Snowflakes, No Two are Exactly Alike

How adorable is this picture?  It's of my mom and her twin sister, Gretchen.  Since the two of them were having a milestone birthday (good manners prevent me from telling the number), we threw a snowflake-themed birthday party.  

I used the picture of them to make snowflake napkin rings.  It was fun to see who was carrying around which twin.  A lot of guessing who was who.  Can you tell?

Countdown to Christmas

I had the realization this week that part of what I love about Christmas is getting ready for Christmas.  The countdown is so much of the fun.   

My mom made these stockings for my niece, Corinne, spending her first holiday-countdown at college.  Each stocking was filled with treats...Zone bars; gum; chocolate; holiday Pez; and my favorite, magazine money for the flight to see us all.

How do you countdown to Christmas?

DIY: Strawberry Shortcake Pinata

I was asked to make a Strawberry Shortcake pinata, and this is what I came up with.  I wanted it to show Strawberry sitting on a strawberry.

Want to make one yourself?  Here are my steps...

Gobble, Gobble!

I have a little bit of guilt that I'm ignoring Thanksgiving as my anticipation for Christmas grows.  Hostess with the Mostess had a super cute party for kids recently, and it's getting back in the creamed corn/mashed potato mood.

I particularly adore the tissue fan behind the forks.  I particularly adore any easy, low cost projects that make things look adorable.

Since we're on the topic, one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is singing the "fat turkeys" song.  My sister taught me this song years ago and singing it never gets old (even when you throw in the fact that I'm a vegetarian and kinda wish the turkeys were there for living).

Sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together"
 
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.  
Fat turkeys, fat turkeys.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
Fat turkeys are we.


We're not here for living,
We're here for Thanksgiving!
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
Fat turkeys are we.  


What are you doing (eating, singing) for Turkey Day???

Little Man Shower: DIY Bowties

So excited to say that Ethan is almost here!  One of my favorite people is having a little boy, and I decided since our lives are so jammed packed full of princesses and dance classes that her shower would celebrate the manliness!

The first thing I knew I needed were bow ties.  Since the shower will be held where we both work and there are only women, we needed to suit up (as Barney Stinson would say) to get in the right mood.  

I picked four fabrics in what resembled tie-friendly prints.  Each bow tie was attached to an invitation.  

Step by step instructions on my bow tie factory...

Snowflake Curtain

13 days till Black Friday.  13 days till I can stop pretending I'm not already listening to Christmas music.  Got the new She & Him album, and I adore (like love, love, love) it.  So let's embrace it and get in the holiday spirit!

My sister-in-law and I made a snowflake curtain for her grandmother's store.  I used my Cricut to cut all of these out (but I think I'll remake one with my 4th grade class and have them cut out the snowflakes).   It's such a super easy way to festive-up a window/wall/whatever.

The snowflakes were stitched together, but a little fishing wire and Scotch tape work wonders if you're not a sewer.

If you're going with a snowflake theme this Christmas, check out the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas craft section.  This snowflake garland is the same idea and super adorable.

Dia de los Muertos Marshmallows

Tomorrow's the Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos.  Sugar skulls are more traditional, but I'm making a marshmallow version.  I bought the jumbo marshmallows, and they're JUMBO.  My original idea was to stick them on cupcakes, but considering how much sugar we've consumed recently I may just skip the cupcakes.

I used Wilton's Food Writers.  They're edible color markers with a relatively fine tip.  I'm thinking I need to bring them around more often to try to encourage my children to eat new food.  You color it, you eat it.