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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Anthropologie Love.

So am I the only one who didn't realize Anthropologie has a kids section? Granted most of their kids' items are online only (and, believe it or not, I usually don't go online to stores I could visit in person instead), so that must explain my neglect.

Anyway. Here are some fabulous {crafty} finds from their lovely collection of kids' items...enjoy the eye candy. P.S. They would all pair nicely with our Doodle Diddie Crayon Rolls to make a fabulous Christmas gift, if I do say so myself!


Miss Doodle Coloring Doll, made from paper and polyfill, $50.00


Deciduous Puzzle, made from cardstock and recycled paper, $38.00

Italic Doodle Giant Coloring Book, 368 pages to color/doodle, $18.95


Apron, cotton, machine-wash, $24.00

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

As I eagerly anticipate the arrival of our baby girl in March, I have been busily making things for her...and the list of things I'd like to make just grows longer instead of shorter. (Sigh). Such is the life of a seamstress/craftster, I guess. Most of the items I've been making (or that are on my "to do" list) are quite girly ~ pink, purple, ruffles, flowers, etcetera. But these sensory bags I made are actually great for any gender and will stimulate the newborn to the toddler!


I crafted them in red, white and black, as these are the first colors a baby sees. I sewed in some ribbon tabs for her to maneuver and suck while teething. When she moves them, they'll have a light rustley noise to please, and they also have french lavender inside. This will help keep her soothed if fussy, and help to reduce my headache (because I know inevitably there will be one). :)

Once older (actually, I'm sure our son will take these from her to use himself...better plan on set #2 for him!), she can use them to learn matching (the set has a pair of 3 different coordinating fabrics) and distinguishing and even later as a traditional bean bag set! She can play "basketball" {or beanbagball, rather} by herself or catch with her big brother, which I'm sure he'll be trying to get her to do!

They are currently available for purchase at Adam's Blankie.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Christmas Traditions.



What are your family's Christmas or Holiday traditions? One of my favorites has always been setting up our Christmas village. And it is definitely one I want to "pass down" to my son, but for now, he's definitely too young to be handling such delicate, breakable pieces!

So this year, besides doing our own Advent Calendar chain (a couple posts ago, if you missed it...), I decided we're going to start doing a gingerbread house. And believe it or not, I'd never done one before myself. So what a great tradition to start for all of us. I must say, it took much longer than I thought it would, and didn't turn out nearly as well as I would have liked, but our little guy absolutely loved it, and we had a blast! Below are some pics of our process....

Sunday, December 6, 2009

pdf Pattern Winners!

Thank you! to all who participated in our survey to help give us feedback in the hopes of providing more of what YOU, our clients, want to see in our store in the future!

The following people are the lucky winners of a free pattern from our shops! Hope you enjoy! And for those of you who missed the chance at this one, we will be hosting a monthly drawing for a gift certificate to one of our stores (Adam's Blankie, Gourmet Play or Haute Tot Couture) each month! Just click here for your chance to win December's drawing ~ good luck!

Allie Schell
Ashley Owens
Elisha Horning

(If you are one of the winners, an email with your free pattern is on its way to your inbox now!)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Salted Chocolate Caramel Apples.

Are you ready for some sweetness? If so, you should really gather these few simple ingredients to make some for you and your little ones...a great Winter treat...and a way to sneak in some fruit, in case your little tyke doesn't normally do so.

What you'll need:
apples
caramel pieces
chopped chocolate chips
sprinkles candies (optional)
chopped nuts (optional)
coarse sea salt
candy sticks
wax paper
apple corer (optional)

Put the sticks into your apples. Melt your caramels (we used 20, and had more than plenty for our 4 apples) over low/medium heat, and then begin dipping your apples. We used Honeycrisp apples, but I bet the tartness of Granny Smith would pair nicely with the sweetness of the chocolate and caramel. Immediately place your carameled apples onto the wax paper and begin sprinkling with the chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts and sea salt (just a tiny pinch of the salt will do!). Enjoy!






For the little guy, we sliced his apple with the corer and let him dip into the caramel.
(He actually didn't even want to touch the caramel, can you believe it?

He doesn't know what he's missing!)


mmm...goodness.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Link Countdown

So today my little guy & I constructed a countdown-to-Christmas link. I figure it to be our little variation of an advent calendar, only I'll give him his "treat" each day, instead of him opening a door to find it. The theory is the same, isn't it?


Here's a picture of it. We just used some holiday paper, cut them into strips and stapled them together. We decided to hang it with some ribbon from a doorknob...only 23 days to go!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

{Holiday GiveAways}!

{Holiday Giveaways}. You gotta love them. So I thought I'd bring you one...it is the season of giving, afterall. It will be happening some time in the next week or two, so be sure to stop back to see what's on the goodie list! The {giveaways} will include one item from my Adam's Blankie shop
and one from my
Gourmet Play shop!
Can't wait!


Here is a sneak peek at one of the {giveaways}...can you guess what it is??


Also, we are donating one of our {sushi bib & burp sets} to Fabulous K for her own {holiday giveaway}, which starts TODAY! Just click the "fab k's giveaway" button on the right
to find some lovelies to win!
Enjoy!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Cyber Monday!


So...you've been out and about all weekend, striving to find those perfect gifts at the perfect prices, right? And now that you're completely exhausted from the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving AND Black Friday, you {and your feet} should heartily welcome "Cyber Monday." What's that mean for you, you ask? Ways to score FREE SHIPPING, FREE GIFTS and DISCOUNTS at Adam's Blankie and Gourmet Play! You better head over now, though - these deals will only last 24 hours starting...NOW!
(Check shop announcements at the tops of the shops for details on how to score these deals!)

By the way, if you'd like to purchase the beautiful swag (or other similars) shown above, just head on over to www.twoinspireyou.etsy.com. They have some absolute holiday lovelies there!


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Make Your Own Memory Board: FREE Tutorial

So I have always wanted to put up a gloriously plush memory board in my office for things that inspire me, and I actually got around to it this past month and wanted to share the process with you. These would be great for your own office, playroom or kitchen and would look absolutely adorable with your fave kids' pics (or kids schedules, notes to husband, meal planning, etc.) posted up on them. They also make great Christmas gifts, if you're looking for something creative you can make that's relatively low on cost but high on style and meaning. Afterall, I'd rather have a beautiful way to display all my treasured memories and inspirational items as opposed to the trite & ordinary dry erase board or fridge, wouldn't you?

Materials Required:
picture frame (with matting and picture - premade)
glue/glue gun and/or mounting tape
fabric
batting
ribbon or trim
staple gun
cork board squares

1. So, instead of starting from scratch, since I'm not much of a woodworker (although if you are handy with wood, you could build your own frame and board, too) I bought a pre-made picture with frame (find clearance deals! I found mine at Kirkland's) and removed the picture box from the front. (You'll probably just end up finding a plain 2D picture, but the frame I found, which was the large size I wanted, actually was 3D, so I needed to remove the 3D object first).

2. I then glued on all my cork board squares (my picture frame (about 24"x24" square) fit all 4 cork board pieces perfectly, but you may have to trim them if you're using a smaller picture frame). I decided to add some mounting tape to each piece, as well, for added security.





3. Next I cut the batting and fabric, making it overlap the size of the frame by about an inch on all 4 sides. The batting went on first, and the fabric went over it. (Note: The batting isn't necessary, but I wanted an extra plush, rich look). I pulled the layers taut over the cork boards and used a staple gun to attach to the back of the frame.

(this side with the print is actually the back-side of the board)



4. I then added my trim (or you could use ribbon) on my board. I started with a large "x" (using 2 separate pieces of trim) that went through the center of my board, and then made a diamond shape (using 4 separate pieces of trim) with the trim over my "x" (see pictures). I used the staple gun to secure the ends to the back of my frame corners.



5. Then it was just time to put the board back into the actual frame. Once in place, I added some staples from my staple gun to the sides of the frame in the back, right behind my board and around all 4 sides, to keep the board in place. And voila! A new memory board! Now just time to "doll up" with my motivational items, pictures and more!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

BLACK FRIDAY!

Sooo...are you preparing for shopping all day long? Or are you like me, and try to avoid the crowds and stores as much as possible on Black Friday? I hear that Westcor Malls are opening Friday "morning" at midnight...are they serious? I could see myself shopping for an hour at midnight and going to bed afterwards instead of getting up for the day at 3:00 a.m., I guess. How 'bout you? How does your typical Black Friday go?

If you are like me, and instead of facing huge crowds instead like to shop from home (i.e., the internet, eBay, Etsy), then be sure to check out our store tomorrow! We'll be starting our Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day instead this year! Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on orders over $100, up to 60% off already clearanced items (our "sale" category in the upper-right hand corner), and 20% off all regular-priced items (excluding stroller blankies) when you spend at least $50!!*

*If the items haven't already been marked down, please convo/email me first to change the pricing for you before checking out! Also, if you'll be ordering over $100 in merchandise, convo/email me then, too, so that I can delete all shipping fees before you checkout! You can send messages via Etsy or email me at adamsblankie@gmail.com.

One last thing...mention you're a blog follower upon checkout and receive a FREE GIFT with your purchase!

See you tomorrow! :)