I have always had a major love for vintage bags and suitcases, and am so lucky to have some inherited from grandparents and great aunts. A few are in use (so great for gloves and scarves!) but none quite like this totally awesome DIY nig…
My husband and I do Valentine's Day Lite, meaning that we will not be forking out $200 for a fancy meal, or buying each other expensive jewelry or electronics as a sign of our devotion. But that doesn't mean I am totally comfortable with…
As Valentine's Day creeps closer, I've been looking out for treats that don't list corn syrup or "chocolate-y" filling among the ingredients. One ingredient I do like: Felt. And that's pretty much all these adorable fortune cookies are m…
Labels are a necessary part of school life, but don't go to the dark side and use marker on masking tape. With these free Star Wars printable tags, you don't have to. Whether your kid goes to the Jedi Academy or PS 81, these labels will …
When we discovered French site Tiny-Us last year, we were taken with their mission to sell paper dolls and other printables as a fundraiser for a local school for children with disabilities. And now I'm just as taken with their new 2012 …
One of the cool things about ordering printable calendars from Etsy artists, is (besides the whole money saving thing and the whole support an indie artist thing) that you can discover cool things from all over the world. In this case, t…
You could cover my house with all the leftover wrapping paper I have accumulated throughout the years. But, for some reason, my gift tags have a way of disappearing right when I need them most. Fortunately, I've uncovered a ton of cool p…
If you're like us, Christmas Eve day is going to be spent in a big gift wrap frenzy. As much as I love those brown paper packages tied up with string, I really love when the gifts I'm giving look as festive as the holidays themselves. He…
If you're a go-getter sewing type who hasn't quite go-gotten around to making all of your Christmas presents yet, you need to check out two adorable sewing books by Choly Knight. Sew Kawaii ! and Sew Your Own Pet Pillows will have you pr…
Okay, Cool Mom Picks is a safe space where I feel like I can admit this freely: I'm starting to panic a little. The gift-purchasing isn't going as planned. I keep seeing all these amazingly fabulous personalized gifts--that I should have…
If you're the type who likes to fill your holiday gifts with handmade love, we've got a whole bunch of beautiful ideas for you. My grandmother was a crocheter who made such hilariously bad gifts ( sorry, Grandma! ), they were the highlig…
Not to be dissing those chalk gold-wrapped coins with an actual chocolate content of about .03%, but if you're going to treat your dreidel winners with sweets this Hanukkah, we've got a better idea. The Hanukkah chocolate disks from CMP …
I consider myself fortunate that I do not have to cook Thanksgiving dinner---as does most of my extended family, as they will tell you. But, that doesn't mean I can't help all you hosts out with some great (and inexpensive) Thanksgiving …
Between a personal blog, a paper journal, Facebook and my memory, I have plenty of places to jot down those hilarious things my kids say. The problem is, I have too many places. But mama Alexandra of the creative Kinderpendent blog has d…
Back before I had kids, I was actually pretty crafty. But add four bundles of joy and I'm struggling to think of something to make for dinner, let alone what to do with empty egg cartons. Well, thanks to this new book from one of our fav…
I've tried to encourage my tween's intense love of all things art since she was a wee thing. To fuel her fire, we have loads of art books from "open-ended" coloring books like Rosie Flo's and those by Taro Gomi, to more academic tomes wi…
With the money I'm spending on Halloween costumes and bags of candy, I'm not about to drop a fortune on decor too. So, I'm so pleased to have found so many affordable (and free!) printables that don't require me to do much of anything or…
My kids are at the age where their Trick-or-Treat bags return home weighing almost as much as they do. At this rate they'll be up to their knees in mini-treats until 2012. So I'm often looking out for other things to hand out at Hallowee…
I love family projects that are truly intended for the whole family. You know, instead the kind where on parent works (and gets frustrated), the other parent helps (and offers constructive advice), and the kids sit waiting impatiently. S…
I am so not a crafty mom. I've said it a zillion times. But this here tutorial is so easy, and the results so awesome, even I can do it. The animal craft jar project idea at House to Home is literally as easy as gathering up all those an…
After our local Border's bookstore closed, I became a bit "woe is me" about the future of books. I'm one of those people who just can't imagine sitting down my kids for a bedtime story with my iPad in my lap. So, I'm rejoicing over this …
Some mornings, as I leave for work, my daughter says, "Mommy, give me something from your bag so I can remember you!" I reach in and pull out a business card, a pen...anything will do really. It's become a sweet little tradition between …
Hide the good scissors isn't just something you say because the kids will just ruin them cutting cardboard and digging holes in the dirt. It also happens to be the name of a super-sweet Etsy shop that we're digging hardcore. The good new…
If you know kidrobot , then you know its team of artists create masterpieces of culture. Lots of words have been used to describe the appeal, and I love all of them: quirky, pop-art, Warholesque, cartoonish, comical....the list goes on. …