cinco de mayo garland

 

The blog Love +Cupcakes has a great, step-by-step DIY for this festive Pull Pinata Garland. This is an easy, fun, colorful way to spice up your Cinco de Mayo gathering!

Tutorial and Images: love+cupcakes

snowglobe cards

Over the past couple of days we have been working on snowglobe cards. I cut the globe forms and circles out from cardstock or construction paper and the kids grabbed white paint and markers to create the wintry scenes. Years ago I saw these on a teacher's bulletin board and I always remember them when the first snow falls.
We are using our snowglobe cards as holiday greetings and Christmas thank yous- they are versatile little suckers!

merry and bright

After years of wanting to try this project, Vivi and I finally rolled our own honeycomb tapers for holiday gifts. My favorite part was covering the matchboxes in holiday prints and finding the perfect tags/ribbon/wrap to coordinate with them.

This project just requires some honeycomb wax sheets and then whatever you have to make these candles your own. We found fantastic papers and ribbons at the local craft stores and the blogging community provides an amazing array of free printable holiday tags. I would definitely try this project again- the results are very merry (and the company could not be beat!).

Ikea Christmas...must check it out

Images: homedesignparadise (2), ikea (5)

kissing ball

Off of the porches and in the yards around here I noticed people hang kissing balls for the holiday season.

Much like mistletoe, the kissing ball has a rich history as a nostalgic symbol of holiday goodwill and romance. With origins in the Middle Ages, evergreen kissing balls were hung in passageways and doorways to bring good fortune and blessings to all who passed beneath them. Centuries later, these evergreens evolved into bundles of holly sprigs and sweet herbs to symbolize various well-wishes. The kissing ball we know now is joined by flowers and foliage for a fragrant ornament, still symbolizing kindness and love .- shopterrain

They have been around for centuries, these balls of mistletoe, holly, evergreen , or whatever suits your holiday decor and if you pick them up at the local nursery, they can be quite expensive. So I searched for some DIY tutorials and came up with a couple....

One from Southern Living on how to make a mistletoe ball like the images above...

And one from The Gathering Place Design, that is applied to make a variety of kissing balls. The one pictured above is my favorite.

Images: christmaswreathfarms, marthastewart, henslernurseryindiana, thegatheringplacedesign

sugar skulls

Sugar skulls are offerings traditionally made to the living and the dead during the Mexican holiday,  Day of the Dead ( Día de los Muertos). They are decorated, edible gifts often left for the departed, but the image of the sugar skull can be found in various forms of art.

There are numerous tutorials for painting your face like that of a sugar skull. Since the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st, this may be in order for those joining the celebration.

 Images: pinterest, glitterandecay, pinterest, twylah, glitteranddecay

Trick-or-treaters

Happy Haunting!

Image: Gris Grimly's Illustration

"The Nutcracker" Ballet 2012

Image: boston.com

According to this article, there is a new "Nutcracker" in town Boston. The 2012 production of The Boston Ballet's "The Nutcracker" is a newly imagined take on the oft designed/redesigned ballet. 

I had planned on getting tickets anyway, but the release of Robert Perdziola's sketches of the 2012 production sealed the deal. If his watercolor stills could be this amazing....watching them come to life promises to be truly breathtaking.

P.S. Boston-based folks are certainly not the only ones who can enjoy "The Nutcracker"- this site lists various performances from across the country!

champagne wishes

New Year's Eve is upon us and for many, that night means champagne. If I headed out to celebrate this year, I would definitely partake, so I was thinking maybe I should prepare some fancy, fizzy drinks here at the homestead.
Whether you decorate the flute or add a little something to your bubbly, nothing says "Happy New Year!" like some champagne wishes.....

Images courtesy of sheknows, divinepartyconcepts, babble, pinterest, favim, cupcakesandcashmere

Santa Hat Brownies

These holiday treats are new to me, so I am a little enchanted with them this year. They are easy to whip up and cute, therefore, seem to be the perfect thing to bring to the Christmas gatherings coming up this weekend.
There are many ways to make these Santa Hat desserts- I have seen a recipe with butter cream frosting and piped white chocolate. I am opting for the butter cream for my sugar chapeaus!

Image courtesy of daisy's world

homemade holiday cards

My mother wanted me to illustrate her holiday card this year (her not-so-subtle way of making sure I continue to draw or paint and not get lazy about art), so I did just that (not only because I am still a little scared of my mum and always do what she asks, but because it is so rare for her to ask a favor and I'm thrilled to be able to do something for her for once! ).

I decided to make two designs- a pine cone with greenery and berries hanging from a ribbon and the side door of my parents' house, complete with the holiday wreath.
The images were scanned in and reproduced on stationery. After I had the cards back home, I added just a little color- green in the wreath on the door and red for the berries with the pine cone.
Now I'm especially glad I took on the project. It felt good to draw again- why are moms always right?

gingerbread fanciness

So, I have already eaten a small army of gingerbread men thanks to my kids having a special morning of baking with Nana. They were delicious gents, yes, but I love these sparkling gingerbread snowflakes from Cupcakes and Cashmere, complete with recipe! They would be perfect for gifting or making a splash at the holiday party.
I also found a recipe for Gingerbread Lattes from thekitchn.com that I am anxious to try. Sounds like the tastiest holiday beverage....

Images from cupcakesandcashmere and healthy-delicious.com

Hand Print Santa

As a parent of young kids, I am always looking for some holiday projects we can try that are preschool-age friendly. I thought I had seen most of them, from the felt mouse candy cane holder to the Popsicle stick reindeer, but at parent-teacher conferences in kindergarten last week, I spied a new one!
Sunday afternoon we gave these hand print Santas a whirl. It was a simple craft that was a smashing success. All it required was some washable tempura paints, a few brushes and construction paper. We decided to use the dozens of palm-y St. Nicks as holiday cards and gift tags. I will tuck a couple of them away for future Christmas decorations as well.
I would definitely recommend this craft as a fun and easy way to get into the holiday spirit with little guys and gals.

Beeswax Tapers

When is Vivi going to move nearby so that we can roll beeswax taper candles for Christmas gifts? When?!
I am anxious to try this out, but it seems a better project for two ambitious gals given the bulk ordering of the wax sheets.
What a cool holiday project though- rolling some honeycomb tapers, pairing them with a beautifully designed matchbox and packaging them oh so perfectly for those little presents you always need.
Maybe next year.....
I did find a site, Toadily Handmade, that sells sheets of beeswax in many colors specifically for rolling or actual entire kits for family projects (or blogger buddy Christmas crafts) . If you decide to put this on your to-do list for the holiday season, or anytime, it makes it pretty easy!

Images: yourbeeswax at etsy (1,2) and toadilyhandmade (3)

Thanksgiving Centerpieces

Image courtesy of paisleypetalevents.com

A beautiful centerpiece and great company can make a dinner truly memorable even if the cuisine is not Iron Chef-worthy. I say this because it is more likely I can put together something special for the table than develop my mum's cooking skills before Thusday!
Here are a few pretty options...from simple floating cranberries to autumn roses, there are numerous options, but generally I think less is more.

Images courtesy of pinterest, bhg.com, pinterest, bhg.com

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Mamas out there - hope you have a lovely day!

{images from "Photobooth" by Babbette Hines

via cori kindred}