Pun-kins!

These Pun-kins by Studio Diy are too cute!
Click here for the how-to.

Spruce up store-bought flowers

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at Jaxon and Maya's elementary school. 

We are always looking for unique ways to appreciate the teachers. 

This year we decided to go with long-stemmed flowers versus a bouquet of roses or carnations. 

I purchased this Gladiolus bundle at Trader Joes for only $5.99 for 12 stems.

I created two bundles of 6 for both my children's teachers.  

I simply wrapped them with decorative paper, tied with hemp string, and attached a little note for the kids to sign. Voila!~ easy and beautiful bouquets.

DIY - Recycled bottle vases

My lovely in-laws are in town from Hawaii and my children are on spring break!
They took the kids to the The Flower Fields in Carlsbad yesterday and they had a lot of fun!

Jaxon and Maya bought me a mini succulent plant and my in-laws gave me a bouquet of vibrant Ranunculus that are in full bloom at The Flower Fields. How sweet!

Instead of putting the whole bouquet in a  large vase, I decided to divide them up into different vessels so that I can enjoy the flowers in more than one room of my home. 

I recycled used bottles I had laying around. I like to keep bottles with cute shapes.
I have here a large cold brew coffee bottle, a natural soda bottle, and a spice jar.

This one I have on our dining table since it is a larger presentation. 

This dainty guy will look cute in our restroom against our white walls.

This cluster will look great on our kitchen counter. To jazz up the spice jar, I simply glued a piece of paper from a catalog to it. 

So don't throw away your glass bottles and jars...they make great flower vessels.

I hope you enjoy creating your own display of flowers in your home this spring! 

Paper donut boxes

Looking for a cute way to package your Valentine's Day treats?

I made these Paper donut boxes by Minieco last year for the teachers and school staff. I filled them with bits of chocolate covered pomogranate seeds from Trader Joes, for a "healthier" treat.

Click here for a free printable! 

DIY Valentine's Day Favors

Here is a fun little Valentine's Day favor that is really easy to create!

What you will need:

1. paper straws
2. colored masking tape
3. cardstock (kraft color)

Bits of Whimsy

I have been working nightly on items to be sold at a holiday boutique targeting children.
It is a 3 day event where the children come in with cash-in-hand ready to purchase handmade gifts for their friends and loved ones... Although often times I see them buying items for themselves. So cute!
The challenge I am faced with every year is that all items are to be sold for $5 and under.
However, limitations seem to bring out the best in me. I focus on quality and think about what it is that would make the children smile. I am fortunate to have my Maya and Jaxon...The perfect little critiques.
They are great indicators in what they think is cute or cool!

Adopt a little monster that comes with a handmade paper woven baskets as their home.

Hand painted beech wood spoons.

Ice cream hair clips

Handmade bookmarkers with retro prints.

Faux bois backing.

Handmade key chains made with recycled 80s vinyl.

Holiday pom pom hair clips.

These are only several examples of what I have in store.
Each item will only come in select quantities.
Stay tuned for more fun things to come! 

Ornaments

I can't believe it is that time of year already....
I have been working on samples for a local holiday boutique I will be participating in.
Starting with some handmade ornaments. 

We are finalists!

Jaxon and Maya's costumes are finalists in Inhabitots' 2014 Green Halloween Costume Contest!
If you get a chance, please vote for Jaxon's Knight costume made from recycled plumbing insulation here , and Maya's tablecloth chic Greek goddess costume here.

Please vote for Jaxon here.

Please vote for Maya here.

You can see all the clever 2014 green Halloween costume finalist here. Everyone did an excellent job designing these amazing costumes for their kiddies! 

Thank you so much for your support! 

Featured in Inhabitots

Maya's 2010 Statue of Liberty costume was featured in Inhabitots 7 Awesome Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids post yesterday! Wow, Maya looks so little. She's only 5 years old here. 

Inhabitots is the baby/parenting focused website with the motto "sustainable design for the next generation. The site was started during the summer of 2008 by Inhabitat.com founder Jill Fehrenbacher as she prepared for the arrival of her first child in August 2008.  Inhabitots.com was created as a resource for parents, families, and anyone else interested in sustainable modern design for children. Inhabitots receives 1.29 million page views a month. 

We have been sharing our "green" costumes with the Inhabitots community since 2008. 

Thank you Beth for the kind feature! If you're interested in creating this Statue of Liberty costume, I shared this how-to post on Inhabitots. 

Jaxon's Knight Costume

Armor: Recycled plumbing insulation foam is used to create the armor.

 Armor details are created with dimensional puffy paint. The body armor wears like a vest with velcro
 straps on the sides and shoulders.

Armor on the knees and arms are made for movement. Individual foam pieces are connected together with brads. Velcro is used to attach the armor to the clothing.

Helmet:  Papier mache. Cardboard structure with newspaper strips and a white flour and water mixture.
                Details are created with puffy paint. Face guard is made with foam and attached to the side of the
                helmet with brads so that it could swing open and closed.

Shield: $1.00 plastic serving tray with puffy paint detail. The knots of the rope handles are hidden with 

             ping pong balls split in half. Silver spray paint finish. 

Sword: Plastic light-up sword sprayed silver.