Valentine's Day means getting ready for the parties. An easy way to give a bit of a sweet treat for little hands is the matchbox.
Cover a small matchbox with scrapbook paper and fill with mini treats. Great for when you only want to give them a taste of something sweet and I guarantee those of the toddler age will love opening and closing the box just as much as what's inside.
Well, the holidays are officially over and that means.... we're moving on to Valentine's Day! LOL You may have noticed that V-Day decor is already in the stores (can you believe it?)
Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays mostly because of the colors involved. I love red and the good thing is... a lot of the leftover Christmas decor can be repurposed for Valentine's Day.
If you're planning something special for Valentine's Day, want to give flowers, and plan on making your own arrangement, here's an easy way to create an interesting vase from Dollar Store items.
You'll need a tall vase and one candlestick and a clear, strong adhesive.
Simply glue the two together and you have a modern vase with a bit of a fancy flair. At $2 per vase, you can make a few and use them as gifts or one on either end of a buffet table, etc.
Sidenote: make sure the glue you use is clear. The glue may overflow and seep into the candlestick. Clear glue will go unnoticed.
Final product!
My son, who just turned 3 on Monday, is quite a fan of Thomas and Friends. I wanted to share a few great things for those that have children that love all things Thomas!
First, Kroger makes this amazing Thomas cake. My son loved it! He must have looked at it and said "wooooowwwww" 50 times! This one is a quarter sheet cake and one layer. MEGA amounts of icing, but we scraped most of that off.
It comes with a working Thomas. It's not one of the "official" Thomas trains, but the wheels do work.
For Keaton's daycare party, we made cupcakes with various colored icing. On top, we placed Thomas and Friends rings. They stay on perfectly because the actual ring can slide down into the cupcake. Best part, after eating, they have another Thomas trinket. My son wore his rings way into the night. You can buy these on ebay or do a search for "Thomas cupcake toppers or rings" They are very inexpensive.
Sidenote: call me crazy, but I still think the liquid (drops) food coloring gives the best color for icing. I was thrilled to run across some in the Dollar Tree. I hate the gel coloring. It takes forever to get a true red.
Anyway... moving on.... :)
In going through Sonic, I noticed that this month, Sonic is featuring trains in their Wacky Pack (kid's meals). Did you know that you can buy any of the Sonic kid's toys by themselves without the food?
Each toy is $1. A great deal when there is a whole collection you're interested in getting.
I used these as favors for my son's daycare birthday party. At $1 per child, it's a great deal. Each child received the engine.
These are also perfect stocking stuffers! I'm planning on going back and getting the rest of them to put in his stocking. Look at the slush mixer! Cute!
If you have a boy, go get'em before they are gone! Each month is a new toy!
Dress up your holiday home with items traditionally sold as packaging!
Target carries these pieces in the holiday wrapping paper section called "ribbon greeting". It looks like this and as you can see, it's meant to replace a bow on a package.
I love these as an alternative to bows. They are beautiful and really stand out. However, just as they are beautiful on presents, they can easily be used around your home.
They look great wrapped around wreaths.
Nestle them into trees...
Another great idea, even though I don't have a photo of it, is to stretch them across a small mirror. These are perfect to stretch across a mirror in a half bathroom. Be sure to place the message ribbon either low or high and not in the middle where it can obstruct the view of guests who may need the mirror for makeup touchups, etc. They look even better stretched across at an angle. They are an easy way to add a festive message and a bit of color to a small room.
Behold, my friends, the cutest cupcake carrier I've ever seen!
If you're a NYC local, you can purchase these at Billy's Bakery and soon, they'll be available for online purchase.
Too cute!
Teachers. One of the hardest jobs in the world. And the most important.
Now usually I'm not a huge fan of the cash or gift card gift, but I really think that they are totally appropriate in some situations. Like situations where you get WAY more in return than you're paying on a daily basis - teachers or daycare workers, etc.
Here's a fun way to present CASH that every crafty teacher will appreciate from the
A pad of cash!
This is a stack of dollar bills bound together like a notepad.
Basically, get parents to donate cash.
Find a bank that has beautiful NEW dollar bills.
Have the children write up the ways they'll miss their teacher and print them on vellum in the same size as the cash.
Place one reason in between each dollar bill.
Take the stack to Kinkos to glue together like a pad of paper. A super cheap service!
Wrap it up with a bow and you're done!
This would also be a fabulous gift for a new graduate, wedding, Christmas, etc. Great for anyone that's hard to buy for or just likes to receive cash to do their own shopping.
credit: nikbok
My best friend, Heather, was just put on bedrest this week. Of course, most expectant mothers don't want to be put on bedrest and it's a frustrating and sometimes scary time. So. I'm sending her a pickmeup.
I had a box that was a tall square and I wanted to fill it. I had several gifts that I was sending. I won't say what's in it in case she's reading today. :) I wrapped each gift separately in tissue paper and alternated the patterns in stacking. One big bow on the top and it's ready to go.
It fit just perfectly in the box! And it gives her a few gifts to open rather than one. Who doesn't love to open gifts, right?
So I'm KICKING MYSELF that I'm not at the National Stationary Show that starts this weekend in NYC.
If you know me, you know I'm all things paper and ribbon. Cards, stationary, wrapping paper, ribbon, embellishments, etc. The list goes on. To say that I have tons of stationary and note cards and the like would be, well, a severe understatement. Matter of fact, I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to turn a closet into a haven for it all.
Anyway, my good friend Dianne of Colorblind Productions, invited me to go this year and I declined and opted to go to Blogher instead. Maybe D invited me because she walked me into Kate's Paperie for the first time in NYC, where I literally teared up. And while I'm excited for Blogher, I'm kicking myself that I'm not at the NSS. I'm friends with several stationary designers who are abuzz on Twitter about packing up and heading to the show. It's like being left behind while your friends are going to the carnival. LOL
But next year is my year. I'm saying it here and now. D and I are gonna take it by storm!
(I should probably purchase extra luggage between now and then to lug it all home in, right?)
I leave you with photos of a previous show. As usual, click on the photos for their full fabulousness.
Swoon. Drool. Bliss.
First of all, let me apologize for the poor quality of this picture. Could I make roses look any more hideous? LOL I really need to make a lightbox. Anyway...
Just a reminder of other floral container options outside of the traditional vase.
I love a nice, thick, glass pitcher and, IMHO, everybody should own one. I love containers that you can use again. Of course, I love vases as well, but sometimes it's nice to receive something out of the ordinary.
And because I'm totally ashamed at how those roses look, here's a better photo of them. They were so beautiful in person that even my mother asked if they were real. They were indeed real and they found a new home at her house. Happy Mother's Day to all!
I'm loving these ideas from the Real Simple website.
Using a dry erase board as a placemat. Write in each guest's name instead of using a place card.
Another placemat idea: Print out sheets of paper with words and their meanings that relate to the celebration.
Love these wrapping ideas!
Wrap a gift in a large calendar. Circle the date of their special occasion (birthday, anniversary, etc.)
Use a jump rope for a child's gift.
