a merry christmas video

This is a little Christmas video we put together last year. Enjoy!

Five

 My little superhero is now FIVE!

 My friend Kelly Atwood made these fabulous cupcakes for the party. (she also helped me out significantly with the decorations...thanks Kelly!)

 We had a fun little party at our home with Truman's friends.

 Someone snuck away from the group to enjoy his cupcake in silence.

 It's so fun to have some family close by.

 This guy reminds me so much of myself at 5.

 It's amazing how much fun a group of 5 year olds can have with some paper airplanes.

 Ben did a fantastic job entertaining them with a game of Eye-Spy while they ate their lunch.

Truman decided he wanted his friends to come in costume. Does this man look familiar?

Mother's Day gift ideas

Look at these fun Mother's Day gift ideas my fun sister in law, Julie made

Thanks for the fun ideas Julie!

Rian inspires me

This is Rian Krommenhok, and she inspires me.

Watch her story here:

PS- a BIG thank you to Evan Carpenter for helping with this!

Wii

I apologize for leaving you hanging lately. I have really been enjoying work as of late and so it has taken up a lot of my "extra" time. 

Here are some fun pictures of the kids playing a LIVE version of Mario Cart. We don't have a Wii but the kids have plenty of chances to play at their friends houses. I love their creativity and the large hat bills are too cute. 

They had a blast being the characters in real life.

And here is a hilarious video of a Frenchman doing something similar but on a much larger scale.

Enjoy.

whole wheat snickerdoodle cookies

( recipe found on Whole Grain Gourmet, photo by yours truely : )

Truman and I were in the mood for something sweet, so we decided to make some cookies! We sifted through several recipes before we found something that both sounded good and wasn't going to make us feel sick afterwards. 

These whole wheat snickerdoodles are fantastic. I love them so much I thought I would share them with you.

AND, as usual, I had a few of my own modifications:

• double the salt (1/2 tsp)
• only 1 cup sugar
• corn starch instead of cream of tartar

You can find the original recipe on Whole Grain Gourmet.

Next time I want to try using two bananas instead of eggs and honey instead of sugar....YUM!

Enjoy!

DIY pennant rubber-stamp roller

 

Look at this fun little stamp! It's the perfect tool to make a last minute "thank you" or "birthday" card. I first saw this on Handmade Charlotte, but the full tutorial is on Just Something I Made.

Enjoy!

Look at these fun pictures of my friend Leah's little girl Kate. Isn't she adorable!

And look how relaxed she is in the Puj Tub!

I first met Leah at BYU where she was a graphic design major. Her husband sold me my first cell phone (during class mind you!) He is also the fastest snowboarder I have ever known.

Leah is an AMAZING photographer. Here photos are always so airy and absolutely stunning. (It doesn't hurt that the whole family is exceptionally beautiful.) Leah is also a talented graphic designer, interior designer, mother, athlete....I'm sure she's even a great cook. She pretty much is REALLY good at everything.

Her new home is so stunning. It's just the right mix of modern, industrial, practical, beautiful, liveable....etc.

Check out her new website. If you live in Utah valley, Leah is the one to call for your family photos.

Thanks for the amazing pictures Leah. You are a natural behind the camera.

Lets Get Messy

Look at these cute birthday invitations my friend Kelli and her son Cole made. Aren't they adorable? I love that her son was involved too.

seen on Delightful

 

Kelli and I were roommates in college. She was always going on adventures so if you went anywhere with Kelli you knew it was going to be good. Plus she is a great story teller. Every now in then she would throw in a British/Scottish/Irish accent. And to top it all off, Kelli is a fantastic gourmet cook. I had no idea what mango chutney was until I lived with her.

Thanks for sharing Kelli!

Happy Birthday Cole!

spring

Today I am dreaming of sunshine and running around in these cute sandals found on Revolve Clothing.

heartfelt breakfast

spotted on BFF productions

So simple, so fun.....I love it!

work is not work

 I now "work" VERY part time at the studio/warehouse/office. It sounds funny to call it work because I enjoy every minute of it!

I go down to the studio while the two oldest are in school. And I have an amazing sister-in-law that helps out with the youngest little guy. (All my sister-in-laws are amazing!)

 I have been working on a little something for you all. It was time to start making the Puj Booti in some bigger sizes. It's tough work but someone has to do it.

I just keep pinching myself that I am working in my own studio at my own crazy strong industrial sewing machine.

PS- we just may be doing a little test run this May with the Puj Tub in a store called Target....ever heard of it?   

Ouch!!!! Just pinched myself again : )

Go Puj!

homemade graham crackers

I believe I will be making these this weekend. As seen on Poppytalk

Where it all began

 These are some shoes I made my niece Celia over 5 years ago.

 Now her little sister Cora wears them.

Isn't she adorable!

Storenvy

I wanted to tell you more about Janette Crawford. 

Don't you love her necklace!

We met at Alt Summit and she is absolutely adorable. She and her husband are the master-minds behind Storenvy.com (kind of like etsy, but better!) Have you heard about it? I asked Janette to tell us about Storenvy and share some of her current favorites:

Storenvy in a Nutshell 

Storenvy is a social marketplace for buying and selling goods of all kinds from independent businesses all over the world. Storenvy charges no fees to buy or sell and gives merchants a fully customizable online storefront in addition to placement in the shopping marketplace. 

Storenvy is changing the face of the e-commerce experience by enabling anyone, from the owner of a fashion boutique to a guy designing skateboard decks, to create their own completely customizable store at no charge and with no programming knowledge required. And by combining all the stores' products into one big marketplace, stores make more sales through the natural discovery process. (Current stat: Storenvy stores make almost 15% of their sales through the marketplace rather than through direct store traffic.) For shoppers, a well-categorized marketplace makes it easy to browse all stores at once, allowing them to save their favorite items for later and follow their favorite stores and users.

 

My Storenvy Picks

 

GIFT FLAGS from IN HAUS Press

http://www.storenvy.com/products/20547-gift-flags

Letterpressed in San Francisco on 2-ply birch veneer, using scraps that are an excess of the Denver, CO, furniture industry. 

"santio eduardo vega" print (a4) from cardboardcities

http://cardboardcities.storenvy.com/products/17245-santiago-eduardo-vega-print-a4

Laura Redburn is a young illustrator from Wales. 

MUCHroom Wall Hook from Workerman

http://workerman.storenvy.com/products/6087-muchroom-wall-hook

Handcrafted by Adam Brackney in Minneapolis, MN, of reclaimed + sustainably harvested woods. 

Love is Waiting T-shirt (Seafoam) from Love is Waiting

http://www.storenvy.com/products/36176-love-is-waiting-t-shirt-seafoam

All proceeds help fund (our friends) Aaron & Heather Hale's upcoming Ethiopian adoption of a baby boy. 

Beaded Fringe Necklace in turquoise & red | by: Noble Town Vintage from Blonde Grizzly

http://blondegrizzly.storenvy.com/products/24565-beaded-fringe-necklace-in-turquoise-red-by-noble-town-vintage

Handmade by Noble Town Vintage, sold by Blonde Grizzly, an art boutique in Salt Lake City, UT. 

Spring Bangle from Kianga Project

http://www.storenvy.com/products/14437-spring-bangle

Each bangle is handcrafted by, and benefits, a man or woman living with HIV in the slums of Kenya. 

+++++++++++

Thanks for sharing with us Janette!

What's your favorite Storenvy find?