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Archive for the 'Celebrations' Category
Not feeling up to tackling trays of sugar cookies and bags of royal icing this year? Consider A. Bel Emporium’s tin of Holiday Kitsch for Christmas cupcake decorating. Packed with more than 40 topping miniatures, sanding sugar and baker’s twine for packaging this little kit is packed with retro charm. $24.50 including shipping. 
Visit most any home with both kids and a Christmas tree during the holidays and you’re likely to see a hierarchy of ornaments, literally. All of the lovely German blown glass Santas and snowmen congregate around the star and away from curious little hands, while any ornaments knit, crocheted, sewn or ‘made at school with a paper plate, glitter and macaroni’ cover the lower three feet.
Always on the lookout for Junior-friendly, non-breakable holiday decor I’m loving the stockings and ornaments at Lucuma Designs. A member of the Fair Trade Federation since ‘99 this design team works with over 250 talented, self-taught artists in 15 different groups, co-operatives and family workshops in Peru. Many of the items are crafted using a beautiful style of 3-D fabric applique known as arpillera including the amazing fruit and veggie wreaths I think would look great in the kitchen window. Free shipping on orders of $50. or more.
Like thousand of others I’ve taken the pledge to buy handmade this holiday season and am requesting that others do the same for me. If, like me, you live in the Los Angeles area I want to plug a handful of handmade shopping events taking place this month and next. But no matter where you reside, take a moment to visit the vendor pages on each of these event’s websites - many, if not most, of the artists, designers and craftspeople participating have online shops stocked and waiting for you!  Felt Club: XL Holiday Maker Square    Handmade for the Holidays  
 While she (and her staff) are good at many things, Martha Stewart really rocks Halloween. I know that many of her projects require a professional team to complete and may not be practical in a house full of kids - but they are inspirational and good for getting you into a spooky holiday mood. Her site is filled with projects covering everything from costumes and decor to ghoulish edibles. And for those of us who could benefit from a little hand holding there’s her new-ish craft retail site with step by step how-to kits. I’ve assembled a few of my favorite MSL Halloween images.
What better way to celebrate all of those August babies than with a bug themed birthday party! Set your table like a flower garden with bright bouquets of paper posies. Paper Source has more than a dozen kits to choose from, ranging in price from $14. to $18. If your kiddo is old enough to handle scissors with supervision this could be a fun activity to involve them in the weekend before their party. Compliment your centerpieces with these great looking, scallop edged, flower-like, re-usable placemats and biodegradable place settings and cutlery from Plum Party. The University of Kentucky’s Department of Entomology has compiled a list of kid-friendly, insect themed food. And find a great looking ‘buggy salad’ here, complete with cherry tomato ladybugs, grape inchworms and bumblebees with cheddar cheese stripes. I love the design of the ‘backyard bugs cakelet pan‘ pictured below from Williams Sonoma and if you don’t have time to decorate each little cake in advance involve the party goers by allowing them to ice their own. Bowls of sprinkles, licorice wheels and gumdrops make for great bug details and excellent snacking. And if you think the kids have patience enough for a simple craft, consider these bug houses (only $11.95 for 12) from Oriental trading - no scissors or paint involved, just glue. Once assembled send them out into the backyard for a scavenger hunt to fill their new insect habitats with all sorts of creepy crawly goodies: toy bugs, pencil toppers, spider rings and candy. Or send them home with one of these dancing ladybug push puppets pictured at the top of the post ($58. for 12 at Plum Party.) A great list of other bug theme crafts, activities and recipes here. 
Lovely little shop alert! New to the scene is Summer Salt Designs, a beautifully designed online retailer with a charming collection of goods. While not a ‘children’s shop’ I really love the selection of Snow & Graham wrapping papers which would lend themselves perfectly to a birthday party or baby shower. $2.75 per 20″ x 30″ sheet. 
There are some great products out there that allow for special customization, making them thoughtful and clever party favors for not allot of money. The mantra here though is ‘plan ahead’ as most special orders require at least a two week turn around. First up, M&M’s. Whatever voodoo magic they possess that allows them to print teeny tiny edible ink on the candy’s rounded shell is now available to you! They have a great interactive site that allows you to select colors and your own special message. There are more than a dozen formats in which you can receive your customized M&M’s, but the basics are: a 7oz bag for $11.99 (minimum 4 bags), a cellophane gift bag with ribbon for $3.75 (minimum 20 bags), and a very smart looking square tin with clear top for $4.25 (minimum 20). I spent some time playing with their online sample generator, the results of which are below.  Next, Jones Soda - a company with a great packaging and marketing strategy, not to mention a fine selection of great flavors. Well you can now order up a 12 pack of your favorite flavor (Fufu Berry anyone?) and create a customized label with your picture on the front and an area for limited text above the nutrition information on the back. This service runs $29.95 (plus shipping and handling), costing around $2.50 a bottle, pretty inexpensive considering it will be the hit of the party. A single bottle with a ribbon wrapped around the neck and placed in the center of each plate would make for a great looking party table. Or how about a cool way to announce the birth or adoption of your new bambino at the office - Junior’s fresh mug goes on the front, birth info on the back. 
Popular party favors in the 1950’s, ’surprise balls’ are created from hundreds of feet of crepe paper wrapped around a series of toys and trinkets which are revealed as each layer is peeled away. They’re credited to inventor Charles Gregor of New Orleans who named his invention ‘The Toy You Destroy to Enjoy.’ They’re great for kids’ parties and can keep the young’uns busy for a surprisingly long time. Difficult to find for many years, surprise balls have begun to reappear in a handful of retail venues. Tops Malibu creates a version they’ve dubbed ‘Bami Balls” which comes in a variety of shapes from Easter eggs to square gift packages. They also offer sets of plain suprise balls which give you the opportunity to decorate your own.  Plum Party is a good on-line resource to know about for all manner of unusual party supplies. They offer surprise balls decorated as a cast of generic cartoon characters.  If you’re feeling up to the challenge you certainly could make your own, coordinating colors and prizes to your specific event. You can find a tutorial over at Not Martha. And for inspiration I want to introduce to the work of the Bay Area artist Anandamayi Arnold whose hand crafted surprise balls are nothing short of breath-taking.  Yes, those gorgeous bulbs, the little round cacti, even the bird are all surprise balls. It’s no wonder people fortunate enough to get their hands on Anandamayi’s work are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to tear into them for the treats or exhibit enormous restraint and set them out for display. Photos of Anandamayi’s were taken from articles appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle and Mary Engelbreit Home Companion magazine. |
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blog by Aeolidia 
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