Category: Holidays
Create, Holidays

Simply Spring…

March 18
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Now that St. Patrick’s Day festivities have come to an end, i can finally concentrate on spring and Easter decorations!  Not that I don’t LOVE our Irish traditions but it seemed a little strange to decorate for both at the same time…even though I did it anyway!  But now there’s only one holiday and new season to celebrate and I always look forward to the fresh change of color and natural elements that I add to my home!  And since Easter is only a little over a week away, some simple decorations are about all I can muster!  Fortunately, it can be really easy and inexpensive to decorate for spring!  Fresh flowers are abundant in every supermarket (and soon in the gardens!), buds are beginning to pop on the blooming bushes & trees, and of course, Easter eggs and candy are everywhere…all wonderful options for bringing springtime into my home!  Today I’d like to share some quick and simple ideas…

to celebrate a new season!

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Create, Holidays

End of the Rainbow!

March 16
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When it comes to holidays and kids (maybe adults too!), something sweet is ALWAYS a welcome treat!  And since St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow I’d like to share with you a couple ideas on how to decorate a cupcake that’s perfect for those lucky Leprechauns!  When kids are popping in after school it’s always nice to have some easy treats on hand…and holidays are just the perfect occasion to create something a little special!  So my beverage cart became a St. Paddy’s Day dessert station piled high with mini cakes–the sweet treat at the end of the rainbow!  Let me show you how easy it is to whip up these whimsical cakes for your holiday celebrations!

Irish fun in the kitchen…

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Create, Holidays, Savor

Top ‘O the Mornin’!

March 14
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On Thursday morning St. Patrick’s Day will be here!  I personally think it’s OK to start celebrating as soon as March arrives…and now that there’s only a couple days left until those Leprechauns show up, I’m quite certain it’s completely acceptable for the holiday festivities to officially begin!  So on Sunday morning I decided to surprise my family with a simple and healthy breakfast.  It really is a pretty easy thing to do and a welcome “top ‘o the mornin” greeting as those sleepy heads wake up late after loosing an hour of precious sleep!  You may be familiar with my desk in the dining room…I use it all the time as a buffet to serve just about anything from after school snacks, everyday dinners, and nibbles for celebrations!  And when I’m not dishing out goodies, it makes a wonderful spot to hold extra serving dishes, holiday decorations…and even doubles as a dumping ground for backpacks and homework!  But yesterday it became a mini St. Patrick’s Day breakfast buffet to welcome the holiday week!

festive, easy, holiday inspired breakfast…

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Create, Holidays

Egghead…

March 9
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On Monday I shared my spring inspired buffet decor which included the sweet and so-simple-to-make bunny and chick eggs!  Today I’d like to share how easy it is to make these little guys!  And the best part is that you can craft these cuties with your kids…only changing a couple steps to make them little-hands friendly!  Maybe a cute classroom idea for spring?  So get your “egghead” on, get inspired, and think Easter!  Let’s get right to it and…

start some spring crafting!

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Celebrate, Holidays

Spring Inspired…

March 7
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One of the things I love most is impromptu gatherings!  It seems like as the kids grow it actually gets harder and harder to spend time with people we love…so when a spur-of-the-moment get together actually works for everyone involved–it feels like a great accomplishment!  It seems as though the phrase “we should get together soon” is said WAY too often to WAY too many of our friends.  No fault of anyone…it just happens to be the way of life right now for so many of us juggling busy schedules!  But this weekend was fabulously different when a last minute suggestion turned into an actuality!  We spent a casual evening of catching up with friends on all the goings on of family, work, school and everything else we could remember to talk about!  And the great thing about this kind of gathering was that everyone brought food or beverage making it simple for all!  AND not only was I lucky to be able to see my friends but to have them in our home…allowing me to throw together some last-minute decorations which you know I love to do!  I’ve been wishing for springtime for several weeks now…and even though it was snowing that day, I decided to go for an Easter inspired theme!  I had also been working on some holiday crafts recently…so I decided to use some of those whimsical creations on my appetizer table!  I love to share how easy it is to scour the house for things that can make a fabulous display without spending a penny…or maybe only a few pennies!  But the point is that many times you can come up with plenty of goodies to make a pretty appetizer table…even if it is at the last-minute!  Let me share with you how I dressed up the tabletop

on my springtime buffet…

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Holidays

Milk & Leprechaun Cakes…

March 4
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Since our family has some Irish roots we take St. Patrick’s Day pretty seriously around here!  Not that we have big-bash parties or anything, but we do celebrate some family traditions and to stretch out the holiday fun I also LOVE to prepare little treats throughout the days leading up to the 17th!  I don’t do something everyday of course, but scattered about the calendar in the beginnings of March I’ll have a holiday breakfast, after school treat, or even a special holiday meal prepared as an unexpected surprise for my family. (although I’m not sure how surprised they are anymore…they just don’t know the exact days!)  It may sound like a lot of work but honestly it can be really easy to make something as simple as milk and cookies look like a party.  It might not replicate the “Pinterest” look but it can come close…and for far less time and money!  Besides, if you enjoy it as much as I do, it’s almost as much fun to create as it is to present!  So if you want to squeeze in a little extra Irish fun this March…try some easy tricks of the Leprechauns!  Make an after-school treat feel like…

an after-school party!

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Create, Holidays

“Egg-celent” Decoupage!

February 29
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Easter comes early this year…and even though I hate to jump ahead of holidays that haven’t even arrived yet, Easter follows so closely behind St. Patrick’s Day that we barely have time to make the switch!  So while we await the arrival of the Leprechauns, I decided to go ahead and start my spring crafting!  I don’t know about you, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Easter activities is decorating eggs!  It’s such a fun holiday tradition and there are so many wonderful color kits out there to dye, glitter, stamp, glue, or paint those eggs into Easter glory!  At our house we love to hard-boil a bunch of eggs, dunk ’em in all those pretty pastel dyes…and then we eat them!  But because it’s hard to keep real eggs fresh for a month or so, I also like to decorate the fake variety too!  This way I can enjoy them throughout the Easter season and recycle them for seasons to come!  The inspiration for my artificial eggs came when I discovered a pretty pack of tissues in the checkout isle…not for wrapping but for blowing!  They were way too cute to use on noses…so I decided to decoupage with them!  And as it turned out, the tissue was so effective to work with since it easily wrapped around the soft curves of the plastic eggs!  So I spent a rainy afternoon cutting out designs and crafting up some springtime joy!

a rainy day DIY…

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Holidays

A String of Good Luck!

February 26
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St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in our house!  Ever since my boys were little they looked forward to seeing what pranks those pesky Leprechauns played while we slept on St. Paddy’s Day eve!  And no matter what havoc they wreaked, they always left a consolation…gold coins in the kid’s shoes!  (however, they should have left ME money since I was the one to clean up the mess…even though I created it!)  But even though they’re older and the belief that those pranksters are real was lost some time ago, it wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have some Irish festivity leading up to our annual corned beef & cabbage feast!  And even though I LOVE creating holiday fun for my family, it’s not the only reason I continue on with it…I hope that these traditions we’ve cherished through the years will continue on some day when my boys have families of their own!  So I don’t tear the house apart any more pretending that the Leprechauns were the culprits…but I still leave coins in the shoes and always create some Irish joy in the house–somewhere!  This year my inspiration came from some tiny clips that reminded me of a rainbow.  And since coins are always found at the end of the rainbow, I decided to make a whimsical garland celebrating the gold at the colorful end!  Have a look at this easy DIY that will sure to bring smiles to kids of all ages!

at the end of the rainbow…

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Create, Holidays

Spring Fever…

February 19
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It must be something in the air because I’m so much more restless for the arrival of spring than I think I’ve ever been!  In fact, I’ve been a bit impatient overall this year!  Some of my friends were teasing me recently because I was counting down the days to when I could move on from Valentine decor and jump into something new!  Not that I don’t fully enjoy each holiday…but for some reason I’ve had this itch for change!  Which may also explain my seemingly countless list of home projects I hope to complete!  So for whatever the real reason for my impatience–the weird winter weather, life changes, thinking ahead for blog posts, or simply a bad case of spring fever–I’m trying to sit back and enjoy the moment rather than unintentionally wishing the days away!  I’m still happy that spring IS marching forward however, giving me permission to go ahead and dream about bringing the fresh, new season into my home!  But I’ve made this promise to myself to slow down and soak in the happiness that each project really does bring to me!  I heard a quote on the radio yesterday that really made me reflect…”the happiest people don’t have the best of everything…but they make the best of everything they have!”  I love that!  And while this quote doesn’t necessarily pertain to my impatience…it does give pause for thought.  Making the best of everything means not just finding contentment in the possessions I have or don’t have, what nature has given me or not given, or the tally of all my successes or failures…it also pertains to seeing the relevance and joy of each moment, season, or holiday and enjoying every second it’s here!  So today I’ll share my first spring craft…in plenty of time to enjoy the earliest signs of the new season and all the simple pleasures it brings!  Have a peek at this tiny craft which is big on happiness!

cherish the tiny treasures of spring…

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Create, Holidays

Last Minute LOVE

February 12
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We can now count the hours until Valentine’s Day!  and if you want to put some last minute “love” in your decor…I’ve got some SIMPLE ways to do it!  Time is ticking…but it’s not too late for some easy holiday “hacks” to add a touch of festivity!  Check out these tricks…letting you cut corners but never style!

holiday hacks…

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