Creating this heart however isn't magic ... it is very simple using the Martha Stewart Crafts tissue paper pom pom kits. The large size pom poms can be found here, and the medium size pom poms can be found here. They are precut and all you need to do is fold and twist a little. You could also use only the smaller sizes and make a scaled down version. Which doesn't mean it would show less love. Happy Valentine's day !

Blake printed out the Eiffel Towel (and other iconic landmarks) in black and white onto regular office paper and wrapped it around plain glass vases. Laura enlarged Paris maps she found on google, and covered the table. Everyone brought French treats - madeleines, baguette, french cheese and fruit. Marcie created a French radio station on Pandora ... and since it was already dark outside, the lit landmark votives with the New York skyline sparkling from the office windows behind,  really transformed it into the City of Lights ... Paris that is. Needless to say, I was very moved ! Merci, mes amis !!!!

I took home the left over madeleines and maps, and made myself a French breakfast the next morning. I think I will laminate those maps ... they are such great placemats !

While in Paris, I used the ShakeItPhoto app that I took the photos above with ... and, since I still like to pretend I'm in Paris, take a look at some others I took while there. Make yourself a Cafe au Lait, and enjoy a Paris moment with me:

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1 perfect tourist moment

2 gorgeous, even in the rain

3 perfect view out the window of Les Arts Decoratifs

4 in one of my favorite stores 'Bonpoint'

5 Atelier Brancusi at the Centre Pompidou

6 delicious diner at Le Relais de Venise

7 the other favorite store 'Merci'

Margrit and Albrecht, the owners of the farm and breeders of those amazing Merino sheep took good care of us. Our sweet little model was a trooper ( the handknit hat, cowl and mittens must've kept her warm enough) ...

... and a nap wrapped up in our  handknit blanket (made with yarn from the Morehouse sheep) was very cozy.

Depending if you need something to keep you warm very quickly, or you're planning for a project that will keep you happy knitting for those cold winter nights, there are many easy projects in this story. All based on simple rectangles, so even a beginner can soon be warm and cozy. Happy Knitting !

p.s. There is one very sweet teacher in this group who is not as sports crazed as the others .. and since her speciality is teaching reading, instead of the team cutters I found alphabet cutters and will add my favorite little notebook- lined baggies to the kit (now, that is what I would prefer, if I was a teacher of the academic kind)

For our 'Customs made' story in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living, we interpreted the British Isles through Stockings. Felted sweaters and knit i cords sewn onto wool fabric became  stockings inspired by Aaran knit sweaters, and Tartan fabrics complete with fringe, tassel and pin represented Scottish Kilts. When looking for Tartan fabrics, I came across this company, which has every possible tartan you can imagine. I thought it would be so fun to find your family tartan and make Stockings for your entire family !? If you don't know if you have a family tartan, check on this website . And if you can't find one, you can always pretend, no !? Santa (or father Christmas) won't mind.

(you can find the how to for this stocking here .. for the felted stocking here ... and the i cord stocking here)

1 close up of table setting

2 the grand table

One of my favorite projects I worked on recently is the 'Customs made' story in our current December issue of Martha Stewart Living. When developing the Russia inspired table, I right knew away that this was how I wanted to decorate the table for my mother's 70th birthday party. I would shift it farther east to Japan, as her house is decorated in a very minimal Asian way. How fun would it be. But I realized quickly, that I wouldn't be able to fly to Germany just to decorate a table, so I decided to pack everything into a box for her to have all the decorations she would need.

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1 place mat, napkin ties, votive and lanterns

2 close up of napkin tie. Simply twist a doubled length of DMC gold metallic embroidery floss into a cord and knot both ends

3 tied votive as example

4 precut papers and string for the votives

5 the advent calendar fits the decor as well

Clearly I couldn't cover a table, so instead I cut the paper into place mat size. I know she has red napkins, so I didn't include those ... her table is black and her plates are white, so gold with bright red accents would feel very Asian. And since I didn't have the punches, I came up with a quick idea to wrap votives (which I know she has), making sure I included pre cut papers, gold floss and double stick tape. I spray painted the paper and a few lanterns, included red, white and black lanterns plus string and twisted DMC gold metallic floss into napkin ties ...

It'll look great in her dining area, no !? Now if I could only be there.

Happy Birthday, Mami !!!!

I realized this weekend, that I hadn't done any of the above .... sometimes when working on Christmas in July, Thanksgiving one year in advance and on Mothersday when it's time to prepare for your own Christmas ... well, it's difficult to keep all those Holidays straight. Not having an Advent Chain is not an option for my kids (as you know, having read the story), so I scrambled one together this weekend and am glad that it still worked out quite nicely.

Last year I thought it could be fun to pin a calendar page  of a 'today is' calendar to each of the packages ... needless to say I forgot to buy that calendar in time and now there aren't any 2011 ones left. So instead I printed out  24 mini calendars and circled a day on each. One problem solved. I had a few red bags left, and figured  brown paper lunch bags would have to fill in for the rest. At this point the kids like mostly candy anyway, so the supermarket was a fine place to shop .They even had gift cards.  Mini clothes pins were left from last year ; they make this so easy ... no bows, no closures, clipping the calendars on at the same time is great ( and  I can sneak presents into those last empty bags before it gets to that day)  ...  Yeah !  Just in time. The kids will be thrilled.

By the time this last bag is opened, the window sill will be filled with Christmas cards  ( thank god my brother gets a stack of great art cards for me every year , so at least I don't have to worry about making cards ... don't you love the Picasso Santa ?!) , and maybe even some white snow outside the window. It might just help me figure out what Holiday I'm in (before I return to the office in the New Year with 4th of July ideas).

oh, and my mom's advent calendar is different this year too ...  I did remember it in time,  just decided to make it look more Asian, since it was part of a whole birthday theme ( I will share that with you soon). Painting numbers onto the cards the photo holder comes with is easy  and quick ... might just be another idea for you for next year , once you've gotten your loved ones hooked on Advent calendars ... just like my family is. Happy Advent !

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If you're seeking inspiration for your Thanksgiving table (as well as a festive fall day trip north of New York), head to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture this weekend for a workshop on projects from "The Vegetable Feast" story in the November issue of Living.
We will show you  how to use veggies from the farm to create your own table settings, from candle holders to center pieces.

The event runs from 10AM - 4PM on Sunday, November 13th. The free demonstrations are 30 minutes at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00pm.

Have you seen Steph's adorable cross stitch story in the November issue of Martha Stewart Living !? It is so sweet and inspiring. The whole time while she was developing it, I would look over her shoulder, admire yet another fun detail in a drawing, recognize a friend in a finished stitched piece .... but I always had a strangely  familiar feeling I couldn't describe. Until my mom came with something she had found cleaning up : place mats (not quite finished. Yes, I have UFO's too, Kirsten !) cross stitched to represent my mom, my brother and myself (somehow my father's placemat was misplaced). I had made them for an advent calendar I make for her every year (you can read about those as well in this November issue). The funny thing is, that Steph was probably barely old enough to say "cross stitch"  (in Canada), when I was stitching these (in Germany)... yet  this many many years later, on common ground in NYC she inspires me to go back to a familiar  project.  Now that is called a 'timeless craft'. Thank you, Steph !

(ok, I admit, my mom and I could use some updated clothing .... no more purple or pink head to toe ! And I will remake one for my dad. And my own family. Can't wait. )

One question we are asked over and over again is about where we go to get inspiration for our stories. Not an easy one to answer, since each story comes from a different place, experience, need, book, family tradition, fabric swatch, dream.... But the best inspirations come when they just show up where you least expect it. So when clothes shopping for my kids at the Gap one day, I strayed to the baby section (I get nostalgic for those long-outgrown sizes) and came across this adorable shirt. I had already pinned up various gingham swatches on my wall, fascinated by the number of colors they came in, which you rarely see. So the smocking treatment on this shirt put it all together. There was a technique that could be incorporated, there should be a kids moment, those nontypical  colors could look sophisticated.... All of a sudden I "saw" the whole story. So take a look at it in our current October issue of Martha Stewart Living. With the smocking technique applied to the beautiful curtain Steph made, many projects for the house—and dolls (yes, I admit I try to sneak in kids moments). Hopefully the story will inspire you too!

Now that the story is finished, I will give the shirt to my cousin's baby, along with yet another doll I made for her (can't stop making dolls, obviously). Seeing a story come to real life, now that is inspiring!