Advent Calendars

You have one more day to make one of your own, so here's some inspiration! I especially love the animal one [#3] -- I'd want to keep that up all year long. And the clean crispness of #4 would make what's inside so colorful and exciting. It could be anything!

I always tell myself that I'm going to make one, but it just doesn't happen because of how busy things are with holiday cards this time of year. I'm really thinking about making one in the summer to put up for December so I can actually do it on time! So this year, same as last year, the boys have Lego Advent calendars. And they could not be more excited. Star Wars + Legos + getting to open something every single day = happy boys.

And I'd love to know: did you make one? If so, what did you put in it?!

IMAGE SOURCES: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE & SIX

Trick-or-Treat in Paper

I love this Made by Joel Halloween project! So clever and cute. I'm definitely going to try and make one of these with my boys. I think they'll love it too. And probably add some "interesting" characters to the mix. Check out the full tutorial with download here.

International Goodies Swap

After I wrote this post on the DIY printed masking tape, Sophie-Charlotte at French Home Made contacted me about a swap she's been putting together. You can read all about it right here, but essentially, each American participant is paired with a French Participant and you exchange supplies/paper/DIY items from your part of the world. Neat, eh? I thought so. It took me right back to the happy pen pal days of elementary school. Here's what I sent off today:



Can't wait to see what lands in my own mailbox!

M's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a small get together to celebrate M's birthday two weekends ago. Since she's our only child who hasn't lived in a big city, I decided to have a city party for her. We built a little city house complete with graffiti on the side walls.





For the favors, I found these little taxis in the clearance section of Target after last Easter. They are kind of what started the whole theme. And no party table is complete without a pair of stuffed nunchucks.



For the invitations, I wanted something distinctly Boston since that's where we had lived, so M took over the famous Citgo sign with her sweet smiling face.



We had brunch and a donut cake that she wasn't so happy about at first.



And she was still super serious while we were opening presents...



...until she opened up a dress. Her first outfit was tossed to the side, and with the new dress came a liking of donuts. Happy times are here again!



And by the end of the party, she was down to her diaper cover.



Which I guess is how most good parties should end, right?!

PS: See those blue chairs? That look a little worse for wear? They are now on their way to Atlanta to be recovered -- I cannot wait!!

DIY Printed Masking Tape

Remember how I fawned over Anthropologie's printed masking tape? Last week, I came across this clever tutorial for a DIY version!



Haven't tried it yet because I'm too tape obsessed with my Japanese Masking tape, but it looks pretty simple. Would be a great way to personalize holiday gift wrapping this year!

[A l'ombre du marronnier on French Homemade via Poppytalk]

Paper Motion

Like paper? Check out Paper Motion over on Bhldn. It's super fun.

In the Stars

You know what company rocks my world? It won't be shocking, but I just have to put it out there because they just sent me the greatest little birthday card:



Can you guess the sender?



Anthropologie. They think of the bestest things. Even their tape makes me happy.



And makes me want to hop the counter and snatch the dispenser away from the ringer-upper. But we shouldn't snatch. Or steal. It's not nice. Even when you are obsessed with masking tape. That's printed. But I did tell the her how lucky she was to get to dispense all that tape. And she was all, yea, whatever.

Itching to know what's in there?



Matching turtle dishes. That I don't have a place for yet. But even if I did, I wouldn't be able to set them out without fearing their certain fatal fall down onto the hardwood floors. It's just the way things roll around here right now. But I loved them, and I've always heard that you should buy what you love even if you don't have a place for it right that second. So I did. And I will.

Alright, I'm out. Happy Friday to you!

The Perfect Match

Every now and again I like to chat a little bit about my design process. [I posted about two of my holiday 2010 designs here]. Today, let's talk about the design The Perfect Match available for sale at Minted. The challenge was for Save-the-dates, and I knew I wanted to do something with a matchbook. One because I love matchbooks, and if I spot a basket full of matchbooks at, say, a restaurant, they need to restock by the time I've left.



And two because I love a good play on words. So, I started sketching.



I'm also a little bit obsessed with Adios Script, and thought it would be the perfect complement to a matchbook illustration. For the colors, I wanted something feminine juxtaposed with something bold, hence the pale pink and deep red.



It's also available with backer options. You gotta love a backer, right?



So there's your design insight for the day!

[Collage Images clockwise from top left: Posh Chicago pink matches via Oh Joy; Aubrey Beardsley matchboxes via Collection A Day; Vintage china Sedona Bride; Mermaid matches by Louise Fili; Magpie and Rye Matches; Matchbooks via Mint Design Blog. Perfect Match images from Minted and sketchbook image from yours truly]

Do Your Homework

Those three words would have been way more happy for me growing up if my desk had been stocked by Present & Correct.



Their mission is to spark a distant memory, make you smile or look at the most mundane in a new, and fonder, light. And I'd have to say that they've succeeded.



The collection is a mix of handmade goods, vintage items and work by designers from all over the world with no shortage of eye candy.

It's been so nice to have a break from homework this summer. It might actually have become my favorite thing about summer. H doesn't like it one bit, so it's always a battle, and I'm sure second grade will only bring more our way. But thankfully, we still have about another month before we have to start tackling it again, and I'm going to enjoy it!

[ITEMS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: Homework Pencil Pocket and Homework Pencil Case; Free Schedule; Primary Card Set. Find many, many more smart items right here]

Brights

If you're looking for some summer color inspiration, check out this post over on Decor8. It was written by Leslie from A Creative Mint after her recent trip to Japan. All the brights on white make for some fantastic contrast. And that planner? The best. I'm totally inspired to brighten things up around here!

Work Happy

The first thing I do when I get the mail, is quickly scan it for "good" mail: hand addressed envelopes, announcement-looking envelopes, check-looking envelopes, and magazines. The rest I usually leave for Reggie to deal with. I'm sweet like that. Once I've determined the good mail, I get to opening. And when I open to find a thick, almost board stiff note? That's orange and white, no less? With a heart? It's definitely good.



But what surprised me most, was that it was from Poppin! Remember the new online shop with the fantastic packaging? Them. Just checking in to see if I liked what I bought.



And I do like what I bought, especially my tape dispenser.



So go order something from them! It's really fun.

Comfort in a Box

I heart The Instant Comfort Pocket Boxes by Kim Welling from the Netherlands. Who doesn't like to hear that everything will be OK? Or that they look wonderful? Plus, the illustrations and design are so nifty that it's a win-win all around. Would make me smile.



And if you're feeling crafty, you can assemble you own with these DIY kits:



In completely unrelated [unless you were to think about the above happy sentiments] weekend news, the boys and I are headed to DISNEY this afternoon! Caps and bold -- I can't wait. They are 7 and 5 yrs old, and this will be their first time at the Magic Kingdom. Should be great ages for enjoying everything...except the waiting, of course. Waiting isn't so fun at any age. But the greatest part of our trip is going to be meeting up with old friends from Texas. I really can't wait for that. Will be back next week with -- hopefully -- some happy pictures and stories!

Royal Bingo

Are you going to watch the big wedding tomorrow? I've got it on my DVR list -- excited to watch, but definitely not going to sacrifice sleep to do it! Boden published a fun wedding catalogue, filled with trivia and DIY projects to celebrate the wedding. My particular favorite -- and what I will make my mom and sister play with me when they come visit next weekend and we watch together -- is the wedding BINGO!



I especially like how it is described as "A game of buttock-clenching concentration and endurance," and I might even make them put some money on the game just to spice things up a bit.



I wonder if I could get my kids to start saying "buttock" rather than the abbreviated version? I'm sure that vocab word would fit right in on the playground here in North Florida.

And what would make it even more fun, would be to play with these mini gold pencils:



[Twig & Thistle Mini Pencils, $3/one pack of 10]

Download your very own set of BINGO cards for free right here!

Hoppy

Howdy, and Happy Friday. We've got a weekend full of soccer games and Easter celebrations. My kids asked me if the Easter Bunny was going to come to our house, and I pulled the "Oh, um, I'm not sure, but I'm super busy washing dishes right now" parenting technique. We've never celebrated Easter that way before, and it's too hard for me to pretend that a giant bunny hops over and brings gifts. Plus, that's not really what I want the focus to be. But if I tell them there isn't an Easter bunny, then what do I say about Santa and the Tooth Fairy and Leprechauns? Would the gig be up?

Anyway, on to less conflicting matters. How great are these paper puppets by Ferzechan?





They are $10 each and would make an excellent little puppet troupe.

Comments for the giveaway are now closed! I loved reading what you guys listen to on the road. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner, that lucky duck...

Clever

Fantasticly clever idea for eco-friendly business cards:



Not only are they easy on the environment, but they also reinforce what the advertised business is for [environmental consulting]. Plus, who doesn't love a stamp?

[from createYU]

Feltron Annual Report

If you like graphs, data, genealogy and/or rockin' typography, be sure to check out the 2010 Feltron Annual Report created by Nicholas Feltron:



This time around, the report is a documentation of the author's father's life. It is described as "an encapsulation of my father's life, as communicated by the calendars, slides and other artifacts in [the author's] possession..."





A fascinating project, not to mention the stunning graphics and typography.



[Find out more about the author, this project, and the other annual reports; via The Fox is Black]

When do we eat cake?

It's always the question, right? This clever and cool program answers it so well:



[from a wedding featured in Style Me Pretty's delicious new magazine; Photography by Hannah Bergman of Steve Steinhardt Photography; program by Paper and Thread Studio]

Album de Naissance

I love this refreshingly unique interpretation of a baby book by piqpoq:

A-gift-wrapping I will go...

The next two days are going to be filled with gift-wrapping for me, and I'm actually looking forward to it as long as it involves these 3 things: a little Love Actually, a glass of wine and kids in bed. When it comes to the actual trimmings, I usually operate under the Sound of Music philosophy: brown paper packages tied up with string. And then I top it off with the all-important tag!



I can't seem to get enough of large manila shipping tags. You can buy a 100 pack of these babies at Office Depot for about $6. I had thought about using double sided tape to stick the business card size enclosures I made to the tags, but then I remembered this little machine I've had sitting in the corner collecting dust. About 3 years ago, Reginald D. bought me a Xyron sticker machine, and I have yet to get the thing out of it's box. I think the "machine" part of the name intimidates me. If it just said "Xyron double sided tape dispenser" it probably would've been out of the box a while ago. But last week, I finally got the thing out:



Can I just tell you how addictive it is? It's so easy, and the adhesive is incredibly strong. Before you know it, everything in my house is going to be Xyron-ed!

Some other fantastic tag ideas I've seen around lately:



[left, The Haystack Needle Japanese Tape Tags; right, Sweet Paul]



[left, Eat Drink Chic downloadable tags; right, Ruffled -- These wooden discs would look great if you drilled a hole in them and strung some twine through it]

And a fun article in LMNOP:



How about you? Do you like to wrap gifts or would you rather pay someone to do it? Are you a wrapping paper junkie? Tag junkie? Ribbon junkie? All of the above junkie?