a life of design
We had an unfortunate water leak in our kitchen a few weeks before this year’s Christmas. Holidays give my husband and I motivation to do something extra extra special for ourselves and our kids. We usually love making a delicious, gourmet meal to celebrate the holiday. I love designing a new holiday tablescape, as well! The unfortunate kitchen sink leak led to a kitchen and
My mom and her friends started a pumpkin carving party tradition when I was a little girl. The tradition was always so much fun! A pumpkin carving party is the perfect excuse to eat and drink all the yummy fall offerings, while creating your Halloween decor with friends and family! I usually have our pumpkin carving party inside, but our new home has a fabulous courtyard
How perfect is it that our egg dyeing party fell on the first day of spring!? The symbolism of eggs (new life, fertility) is so appropriate for the official beginning of spring. My toddlers LOVE to dye eggs. This year, our toddlers scribbled the eggs with a white crayon and then we helped them dip them into natural dyes (annatto, red cabbage & radish). The eggs
Having an itty bit of Irish heritage and bearing the poetic name of Ireland, I always feel compelled to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. In years past St. Patrick’s Day meant parades and Irish brews or a traditional Irish meal, but this year I wanted to keep it easy and colorful for the little ones. Pot of Gold hunt cookie baking + decorating rainbows + shamrocks Irish story
Children LOVE to love! Celebrating their love on Valentine’s Day is absolutely irresistible! I wanted to make a spectacular celebration for my two little sweethearts that my husband and I would equally enjoy. To keep our Valentine’s Day celebration family focused, I improvised several kid-friendly tactics… lunch (they are usually at their best), a kid oriented menu, lots of whimsy and a hands-on dessert. The hands-on dessert was inspired
After purchasing two transitionally patterned table runners by Nate Berkus, I decided to challenge myself by using them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I wanted to demonstrate that main tablescape elements can be reused and reused again to make completely different designs, something I do often. Saving storage space is a major benefit! I considered using the table runners in very irregular ways such as wall hangings or
I was naturally drawn to gold as the main element for my family’s New Year’s Eve celebration. It is a typical color seen at New Year’s Eve parties across America, but why? After a little online research, I determined that the use of gold stems from several different cultures and beliefs. Most believing that gold brings luck and/or wealth in the new year. gold brings LUCK Many cultures
For my first design as a lifestyle artist, I wanted to start with a self-referential project. A fun self-portrait of a lifestyle artist’s work, a glimpse behind the scenes. A self-referential work of art is a conscious effort by the artist to show their creative process (Self-Referential, Collins Dictionary). It brings you into a different world, the artist’s world, and encourages you to abstractly view the art and to
I have been LOVING the buffalo plaid everywhere this season! For me and most Minnesotan born, buffalo plaid is not a current trend, it is a token of our home and childhood. Plaid flannel is the uniform of the North American Logger and outdoors-people for it’s comfort, durability and warmth. Paul Bunyan, a mythical logger in American Folklore, is usually seen sporting this pattern. Minnesota kids grow
Our Halloween costumes this year originated from our huge Trip to the Moon birthday parties this past July! My son loves space and, honestly, my 1 year old daughter loves everything and anything! I decided to celebrate their birthdays with a lunar party inspired by the 1902 silent film Le Voyage dans la Lune. My husband and I watched the film together for the first time
The laundry room is quite possibly the hardest working room in our home, it … [Read More...]
I cannot explain how much I LOVED this party for my baby girl! The design and … [Read More...]
