I noticed the other day that the toys that get the most play in our house are - hands down - building toys. They're the best source of open-ended entertainment! Plus everyone likes to build...from the baby (who, I guess, is more into demolition) to grandparents. Our current favorites are wooden castle blocks and MagnaTiles, but I have my eye on some of these new sets! There's something endlessly fascinating about creating miniature worlds...

I love that this city includes landscape pieces.

The configurations are endless with this erasable chalk paint DIY!

This one reminds me of "It's a Small World"...in a good way ;)

I want these stamps so badly. Look at all of the brownstone detailing!

Doesn't get simpler than a washi tape city grid! I love this idea for rainy days.

I was looking around the other day and thinking that I needed some BIG artwork to cover some empty wall space. Then I remembered this large piece of canvas cloth I had in my basement! It only took an afternoon to pull together the finished product, and I love how it turned out.

First, I sewed the long sides to prevent fraying, and then sewed a small "pocket" along the top and bottom to insert the dowels I had.

Then I inserted the dowels, and screwed little hooks into the top one.

Next I sketched out what I wanted to write in pencil. I wanted something that would my kids as happy as it made me, so I picked a verse from a song that I sing to them every night! I traced over the pencil in a fabric marker (helpful to prevent bleeding on the fabric).

I ended up going over the letters several times after this picture to make the contrast better. And then I used a steamer to get out all of the wrinkles! I could have done this earlier, but it was such a big canvas that I was working on the floor and kind of crawling around on it. :)

Next, I got a length of rope, and just tied it to each hook on the top dowel.

Then the fun part - finding the right spot in our house for our new art!

What do you think? The possibilities for personalization are endless: favorite notes, poems, lyrics, family mottos - I love thinking of more options!

With kids being home more, we thought it would be fun to create some color pages from our newest book "I Love the Mountains." Do you guys remember this song when you were little? It was one of my favorite songs that my parents would sing to me! 

Click on the image and save it directly to your computer to print.  

I know it can be a struggle trying to balance everything that is happening right now, but give yourself and your family some grace- a lot has changed in a very short amount of time. Everyone is adjusting. I know when I get frustrated at my kids or feel annoyed by the situation, I try to take a deep breath, change my attitude, and view this extra time with my family as a gift. WHEN I can do this (when is the keyword because it is HARD) joy and peace replace my frustration and annoyance.  

We are so grateful for you Mama- you got this! 

We're so excited about these new party boxes! Each of box contains everything you will need to throw a beautiful, coordinated (and easy!) party for your little one. And each corresponds with one of your favorite memory books! While the party boxes take care of most of the party decor, we thought it'd be fun to round up some extra crafts, decorations, and snacks to go with the themes. Here's a twist on flower crowns for a little artist party!

It's sometimes tricky for little ones to keep those lovely wreaths on their heads, so I thought about using basic headbands instead! You can use any, but I found thin ones to be easiest with the floral tape. I also found some cute leaf washi tape to help everything stay together!

As for your flowers, you just have to make sure you don't get carried away by anything too huge :). I tried to pick out smaller blooms with flexible stems.

Then I cut each flower, leaving enough stem to attach it to the headband with the floral tape.

Then I marked where the flowers should start (you don't want any flowers tickling their ears and getting ripped off!), and used the floral tape to secure them. The floral tape is much stickier than the washi tape, so I used the washi tape to cover the headband itself, and then the floral tape to secure the flowers to the headband, and then went back and covered visible parts with the leafy washi tape! Alternate the flowers a bit side-to-side to help the crown look more full.

They all ended up so cute! And they didn't take long, so I think they could be made ahead of time for party favors, or as a craft during the party itself. The girls loved picking out their own flower combinations!

We added some leaves to this one, and I love how it looks!

As you can see, they couldn't stop at just one! :) 

We're so excited about the new party boxes! Each of these boxes contains everything you need to throw a beautiful, coordinated (and easy!) party for your little one. And each corresponds with one of your favorite memory books! While the party boxes take care of most of the party planning, we thought it'd be fun to round up some extra crafts, decorations, and snacks to go with the themes. Here's a simple dessert for an animal lover party!

This is ideal for your very littlest helpers, because they can make it all themselves! You just need milk, and both vanilla and chocolate pudding mixes.

Following the directions, make the puddings in separate bowls:

And then make sure to chill the puddings for at least an hour in the fridge. You want to make sure they're as firm as possible!

I found these cute yogurt cups which we've started using for so many things - their lids make them super convenient. 

Now it's time to layer! We found that ice cream scoops were best for getting the right amount of pudding into the cup each time. Alternate the vanilla and chocolate puddings, trying to level them out a bit each time - but no stress! Zebra stripes aren't straight! :)

And for an animal lover party, it's obviously all about the presentation! Black and white striped ribbons around the jars, and little zebra toys for the guests to take home make this simple dessert a crowd-pleaser.