Simple Pleasures: Letterpressed Birthday Cards

Letterpress Birthday Card from Smock Paper

Do you keep a little stash of greeting cards on hand? I've gotten in the habit of snapping up great cards whenever and wherever I find them because an occasion always seems to present itself. 

This little trick of buying ahead has saved me hours of wandering the aisles of "For My Half Sister on Her 33rd Birthday" Hallmark trash.  Instead I have a selection of things that are beautifully made that I am delighted to give. 

I came upon Smock Paper while hunting for a non-cheesy Father's Day Card and found myself ordering a whole stack of beautiful cards. I love how they feel homespun and luxurious at once. Dude and Chick is another favorite stop- they have great cards for men that are humorous without being stupid or trite. A rarity in the world of greeting cards, no? 

Do you still give old fashioned cards? Where do you buy yours?

DIY with The Fab Miss B: Homemade Snow Globes!

During my Winter Break from school, I got caught up on all sorts of crafty projects, including one I've been dying to try for over a year: Home Made Snow Globes! I knew it would be a really fun way to display my growing collection of plastic miniatures, and I'd love to try it with my fourth graders, so I did a test run. It was a simple project, but it did require patience! Here's my how to!

For this project, you will need rather a long materials list and some patience:

Clean Jars with screwtop lids (I used salsa jars. Target's Market Pantry brand has pretty silver lids that don't need altering!)

If your jar has an ugly lid, you'll also need fine grade sandpaper & spraypaint

Epoxy

Plastic figurines that fit neatly inside the lid

Glycerin- can be found with toiletries in many drug stores.

Distilled Water

Glitter

If your jar has an unattractive label on the lid, use some fine grade sandpaper to roughen up the surfaces. (This helps the paint adhere better and it will stand up to handling better. Remember, the whole point of a snow globe is tipping it upside down again and again so you want the paint to stay put!) Make sure your lid is clean and dry and apply several layers of spray paint.

Once your lid is dry, place your figurines into a pleasing arrangement, making sure they don't go beyond the inner rim of the lid. Then, apply the epoxy to the inner lid surface.

Leave the glue to set undisturbed for twenty four hours. You want a super strong bond. (It'll be going upside-down, remember?)

Now the fun part! Add a teeny tiny drop of glycerin to your jar. Too much and your glitter will clump so use a light hand. This helps the glitter to float around gently in your globe.

Add your glitter, then the distilled water.

Give it a stir!
Screw your lid on tightly and voila! You have created a beautiful little underwater diorama.

I'm madly in love with my Hawaiian pair! Let me know if you try this out, I'd love to see how yours turn out! I think it's a really cool idea for kids and grown ups alike.

What did you do during Winter Vacation?

Which Christmas Ornament Do You Look Forward to Unpacking Every Year?

Oh my. How sweet is this little mermaid ornament? I love the homespun look of her- she'd be the perfect addition to my growing collection of sea inspired Christmas decor! Have you put your tree up yet? Which ornament is your all time favorite? (I have a skunk in a bikini that makes me laugh every year!)

Beautfiul Animal Masks for Halloween: An Antidote to "The Sexy Blank"

Have you started thinking about Halloween yet? I am planning an elaborate Flamingo Costume which I won't get to wear. I'll be attending my best friend's Zombie Bride themed Bachelorette Party. (We've all found old wedding gowns to douse with fake blood and the Maid of Honor is doing all our zombie make up. Then we're going to hit the town looking for BRAINS. And cocktails. And fun.)

But if you are on the lookout for a beautiful costume,I've just stumbled across Sundries and Plunder which specializes in beautifully crafted leather masks of animals and birds.

White Swan Mask from SundriesandPlunder

Eric and I have an ongoing joke that ladies have only one option for Halloween. We call it "The Sexy Blank" because you can be anything, as long as it's sexy. Sexy Mouse. Sexy Maid. Sexy Nurse. Sexy Witch. That's really the most important requirement in mass produced costumes for grown women. Ugh.

I like these as an alternative. You could wear a pretty outfit and an extraordinary mask and be completely in the spirit of the holiday.

Owl Masks by SundriesandPlunder

Cardinal Mask from SundriesandPlunder

Are you planning on dressing up this year? Decorating the house? Carving a pumpkin?

Photo Journal: Cool Fusion 2011 at Donkey Mill Center for the Arts in Holualoa, Hawaii

Cool Fusion is the annual fundraiser for Donkey Mill Art Center's ceramics department. Volunteers throw, fire, glaze and fire again more than 1,000 bowls. More volunteers prepare a beautiful lunch of saimen to fill those bowls. Saimen is a simple dish of cold japanese noodles served with a variety of vegetables, fish cake, fresh ginger, wasabi to taste and a delicious broth. It is cold and refreshing on a hot Hawaiian afternoon. This little Art Center is housed in a former coffee mill and is suffused with a powerful sense of people coming together. I've never seen a community center where people were so excited to pitch in. I feel so blessed to observe how the staff and volunteers infuse the place with Aloha in the truest sense. I think you can even feel it in these photos.










You can see more photos from this beautiful day here.

Morning Ritual: A Monster Mug for Mister and Missus

I snapped up a pair of these monster mugs from Lenny Mud and they make me smile every morning. Because this is exactly how I feel before my first cup of Joe. It's not the caffeine per say, since I often end up having only a few sips and then leave it to get ice cold on a tabletop somewhere. It's the bleary eyed ritual of it. Sending the beans whizzing that sharp, dramatic zip through the grinder. Cleaning out the filter. Pouring the fresh grinds in. Adding the water. Listening to the whole mess begin to gurgle happily. And then that delightful smell that tells you the day is about to begin. I wouldn't do without that.

What's your morning ritual? Does it involve coffee?