hello love

december daily: start here.

dec 01.2011

i was able to attend a mini-book extravaganza with the lovely (and super talented) elise of enjoy it last month in berkeley. to say the least it was awesome, but i will save that for another post. my biggest take-away from the weekend was getting the base album done for the december daily project. it's something that i've had the best intentions to do for years, but not having the base done ahead of time = epic fail in my world.   

so, it's filled with all kinds of holiday beautiful and ready and waiting to be filled with our adventures!

 
today's story includes the arrival of our shelf elf ramona... d has been counting down to this for weeks now! i am completely in love with this holiday tradition we started last year. her little 7 year old heart bursts each time ramona is found in a new spot! last year the elf showed up with a new skirt after being given her name and today she arrived with new pigtails. it's the best kind of holiday magic a girl could ask for!

hope your season is off to a cozy start.

easter!

easter was filled with all sorts of silliness for us this year!

our day started with a yummy breakfast and egg hunt at my parent's house...

mini lalaloopsy dolls were the big hit for d. she's slowing figuring out what's hiding in the eggs behind her in the first shot... silly girl!

our hunt was followed up by a serious game of headbands... even crosby got in on the action! if you're used to playing games like taboo (like we are) this is a seriously tricky game! only yes or no questions involved here.

then we headed home for some egg dyeing fun. this year we tried some "no-spill" contraptions...

there was still some spillage involved, but nothing too terrible. we were able to successfully avoid messy fingers and enjoy pretty eggs. although i think the pink and purple dye got a little confused... they look the same to me ;) next year, i'd like to try making our own confetti eggs. there were some awesome tutorials online - one included filling eggs with fruity pebbles - super fun!

then it was onto bri's parents for an early dinner and hunt no. 2...

while crosby demolished some tissue paper with dad, the big kids enjoyed tracking down their treats and sorting their finds...

now is it just me, or are confetti eggs the raddest easter treat ever?! we headed out the the fields behind the house and went crazy with our stash! super confetti kid is pictured above!

the kids made sure they included crosby in the fun... he was less than thrilled. i guess life is rough when you're hair won't hold the confetti - haha! and the second photo is our attempt at a group shot... better luck next year!

we ended our evening with a game of chase... what better way to use up that sugar rush?!

mer

a little love...

for you on this cozy valentine's day! i had a little time this year to do handmade invites for d's class!

a few shots of our process...

i illustrated the hole punch (pink for the girls, red for the boys) while d got to work on punching circles out of pretty paper. next d helped me stamp the back of the cards and write out the to-from info. then we added in a color coordinated candy mix and sewed up the top of the goodie bags!

i loved taking advantage of first grade humor with our idea... i can't wait to hear how all the fun goes at school!

mer

25 days...

our christmas tree is snug in it's corner and a visitor who arrived from the north pole last night  is smiling at me from across the room... how is it that we are already 8 days into december?!

it's been a goal of mine for the past few years to jump on board with ali's december daily mini album. each year i've gotten part of the process completed but never the whole album. with this being the little mister's first christmas and d still being so enthusiastic about the magic of the season i'm committed to simplifying... we have a list of 25 things to do before christmas and a simple 4x6 album to fill with our memories.

these little lovelies paired with solid kraft cardstock make up the base of the album... keeping it simple. black&white, a pop of red and kraft, 4x6 photos and some journaling. time to leave perfection behind and really enjoy the season!

mer