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'

Hanukkah Candles and Menorahs:

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1 A manzanita-branch menorah sprayed silver.

2 Glittered menorah!

3 A menorah made with tiny glass bottles adorned with ribbon.

4 If you're feeling really ambitious - roll your own candles!

5 A menorah made of sherry glasses!

Click here for how to's.

Dreidel Crafts:

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1 Glittered dreidels - you'd be surprised by how easy these are to make!

2 Pretty Dreidel pouch.

3 Paper dreidels.

4 Dreidel gift card holders.

5 Paper place settings.

Click here for how to's.

Kids Hanukkah Crafts:

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1 An envelope for each day!

2 Punched gift-wrap garland.

3 Easy Star of David gift wrap.

4 Dreidel paper chains!

Click here for how to's.

Happy Hanukkah from all of us in the Crafts Dept!

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 !!!!

Just in time, too—Halloween is just around the corner. After that, it's a whirlwind of celebrations: Thanksgiving, Hannukah, and then Christmas!

If you are inspired to make something for the holidays, we've got you covered from A to Z—or rather, from New Year's Eve to Christmas Day. No more worrying about how to decorate the house, what to give as a gift, how to prepare your dining table, or even how to achieve that perfect candlelit glow:

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What's your favorite holiday? Do you make something special to commemorate the occasion?

Rubber stamped with their initials, a reminder of what room to go to the first day, or the most basic of math problems, filled with some stylish school supplies (Muji is perfect source for this) and gum (my kids would probably be even happier if I added some more bags filled with candy)...

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1 Back-to-school "treats"

2 for B

3 for D

4 Some of the "fillers."

5 The little bags waiting to be filled.

...they might just make the end of summer and going back to school a little less sad.

P.S. I love these little bags so much that I think I might fill them with cookies for the next bake sale. Or with a small present for a teacher's gift at Christmas!?

It was quite easy, and the folded-in-half rolled-up bill fit in nicely.

My son had a nice time, and I hope his friend enjoyed his special day and gift. For a different occasion I guess the box could hold a piece of jewelry, too?! Or some candy?!

Thanks to all the Dads, Papas, and Pops that taught us how to ride a bike, took us camping, helped us move into our first apartment, and were there when we needed you most (even if it was the middle of the night and we were just finishing our shift at the movie theater after the last screening let out—hypothetically speaking, of course).

Here are some of our top tips for showing Dad that you care:

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1 Homemade pickles make a perfect garnish for his famous martini.

2 Pocket squares are always in fashion.

3 Give Dad's favorite snacks and condiments some personal style.

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5 Get down to business with a shirt-folded card.

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8 Take a trip down memory lane with a ring-bound scrapbook.

9 Give Dad a reason to write memos from the heart.

10 Warm memories and warmer wishes make a great card.

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For these ideas and many more, click here.

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1 The buffet table with garlands hung above

2 Monofilament and bright-pink lanyard (really inexpensive from Home Depot), strung with taken-apart silk flowers and pieces of ribbon. The paper books are made with four creases that make a "spine"...

3 Here is the book how-to. We used old paperbacks for the "pages." The creases are really simple if you use this scoring tool.

4 The talented Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. designed this invitation. It includes a bookplate so that guests can inscribe their book for the new library.

5 Our food department made these Ring Around the Rose-Petal Fools. I was crazy for them! They taste like roses and raspberries, and Sarah put them on scalloped doilies folded in half to look like clouds. Adorable!

6 Here is a behind-the-scenes shot of trying out the garland in the crafts room.

7 And here is a mock-up of the cake decorations...in Styrofoam.

8 This was the real thing. Sugar and Spice Cake... because Elizabeth was having a baby girl!

Click here for the clip art and recipes from this story.  For more of Anna's work, see Rifle Paper Co.

I wanted to share an easy Mother's Day gift idea and another great craft (see gallery below), both using our Martha Stewart Crafts Screw Punch. To celebrate Mother's Day, we will be giving away a screw punch and set of our 24 pack of glitter!! (See below for details.)

One of our talented crafters, Emily Eibel, came up with these projects and she describes them here:

"The screw punch has many uses when it comes to paper crafting, but I love to repurpose my tools to craft with fabric. A personalized tote bag can be a great Mother’s Day gift–and you can easily accomplish a unique look by using a screw punch to design your stencil.

To make this tote for my mom, Lucy, I found simple flower and type templates on the Martha Stewart site here and used them to guide my screw punch.

You’ll need:

• screw punch
• type and flower templates
• freezer paper
• iron and ironing board
• canvas tote bag
• acrylic paint in light and dark pink

1. Layer the template over a piece of freezer paper (shiny side down), and screw punch the design using all three hole sizes.
2. Arrange the freezer paper stencils on your tote and iron them down (again, shiny side down) on medium to low heat. Freezer paper, when ironed, creates a temporary bond to fabric, which keeps your paint from leaking!
3. Put some cardboard inside your tote so paint won't leak through to the other side.
4. Pounce acrylic paint through the stencil. You can use tape or a piece of card stock to mask holes if you are using more than one color. Let paint dry.
5. Peel off the freezer paper stencil, and fill the tote with magazines, delicious treats, or books by your mom’s favorite author!"

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1 If you’re welcoming a new baby, the screw punch can be used to stencil blocks of a simple quilted pillow or blanket.



2 Your favorite cookie cutters can be traced onto freezer paper, punched, and used as stencils, too!



3 Freezer paper is incredibly easy to use as a stencil! (Iron shiny side down—see tote instructions.)



4 Pounce paint with a stencil brush onto your fabric.



5 Peel off the paper to reveal your design!



6 The giveaway: Martha Stewart Crafts glitter set of 24 colors and Martha Stewart Crafts screw punch. (The glitter would make a nice gift for Mom!)

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Thanks Emily!

To see more of Emily Eibel’s fabric projects visit her website, Tombyillustration.com and blog, poppypod.blogspot.com.

For a chance to win the Martha Stewart Crafts Screw Punch and Essential Colors Glitter Set, please leave a comment on this post. All comments must be received by 6 p.m. on Friday, April 29. We'll choose one commenter at random to win the prize. Read the official rules for this giveaway here.

Using a 2 1/2" punch, we cut circles out of adhesive paper (though you could easily use plain paper and double-sided tape). My son wrote his messages (yes, we'll work on penmanship), and stuck the circles inside the frisbee.

They fit perfectly into those square envelopes you can buy for CDs...and the peekaboo effect is certainly fun and summery. Thank you everyone for making our spring party a success, regardless of the weather.