Spruce up your holiday decor with an evergreen DIY yule use all year round

I partnered with Staples Canada who sponsored this fun DIY post. The creative content and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to make your holiday cards part of your decor, have I got a plum pudding of an idea for you! DIY — and by that I mean Display Individual Yuletides — with this festive and evergreen display yule want to use all year round.

Sweet! Celebrations: The Ultimate Dessert & Party Planning Companion by Elise Strachan

I need someone to have a baby. Or a birthday. Or a bar mitzvah. Or maybe we’ll just make up our own occasion because there are so many fun, festive and new-to-me ideas in Elise Strachan’s Sweet! Celebrations: The Ultimate Dessert & Party Planning Companion  and I want to try them all. Simon & Schuster Canada sent me a copy to review so here’s the skinny including the couple of treats I tried — one quick and easy no-bake, one a bit more persnickety that I turned into a no-bake — and both super cute and delicious. 

Stick-er with me, Valentine + A giveaway

“Where are you, my little object of art? I am here to collect you.” — Pepe Le Pew • If you’ve been reading try small things for a while, you might remember my crush on Pipsticks, the sticker club that delivers the most delightful little packages each month to subscribers worldwide (I wrote about it here). Well I’m still stuck on Pipsticks, and it’s even dreamier than before! “Is it possible to be too attractive?” Pepe would ask. Mais non! Here’s why. 

Cactus Coloring Book by Brittany Jepsen + Win a copy!

My blogger crush Brittany Jepsen of The House That Lars Built surprised fans this month with her second coloring book, Cactus Coloring Book: Cacti and Succulent Patterns for Beautiful Color Play. As you’d expect, she threw the most ah-mazing release party (in her home state of Utah, dammit dammit) with hands-on workshops for paper and cupcake cacti and how to care for your plants. Brittany sent me a copy of the book and another to share with one of you. Come take a peek! 

DIY Woven Art by Rachel Denbow + Win a copy!

I’ve been following Rachel Denbow’s weaving series on A Beautiful Mess for a couple of years now, so I was so excited when I saw she’d come out with a book, DIY Woven Art: Inspiration and Instruction for Handmade Wall Hangings, Rugs, Pillows, and More! (released this past August). Written for beginners and more experienced weavers looking for fresh inspiration, there’s fruit of the loom for a variety of skill sets and tastes. Step-by-step instructions (and three DIY looms!) take you through 15 projects and several different techniques. Make a loom from a scrap of cardboard and some thrift-store yarn and try a simple wall hanging in candy-coloured stripes or use your trusty frame loom and that special wool roving you’ve been saving to make a more complex statement piece. 

Create a masterpiece! Paint by Sticker + Win a copy!

I know there are a bajillion other blogs you could be reading right now besides mine, so when somebody tells you yours is one of their favourites and they’ve discovered all kinds of things from it, well it makes you feel pretty great. Thank you Paméla! B, and thanks to all of you making try small things part of your day. Quite a few of you like to craft and colour, either by yourself or with your kids, so I think Paint by Sticker (out just last week!) is something you’d really enjoy. Just like paint-by-number, each of the pictures is divided into spaces, only instead of colouring them in with paint you fill them with the corresponding sticker. There’s a version for kids too, but I thought my almost-nine-year-old daughter could totally tackle the more detailed grown-up version so we put that one to the test. 

Four fun ways to decorate easter eggs

Decorating eggs at Easter is my idea of a good time. Also, eating chocolate. But that goes without saying. Here are four fun ways of decorating we’ve tried (the eggs below are all ours) and links to the how-to’s. Hop to it and have fun! 

DIY, DAMMIT! A Practical Guide to Curse-Free Crafting + Win a copy!

If DIY failures have made you think about swearing off crafting forever, Joselyn Hughes is going to make you think again. And pee laughing while you’re doing it. Just a few pages into Joselyn’s DIY, DAMMIT! A Practical Guide to Curse-Free Crafting and I was annoying my hubby reading funny bits aloud and wanting to make all the things. There’s 35 easy, affordable and good-looking crafts for gifting, organizing, wearing, decorating and entertaining, plus a quiz to help you find out what kind of crafter you are (I love quizzes!), what to drink while crafting (ha!) and what to do when disaster strikes. And more! So what to make first? The platter with panache? Beer in a poncho? (See, the crafts even sound funny. Dammit she’s good!)

Summer surprise garland

Summer’s long days leave plenty of time for spontaneous fun. Only I like my fun a little more planned.