cutest little things: January 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

Snow Painting

Winter doldrums got you down?

Craving some color to brighten your world?

Looking for something fun for you and your cooped up kiddos to do?

Try

Snow Painting

We took a variety of empty, discarded spray & squirt bottles

(that were headed for the recycle bin),

cleaned them out thoroughly,

filled them with a few good squeezes of food coloring

added warm water to the concentrated dye

and went out in the yard for an afternoon of fun!

Our makeshift caddy of snow sprays!

Spritzing and spraying

the fresh fallen snow

making the most beautiful hues of the rainbow :)

and writing sweet and funny messages to each other!

So if you live in snow country,

the next time you get a fresh batch of the white stuff,

grab those empty spray bottles,

add some food colorings

and

have fun

Snow Painting

:)

This post is part of Hopestudios Tutorial Tuesdays

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Keeping the Winter Home Fires Burning

As the winter days struggle to grow longer, the darkness tends to envelop us much too soon. No sooner does the work day end, and the daylight vanishes.

So in an attempt to surround my little family and home in love and warmth, out come the candles! Sweet smelling candles with their soft flickering glow that give a home a beautiful, welcoming ambiance ~ their delectable fragrance filling the room.

Always a girly-girl, I adore fragrance ~ from scented bath and body products, to perfumes, to scented home fresheners, I believe in the power of fragrance to set the tone of a home...to create the mood.

During winter like no other time, our homes become our havens, our sanctuaries from the harsh world and elements. Scented or unscented, candles with their glowing and flickering flames have a way of calming our frenzied spirits...bringing much needed peace and harmony into our homes. The warm glow invites us to sit a spell, take a break, savor the moment :)

These beautiful candle holders cast magical dancing snowflakes throughout the room!

As you and your family rush throughout your day, I encourage you to take a moment on a dreary winter's night and light a few candles...whether at the dining room table during dinner, while soaking in a luxuriating bubble bath, or on a bedroom nightstand while leafing through a favorite magazine or book...I guarantee you'll discover that candles bring such warmth and comfort into your home that maybe, just maybe, you'll wish winter lasted just a little bit longer ;)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Toile Touches

I don't know what it is about it, but I absolutely adore Toile.

There's something both sweet yet also exceedingly sophisticated about it.

A Pottery Barn toile duvet that I simply lust for!

Whether it's on a throw, a bedroom duvet, table runner, or seat cushion,

toile accents can be found throughout my house.

A handmade windowbox bedroom mirror


I reupholstered my chair cushion in toile and made a matching memo board.

I simply MUST get this burlap & toile ruffle table runner that I saw on etsy!

♥

It would coordinate perfectly with my red transferware dishes.

sooo pretty.

sooo feminine :)

Any other toile addicts out there?!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

SnOwBaLL FiGhT!

.: Wintertime Fun :.

Frosty little hands full of mischief,

Fresh fallen snow...

Is the perfect recipe for a

SnOwBaLL FiGhT

But sometimes packing a good-sized snowball isn't the easiest task for wee little ones.

Their tiny {uncoordinated} hands just aren't big or strong enough.

So...

along came the

SNOWBALLER!

{compliments of Santa}

and in just seconds,

even the little kids can pack together enough snowballs to outfit a snow-army!

The Snowballer makes the most perfectly-shaped orbs of snow - in seconds!

(these remind me of the snowballs in the movie Elf that Buddy throws!)

And in virtually no time at all,

your little (and not-so-little) ones

will have an entire arsenal of snowballs to hurl at each other!

Which, after all, anyone knows is really the funnest part of any snowball fight!

And what does any good snow-warrior need to protect themselves during a snowball fight?

Why a snowfort, of course!

So for making igloos and snow forts,

you might need one of these...

So this winter,

the next time a good snow falls,

instead of hibernating indoors {BORING!}

get out there with your Snowballer and Snow Bricker,

and have yourself a rip-roaring, good old-fashioned

SnOwBaLL FiGhT!! :)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Glad Tidings

I've been soaking up every blessed minute of this Christmas season ~ this is what life is all about...rejoicing in life's simple pleasures, indulging in all that we love, surrounded with our family and friends, fondly remembering year's past while hopefully looking to the New Year ahead :)

Christmas 2010 was filled with sweetness and joy in our household. Pure bliss!

For Christmas time is magical ~ the lights, the sounds, the sweet smells, the smiling faces, the unexpected surprises all adorably wrapped up and waiting to be opened. I don't care how old I get, I always feel like a child again at Christmas.

People often ask me why I go through so much hassle ~ as if turning our home into a Christmas wonderland for the joy of my son can be considered work!

To the naysayers, I ask what could possibly be more important

than bringing happiness to a little one?!?

Seeing those little eyes light up ~ the excitement, the anticipation....truly nothing on this earth is anywhere near as important!

I decorate inside and out...trees in nearly every room. Little seasonal splendors tucked into virtually every nook and cranny ~ holidays soaps and towels in the bathrooms, candy cane holders for guests to take home a treat (or two), holiday DVDs, Christmas books, freshly baked cookies and treats, holiday candles in peppermint, Christmas Cookies, pine and sparkling cinnamon, fresh greenery, cheery snowmen, warm cozy throws...