daughter :: daughter

Holiday Printables and Decor Ideas

Need some last minute decoration help as the days quickly countdown to the arrival of in-laws, siblings, nieces and nephews? All of these projects simply require paper, ink, a printer, scissors, tape and/or some old picture frames. Maybe a few dollars. Here are the quick links to get you from bare spaces to festive places in no time.

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yes...this one requires glue and glitter!

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And for the more ambitious...

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Now you know what we're working on tonight!

This Is Serious Business

game on = we are gone!

Kid Friendly Holiday Treats

Here are a few, simple kid-friendly cookie-type treats that you can easily make in under an hour. The best part? Only one of them requires the oven! So if you don't want to bring a pre-made grocery store tray to the next holiday party and you aren't exactly looking forward to cracking eggs, measuring flour and lots of dirty dishes then look no further. This is the perfect compromise.

Grab a bag of marshmallows for this first treat. Melt dipping chocolate in a bowl on 50% power in 30 second increments. Once it is melted, insert a pretzel stick in a large marshmallow, dip in the melted chocolate then dip in sprinkled of your choice. Allow to harden on wax paper. Instant marshmallow pop!

Melt some more chocolate, white this time, and drizzle it across Oreo cookies spread out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with your choice of sprinkle(s) and allow the chocolate to harden. Bedazzled Oreo's!

While the Oreo's are out, pull out some pre-made cookie dough and squash a ball of dough around a cookie. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for up to 20 minutes (the more cookie dough, the longer it will take and the bigger the final cookie!). When the tops are golden brown, pull them out of the oven for this sinful treat.

Yes. These are Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. And they are sinful! So sinful we had to cut the giant cookies into quarters. But these are worth having to turn the oven on for!

But they are so, so good.

Last, but not least, open a container of mini chocolate glazed cookies, break apart some pretzel twists and add on a red M&M and two white chocolate chips for this cute little reindeer treat.

{how sweet it is}

Present Perfect Perfectly Presented: Boys!

OK. We'll be the first to admit that when a customer walks into our store and asks us what to buy for a boy between the ages of 10 and 12, we are usually stumped. Actually, almost always stumped. It is one of those age groups that is SO hard to buy for {and let's not even get started on how hard it is to shop for males in general}! All they want is tech gadgets (too expensive) and more tech gadgets to improve on their current tech gadgets. We found ourselves stumped this week when it came time to send our cousin a birthday present for his 12th birthday. But one of our favorite card companies inspired us - Selfish Kitty by Calypso Cards. We love what we put together. And we think he'll love it too! Here we go:

It all starts with the card.

outside...

and inside...

the gift

with the real gift, of course

wrap it up in an old shopping bag

and it all fit perfectly in a

USPS Priority Rate Small Box.

{Present Perfect}

{Perfectly Presented}

Business Notes: Main Street Love

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As a small business, operating on the main street in the heart of our own town, we couldn't resist sharing this letter with you from the CEO of the American Booksellers Association. As business owners, we thrive on the knowledge that we are working in the heart of our community, we support local organizations, we interact with members of our community and we like to believe that we are something unique. Note-ably Unique. We are not a bookstore, but we are a small indie retailer. With heart. Lots of heart. If there is anything to take from this letter, it is these final thoughts from Oren Teicher:

"...indie retailers remain the heart of countless communities --

offering discovery, energy, support, and unique experiences.

See you on Main Street."

{Think Big. Support Local Businesses.}

Party Inspiration: Star Wars

While browsing a certain kitchen catalog for gift ideas, we stumbled across this:

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Which naturally led to the question, "What would a Star Wars party look like?" Sure enough, every question has an answer when cyberspace lurks all around. Here are some of our favorite invitations:

lightsaber invites {via}

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And here is the single best party inspiration picture, from hello my sweet, to show you what the food {isn't the best part the food!} table might include: