PHOTOGRAPH BY KIMI KOLBA
Just in case you're looking for some holiday packaging inspiration Joke and I are posting our fun ideas over on SHIMTOKK. We are honored to be participating in Martha Stewart's The Crafts Dept.'s Gift Wrap Challenge. We would love your vote (polls close on Wednesday).
Happy Holiday Packaging!!
Happy {belated} Valentine's Day! I had a fun-filled day with two class parties and a yummy southern dinner at Screen Door with my boys. Hope you all had a good one!
The boys and I were thinking about making robot valentines again this year since they are both at new schools but we opted for the half-way homemade route this year. Jen of Sophie + Lili gifted the boys with sweet custom valentines [have you seen how she is expanding her printable stationery line?] and they were too cute not to use. I printed the valentine cards on to white cardstock and cut them with a paper cutter. J rounded the corners using my corner rounder and the boys filled in their classmates' names and their names on the provided lines. Quick and easy.
But of course the handmade valentine lover in me wanted to add a little something extra. And since I'm the party coordinator for both boys' classrooms I thought something fun for the kids to play during the Valentine's Day party would be great. So I designed simple tic tac toe cards and the boys sorted out m&m's by color and added two sets of colored candies inside plastic bags [yes, there was some sampling involved]. I printed out labels for the "x's + o's" and the boys helped me stick them on the bags.
The tic tac toe cards, x's + o's and valentines were all placed inside clear resealable bags. I think these would make fun birthday party favors as well.
The valentines were a big hit with the boys' classmates. Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that is so much more fun for me now that I have children. It was SO cute seeing how much fun the boys had handing out valentines to their friends and teachers.
UPDATE // I redesigned the Tic Tac Toe Valentine and it is available as a free printable here.
It was a very white Christmas this year at Casa Shim. Although I wish our Christmas involved white powdery snow we had to settle for white Christmas decorations. I was originally planning to go with a white + gold color palette [since I have leftover materials from the Gifted feature]. But somehow everything turned out white.
Cutting out snowflakes is one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. As cliche as it may sound, I really love how no two snowflakes are alike. J made a bunch of snowflakes which we strung across the windows in their playroom using hemp twine. j had more fun opening up all the snowflakes I made.
I also made a linen tree by wrapping strips of white linen around a white foam tree. I'm not sure why they don't make the foam trees with a pointed tip. I improvised and made a paper cone and hot glued it in place [before wrapping the strips of linen around the tree]. I also hand stamped on to white twill tape some words [love, faith, hope, peace, joy, forgiveness, grace] that reflect what Christmas means to our family.
I cut the words out and pinned them on to the linen tree. The boys helped pin on some silver matte sequins.
My makeshift votive candles were made from my favorite simple ikea glasses + tiny marshmallows.
This white roost ceramic origami crane was a gift from Melissa. I've wanted one for a long time. So pretty and simple.
And the tree that keeps giving. We've seen it here for Halloween and here for Thanksgiving.
I removed the kraft paper leaves with our words of thanksgiving [which are waiting to be placed into a book] and added some more simple white leaves using beautiful paper from our recent Whimsy & Spice order.
We also made a linen wreath by wrapping strips of white linen around a foam wreath form. J had fun pinning the sequins on to the wreath.
I also made a paper chain using this Martha Stewart edge punch [see first photograph]. I borrowed the idea from the lovely Kjerstis Lykke blog. And in order to use up the last few snowflakes I made a quick garland using paper + hemp twine. I'm a little sad Christmas is over. I've really enjoyed the quiet + lazy days at home with the family. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !
Wishing you a day filled with good food + family fun!
Last year I made snowy day survival kits for friends + family which included board games + hot chocolate + marshmallows. This year I decided to make some simple hot chocolate kits. Although I could have gone the homemade hot chocolate + marshmallow route, I went for the easier repackaging route. I bought the ingredients for the kits and placed them in pretty Weck jars which I picked up from Canoe.
The kits included Dagoba's xocolatl drinking chocolate...
...and tiny marshmallows...
...and chocolate covered peppermint sticks.
I designed simple tags for each jar and tied it with hemp twine. My original plan was to sew drawstring bags for the kits like last year but I ran out of time so I used white shopping bags and attached a personalized tag.
H O L I D A Y I N S P I R A T I O N
+ martha's diy branch candle holder // perfect for your home or as a gift
+ bonnie's "to give & to receive" series // check out my picks here
+ suann's 2010 holiday card // cute + clever
+ sharilyn's christmas gift tags // beautiful + free
+ whimsy & spice's homemade marshmallows // appah describes them as little pillows
+ kjerstis lykke's advent calendar // amazing [along with everything else she makes]
It appears my goal of posting every day this month was a bit ambitious. I had good intentions but the last week of school kind of did me in. I was busy coordinating + preparing for two classroom winter parties and packing + shipping Christmas presents for our families. Now that we're officially on vacation I am looking forward to finishing up holiday decorations, making some last minute Christmas gifts, working on fun crafts with the boys + enjoying time with my family. Hope you all have a great day!
[gingerbread house on left by V + j and on right by J + Appah]
P.S. J + j + Miss Venise are on the Ace Hotel's blog!
Once every 3-4 months I like to do a little clean out of the boys' playroom. Although they are responsible for tidying up their playroom every evening before they go to bed, it is amazing how little piles of papers + craft creations build up over a few months. I decided today's advent activity would involve cleaning up their playroom as well as donating toys that are no longer being used by the boys.
And as much as I try to limit the number of toys that come into our house there are some things that I cannot resist buying for the boys. You might remember the sweet Sally doll that Jennifer of Sophie & Lili created. Well, I kind of begged Jennifer to design some boy dolls for me and look what she came up with! J + j superhero dolls!! I was so excited when she emailed me the sketches of the dolls [hello, striped tees!] and they are even more cute in person. I am trying really hard to wait until Christmas to give the boys their dolls.
I love the front view of the dolls but the backs are also super sweet.
And here I am with my two favorite boys. Hmm...I'm wondering if I should order an Appah doll next.
We're seven days into December and it has been sweet seeing the boys excited to open up a box each morning. Today's advent activity is "making a popcorn chain", which we will be doing after dinner [thus no photographs yet]. Although j informed me that he just wants to eat the popcorn. What can I say that boy has a one-track mind.
I am still working on Christmas decorations and making a little progress on my gift giving list. I've been getting a little side tracked working on some custom orders and little projects that have been on my to do list for months [like finally installing the Nelson saucer pendant lamp in our kitchen nook that I ordered six months ago]. And since I seem to be adding to our house in terms of supplies for advent calendar activities and Christmas gifts, I have a strong urge to finally purge all the fabric + craft supplies that I no longer use. I have been stuffing gallon bags of fabric scraps and boxes full of larger fabric pieces and everything will be up for sale by tomorrow evening. [I'll post a link on my blog for those interested.]
"Feliz Navidad" is on constant replay in Casa Shim. The boys have memorized it is on Disc 3, Track 10. [Are we the only ones who still use an "old fashioned" stereo?] When the song comes on j busts out the Rock Band drums and microphone and there is usually a dancing + singing combo going on. I really need to videotape them in action. I wish this month would slow down. There are so many things I want to do with the boys before Christmas passes us by. [I actually have plans to continue our family activities throughout the year, I'll share details in January!] I was inspired by Tracie's advent calendar to add a few activities in which the boys [and our family] can help those around us. And I was also inspired by Paula's advent tree. I love all the creative people I have met over the years.
And speaking of creative friends, I love Sarah of Truly Smitten! We are friends and although we've never met in person I know when we do [hopefully next year] we will have fun chatting + laughing + eating together. Sarah designed the prettiest holiday card ever! And I love the fact that she hand wrote a personal message on the back. [You can read more about the Truly Smitten holiday cards here.]