create a collection of easy-to-make dresses featuring Mini Moderns print designs. How cute is that? I've never tried Clothkits before but now I'm all curious.

Kind of a wallpaper theme happening today. Unexpected, but I like it.

Draw-Your-Own Wallpaper

Spotted on kirtsy. Kellie of Scrapblog redesigned her long hallway with 2 gold paint pens, a step stool and 3 hours of time. She based her pattern on an image (the one at top) she found in a Fossil catalog. Fabulous!

I like this so much I might have to copy. Lots more photos and details if you click through.

Sidenote: have you been browsing the links at kirtsy this week? So much good stuff. Don't miss out.

Be an Original, Upcycled Vintage Bride — by Guest Mom Starr Keller

One part of Starr Strung that has come to mature quickly over the past year are my bridal jewelry and accessory lines. Specifically, the vintage section gets more attention than I ever thought possible. I know most of you reading are young mothers and aren't planning your wedding, but for any of the brides-to-be out there, here are some thoughts on using vintage jewelry in your wedding.

I have always adored vintage pieces, and can remember the first time my mom ever handed me a family keepsake to have as my own: a three-strand, freshwater pearl necklace with a tiny crystal rose clasp from my great-grandmother. I wouldn't change the necklace one single bit, but it did inspire me to go on a limb and incorporate upcycled vintage pieces into my work.

I've had brides ask me to incorporate an old family heirloom into their bridal jewelry, and have been prompted recently to seek out specific circa pieces for other brides-to-be. The end result is always, without fail, a perfectly unique ensemble of jewelry that a bride can cherish forever. Also, if you're someone who wants all of the tiniest details of your wedding to be unique and specific, incorporating these vintage components guarantees there won't be anyone else wearing the same jewelry.

Once you make a decision about your personal wedding day jewels, consider picking out vintage jewelry for your bridesmaids. Gifting bridesmaids with jewelry for your wedding day is a great, economical way to thank them — you are going to ask them to accessorize regardless, why not give them the perfect jewels? So much more fun than the same old monogrammed cup or key chain!

Interested in finding your own vintage accessories? I suggest seeking out pieces from the 1940s and '50s — it seems to me that the women of these eras took great pride in their appearance, and the jewelry and findings from these generations certainly reflect that. Once you've found something fabulous, think about how to repurpose it — rhinestone brooches can be upcycled into focal points of pearl-strand necklaces, while sparkly bits from clip on earrings can be made into stunning hair pieces.

Handmade Gardening — by Guest Mom Starr Keller

When I was diagnosed with adenomyosis last year, I started desperately doing research on the cause and effects of the disease. All signs pointed to what I was putting into my body, and unfortunately for a lady that loves sweets and the occasional fountain soda (caffeine!), all things that fell in the "refined" processing categories were out. No more food or drink with gluten, which meant a big change in my cabinets and grocery lists.

I grew up in a home full with natural parenting and organic eating long before it was en vogue, so calling upon my roots, I knew how to steer my ship and my family's dinner table into a more healthful way. This was the way our family garden was born: eggplant, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes of all hybrids, sweet peas, and recently, herbs. It has constantly amazed me, and our three little ones delight in how we can take rich soil in little peat pots, tiny seeds, a few days of warm sunshine and a bit of watering and walah! The end result is that we have bright veggies, fruits and herbs of all sorts to enjoy.



Because our kids are still young (ages 6, 5, and 3) labeling what seeds we have planted is of utmost importance. Our first year out, we had 35 tomato plants and one cabbage...so, I turned my efforts to etsy to find creative ways to identify our plantings. I like to support like-minded folks who are supporting themselves, so handmade stakes from Artisan Hands are perfect! And three stakes for $20 is a reasonable price for these little pretties that can be used again. The frequent watering help from little hands won't soil these pretties either.



For little bits of vintage loveliness in the garden, I like the offerings on from the etsy shop Monkeys Always Look. The idea of upcycling old pieces of silver into functional markers is so creative, and eco-friendly!

Happy gardening, made easier with handmade loveliness. It doesn't get any better than that!

Artisan Bread at Home — by Guest Mom Amy of Progressive Pioneer

There's something meditative about breadmaking that I absolutely love; the slow process of yeast developing, the rhythmic kneading, the suspense of waiting to take it out of the oven, perfectly browned. Up until recently, however, eating my whole wheat bread was less a zen experience, and more an exercise in patience as one chewed their way through a doorstop disguised as bread.

All that changed when I met Peter Reinhart. Okay, so we haven't actually met, but I feel a certain kinship as I've read his book cover to cover and it's now stained and marked as any well-loved cookbook should be.

All his recipes are 100% whole grain. He works with the properties of the grain with amazing results. Don't be intimidated by the two day process; it's really just as easy, if not easier that the regular method; much less kneading involved. And he's got everything from a simple sandwich bread to whole wheat bagels and cinnamon rolls.

Also, it may just be a rumor, but I've heard that Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day is coming out with a whole grains version... I've got my fingers crossed!

Going Green — by Guest Mom Amy of Progressive Pioneer

There's a certain morning ritual that has me so hooked I almost can't start my day without it. Not coffee, but green smoothies. Because the appearance can be a bit alarming, you really have to try it before you pass judgment. The basic recipe at our house is this:

-Half a banana
-A handful of blueberries (add enough to make it tasty)
-Several handfuls of fresh spinach
-Enough water to make it drinkable
-And that's it!

I promise it tastes great; spinach blends really well with fruit. And it's SO good for you! Once you get that down, you can get fancier with strawberries, carrots, oranges, melon, peaches, fresh coconut and pineapple; there are a million yummy possibilities!



Tiffany of Naturemoms.com puts her green smoothies in popsicle molds as treats for the kids. We love these Tovolo rocket and star molds (ours were a wedding gift!). Mixing spinach with yummy fruit in a rocket pop just might have your kids begging for their greens!

The one thing I hope you remember — by Guest Mom Amy Smart

Motherhood is good work — the best kind — but it’s work nonetheless. And sometimes it feels totally overwhelming.

Having a creative outlet is the aspect of my life that has kept me sane. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. It’s therapeutic for me to have some short-term creative projects in the midst of the long-term creative process of raising children.

I have a feeling this may be the first time Dolly Parton has ever been quoted on Design Mom, but it’s always good to break new ground, right? I recently found these lyrics and they spoke to me.

It takes all I’ve got to give what life demands.
You’ll go insane if you give in to it,
Life’s a mill and I’ve been through it,
I’m just grateful I’m creative with my hands.

So here’s the one thing I hope you remember from Amy Smart: Find something you love to do and do it.

Not because you want to get a bunch of new comments on your blog, or because you want to become the next Martha, or because you want to win a blue ribbon at the state fair. But because it feeds some part of you that needs feeding.

Just don’t try to do it all. You’ve really got to narrow your focus. For right now, I’ve narrowed it down to one thing.


And I set up shop in the middle of the family room with the kids buzzing around me. I try to avoid using the computer when they are around because I don’t like the thought of them just looking at the back of my head. But I do sew with them around. (This doesn’t mean there aren’t frequent interruptions and occasional balls thrown at my head or Hot Wheels cars driving across my back). I like them seeing me do something artistic, and I’ve seen the way it affects my kids’ creativity.


In the meantime, I totally enjoy admiring the work of other women. Especially when they do something I don’t do. Don’t feel guilty or compare what you do to what other people do. Enjoy the beauty they create as well.

So, pick your thing. And love it. Whether it’s baking a loaf of bread, or playing the piano, or doing Pilates, or knitting socks, or digging in the dirt. Nourish your soul. Then you can better nourish the little souls that live with you.

Thanks again to Gabby for letting me come hang out this week and to all of you for your encouraging comments. I’d love to hang out with you more in the future, so drop in for a visit!

Paper Toys

I keep thinking about the Paper Toys I wrote about for Cookie last week. I really want this book/kit.

How to make a messenger bag in 32 minutes — by Guest Mom Amy Smart

Today I want to share another simple, beginning sewing project you can make with your kids or for yourself. This is what we are giving our friends for birthday presents this year. It’s even cool enough for boys because it’s a messenger bag (not to be confused with a man purse!).

Come visit me here to learn how. I promise that you can do this in about 30 minutes. Maybe a little more if you’re still getting your sewing groove on, but you’ll feel like a pro when you’ve done it. We made this cowboy version Sunday afternoon. Even though I did all the sewing in this case, my 5-year-old felt immediately connected and proud of the bag after watching me make it for him. (Which he literally did every minute I was working.)

5 Easy ways to teach a girl (or boy) to sew — By Guest Mom Amy Smart

image credit, Amy Hackworth

I think sewing is another great method for kids to express themselves creatively. I love this thought of teaching our children to sew as a means of being a “stabilizer” in their lives expressed beautifully by former first lady, Grace Coolidge:

“Every girl should be taught to sew, not merely for the sake of making something, but as an accomplishment which may prove a stabilizer in time of perplexity or distress. Many a time when I needed to hold myself firmly I have taken up a needle (a sewing needle, some knitting needles, or a crochet hook.) Whatever its form or purpose, it often proved to be as the needle of the compass, keeping me to the course.”

So here are some ways to get them (or you!) started:

One fun way, especially with really young kids, is beginning-level lacing cards. The ever-popular eeBoo has some adorable choices.


If your kids are a little older and you want to make your own sewing cards, check out Marie’s patterns at Make and Takes.


In The Creative Family, Amanda Soule suggests simply giving your children some fabric in a sewing hoop, a needle and thread, and letting them go.

We’ve also had success with my daughter drawing a picture and taping it to the window. Then she lightly traces it onto plain fabric, and stitches over the traced lines. A very simple way to let them capture their art in another form.



For another very simple project to do with your kids, Oliver + S offers this free download for an easy child’s skirt. I am no expert at sewing clothes (still a little scared of zippers and sleeves) but this one is totally do-able. And cute.


Really, you can do this. And it doesn’t need to be perfect. Keep it simple, but at the same time, let them run with it. Don’t be afraid to let them (or yourself) make mistakes. Your kids will love anything they have a hand in, and it will give them a ton of satisfaction to see a finished product that they accomplished with their own hands. Hopefully it will do the same for you too!

Easter Tree

Megan, the friend I attended the Martha Stewart taping with, has been putting the glitter she received to good use. Knowing my time is crunched this month, she made my family an Easter Tree — so that I wouldn't need to pull out the glitter myself in the middle of all the towers of boxes we're living with. I can't imagine a more thoughtful gift.




There are 7 eggs. Each one blown out, dyed, then glittered with a family member's initial. The tree was waiting on the table when the kids got home from school last week and they pretty much went crazy over it. The personalized eggs. Oh. And the Snickers. Thank you, Megan!

What have you done for Easter decorations this year? How are you dying your eggs?

Green photo scavenger hunt

Katie Schultz had a great idea. She took her kids on a photo scavenger hunt. They walked around their neighborhood and took pictures of anything green they could find. So smart!

The same concept would work with any color. You could do it with letters as well. Or pick another sort of theme — smiles, toys, cars, things that make noise, animals, etc. Toddlers and preschoolers would be all over this.

The Dish That Keeps On Giving — by Guest Mom Jora

If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend you find a recipe that your family loves and that also happens to give you lots of leftovers. This is ironic coming from The Girl Who Hates to Eat Leftovers. But I have to admit there are some dishes that are as good, if not better, the second or third day as they were the first. Soup, in my mind, is one such dish.

The beauty of finding the “dish that keeps on giving” as I like to call it, is that it is usually a one dish meal (think casserole, soup, stew, etc.) and can be served from at lunch, on a planned “leftovers night,” or on one of those nights that you intend to cook something fresh and fabulous, but alas, the day has gotten away from you. Generally speaking, these dishes are just as much work if you make four servings or twelve. Make it on Sunday afternoon, eat it for dinner that night, and then partake as needed during the week. (Again, if you’re very oriented toward planning, which I am not, freeze some portions and then pull it out in a month when everyone has forgotten about it!)

Some of my family’s favorite soups (which provide lots of leftovers) include the following:

Homemade Chicken Noodle
Turkey Chipotle Chile
Lentil Soup
Cream of Asparagus
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder

And last but not least, Orangette’s “Fretwell (Italian Vegetable) Soup,” which I made recently with Baby J (literally) underfoot. I am always surprised that my kids (specifically my son) will eat this soup which has about 7 or 8 types of vegetables in plain view. Oh, and it happens to be the most delicious version of minestrone I have ever tasted. Be sure to serve it over the slices of day-old bread and with plenty of good olive oil drizzled over the top.

See how happy Baby J is to sit down at eat this soup?

And here’s C-Man giving the soup a (too-rare) thumbs up!

What are your favorite “dishes that keep on giving”?

The Virtues of (Meal) Planning Ahead — by Guest Mom Jora

If you have a family to feed, I cannot extol the virtues of planning meals ahead enough. I know this is easy for some of you….you are planners by nature. This sort of thing maybe even excites you a little. You can make dinners on a weekend, freeze portions ahead of time and pull little packages out during the week: Turkey Chili, anyone? Cheese Enchiladas? Beef Stew? I personally don’t have the foresight or the freezer space to take meal-planning that far.

But getting a list of dinner ideas together on Sunday night is a very, very good thing indeed (to quote Martha). I find it is the only way to feed your family a variety of interesting meals while not driving yourself crazy with the 5 o’clock panic. You don’t have to plan anything fancy and don’t feel pressure to come up with new things all the time (unless that is what makes you happy). Plenty of moms I know do the “Taco Tuesday” and “Friday Pizza Night” thing. The point is, think ahead, shop ahead, and meals will be more enjoyable to prepare and to eat. On my blog, I try to post "Meal Planning Monday" each week. I find this keeps me on track.

I’ll admit I was reluctant to switch over to this sort of cooking. Before kids, I prided myself on living (what I thought was, anyway) a very European lifestyle: shopping almost each day for fresh foods and cooking spontaneously. And that, my friends, is a fine way to live, should you have all sorts of time on your hands and no dependents to take care of. I am guessing that is not your situation if you are reading Design Mom, however.

I’m not going to give you a list of menu items and recipes (even though I am tempted!), because each family is different in their tastes. You know what you like and what your family will eat. But I will share one idea with you. We could eat salads almost every night in our house, and I know that’s true for many of my friends and their families. The trick is to, again, plan ahead so that you have the makings of a fresh and interesting salad at your fingertips. So, I recommend buying the lettuces you like and washing and drying them for the week. Just wrap the clean leaves in paper towels and store in plastic bags. Then (and this is the important part), make a good homemade dressing or two (it really makes a big difference!), and maybe even some croutons.

Herbed Buttermilk Dressing
from The Gourmet Cookbook

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
½ c. mayonnaise
2 T. olive oil
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. chopped fresh chives
1 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. It will keep, covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. But it will be gone before then. Trust me.


Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette
from The Gourmet Cookbook

This is my son’s favorite dressing. He calls it “the brown dressing.” Not very appetizing-sounding, I realize…. He will dip just about anything in it, which is handy for getting him to eat his veggies.

1 garlic clove
½ t. salt
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t. fresh lemon juice
3 T. minced fresh basil (optional)
¼ c. finely grated parmesan cheese
¼ t. freshly-ground black pepper
½ c. olive oil

Using a large heavy knife, mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt. Whisk garlic paste with vinegar, lemon juice, basil, cheese and pepper in a bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until well blended. Add more salt and pepper to taste. This will keep for a week or more covered in the refrigerator.


Croutons
Homemade croutons are super easy and much tastier and cheaper that buying them at the store.

Cube or tear day-old bread into small pieces. You can use a nice crusty European-style loaf, but honestly, if you use the Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread from Trader Joe’s (or something similar), that will taste great too.

Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. (You can get fancy with herbs or parmesan cheese or such, but it really isn’t necessary.) Bake in a 400 degree pre-heated oven for about 10 or 15 minutes (or until slightly crisp and golden). Give the croutons a stir or two while they are baking.

Let cool completely before tossing with your salad. Store the cooled leftovers in a zip-top bag.

Freezer Paper Stencils

Liz and Camie and Jill saw this freezer paper stencil tutorial on Angry Chicken and made Obama tees for their little ones. I'm dying to try this method! Looks like the perfect solution when you just want to make one or two tees. I'm bookmarking this and adding it to my list of gifts-my-kids-can-make-for-each-other for next Christmas.

Sisters Gulassa

Just heard from Sisters Gulassa. Lise and Cyrille are two sisters that collaborate from two different continents to make beautiful textiles. They just launched their first line of fabrics — it's called Lulu and it's available through Camelot Cottons.

On their brand new blog, you can also get lots of peeks at their workspace, upcoming designs and all sorts of beautiful photos. It might be my new favorite blog.



Sigh. I love looking at beautiful textiles. It makes me want to make something. What shall I make?

Potatoes and Printing — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

Image courtesy of my talented pal Lisa Coris. This is the Healy Pass, just up the road from my in-laws.

I’m jumping the gun on St. Patrick’s Day here, but this is my first year as a new Irish citizen (courtesy of my husband), so next week has special significance.

While other people mark the day with plastic hats and green beer, I’ve recently learned that many gardeners mark the holiday by planting potatoes. That's because in Ireland, the soil is finally warm enough to sow seed potatoes — a fancy name for small potatoes with a sprouting eye.

Potatoes are dead easy to grow, and no other crop delivers the same sense of mystery and satisfaction. When you dig into the soil and unearth a crop of potatoes, I promise that you’ll feel like you're five years old again and just found the prize at the end of a treasure hunt.



My dad grew potatoes when I was little, and my sisters and I can still summon up all the sentimentality and smells of that experience. Hopefully we'll pass that onto the next generation: My niece helped me tend our potato patch last year, and this fall, she dug up her very first crop.

If gardening isn't for you, consider that potatoes aren’t just food — they make a great craft material, especially in the hands of someone as talented as Lotta Jansdotter, who shows us how to print with a sweet potato right here.



Thanks, Gabrielle, for having me as a Guest Aunt this week. And thanks to everyone who took the time to write — you’ve been wonderful and encouraging, and it's been great to be in your company!

Upcycled Photo Cube — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

We have teetering piles of orphaned cds at home, which means we have an equal number of empty cd cases. Not very glamorous on their own, but with a no-sew makeover, the cases can be turned into chunky, modern photo displays that double as candleholders.



I printed images on vellum paper so the cube gives off a gauzy glow when lit from the inside. Some of my readers told me they made different versions as gifts, personalizing them with photos from friends and family members’ trips. Once the telltale edges of the cases are covered in ribbon, no one is the wiser that this wasn’t picked up in some in-the-know boutique. But I’m such a dork that I'll take any chance to blurt out, Isn’t this cool? I made it from CD cases!

You can follow along here.

Find more of Kelly at Make Grow Gather.

Fave Fabrics and Books — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

Fabric stores are dangerous-magical places for me, along with libraries and bookstores. I could spent hours sort of sleepwalking through the stacks in a lovely daze. Sort of like what these designs do to me:

Top Fabric: Nani Iro Fredonner Linen in Rose





Row by row, from left to right:
Pine in Chocolate, Joel Dewberry
Sweet Jasmine in Natural, by Amy Butler
Pear Tree Border in Light Grey
Swirls and Spots in Earth
Brown Underwater Sisters, Heather Ross
Foliage, in Blue and Terracotta

As to what to do with these fabrics, I’ve made pillows, tea cozies, and baby blankets. Even more ideas abound in my current go-to sewing books: Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, Midwest Modern by Amy Butler, Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Celine Dupuy, and Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp.

As for where to buy fabric, nothing beats picking it up and feeling its heft and texture in person. But if you don’t have a great fabric store nearby, or you want more options, you can’t go wrong here:
Purl Soho
Reprotdepo Fabrics
Sew, Mama, Sew!
And for our Aussie friends, Duckcloth in Melbourne.

And then, of course, there is the revolutionary Spoonflower, where we can all pretend to be fabric designers. And it makes things like this possible, which is pretty much the sweetest gift I’ve ever seen.

Find more of Kelly at Make Grow Gather.

A Story Box — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

The realization that I am the first Guest Aunt here is making me sit up straight and take this newly-created role very seriously. I want to do good by all of us aunts out here, who – like me – probably don’t have the vocabulary to express the love for our little nieces or nephews.

This also makes me think back to when I was on the precipice of aunthood, before my older sister had her daughter. My sister Robyn is one of the most adorable, loving, bright-spirited people you will ever meet in your whole life – and she lavishes all kinds of love and attention on everyone in her life. But she gets kind of squirmy when the spotlight turns on her. She was pretty feisty about not wanting a baby shower, but eventually, a few of her closest friends and I insisted that we at least take her out to dinner. And we wanted to find something we could make or do that would represent our love for Robyn, and all of our relationships with her.

Enter the Story Box.

All this takes is a sturdy wooden box (a cigar box is ideal) covered with some dreamy illustrations, and digging into your shared memories to come up with a few stories that reveal something about the mom-to-be. We all wrote two or three story prompts that Robyn (or her daughter, when she gets old enough) can pull out and use as a starting point for a story. A card inside the box reads “Tell Ada A Story About…” and the handwritten cards take it from there.

The cards we wrote for Robyn included trips that she and her husband took before having kids…famous (and infamous) stories about our parents…and sweet sentiments about what Robyn imagined her son or daughter would be like.

One of the things I love about this project is that it’s a collective expression, and it manages to capture a wide range of feeling and love and history without being too treacley. Perfect for someone like Robyn, who won’t let you linger too long on why she’s a kickass sister, mom and friend.

Find more of Kelly at Make Grow Gather.

Magnet Makeover — by Guest Aunt Kelly Wilkinson

Every time we move, our collection of beloved photos, notes and postcards on the refrigerator goes into a file folder to be transported to our next kitchen. And every time I open that folder and transfer the old mementos to the new fridge, that new kitchen finally feels like home.

But like most people, we’re always trying to cram the corner of just one more birth announcement under an already maxed-out magnet. So I decided to replenish the stash with a pack of magnets from the craft store; some smooth, tactile stones; and my newest craft crush: rub-on transfers from this company.


The transfers add a nice hit of design without actually needing to know how to draw or tinker around in a design programs, and I really like the contrast of a bright graphic against natural stone.

Simply rub a transfer onto a found pebble or stone, and glue to the magnet with a dab of epoxy glue, like J-B Weld. Now the magnets are almost as cherished as what they hold.

Find more of Kelly at Make Grow Gather.

Clever Cakes

Since I posted about the brain cupcakes, my inbox has suddenly become the hotspot for party ideas. For example, an email with a link to this slideshow of 31 cake ideas — with full, step-by-step instructions no less. The dumptruck and fries are my favorites.

Speaking of truck cakes, did you see the truck party Maggie threw for 2-year-old Hank? Lots of wonderful photos.

Young Einstein Party Favors

For party favors, the guests were able to take home samples of all the experiments they'd made (green slime, fake snow, etc.), so we didn't really need to come up with anything else. But because Maude is a maker, we decoupaged mini-clipboards as well, filled them with graph paper and tied on a green pen. [Edit: I heard about this cute idea from my friend Megan. Thanks for the inspiration, Megan!]





Kiasa brought white favor bags as part of the Science Explorers of NY party package. We added these green circles — attached with double-sided tape — to tie them into our party theme. They say: Thank you for coming to Maude's Young Einstein party. Yay for cool science!

Lots (lots!) more Young Einstein party photos here.

Make Someone's Day — by Guest Mom Stephanie Brubaker

Recently we've been recipients of a few random acts of kindness, and we are enjoying them so much that it seems only right to pass along the good vibes. I thought it would be fun to share some ideas about simple yet meaningful ways to make someone's day, whether it be anonymous or not. A little thoughtfulness goes a long way...especially during a time when many are feeling down about life. Here are a few ideas to spark your imagination:

1. Make a batch of cookies and package a few of them up for others to enjoy. Save a few for your own kids too...you'll want them to have warm memories of Mom making cookies :)

2. Prepare a nice lunch (something you'd be thrilled to eat yourself) and then give it to a homeless person. Perhaps include a napkin with an uplifting note written across the top. Based on experience, having a surprise lunch delivered is about the best thing ever.



3. Gather up all the fixin's for a "tea-party-in-a-box" and pass it along to a friend who needs some extra TLC. Include a mug, a few tea bags, a homemade or store-bought scone, lemon curd, and whipped cream (if you can find Devonshire cream, use that instead).

4. Buy a large bouquet of flowers at Costco and then divvy them up to a few friends. Wrap a few stems in kraft brown paper and add ribbon. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't love flowers as a gift.

* If it's a food-related item, you may want to let the recipient know it's from you...some people may not eat food that's given to them anonymously. Just a thought...



A simple, yet well-packaged treat is both fun to present and to receive. If you are taking the time to participate in a random act of kindness, why not package it up nicely? :) Here are some of my favorites:

Pie Shaped Packages...What a fantastic way to present a piece of homemade apple pie. Yum. I'll admit it's more time consuming than the other ideas but a project that must be done at least once. The cuteness factor is way too high to pass up! You can view the template here.

White Chinese Takeout Boxes...They cost less than a quarter each making them very cost effective and adorable. You'll find yourself using this idea over and over because you can change the look of the boxes so easily with different colors, ribbons & tags.

Gable Boxes...I absolutely love these boxes and find myself creating excuses to use them. Add an adhesive label and you're good to go. My favorite labels are those from Stuck, Paper Source, and Thomas Paul.

And speaking of sharing the love...thank you so much for all your lovely comments this week. You've all made my week and I'm feeling lots of warm fuzzies right now, thanks to you! Keep in touch...

Find more of Stephanie at Stephmodo

Giveaway — Poloppo T-Me Kits

Remember the fab draw-your-own-tee kits I posted about a few weeks ago? Well the feedback on the tees was basically: Yes, please! So I said: Your wish is my command. And I set up a Giveaway immediately: Five T-me Kits from Poloppo for five lucky winners!



The kit comes with everything you need: paper, markers, clear instructions, and a pre-paid envelope. You put your little artist to work. Mail in their drawing. And a couple of weeks later you get back a t-shirt featuring their very own masterpiece.




Poloppo offers several t-shirt styles and colors in sizes for babies, kids and adults. So you could also use this kit to make a Father's Day gift or a surprise for Grandma — even multiple items with the same drawing. But I'd recommend getting at least one tee in child size, because you know your child is going to love-with-a-capital-L wearing a shirt featuring her own creation. The trick will be getting her to wear anything else.

Many thanks to Poloppo!

-------------

Guidelines:
-You have until Midnight PST on Sunday, March 1st to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment. One entry per person, please.
-The 5 winners will be randomly picked and announced Monday, March 2nd.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Favorite Desserts — by Guest Mom Stephanie Brubaker

A few readers recently requested a "top 10" list featuring my favorite desserts. It sounded like a yummy post to write so here it goes...for all to enjoy! Please note that most of these desserts can be made in one hour or less, some under 30 minutes, which I consider absolutely necessary :)

These recipes are my favorite "crowd-pleasers", in no particular order, with a few notes included. Bon appetit!

1. Lemon Cake...serve with Lemon Curd, whipped cream & fresh berries; the very similar but more low-fat Lemon Yogurt Cake is lovely too; make sure you sieve the lemon curd before chilling.

2. Banana Pillows...double the amount of sauce; also, you can stretch the puff pastry to 6 pillows instead of 4.

3. Frozen Key Lime Pie...for recipe notes on this one click here. There are more than a few :)

4. Tapioca Passion-Fruit Parfaits...great with an Asian-inspired meal.

5. Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes...use a high-quality chocolate for this one and serve with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond.

6. Glazed Chocolate Cake...garnish with whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts or fresh raspberries; use a high-quality chocolate with this one too.



7. Chocolate Pots de Cremes/Custards...before serving, cover the tops of the custards with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

8. Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake...a great way to use that delicious lemon curd that keeps for up to a week in your fridge! A few thoughts on other ways to use lemon curd here.

9. Croissant Bread Pudding...use half good quality croissants and half pain au chocolats; raisins can be omitted; serve with a warmed caramel, Bourbon or Rum sauce.

10. Peanut Butter Sandwiches...best a few hours after assembling; double the cookie recipe to put to use the extra filling you'll inevitably have on hand.

Find more of Stephanie at Stephmodo

Yudu Screen Printing Machine

Another indoor activity for this week: screen printing t-shirts.

Here's the sitch. 1) We were sent a Yudu screen printing machine in December to test out. Here it is February and we hadn't tried it out yet. 2) Three and 1/2 years ago, I ordered 10 orange t-shirts to be decorated and given out as party favors at Ralph's 8th birthday celebration. Alas, they arrived as the party was ending. They have been sitting in my garage ever since. All of them are size youth small. 3) My brother Josh has been seeking out kid size t-shirts featuring the cool bands of his childhood. We love that idea. These 3 factors came together for a great day-off activity on Monday.



We took an early U2 album cover and used Photoshop to make it a black and white bitmap image, then printed it out on a transparency.



We burned it into our screen in the Yudu machine, and then printed it onto the t-shirts. We tried different inks and different placements on the tees. And, because it's hard to stop printing things once you get into the swing of it, we also tried the U2 print on different papers, one of Ben Blair's tees, and a clipboard that was sitting on the counter.




When Ralph came running down the stairs with every blank t-shirt he owns in his arms, I knew it was time to shut it down — before everything we owned was covered in the October album cover. By the way, the Yudu is still in development — the manufacturer is working out kinks and making sure the directions are clear, etc. So if you were hoping to buy one, so sorry, but you'll have to wait. [ Edit: turns out I'm totally wrong. Yudu is now available for sale. Great news! You can find more info here or here. Also. I couldn't find a link, but I here they are on sale at Jo Ann's. ] That said, we highly recommend this machine. We loved our experiment with it. Years ago, we actually tried to set up a screen printing space in our basement utility room, but dealing with the emulsion chemicals and figuring out a good light to make the exposure is tricky. The Yudu solves both of those problems.



Overall, lots of fun. And since we don't need a whole bunch of matching orange t-shirts, when we were finished, we dropped them off at some of our neighbors homes — neighbors with 8 year old fans of U2 in the house.

Treehouse

As I've mentioned, my kids are out of school this week. It's still very cold outside, so we've been coming up with fun indoor projects to fill the time. This one is fantastic:


Calafant makes blank, sturdy, cardboard toys. They are easily constructed, and can be decorated with any art supplies you have on hand. Or even left plain. They are beautiful either way. The toys comes in small size, medium size, large size, and really-big-play-inside-size. We put together the Calafant Treehouse — a large size project that was ideal for several kids to work on at once.



First: they put the tree together. Second, they realized that their Playmobile people fit perfectly into the space.



Third, they pulled out the markers and went to work. (Feel free to click on any of these photos to enlarge them for more detail.)

A great collaborative toy to work on! They keep coming back to it to fill in another area with marker. And a great toy to interact and play with as well — Oscar has made the tree house a permanent home for at least 2 dozen of his favorite figures. Extra bonus: these toys are made to endure several months of active play and when it's time to retire them, they are completely recyclable.

You can find all sorts of Calafant cardboard toys at this Creative Toy Shop.

Happy President's Day!

It's almost 7:00pm and I'm just now sitting at the computer. It was a fun day off for the whole family. We spent the morning on a silk-screening project (pics coming). And the afternoon was spent running errands — including a trip to the Apple store to replace Ben Blair's phone. His old one was stolen this weekend. Total bummer. But his new one is shiny and scratch free and we love it already.

Valentine's Day was just right. After our family breakfast (eggs and bacon on bagels plus raspberry milk), the kids each received one of these adorable pillows. They were a surprise gift from Kim and Kris at You Can Make This. The pattern for these personalized name pillows is their all-time best-selling item. And I can see why — who knew pillows would be like the greatest present ever? My kids were absolutely delighted. And I was especially touched by the thought and effort that went into each one — the craftsmanship is excellent and the fabrics were especially picked out with each child in mind. Thank you Kim and Kris!



Saturday night, Ben Blair and I had a last-minute opportunity to go out, so we stopped into a nearby bistro for steak frites and lots of gazing into each other's eyes, etc. Awwww. Tuesday is coming too fast!

The Foods. — by Guest Mom Amy Stigler

Rather than menus I thought I would talk about the specific foods we heavily rely on when guests are coming. The premise with all of our menus is that the kids dinner can be a variation of the adult dinner. Of course, the kids are always welcome to eat what the adults are eating but I can work the ingredients into a meal that appeals to even the pickiest eater.

Chicken: I generally purchase chicken breasts and cut them into 'tenderloin size pieces.' In the summer they get marinated with a little olive oil, S&P, garlic and lemon and go on the grill. In the winter we bread the chicken (dipped in egg & homemade bread crumbs) and bake it. The kids love these chicken 'fingers' and we serve them with veggies and dip. For the adults I may toss the chicken in a salad and serve it with crusty bread or I may make an easy chicken parmigiana like this one.



Pasta: Of course, the possibilities are endless. I love to make a tomato & cream sauce that is really simple and appeals to vegetarian friends and kids alike. Its basically a 'vodka sauce' minus the vodka. I just use a heavier hand when garnishing the adult portions with basil & good parmesan. This is also excellent served as a side to the chicken. Or with turkey meatballs.

Pizza: Most popular at our house. Our easiest 'time-crunch' menu is to order thin crust 'take & bake' pizza which we may then embellish with goat cheese, roasted tomatoes & fresh herbs. Even better is to pick up pizza dough (or make it yourself) and have guests make their own individual pizzas.

Salmon: (wild, preferably!). My kids love salmon. I just brush a filet with some olive oil and then cover it completely with thinly sliced lemon & dill. It is so quick and simple and crowd-pleasing. Couscous and a salad (or crudite for the kids) complete the meal.

I will end the week with a few of our favorite activities that keep the kids entertained ... stay tuned ....

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.

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.

Olive's Valentine Bookmarks

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



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



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



On some she made a decorative border.



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

Apple Pies for Your Sweetie Pies

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

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

Playdate

Maude had a friend over after school the other day. I loved watching them keep busy making beaded jewelry. Both girls had Klutz beading kits — but different versions. Maude's was this one. Her friend, a wonderful girl from Argentina, used a Spanish one that featured necklaces.

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.

Ask Design Mom: Baby's First Shoes

Ask Design Mom Question:
Gabrielle, I had my first baby a year and half ago and I have her first pair of shoes sitting in my closet because I don't know what to do with them. I wanted to silver or bronze them but I can't find anywhere they do that sort of thing anymore. The reason I ask is that I wanted to give them as a gift to her grandmother for Mother's day. I would really appreciate your creative help. Thanks, Ruth P

Design Mom Answer:
Hi Ruth! Thanks for your question. I agree that finding a service to bronze your baby's shoes is becoming harder and harder. I suppose it's because instead of sturdy little white leather booties, many babies first shoes these days are more of a slipper — and are worn practically from birth. Who knows.

This is what I'd suggest. Petrie Point Designs makes gorgeous framed pieces from antique baby items. Your baby's shoes would surely look just as lovely displayed so elegantly. You could inquire with Petrie Point Designs or any frame store to help you with this. Or you could even make a composition yourself with a shadow box frame from your local craft store.

If you're heart is really set on bronzing them, try this company or this company. Whatever you do, I'm sure Grandma will love the gift!

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.

Poloppo Tee Kits

Have you seen these Make Your Own Tee kits by Poloppo? They are fantastic. The kit comes with everything you need: paper, markers, clear instructions, and a pre-paid envelope. You put your little artist to work. Mail in their drawing. And a couple of weeks later you get back an American Apparel t-shirt featuring their masterpiece.




Another cool thing, Poloppo offers grown-up t-shirt sizes as well. So you could have your child design a tee for Dad or Grandpa — a brilliant Father's Day idea.

I put Oscar to the task the other day. Can't wait to see his custom tee!

Make Your Own Handwriting Font

Spotted on Kirtsy. A FREE service that will convert your handwriting to a font. Love this. Do it with your own handwriting. Or document how charming your kindergartener's script is.

via lifehacker

Paper Toy Bi-Plane

I know I've mentioned The Toymaker a couple of times in past posts, but whenever someone sends me an email re-introducing me to it, I'm always glad. So I assume you'll be glad too. The 411: FREE patterns for paper toys. From designs that are beautifully hand-painted by artist, Marilyn Scott-Waters.



The talented Chelsea of Frolic wrote to me the other day and said, "My sis (mother of 4) printed these bi-planes for stocking stuffers for her little kiddies at Christmas and I couldn't believe how gorgeous they were. Plus, it was free and the kids went mad over it."

January is probably the perfect time to try these out. It's too cold to be outside so good indoor activities are necessary. And the toy designs are colorful and cheery in contrast with the gray winter weather.

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!

100 Dresses Project

Did you hear what Kirsten of Tollipop is doing?

Using the classic children's story, The Hundred Dresses, as a starting point, she's created a Hundred Dresses Project. She is drawing her own series of one hundred dresses and has challenged others to make one hundred “somethings” as well. It's especially sweet to read the stories she conjures up about each dress-wearing-girl. And I love seeing the names she picks. (For anyone needing to name a daughter, I'm betting Kirsten's list of 100 names will be pretty fantastic.)

You can follow Kirsten's progress by clicking the "hundred dresses project" link in her sidebar. What hundred things would you make?

Your Very Own Hermes Bag

The Hermes Corporate site (different from their shopping site) is pretty amazing. Lots of eye candy and inspiration. One of my favorite parts is the make-your-own-Kelly-bag.

In nine different patterns.



Thanks for the tip, Lauren!

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.

Headband Photoshoot

I love this! Leigh Anne saw my post about flower headbands and made some with her daughters. Then the daughters' friend, Olivia, did a photo shoot. Aren't these shots great? You can see even more over here.

I hope my kids take on artistic/creative projects like this when they are teens.



And be sure to notice the tutus — so cute!

Favorite Things: Post It Calendar

I love a pretty calendar in my office, but for the last 7 years or so, our main family calendar has been built each month on the kitchen bulletin board. We use post-its if we have them. Or cut squares from colored paper if we don't. We staple the squares directly to the bulletin board.

I created the first one when Ralph was very young and couldn't comprehend how many days it was until Halloween. The distinct squares helped him understand — and we crossed out each day as we went along. But it ended up being so functional and helpful, that we've made it a permanent fixture in our dining area.

Thumbs up:
It's a nice monthly ritual. My kids help. Maude likes to remove last month's staples. Ralph likes to pick out colors for the new month — typically based on any applicable holidays (Red or Green during December, Orange during October. On the calendar above the colors aren't significant of anything in particular. Ralph just collected an assortment of post-its that he said "felt like January"). It helps everyone understand the different number of days in each month.

Also, it's big. So we have plenty of room to write our daily activities. In fact, on the months I cut out my own squares, we can even go bigger or smaller as we see fit. I like that kind of flexibility and control.

Thumbs down:
There's only room for one month at time on our board. So thinking ahead to next month gets tricky.

I'm considering moving away from this method and keeping a family binder instead. Maybe something with a calendar, sections for each child, and pockets for invitations or notes from school. But I'm afraid I would miss the big visual reminder. How do you handle the family calendar?

Want to see more of my favorites? Amanda posted some of them here.

Thank You Notes from Kids

Go see Amy's sweet and smart idea for children's thank you notes. Genius.

Tulle Tutorial

Many readers have asked for more concrete directions on how to make the no-sew tutu, so here's a more detailed post with photo directions.

Cut elastic to waist size and pin together with a safety pin or a few stitches. 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. To demonstrate, I'm using a spare piece of elastic and a spare piece of ribbon, but this is the exact same technique you would use with a strip of tulle.


Start with your band of elastic and piece of ribbon or tulle. Fold your piece of ribbon in half, place the loop end under the elastic.


Pick of the loose ends of the ribbon. Pull them over the elastic and through the loop end of the ribbon.


Pull the loose ends of the ribbon to tighten it around the elastic. And then repeat with additional pieces of ribbon and tulle until the tutu is as full as you'd like. Yay!

For the tutu pictured at the top, we used an entire roll of champagne colored shimmer tulle (25 yards). It 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 provided 11 lengths each and were attached between the tulle pieces for accents. The materials were under $5 total.

Another note about this project. You can make the tutu any length you like, by using longer or shorter pieces of tulle. Also. If I'd had another roll of the tulle, I would have used it and made the tutu twice as full.

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.

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?

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.

Spoonflower

And now I can die happy. I just discovered Spoonflower. A website where you can design and print your own textiles. The brilliant parts: No minimum order. $18 per yard. Printed on quality quilting-weight cotton from Moda. And fast turnaround — I've heard less than two weeks is not unusual.

In theory, I could develop a line of textiles (which I've been dreaming of doing for over a decade) for a startup cost of hundreds instead of thousands of dollars.

To see some of the wonderful textiles that have been created via Spoonflower, take a spin through their flickr stream. The design pictured above is called Bloom In Red, by Rachel of Balanced Crafts. Which reminds me, don't miss the Spoonflower blog — you can place your votes for "fabric of the week."

Thank you very much for the link, Laurie. I'm off to daydream about fabrics for the rest of the day.

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

More Inspiration

There's nothing like the holidays to help you get your make on. I've been getting links and emails right and left showcasing some of the gorgeous gifts and decorations being created or planned this month. Like this Gingerbread House sent in by an expat in London. Lindsey has big plans to make this with her daughter. She found the recipe and instructions at BBC Good Food. I am swooning over the steeply sloping roof.



My friend Jill hosted a Christmas Party last week and took the opportunity to deck. the. halls. I was especially drooling over her flower arrangements. Which were all over the house. Gorgeous! And such a great idea to fill the vases with pine boughs. (Note to self: learn from Jill — you can never be too generous with roses.)



What about you? Are you getting your make on this year?

Playful Learning

Another site it was a treat to discover at Monday night's Hands On Kirtsy was Playful Learning. The site itself is full of beautiful imagery, so it's a delight to visit. And the content is fantastic. Real and usable learning activities you can do with your kids.

Mariah Breuel, a mother and educator, has crafted the site with pointed purpose to showcase: learning experiences that promote positive family interactions.



This idea detailing "A Popcorn Kind of Day" seemed especially appropriate for the upcoming months of being holed up in the house. And I'm also enchanted by the concept of a "name chest" from the "Learning Family Names" link. I look forward to more exploration!

Stuck Labels

I love the first day back at my computer after I've been away for meetings and business. It feels good to get caught up and find out what I missed while I was gone.

For example, did you see that my sister Jordan of Oh Happy Day launched a new line of labels? I want one of each adorable sheet. And their arrival came just in time — I can use them to label the little bottles and packaging I've been planning for friends-and-neighbors gifts this year.

The Best Sort of Recycling

It's easy to appreciate the sort of recycling that's doesn't require something to be sent back to a plant to be processed. The sort of recycling when someone actually remakes or reuses something that they own or have access to.

My sister-in-law Liz featured a great example yesterday. A talented girl named Mari remakes big, old tees into something new and beautiful. Fantastic, right?

Zoom Albums

Have you heard of Zoom Albums? Zoom Album offers kits for little (3 inch x 3 inch) hardbound books that you can put together yourself in literally minutes. Ellen Marden, the how-to face behind Zoom Albums (she even demo'ed them on Martha Stewart), attended the Startup Princess Retreat. She was lovely — full of energy and great ideas. She would sit and put together these little books while she chatted with you and you could see first hand, just how easy it was.

Basic 411: using Zoom Album's free software, you drop photos onto their template. Then you print the photos on their special perforated sheet that's made to work with any inkjet printer. After that, it's fold, fold, fold. Stick, stick, stick. And then you're done.

Watch the videos here to see how quickly they come together — or you can check out a video of Ellen's 9-year-old daughter, Nancy, putting one together for her brother's soccer coach — so cute!




The possible applications for these have my imagination in overload. You could make little photobooks of each grandchild — the perfect gift for Grandma and Grandpa this Christmas. You could make one book every birthday as a mini-record of your child's life. You could scan drawings your child made and turn the drawings into a little illustrated story. You could make an album full of photos of your toddler's favorite things, and then keep it in your handbag to entertain your child during errands. How about party favors?

And did I tell you, you can print custom covers? Text, photos, whatever you'd like. Or if you're more of a scrap-book-ey person, you could make the covers from pretty paper and embellish them to your hearts content.

I'm so excited about these! And so glad I met Ellen. I feel like I should buy the kits in bulk, because I know I'll want to make dozens of these little albums. (Also, because the price point drops to about $6 a book if you buy large quantities — nice.)

Schoolyard Gardens — by Guest Mom Rochelle

Our local school is trying to get a schoolyard garden and I'm doing what I can to support the effort. Ideally, it would be something really lovely — like the edible schoolyard that Chef Alice Waters helped create at the MLK school in Berkeley, California.

The Edible Schoolyard website lists 20 good reasons to support a student garden and kitchen in your local schools. I can think of so many more, but my favorites are: “The garden and kitchen are beautiful spaces that connect students to their school. They provide a context for rituals and celebrations. And a kitchen and garden promote risk taking, such as trying new things...foods, activities and making new friends.”

If you're interested in more information, I am continuing the schoolyard garden theme at studio g today with more postings about specific ways to fund a garden and ideas for getting started on a small scale. And may I also say, thank you so much for the opportunity to be a Guest Mom this week — it's been lovely!

photo by Jen Sundeen

Martha's Craft Night

What a fun week this has been! On Tuesday night, we (Ralph, Maude, Olive and I) went to a craft night at Martha Stewart's offices in Chelsea. I had taken Maude to this event last year, and knew it was great, so made sure I could bring all the big kids this year. And we've really been looking forward to it.

Last year we glittered ornaments. And loved it. This year we decorated cookies and boxed them up in charming packages. And I think we loved it even more.



Finished cookies by Ralph, Maude and Olive.



Adorable boxes (with compartments!) filled with our cookies.

Martha's empire is striking. A delicious dinner was served — made from Martha's new line of food products available at Costco. Ham, turkey soup, chili, raspberry/apple pie, mushroom dip and some really yummy meatballs. (I didn't ask, but I'm betting the food was served in pieces from Martha's line at Macy's.) The cookies we decorated and boxed up were all made from recipes found in Martha's Cookie Cookbook. Everything we used to box up the cookies came from Martha's Craft line. And all of it was wonderful.

It's difficult not to be impressed with the company that Martha Stewart has built.

Everyone had a great evening. I loved seeing all the craft options — the pretty glitter collections, the little boxes for packaging handmade gifts, all the adorable tags and embellishments. I'm feeling all inspired to get my Christmas-making on. The kids couldn't get enough of the cookie decorating. They wanted to try every technique and would have decorated dozens if I'd let them.



But far and away, the craft item hit of the night, was the felt letter stickers. So cute! I can't find them online or I'd link to them, but I find all sorts of satisfaction just staring at them.

Flower Shop — by Guest Mom Rochelle

I love the kids stuff that comes out of France. When I saw this mini flower shop on Madame La Marchande, I fell in love, then quickly realized getting it shipped here was out of the question. So I've been considering how to make my own version. Here is what I came up with:



1) Paper parasols at Luna Bazaar.
2) Silk flowers from any local craft shop.
3) Cute watering can from Spotty Boxes.
4) French Flower Buckets from Flowers and Supplies.
5) Either of these two Ikea tables will work — the Hemnes table is almost a perfect match, and the Dalom table (which is much less expensive) would work as well.

I'm so excited to try and put this together!

Sew What? — by Guest Mom Mrs. Dub

So I'm the third girl in my family, with a little brother finishing it off. My mother is a quilter. And no, not the kind of quilts your mom made with all your soccer jerseys. My mom is a quilt artist, as is evidenced by her "stash" seen here. (Though I can assure that is only a small sampling of her fabric. The quantity of material in that woman's possession is illegal in 23 states.)

My other two sisters are excellent seamstresses. One sewed my wedding invitations, the other sews her own winter coats. I, on the other hand, am just learning how to thread a bobbin.

I've frequently pestered my mom as to why I was never taught to sew, since it's clearly in our blood. She claims she tried, and I wasn't interested. Probably true, as I very involved with boy-chasing as a youth, but it's a huge regret of mine, because sewing is, like, the best thing EVER.

The point of this rambling is that when I finally learn to sew I am going to immediately make this beautiful headband by giantdwarf — after first sewing some curtains and some pillow covers and adorning every last sweater I own with a bird. Then, I'm going to make it, and I'm going to wear it every day, even to the grocery store. And then I'll go home and die because I'll be 95 by the time I figure out that stupid bobbin.

via sweet sassafras

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!

Chili Cook-off

Guess who won Best Chili at the church cookoff on Saturday? Maude and Ralph Blair. That's who. (Yay Ralph and Maude!!) And the photo you see is Maude sporting the trophy apron.

Here's the chili story. 8 years ago. When the Blair family only had two kids and we lived in a little house in Utah, we won the Fall Chili Cookoff at our church. To anyone who knows my meager skills in the kitchen, this was surprising news. Especially considering the recipe used as the basis for the chili was found on the back of our generic chili powder bottle. I made a few adjustments (I doubled the garlic and spices), but otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. Here it is (with my adjustments):

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped
3 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans
2 T cumin
2 T chili powder

Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. Drain the fat. Add the rest of the ingredients (don't drain the beans) and simmer for 30 minutes. Or all day.

Pretty basic. But we now call it the Blair's Award Winning Chili. And that makes it sound fancy. Sadly, we ended up making it so often, that we got sick of it, and stopped making it altogether. And kind of thought our chili-making days were over. In fact, for this year's chili cook-off, I signed up to bring corn-bread instead. But then I heard whispers that they might be low on chili, so we decided to pull out the old recipe and whip up a pot.

I got the meat and onion and garlic going and Ralph and Maude started asking if we could add some "secret ingredients." Like what? says I. They pull out a packet of taco seasoning, a packet of ranch dressing mix, and a packet of creamy pesto mix. Can we add these? I had a quick vision of seeing the entire congregation die of sodium poisoning and said, well, we've already got garlic happening — both the pesto mix and the ranch mix have lots of garlic and could be okay. Why don't you pick one. They picked the ranch.

We added the ranch and the beans and the tomato sauce and let things simmer a bit. Then we tasted. They wanted more spices. I recommended some cumin and chili powder. They sniffed both of those and gave their approval. We decided it needed a bit more salt. They asked if we could add black beans. Sure, why not. They asked if they could add garbanzo beans. Ummm. No.

Then Ralph decided we still needed one more secret ingredient. He suggested cream cheese. Cheese is always a good thing, so we added a couple of spoonfuls and let it simmer for a few hours, until it was time for the party.

And honestly, it really was delicious. Plus it confirms what I'd already suspected: that Ranch Dressing is one of the greatest American inventions. Rivaled only by the cotton gin and assembly line.

Here's Ralph and Maude's Recipe. They call it "Three Bean Chili Deluxe:"

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 heaping tsp garlic, chopped
3 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 16 oz. cans light kidney beans
2 16 oz. cans dark kidney beans
2 16 oz. cans black beans
1 entire packet of Ranch Dressing powdered mix
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t salt
2 spoonfuls of the secret ingredient

Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. Drain the fat. Add the rest of the ingredients (don't drain the beans) and simmer for 30 minutes. Or all day.

Fall Photos

Go see Matthew Mead's Portfolio to get your fix of pretty images.

Discovering a really simple idea with a big impact feels like striking gold. Those caramel apples would be about 90% less charming without the long, actually-a-stick, sticks. A very do-able idea.



Speaking of discovering, how is it I've never heard of Matthew Mead until recently? Thanks for the link Bek!

Day Off

Two apple pies baked before noon. From apples we picked ourselves.

It's hard to improve on that sort of day. Did the kids ransack the house during the making/baking process? Yes. Am I still in my pajamas? You bet. Is my foot covered in powdered sugar? Oddly, yes. But I have a whole pie to eat and a whole pie to give away. So who really cares about the rest?

Also, I just tried this circle thing instead of my usual slits in the crust — I'll stare at it for awhile longer, but I think I love it. If I was ever going to have a pie signature, I'm pretty sure this would be it.

One more thing. In case you're wondering, while the first pie is baking, there is just enough time to make a second pie, clean the kitchen, and make fresh whipped cream — and if the kids help, you can even get the family room whipped into shape. So you might as well make two. I'm just saying.

Spooky Tree Paintings

Bek (thanks Bek!) sent me the link to this wonderful Spooky Tree Art Project for kids. I'm bookmarking this. I think a gallery of spooky trees will be just the thing for next year's Halloween display. And it seems like a doable project for kids of all ages.

Full directions on That Woman Artist.

More Fall Spoils

On a spare shelf in the entryway.

Family Equation

Joanna Goddard, an excellent writer who keeps a lovely blog called A Cup of Jo, is now writing a daily relationship blog for Glamour Magazine called Smitten (great name!). One of her posts today featured this smart family portrait idea featuring the (clearly clever and talented) Pasanella Family: her profile + his profile = child's profile. Love it!

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?

Making the Most of It - Part 2 — by Guest Dad John Spencer

[ part 1 found here ]

Finally made it back from the store and built the storage benches. As some may know, completing a project with little kids in the house can be a bit of a challenge. My wife just doubles or triples the estimated time I think it will take.

I picked up one sheet of 1/2" birch plywood and ripped it into 15 3/4" strips. "Rip" is carpentry lingo for cutting wood in the direction of the grain. The sales associate at your local home improvement store can usually do this if you have lots of patience and a nice smile, and if they have a panel saw.

Considering the width of the saw blade, or the kerf, this dimension gave me 3 pieces from a 48" wide sheet. I used these strips of plywood to make the walls and top of the benches. The box dimensions are 45" x 15" and 42" x 15". So my cut list included: 2 at 45", 2 at 42", and since the boxes are 15" deep and the plywood is 1/2" thick the side pieces are 14" long. And I needed 4 of those. I measured each piece, made a line with a square, and carefully made the cuts with my handy circular saw. Since the kids were around we put on our sunglasses and made a "cover your ears" game out of it before each cut.

These parts for the storage benches were fastened together with screws using a cordless drill. It could also be done with a hammer and nails or a nail gun if you've got all the right stuff. Screwing it together makes it a bit stronger and easier to assemble. Plus, it is much quieter, which is what I like.


After I assembled the sides of the two boxes I connected them together in a L-shape and set them in the corner of the deck. I wanted to trim the outside of the benches with mahogany deck boards to go with my boat theme. The actual dimensions of the boards are 1" thick by 3 1/2" wide. At the lumber yard the proper name for this is five-quarter (5/4") by four. When the boards are first cut out of the tree they are actually 1.25" by 4", but after drying and a little planing they shrink. Starting from the top I just measured the sides and cut each piece to length. I alternated the rows of boards to overlap differently at the outside corners. A little bit of extra detail like this goes along way to improve the overall look. I secured them from the back so the screws wouldn't be visible.

With the last strip of plywood left, I cut a piece to fit over the top of each box and overlap the deck boards. The next phase of this project will be to upholster the tops of the benches. I need to find some cool fabric and thick foam, so I will have to leave it like this until I do. At least now, the space can be used as another play area. As you can see the masking tape has been replaced with beautiful chalk drawings.



To be continued...


Note from Design Mom:
John, who blogs at Resident Carpenter and is the creator of Via Toy Box, has done an excellent job of being a Guest Dad over the last week or two. Thank you John! He has promised that he will drop by now again when he has a cool project to share (nice!) and in the meantime, if you have a home improvement or remodeling question, John would love to answer it. Just submit your query over at his blog.

After School Crafts

Some days, homework seems to take up the entire time between school and dinner. Other days, the kids are done and looking for action 5 minutes after the bus drops them off. Last time they were craving something to do, I pulled out this Puppet Craft Kit from Martha's line.



Maude and Olive did the whole thing without any assistance. And then surprised Oscar and Betty with the completed set. Which pleased Oscar and Betty to no end (see below). So now I have my eye on other Martha sets. Maybe we'll get this Monster Puppet kit for October.



Speaking of Martha, here's something fun: Design Mom was listed as one of the Martha Stewart's Best of the Blogs Editor's Picks. Sweeeet! Design Mom is the absolutely last blog listed. Which sort of feels like I barely made the cut. But I'll take it! With a big thanks to the Martha Stewart Editors. And a big blush that I'm included among such good company.

Hanging Around - How to Easily Put Up Big Pictures — By Guest Dad John Spencer

Quick intro from Design Mom — John is the owner and designer and carpenter behind Via Toy Boxes. And he's recently launched a blog, Resident Carpenter to answer all your carpentry questions. I know many of you out there are DIY-ers and would love to bend the ear of an expert, so I asked John to repost some of his great advice here as a Guest Dad. And happily for us, he said Yes! I'll be featuring his posts all week. You can read more about John here.



Hanging a piece of wall art can make a big impact in the room and your psyche, especially if you get satisfaction from doing it yourself. If you are a bit hesitant to tackle this kind of job, I will show you a few things to help bolster your confidence and get it done right. Just remember that if you do it, you can put up whatever you want, wherever you want.

The best tools for this job are a measuring tape, a phillips screw driver, and a pencil. If you had a little level, too, that would be very helpful, but you could just eye it. You will also need drywall screws, or coarse threaded screws 1 1/2" to 2" long. These fasteners work very well in most types of wall surfaces like, lath and plaster or sheetrock. Plus, this way there is no loud banging with a hammer to wake up a sleeping child or make your thumb black and blue.

Speaking of which, a good rule of thumb when hanging things on the wall is to center the piece at eye level. Of course, there are always exceptions, but generally this works well. So, the center of most pictures would be between 60" and 66".

Once you decide on the location, use your measuring tape to find where the center of your picture will be. You may want to center it between the end of the wall and a window or between a door and the fireplace. Whatever the case, find the center and put a light pencil mark about 5 feet up from the floor. Now, locate the hanging device on the back of your piece. This could be a wire stretched across, two hooks (one on each side), or simply the top of the canvas frame. Measure the distance between the center of the piece and the hanger. Make another mark on the wall that distance above the first mark.

I recommend using at least 2 screws so the picture stays level. For the piece that has 2 separate hooks on the back, measure the distance between them. Center that measurement between your highest mark on the wall and make 2 more little marks. If you have a wire or just a wood frame space the 2 marks about the same distance as one-third the width of your piece. Make sure the 2 marks are level and insert the screws on the marks at a slight downward angle into the wall at least 3/4" deep. Be sure enough of the screw head protrudes to catch the hooks, wire, or frame.

Now stand back and admire your accomplishment. Have questions for John? He will answer each question via email and post one question and answer every week.

Martha at Walmart

By now it's probably old news (but really good news!) to most of you that Martha has introduced two different lines at Walmart. There's the Create line — an expansion of Martha Stewart Crafts. And there's a new line called Celebrate — ready made decorations and invitations for parties or weddings. Both lines are lovely. And happily for me, you can find the whole of both lines online.




I'm dying to give them a try. I really want to learn to make the crepe paper peonies and I want to do something fun with the party favor boxes.

Oh. And did you see the eyelet lanterns? So pretty! In fact — quick — someone have a baby so I can throw you a shower and use the eyelet lanterns. Please.

Fabric Scraps Birthday Garland

I'm so excited to show you the birthday garland we made last week. It was for the big double birthday — Olive on the 25th and Ralph on the 26th. I saw the idea at Liz's blog and immediately fell in love.

Favorite parts:
1) It was such a great kid project. They could pick out fabric. They could trace shapes (not perfect? didn't matter). They could cut out shapes (again, mess-ups don't show). They could sort shapes. They could decide on the order/fabric of the shapes to be sewn. Basically, with some direction, they could do everything but run the sewing machine.

And we made two small changes to the original pattern: we replaced the clover shape with circles, which were easier to trace and cut out and we added a length of ribbon to each end so that we could tie it to something easily — and to make the beginning and end feel more finished.




2) We didn't spend a dime. We went through my fabric remnants and scraps from past projects and looked for a palette that would be gender neutral and look good for end-of-summer/early fall. We didn't even use the thread the original post recommended. We just used what was already in the sewing machine — blue on top, green in the bobbin. Done and done.



3) It looks so cute! I think I'll leave it up through September. A couple of the prints even feel back-to-school-ish. Love it. Directions here.

Potting Shed Kids

The end of the gardening season is only weeks away here in New York, but I just discovered some really charming products from Potting Shed Creations that would make great birthday gifts next spring.

My favorite is the Stone Soup kit — which includes 6 varieties of organic seed (bean, cabbage, pea, carrot, tomato and onion). Plus growing directions, garden stakes, pencil, magic stone in a jute bag and a stone soup recipe.

There's basically enough wholesome activity in that one little kit to fill up a summer.

Gourmet Popsicles

Spotted on Kirtsy. Did anyone else see the gorgeous popsicles from the book Pops! that Joy featured on her blog in the last week or so? Before this lovely summer ends, I really want to make a recipe or two from this very pretty book. And I'm so curious about what the forms are for the little round ones.

photo block courtesy of Oh Joy!

Just Something I Made

So a couple weeks ago I received an email from Cathe Holden and I think I have a full on internet crush on her now. When I checked out her blog, I totally wanted to make out with it. I wonder if she'd ever be a Guest Mom here. . .




Don't miss the photo tour of her beautiful studio tour here. And check out her globe bowl and glitter pins project as well. So much great stuff. I'm going to have to go through her archives so I don't miss anything.

Tea Party Hats

Oh my goodness! Maya sent me a link to her great post on making these adorable Tea Party Hats. I am in love. Aren't they adorable? The post is really excellent. Great photos and clear instructions. I'm feeling a tea party coming on.

Rare Animals Papercraft

Jenn C just sent me a link to these amazing paper animals — and there are instructions! and lots more animals than I have room to showcase!



The site is hosted by Yamaha Motors. I'm not clear on what the connection is between Yamaha and these gorgeous paper creations, but I've decided I'm not going to think too hard about it. Thanks Jenn!

Cookie's Nesting Blog

Check out the great PoppyTalk article I featured over on Cookie's Nesting blog today. It's all about creating a temporary outdoor kitchen. And here's a peek at some of the other fun stuff I've posted at Cookie lately:



-The Rapplekist Bunk Bed. So amazingly cool.
-Gorgeous Nanimarquina Rugs. Dozens of beautiful choices.
-And a how-to on how your kids can make their own Modern Art Masterpiece.

Maude's Cloud Photos

Unexpected flight entertainment: Maude kept busy with the camera phone shooting the gorgeous pink tinged clouds out the window. There's something grainy and otherworldly that's lovely about them.

Geometric Spheres

Check out this very cool art project that my mom planned for my kids. First, she copied a circle template with fold marks onto a stack of 8.5 x 11 cardstock. Then the kids went to town cutting out circles.



Once the circles were cut — some as rings, some as solid circles — five edges of each one were folded along a dotted line. Then folded edges were matched up and attached. The kids tried a glue stick, a stapler and double-sided tape to attach the circles to each other. They preferred the tape.



Once the spheres were constructed, they experimented with adding tissue paper rounds (attached with a glue stick) to the empty circles. And then they hung them over Grandma's kitchen table.



This was definitely a big kid projects. It's not a short one. Maude had the most fun with it because she loves making things and working with her hands. Ralph loved the idea but lost interest after a while — it required too much patience and fine-motor-skills to keep his attention.

I think these spheres are so cool-looking! They'd be fun as party decorations in muliple colors. Or hanging over a dresser in a modern or space-age looking kid's room. Oh. And they're big! The small ones are as big as a child's head. And the big ones are maybe 15 inches across. Which makes for a big impact.

Note: I'm looking for an online source on the template my mom used. In the meantime, the Make blog has a similar idea here.