Making mud pies is a classic kid activity, full of creative, dirty, outdoor fun.  That outdoor kid activity gets transformed into a fabulous birthday party theme in the Mud Pie birthday party.

Handpainted sugar cookies inspired by calico print fabric.

Tutorial for making fall leaf cupcake wrappers out of scrapbook paper.

Easy, no sew tutorial for making this clever Peter Pan's shadow costume.  

It's time for a giveaway!  And not just any giveaway, but one for a Kitchenaid mixer.

How to make swirling fall leaves cupcake topper out of wire, paper, and a scrapbook leaf punch.

Last night we visited the book fair at my daughter's school.  I can't help but love going to the book fair, myself--remembering the excitement from my own book fairs when I was little, the anticipation of getting a new book, the many hours of tremendous pleasure I got from reading (and still do!).  Browsing those shelves was like going on a memory trip to a thousand different worlds.  Island of the Blue Dolphins!  The Cay!

I absolutely love Thai food.  LOVE it.  Especially yellow curry with chicken.  But we're cutting back on eating out, trying to save money and eat a healthy diet.    It was out of necessity, and an intense craving for a Thai fix, that I figured out this low calorie, insanely easy, incredibly delicious method for making yellow curry chicken at home.  In my crock pot.

As soon as I came up with the concept of the A is for Addalyn birthday brunch, I knew I wanted to use alphabet blocks in the design.  Pretty quickly, I came up with the idea of using stacked alphabet blocks as risers for a DIY tiered cake stand.

I used a lot of watercolor touches in the A is for Addalyn first birthday brunch.  Even one edible version, watercolor painted sugar cookies.