that's a wrap

One of my dear friends just became a grandma for the first time.  I wanted to get her something special and when I saw these adorable cookies I knew they would be perfect!!!  On the card I wrote "grandma's are like mom's with frosting."  These would make great favors for a baby shower too. SO fun!

easter goes b&w

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? 

blue truck

One of my dear friends gave me this darling blue pick up truck filled with gorgeous flowers when I had my baby boy a few weeks ago.  I loved it!  Thank you, Kristi.  I love this truck so much that I knew I had to keep it long after the flowers were gone. I have lots of ideas for this truck and recently used it to hold peanuts.  Wouldn't this be perfect for a little boys birthday party?  I love using whimsical things to hold snacks in. 

sweet heart

With all of the snow that we have had in the past few weeks here in Ct. and a newborn in the house I have had a good excuse to stay home and work on Valentine projects. Since my baby was born in mid Jan. I knew that by the time I took a picture, had it printed, and could get it in the mail it would be the beginning of Feb. So, I decided to combine our baby announcement with a Valentine. I thought that by the time you had your third baby people would be done showering you with gifts. I was completely wrong. This baby got new clothes, books, toys, blankets and I didn't have to cook for the first three weeks after we got home from the hospital! We are so lucky. For those friends and family that went above and beyond I packaged the announcement/valentine cards into red boxes and added some heart confetti and candy. I wrote thank you notes in the cards and either hand delivered them or mailed them right in the red boxes (I just added white labels to the top.) The little extra detail and time that it took me to make these was nothing compared to the love and friendship I have received.

it's a boy!

It's a boy! Our new son arrived earlier this week and we are all thrilled! I made these little favors for my daughter to take to school to share with her classmates. I bought blue and white lollipops and tied some orange polka dot ribbon around them. I used a glue gun to attach them to some plain white bookmarks and stamped "It's a boy" on the front and "N's new brother is here!" on the back. I put them in a polka dot bag and stamped a tag for my husband to fill in with the babies name, weight, etc. She is thrilled about our newest arrival and will enjoy sharing the news with her friends at school too. Since I obviously will have my hands full over the next few weeks I am going to take a little break from blogging- but, please check back in soon for some fun Valentine's Day ideas that I have been working on.

baby bear

As I mentioned in the previous post I had put activities for my kids to make for the new baby in the small orange bags that were under the white feather tree. The first activity we did was to stamp onesies with some brown fabric paint and a bear stamp. Each of my kids made one and my husband and I made the third one. Today the kids decorated teddy bear shaped cards to go with the onesies. My daughter had me write a message on the back that included the line: "I will take very good care of you." This weekend we are going to go to build-a-bear so the kids can make a teddy bear for their new baby brother. All of these projects only took a few minutes but will bring great happiness when my kids can give them to their new brother soon.

family tree

After Christmas we started counting down the days until my scheduled c-section. To make it fun and a little more tangible for my kids, I decided to make one of those paper chains with the number of days left until the big day. They are having run ripping off one link each morning and watching the chain get smaller and smaller. Since my Christmas stuff was already out I used this white feather tree to hold the chain. I also added some fun ribbon and my children's silver baby cups. The orange bags at the bottom of the tree are little crafts for the kids to make for their new baby brother. I'll share them later in the week.

christening gift idea

(photo courtesy of Chasing Fireflies)

I recently received an e-mail from a reader that asked me for some suggestions for a christening gift. I love the catalog Chasing Fireflies and thought these adorable polka dot crosses would make a lovely gift along with this "First Prayers" book illustrated by one of my favorites, Tasha Tudor. I also recommended putting them in a monogrammed LL Bean Bag. What are your go to gifts for such an occasion?

a pocket full of kisses

(photo courtesy of Barnes and Noble)

Here is how I turned the idea into a gift for a friend having her second boy. I used this book as the inspiration. It is about a raccoon named Chester that feels a little left out when his new brother arrives. His mother gives him extra kisses (for his pocket) and her gesture makes him feel much better. I wrapped and numbered the gifts and sent them off to my friend in CA. I told her what I had done for my daughter's visits to the hospital and let her decide when and where would be best to give these gifts to her son. Along with the book I sent a big brother t-shirt, a stuffed Chester, and a bag of Hershey kisses. The book alone, maybe with a pair of pants and some Hershey kisses tucked into the pocket, would also make a sweet gift for someone.