DIY: Glassine Birth Announcements

Just a little while ago I came across a challenge to create a DIY birth announcement.  A new packet of glassine bags was sitting in my cupboard, just itching to be used so I put them to work in these very easy, but very sweet birth announcements.  

Just type up the announcement text using your favorite fonts and print it out straight onto the bag.  Then slide your favorite picture of your little one inside and seal it with a little piece of patterned tape.  I would mail these out in colored envelopes, too, of course, so everyone will know just what a special piece of mail it is as soon as they lay eyes on it.

DIY: Groundhog Day Cupcakes

"What holiday is next?" is a question I get asked quite a lot.  Brady's at the age where he's starting to understand holidays and the anticipation surrounding them.  And, of course, he's ready to party all the time.  So when he posed this question after New Year's I had to pause and think for a second...yep, Groundhog Day is next.  

Now, Groundhog Day doesn't carry very many traditions with it, beyond looking for good ole' Phil on the news.  But I thought that this year maybe we could do something a little more.  We've been reading The Big Snow at our house and on the last page the groundhog pokes his head out of the ground and sees his shadow.  Which gave me the idea to make Groundhog Day Cupcakes.

I designed the cupcake toppers and made them into a PDF for you to download and assemble.  Just print the groundhogs, cut them out and sandwich them together with a little glue and a toothpick in the middle.  And remember to save one of your groundhog paper trimmings.  You're going to need it if he sees his shadow this February 2nd...

If it happens to be cloudy on February 2nd and Phil doesn't see his shadow, you can always just slide the groundhog into a plain frosted cupcake.  They'll be just as adorable.  And such a great excuse to eat cupcakes.

What do you do to celebrate Groundhog Day?  Any predictions as to whether or not spring will come early this year?

DIY Marshmallow Wreath

When I saw the candy wreaths from Food Network Magazine on Design Crush, I knew I had to try to make my own.  I was in love with the marshmallow idea and had all the supplies on hand, so I went to work.  This is the result:

If you'd like to do it yourself here are the steps I used:

1. Bend an old wire hanger into a wide oval - yes, oval.  The wreath will be circular by the end of the project, I promise.


2. Thread large marshmallows on to the wire, wiping the wire with a wet rag every few marshmallows to keep it from getting too sticky.


3. When the wire is just shy of being packed tight with marshmallows, twist the ends of the wire together.  Don't worry about the obvious gap - you'll fix that next.


4. Using a hot glue gun, glue another layer of large marshmallows to the interior of the oval and a double layer of marshmallows on top of the wire gap.  Make sure they're on there tight.


5. Use mini marshmallows to fill in any gaps that may be showing or make a twisting pattern around the front of the wreath.


6. Lay flat and let all the hot glue dry completely.


7. Tie a big ribbon around the top of your wreath and hang (it's probably best to hang it inside so as not to tempt the woodland creatures living outside your home).  The weight of the marshmallows will pull the oval into a circular shape when hung.

You could also embellish the wreath with cranberries or little silver jingle bells if you're looking for more color.  I liked the simplicity of the all white wreath.