April 2010 archive

Tiny Things, Big Ideas

| DIY Home, Food, Gifts, Nature

This post is dedicated to my womb friend Traci (our moms were besties while pregnant with us). Since we were little, she’s always been obsessed with itty bitty things.

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You have to watch this whole slideshow from The New York Times on Modernist dollhouses. I could seriously live in any of these rooms. In fact, I have that Saarinen chair in that exact color combo. If only I were 4 inches tall…

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Ahhhh…teeny Hershey kisses! Mayamade wrapped chocolate chips with foil and inserted a little white tissue paper.

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Traci and I both heart this mini-terrarium jewelry! By Woodland Belle, found via Handmade Charlotte.

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DIY Talking Napkins

| Decor, DIY Home, Everyday Crafts, Food, Holidays, Parties

I love the idea of making your own napkins for a special occasion. Yes, you have to be a dedicated crafter/entertainer, but all you need really is iron-on transfer paper, freezer paper, or stencils. (Or, if you are very serious, you can embroider. But that is not for the faint of craft.)

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I love everything about these! By Emersonmade, found via Party Perfect.

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Yes, a little more time consuming, but I couldn’t resist. If you don’t want to embroider, find an embroidery font and do an iron-on transfer. Via Apartment Therapy.

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Perfect for a holiday or small wedding, turn napkins into place cards. (They used fabric markers.) Via Country Living.

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A love note for your sweetie, found via Design Mom.

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Kill two birds with one stone with menu napkins. Found via Country Living.

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Book Invitations

| Everyday Crafts, Grown-Up, Parties

Our dear friends Aaron and Lindsay are getting married in May. They came to us months ago (and by us, I mean my husband and me) with the idea that they wanted to send books as their invitations. We all tossed around a bunch of ideas for a bunch of weeks, and here is the end result…

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The bride and groom spent weeks collecting books, and refused to pay more than a dollar for any of them (a good thing since they had to send out over 90 of them). My very talented husband designed the printed matter, and I consulted on things like the pocket, the rounded corners, the ribbon, the wax seal, etc. We love the way it turned out, as did they!

Here are a few other book invites that caught my eye…

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Jordan of Oh Happy Day designed this lovely invite for the now (sadly) defunct Cookie Nesting Blog. It was for a bookworm party for kids. So cute! (Read her post for her defense of cutting up a book.)

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This is positively the most ambitious book invitation I’ve ever seen…they actually made the books. They began with the story of the bride and groom, and towards the end of the book, the reader would find the wedding invite and the perforated reply card. So much time and love went into these. I tip my hat to Nikki and Nick. Found on Merriment Design.

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Talk Bubble Crafts

| Decor, DIY Home, Everyday Crafts, Parties

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Mikodesign planned a trés jolie fête for her daughter’s birthday. The theme was Paris, and she made a little photobooth with these talk bubbles. Genius! Originally spotted on Party Perfect Blog.

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Inchmark made these precious thank you note cards for son.

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Let your kids think inside the bubble. Maya Made‘s daughter came up with this idea herself. So cute!

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Of course these chalkboard wall decals exist! From Wall Sticker Shop.

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Talk Bubble paperclips from Fred & Friends.

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Homemade Piñatas

| DIY Home, Everyday Crafts, Food, Parties

The weather is gettin’ good, so it’s time to take the party outside. And what’s better than a piñata at an outdoor par-tay? Check out these clever homemade creations…

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A love note piñata for a wedding! A brilliant idea found on Ruffled.

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This gorgeous creation was designed based on a camillia flower. Made by Inchmark for her daughter’s 4th birthday.

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Mini-piñata party favors are really easy to make! Found on You Are My Fave (craft by Not Martha).

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Design Mom planned a Knight party for her precious son. They couldn’t find a good-looking knight related piñata, so they made one. Naturally.

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Want to make a piñata from nature? Once you smack this one down, it’s way easier to clean up! Found on Daily Danny.

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DIY Alphabet Cups

| Decor, DIY Home, Everyday Crafts, Food, Holidays, Parties

I have been obsessed with these paper cups ever since I saw them on The Dieline. And to be obsessed with paper cups, they really have to be good. Since they are made in Korea, read: impossible to get, I decided to make my own. First gawk with me at these…then scroll down for my DIY version!

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Made by Iam Design. Can you even stand the adorable styling? Seriously, it slays me.

Now, for my humble invention…

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It’s so easy…I bought white paper party cups and made letter stickers using 8 1/2 x 11-inch label paper. I really wanted to get fancy with the cup colors and patterns, but using white cups saved me from having to painfully cut out each letter.

I actually like the myriad of options that my homemade cups provide…I can control the letters that I want and tweak the font and color for my occasion. This would be adorable for a kid’s party; either each guest gets their initial or you arrange the buffet table with a fun phrase.

You can download a PDF of my letters to make your own. If you make a set, email me pics of how you use them! I’d love to see!

 

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Nesting Doll Cuteness

| Gifts, Grown-Up, Tween to Teen

Russian dolls, nesting dolls, matryoshka dolls, babushka dolls…who knew there were so many names for these cute collectibles?

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How cute would your reminders be with these nesting doll post-its from Nothing Elegant.

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Babushka doll fabric by Mikodesign. Check out her Etsy store for more cute items.

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Paint your own set of teeny matryoshkas. Buy a set at Romp.

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You can even wear ’em in your hair. Made by Fluffs Stuffs, found on Bluelines.

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Have you ever forgotten which is bigger, a Megabyte or a Gigabyte? Never wonder again with these Byte Nesting Dolls found on Craziest Gadgets.

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If your love of these dolls is that strong, visit Nesting Doll Square in Manzhouli, China.

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Color Love

| Decor, DIY Home

I’m in the middle of my move (almost done) and I’m so tired of looking at the color of brown cardboard. These rainbow-like images caught my eye this morning.

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Is that sidewalk chalk? Here today, gone tomorrow. Found on The Bean and The Bear from Hey Susy.

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This gorgeous color pixel rug by Tufted was found on Design Sponge.

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And this photo, well, I just like it. From Design is Mine, found via The Bean and the Bear.

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