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I had a crazy busy weekend, one that included going to the mall. I suggest you stay far away, but since Macys left the sensor on my sister-in-laws gift, I had no choice. 🙁 It was scary, lots of honking! People need to take a chill pill before going. It’s going to be busy, someone will take your parking spot, and some of the things you want to buy will be sold out, deal with it. I also had two soccer games to go to and an annual -not to miss- cookie exchange. I squeezed in a few minutes to make these super cute Christmas Tree in a mason jar decorations. They are super easy and anyone can do them, plus you get to skip paying $40 for them at stores like Anthropologie. What you need: Jars with lids – any kind will do, we keep and clean spaghetti sauce jars Snow – I bought a bag of snowflakes at Home Depot, you can also use epsom salts Glitter – any color Bottle Brush Trees – Multiple sizes are good, I found mine at Hobby Lobby Glue Gun Other embellishments – Small figurines, Glittery houses, other ornaments You can glue the little trees either at the bottom of the glass jar or on the lid. I think I prefer the bottom of the jar. I tried it both ways. Then I just added fake snow and some glitter. The next one I make I think I will spray the tree with adhesive and roll it in glitter. You can decorate the lid, mine has fabric on it, or paint...
We are always busy designing for holidays a year or two in advance. Here are some dishes that we designed and hope to get picked up for the next holiday season. We are also working on holiday dishes similar to our Eat at Mom’s set. It was very popular at retail and they’ve asked us to come up with something similar but in holiday sayings and colors. Hope your Christmas shopping and decorating is going great. I know I plan on doing some wrapping tomorrow. I will have some free printable gift tags on the blog this week, so keep an eye out! Happy...
Check out our personalized products that were featured on the Today Show. Our Frecklebox products are at the very beginning of the clip right after the ad. You can purchase the Rainbow Chevron collection, Multi-Monogram collection, Garden Party Coin Bank and Owl Friends Journal at Frecklebox.com. So fun to see our stuff on...
Each year I struggle to get my kids to cooperate and take great photos for our Christmas card. I love candid photos with a slight blur. To me those seem magical, but I can hear my mom bitching when she gets the card that the photos are blurry! 🙂 So there must be a little of both and some fun thrown in. Collage or multi-photo cards are great for that or if you lucked out and got the best picture ever go with the single stunning photo card option. Here are a few tips to get you on your way and a few of ours that were captured this year.. 1. Location, location, location – If you have a nearby stream, park or forest even the Christmas Tree farm use that as your backdrop. 2. Get in close, especially if you don’t have a great background. Close ups, especially of young kids are adorable. 3. Take action pictures, like jumping, kicking through leaves, swinging one child between parents. 4. Sharing a moment like reading, hugging or kissing makes a sweet image. 5. Use non-standard posing – take a shot of everyone laying head to head on the ground or a photo from below with your kids looking down at you. 6. Be Spirited – Are you the family with all the sports nuts? Dress everyone in sports gear. Love pets? Make sure the photo reflects your furry friends. 7. Take individual and group shots. That way at least you have something to use no matter what. And take lots of pictures, you can always toss later but getting everyone...
What kind of Christmas tree do you have? Is it classic/traditional, filled with lots of red and green, or vintage, filled with lots of glitter and retro ornaments, maybe whimsical, with bright fun colors and lots of white, or maybe a specific theme like coastal, filled with ornaments from the sea? I think mine is vintage random. I love all the old glittery glass ornaments but I also put up the ones the kids made or ones with sentimental value. I wish my house was big enough for several trees, it would be fun to have different themes. I’d love a wild and whimsical white tree, like something out of Dr. Seuss! Here are a few to get you started thinking!...
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I usually bring a gluten, dairy and nut free dessert to family gatherings for my daughter. Coming up with something new is sometimes difficult and often I need time to test out the recipe first to make sure it is presentable once I use substitutes for everything. I think this year I will be making this gluten free Buche de Noel again. I made it for Christmas last year but I think it would work for Thanksgiving also. It was pretty easy to make and as my daughters would say “it looks fancy!” CLICK HERE to go to the original post with recipe and directions. Here are a few other good recipes I may try. Click on the titles to get to the recipes. Just use substitutes if necessary. Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread just add a powdered sugar glaze to dress it up. Flourless Chocolate Cake Gluten Free Apple...
Are you trying to get some early holiday shopping done? It seems like each year the shopping gets earlier and earlier! Soon we will be shopping in the summer for Christmas. I know we start thinking about Christmas the day after it’s over and most of our online retailers need all holiday inventory from us by June. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around we are pretty much over the holidays at Simon+Kabuki! Most of our partners have big sales going on right now so if you are looking for the perfect gift or holiday cards get shopping from the comfort of your home! Below are just a few of our online retailers, check out their sites for discount codes. Check our Where to Buy page for additional links. Lot’s of fun personalized gifts to be had at Frecklebox.com. I know kids love seeing their name in print. I love the Rainbow Chevron Collection, above, perfect for tweens. Also love these Metallic holiday cards from Frecklebox.com. Totally unique and one of a kind! Love this iPad case from MyCustomCase.com. Check our where to buy page for additional case designs. Check out these fun book plate labels for the avid reader and the rest of our designs on Expressionery.com. You can order note cards, invitations, calendars and other fun stuff! If you are at all crafty you could make a quilt for a super special gift. Or if you are like me and mostly use iron on fusing you could purchase the fabric and quilt patterns as a great gift for the sewer in your family. Check out Quilting Treasures for...
If you celebrate Hanukkah then this year you get a special treat because it will start on Thanksgiving. This hasn’t happened in over 100 years! If you’re looking for that special combo holiday card (come on, I know you are!) then check out our Thanksgivukkah card from SimplytoImpress.com. I read a really good description about Thanksgivukkah on Kickstarter. It was for a Menurkey, you know a combo menorah + turkey, duh! You must check it out because who doesn’t need one of those, and the kid who invented it is pretty cute and they raised $48,000 already. I think I need to give my kids a kick in the pants and get them inventing some weird stuff we can sell for millions. Anyway here is what all the hoopla is about (the math gives me a headache!): “The reason Hanukkah and Thanksgiving will overlap this year is because the Jewish calendar repeats on a 19 year cycle, and Thanksgiving repeats on a 7 year cycle. You would therefore expect them to coincide roughly every 19×7 = 133 years. Which is correct – the last time it would have happened is 1861. But Thanksgiving was only formally established by President Lincoln in 1863 (which is why it has never happened before). It may not happen again because the Jewish calendar is very slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar, at a rate of 4 days per 1000 years. This means that while presently Hanukkah can be as early as 11/28, over the years the calendar will drift forward, such that the earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/29. The...
I love caramel sauce. If I could, I’d keep an IV attached at all times. I sometimes can overdose on caramel and have to take a step back. I used to get caramel lattes at Starbucks but I always asked for extra sauce so basically I had a cup of caramel with a squirt of coffee in it. Those days I was usually bouncing off the wall! Making caramel sauce at home is really easy and it’s awesome to have it in the frig. It’s great for coffee, putting on ice cream, hot chocolate and cakes, YUM! I made pumpkin bars this weekend using the Trader Joes mix, which is pretty good. It was missing a little something so I whipped up some caramel sauce. I bought a plastic squeeze bottle from World Market and store my sauce in the frig ready to go! Caramel Sauce 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract Mix all ingredients except for vanilla in a pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and lower heat, stir occasionally and let cook for about 5-6 minutes. Add vanilla and cook for an additional minute or so. Let it cool and then put into a container in the frig. It will keep for two weeks (if it lasts that long). Heat to...
First a little history lesson about Veteran’s Day. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” November 11th was originally a day of celebration with parades and business closures for the end of World War I. In 1938, Armistice day became a legal holiday. Then on June 1st, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars and the word Veteran replaced Armistice. Veterans Day is observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. I would like to add that we are all thankful to the families of our Veteran’s for their support as well, sometimes they are the unsung heroes at...
Looking for some cute options for Custom Gift Wrap? We’ve got you covered. We have 4 new wrapping papers launching this week at Frecklebox.com. You can enter to win a roll by going to Frecklebox’s Facebook page and entering your personal message. I can’t decide which roll I’m going to use this year. I’m kind of going the kraft route so it might be the top right design, what about...
A couple of weeks back I gave you a sneak peek of some new cards we were launching. Well today is the big day. We are super excited to launch Metallic Holiday Cards with Frecklebox.com. These beauties are printed on double thick silver metallic paper and come with rounded corners. The white that you see on the cards is actual white ink printed on metallic. Get your camera out and start shooting your perfect holiday photo. Your family and friends will be super jealous when they get one of these in the mail! Check out this link, Frecklebox.com, for the full selection and to personalize and order. Use code SHINY35 (through 11/15) to get a super deal, 35% off! This will be the best deal of the season so hurry up and order. Which one is your...
On Friday, I was cleaning up the veggie garden and I had so many green tomatoes. Last year I made fried green tomatoes but this year I wanted to try something new. I decided to try pickled tomatoes. It’s a very easy process and hopefully pretty tasty. I don’t like tomatoes but everyone else in the family does. Here’s what I did: 1. Sterilize your canning jars in boiling water 2. Wash tomatoes, cut off stem and cut in half (mine were cherry tomatoes) 3. Combine and boil 1 cup white vinegar, 1.25 cups water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt for 1 pound of green tomatoes 4. Put a clove of garlic and 1 tablespoon of dill seeds and 1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns into each jar or one large jar (I used 3 smaller jars). You can also add other seasonings, like a chili pepper 4. Pour the hot mixture over the tomatoes to within 1/4″ of the top. Wipe the jar top, put the lids on and tighten. Age for at least 2 days in the refrigerator. ENJOY! I also had lots of left over basil, which I love and use a lot. I washed all of the leaves and let them dry than put them in the freezer on a baking sheet. Once they were frozen I put them in a freezer zip lock bag. By individually flash freezing them first you retain the green color, otherwise they often will turn black. Click for some other options. I also had lots of basil that I wanted to...
If you are looking to get a jump start on the holidays, there are plenty of photo cards on sale right now. We have a lot of cards through SimplytoImpress.com. If you use the code Winter13 you can get 30% off right now (I think the sale lasts a week). I love all of the custom shapes and paper selections they offer. If you’ve not ordered through them I highly recommend trying them out. They have great customer service and attention to detail. Here are a few of my favorites from SimpytoImpress.com, click the link to see all of these cards and more. Did you know that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are on the same day this year? Check out our combo card above. Quick Tip: When buying a square card order 5 x 7 envelopes to save on postage. Double check to make sure they will fit before ordering. We are eagerly awaiting the launch of our new metallic cards for the holidays and I hope to unveil those next...
Our Eat at Moms dishes were a big hit at stores. And now we’ve been asked to design a new collection along the same lines. We are working on that now and it’s looking pretty sassy! But we are super excited that our Eat at Moms collection is also coming out as a fabric line. Now you can have a super coordinated kitchen! The fabric line should be in stores (Hobby Lobby) in 2014. It’s always fun to see a design collection across multiple products. Check out some of the fabric swatches...
Every year my girls jump from one costume idea to the next until a few days before Halloween, while my son usually throws it together the day before. Here are a few ideas to get you started just in case the princess costume is unavailable! They can all be thrown together with items you have on hand or a quick trip to Goodwill or the Halloween store. 1. Scooby and the gang. This is great for a family of 5 or 5 friends. We did this one year and found all of the clothing except Scooby at Goodwill. 2. Cruella Deville and Dalmations – My daughter’s soccer team dressed as this for a tournament. They won best costume. White shirts with black fabric paint, facepaint and pigtail ears. 3. Life Guards – If you can’t find a red lifeguard shirt just buy iron on letters at Michaels. Add a blow up tube around your waist. 4. Sugar Skull (I found this great tutorial by Jessica Harlow). You can also check Pinterest for lots of other ideas and color schemes. Pair with all black clothing or get colorful either way works. 5. Wind-up Doll – Use a toilet paper roll and some cardboard to make the wind up key. Any fancy dress will do, just attach the wind up key to their back. 6. High Tech T-Shirt (perfect for a teen) You must watch the video, it was started by an ex-Nasa scientist! Click on the title to see lots of other options all using a smartphone and apps. 7. Energizer Bunny – Just wear all pink, add pink ears,...
Time to start planning the perfect Holiday Party! Using elegant black as a backdrop just add pops of blue and red and throw in some glitter to set the holiday tone. Invitation Table Setting Decor Cookies Glitter Banner Cocktail...
What’s New Wednesday I’m working on a new set of greeting cards that I think are pretty funny and snarky with little plays on words. The designs are not totally fleshed out but I thought I would show you a sneak peek. What do you think so far, sassy or offensive? Over the top or just right? Several will be like the tank top card, just a funny play on words. We would love your...
You are probably wondering why anyone would want to make a microwave cookie? Well in our house we had the trifecta of appliance break downs. First our washing machine broke 2 weeks ago and since we had to buy a new one we thought we’d replace our horrible 3 year old dishwasher (click on the link to see how crappy everyone else thought it was). We got the washing machine delivered and were back in the laundry business but the dishwasher posed a problem, apparently they’ve grown taller over the last couple of years and nothing would fit. Best Buy suggested an ADA dishwasher which is of course more expensive and never on sale so we passed. Then a few days later our ancient stove stopped working and unless we remodel our kitchen the stove opening will not fit a current model of oven! So long story short we are crock potting or microwaving everything!! The other reason why a single serving of microwave cookie works for us is that it is easier to cook for my daughter with food allergies that way instead of making a big batch that won’t get finished. So if you’re felling like a little sweet treat after dinner, this is pretty easy, not messy and keeps you from eating too much. Are they as good as baked cookies? No but they are close enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. Recipe (for non-allergy recipe just replace with regular flour, milk and butter) 1 tablespoon earth balance non-dairy butter, melted 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 teaspoons soy milk 3...
Last week I mentioned that we were working on an exciting new project. I decided to give you a sneak peek today. We are creating one of a kind metallic holiday cards. They are not live yet but will be soon. They are printed on metallic double thick paper and are beautiful! As soon as they go live you will be the first to know about it! I know some people have already started ordering and may not want to wait for these fabulous beauties, if so head on over to SimplytoImpress.com to get a jump on the holidays. They have amazing customer service and a great sale right now (sale ends...
Time to get spooky with our Halloween Party inspiration board. Start with our scary invitation that you can find on SimplytoImpress.com and use a color palette of black and white, with pops of orange and sparkly glitter accents. We’ve also created this FREE Halloween Label download. It prints on standard 4 x 2 Avery style label sheets. You can use them for water bottles, favor bags, labeling food, etc. Use a white sharpie on the label to write in your info or leave them as is. Just click on the label below to download and print. Have a spooktacular time! Invitation, Spooky Eyeball Lollipops, Paper Plates, Bottle Labels, Cocktails, Pumpkin Crafts, Brain...
I am in the mood to do some baking! Every time I look over my Pinterest recipes I have to clean the drool off of my keyboard. Here are a few that I’ve collected and I hope to try out at least one this weekend. Which will it be? Such a difficult decision. Which would you make? For recipes just click on each picture or the link below. Now I’m off to the grocery store. Pumpkin Fritters by Simply Delicious Homemade Snicker Bars by How Sweet it is Pull apart Cinnamon Bread by Matkonation Salted Caramel Rice Krispies by Cookies and...
We often get asked how we got into licensing our artwork. About 8 or 9 years ago a new company came to us and asked if we would design some stationery for their site that they would proof online and print digitally, a new concept. We were corporate graphic designers so we were used to designing and printing digitally and working pretty fast. We had always designed fun holiday gifts for clients and family/friends and had even thought about opening our own stationery store. We went as far as testing and printing some designs and getting prices for everything. We still have some of the stuff in storage (need to have a garage sale!). The timing was perfect and we gave it a try. We never imagined we could make a living doing it, we were doing it more for fun. That online stationery company was TinyPrints and the rest is history. From TinyPrints we expanded to other sites like InvitationBox.com and KodakGallery. With Kodak, we were their most successful designer outselling Martha Stewart! From there it was only natural that we expand our designs to other products. We found an awesome agent, Jewel Branding and began marketing to manufacturers. We had a booth at Surtex, the licensing show in New York, and go each year. It is a lot of work and design time but our product line is growing each year. It is exciting to see our stuff at stores and online. It is a long process before you are profitable and it takes many years to build up repeat customers but the sky’s the limit for...
