Top Your Cake With These Easy Recycled Newspaper Pinwheels!

Top Your Cake With These Easy Recycled Newspaper Pinwheels!

I made these paper pinwheel for today's New York Times, perfect for topping a cake or cupcakes! This is part of the series of crafts I've been contributing to the incredible At Home section of the Times where the newspaper itself is the starring art supply!

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How to Throw a Garlic Bread Party for your Teen!

How to Throw a Garlic Bread Party for your Teen!

In honor of one of his favorite foods, my son asked for a “garlic bread party” to celebrate his 14th birthday, and I was immediately in! It’s always nice to have a theme as a jumping off point…and with this one, the menu pretty much takes care of itself. Themes aren’t as easy to come up with as they were when my boys were dinosaur/planet/science/comics/Elmo-obsessed little kids! FOOD-as-theme, though, is an easy crowdpleaser.
You may be wondering about that string of brown balloons in the photo above. Well, it was my attempt at a garlic bread garland! With a little more time I think I could have used some white acrylic paint to create better-looking scoring to make it look more like bread. (As an aside, this project got me fascinated with bread scoring! I won’t ever look around in a bakery the same way!)

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Quick Gift Idea: Turn Your Favorite Book Into a Holiday Gift Kit!

Quick Gift Idea: Turn Your Favorite Book Into a Holiday Gift Kit!

Books are one of my favorite gifts to give (and receive!). If I want to make the gift of a book more personal/unique/custom, I’ll assemble a kit or a themed group of gifts inspired by it, and wrap it up together. Whether you are stuck for a gift idea...or want to give a special, not right-off-the-shelves gift but don't have time to hand-make something, it is super helpful to use a great book as a jumping off point! The gift kit idea works particularly well, as you can imagine, with a DIY book, like a cook or craft book since you can pair it with tools, materials, or ingredients but it can work with just about any book!Click here and here for previous posts with more of these ideas...as well as packaging suggestions!

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"Stranger Things"-Themed Halloween Party

"Stranger Things"-Themed Halloween Party

If your family, like mine, are big Stranger Things fans, channel the creepiness to inspire your Halloween party! I worked with Family Circle to create ST-themed crafts and decorations like the Upside Down portal (below), '80s photo wall and an Eggo buffet (essential)! Click here for the buffet details and here for the string lights wall.

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5 Easy DIY Dessert Stands for Etsy Studio

5 Easy DIY Dessert Stands for Etsy Studio

I am so happy to have recently contributed some ideas to Etsy Studio, Etsy's new-ish craft supply market where makers can find unique (and basic) materials as well as project ideas and inspiration. My first post is all about making homemade dessert stands, like this multi-tiered castle stand! I was so inspired by Etsy's wide selection of unfinished wooden blocks and shapes! 

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Friendly DIY Marshmallow Ghost Cake Toppers

Friendly DIY Marshmallow Ghost Cake Toppers

A marshmallow ghost I made many years ago forMartha Stewart Living magazine, which were twisted to get their peaked shape, inspired this simplified version. These get their shape from one diagonal cut, making them fast and easy treats to put together for a crowd of trick-or-treaters.

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Pretty Personalized Party Cups

Pretty Personalized Party Cups

One of my party pet peeves is setting a drink down and then losing track of which cup is mine. For a recent gathering I revisited a cup ID’ing idea I crafted a while ago for Martha Stewart Living. Set out markers, labels, paint, tape, stickers, or anything your guests can use to customize (and personalize) their cups. Bonus: the cups are a good conversation starter!

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How to Throw a Fun Egg Decorating Party!

How to Throw a Fun Egg Decorating Party!

In this month's Family Fun magazine, I worked on the story "How to Host an Easter Egg Decorating Party" with ideas for kid-friendly crafts, decorating and treats! I'm sharing some behind-the-scene snapshots of the ideas, some in-progress. Pick up the March issue of Family Fun or click this link for more images and printable templates for some of the crafts!

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