Friday Fonts

Download these fonts for free:
1. Chopin Script
2. The King and Queen Font
3. Loki Cola
4. Mutlu Ornamental

v day.

Valentine’s day is the last holiday that I get to spend with my husband for a while, so I want to make this [overrated] holiday as fun and special for us i.e. decorating the house and making lots of sweets. Here are a few ideas that I’m loving:

Heart Shaped Cupcake Liners

Via Zoe Power

Heart Shaped Teacup & Saucer

Via weddingthings.com

Lighted Paper Doily Garland

Via Pretty Light

More to come soon… Hope you are having a blessed weekend!

letter love.

I haven’t been much of a blogger lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been crafting…

I love this banner idea for weddings, welcome homes, congratulations, babies, birthdays, gift tags, and in my most recent case: to celebrate my husband’s promotion. I love the versatility and vintage look of these letters. I placed my banner along our long mirror in the dining room, but it would look great on a wall or mantel. [ I’ll post a photo via Twitter soon.]

I love these letters so much that each wrapped present has the first initial of each recipient’s name.

Want to create your own personalized banner? All you need is some ribbon and a small hole puncher and to download the letter template here at Martha Stewart Weddings website.

Photo credit: Martha Stewart Weddings

birch.

I've been daydreaming and wishing that I owned Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts [a New York Times Bestseller] for months. Thanks to Black Friday shopping and a 50% coupon, the book is mine, mine, mine.

Let the crafting madness begin!

I love the birch tree candles every time I see them in stores, and now Martha has supplied me with a somewhat comprehensive “how-to” guide, so I can create them at home. I’ll be honest, it seems a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m excited to make a mess and add more personal touches to my holiday decorating. If this project turns into a disaster, I’ll be heading to the craft store to purchase a pre-existing pine cone mold. Wish me luck!

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts, p91

UPDATE 1/16/2011: I ended up purchasing these candles on sale at Pottery Barn.

paper toppings.

The countdown for Christmas has begun for my husband and I as we finish up our shopping list and plan our trip home to Nevada. Shopping was easy this year, so I plan to invest my time into the presentation of the gifts. December’s issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine has the cutest ideas to garnish your gifts.

“Paper garnishes— from shapely flowers to ornate stamped medallions—give any gift extra impact. Nontraditional containers, such as tubes and wooden boxes wrapped with coordinating papers and trimmings, make gifts more special.”

“Prep Cut three circles, each 1/2 inch larger than the previous, from decorative paper. Fold each circle in half four times; snip the tip of each to make a small hole. Unfold to reveal the “pleated” circle. Assembly Thread the circles, largest one first, onto a wooden skewer; glue the undersides in place if needed, and leave space for a topper. Finish For the topper, glue two small shapes back-to-back over the top of the skewer. Cut the skewer even with the bottom circle so the tree stands up, or leave some length to poke through a wrapped box. Or use an adhesive dot or double sided tape to adhere to a package.”

“Flower Toppers Looped flowers are fun package toppers that double as ornaments. Cut same-size strips of decorative paper. Tape ends of individual strips together, creating looped “petals.” Adhere petals, side by side, with double-sided tape near the taped end, forming a circle. Tape or glue punched shapes to the flower’s center.”

“Stamped Medallions Create a variety of ornament-shape gift tags with one rubber stamp, two colors of ink, and a decorative punch. For a layered snowflake, left, stamp red and tan designs onto white cardstock. Cut out along different lines, and layer the pieces with glue dots. For a gift topper, right, stamp designs onto cardstock, cut out ornament shape, and layer smaller stamped cutouts on top.”

sweet treat.

Here’s your sweet treat for the week: Butterfinger Cupcakes.

Photo: Annie’s Eats

My mom was kind enough to tell me about these cupcakes and other amazing recipes from Annie’s Eats, one of her and now my favorite blogs to follow.

If you love banana and peanut butter [and don’t mind all the calories], you will love this recipe. I made half the batch [yields 24 but half only made 9], because I didn’t want to be tempted to eat more than one.

I am looking forward to trying many more of Annie’s sinful, highly reviewed recipes on my husband, my favorite taste tester. Enjoy!

i heart poolga.

It’s time to give your iPhone background a makeover. I heart Poolga [a must have app on your iPhone] and its not hard to when the downloads are free and there are over 20 pages to browse online. These backgrounds will definitely make a statement on your phone. Here are a few of my many favorites from online:

Here are a few from the Poolga iPhone app:

Which one’s your favorite?