sugar paper for target.

i am completely & utterly dying over the  

s u g a r  p a p e r   x   t a r g e t  

holiday collaboration.

it is gift wrapping & decor perfection. 

literally. 

it. is. perfection. 

i have been a devoted sugar paper lover for several years now.

& was fortunate enough to have collaborated with them before they made it super big time.

{yes. when you collab with tarjay. you have made it super big time in my book}

you can see two of my previous posts on them here and here.

this collection has my name all over it.

take a peak.

you may find thirty-seven of these boxes under my christmas tree.

they may be empty. & simply there for looks. 

but boy will it look pretty. 

i happen to love wrapping presents. 

i guess i just love creating pretty little things.

and the presentation of a gift is equally as important as the gift itself.

that structured bow.

those perfect little bobble ornaments. 

they knock it out of the park.

the gold piping on these gift boxes.

it is so impossibly beautiful.

and the ornament gift topper is just stinkin cute. 

love that the gift boxes are 

lovely enough to use as table decor.

be. still. my. heart.

the black. the gold. the white.

the jumbo polka dots.

the scalloped gift boxes.

was this collection made just for me?! 

adore these embellished wreaths as chair decor.

but they would be even sweeter as plate embellishments 

for a holiday dinner party or supper club. 

completely darling. 

beautiful ribbon is a must for beautiful gift wrapping.

anytime you see some you love. snag it. 

you'll be thankful one day.

oh. and master a perfect bow this holiday season.

it makes the world of a difference in present presentation. 

yes. yes. yes. 

i do believe that sugar paper had me in mind when they designed this collection.

it is as if they have perfectly gift wrapped my whole style in one pretty little package.

now. ladies. run don't walk to target to snag some pretties of your own.

{they are already sold out of a lot of items online!} 

Tweet

artist crush.

oh my heart is just melting over erin gregory's paintings.

they are so lovely. they are so vivid.

i could fill my entire home with her pieces. 

take a peak with me. 

simply beautiful. don't you agree?! 

learn all about erin's sweet southern life

& view more of her artwork here.

while you do that i'll keep daydreaming about

having my walls filled with colorful. impressionistic. flowers.

Tweet

an elegant baby shower.

one of my favorite things to do is party plan.

it is just so fun to create a beautiful table. a delicious menu. & watch it all come together. 

whats even more fun is planning a bash with a bunch of your best girlfriends.

now that is a real treat. 

a group of us hosted a shower for one of our dear friends, shannon.

she is having her first baby girl in just a few weeks. 

we have prayed for this baby. we have hoped for this baby.

we cannot wait to hold this sweet little baby!

planning a shower for shannon was so special.

and we all thought it turned out just perfectly. 

take a peak.

the table was a mixture of antique silver. driftwood. & pinks.

the perfect combination of feminine. rustic. elegance.

i just adore the vintage baby cup filled to the brim with sweet treats. 

fresh blooms are a shower necessity. 

i love mixing in roses. ivy. & other greens.

are you just dying over this crystal baby bottle & teddy bear?

how impossibly sweet are they?!

little accents like the pink bow around the teddy really make it sweet.

it is a simple way to really emphasize the gender of the baby.

if this were a boy shower. a blue ribbon.

it the gender was a surprise. a white or yellow ribbon.

one of my favorite details of this shower were these cookies . . .

the scallops. the dresses. the details.

they are quite possibly the most beautiful {and delicious} cookies i have ever seen.

i would love to take credit for them . . . but i can't.

sweet holly from holly's sweet hobby made them for us.

she is an absolute doll to work with. i highly recommend using her.

animal crackers are always a darling way to celebrate a baby shower.

they are just so perfect.

holly also helped us knock it out of the park with these sweet treats . . .

personalized baby blocks.

and get this. they are actually rice krispie treats!

is your heart skipping a beat?! 

my heart was bursting at the seams when these blocks arrived.

i kept checking my front steps for the delivery man. 

and when that box was opened i just melted. literally melted. 

i love how this cake turned out.

and {spoiler alert} it was a breeze to whip together.

to save time. i cheated a little bit on the cake.

remember i have a busy toddler & a newborn to care for. 

time. is. precious.

i had gigi's cupcakes bake the cake & frost it for me.

this truly saved me time & clean up & stress. 

game changer. totally worth it.

plus. then i just got to do the really fun part . . .

the decorating.

some chopped pistachios. some raspberry macaroons. 

some white chocolate bark. 

& a big. beautiful. bloom. 

and you have yourself one stunning cake.

i found a cake similar to this on pinterest & used it as my inspiration.

so simple. so fun. anyone can do this. 

{and your guests will be easily wow-ed}

i really loved the naked frosting technique. 

i thought it would add to the rustic charm element of the table.

another treat of hosting a soiree is getting to break out your silver.

its not very often that i get to use my silver flatware . . .

so when the opportunity arises. i take advantage.

it is worth the work of polishing.

us girls decided to keep the menu super simple.

totally delicious. but super simple. 

some green grapes.

the worlds best chopped salad {recipe to come}.

& chicken salad croissants. 

i have to say. i think that my girlfriends 

& i put together a wonderful shower to celebrate baby girl kula. 

the best part is that is truly was so simple & completely cost conscious.

shannon. we can hardly wait to meet your sweet little bundle.

she is already covered in prayer & lots of love. 

Tweet

diy magnetic board.

i love the idea of a magnetic board in a playroom.

it is just so much fun. & really stinkin cute.

it provides great entertainment. imagination stimulation. & a bit of education. too.

i had been on the hunt for the perfect one . . . but just could not find it.

i wanted it to be extra big. and to order an extra big one costs extra big bucks. 

so. i decided that we could just make our most perfect magnetic board.

& it turned out exactly as i had hoped it would. 

our board is a whoppin' four feet by six feet.

& the entire board cost less than 100 dollars to build.

{thats a steal compared to the options i found online}

the kicker is that it only took one weekend to make. 

{thanks to a super handy dad}

first things first. 

we got a piece of sheet metal cut to the size we wanted.

next. we used liquid nails to adhere the sheet metal to a piece of plywood.

{you want the plywood & sheet metal to be the same size}

using clamps to hold the pieces together . . . let the glue dry overnight. 

pick up some trim molding from home depot to use for your framing.

paint it the color of your choosing. i chose glossy black. per usual. 

adhere the trim to the sheet metal using liquid nails. 

after the board & trim have completely dried

it is time to hang your board.

keep in mind that the board is very heavy.

you will definitely want to make sure you affix it well. 

then voila!

you have your very own magnetic board. 

accessorize your board with age appropriate magnets & watch the fun begin. 

i chose to use wooden animals. letters. & dinosaurs. 

they are super cute & big enough that they won't fit in patrick's mouth. 

all of the animals have really sparked patrick's curiosity.

he loves to point at each of them so we can tell him their names.

he also loves to try to take the magnets off & put them back on again.

it is really fun to watch him explore his great big new toy. 

yay! 

we always knew magnetic boards were way fun . . .

but who knew they were so easy to make?!

Tweet