Category: Holidays

Some Christmas Decorating

So. Speaking of sequins, they’re featured prominently in my home for the holidays.

The house may be photographed for a magazine (to appear in a Christmas issue next year), so I’m feeling extra pressure to do it up right.

I bought our pink tree in 2009. Three years later, about 1/3 of the lights have burned out. Supposedly a “lightbulb specialist” will be calling me tomorrow so that I can place an order for replacement bulbs. I’m hoping I can get clear ones because when the tree is fully lit with its pink bulbs, the effect is a bit bordello-ish.

I have more to do (the pressure!), so there’s more to come. Next week, most likely.

December 5, 2012
Free Printable Monogram Christmas Gift Tags

These holiday printables are brought to you by HP. Make other easy printable projects at HP’s Holiday HQ.

I like to come up with a cohesive wrapping scheme each year for Christmas. That sounds fancier and more complicated than it is though; I just like for all of the presents to look nice together under our tree. This year’s wrapping paper will be in rich shades of brown, punctuated by minty green (because I think mint will look fantastic under our pink tree!).

I designed these gift tags to use for our presents, and you’re welcome to download and print them for your gifts as well. I’ve done monogram gift tags before, but those were hand-drawn and I wanted to do a new twist on them this year.

My years as a stationer have taught me a few tips about working with paper. If you have a paper cutter, you can cut the tags into three strips vertically to start. You could also use a ruler and an x-acto knife (or a box cutter, sharp razor, or rotary cutter). Then, keeping the tags in their strips, use an x-acto knife to cut slits along the tops and bottoms for ribbon to slide through. Doing so while they’re still in strips will make the paper a little easier to work with. Then use scissors to finish cutting out each tag. You could also use a hole punch at the top and bottom to thread thin ribbon through, or just punch a hole at the top to use these like more traditional gift tags.

And here’s another tip: When I have gifts for multiple people with the same initial (like August and Ashley), I write their name on the back of the present with a marker. I can usually remember which gift is which by the shape of the box, but it’s good to have the name on there too.

May your days be merry and bright!

November 26, 2012
Happy Halloween from the Owl and the Hedgehog

Eleanor was an owl this year, and August was a hedgehog. I went as a mommyblogger with a large camera, apparently.

This is the shot that I got from that position. (I’ll bet you didn’t know hedgehogs could be so ferocious.)

We painted our pumpkins this year. August’s was interpretive, Eleanor’s had a smiley face, mine was crawling with bugs, and Brandon’s was a severed eyeball (which he worked on while watching Dexter at night). Together, they were cute, cute, creepy, and gross.

This was the first year that I didn’t make the kids’ costumes. Eleanor was a Katamari Damacy Prince the first year, Olivia the pig for her second Halloween, and last year Eleanor and August were the Gruffalo’s Child and the Big Bad Mouse. This year, they got store-bought costumes from Pottery Barn Kids. They were adorable and akin to what I would have made had I done them myself, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty (especially as the neighbors asked if I made them again this year). I spend just as much when I make them myself, and of course there’s a huge time commitment, but it also makes me feel really good.

But then, Halloween isn’t about the parents, is it? My little owl and hedgehog loved to go trick-or-treating, and they loved stuffing themselves with candy all night afterward.

I loved it too.

November 1, 2012
A Birthday Party by the Book

This post is brought to you by Nestle Toll House Birthday Sugar Cookies. Bake some birthday love.

Brandon and I met in a bookstore. We both worked at Barbara’s Bookstore in Oak Park, an independent book shop that is now gone but was once amazing, and so clearly we have a shared love of books. We read to the kids like crazy, and Eleanor and August seem to share our enthusiasm too. There has been a whole lot of reading in the Balch house lately (we know how to party, whoooo!), so I thought it would be fun to come up with a bookish birthday party theme.

I chose a plant instead of flowers to keep it from feeling too fussy. I thought it fit the book/library feeling well, and it’s such a sweet little plant. I added a few dried billy balls in front, and a few more on the other side of the table with some crazy mushrooms on sticks. (Say what? I don’t know — I liked ’em.)

I had a couple of cute ideas for the book theme. Idea one: bake sugar cookies in the shape of books! (That would be rectangles, yes.) I sandwiched them together with white frosting for the pages, then added fruit leather binding. Bookies, if you will. Super cute idea! Note the lack of closeups on that one! (The kids were still very into eating them.)

Cute idea number two: Book garland. (This one was more successful.)

Cute idea number three: book risers. I took the dust jackets off of several hardcover books, and stacked them on the dessert table. I thought about recovering them with kraft paper or plain white, but I liked the look of the books as they were with their spines turned toward the back. I added in a couple of different-sized apothecary jars and a glass pedestal with a dome to vary the heights even further.

And of course, a birthday party needs a cake. This one was ready-made red velvet from the grocery store. I’d never tried it before (I’m not much of a cake fan), but we brought it over to my sister-in-law’s house to share with the family and it was delicious.

Wouldn’t this be a sweet kid’s birthday party? I think it works for all ages, really. I’m turning 32 this month, and I’d be pretty happy with a bookish birthday too.

September 4, 2012
Neon Tween Birthday Party Theme

This post is brought to you by Nestle Toll House Birthday Sugar Cookies.
Bake some birthday love.

I’ve been having some fun lately, coming up with and executing party ideas. First up: a birthday party featuring a whole lot of neon.

I think it would be perfect for older kids and trend-conscious tweens because it isn’t pastel or overly cutesy, but it’s still fun and colorful. Something like a rainbow party might feel too young because you know, they’re soooo grown up at that age (can you hear the eye roll?), but neon is just right. Plus what’s better for tweens than a sweets table that could be left setup for midnight birthday slumber party raids?

The paper chain was made from neon poster board, and I also punched shapes out of it to make large confetti for the table. The hot pink cake was from the local grocery store (I removed the plastic Dora the Explorer rings that were all over the top, then smoothed the icing and added some paper flags). The cookies were baked from ready-made dough and icing (I added bright pink food coloring), then I laid them out on a tray covered with neon pink polka dotted paper. The flowers and candy were all standard, easy to find stuff from the grocery store. I bought a roll of extra wide neon green ribbon from the craft store, and everything else was already on hand.

It’s an easy, inexpensive party to put together, and wow that neon gives some zing! It could be toned down too though. Andrea used neon brilliantly in this table setting.

What do you think? Would you use neon for a party?

August 22, 2012
Stars and Stripes Forever

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We had some company over earlier this week, so I took it as an excuse to throw an impromptu backyard party. Setting a nice scene for the people I love always puts a big smile on my face (and theirs too).

I planned and set a Fourth of July table which is a little early, but hey, I’m a blogger! I figured it would be more helpful to give you guys some ideas before the Fourth instead of after. My friends and family are used to these quirks. Besides, it’s not as bad as when I would be designing Christmas cards at this time of year for my stationery shop!

I was pretty excited about the decorating possibilities of our our new table. The old one was in such bad shape that the only option was to cover the whole thing with a tablecloth.

I tucked a handful of little American flags into a pitcher along with one large one. Eleanor and August, like most kids, were happy to each have their own flag to wave after dinner.

I also made some cute paper flags out of decorative scrapbooking paper. I used bamboo skewers for the larger sizes, and I attached the smaller ones to toothpicks. I set the table with our everyday silverware and tucked a little flag under the fork and knife, on top of a white napkin. I used my vintage Star Glow dinnerware as salad plates because they reminded me of fireworks, and I set them on top of plain white dishes.

The red and white striped runner on the table was a no-sew project. I cut the length to size, then tucked in the edges along the sides. Eventually I’ll hem it so that it will hold up in the wash, but if you’re in a pinch, nobody’s really going to notice.

I wanted the flowers to be mostly white, so I picked up some hydrangeas and a ton of little daisies. I did put a couple of blue delphinium in with the hydrangeas, but didn’t go for full red, white, and blue floral arrangements. I put the hydrangeas and delphinium in a low vintage bowl with some greenery; the stems were kept in place by first criss-crossing clear tape along the top.

I tucked a few of my paper flags in to the centerpiece, but the daisies were cut short and gathered into little bunches. I used whichever small glass vases I could find for them, then tied them all together (literally) by tying ribbon around each one. Some had wide navy grosgrain and others had thin navy and white polka dot ribbon, all from the local craft store. I also added some of the wide ribbon to the handles of my pitchers and tied them into bows.

Seeing everyone gathered around a table that I’ve decorated for them always makes me happy. Are you planning anything yet for the Fourth?

June 28, 2012