les petits présents

you've got mail

2012-01-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

My daughter spends every afternoon making Valentines for everyone in our family. It is very sweet. I thought it would be fun to set up a little basket with some supplies for her. I put some Valentine stamps, stickers, paper, confetti, and heart shaped crayons, among other things, in a basket and let her use them for her cards. I also found some tiny mailboxes so that she can deliver them too. She is doing a fantastic job of making us all feel loved! And, isn't that what Valentine's Day is really all about?

u crack me up

2012-01-30T14:12:00.002-05:00

I saw these petite packages of candy called "crack-ups" (essentially the same thing as pop rocks) at the party store. I thought they would be perfect to use for Valentine cards! They are only 3 inches tall and fit perfectly inside some glassine envelopes that I had just ordered. I used some pretty scrapbook paper for the card and put a joke on each one. Here are some of the cute ones that I found:

What kind of flowers do you never give on Valentine's Day? Cauliflowers!

What did the chocolate syrup say to the ice cream? I'm sweet on you!

What do farmers give their wives on Valentine's Day? Hog and kisses!

What did the boy octopus say to the girl octopus? I wanna hold your hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand?

that's a wrap

2012-01-25T09:49:00.001-05:00

(photo courtesy of brooks brothers)

I thought for today I would share some of the gifts that I have given to my husband for Valentine's Day. Before kids we used to take turns (every other year) planning special romantic dinners and nights away for each other.

I had always wanted to have dinner at Tavern on The Green in NYC and one year my husband made reservations for us. For my gift to him I decided it would be fun to give him a new outfit from head to toe to wear to the restaurant that evening. I gave him one piece of clothing at a time throughout the day with a quote attached to each one.

With a pair of socks it said, "True love is like a pair of socks. You gotta have two and they've gotta match"
With the underwear, "Humility is like underwear, essential, but indecent if it shows"
And, for a new sweater the quote said "I have to much money invested in sweaters" Bob Hope

You get the idea!

(photo courtesy of black diamond rings)

Another year we decided to go to Boston for the night. I thought it would be fun to organize a special scavenger hunt for us. Some of the things we had to find were:

~ the largest diamond ring at Tiffany's
~ a cup of hot cocoa at a restaurant that had the number 14 in the address
~ a sample of new perfume and cologne and pick one out for each other.
There were many more, but I can't remember them all! You can make this up for any place that you might be visiting for Valentine's day or a special anniversary.

(photo courtesy of amazon)

One last idea I'll share is when I organized a night away at a local bed and breakfast. I was trying to think of a creative way to tell him about our plans so I gave him some items to use for our night away along with the lyrics that I had rewritten to a love song.

L is for the way you look in red (with a red bathrobe)
O is for your orange juice in bed (I made him breakfast in bed)
V is very, very romantic with strawberries (I made chocolate covered strawberries)
E is for even more, bath tub time with bubbles galore (I gave him some bubble bath and some truck shaped bath tub toys)......

These days with three small children in the house our Valentines Day's are more like take out and a movie. But, I wouldn't trade them for anything!!!! I would love to hear about your plans for Valentine's Day. Anything special planned?

treat transmitters

2012-01-24T15:27:00.001-05:00

In keeping with the robot theme my son is giving his teachers some tiny robot boxes filled with gummy hearts. I love the unexpected combination of red and blue for Valentine's day!

my ♥ beeps for you

2012-01-23T12:25:00.001-05:00

We are starting to get ready for Valentine's Day around here. This is the Valentine that my son will be giving to his pre-school friends this year. He was a robot for Halloween and when I saw these adorable robot finger puppets I knew that they would be perfect for his Valentine's! I bought the card stock hands (they are very sturdy and the puppet fits and stays on the finger perfectly), stamped the message and slid the puppets on. Cute and easy and the perfect valentine for schools that don't allow candy with cards. The hands would be darling with a ring attached to each finger too. The possibilities are endless.

that's a wrap

2012-01-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

There are some disadvantages to having your birthday right after Christmas. But, there are also some great advantages like the fact that everything goes on sale! Almost all of the decorations I used for the party were at least 50% off of their original price. One of my favorite deals were the tins of cocoa we gave out as party favors. I found these at Crate and Barrel after Christmas. Since the tins had pictures of elves on them I decided to wrap some scrapbook paper around them and voilà - they were the perfect color for the party. I know I have discussed repackaging before and this was a great example of using it to your advantage.

MLK

2012-01-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about community service. I was trying to think of a way to teach my kids about the value in doing service for others. Martin Luther King day proved to be the perfect opportunity. I had read that Burlington Coat Factory was holding a coat drive called "One Warm Coat" and my idea was born. This morning I had my kids go outside in just their clothes for a moment to feel what it would be like to not have a warm coat to wear in the winter. Then I talked to them about how some children were not lucky enough to have a coat to wear. I told them that we were going to collect all of the change we could find in our house and use it to buy a coat for someone in need. We have a tin in the kitchen we use to collect change and the kids raided their piggy banks to add to the fund. We even found some change on my husband's dresser. It was a joint effort. We took the coins to a local grocery store and traded them in for dollars. We had $27! We walked down to Burlington Coat Factory. The kids picked out a coat, purchased it and placed it in the box for the charity. I was so proud of my children, especially my oldest, who gave all but one coin from her piggy bank. It is very cold in Connecticut today and all three of my children have bad coughs so we are going to spend the rest of the day in our pajamas playing games, doing puzzles, and watching movies. May your day be as meaningful and rich as ours.

winter "one"derland

2012-01-15T11:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we had the winter "one"derland party. The party started at 10 and guests were invited to come in their pajamas. We served doughnuts and coffee and set up a few activities. We kept the guest list very small since it was in our home and the party was for a one year old. Since the food was not gourmet and the guest list was short I was able to focus on the fun details.

Here is our console decorated for the party.

The snack bar consisted of jars of cheerios, goldfish and a snowman trail mix. The red and white paper cones held blue popcorn. There were small paper cups and acrylic scoops for everyone to help themselves.

The snowman trail mix was similar to my hoppin' down the bunny trail mix and Kung Fu Krunch.

(Rainbow scarf, pretzel stick arms, chocolate chip buttons, Oreo hat, carrot nose, and marshmallow body)

We also had a hot cocoa bar. I am thinking that next Christmas I am going to leave this on my counter so it will always be ready when friends stop by.

We also served milk with snowman straws.

The cupcakes were shaped like tiny doughnuts. I found the idea here.

I used the shutters to display pictures of the birthday boy from every month of the past year. I found tiny red glitter clothespins at Michael's.

For the activities I put out some snow books, filled our touch table with fake snow and snowman parts, supplies to make a clay snowman. We also hung donuts from a string and had the kids try to eat them without using their hands. It was very funny to watch.

And finally the favors..... Mini tins of hot chocolate and boxes of marshmallows. I displayed them in a tiny radio flyer wagon.

Sorry for the long post and so many pictures! I hope you enjoyed everything as much as I enjoyed putting it all together!

baby's first birthday

2012-01-15T10:04:00.003-05:00

Before I post the details from the baby's birthday party I wanted to share how we spent his actual day. I didn't have anything specific planned, besides school and story time for the older two. And speaking of the older two, they were SO excited that it was their little brothers birthday. I thought it only fitting to let them help with the celebration.

We started the morning with some cinnamon buns shaped like hearts. Since it was a school day I used the store bough kind, but put them in some silicone heart shaped pans to make them a little more special!

He opened some presents.

We all snuggled up and read this:

And then, instead of cupcakes I thought it would be fun to make some tiny cakes. My older two enjoyed decorating their own. I decorated the baby's. It was a lovely day to celebrate a very important day for our family.

that's a wrap

2012-01-11T13:00:00.001-05:00

My baby is one today! I still can't believe it. I was having a hard time deciding about what to get him since he is our third child and we just celebrated Christmas. His older sister (age five) decided that the perfect gift would be a jack in the box. We found this Eric Carle one and I have to say that it is darling. The box is tin and it has a soft caterpillar inside that pops out after the song plays "pop" goes the weasel. I love that my daughter thought of this gift all by herself. It was the perfect gift for a one year old.

baby a

2012-01-09T15:18:00.001-05:00

Here is another simple and sweet decoration I made for the babies party this weekend. His first name starts with the letter A so we always call him Baby A. I knew I wanted to use that for some sort of decoration at his party. You can buy paper mache letters at Joann Fabrics in different sizes. I used some for my parents surprise anniversary picnic that you can see here. I used gold glitter on them and had planned to use white glitter on the A, but I didn't like how it looked on the brown background. Instead I just wrapped the entire letter with some white yarn that I had in the house and I like it even better than the glitter! I love when that happens. Now if only if I could make it snow this weekend in Connecticut......

that's a wrap

2012-01-04T15:53:00.000-05:00

This year I decided to purchase some personalized ribbon to wrap my holiday packages. I added some fresh pine boughs and a red ornament to make some of my packages look even more festive. I will definitely be purchasing this ribbon again, I love it!

baby bunting

2012-01-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my baby is going to be one next week! The year has just flown by. I am trying to pull together a very small birthday with some simple and sweet homemade details. I'm doing a winter "one"derland party with red and blue accent colors. I had all of the supplies at home that I needed to make this petite bunting, red/white gingham fabric, tiny clothespins, and twine. Since I'm not a sewer I decided to just clip the fabric to the twine instead. It was so easy and I love how it looks. I am definitely going to keep it up for Valentine's day and maybe even longer than that! Stay tuned for more details over the next few weeks.

wishing you a sweet new year

2011-12-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

We are heading over to some friends house tonight to drink some eggnog martinis and ring in the New Year in style. I am bringing dessert and decided to make this recipe for cannoli dip. For fun I am serving it in an over sized martini glass. I dusted some cocoa powder on top and stuck a pirouette cookie in for a garnish. I am going to put a variety of cookies and some fresh strawberries around the platter for people to dip. May your New Years be filled with good friends and may your 2012 be sweet!

that's a wrap

2011-12-28T09:05:00.000-05:00

This gift really is "that's a wrap"! For Christmas I gave my sister-in-law a monogrammed canvas bag filled with fun wrapping supplies. I included some wrapping paper, tissue paper, tiny clothespins, paper bags, boxes, and some personalized ribbon. This was such a fun gift to put together and my sister-in-law told me that it was the best gift I had ever given her! I'll definitely be using this idea again.

frosty the snowman

2011-12-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

These are the ornaments we made yesterday at my daughter's holiday party at school. They came out so cute! They are painted on a mini art canvas that I found at Joann Fabrics. The kids used their fingerprints to make the bodies for the snowman and then toothpicks to add the details. We used a glue gun to attach the ribbon hanger. You can find more detailed instructions here.

christmas love

2011-12-22T13:19:00.000-05:00

My husband and I agreed not to give each other gifts this year. Instead I decided to make him something. I saw this ornament on pinterest and knew it would be perfect. Basically you just take your wedding invitation and cut it into strips and put them inside of a clear glass ornament. You can find more detailed directions here. (This would also be darling with a baby announcement inside for a baby born near the holidays) I also found some chocolates shaped like taxi cabs because our first kiss was in a taxi! Just a little something at Christmas to remind him how much I love him.

cachepots & kisses

2011-12-22T10:55:00.002-05:00

This year we gave the pre-school teachers mercury glass cachepots and snowflake ornaments, both from Pottery Barn. I was going to make some snowball cookies to put inside the pots with a cute snowball poem, but I have been dealing with a nasty stomach bug, a husband who herniated a disc and a son with pink eye! Crazy. Anyway at the last minute I decided to put some Hershey kisses in them instead. The note wished the teachers a Merry Christmas and a Happy and HEALTHY New Year and was signed kisses, and my son's name. I wrapped the pots in cellophane and tied them with a beautiful turquoise satin ribbon.

that's a wrap

2011-12-21T09:39:00.000-05:00

A gift card to our local mall wrapped and tied with a beautiful purse shaped ornament. Great for a mother, sister in law or teacher.

thanks a latte

2011-12-21T07:21:00.000-05:00

I am sure that you have seen something like this little guy all over the web. I know I have! But, I could never find out what was used for the nose and face so I made up my own. I used mini powdered donuts, a candy corn with the tip cut off and some mini chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth. So easy! I placed one in a small box and attached a gift card to a local coffee shop. The note said "thanks a latte". This is a nice and thoughtful gift for so many people on your list that you want to thank with a little something. I think I may make the donuts for my sons birthday party in January too! So cute.

reindeer snack

2011-12-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

A quick and easy little snack I whipped up for my son's library holiday party tomorrow. Just a mini donut, some pretzel antlers, a malted milk ball nose and some candy eyes! Of course you could use a red candy nose to make Rudolph. I found this idea here. I will share another quick donut snack tomorrow for "that's a wrap" Wednesday. Stay tuned.

gingerbread houses

2011-12-20T14:29:00.000-05:00

One of our traditions at Christmas is to bake home made gingerbread houses. I got some cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma years ago that help to shape our houses like pieces of a puzzle. It is a long process, but that is what I like about it. One day we make the dough then stick it in the fridge until we are ready. Next we roll it out. Assemble it another day and then let the kids decorate! I let them each make their own house which means that by next year I will be making three! We have been battling a terrible stomach bug in our house so a little candy and sugary sweetness has helped brighten our moods during the craziness of the season. Hope your day is sweet too!

ho, ho, hostess gift

2011-12-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

We had another really busy and fun weekend. I was invited to two different houses and wanted to bring a dessert and gift to both so I made these delicious and easy s'more cups and put them on a white ruffled cake stand. I tied the whole thing up with some cellophane and personalized ribbon and had a yummy dessert and hostess gift in one. I also went with my mom and daughter to see the Nutcracker. It was magical and a favorite tradition. Hope you weekend was filled with friends, family and lots of love too.

deck the halls with boughs of holly

2011-12-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went in to my daughter's kindergarten classroom to share some Irish Christmas traditions. I focused on holly since that is a common decoration used in Ireland during the holidays. You can read about what I did last year here. This year I decided to have the children make tiny hanging arrangement with fresh cut holly and greens. I used recycled baby food jars and tied some green floral wire around them as a handle. I loved how the children came up with the great idea to float the holly berries in the water- it looked beautiful! After they made their arrangements they choose ribbon to tie around the jar and also used some tiny cards (that were punched with a holly cutout) to write Merry Christmas in Gaelic. For the snack I made some holly wreaths with m&m berries. We listened to some Irish Christmas music and it was a really fun way to spend the morning.

holiday cards

2011-12-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

I love going to the mailbox this time of year. It is so fun to get Christmas cards from family and friends near and far. It is always hard to find a place to display them all. Not any more! I bought some shutters at an antique store years ago. There were two that were attached and I used them on the floor as a mini screen. Recently they broke apart and we decided to hang them on the wall in our red living room. There is one on either side of the room, right next to the windows. I thought they would be great for displaying books or magazines and cards during the holidays. Since some of the cards are flat I glued some red shiny paper to some clothespins and they hold the cards in place and look festive too.

o christmas tree

2011-12-12T14:11:00.000-05:00

Some easy brownie trees for the preschool holiday party tomorrow!

the most famous reindeer of all

2011-12-11T15:57:00.004-05:00

On Friday night we asked some old friends to join us for a Rudolph pizza and movie night. I have recently discovered Pinterest and found a lot of my inspiration for the party there. You can see all of the ideas on my Rudolph Party board. Besides eating pizza and watching "Rudolph" I set up two crafts and channeled my inner Amy Atlas by creating a mini dessert table. Directions for making the cupcakes can be found here, the rein"beer" here, and oranments here. I found the reindeer food labels here.

The food:

We served rein"beer" and Rudolph's nose (a martini made with vodka, chambord, lime juice and a cherry)!

The activities:

reindeer food

and ornaments

The favors:

Even our elf got dressed up for the occasion!

Hope your weekend was as fun as ours!

deck the dolls

2011-12-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon with my daughter decorating her doll's house. We made mini wreaths, added doll sized Christmas trees and candy canes and even wrote a tiny letter to Santa. I remembered I had some gingerbread cookie stickers so we put them on a small piece of aluminum foil to look like cookies baking in the kitchen. We both had so much fun!

little candle burning bright

2011-12-02T14:30:00.001-05:00

I was asked to make some favors for a law office's Open House this evening. I wrapped a candle and a business card in cellophane bags and tied them with some ribbon. Some of them are displayed on a tree and the rest were placed in a sled next to the tree. I added some black Christmas balls and a thicker version of the ribbon to the tree and topped it will a silver star ornament.

countdown to christmas

2011-12-01T13:14:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it is the first day of December? Time is just flying by. I put out our advent calendar and have it nearly filled. Some of the days at the end are saved for our christmas pajamas and books and a trip on the polar express. Today the children woke up to find an "elf on the shelf". They named him Jack and are excited by his presence. I planted the paper white bulbs right before Thanksgiving and they are coming along nicely. I can't wait for them to bloom.

that's a wrap

2011-11-30T14:25:00.000-05:00

I was asked (at the last minute) to send in a snack for the teachers at my daughter's school during their teacher/parent conferences. I decided to send in some clementines and peppermints in a pretty glass trifle bowl. I even added a little extra touch with some special stickers! This would be a thoughtful gift to bring for your colleagues at work or as a hostess gift during the holidays. You can also skip the peppermints and include the ingredients and recipe for clementine cosmos!

thankful

2011-11-27T12:47:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a very relaxing day. My family arrived around 2 and were greeted with a glass of cranberry champagne. A perfect way to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for. Here are some pictures from our day. Hope you enjoy them!

that's a wrap

2011-11-23T09:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday it was my daughter's teacher's birthday. Since I am the room parent I organized the gift and made a special treat to bring in for her and her class. The first picture is of the gift, a wreath with paper leaves tucked all around that told the teacher why each of her students are thankful for her. The second picture is the wreath wrapped and ready to give her. The last picture is of the treats I made. The teacher's favorite candy bar is a kit kat so I made her some kit kat cupcakes. I used a box mix and added some chopped up candy to the batter. I also topped them with the candy and some leaf sprinkles. My daughter's teacher was surprised and really touched by this gesture.

getting ready

2011-11-18T10:32:00.001-05:00

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week! I am cleaning out the fridge, making my grocery list and decorating the dining room for our feast. I put some bittersweet in an over sized vase on my new console and some autumn colored chocolate candies (which are almost gone) in a jar. On the chalkboard I wrote a fitting quote. Hope you are having fun getting ready for the big day and that you all have a wonderful weekend!

that's a wrap

2011-11-16T13:49:00.001-05:00

Almost every time we return home from a vacation we find our fridge filled with the necessities. My mom always makes sure we have milk, eggs, OJ, etc. so that we don't have to run out to the store first thing upon our return. It is such a nice gesture and I wanted to do the same for some friends who returned late in the evening one day this week from their vacation. When they left for their trip it was during the strange October Nor'easter that CT. experienced and they had NO power. They gave us most of their food since no one was sure when the power would be restored. I thought it only fitting to do the same thing for them that my mom does for us. I stocked their fridge with milk, eggs, OJ, yogurt, fruit and made some homemade granola and pumpkin doughnut muffins for them too. If you know someone coming back from a vacation or home after some time away, think about leaving a little something in the fridge for your friends and family too. I know they will appreciate it as much as we always do.

turkey talk

2011-11-14T10:45:00.000-05:00

This is the first year that I will be hosting Thanksgiving. I am having fun trying to figure out the table. I have found some things that I thought I would share as some potential possibilities. I first saw these plastic wishbones over at Busy Bee Lifestyle. Aren't they fun! They were inexpensive and arrived quickly. I got one for each of the children, but I think adults would love them too. I saw the feather lollipops while out on an errand and knew the children would love them. They make cute favors and place cards for the kids table. I also found these votive candles that have "give thanks" on them. I put them on my mantle, but they would also make cute gifts or place cards. The last thing I purchased were these fun individual turkey cookies. Again a cute favor, place card or when boxed together like in the picture above, a wonderful hostess gift. Let me know if you would like the sources for any of the items above.

that's a wrap

2011-11-09T07:35:00.000-05:00

(photot courtesy of Pottery Barn)

A few weeks ago I gave my daughter's teacher a little survey. It just asked some simple questions about her favorite places to shop, hobbies, foods and the date of birthday. I found out that her birthday is on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Since I am the room parent I decided it would be a nice idea to celebrate her special day and let her know that we are thankful for everything that she does for our children. I ordered this small leaf wreath from Pottery Barn. It was on sale and they offered free shipping! I traced a leaf shape onto some card stock kraft paper and tucked one inside an envelope for each child in my daughter's class. I asked them to write why they are thankful for their teacher on the leaf and return it to me, along with $2 to cover the cost of supplies and the wreath. I am going to tuck the paper leaves that the children made into the the wreath and present it to her on her birthday, along with a special snack. I will take pictures of the final project and post them some time next week.
I was thinking that this idea could also work as a thoughtful Christmas gift for a teacher or care giver. You could purchase an evergreen wreath and have each child either purchase or make an ornament to attach to the wreath!

wacky wednesday

2011-11-02T20:57:00.001-04:00

This Halloween will be one that we will never forget. We had a nor'easter here in Ct. and we lost power on Saturday night. We just got it back today- Wednesday! It has been crazy. Since our whole town was 100% out for Halloween we could not trick or treat. Instead we got together with some friends and made the most of the evening as best as we could WITHOUT POWER. I didn't even have time to make the trick or treat bags to attach to the wreath like I did last year and wasn't even sure that anyone would stop by the house. Instead, I quickly tucked some candy inside my Halloween wreath and put some LED lights into our pumpkins. I am pretty sure no one came by ;( On a brighter note I discovered these over sized pumpkin marshmallows at the grocery store. I made them into a fun treat by dipping them in some chocolate and placing them into a cupcake liner filled with some cookie crumb dirt. I twisted a piece of licorice into a stew and voila, a cute and easy treat. I also used the marshmallows on the side of a mug of cocoa for my kids after they came in from playing in the first snow of the season. I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween and that you had the opportunity to eat, drink & be scary!

simple snacks

2011-10-26T13:15:00.001-04:00

I know a lot of parents are looking for quick and easy snack ideas. I am too! I have three different Halloween parties to contribute to this year. Most of the schools often ask parents to bring in some fruit and/or something salty in addition to the sweet treats. Here are some easy ideas, dressed up for Halloween! I first saw this great idea which was to use a permanent marker to draw faces on the clementines. When I shared the idea with my friend Krista she took it one step further and used stickers to make the pumpkin faces. Since I couldn't find the face stickers this year I decided to use the masks and think they came out darling. I found the tiny popcorn boxes at Marshalls and just used microwave popcorn and threw in some candy corn and placed a green spider ring on top. The last treat is the easiest of all, munchkins! I went to my local Dunkin' Donuts and picked them up and put them in little cupcake liners. Easy.

that's a wrap

2011-10-26T09:35:00.000-04:00

Since cold and flu season is right around the corner I thought I would share this little gift idea. Fill a pretty mug with a nip of whisky, a honey stick and a tiny jar of cloves - all of the ingredients needed to make a hot whisky. Tuck in some cute tissues and you have thoughtful gift to brighten someones sick day.

goblin grog

2011-10-24T16:40:00.000-04:00

Going to a Halloween party this weekend? Why not bring a bottle of goblin grog as a fun hostess gift! I found these stickers in the Martha Stewart Halloween section at Michael's. Attach the sticker to any bottle of wine and you have a thoughtful, easy, and cute gift.

that's a wrap

2011-10-19T13:53:00.001-04:00

This was a present for a one year old boy. We gave him the book "If I Could Keep You Little". There is a line it that reads "If I could keep you little, I'd decide on matching clothes. But then I'd miss you choosing dots on top and stripes below." So to go with the book I got him a polka dot onesie and some matching shoes. I wrapped it in cellophane and tied it with some blue tulle. I attached a craft paper tag with a miniature clothespin.

pumpkin candle centerpiece

2011-10-18T14:03:00.001-04:00

I used some of the pumpkins I found at the farm this past weekend for a centerpiece on my dining room table. I already had some small white pumpkin shaped candles so I nestled them in amongst the real ones and I love how it turned out. If I can find some bittersweet I might tuck some of that into it too!

i ♥ pumpkins

2011-10-17T08:11:00.001-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend. On Sunday we went to a place called Jones Farm. It was a beautiful fall morning. We picked pumpkins, went on a hayride and then headed over to check out the vineyard.

I also made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. (I rarely buys store bought cookies. Homemade just taste so much better.) I put them in our red cookie tin that I bought on one of our trips to Ireland. The recipe is easy and the cookies are delicious. You can find the recipe here. Hope you had a wonderful weekend too.

trick OR treat

2011-10-14T09:34:00.000-04:00

Next week it is my turn to go into my son's preschool. I like to bring some fun activities with me when I go in, just like I did with my daughter. I am going to have the kids make these lollipop ghosts. I cut a bandanna into four squares with my pinking sheers, wrapped one of the squares around a tootsie pop, tied some ribbon around the neck and stuck on some googly eyes. You can find bandannas for $1 at Walmart or I Party and and I got the lollipops at the dollar store so this was an inexpensive project. In addition to being a fun activity for children you could also give these cute little guys out as party favors or to your trick or treaters this year. I love how the pattern on the fabric made a mouth for the ghost too! Boo!

that's a wrap

2011-10-12T09:14:00.000-04:00

This is a gift for a three year old girl who is having her party this weekend. We got her a pair of pink cowboy boots! To go with them we are also giving her the book "Armadillo Rodeo" by Jan Brett . I wrapped it in red and white polka dots and used a piece of bandanna print paper for the gift card.

october

2011-09-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that tomorrow is the first day of October? I don't know where September went. Anyway, I thought I would pull out my Halloween decorations and here is what I did yesterday. I put some candy corn garland in the kitchen, a "boo" sign in the bathroom, a teddy bear all dressed up in his costume and some red mums on the mantle in the living room. (Here are some more decorations in my dining room from last year). Now if only the weather would cooperate and start acting like fall. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

that's a wrap

2011-09-28T09:41:00.001-04:00

We have a penguin joke with one of our friends. Since he loves martini's we thought this penguin cocktail shaker would be a perfect gift for him. I attached a bottle of vanilla vodka and a recipe for a chocolate penguin.

hot dog

2011-09-25T11:18:00.001-04:00

Every September there is a big country fair in the next town over from ours. We brought the children on Friday and they had a blast. On Saturday night we were invited to an adult party at a friend's house. They happen to live right across the street from the fair. They had white twinkle light's hanging in the trees, pumpkins and hay bales decorating the yard, and a bar set up outside. We sat on their front lawn and listened to the band playing at the fair and didn't have to deal with the crowds. It was a great evening! I decided to bring dessert and thought it would be fun to go with a "fair food" theme. I made some cupcakes and topped them with some mini hot dogs. Hope you weekend was as fun and as sweet as ours!

that's a wrap

2011-09-21T13:07:00.000-04:00

Last weekend my daughter attended a really fun Zumba birthday party. Our gifts for the "rock star" were some candy rocks, an American girl book with lots of different star activities and a graphic t-shirt (with a guitar on it) from mini boden.

creative storage

2011-09-16T13:28:00.000-04:00

I know I have mentioned our need for being creative with storage before. That led to creating a place to organize all of my daughter's hair bows. This post describes how I made it. Then I found these two polka dot hooks on sale at our local Pottery Barn Kids store. I already had the art work, which is just some fabric stapled to an art canvas. We hung all of the items on a blank wall in my daughter's bedroom. Every night we put my daughters outfit for school the next day on the hooks and her shoes below on the floor. Now she has her very own clothes valet! I love they way it all looks together and how my daughter can independently get ready for school every day.

that's a wrap

2011-09-14T09:21:00.000-04:00

One of the nice things that happened after we brought our third baby home was that many of our thoughtful friends made us dinner. I honestly didn't have to cook for the first few weeks and even though I love to cook it was so nice not to have to with a newborn in the house. A friend of mine just had her fourth baby! Another friend and I decided to work together to make a special dinner for them. My friend made the main course, and I did the salad and dessert. We made it a "back to school" theme since we delivered it the night before the first day of school. I made an applesauce cake for dessert. We tucked some new ABC books in the basket for the baby and I filled a lunchbox with some gummy hamburgers for the older siblings. If you know someone having a baby think about making them a meal or even just part of a meal. I know they will appreciate it as much as I did!

lunch box love notes

2011-09-13T14:32:00.000-04:00

Lot's of mom's like to tuck little notes into their children's lunch boxes, including myself! Recently, I picked up these cute magnets for a few dollars at Marshall's. I have been using them in my daughter's metal lunch box to leave her special messages. Tomorrow she has library so I wrote "get books"! She loves to see what the new message is and is getting some practice with letter recognition, sounds, and reading all at the same time. Win, win.

that's a wrap

2011-09-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy week in our house. My daughter started Kindergarten on Tuesday and my son goes to pre-school tomorrow! I saw this idea and thought it was the perfect thing to send in with my son on his first day. I filled a lunch box with a hearty fern (I asked at the garden center for a suggestion of a good classroom plant). I used a pencil as the garden marker with a sticker that says "bloom where you're planted". I hope all of our readers have had an exciting and fun first few days/weeks of school too.

countdown to kindergarten

2011-09-02T08:49:00.002-04:00

My daughter starts Kindergarten next week. To help get her ready I thought it would be fun to have a "countdown to kindergarten". Every day we are doing something to get ready for school with an activity, craft or small gift. We started with a big surprise. When the kids woke up we told them that we were taking them on an adventure to the Boston Children's Museum. They have an exhibit there that is called "Countdown to Kindergarten". It is set up like a real classroom and the kids enjoyed all of the fun "school like" activities. If you are any where near Boston I highly recommend making the trip.

Some of the other things we did for the countdown were: made a gift for my daughters teacher, baked kissing hand cookies, gave her some snack cups and took her to the grocery store to pick out some favorite snacks, read library books about going back to school and visited her new school to play on the playground. We also gave her a tiny backpack and some petite Fancy Nancy books so she could role play about the first day with her dolls.

Helpful ideas to help your child prepare for school are:
~ read books about going to school
~ visit school before it begins- play on the playground, walk around the classroom, introduce yourself to the teacher
~ have a celebratory back to school dinner
~ have your child make something special, draw a picture or make a card to give to their new teacher on the first day of school
~ take your child to pick out a new backpack, lunchbox or snacks
All of these little things will make your child feel more confident and comfortable to head off to school on the first day

that's a wrap

2011-09-01T09:39:00.001-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts - we were out of power for three days due to Hurricane Irene!
This was a gift for a five year old girl who loves art. We gave her an over sized coloring book, this book, a new box of crayons and a paint can filled with miniature art supplies. I love how the wrapping paper picks up the colors on the crayon box and the combination of b&w stripes and polka dots pulls the whole thing together.
Our schools have been delayed until next week, but we have been counting down the days until kindergarten with some fun activities. I will try to post about them soon.
I'm hoping all of our readers are safe and with power.

that's a wrap

2011-08-24T08:46:00.001-04:00

Today is my daughter's Kindergarten visit day! Since she is starting at a new school this year and doesn't know the teacher I thought it would be a nice idea to introduce ourselves. I asked my daughter some questions and had her fill in the blanks with the answers. I attached her card to these adorable alphabet note cards from Tulaloo. I can't say enough about this company. The note cards and stationary are beautiful, items are shipped promptly and everything comes beautifully packaged and ready to use or give as a gift. I made a pen with a pink flower and tied it all together with some pretty ribbon. Just our little way of saying "hi" to my daughter's new teacher.

that's a wrap

2011-08-17T14:33:00.000-04:00

One of my friends loves scones. All summer I had intended to make her some. I knew I was going to see her one afternoon last week so I bought all of the ingredients. Then I ran out of time. I decided the next best thing would be to make her a basket with all of the ingredients and the recipe and let her make them whenever she wanted. I measured the dry ingredients and put them in a mason jar. I even included a stick of butter and tucked in some paper napkins with strawberries on them. I printed out this recipe and tucked it inside too. This would also be a lovely hostess gift or a thank you to someone who has been "berry" sweet.

picnic baskets

2011-08-16T10:20:00.000-04:00

A fun detail from our anniversary celebration this past weekend was the individual picnic baskets I made for the kids to contain all of their food. I saw the idea here for the baskets and the mason jar sippy cups. I don't know about you, but every time we get together as a family for dinner it can get a little chaotic. This idea totally simplified the pre-dinner madness. Fruit salad was served in clear plastic cups, chips in petite white paper bags, and golden fried chicken in some white cardboard popcorn boxes. The kids loved having their own baskets and I picked them up for only $1 each at the Dollar Store. We may be using these at all of our family gatherings from now on!

a golden anniversary

2011-08-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

On Friday it was my parents 50th wedding anniversary!! They are hopelessly modest people and didn't want a large party. Instead, they decided a BBQ with family would be the perfect way to celebrate this momentous occasion, so that is what we did yesterday. On Friday night they went out for dinner at their favorite french restaurant and while they were gone I snuck over to their house and set up a little romantic dessert for them. On their 35th wedding anniversary my brother and I had given them a Smith & Hawken bench. My parents have the bench on the edge of their lake front property and I decided that would be the perfect place to set up their special dessert. I made a wreath with an arrow pointing them in the right direction. I hung tissue balls, clear glass balls filled with gold glitter, and their initials all from the branches above the bench. I put 50 (gold wrapped) Hershey kisses in a jar along with a bottle of champagne. I also had a variety of petite desserts under a glass cloche. I placed candles and flowers in small vases all around the patio and had their wedding song playing as they arrived home. My parents LOVED this surprise! The very next day my dad gave my daughter a thank you note that read in part: "On July 5, 2055, we won't be around to repay your mother and father for this heart-warming welcome on their 50th. But you will and we hope you will. We would be very grateful in absentia if you would do the honors. Hopefully it would mean as much to them as our anniversary welcome meant to us today". Sob. Mission complete.

sunflowers

2011-08-12T08:33:00.000-04:00

This week at "stay camp" was all about sunflowers and it was so much fun!!! Somehow (unintentionally) I managed to incorporate many different areas of a school curriculum into our week.
PE/Critical thinking and following directions: We started our week with a visit to a local sunflower maze. The kids loved running down the path looking for each marker while answering questions and clues to find out which direction we were supposed to take next.
Science: We took a sunflower apart and investigated all of its different parts. The kids were so funny using the magnifying glasses and I was impressed with the words they used to describe the flower.
Language Arts/Art History: We read the book "In the Garden with Van Gogh". We talked about Van Gogh and I showed them pictures of his famous paintings.
Art: I wanted the kids to feel like "real" artists so I gave each of them an easel and a canvas and let them paint sunflowers. I loved seeing how different a three and five year old interpret sunflowers. I think I will hang them in our playroom.
Math: We used our math skills to measure the ingredients needed to make cupcakes. Then I let the kids decorate them to look like sunflowers. I think I had the most fun trying to make the petals, although my son really enjoyed licking the frosting off of his fingers, the knife, the spoon, the bowl.....
We only have a few weeks left of summer so hopefully we will get to do at least one more theme before school starts again.

that's a wrap

2011-08-10T08:18:00.000-04:00

A fun idea to use when wrapping a gift is to include part of the gift in the wrapping. In this package was a dress for a two year old girl. I bought two hair bows to match the dress and used them (on the ribbon) on top of the gift. I love how the hair bows look like actual ribbons on the gift. They are an inexpensive and fun detail to use when wrapping a gift for a little girl. You can also use a scarf, belt, or tie for a similar look for an adult.

sugar & spice

2011-08-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

I was going through some old photographs and found some from a baby shower that I had for my dear friend who adopted a baby from China four years ago. The theme of the shower was sugar & spice. I made some onesies and hung them on a clothesline as decoration. I had guests write "whispers of sweet nothings" for the expecting parents on candy shaped paper. A candy jar was placed next to it to collect the messages. The favors were spice drops that guests scooped into mini take out containers. I served food that was either sweet or spicy. It was a really fun shower to host. You can also check out the bird themed baby shower I did last summer here OR type "bird shower" into the search box to your right.

facebook

2011-08-05T11:41:00.001-04:00

One of my friend's asked me to start a facebook page a few months ago so that she would know when I uploaded a new post. If you are interested in getting instant notifications too you are welcome to follow me on facebook. I hope to offer more "behind the scenes" information with ideas that I am working on. Today I posted something about purchasing traditional school cones. Check out our fan page here. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

ice cream castle

2011-08-04T09:53:00.001-04:00

This was a really fun (and kid friendly) project that was the perfect culmination for our "castles" week at stay camp. Detailed directions can be found here. I grabbed the castle mold at our local grocery store - they were on sale too, 2 for $3! I ran it through the dishwasher and then had the kids scoop some room temp. vanilla ice cream into the mold. I gave them graham crackers in a Ziploc bag to crush into pieces to look like sand. Then they decorated it with some candy shells, gummy sea creatures, ribbon flags and a princess. It was that simple. I think this is going to become a summer tradition. Do you have any fun summer traditions that you would like to share?

that's a wrap

2011-08-03T08:49:00.000-04:00

This was a birthday gift we gave to my dad this past weekend. I call it "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". He loves a local farm stand market. They makes their own apple cider and other baked goods too. I bought him some apple cider, pie, and apple cider donuts and put them in a basket along with a gift certificate. That way when he finishes what is in the basket he can go buy some more! I like to give gifts that people can use or eat- especially for older people who can sometimes be tricky to shop for. This would also be a thoughtful gift for someone who is sick with a tag that reads "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" or for a favorite teacher "an apple for the teacher".

inside out s'mores

2011-08-01T16:15:00.001-04:00

This weekend we were invited to a last minute get together at a friend's house to enjoy a night by their fire pit. I saw this fun recipe for inside out s'mores and thought it would be perfect for this occasion. Basically you just stuff the center of an over sized marshmallow with chocolate and graham crackers. I put them in a mason jar and simply tied some raffia and a bandanna printed paper tag around the outside. I loved that they were easy to make and the kids thought that they were pretty fun too. I think next time I may try putting a mini candy bar inside. Yum! If I had had more time and/or all of the ingredients I would have whipped up a batch of S'more martini's to bring too. Hope you had a sweet weekend filled with good friends & fun too.

that's a wrap

2011-07-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

I love to wrap gift cards in clear pillow boxes. I usually fill them with candy or gumballs. This was for coffee so I used coffee beans instead and wrote "thanks for bean so nice".

stay camp

2011-07-25T11:30:00.001-04:00

After quite a busy summer last year (a trip to Ireland/Italy, my husbands 40th birthday, my 20th high school reunion....) I am really enjoying the lazy days of summer this year. I decided not to sign my kids up for any camp. I like having them home. I like being flexible enough to wake up and say let's go berry picking today. I know the term "stay-cation" is used quite frequently these days. I decided to create "stay-camp" like day camp only we stay home. I asked my children what they wanted to learn more about. My three year old said "buzz lightyear" so I interpreted that as Outer Space. We had a lot of fun gathering books at the library. We made some crafts. We played outside with some astronaut bubbles and moon sand. We had a fun themed lunch and I was even lucky enough to find some "Space Adventures" goldfish! What I love about this idea is the flexibility. If it was beautiful outside we went to the lake. If it was raining outside and the baby was napping we cuddled up and read a book or did a craft. Last week we started our next theme- castles. Since it was very hot out we spent a lot of time in the water. We didn't get to do enough crafts and I ran out of time to make an ice cream sand castle with the kids. So, we decided to continue the same theme this week. Did I mention I love the flexibility? I guess you can take the teacher out of the classroom but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher!

that's a wrap

2011-07-20T09:09:00.001-04:00

Today I thought I would share how I organize my ribbon. I store my rolls of ribbon in a long basket, sorted by color. I also save my scraps of ribbon- small pieces leftover from a roll or ribbon from a package that we have received. I can never throw it away! I put the scraps into pretty glass jars and vases. Some of the scraps are sorted by color like the tall glass vase above that is filled with red and white ribbon, others are all thrown in together. Since they are in glass I can easily find the perfect ribbon for a gift.

cute as a cupcake

2011-07-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. I am sure most of you have already seen the cupcake shaped cake mold. I picked up this one at the Christmas Tree shop for $8 when we went to the cape! It is made of silicone and it was so easy to make. I made a carrot cake (from the box) with some homemade cream cheese frosting. Yum! The cake was delicious and since it was from a box, it was a big time saver. I haven't found a store bought frosting that tastes as good as homemade and this recipe was quick and SO delicious. I thought it turned out cute and the kids loved it- hopefully as much as my husband. Hope your weekend was sweet too.

that's a wrap

2011-07-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

This was a gift we gave to our friend Luke. He likes Spiderman. Inside were some sand toys, goggles, an inter tube and sidewalk chalk. I personalized the shovel with his name and attached a lollipop to the ribbon to complete the gift. I love to wrap gifts in cellophane and always try to have a roll on hand. It is especially useful for gifts (like buckets) that are an awkward shape to wrap.

seven year itch

2011-07-11T19:22:00.000-04:00

( photo courtesy of Claire Murray)

My husband and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary while we were at the Cape. The traditional gift for seven years is wool. Perhaps that is how the "seven year itch" originated! Anyway, I was planning on getting my husband a monogrammed cashmere blanket and a movie, but since we are in the middle of summer here in Connecticut, curling up with a wool blanket was the last thing that I wanted to do. Instead I thought it would be fun to go pick out our present together while we were on vacation. Claire Murray makes beautiful rugs and since they are made of wool it seemed like the perfect gift and new addition to our bright yellow kitchen. This is the rug that we ended up purchasing. I love it and we were able to get it at a great discount too! I haven't picked our movie yet if anyone has any suggestions. I was thinking of something with seven in the title. "Seven", "Snow white and the seven Dwarfs", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". You get the idea. If you want to learn more about our anniversary traditon you can read about it here.

cape cod

2011-07-09T15:22:00.002-04:00

We are back from a week at the cape. Here are just a few things that we love about the Cape....

you get to eat pizza at the beach

You can paint your toes pink and wear fun flip flops!

You can get up-close and personal with lobsters.

And they throw candy at the parade!

Hope you had a fun holiday weekend too! More next week.

that's a wrap

2011-06-29T08:53:00.000-04:00

This was a birthday gift for a little girl who had a red, star, and sports themed birthday party. We gave her a pair of red sneakers that had white stars all over them! I wrapped the gift in some red and white striped paper and then again with some thin tissue paper. I like the way it turned out. The red and white star ribbon and red star box (filled with star gummy candy) completed the gift. Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. We are leaving for the Cape tomorrow so I won't be posting again until the end of next week.

that's a wrap

2011-06-22T17:04:00.001-04:00

This week the wrapping paper is on the wall! I found this adorable sheet of wrapping paper on my last trip to Ireland. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for until recently I decided it might look really cute in a frame. I hung the one pictured above on the wall in the kids play room. I also framed another one with different cakes on it for my studio. I was telling someone about this project when they were visiting recently and she told me that she collects vintage scraps of wrapping paper. I thought she should frame them and hang them all on the same wall for a wonderful display. I may have to start keeping my eyes open for vintage wrapping paper now too!

we all scream for ice cream

2011-06-21T09:18:00.000-04:00

I have always loved the quote: "Life is short, eat dessert first". Our summer tradition follows this sentiment. On the first day of summer we have ice cream for dinner. Yes, just ice cream! It is only once a year and it's fun. I found these waffle bowls at the grocery store for tonight. We will use them to make our sundaes in but I also thought they would be darling containers for our toppings. You could also use them as favors for an ice cream party with a gift certificate for ice cream tucked inside and wrapped up in cellophane for your guests. Do you have any fun traditions for the start of summer? I would love to hear about them. Happy Summer!!

we never "tire" of loving you dad

2011-06-20T16:22:00.000-04:00

Since my husband just got a new car I decided that it would be fun to do a car theme for father's day this year. I got three gifts for him- one from each of the children. The first one was a travel coffee cup with a picture of the kids on it. The second was a custom key chain with a shamrock and the third was a new CD. I found a card from tiny prints that said "we could never "tire" of loving you dad". On the first gift I wrote: "grab your coffee". On the second gift I wrote "and find your keys". On the third "put on the tunes" and in the card I wrote "and head for the breeze". We all got in the car and headed towards the ocean where we dined on delicious lobster rolls for lunch. It was a fun day and my husband really loved spending time with the children. After all they are the reason for the celebration. I hope you got to spend the weekend doing something fun with those you love too!

king of our hearts

2011-06-18T14:03:00.002-04:00

Since I did a "queen" theme for mother's day, I felt it only appropriate to do a king theme for my dad! I found these adorable cookie tins (or only $4) and made some home-made crown shaped sugar cookies to put inside. Since my dad went to graduate school at Oxford and met the queen of England once, he has always had a special place in his heart for the royal family. He is the king of hearts in our family and I hope that he will love this gift as much as we all love him!

teacher gift

2011-06-16T08:43:00.000-04:00

Just like last year, we contributed money for the teachers year end class gift. And, just like last year, I also gave them a little something special from us too. This year I gave them each a small cube of Vera Bradley paper (my daughter signed her name on the first sheet) and a flower pen that we made and stuck in a terra cotta pot. I included a note with this quote: "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust
It was just our little way of thanking the teachers for all they have done to make our daughter love school.

that's a wrap

2011-06-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

I found these cute little hopscotch kits at the dollar store. Inside was some sidewalk chalk, tiny bean bags and directions on how to play the game. I decided to give them to all of the girls in my daughter's pre school class on the last day of school. The boys got some rocket balloons which were a big hit at my daughter's birthday party. My wrapping tip for today is to repackage something to make it look even cuter. I didn't love the original tag on the hopscotch kits so I simply took them off and used some fun patterned paper and stickers instead. It didn't take me long and I loved the way they came out. This is an easy way to take something and make it look even more fabulous! It also shows that you took the time to personalize something for the recipient. This would be a great favor for a summer birthday party too. This would also be a great favor for a summer birthday party too.

watermelon whale

2011-06-12T19:38:00.000-04:00

Last week my daughter had her pre-school graduation and I signed up to bring watermelon. Since her school mascot is a whale I thought it would be fun to carve the watermelon into the shape of a whale. I found the directions in the book "Summer" by Susan Branch. It was actually quite simple to do and the kids got a kick out of it. This is a great thing to bring to a potluck or BBQ because you can throw away (or compost) the watermelon when the fruit salad is all gone!

that's a wrap

2011-06-08T11:15:00.000-04:00

The photo above was taken on my son's birthday last week. I didn't get to fancy since I knew he would rip them open quickly and because I had quite a few to wrap! I choose this picture becuase it goes with one of my wrapping tips which is to stock up on patterened wrapping paper in a color that you love. Red is my favorite color of choice. It works for any occasion especially on Christmas and Valentine's day and it is the perfect color for a girl or a boy. I have red/white paper with stripes, polka dots, stars and even hearts. It works for everything! If you can buy the paper in bulk- even better! I got this particular paper from BJ's wholesale club and it has lasted for a very long time. If you have a fun wrapping tip let me know. I would love to hear about it. More on wrapping next Wednesday.

the favors

2011-06-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

We gave our guests CARS m&m's and pajamas. I packaged the m&m's in some red tins and put a picture of the birthday boy inside. The pajamas were placed inside the red paper bags that I tied with some CARS ribbon. I put both into a red tin picnic basket and wrote "sweet" dreams with white stickers. So that's the party- a little bit Disney and a whole lot of homemade for my sweet little man on his third birthday. I hope you enjoyed it!

the activity

2011-06-06T13:17:00.000-04:00

The main activity for this party was showing the movie "CARS". As the children headed downstairs to our home theatre I gave each of them an orange glow necklace and some play money to use at our homemade concession stand. I had mini candy bars and popcorn and small red boxes with Lightening McQueen on them that the children used to put their treats in. The children loved making their own selections and then quickly found their seats to watch the movie.

the food & table

2011-06-05T14:51:00.000-04:00

To keep things simple we decided to order pizza for dinner. I also served some construction cones (baby carrots) and stop lights (watermelon, cantaloupe, and green grapes on skewers) for the kids. I found construction cone sippy cups that we filled with water, personalized with stickers, and placed on each plate. One of my favorite details from the party was the snacks that we served in "Mack" the hauler truck. For the grown ups I made two green salads and a pasta salad to accompany the pizza. We also served a few different appetizers and a signature cocktail: the sidecar which is pictured above. I also made my own tablecloth with some racing flag fabric. I love parties where I am able to do all of the prepping of food ahead of time so I can enjoy my company at the party. That was this kind of a party.

CARS

2011-06-04T17:30:00.020-04:00

My son turned 3 yesterday! We decided it would be fun to do a pizza & a movie night. He chose the movie"CARS". The good thing about choosing a Disney movie is that it is EVERYWHERE. The bad thing about choosing a Disney movie is that it is EVERYWHERE. What I mean to say is that by choosing such a popular theme it can be helpful because you can find everything from juice boxes to pretzels in the shape of many of the characters but, in my opinion, it is easy to get carried away and have to much Disney. I decided that the best option for me was to use a little of the Disney stuff and a lot of the homemade to find just the right balance. I also used the colors red, black, and orange. Here are some of the non Disney decorations I used. I found red felt cars that I put around our dining room with pictures of my son at the age of 1, 2 and 3. I put a lightening rod and the age that he was in the picture on the side of each car. I hung black chalkboard stars around the big screen and wrote the names of each of our guests on them. I also got black star shaped balloons that I tied to the back of each chair. All week I be sharing more about the food and favors and some other fun details. I hope you will come back to check them out!

that's a wrap wednesday

2011-06-01T13:39:00.000-04:00

I LOVE to wrap presents. In fact, I think it might just be one of my favorite things to do! I wrote a post with some tips for buying gifts for children that you can read about here. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of gifts that I have wrapped along with occasional gift ideas and/or wrapping tips on Wednesday's. The gift pictured above was for a "rock" star! It had a CD of music and a rock star t-shirt inside.

kung fu krunch

2011-05-22T16:54:00.000-04:00

Last night my daughter's pre-school held a movie night. The film was Kung Fu Panda. We were asked to make snacks so I made a version of my bunny trail mix and called it "Kung Fu Krunch". I packaged it in petite take out boxes. I tied b&w ribbon to the handles and sealed them shut with a panda sticker. Of course, I had to get the kids some cute panda jammies to wear too. We all had a blast. Hope you had a fun weekend too!

Kung Fu Krunch:
bamboo sticks: pretzel sticks
nose: black jelly beans
panda paws: mini chocolate covered pretzels
baby bears: chocolate chip teddy grahams (I wanted to use chocolate but couldn't find them)
fluffy ears: nonpareils

alice in wonderland basket

2011-05-20T12:47:00.002-04:00

I was commissioned to make a gift basket for one of the teachers at my daughter's school who recently had a death in her family. I was asked to incorporate tea, wine, and flowers- all of her favorite things. I found inspiration from the mother/daughter "Alice in Wonderland" themed tea party that the teachers had organized at school last week. I found an over sized b&w tea cup with a picture of Alice on it and put a red rose plant inside. I tucked in a silver spoon (garden marker) with "rose garden" stamped on it. After some searching I was able to find a bottle of wine from CA that had a "queen of hearts" label. Since they don't sell it here in Connecticut. I had to have it shipped. I think it was worth it! I wrapped some ginger peach tea and chocolate biscotti and added tags that read "drink me" and "eat me." I also put some tiny stuffed mice in for her "Cheshire cat." To finish it off I stuck in a pink flamingo and wrapped it all in cellophane. I attached a card in the shape of a crown and wrote "queen of" and inside the word "our" and four red hearts representing the four people who were giving this basket to their friend. This was a very fun basket to make and I hope that it brought some comfort to the recipient knowing that she is the queen of all of our hearts.

come sail "a"way

2011-05-17T14:01:00.007-04:00

We had a very busy weekend. A mother/daughter tea at the pre-school, a day out with Thomas the Train, and our babies Christening on Sunday. We were lucky enough to have two of my sister in laws from Ireland join us for the Christening so it was extra special for everyone. I decided to use a nautical theme and the colors blue and white. Of course, I had to add a few pops of red too! I also used the letter "A" since that is the first initial in my babies name. For the favors I found tiny metal sailboat that I filled with yellow and white salt water taffy. For the kids I served lemonade in mason jars with some candy sailboat stirrers. I found the idea here. For the adults we served sea breezes. It was delicious and very easy to make. I also happened to have some ice pop molds in the shape of sailboats! It was as simple as filling them with juice and popping them in the freezer. The kids loved them. Even though it was a rainy and wet day we spent a lovely afternoon with friends and family. Hope your weekend was filled with family, friends and lots of fun too!

it ain't easy being green

2011-05-10T15:10:00.001-04:00

I was going to throw away these froggy boots. They have a rip in the side and are now to small for my son to wear. They were to cute to let go off so instead I decided to plant some pansies in them. It was so easy to do that five year old did the whole project all by herself. Now we can enjoy these guys for a little while longer!

queen of our hearts

2011-05-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

This is the gift I am giving my mom today. Since we are having tea together I got her a tea cup and filled it with some fun items representing why she is so special.
The tea cup is for her warmth.
The tiny box of tissues for her strength (and also because every time you sneeze at her house she jumps up and grabs a box of tissues for you)!
The bag of candy for her sweetness. (three muskateers, to be exact, since she helps me with my three muskateers)
Some notecards for her thoughtfulness and because she writes the BEST thank you notes.
And a heart tea strainer becaue she is the queen of our hearts!

tea with the queen

2011-05-02T13:10:00.000-04:00

After reading this book and watching the Royal Wedding a few days ago I felt it only appropriate to plan a Royal Tea Party for my mom (our queen) for Mother's Day. I decided we needed a fancy invitation for such an occasion so I headed to Michaels to see what I could find. I bought white cards in the shape of a crown and the small purple crown clips. My daughter helped me add some fancy glitter to the invitation and we put it in a box to make it extra special. I made reservations for high tea for Sunday and am already looking forward to it! Stay tuned for her tea themed gift which I will share later in the week. Do you have anything fun planned for Mother's Day?

pretty in pink

2011-04-27T08:33:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. She is so sweet and thoughtful and does so much for me and so I wanted to make her birthday extra special. However, I am finding it a little more challenging to get out of the house to run errands with three small children! So all of the ideas I originally had went out the window and I was left to improvise with things I had around the house like candles, napkin rings, and ribbon. I was able to get her some plants (you can read about another gift idea using impatiens here) and a funny little metal sign that I thought was a perfect sentiment sitting in a pot of impatiens! Although I wasn't able to get helium filled balloons I blew some up that I had leftover from my daughters party and tossed them on the floor. I added some pink ribbons to an Eiffel Tower and wrote a message on the chalkboard. It was a lovely evening celebrating a lovely woman.

mud

2011-04-22T09:29:00.001-04:00

In honor of Earth Day today I thought I would share a cute idea for a party favor. This would be fun for as a birthday party favor too. I put some instant pudding mix, mini Oreos, and gummy worms inside a mason jar (You could also use a recycled pasta sauce jar). I attached a tag and on the back wrote the directions for making edible dirt:
Empty contents of jar.
Open pudding mix and pour powder into the jar. Add 2 cups of cold milk and put the lid back on tightly.
Shake like crazy! (the directions on the box say whisk for 2 minutes- but shaking is more fun)
Pour the pudding into 4 serving cups. I would use mini terra cotta pots!
Crumble the Oreo cookies on top and put sprinkle with some gummy worms.
Enjoy!

babies basket

2011-04-21T17:11:00.001-04:00

(photo courtesy of Barnes & Noble)

(photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids)

(photo courtesy of Amazon)

(photo courtesy of Old Navy)

(photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids)

Even if babies can't eat candy you can still make them an adorable Easter basket. I choose a few of our favorite items, some of which will be in my little ones Easter basket on Sunday. Yellow is neutral enough for a boy or a girl and this would make an adorable baby or shower gift for someone expecting around Easter. The book is the inspiration for this basket. Owen loves all of the candy in his basket, especially his yellow marshmallow chick that is the same color as his favorite yellow blanket. Include a soft yellow blanket, and a stuffed marshmallow chick and some cute chick shoes and the basket is complete. ( Last year I wrote about my other favorite Easter book. You can read about it here. )

colorful candy

2011-04-21T13:27:00.000-04:00

This is the project that I came up with to use up the rest of the candy from my bunny trail mix. I decided it would be fun to use the leftover colors to make a thank you gift for a friend. I bought some egg crates at Joann Fabric- those little ceramic dishes that are supposed to hold 9 eggs. I sorted the candies by color and put a different kind in each section. In the middle I put a bunny candle. I like that the recipient can use the dish after the candy is gone either for eggs or to hold jewelry on a dresser. I made another one in blue and yellow for my mom. I got the inspiration for this project after seeing this. I am also pairing them with a potted pansy in coordinating colors.

blog love

2011-04-21T07:34:00.002-04:00

I am thrilled to be mentioned again on Sara's Party Perfect. She calls my blog a wealth of sweet, simple ideas. You can find it here. I think her blog is a wealth of inspiration. Thank you, Sara!

easter goes b&w

2011-04-19T16:20:00.001-04:00

I've seen a lot of chalkboard eggs around the web lately so I decided to make some of my own. I bought two bags of paper mache eggs at Michael's and used the chalkboard spray paint I had left over from my globe project. I simply sprayed two coats on each egg and that was it. I love that since they are not made with real eggs I will be able to use them year after year. I also love that they will work perfectly with the black and white decor in my dining room. Now I am working on making a centerpiece nest/ wreath for Easter. If I don't finish it in time for Sunday I am going to use them in little white egg cups as place cards instead. I put some real grass underneath to add a pop of color. Aren't they darling?