Last year when I saw this hand-print ornament on Pinterest I knew I had to try it for the little one. Since I didn’t have any embossing tools I went with paint. [These were actually made last year... I never got around to posting about them and when I did it was way past Christmas! Baby was about 7 months at the time. Looking at the ornament this year, his hands were so tiny!] I recruited hubby to help since I figured making it while baby slept would probably be… Continue reading…

October already! That means Halloween is coming. Fall seems to be the kick-off for themed decorations for me. How about an early treat? Enjoy this Halloween subway art printable! It is a PDF and approximately 8×10. Print on 8×11.5 paper. Click on the image to download.   Need some more Halloween inspiration? Check these out from our archives. Halloween bookmarks – free printable Halloween wreath – decor inspiration Halloween party invitations – free printable    

Our new home has these great built in shelves that surround the fireplace in our living room. Coming from a tiny one bedroom condo we have few decorative items to display. I’ve been on the hunt for unique looking vases, pots, statues… not exactly sure what but I keep telling my husband I’ll know it when I see it! The problem is there are 6 selves. Only two of which are filled (one with photo books and the other is a charging station for our i-devices). Four of them have… Continue reading…

You don’t have to be an expert in the kitchen to try this gift idea – homemade chocolate bark! I actually got the White Chocolate Peppermint bark recipe from Food Network’s Paula Deen, but I’m not a fan of white chocolate so I modified the recipe and also created other variations of it. This gift idea is ideal for friends, family, neighbors, teachers and co-workers because it’s quick, easy, inexpensive and most importantly…yummy! The recipe calls for 2 lbs. of chocolate. But since that’s a lot of chocolate to work with,… Continue reading…

One of my nieces mentioned that she wanted a spa trip for Christmas. Well, I couldn’t buy her an actual trip but decided to give her (along with my other two nieces) a spa experience. So I’m putting together some spa bags filled with nail polish, manicure/pedicure accessories, facial masks and more! I wanted to personalize it as well so I included a personalized towel for each. Here’s what I did: 1) Cut out the letters of their names from cute fabric prints. I used interfacing to add some stiffness.… Continue reading…

The day after Thanksgiving, I went into full holiday decoration mode. I strung garland on the banister, the mantle, and put up my Christmas tree. I wasn’t sure what do with with the narrow window next to my front door until I came across some snowflake garland I made last year. It was a great way to recycle an existing item and add some whimsy to the window. All you need is: holiday cardstock, snowflake punch (or any other holiday themed punch), string and stapler 1) Punch out the snowflakes.… Continue reading…

Cathy and I are throwing a Halloween party for the kids this weekend, and we’re having a fun time planning it! One of the many decorations I have is a Halloween wreath. It’s a super easy way to change a regular autumn foliage wreath into somehing fun and cute for Halloween! All you need are: orange cardstock , string, glue/tape and of course, a wreath (NOTE: For the spiders/bats, cut them out from black cardstock or do what I did and purchase Martha Stewart Crafts Spider Silhouettes) Step 1: Cut out 4″… Continue reading…

This weekend my family will be celebrating two occasions…Our Vietnamese New Year (a.k.a. Lunar New Year) and, of course, Valentine’s Day! This year is the Year of the Tiger which is one of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese calendar. Here’s a little description of those who are born in the Year of the Tiger: Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into… Continue reading…

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.… Continue reading…