If you’re looking for that little detail to make your 4th of July event perfect, Martha Stewart obviously has you covered. The magazine has generated a ton of ideas over the years and here are a few of my favorites. All of them are just impeccably done and would make a fine addition to any party.

1.4th of July Invitations 2.Berry Cupcakes 3.American Flag Tart 4.Patriotic Ice Cream Wrapper 5.Stars & Stripes Paper Cones

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, holiday or not! I’ll be taking an extra few days to enjoy the long weekend with friends and family and I’ll see you back here next week. xoxo

I did these last year but I really wanted to share them with my newer readers. I love how the project turned out and they would make the perfect compliment to yesterday’s DIY. For full instructions, check out the original post. You’ll find everything you need to make your own sparkler cards, matchbook wrappers and straw tags, including printable templates!

The 4th if July is coming up this weekend and for folks in the states that means fireworks, friends and entertaining. I thought it’d be fun to make a week of it and share some of my favorite Independence Day themed projects and designs.

First up, Chocolate Dipped Rice Crispy “Popsicles” on a stick. I got the idea from Balancing Motherhood and thought it would be a fun addition to any 4th of July Celebration. The whole process is super simple, just make rice crispy treats (directions on the box), cut into 1″ x 1″ x 3″ rectangles, add a candy stick, dip in melted chocolate and enjoy! You could easily add sprinkles and wrap them in cellophane for portability too.

Check out these A-DOR-able Shirt & Tie gift boxes Kristen from Paper Crave put together! She’s even provided a downloadable template and full how-to instructions on her blog. This is such a sweet and clever idea that would be perfect for all kinds of gifts for dad. Happy crafting and Happy early Father’s Day everyone!

I have an exciting giveaway to announce today! In honor of Mother’s Day, the lovely ladies at TapesWell are generously offering two combo packs of coordinating decorative tapes to be awarded to one very lucky winner; one for the winner and one for their mother (or friend)! How sweet is that?! The combos come in a reusable canister and will make the perfect gift for mom. With so many designs to choose from and loads of “Tacky Ideas” to be inspired by, this is a fantastic prize!

My personal favorites are the Black & White Lace and  the Leaf Medley & Faux Bois Sets. To enter, visit TapeSwell and tell us which of the combo packs is your favorite. Have a favorite memory of mom? We’d love to hear that too!  Giveaway ends this Friday, April 30th at 12pm PST and I’ll announce the winner Monday, May 3rd. Good luck everyone! *CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Hope you all had a nice weekend! My sister Laurel ended up making these beautiful naturally dyed eggs for Easter and I had to take a few pics. She used onion peel and beats for the coloring and garden herbs for the decorations. Definitetly bookmarking this idea for next year!

If you need more Easter inspiration you absolutely must check out The Wedding Style Guide’s special Easter feature in their current issue. Included are some of the most beautiful details for a perfect Easter brunch. Themed invitations, place card tags, and mini paper poms are some of the charming details included. Best part, the invitation and tag templates are available for free in their downloads section! Hoppy planning! *wink

DIY Easter Basket

DIY Marshmallow Peeps

DIY Easter Bunny

In case you missed them last year; here are a few DIY projects I made just for easter. All of them are fun and a snap to do!

Marshmallow Peeps: DIY marshmallow peeps, using cookie cutters makes this project a snap and pretty darn adorable to boot! (Full Directions)

Stuffed Easter Bunny: Just print, cut, stitch, stuff and delight a little one with this DIY Bunny stitch kit. (Full Directions and Download)

Paper Easter Basket: Try your hand at this fun DIY paper and ribbon easter basket. (Full Instructions and Download)

There are few things that I love more than ice cream in waffle cones. It doesn’t take much convincing to go for a scoop so when I saw waffle butter cookies at Trader Joe’s I knew excatly what I had to do: ice cream sandwiches! They’re super easy to do and would make a great treat for Easter, just pick a pastel ice cream, sandwich it between waffle cookies and violá! Easter eggs! I used strawberry here but mint or sherbert would be cute too, honestly though, can you ever really go wrong when it comes to ice cream?

What you’ll need:
Carton of ice cream
Butter waffle cookies from Trader Joe’s
Round cookie cutter bent into an oval
Large knife
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Wax string

Directions:
Take your ice cream (the boxed kind works best) and cut off a 3/4″ thick slab, it doesn’t have to be exact just thinner than your cookie cutter. Next, use your cookie cutter and cut out ovals from the ice cream, set the ovals on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and put the sheet in the freezer to firm up.

While you wait, cut out 9.5″x2.5″ strips of parchment paper to use as holders for the finished product.

Once the ice cream has chilled for a bit, transfer to the cookies with a spatula. For a little extra sweetness, add decorative chocolate sprinkles; simply roll the edges through the sprinkles for an even coating.

For the final touch, wrap in parchment paper and secure with waxed thread or baker’s twine then freeze until ready to serve. Enjoy!

I’ve been a huge fan of the Japanese masking tape trend and I’ve actually got a project that will hopefully be in the Design Sponge Book by Grace sometime next year. I’ve been dying to share it with all of you for months now but I will have to continue to be patient until the book is published. Fingers crossed it makes in!

In the mean time I thought I’d share these fantastic tape projects sent over by the talented Elizabeth Goodman of To Be Charmed. Both creative ideas are delightfully charming and a great way to spruce up serving wear for your next event. I just love the bunny silhouettes for an Easter brunch or bunny themed baby shower and the vases would make for a lovely gift as well! Thanks to Elizabeth for sharing and be sure to visit To Be Charmed for all the instructions and loads of other great inspiration and projects.