blessings mix

Our friend, Courtney, just attended her daughter's "Native American Pow Wow" at school. I love the Thanksgiving celebrations focused on the Pilgrims and Indians, giving thanks, and nutrition (the nutrition part always makes me chuckle as Thanksgiving is, after all, the most overindulgent holiday out there!).

At the Pow Wow, the kids created a "Blessings Mix", focusing on the symbolism of Thanksgiving:

• Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.
• Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.
• Candy corn and popcorn: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.
• Nuts or seeds: Promise of a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with dilligence.
• Dried fruits: Harvest gifts from our bountiful land.
• M&M's: Memories of those who came before to lead us into a blessed future.
• Hershey's hugs and kisses: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

I love this idea and think it would be a perfect activity for kids on Thanksgiving. I took the liberty of redesigning the label with my brand new font – click on the file below to download the PDF. Enjoy!

chocolate mocha pecan pie

My mom is an amazing baker. Growing up, we always had two desserts for every one savory dish (seriously). For Thanksgiving, she pulls out all the stops, baking enough pies for an army (which we sometimes are). One of my favorites is her Chocolate Mocha Pecan Pie, which is adapted from an old Bon Appetit recipe. This pie is sublime – the hint of orange peel in the crust and espresso powder in the filling bring out the intensity of the chocolate. Really, what could be better? Try this and you will be converted. I promise.

photo from Bon Appetit

thanksgiving invitation

If I were ever to host Thanksgiving dinner, I would love to send out invitations (of course!). I especially love these.

thanksgiving menu

After coming out of a new baby fog, I'm ready to start thinking about Thanksgiving. This is the 3rd year I am hosting it in Texas for my family. I think that makes it a tradition now (at least until we get a better offer!). We always have a great time together, however some people (mainly my younger brothers) complain that the meal doesn't always meet their expectations. In an effort to satisfy everyone's Thanksgiving food needs, I sent out a survey to my family asking for their top 3 favorite side dishes and top 3 favorite pies. I thought that this would give me a better idea of how to plan the menu. Little did I know there would be no two answers alike and hardly any overlap. Sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes lyonnaise and twice-baked potatoes were all ranked #1 by different family members! No wonder someone is always disappointed! Looks like we might be serving 20 side dishes and 15 pies this year...

(photos above from Thanksgiving 2008)

One thing I will definitely be making again this year are these place cards. Each person can write write what they're thankful for on the inside of the card to be read at the table. Download the PDF file above and print on cardstock to make your own. Just cut, fold and add your guests' names.

thanksgiving traditions

Oh, how I love Thanksgiving... it may just be my favorite holiday. I love that my dad's brothers and their children travel from far and wide to be together. I love that we always have roughly the same menu: Uncle Richard and Aunt Judy's turkey and stuffing, my grandma's famous rolls (which are comprised of more butter than I care to think about!), my favorite corn pudding, mashed potatoes and gravy, various vegetable dishes (these change from year to year) and my grandma's fresh cranberry / orange relish. I love that there isn't the added pressure of gifts and chaos. And I love that the day after Thanksgiving, there is no let down – everyone's excited for Christmas and life is good.

Family recipes that are passed down from generation to generation make me feel I have roots. Life is so tenuous and can change at the drop of a hat. I love that I can count on my family to gather once a year, eat food made from family recipes, play bingo (we do it every year and my uncle contributes the cash winnings), and tell stories. I love hearing my dad and his 3 brothers talk about their childhood and the crazy pranks they played (it's amazing they all lived to tell the tale!).

I want my girls to remember these holidays and realize the importance of family ties and relationships. I want them to feel that there are more people that love them than just their immediate family. I want everyone to be as happy as they are on Thanksgiving. I also want a wee slice of each of my mom's amazing homemade Thanksgiving pies – cranberry / apple, German chocolate and pumpkin. I wish I could offer you all a taste – believe me, they are to-die-for!

countdown to thanksgiving

My girls are anxiously anticipating the Thanksgiving holiday when they get to spend time with all their cousins. Every morning, Amelia asks, "how many more days....?" My friend, Krissy, had a brilliant idea – create a Countdown to Thanksgiving Chain comprised of things you are grateful for. Charlotte and Amelia are always up for a craft project and this was a simple one they loved.

I loved reading the things they are grateful for. There were the obvious, "I Am Thankful for my Sisters", to the not-so-obvious, "I Am Thankful for Batman."

We hung the chain on one of our coat hooks by the front door so every morning, as they're headed out the door to school, they take turns ripping off a paper. It's a nice way to start the morning and they are able to quickly assess how many more days until they will be eating Juju's homemade pumpkin pie.

gone fishing

Our friend and very talented former co-worker at Martha Stewart, Shannon, threw the cutest fishing party for her 6-year old son, Erwin, and his friends. Erwin loves to fish and Shannon loves to create. I think this party is so clever!

The invitation was a collaborative effort – Erwin and Shannon looked at pictures of fish in books, finally deciding on a bass fish which Shannon sketched to Erwin's approval. Erwin then chose his favorite lettering and Shannon added typography to the design. Once they were both happy with the final artwork, Shannon traced the design on tracing paper. She then used a material called Speedy Stamp, laying the pencil tracing on the Speedy Stamp (the material picks up the pencil) and using linoleum cutters to carve out the design (keep in mind at this point, the design is now in reverse). Shannon says she tests the design as she carves, pressing a traditional rubber stamp ink pad over the artwork and then pressing onto paper. If she is happy with the results, she washes the Speedy Stamp and continues carving.

For faster printing results, Shanoon recommends a brayer and speedball washable printing ink in place of the rubber stamp ink pad.

The final art was then printed onto different colored construction paper. Genius!

For the homemade pinata, Shannon sketched an oversize fish on poster board and then cut out a front and back. A blown up balloon was sandwiched between the two fish and then taped together to create a base.

The pinata base was covered with strips of newspaper that were soaked in a papier mache mixture. The pinata was then left to dry overnight.

Shannon cut strips of tissue paper and snipped the ends (just like a regular pinata). Elmer's glue was used to adhere the tissue strips on top of one another. After the tissue dried, the pinata was ready to be filled with with goodies for the party.

Shannon even created a silk-screened fish shirt for the birthday boy – this is attention to detail that I love!

For the favor bags, Shannon printed fish on brown paper lunch bags using the Speedy Stamp method illustrated above. The bags were then filled with all things "fishy" – Swedish fish, chocolate-covered fish and plastic fish.

Wouldn't this be any little boy's (or big boy's!) idea of heaven? Thanks for sharing this lovely party with us, Shannon. Be sure to check out her Etsy site for some of the cutest baby onesies.

tollipop giveaway!

My friend, Kirsten, has a love of words. In her own words, she "....would bathe in them. Or sew little outfits for them. Or take them on vacation." I always love talking to her – she is the girl that always makes you want to do a little better – she is eloquent and articulate and oh so very talented.

Kirsten has great taste, 3 darling girls, and is an amazing artist. Her lovely blog charts her musings and her shop on Etsy sells her beautiful artwork. I am privileged to own a few of Kirsten's darling illustrations. 

I love Kirsten's philosophy on creativity.  She says "...how vital creativity is to one's happiness and ability to cope well through life's ups and downs." So true. Creativity makes me happy and running keeps me sane.

We are excited to announce our first non-Blonde Designs giveaway from Tollipop. Kirsten has graciously offered the print above entitled What Page Are You On? This is a print of an original painting. The print measures 8.5" x 11."

To enter, please comment below. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, November 16th. Be sure to check out Kirsten's blog for a Blonde Designs giveaway as well. Good luck!

Update on 11.16.2009 by Blonde Designs

Congratulations to Leigh Moore, the winner of our Tollipop givaway! Leigh, please email us at info@blonde-designs.com with your shipping information.

best snickerdoodles

Last night, after picking my girls up from school, stopping by the library, going to ballet, picking up dinner (no time to cook!), eating dinner, doing homework and then preparing for bedtime, I realized that my supply of desserts in the freezer was at an all-time low. When I bake, I always make double batches, keeping cookies, brownies, etc. on hand for any necessary "emergencies." You wouldn't believe how often such "emergencies" occur – unexpected guests dropping by, treats for lunch boxes, sweets for a sick neighbor, etc.

Anyhow, I needed to make something fast and I pulled out of my indispensable 3-ring binder chock-full of my favorite recipes. I flipped to the "desserts" section and came across this tried-and-true recipe for the best snickerdoodles ever. I like these because they use butter, rather than shortening (shortening tends to repulse me) and in 30 minutes, start to finish, the cookies were done and my girls had a treat to share with their friends at lunch today. Enjoy!

custom water bottle label templates

We are beginning a new series of entries entitled, "Reader Questions.... Ask the Blondes". We receive so many inquiries that we thought it best to start addressing them in our blog. Keep the questions coming!

For any party or event, Kristin and I like to design water bottle labels to coordinate with our colors and overall theme. Attention to detail is important and this is one detail, in our opinion, that should not be overlooked. It's a nice touch that seems to elevate any soiree.

Lately, we have received many requests to create custom water bottle labels for our lovely readers. Our solution?: For $20, we will design a custom label that is set up to print with crop marks and emailed to you in PDF format.

Three possible design options highlighted above are 1. to include one of our copyrighted illustrations, 2. to focus on type, 3. to include a photo of the party girl (or boy).

All designs can be customized to your party color palette. Email us at info@blonde-designs.com to order.

We recommend printing the labels on regular text-weight copy paper. There will be 5 labels per sheet. Cut on the tiny black crop marks with a ruler and an Xacto knife. Remove the existing water bottle label (we often buy standard individual Arrowhead water bottles because we like the shape) and, using 1-2 pieces of double-stick tape, affix the new one. Please note that the labels will NOT be waterproof.

If you would like to waterproof the labels, after cutting them out, take a clear piece of wide mailing tape, the same length as the label, and carefully lay it on the tape. You can then affix the entire waterproofed label the same way as discussed above. Voila!