Celebrating life's special moments... and everything in between.
The brilliant minds over at Dynamo came up with the concept of combining original type design with gourmet chocolate. They teamed up with Suite 88, Montréal’s premier chocolatier, and let them work their magic. The result was some delicious heavyweight slabs of chocolate, engraved with positive mantras for the new year. Check out their post featuring their mouth-watering typocolate.
{images from Dynamo}
Sandwiches and cakes on two wheels: the brilliant business idea behind Tifamade. Tiffany and her pink bike delivery delicious goodies in Denver, Colorado. It’s all homemade with organic ingredients carefully chosen from the farmer’s market, and all wrapped up in ecological packaging. It’s as simple and sweet as that.
{photos from Tifamade; photographer: Francois Coquerel; found via Lotti Loves}
This Friday Wrap is a little different than most of the others…
This is a cute idea for your kitchen if you love grabbing a fresh loaf of bread on your way home from the local bakery. Wrapping your loaf in towels is a great way to keep it fresh longer, so this tutorial over at Momtastic uses two small kitchen towels sewn together with a drawstring for easy bread storage. Why not make one for yourself as a fun weekend craft? You can use towels you already have, or go out and buy new cheap ones from the dollar store especially for this craft. Happy wrapping… and eating! ;)
{image from Momtastic}
With all this crumby winter weather, I wanted to do a wrap that was a little more refreshing, inspired by fresh food and cooking in the kitchen.
I’ve also been doing a bit of ‘cleaning’ when it comes to my magazine collection. I can’t believe I still had old issues of Teen Vogue. Looking at the dates on those were really scary… and embarrassing. So out into the recycling bin they went. But when I came across an old issue of Food & Drink, I thought it was perfect for alternative wrapping paper. The photography is beautiful, bright, and high quality. That’s the key for using recycled paper as wrapping. Make sure it has some great character to it. And for this wrap, the large shots of deliciously ripe fruits and veggies worked perfectly.
Materials:
1. Specialty scissors (ones that in different styles; choose your favourite from a local craft or art store; I’ve used Victorian and Colonial style cuts)
2. String, ribbon, or other tying materials that match your scheme
3. Clear adhesive tape
4. An issue of a magazine from which wrapping pages can be torn (look for vibrant colours and photography)
5. Pages of lined paper
6. Scraps of kraft paper
7. A writing tool (pen, pencil, marker… whichever you prefer)
Instructions:
1. Tear out your page(s) from the magazine, and wrap up your gift. You may need more than one page depending on the size of the gift, so try to be crafty when combining pages to cover your gift. Try not to make it look too messy when taping two pages together.
2. Take your specialty scissors and cut a strip from the lined paper. Again, you may need two strips adhered together to wrap around the whole gift, so measure it out correctly and cut another strip, then tape the strips together nicely on both sides with clear tape. Wrap the strip around your gift and trim and tape again to have it secured to the gift.
3. Use this step if you want to add a nice handwritten note to your gift. Take a piece of scrap kraft paper, or tear a one off gently. Aim for a size that suits your wrapped package. Write your heart-felt message, or a simple “to” and “from”.
4. Now your note is ready to sit on top of your gift, secured under a piece of twine or ribbon. Don’t forget to tie the bow!
Voila! Looks like it’s fresh from the garden. Happy wrapping!
{photos © Have & Hold Design}
I know many of us get bombarded with sweet treats and holiday eats this time of year, but I think the most rewarding experience is making a little something from scratch for yourself and others to share. And with all that time off, what trouble is it to spend a little portion of it in the kitchen? Even if you’re not the best cook or baker, put yourself up to the challenge! Invite a friend over, or your significant other, or any family members that want to lend a helping hand. Cooking or baking in a team is a great way to spend some quality time together and have a bit of fun too. So if you’re looking for a mouth-watering recipe, I suggest Tara’s blog Seven Spoons. Her photography is so delightful! She’s and Ontarian like myself and has had a fair amount of media attention in the past year, so bravo Tara!
All of Tara’s blog recipes are listed here, and scroll through her beautiful food photography on Flickr.
{all images from Seven Spoons}
Dear NYC,
You truly lived up to be the amazing city I expected you to be. Your nightlife was lively and bright. Perfect for night owls like myself.
Your food was… divine. There really is no better word to describe it. Thank you in particular for the best burger and udon of my life.
Your sweets were YUM! ahem, I mean… incredibly satisfying. I loved doing cupcake shots at night courtesy of Baked By Melissa.
Your architecture was stunning. I loved the contrast between old and new, nature and human-made. I particularly enjoyed the morning walk along the High Line. I can’t wait to visit next year to see how its construction has progressed.
And although I had always dreamed that my first NY trip would incorporate a viewing of Late Night with Conan O’Brien… I still managed to see my hero in all his glory.
By most of all NY, thanks for letting me spend time with my beautiful/intelligent friend Cheryl.
Hope to see you again soon!
xoxo Sam
{see the rest of my NYC trip here}
Did you know that as the days grow shorter and the temperature drops our appetites increase significantly? It’s true! We actually have a natural instinct to eat more during the fall and winter seasons. It’s a survival tactic, really. All animals and humans are programmed to prepare for the cold weather by eating more, hence causing us to gain weight. Carrying more body fat protects the internal organs by acting as insulation and allows us to store more energy. So since it’s all a part of nature, why not enjoy yourself?
A fall or winter wedding can be enriched with delicious comfort foods, like pies and cream soups, and… we’ll get into more food later. But I actually wanted to point out this beautiful set of ink-stamped, organic linen Fleur de Lis napkins. Hey – if you’re going to go to town on the food, you need something to clean up after yourself. And these are a rustic, handmade touch.
{photo from countrylifenaturals on Etsy}
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