My love for paper is pretty intense, and I could probably be happy for an unreasonably large amount of time surrounded by cardstock and stationery. But no matter how strong that love might be, watching an hour’s worth of bow-making get crunched and smooshed by way of suitcase, mail or toddler hands is not my…
Wrapping Week 2013: Pretty in Polka Dots
The other day I was hanging up some laundry to dry and realized that between Beany and me, we could rock a polka dot nearly every day of the week. The entire doorframe of the master closet (the designated drying spot in our humble abode) was filled with a smattering of spots in varying sizes…
Wrapping Week 2013: Fa La La Felt Ornaments
Ever since I made these felt cookies for Beany and my niece last Christmas (which are holding up amazingly well and still favorite toys in our house), I’ve been toting around a ridiculously large supply of scrap felt. It’s like when you’re eating dinner at one of those gigantic-portions Italian restaurants, and no matter how…
Wrapping Week 2013: Holly Jolly Reindeer Prints
We got our first real covers-everything-and-makes-the-world-look-pretty snow last night in Boston! Woo hoo! After living in North Carolina for two years, where we barely, barely got anything that could count as flurries for nearly the entire stay, I think Jared and I just assumed that moving to the Northeast would mean bunches and bunches of…
Let’s get wrapping!
How did Christmas get to be less than three weeks away? I know, broken record, broken record. But has this past month flown by, or what? I’ve amazingly finished my shopping already, which is pretty unheard of for me this early in the game, but that just means there’s lots of wrapping around the corner….
A Very Merry Toddler Tree
When I was little, I kept a closely monitored countdown to Christmas on a large dry-erase board in my family’s kitchen. This was old school, mind you. Every day, I’d erase the number and write in a new one, sometimes adding snowflakes or stars or something else festive once the countdown broke into double digits….
An easy peasy, no-sew craft to keep your coffee cozy
Last December I wrote an article for Carolina Parent magazine about super simple gift ideas your kids can make (or help make) themselves, and though I think I posted most of them not long after the article came out, this one slipped through the cracks. As luck should have it, the chilly weather and warm-drink…
Doll skirt DIY and a note to younger me
Yesterday, with deadlines looming and work to be done, I spent the morning sewing a new skirt for Beany’s beloved Bunny, the doll whose been the favorite naptime, bedtime, all-time companion for more than a year but whose received affection — and countless trips through the washing machine — was beginning to take its toll…
For Beany’s cookie jar: DIY felt cookie tutorial
In my very favorite episode of Little House on the Prairie, a snow-covered Mr. Edwards bursts through the door of the Ingalls family home on their first Christmas in Kansas. There’s a blizzard blowing outside, and Mr. Edwards looks more like a frosty Santa Claus than his usual grizzly man self. Although I could replay…
That’s so Mary Margaret: Easy DIY wreath
While we were back visiting family in Missouri for Christmas, Jared and I started watching the first season of Once Upon a Time on Netflix. Only a few episodes in, I began to develop a mega-size obsession with all things Mary Margaret (Snow White’s “real world” self in the town of Storybrooke, Maine). I loved…