I gave my son a bath the other day and noticed that the hoodie towels that he’s been using ever since he was born were getting a little small. They would probably be okay if the weather were warmer but since we’re just at the beginning of winter, I thought he could use some larger, warmer towels so I decided to make a couple for him. Here’s how to make some toddler towels:

1) Find some towels of your own that you don’t use often.

2) Cut the bottom portion off (the vertical length) and used that piece for his hood (cut out a triangular piece). TIP: If you’re using various towels, you can swap out the hood pieces for a contrasting effect.

3) To cover the fraying, I cover the cut edges (on both the hood and the side of the towel) with ribbon or you can roll hem.

4) Sew the hoodie to one of the top corners of the towel.

5) You’re done! Your little one has a new towel!

Whew! I can’t believe 2009 is about to come to a close. 2009 was filled with a lot of happy occasions along with some challenging times–I don’t know too many people who weren’t affected by the down economy. I myself fell “victim” to company layoffs. Without faith and the support of family and friends, I don’t know how I could have coped with all the stress. But I do believe that things happen for a reason, and it opened my eyes to opportunities that I might not given much thought to before.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I would have to agree with that sentiment. I remember vividly one day back in May 2009 when Cathy and I took the kids on one of their first official playdates, and the idea to start a business together came about. In one way, it would help occupy our time as we were both out of work. It could even potentially bring in some income for us while we searched for that elusive job. But the best thing of all was that it allowed us to put our passion for creativity to work. And I’m not just talking about making cute, knitted and sewn baby items, but also the whole entrepreneurial aspect as well – Web site building, promotions, sales, marketing, and more! And so embe was born on July 15, 2009!

These past five months since the launch of our online shop has been very fulfilling. We learned a lot, met some great folks, and developed some partnerships along the way. We continually seek new ideas and are in constant amazement by the community of handmade crafters!

Looking ahead to 2010, we will continue to create, inspire and share our stories as we reach new milestones of motherhood. We look forward to introducing our “Spring” catalog in the coming months and welcome your ideas for what you would like to see. Stay tuned for sneak peeks and additional details…

We wish each and everyone a prosperous 2010 filled with love, joy and creative inspiration!

-Mary & Cathy

mary@embeshop.com, cathy@embeshop.com

I once gave a friend a birthday card that said, “A fun party is one where you leave with your underwear on your head, but a GREAT party is when you leave with someone ELSE’S!” Ok, so this tip isn’t about underwear but it is about parties and head-wear.

This was a last minute addition to my little girls birthday decorations. It didn’t even occur to me to have a birthday hat for her until the afternoon of her birthday. Luckily I had everything on hand to whip one up!

Here’s the lowdown:

1. Cut a half circle out of 12×12 cardstock. The half circles radius should be at least 6 inches.

2. Roll into a cone and mark the front center and where the edge overlaps.

3. Use a pencil to write/draw a message on the front where you marked the center. In my case I made a big 1 and BIRTHDAY underneath. I added a little glitter to the number to make it stand out.

4. While waiting for the glitter to dry, make the topping ribbons. Two types of ribbon in various colors will add a lot of interest to the hat. Cut about 6 strips into 4 inch lengths. Tie in the middle and then tape the tails to the inside center so that it will stick out of the point.

5. Use glue or double sided tape to hold the hat together. Place a heavy object inside the hat, with the glue/taped side down to secure.

6. Punch two holes on the sides for securing the hat on the wearer. I used ribbon but think elastic would have been a better choice.  Attach the string through the holes.

7. Using double sided tape, tape a 1/2 inch width ribbon to the rim of the hat.

These would make great New Years Eve hats too!

When I was young, my sister and I would leave out cookies and milk for Santa. We would also write him a little thank you note or some years leave a “Don’t eat these Dad, they’re for Santa!” sign. Making these reminded me of those younger years and of the older ones where we would remind each other to eat the cookies before our younger brother woke up!

Download embes Santa note template.

My little ones first Christmas card photo!

My family has quite a few holiday traditions and now with my own little one I hope to continue those and start a few new ones that we can continue through the years. Last year she was only 4 weeks old so while she celebrated Christmas she didn’t get to participate in any of it. While she’s not old enough to understand Christmas I believe she does know that it’s a special time of year.

For as long as I can remember my family has had the same Christmas tradition. All morning my mom would be preparing pho (Vietnamese soup) for our after mass dinner. Before we left for mass my mom would line us up in front of the tree and take photos in the new Christmas outfits my mom had gotten for us. After mass we would head home to devour the Pho and open gifts.  We were either too impatient to wait until morning or my parents didn’t want to wake up early with us! (As a new mom, I think it’s the later one!)

After my brother was born (he’s 10 years younger then me) he started his own tradition and got to open one gift on Christmas Eve morning. After the gifts we would light a fire and play with our gifts or watch a movie. Then we would leave out the cookies and milk for santa before heading to bed.

On Christmas morning we would wake up and race out to see what Santa had left us in our stockings. To this day we still have pho and open gifts at my mom’s house after mass.

With such fond memories of my family Christmas I hope to provide the same for my kid as well as starting a few of our own traditions. Such as:

1. Buying a new ornament or adding to our snow village each year. My husband and I have been doing this since we got married.

2. Baking cookies on Christmas eve. Gingerbread cookies are one of my favorites and I love having them to munch on during the holidays.

3. Making and using an advent calendar.

4. Decorating the house and tree with home made crafts and decorations.

While I was digging through my holiday decorations box, I came across some old Christmas cards that I had received last year. It sparked an idea for a decoration for the vertical window next to my front door. This is a quick way to spruce up any window, wall or staircase. All you need is ribbon, tape and holiday cards!

Here are the easy steps:

1) Normally, holiday cards are bi-fold so I just cut the back off and just work with the front of the card (which has the nice holiday picture on it!). If you’re hanging them horizontally, don’t cut the cards! Just hang the cards by the fold (the ribbon will be inside the card) and keep in place with tape or a staple!

2) Adhere the cards – in any arrangment – to your ribbon. Your ribbon length will be dependent on where you hang it. Mine runs the length of my vertical window. Card hangings along the staircase will take up more ribbon (and cards). Additionally, I wanted any visitors to be able to see the holiday card pics from outside, so I paired up the cards (with similar sizes) and just taped them back to back.

Again, if you’re hanging them horizontally, just hang the cards by the fold (the ribbon will be inside the card) and keep in place with tape or a staple.

TIP: If you hang the cards vertically, you’ll want to be sure that the ribbon can support the weight of the cards. In my case, I just double knotted the ribbon that I tied to the rod to make sure the ribbon doesn’t unravel.

Romans @ THE FiNd specializes in furniture, lighting, accessories, art and interior design. The store also has a boutique of gifts where you can now find embe’s baby booties, sk8er booties and earflap hats!

THE FiNd is located in Eden Prairie near the corner of Eden Prairie road and HWY 5.

I love this time of year - everyone’s into the holiday spirit, and even with how busy things can get, it’s fun to be part of the hustle and bustle. But what I enjoy the most is a reason to eat whatever I want without feeling super guilty about it…it is after all the holidays, right?

Food makes the holidays more festive, and I’d like to share some of my favorites (recipes courtesy of some Food Network hosts and other well known folks you may know!). This would be my ultimate holiday feast:

Spinach artichoke dip – this is a super quick and easy dip to start any holiday party. Who can say no to a recipe that takes only 5 minutes?!

Spiced pita chips – I’m actually making this on Saturday for a little get together at the house. Will go great with the dip.

Bay and lemon brined turkey – I made this for Thanksgiving for the past four years and have not been disappointed yet! The only thing I changed this year was adding apple cider to the brine. I really do think it made it even more flavorful!

Green bean casserole – I introduced this to my husband’s family a couple of years ago and it’s one dish that they’ve requested year after year! You can’t have turkey without your green bean casserole

Pumpkin cheesecake – Although I’ve never actually made this incredibly delicious cheesecake, my sister has (she even made it for me on the day my son was born!). This has got to be #1 on my list of holiday desserts. Maybe I’ll attempt to make it next year…

Balsamic chocolate truffles – I made these as gifts last year to give to friends and neighbors…they were a big hit!

One summer I worked in the Wrap and Send department of what was then Dayton’s (now Macy’s). It was a fun job because one of my best friends worked there along with a handful of other high school students. What was better then hanging out with friends and wrapping presents in pretty paper?

While I already knew how to wrap gifts (my mom use to make my sister and I do all the holiday gift wrapping!) I did learn a few great tips to make the gift look spectacular. With the upcoming holidays here are some tips to make your presents pop:

Instead of taping the paper closed in the middle of the bottom of the box, tape it to the edge. Its one step to fold the paper over and tape.

Then after wrapping the gift define the edges by running pinched fingers along the sides. This gives the gifted a “finished” look.

A little ribbon goes a long way! Make a bow first and then tie it on with a second piece. By making the bow first you don’t have to wrestle with the ends to make them face the right way. Ribbon with wire works best since you can shape it and “curl” the tails.