mother's day notecard giveaway!

It's that time again....time for a notecard giveaway. In honor of Mother's Day (which is fast approaching!), we have designed a new monogram and will be giving away a set of 25 notecards in your choice of pink, pool blue, papaya and sage green. This design is so new that it's not yet available on our website.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post with a great Mother's Day gift idea (we might as all help one another out!). The giveaway ends on Sunday, April 25th at midnight, PST. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 26th.

If you would like to purchase a set of notecards for your mother, we are offering FREE SHIPPING through May 3rd. The cost for a set of 25 notecards + envelopes (no printed return address) is $50 (shipping is regularly $9.95). If you would like to take advantage of this Mother's Day special, email us directly at info@blonde-designs.com to place an order.

Update on 04.26.2010 by Blonde Designs

You all had so many thoughtful and original ideas for Mother's Day gifts. Thank you for sharing! Congratulations to Melissa who is the random winner of our notecard giveaway! She said: "A great Mother's Day gift is using a photo website to make a combination scrapbook and recipe book, filled with your mom's best recipes and pictures of you and her cooking together or posing with food. My mom got misty-eyed at that one!"

tea party birthday

As I was planning my daughter's upcoming 6th birthday party in May, I came across these photos from her 4th birthday. She wanted to have a tea party so I designed an invitation to go with the theme. The color palette was pink (her favorite), yellow and orange.

She looks so little here. Does anyone else get sad when looking at past pictures of their children? This was only 2 years ago but she's has changed so much! It really does go by fast...

The little girls loved sitting at the table to eat wearing their fancy dresses. I wish I took more detail shots of the food (this was pre-blogging!). I made tiny peanut butter & jam and turkey & cheese sandwiches and secured them with toothpicks decorated with paper flags. I served fruit in small plastic cups and cookies and candies in pink and yellow cupcake liners.

The guests took home a teacup sugar cookie decorated with pastel candies. Before they sat down for "tea," the girls make butterflies out of pink, orange and yellow tissue paper secured with green pipe cleaners. Again, I wish I had a picture!

My mom made the favor bags out of pink polka-dot fabric. They were filled with nail polish, hair clips, lip gloss, and fancy gloves (found at Pottery Barn Kids, but no longer available). The girls loved wearing their gloves while sipping their lemonade "tea" at the party. It was the perfect party for my then 4-year old girl!

children's book recommendations

I have many joys in life. Here are just a few: a good sale at Crewcuts, well designed books, peanut butter cookie dough, and Gwyneth Paltrow. There, I've said it. I am a total groupie and have been since college. I love her style, her movies (most of them), her hair, and her website.

One day, many years ago, while shopping in Soho with my husband, I heard a familiar voice, made a very quick 180 degree turn while clutching my husband's arm, and acted as nonchalant as possible while trailing close at her heels. My husband was appalled and kept whispering, "I can't believe we're stalking Gwyneth Paltrow!" Hopefully, I have matured since then (the jury's still out).

Anyhow, in my new mature state, I like to think of Gwyneth and myself as equals – both mothers that care about their children, world events and good design. Her latest post on children's book recommendations is totally inspiring. I was familiar with many of the titles but also found some new and excellent suggestions. You should definitely check out her entire list here. I am putting these immediately on my wish list!

glazed lemon cookies

Last night, I was in the mood to make something sweet and springlike. I also had a bag of lemons in the fridge that were in need of a purpose. After a bit of recipe research, I stumbled upon this recipe for Glazed Lemon Cookies. They were exactly what I was craving – the perfect combination of lemon zest and lemon juice both in the cookie and then in the glaze which is drizzled over the cookie. Quite delicious and the perfect dessert for spring!

carrot cake

After years of searching for the perfect carrot cake recipe, my mom finally found one from her friend Terri. My mom was in town last weekend and we made this cake for Easter. It was delicious! The cake was spicy and moist and perfectly complimented with cream cheese frosting. We also made some carrot sugar cookies and my daughter suggested we decorate the cake with them. I loved the way it turned out and am dreaming of eating this cake again soon.

Update on 04.13.2010 by Blonde Designs

The shirt is from J.Crew and is now on sale here (only no longer in the burnt orange!).

salmon teriyaki dinner

In my former life (i.e. before children), I used to pour over cooking magazines and cookbooks, flagging new recipes I was anxious to try. Cooking was a pleasure – my husband and I loved to try new dishes. Now, with three small children who all have different opinions on food (namely, "why aren't we having pizza?"), I am sad to admit that I find myself dreading dinnertime.

Therefore, I am always looking for quick, healthy recipes that everyone in the family will enjoy. My go-to dish is salmon teriyaki – everyone loves it and the best part is it can be prepared in the morning and popped in the oven 20 minutes before dinner. Served over brown rice with a side of fresh green beans, a sprinkling of edamame and a scoop of sweet corn pudding, it's a delicious and somewhat impressive dish.

I suggest you give it a try. Feel free to send any quick and delicious dinner recipes my way. My family thanks you in advance! :)

party-in-a-box

My friend, Ashley, has a daughter who is obsessed with Mickey Mouse and she wanted nothing more than a Mickey Mouse-themed birthday. To please Savannah and also appeal to Ashley's aesthetic, I designed an invitation in shades of pink and orange.

Not wanting to miss out on any details, Ashley also had me design coordinating thank you's, water bottle labels, foldover cookie labels, cupcake flags affixed to toothpicks and a banner that reads "Happy Birthday Savvy!"

I love a party that is tastefully coordinated from head to toe!

Update on 04.7.2010 by Blonde Designs

To purchase your own "party-in-a-box," email us directly at info@blonde-designs.com. The total cost for 25 invitations + mailing labels ($62.50), 25 thank you's + mailing labels ($50), 25 water bottle labels ($20), 25 cupcake flags ($20), 25 foldover cookie labels ($25) and 1 banner ($20) is $197.50 + shipping.

easter chick craft

If you are in need of an easy Easter craft for the 2-6 year old crowd, I suggest this one.

For the "chick," you will need yellow plastic Easter eggs, miniature clothespins (painted orange), googly eyes and hot glue. For the "nest," you will need coconut, sweetened condensed milk, green food coloring and easter-colored jelly beans.

Your children can mix the "nest" together and choose their jelly bean "eggs." An adult should apply tiny drops of hot glue and, if your children are old enough, they can affix the "chick" face. I suggest gluing the finished chick to a paper plate to prevent tipping.

Easy, cute and festive – just what an Easter craft should be!

easter candy jars

I was inspired by the Good Things article in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living and wanted to make some decorative candy-jar displays for my Easter table. I already had the supplies needed – glass jars, paper grass and Easter candy. My kids and I had fun making little "scenes" in the jars with bunnies and chicks. It reminded me of making dioramas in grade school. I ran out of candy after making a few of them, but I'm tempted to go out and buy more supplies. Now if I can only keep the chocolate eggs from slowly disappearing...

paper chicks

I picked up this kit at Paper Source over the weekend and thought it would be a fun Easter craft to do with my kids. It was pretty simple with little mess which made for a nice Sunday afternoon activity. The paper chicks are supposed to be place cards, but we couldn't wait to display them.

I placed a small piece of double-sided tape on the wings and created a temporary chick banner for my mantle. Now we can enjoy our creations before writing names on them and using them at our table on Easter Sunday. These chicks would also be easy to recreate without the kit. All you need is colored cardstock, scissors and glue!