Throughout the year there are countless gift giving opportunities. The problem is I’m rarely as prepared as I’d like to be so having a quick last minute gift idea on hand is key. The trick is not making it feel like a last minute idea.
This past weekend we celebrated Max’s second birthday (check out his 2 year update here) with a few of his friends at Romp ‘n Roll. He jumped in a bouncy house, ate cake, danced to his favorite tunes and had the time of his life.
I started this blog as a way to document my various DIY projects, but it has grown into my little piece of the internet that I love. Initially when Aaron suggested I start a blog as a creative outlet, I brushed off the idea. I thought “who is going to...
I’ve always loved wrapping gifts as much as I love giving them. Whether you want to show a nice gesture towards your neighbor, thank your child’s teachers or show your friends how much you appreciate them, a beautifully wrapped gift is always a thoughtful gesture. Here are a few inspiring...
As someone who loves a good countdown, I’ve always loved the idea of advent calendars. Although I never had one growing up, I decided long ago to make it a part of our family’s holiday traditions once a little one came around. With Max turning 2 in January, this felt...
I’ve always loved sending handwritten notes and I keep an absurd amount of stationary and blank cards on hand. With a little one, the occasion to send cards arises more and more, so coming up with fun ways for Max to create personalized cards was a no brainer. Plus I...
We recently took an 8 hour road trip with Max. To entertain him we brought along a couple books, one toy car and an iPad. If you have traveled a lot with a toddler you are probably laughing at our serious lack of toddler entertainment. Needless to say, we spent...
St. Patrick’s Day is later this week, and I wanted to give out a little luck with toddler treat bags for Max’s class. It would have been more thematic to fill the bags with rainbow-colored jelly beans or gold-wrapped chocolates, but I opted for slightly healthier (and slightly less fun)...
I love having an area dedicated to doing crafts, so you’d think my space would be meticulously organized. Not exactly. I dump ribbon, fabric scraps, and knick knacks into various unlabeled bins, which means I can never find what I need and am constantly left with a giant mess. I’m...
I love wrapping gifts almost as much as I love giving them. Whether you want to thank your child’s teachers, show your friends how much you appreciate them or simply want to show up to a dinner party with a hostess gift, a beautifully wrapped gift is always a thoughtful...
Homemade gifts are always a nice touch—they’re personal and usually budget-friendly. With Christmas only 2 weeks away, I decided to follow this simple tutorial and make ring cones for a few of my girlfriends. The best part about this gift, is the endless ways to decorate and customize the design....
The best DIYs are usually the simplest. Whether it is a fresh coat of paint or an updated design detail, it can make an overlooked item come back to life. Using masking tape and paint, I painted black stripes on fabric bins and I love the way they turned out....
I love the idea of adding a personal touch to any gift. Whether it is a handwritten note or beautiful wrapping, it can make an ordinary gift seem slightly more special. Here is one simple way I like to gift a bottle of wine.
Probably the best and worst parts of decorating your home is that you’re never really finished. That’s not to say that a room can’t feel complete and polished, but I usually end up having some vision of how something could look better. That being said, Aaron and I been focused...
/ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 If you know anything about me, it’s probably that I LOVE chubby babies dressed in animal costumes. And if I could have it my way, I’d dress Max up year round. The...
Finding an attractive baby tag blanket is much harder than I though but making one was easy!
Pinterest is ideal for anyone who loves visual inspiration. I can almost always find a slew of DIY projects I’m interested in trying after perusing the site for just a short time. But the last few weeks I’ve been tired and feeling uninspired, so I was excited when Aaron showed...
When we moved into our home, one of the most exciting aspects was having a blank canvas to decorate exactly the way we wanted. But at the same time I’ve never had so many walls to fill so it has also been quite overwhelming. Here, we spruced up our entrance...
This past weekend I finally got around to organizing our pantry! I’m not a particularly organized person so it took a lot of rearranging before I settled on a configuration that made sense. I grouped similar foods into labeled black baskets for a clean, streamlined look. They contain all the...
When it comes to home decor, I normally gravitate towards more neutral colors, since I feel that provides a simple and classic look. I’m always a little hesitant whenever Aaron suggests adding more color to a room, but lately I’ve been coming around to the idea. Maybe all the hours...
I’ve been feeling pretty tired since we brought Max home from the hospital, but as we figure out his moods and cries I’ve found a new surge of energy these last few days to tackle some home projects. We’ve had all of the necessities in our home for a while,...
Aaron and I had so much fun painting the Calvin and Hobbes mural in the nursery that we couldn’t resist painting one more. This time we chose a much simpler Pac-Man image.
After all the hustle and bustle of the holiday, Aaron and I finally had some time this past weekend for a DIY project that has been on our todo list for a while: storage shelves in the attic.
I’m always looking for stylish storage options that fit a particular space and don’t cost a lot of money. So I was excited to come across this excellent tutorial for creating reversible fabric storage bins. As far as DIY projects go, this one was simple and quick, making this a...
Aaron and I decided we wanted to paint a Calvin and Hobbes mural in our nursery. For Aaron, this was motivated by his (curiously) strong love for the comic strip, whereas I just thought it would look really cute. We chose an illustration from The Essential Calvin & Hobbes that...
Often times I find myself planning for effortlessness, whether it is the time spent applying makeup to achieve that natural look or the carefully orchestrated outfit that is meant to look like it was casually thrown together. When it comes to laying out pictures for an eclectic wall there is...
As soon as Aaron finished painting the garage, it was obvious that the entrance door that opened into the kitchen needed a facelift as well. We wanted to choose a color that would brighten up the garage but not overwhelm the kitchen.
We wanted to add a decorative touch to our morning room windows by creating fabric covered boxed valences. We chose a fabric that could subtly complement the upholstered dining room chairs without being the main focus of the room.
Free Printable Pineapple Gift Wrap (dismountcreative.com) The Lifespan of an “It” item (fashionista.com) The many uses of Washi tape (hgtv.ca) Kate Spade Saturday Morning Coffee Mug (saturday.com) 5 Tips to Being Cool (time.com)
Lately I’ve been all about creating wedding welcome baskets with a personal touch. I decided to assemble things that Aaron and I love in Richmond as a way to bring our everyday lives to our friends and family.
I wanted to make simple and clean letterpress wedding invitations. I used A7 letterpress paper that I bought on amazon. The paper is beautiful and thick so the letters embossed really nicely.
A simple and fun way to make your envelopes a little less boring! Steps and Supplies: Fun colored A2 envelopes from paper source Took one envelope apart to create a template for the inner lining (free downloadable template) Cut out liners from a variety of fun and beautiful paper patterns...
Materials: Brown packaging paper Twine Fun paper (origami ink) Gourmet candy cane (Hammond’s candies)
My first letterpress print! I’m not sure what the “HAPPY” font is but “BIRTHDAY” is Bernhard Gothic 72.
Screen printing workshop at the Richmond Visual Arts Center! My future hubby screens a mean robot head!
Dish soap etched into olive oil bottle using etching glue.
Using the new dress form from my future in-laws to fit the dress I’m working on. I love it!
Fun new fabric from my best friend Erica! I am really in to the exposed zipper right now because it makes a simple pencil skirt look a little bit hipper.
Baby dress for Sophie. I found the pattern for this dress online. I love the blue neckline with the gray fabric. The bias tape on the bottom hem gives it a more finished look.
New pillows for Spring.
First attempt at making personalized bibs for Delacy’s baby shower. Although I thought they turned out cute, they also indicate I have no perception how big a baby’s neck is! Next time I make bibs I will make them considerably larger! : )
Only hobo’s gift a naked bottle of wine—don’t be a hobo.
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Who knew you could feed fabric through a printer! Turns out you can and very easily! Supplies: Burlap Iron Ink printer freezer paper picture frame Steps: Cut a section of the burlap and the freezer paper to the size of a standard 8.5 X11 sheet of paper. Set the freezer...