Spicy Glazed Pecans Gift: Free Download!

I made these super yummy glazed pecans as a gift for my coworkers and neighbors. They turned out so well that I'm sharing the recipe and including the label as a free download!

First of all, make a batch of these delicious (and super easy!) pecan from Martha Stewart:

Go to Martha Stewart for the recipe.

Below is a nice big double batch (all piled together -- you'll roast them in a single layer).

I packaged my pecans in cellophane bags that were 3.5" wide. 

Download my pdf of labels:

Cut on the crop marks. Each label looks like this:

Fold in half. The back will be white, leaving a nice place for a personal message.

The cute snowman graphic is from here: http://www.vecteezy.com/Holiday-Seasonal/743-Free-Christmas-Themed-Sketchy-Vector-Graphics-Pack Free download! Love  the generous web! And it's a vector-based image, so I was able to easily lop off his arms, which didn't work with the design (sorry, snowman!).

Staple over the folded top of the filled bags (I put about a cup of nuts in each bag below).

A great little gift! Enjoy!

Christmas Riddler: A Holiday Papercraft!

Some people call them fortune tellers. Some knew them as cootie catchers. Whatever you called them, these fun little origami toys were a mainstay of my grade school days.

And now, they're a cute little holiday gift!

I've filled this version with groaningly bad Christmas-themed riddles. They're truly terrible, but they're kind of jokes that my little boys would hoot at. I'm going to make them for all the little neighborhood kids. Super economical and easy to boot!

The pdf is available to download and all the instructions are included below!

Download the pdf template now.

Print the pdf out on regular weight paper (not cardstock).

If you don't remember how to fold these from when you were a kid, it's surprisingly simple. Just follow along with the images below.

First cut the excess paper off the edges of the design, using the crop marks (the crop marks extend all the way to the edges of the paper -- I find it easier to use a paper cutter for trimming when I do this). Do this carefully! If you are precise this paper toy will work better! You should end up with a perfect square.

First, fold the square diagonally, corner to corner. Unfold. Then fold diagonally, corner to corner the OTHER way. Unfold. This will give you two creases that will clearly show the exact middle of the square.

Fold each corner to this middle point. Turn it over.



As before, carefully fold each corner to the middle of the square, as shown in the images below.

When you are done, fold the item in half, as shown in the middle image below (not diagonally). Unfold and fold in half the other way.



 Put your fingers in the hollows under the "Ho" corners. Work the creases so it looks like the last two images above. Flip it over and you're done!

Insert your thumbs and index fingers of both hands (not as shown below -- I had to hold the camera with one hand!) and alternately open the riddler first one way then the other.



Ask the child their age and open open the riddler that many times. Then ask the child one of the riddles that appear.

Get ready for fun!

Skeleton Invitations

I love Halloween.

And I love Martha Stewart (I can't help it, she has such clever ideas).

Throw in some papercrafts and, well, I'm completely yours!

I love these skeleton invitations from Martha Stewart:

I downloaded the wonderful template and made some cute cards to share with the neighborhood kids:

I LOVE them! I love how you pull him out of a regular #10 envelope and he unfolds to an unexpectedly large, gangly size...

The boys just ran around the neighborhood delivering these... if you'd like to make your own, check out the page on Martha's site.

Carved pencil leads

These carved pencil leads are amazing!

See more of Dalton Ghetti's work here:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/08/dalton-ghetti.html

and here:

http://www.silvermineart.org/gallery/exhibition_detail.cfm?exhibitionID=119

Customer Spotlight: Shannon

Constantine is Shannon's son and such a lucky kid! When she decided on a Knight theme for his birthday, she went all out!

See the photos she so kindly shared with me of the fabulous medieval party in the park she put together. Constantine's costume, cupcake toppers, bouncy castle... everything for a perfect party! Shannon made the felt swords and shields, tiaras, wands and painted the little wooden knights -- amazing!

My Knight invitations had been sent out before the party, setting the tone for the event:

And, afterward, guests received a personalized thank you note:

Fun!

Thanks for sharing your photos, Shannon!

Dragon Cards

Sometimes a biggish order can be a little overwhelming. I had an order of 60 custom dragon invitations to do.



The most tedious and exacting part of the project is cutting out all the pieces. Everything needs to be cut out just right, otherwise they don't pass muster and must be reprinted and recut.

The card stock has to be scored -- I love a nice, clean crease.

Below are all the pieces (finally!) all cut and ready for assembly (my favorite part of the process).



After that, everything goes together pretty quickly!

Community!

A few years ago, I gathered up contact information for all the neighbors (well, the ones I knew and liked) and put together a little directory.

Prior to that, there were people that I had chatted with for years whose last names I didn't even know (okay, I was even fuzzy on a lot of first names).

Thus was born the neighborhood directory!

The first edition was a great success and, I think, helped to bring some of us a little closer together. With email addresses at our fingertips, it was very easy to make plans for gatherings. I could call someone up if I was short a cup of sugar. The neighborhood teenager became easier to engage for date nights. Addresses helped us match names to faces.

So two years later, it was time for a new edition -- people had come and gone and our tight circle was expanding.

Of course, I can't show you the actual information -- that would be a bit of a violation! But on the real directories I included names, address, phone number, email address, cell numbers and names of kids and pets.

On the back, I included some handy local information as well as a little map of the neighborhood (the shaded areas are participating neighbors).



The "guts" with much of the information. I tried in vain to find a stapler with a long enough reach to staple these, but was never successful. Luckily I remembered my own tutorial about stab binding and my ginormous spool of gorgeous baker's twine. It was really easy and is so much cuter than staples!

On the backs I hot glued a magnet, making it handy to keep on the fridge.

It was a fun little mini project! The boys and I delivered them tonight and they were very well received!

Let the community-building begin!