There’s no place like gnome

by Betsy | Cards + Stationery

Confession time. When I was a kid I was totally into gnomes, fairies and pixies. And, while my love for airborne nymphs has diminished, I still have a soft spot for the old, bearded, chubby forest dwellers.I think that’s why I got all nostalgic when I saw these...

Read this, then go hug a teacher

by Mir | Books for Adults

My kids have had great teachers, and my kids have had terrible teachers. Reading 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny, I found myself loving the great ones even more, and even feeling a bit more tolerant towards the terrible ones.And then, of course, there was also...

Personalized stationery where you’d least expect it.

by Cool Mom Team | Cards + Stationery

Personalized stationery is one of those things I never think to buy for myself, but when I get it as a gift I tear through it. So when I was looking to maybe be a little proactive and refill the stash, I was shocked to find what it cost — or at least the stuff I...

Cool budget tip: Make your own popsicles

by Liz Gumbinner | Kitchen + Dining

Now that the weather is actually starting to be spring-like in these parts, the kids are asking for ice cream. So I was thinking that maybe this year, to save a bit of cash, we’d do more delicious frozen treat making instead of delicious frozen treat buying,...

Better living through less chemistry – natural cleaning products from Better Life

by Christina Refford | Storage + Organization

One of the first things I did when I started working again was hire a house cleaner, so when I needed to test Better Life’s natural cleaning products, I called in the pros to try them out. Of course my request was initially met with skepticism by my professional...

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s super [your kid’s name here]!

by Betsy | Cards + Stationery

There are lots of cute birthday invites out there–heck, we feature tons of them right her–but we have not seen anything quite like the custom comic book invitations from Egba Originals. The company will create an entire comic book starring your child as...

Affordable baby gifts that look like they’re not

by Cool Mom Team | Art + Decor

I love buying artwork for baby gifts, but the idea of actually taking the time to get something framed is a bit of pain in the postpartum rear. So fortunately CMP (and pretty much every design blog) fave Binth Studio has a new line of wonderful framed prints, at...

Stick it; stick it good

by Mir | Cards + Stationery

Why give a goodie bag full of useless plastic toys that will break five minutes after you give them out, when for the same price you could give each party attendee three sheets of personalized stickers that go with your party’s theme? At least that’s how I...

DAD IS SLEEPING AS HE ENJOYED THE WHISKEY AT THE PARTY and other hilarious emails from your mother

by Cool Mom Team | Books for Adults

For years, I’ve saved the emails my mom has sent me. Some are funny, some are sweet, some are nothing anyone else would appreciate besides maybe my brother. I thought I was the only person nostalgic enough to do such a thing, until I discovered Love, Mom:...

Another way to hang your kid’s pretty face on the wall

by Carrie | Art + Decor

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother had silhouettes of her six kids hung along the fireplace. I loved the fact that just by looking at the profiles of these children I could identify the adults around me. I was happy to discover how Pretty Faces has...

Time to go bananas

by Mir | Art + Decor

I’ll grant you that — my son’s nickname being Monkey, after all — my fondness for all things primate-related may be a bit beyond that of the average person. Still, if you don’t think this little monkey clock by Tree by Kerri Lee is...

When you need your own personal children’s librarian

by Rita | Books for Adults

What happens when you need to find a book on heroes the night before your kid needs it for kindergarten?After you’ve exhausted our favorite children’s books, you can do what I did and check out the selections in What to Read When, by LitLife founder Pam...