the pink elephant in the room: personalized baby prints
Three years is a very long time to put off something, especially when that something is a personalized birth print that you’ve been dying to order and hang in your only child’s bedroom. Cue severe mom guilt. I don’t know if it’s the fact that we just celebrated her 3rd birthday last week, or that I found out that I’m pregnant with her brother or sister, or that I stare at the blank wall above her bed every day, but I am FINALLY getting my order in. I fell in love with these illustrated prints by Swedish artist Isabelle Norman Sällström the moment I saw them. Don’t worry, she prints in English, too, and delivers to many places around the world. Just thought I’d pass along her website in case there are any other, ahem, guilty procrastinators out there. — Ginny F.
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fun with tupperware: bang-yao liu’s ‘plastic city’
Taiwan artist Bang-yao Liu created ‘Plastic City’, a brightly colored rendering of the urban landscape of Shanghai made up of plastic bins. Bang-yao combed Shanghai’s marketplace for plastic products to create the thriving, constantly developing city. It’s fun to see the usually utilitarian household staples get a high octane makeover. The city itself is a ‘Where’s Waldo’ of products and made up of garbage cans, toilet brushes, coat hangers, broom brushes, traffic cones, and laundry baskets. The piece is charming and fun — it’s impossible not to crack a smile looking at the pictures! So why create a mini Shanghai out of plastic? According to Bang-yao, “Life is short and the world is so colorful.†Use ‘Plastic City’ as inspiration for erecting your own scale model metropolis: it would be an incredibly fun and imaginative project with kids! -– Katie D.
steal this idea: under the table playhouse
Second only to the arrival of the occasional discarded refrigerator box, playing house in self-made forts was my favorite way to while away my childhood hours. Little Sarah would have loved (and probably ravaged) the Color Me House, and she definitely would have had a ball with this playhouse under the table, expertly crafted by Jean of The Artful Parent. The custom design would surely save time in hauling out and folding away would-be fort linens, and the craft itself would be a fun and creative project for kids and adults alike. –Sarah C.
in five: gingerbread cake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting
We’re at that point of winter break where I’m starting to feel like a cross between Julie the cruise ship director and a prison warden. Add in figuring out three regular meals a day plus holiday meals, and I’m ready for something quick and easy. This one-bowl treat was just the thing. All you need is one box gingerbread cake mix (I used Trader Joe’s) made to directions, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a tub of Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice cream cheese. Serve while still warm, then sit back and relax. — Sarah L.
here’s a tradition: maple syrup snow candy
I must have read “Little House in the Big Woods” 20 times growing up. It wasn’t until I became a parent, however, that I decided to try and make maple syrup snow candy myself. Now it’s something that we do every year, without fail. In the book, the making of maple syrup brought the whole extended family together for a dance and hard work, of course. There was the hauling in of the sap buckets, the heating of the big kettles, the stirring for hours on end. Fortunately for us, making it now is as simple as grabbing syrup from the store and waiting for a good snowfall.
To start, heat up about a cup of real maple syrup on the stove until it begins to bubble. Add one tablespoon of butter and stir until melted. Keep stirring for 6-7 minutes so it doesn’t boil over. (You’ll know it’s ready when the syrup mix starts to form hard balls when it drips off the spoon.) Remove from heat. While the syrup mixture is cooling for a few minutes, run outside and fill several plates or roasting pans with snow. Bring in and drizzle spoonfuls of the syrup mixture over the snow. (Just make sure everyone stands back for this part, especially the little ones. Although the mix has cooled a bit, it’s still very hot!) That’s it — instant maple candy. Want an even easier way? If the first snowfall happens to hit right before bedtime, you’ll get no complaints if you drizzle syrup straight out of the fridge over the snow. It won’t be quite as candy-like, but it’s still the perfect winter treat of sweet and cold. — Sarah L.
