winner.

The lucky winner of the little brown pen giveaway is...

Congrats Teresa!  Please contact me to claim your goodies!

love notes.

Am thinking these would be perfect to spell out to my sweetheart how much I adore him. Leave a few love notes here and there to surprise him.  Scalloped card + tiny envelope. Such teeny tiny goodness!

DIY friday : hanging hearts.

In honor of Valentine's day, here is a little crafty craft that anyone can do.  It is super simple. I borrowed this idea from the February issue of Wondertime and switched it up a bit to fit what I was looking for.

 

::all you need::

drawing paper 

tempera paint [i used magenta + red]

paint brush [i used one from my son's water color kit]

colored pencil [color of choice - pink]

baker's twine, cotton string, thread, fishing line [i used twine]

hole punch

scissors

::here's what you do::

.line your table with kraft paper, newspaper, washable table cloth

.tear out a couple of sheets of drawing paper

.now paint away

[i painted one side pink + the other side red]

.quickly after painting one side take your colored pencil and squiggle some lines through the paint, across the page.  this will add texture and design.

.let it completely dry

.fold paper hot dog style and cut out hearts of different shapes and sizes

.punch hole near top of heart and thread with your choice of string/material

.tie it off with a knot

.hang at varying heights from where ever and whatever you choose [i hung mine from the light fixture above the kitchen table.

ta-da. lovey dovey goodness!

I wanted to do this craft for a little valentine's party i am hosting for my boys :) But really who needs a reason to celebrate love.

happy crafting!

olivia.

I must say that I am secretly enjoying the premier of the cartoon Olivia.  I have a little love of pigs and was happy to find the show is fun to watch with my boys.

surprise cookies.

My mom treated me to the Martha Stewart Cookies [cook book] and the pages are filled with many many delectable goodies.  I decided just to dive in and start trying out the recipes right away.  The first one I chose was surprise cookies.  Chocolate goodness!  My boys gobbled them up and quickly asked for more.  If you like a cakey cookie then you will want to try these out!

circle and dot neckalce.

This little treasure found its way into my stocking last month. It's so simple and goes with everything. I haven't managed to take it off yet. Check out more of this designers pieces here.

tooth fairy kit.

Have you seen these amazing tooth fairy kits? I know of one particular 7 year old who would be thrilled to have one. Oh, and they're letterpressed, which makes them even more lovely.

[via Oh Happy Day]

i heart cookies.

I want to get these for the valentine cookies I am going to make!  I'll be sure to post the recipe once I make them.

southern weddings.

Although I have been married for 6 years now, I still love looking at wedding magazines.  I just can't help myself.  There are always lovely little ideas tucked between the pages that I love to file away. My newest favorite of course is Southern Weddings.  I just received mine in the post today and can't wait to dive in!

little brown pen GIVEAWAY!

Little Brown Pen is one of the happiest etsy finds I've had in a long time. This sweet paperie is filled with the most charming illustrations. The little girl in the red hooded coat kills me, she's so darling! Do you want to know the best part of Little Brown Pen? All of the items listed in the shop are $5.00 and under! What better way to stretch your dollar during these uncertain economic times? Every design you see is for sale as a PDF template. You buy the designs you like and Nichole sends you the file giving you unlimited access to the number of cards, tags and envelopes you'd like to print. FABULOUS! Just. Add. Paper. That's all you need to make your own stationery, notecards and tags. These ready-to-print pdf templates are perfect for those occasions when you need an emergency card to slip inside a gift bag. They also spread "just because" cheer and make great gifts - just print a set, wrap and give.

Would you like to win 3 mix and match files? I knew you would. Just make a comment on this post [including your email please] telling me which design is your favorite by Thursday January 29th [11pm cst]. The winner will be announced Friday January 30th. Good Luck!

baby room.

I am completely in love with the nursery Ali Edwards decorated for her soon to arrive baby girl. It's pretty and sweet without being frilly and pink. Go here for a full tour including links to all of the fabulous places she found the goods.

DIY friday: paint chip bookmarks.

That Jessica Jones from How About Orange is so clever! I just love these paint chip bookmarks. Go here to see how she made them.

sweet pea and beans.

I am in love over the super sweet traceable stationery at Sweet Pea and Beans.  Such a genius idea!  My three year old is at the perfect age to find entertainment in tracing his letters.  Plus it is a fun way to have him participate in saying thank you. I've decided I might just have to get me some personalized traceable thank you's too. There is something reminiscent about tracing letters and feeling like a kid again.  Oh and make sure you check out her other fabulous paper goodies.  You know, valentines is right around the corner!

get tagged.

A hip new take on the lovely traditional locket.  Part locket.  Part I.D. tag.  Asha Patel took a traditional design and made it over for a chic modern update.  Choose from five different designs, two of which have an opening in the back to house a picture of your true love.  A perfect gift for a valentine's sweetheart.  Ahem honey.  If you're reading this, take a hint!

very clever indeed.

So excited to have nie back! I so missed all her ravishing posts and look forward to learning more about the new nie.

If you still want to find ways to help, then hop on over here. Such a cleverly fantastic idea! Purely brilliant. I will most definitely be adding one to my cart and you should too!

cookie decorating kit.

Purpose Design has me in the baking mood. Can you imagine all the sweet confections you could create with this awesome kit?

chalk candle.

I think this is so cute. Tie a pretty bow around it, write "I {heart} you" and you've got a sweet little valentine for someone special.

hang 'em.

Finally at last!

A tool to make hanging pictures + shelves super easy and quick to boot!  Use this tool with keyhole, slot or other similar hanging devices and get rid of the stress of making it level and straight.  I just used the Hang'em Awl this last week to hang some letters in mr. b's room.  I must say, it took me less than 5 minutes.  And at only $7.99, how could you not want to try them out.  I love a good solution.  Watch the video here.

party perfect.

One of my favorite things to do is put together a party and entertain.  With my youngest sons birthday on the 2nd of January, I knew we needed to make it special since it follows so closely behind Christmas.  He has been fascinated with Frosty for quite some time, so picking a theme was a no-brainer.

The "frosty" party came together quite easily and quickly.  Most of everything was handmade with a few purchases here and there. We had a happy day garland, yarn pom-pom snowballs, snowman garland and snowball streamers. Simple + sweet.  Benny loved it.

 

Oh and as a fun activity for all the crazy wild boys, an impromptu "snowball" fight with balled up white socks.  Fun for all!

moss terrariums.

Experiencing some winter doldrums? A little terrarium from Made by Mavis could help.

teagan ruffle.

A big thanks to Rachel for posting about this sweet ruffle top. Even though I'm in the throws of my last trimester, I couldn't pass this deal up. Perfect motivation for post pregnancy weight loss. Check out the other fabulous deals happening right now at JCREW here. Don't forget to enter EXTRA20 at checkout for an additional 20% off.

pretty swank GIVEAWAY winner.

Congratulations to April who said...Fun stuff! Pick me. You have have won the Pretty Swank GIVEAWAY!

Please contact me within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Didn't win? You can buy any of the lovelies offered up in the giveaway here. Thank you all for participating and a HUGE thanks to the gals at Pretty Swank!

rattled GIVEAWAY winner.

The winner of the Rattled GIVEAWAY is jeanine who said... I love it!

Please contact me within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

If you're sad you didn't win, you can find all of the darling clothes Rattled offers here.

DIY friday : pom-pom tutorial.

These are super easy to make and they dress up a gift perfectly. I even hung some up for my little guys birthday. They were posing as snowballs. Thanks to Bella Dia you can find all the instructions over here. Make some, you won't be disappointed!

robot love.

Love will be in the air soon enough as Valentine's Day nears and these printable valentines are too cute to pass up.  Check out the other sweet designs over here.

pola.

I am most definitely digging this nifty little program I added to my computer.  How fantastic to be able to turn any photo into a polaroid.  I had so much fun playing around, I designed a new header for my family blog.  Try it!  You will not be disappointed.

pretty swank GIVEAWAY!

Think: Vintage. Handmade. Creative. Lovely. These are all words that describe the charming little etsy shop Pretty Swank. A smorgasbord of delights created and/or found by five sisters.

Five sisters with different passions and talents who decided to pool their resources and extend their finds and creations to all of us. Happy day! Among them there is one that likes to treasure hunt and make jewelry, one that sews, one that makes movies, one that sings, and one that makes art. Can you imagine having all of that talent in one family?

The delightful ladies from Pretty Swank have offered up a slew of goodies from their shop to all of you, our dear readers. Like what, you ask?

One Happy Birthday banner

24 Custom labels

One Sweetheart Vintage Paper Pack

Vintage Glass Earrings

Czech Pressed Glass Earrings

Original Acoustic Album

All of this. All for you. Just make a comment on this post [including your email please] by Friday January 16th [11pm cst]. The winner will be announced Saturday January 17th. Good Luck!

orla kiely for target.

I've mentioned before how much I adore Orla Kiely. Now I hear Target will be carrying her housewares line staring in February. Hot dog!

[via Apartment Therapy]

welcome daisy princess paperie!

I would like to welcome our newest sponsor of the moment...

Daisy Princess Paperie.

I am in love with all the delicious colors that can be found.  

Stationery/note cards. [check]

Calling cards. [check]

Art paper. [check]

Calendars. [check]

Even if you are the picky sort, you are bound to find something that catches your eye.  And right now their lovely lovely calendars are on sale for under $10.  Really, that is such a steal.  If you are a procrastinator and have yet to hang up your new 2009 calendar, I suggest you head over to Daisy Princess Paperie and scoop one up before they are all gone.