Easter + Baby's First Easter Basket

Happy Easter from our little family to yours!

Just a snippet of Jazzy's Easter basket (not including his other three books, two stuffies, and bandana bibs)

TIP FOR NEXT YEAR: Plant live wheat grass instead of using plastic Easter grass! I bought the seeds off of Amazon and it took only 5 days for the grass to get this full. It'll be a great textural sensation for our little guy to discover.

Who needs an Easter ham for dinner when I have a side of 'ham' everyday!? This kid!

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Valentine's Day Photo Shoot - Perfect Last Minute Gift

Having a child at any holiday seems to make it 10x more special. But with the need to instill traditions while keeping things Pinterest-perfect, there is a lot of pressure as well. I am definitely not immune. Celebrating Baby's First Everything puts me in a tizzy. I want to document it all. It's also important to spoil the grandparents with baby love. For Thanksgiving we did footprint turkeys. At Christmas, we made handprint ornaments. I figured for Valentine's Day it was probably time to let up on the body parts haha.

Instead, we did a mini photo shoot for Valentine's Day and guess what - you can too! I promise, it's not too late. Within 15 minutes of shooting, I had the perfect custom Valentine for baby J's grandparents.

With places like Target Photo that print cards in store (or even using your own printer and cardstock at home) you can have cards printed within an hour of doing the shoot. About 10 minutes after placing my order, I got the email confirmation that my prints were ready for pick up!

What you need is minimal at best. A piece of fabric for a backdrop, a couple glitter hearts, and a coordinating holiday shirt. No pants necessary folks!

Candy-Free Valentine - Cupid's Arrow Pencils

Does your child's school require candy free Valentines for the class exchange? If so, I've got just the DIY for you!

This DIY Arrow Valentine is pretty enough for you to claim the credit but easy enough for the kids to do. Enjoy!

Our Holiday Home - 2013

So many bloggers are showing off their magazine-worthy houses and I'm like "heyyy, come look at my artificial tree and dusty windowsills." Haha, I'm only kidding. Comparison is the thief of joy, afterall. Our sweet little town home is not a showroom. It is, however, lived in and loved. It's a work in progress. And considering the Great Second Floor Flood of 2013, I'll take it just the way it is.

We are kind of no-frills and simple for the holidays. Here are some of the little things that I'm crushing on around the house this holiday season:

our new porch lantern (Home Depot) and natural swag

the snowcovered holly tree off of our front porch

my felt mistletoe wreath

this sweet little pup who would be sure to greet you if you actually stopped by

our warm and rustic fireplace

the glistening of my favorite balsam candle against the ornaments on the coffee table

the bay window vignette, complete with faux sweater trees

especially that sweet little felt birdie from Ikea

the Christmas tree... bokeh and all

the Pottery Barn birch bark candles that I refuse to burn

<3 the collection of cards that Joe and I have sent out over the last five years <3

the chalkboard art wreath monogram

the fluffy pom poms and hedgie snowglobe jar

the itty bitty vignette above the kitchen sink

I ran out of sunlight to adequately photograph the rest (the short winter days are a blogger's arch nemesis for sure) but I hope you enjoyed this little peak into our life. 

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I'm linking to:

Tatertots & Jello | S3 | Classy Clutter | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

Mini Pecan Pie Tarts

Confession time: I have never eaten Pecan Pie.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. The only real problem with that statement is that Joe and I were assigned to bring croissants and pecan pie to our fifth annual Friendsgiving dinner. Let's be real for a moment, Joe does not cook so in all reality, I was assigned to bring croissants and pecan pie. Since I didn't have a fool-proof recipe to fall back on, I turned to the interwebs. I ended up finding a pin for this recipe from Bits and Bytes. 

Turns out, it's a winner! 

These little bites got so many compliments throughout the evening. That was quite the feat considering that most of us gorged during the meal and could barely taste dessert by the end haha. The raves seemed to concentrate on the fact that these were just sweet enough.. nowhere near the heavy sugariness of a true pecan pie.

2013 Christmas Card Photo Shoot - Sneak Peak!

Yesterday night was Friendsgiving so it's safe to say that the holiday season has officially begun!

As I'm sure you already guessed, we went with Minted for our holiday cards -- best quality and assortment, hands down! Before we could order one of the lovely prints, we had to get our photos done. It's a bit late to go to a pro, so I pulled out my remote and tripod and we got shooting. 

We decided to go a bit non-traditional with this year's Christmas card photo and I just LOVE the results. Here's a sneak peak of the magic! 

How to: Draw a Chalk Art Wreath

No matter how busy I am, I just love this time of year. Who needs Thanksgiving anyways? Christmas is where it's at! We started decking the halls this weekend and I couldn't be more thrilled!

I'm going to preface this by saying I am by no means, a chalk art guru. Buttttttt I wanted to share a really great tip that just about anyone can use to amp up their own holiday decor. Chalkboard art has been all the rage for a couple of seasons and, fingers crossed, that won't be changing anytime soon. I thought it might be fun to add an unexpected piece to our holiday home this year -- a monogrammed chalkboard wreath. 

Here's how I went about drawing this bad boy!

Julep: DIY Twig Wreath Place Cards

I've been waiting for this time of year for the last eleven months and I can't hold back any longer. Yesterday I grabbed three days worth of junk out of the mailbox and tucked neatly inside was an invitation to our 5th Annual Friendsgiving Dinner! There's nothing quite like a hand-addressed envelope to brighten your day and get your holiday spirit flowing. If you follow me on Pinterest, you have probably noticed a huge influx in holiday pins. Sorry, but I'm not sorry. One project that I'm pining over is from Julep (the super fun and trendy DIY blog from the creative team at Minted). These Mini Twig Wreath Escort Cards are quick, resourceful, and way.too.perfect! I just can't resist them.

Sure, they were crafted for a wedding, but tell me these would not be fabulous addition to your rustic holiday place settings?! 

I am determined to make a bunch of these for our Friendsgiving Dinner this year. Instead of using them as place cards, I think they will be darling labels for all of the dishes on the buffet! Check out the full tutorial by A Fabulous Fete at Julep.

Fall-o-ween Front Porch Reveal

Yay! We're no longer the eyesore on the block! Our house is officially ready for trick-or-treaters. We decided to take a bit more of an autumnal approach to Halloween decorating this year. I'm calling it Fall-o-ween! A whole lot of FALL with some HALLOWEEN on the side. 

Come take a peek!

Mini Bunny & Chick Burlap Sacks

We had a gorgeous weekend -- sunshine, warm weather, and birds chirping. It is Spring at last! I guess that means that Easter is right around the corner. We don't really decorate for Easter but I try to get some Spring stuff out around the house. First thing was a bouquet of tulips, then I made the mason jar photo frame, and now onto some mini burlap treat bags.

Simple & Crafty Valentine's Day Vignette

While I wouldn't normally decorate for Valentine's Day, my wreath really got me in the v-day spirit! I set up a faux mantle in my craft room to keep my inspiration flowing. And get this, it's made completely out of leftover craft supplies... no purchase necessary. Check it out! 

Framed Valentine's Day Wreath

I'm going to be honest: we don't decorate for Valentine's Day... before I started trolling blogs 1+ years ago, I didn't really think that *anyone* did. Turns out they do and I seem to be in the minority. Since we still have our Christmas decorations up, I decided to try my hand at a Valentine's Day themed something to encourage me to box up the holiday stuff. That something turned out to be a replacement for the Star of Bethlehem wreath that should have vacated our front door a couple of weeks ago.

I found all of the materials for this in the Christmas clearance bins at Michael's for a whopping $3.50. Quite a steal if I do say so myself.

Crocheted Button Garland

The tenth of The 25 Projects of Christmas is the perfect combo of two of my favorite crafty things -- vintage buttons & crochet! Hooray for a super easy and incredibly unique crocheted button garland. 

This garland adds not only interest but also a ton of sentiment to our tree. All of the buttons used were from my Nanny's vintage button collection. She's also the one who taught me how to crochet so it's a double reminder of how much I love her and wish she (and my Pop-pop) could be with us for the holidays.  Read on for the full tutorial!

Spool and Sisal Tree Ornament Tutorial

Does anyone feel like Christmas is right around the corner? I guess I better press fast forward on the rest of The 25 Projects of Christmas. Seeing as decorating the Christmas Tree is probably one of my most favorite aspects of the season, I wanted to share another ornament tutorial - the Spool and Sisal Tree.

These ornaments are easily finished in about 10 minutes flat so read on to learn how to take your ordinary bottle brush trees from ho-hum to ho-ho. 

Reindeer Name Printable

Time sure does fly... we're already at the sixth installment of The 25 Projects of Christmas! Today's project is the second printable of the series. If you didn't realize it already, I love me some printables. This Reindeer Name Art is modern, fun, and playful. I'm sure you know Dasher, and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. How about Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen? Well, do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? With this pretty printable sign, you and your little ones will never forget!

DIY Pine Cone and Lace Angel

Is it bad that I have a countdown for Christmas on my phone? Is it worse that I've had this countdown going on since September? I'm slightly embarrassed to have even admitted that. Now that it's out in the open, you can understand why I have plans for a ton of holiday projects which will be filed under The 25 Projects of Christmas. The series will include DIY gifts, decorations, recipes, printables and activities! Today is the first post: Pine Cone & Lace Angel Ornament.

This rustic angel ornament is made out of a pine cone and a lace remnant and was incredibly easy to assemble.

Día de los Muertos

You may have thought that Halloween was over and you'd be right but today is yet another "morbid" holiday: Día de los Muertos!

As creepy as it might seem with all of the skeletons and what not, it's actually a very special time of year. The day is dedicated to memorializing, remembering, and including the special people in our lives who have passed. Throughout Mexico you'll find altars of all sizes complete with photos, skulls, flowers, art, and gifts to the dead.

Happy Halloween! {printable}

Happy Halloween! Tonight's the night for ghosts, phantoms, and frights. I hope it's creepy, crawly and everything it's supposed to be. My wish to all of you: "eat, drink and be scary!"

Feel free to download your very own copy of this printable image. It might seem premature, but why not prepare for Halloween 2013?!

Our neighborhood has postponed trick-or-treating until Friday night, so what will we be doing instead? We'll spend the night drinking witches' brew and watching only the most horrifying flicks. Sounds like a frightfully good time, dontcha think? Once you've turned off the front porch light, I expect you to do the same. Yes, that's an order. Satisfy your sugar tooth with a few of those candies you stashed and enjoy a glass or two of spiced cider!

Also, just in case you missed some of the other Halloween projects, you can find all of them here.

I'm linking to:

DIY Showoff | S3 | Classy Clutter | A Little Tipsy | I Heart Nap Time | Mine for the Making | Flamingo Toes | Craftomaniac | Shabby Creek Cottage | Somewhat Simple | My Simple Home Life | My Girlish Whims | Stone Gable | Young and Crafty | Nifty Thrifty Things

Fabric Candy Corn Treat Bags

Ahhh, October! It's beginning to get cooler and the leaves are starting to change. It's time to deck the halls with cobwebs and skeletons and start singing Monster Mash! This weekend I got around to dressing up some fabric treat bags for our favorite kids. Not only are these adorable, they're also super easy and NO-SEW!  Sweet!

Want to find out how to make a set of your own? Read on!

DIY Monochromatic Fabric Pumpkins

I feel like my sewing machine and I have an ":it's complicated" relationship. I go weeks without touching it and then out of nowhere I can't get my hands off of it for hours on end. Is anyone else like that? Well, I made a few things last night while I was feeling inspired and thought I'd share a tutorial for one today: Monochromatic Fabric Pumpkins. 

Materials:

• Fabric scraps
• Coordinating heavy duty thread (Coats Glace line is perfect for this)
• Poly fill
• Twine
• Ribbon
• Sewing machine & necessary tools