how to help our kids enjoy the holly jolly season… sans stress.

tis the season to be jolly… fa la la la la la la la la! ahhhh, to be a child or teen during the holidays. it’s the most wonderful time of year, right? parties, gift-giving, shopping, seasonal traditions, traveling, special holiday shows on TV and in theaters. so many opportunities for fun!

today at Boston Mamas i am talking about tips to help our kids stay cheery during the holidays when ill moods arise. you can read more here.

what do you think? stress can be a grinch during the holidays, do you have any parenting advice for these type of situations?

be merry! xo.

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX

{holiday round-up by me, you can find more inspiring ideas on my winter :: christmas pinterest board}

Posted in boston mamas, parenting, pinterest | 2 Comments »

oh, how pinteresting!

over at boston mamas today i am talking about 4 ideas for using pinterest other than your own self-interests!  click here to read the full article.

during our trip to nevada {last May!}, i spent a few hours on flights organizing my pinterest boards. it felt good to re-organize pins, and establish a better base for how i categorize all those beautiful images. I downsized from 39 to 29 boards. and, did you know you can customize your board covers now? read here to learn more.Have you used Pinterest in a unique way? I would love to hear other ideas for one of the greatest online tools of this generation! If you are a pinner – i challenge you to change your pace this week, use pinterest for selfless reasons – something other than finding your next craft project, your next outfit, or meal. make it pinteresting!

fyi: you can find my pinterest boards here, see jane on Facebook here, and daily i can be spotted on instagram as @see_jane.

happy friday! – see you here Monday – i have LOTS of fun posts in store for next week. in fact, for the rest of the year! until then – enjoy your weekend m’friends! xo.

{image source.}

Posted in boston mamas, pinterest | No Comments »

pinterest

you all know my love affair with pinterest – it’s one of the finest ways i know how to waste time. i also consider it the best online resource/tool for our generation. it’s incredible. and, i adore ben silbermann, the founder. however, {shhhh. whispering} i am trying to spend less time on it during 2012, because i want to have more original creativity/ideas to share with you here on seejaneblog. for the past two years, since pinterest launched in May of 2010, i feel that i was capable of sharing great ideas – but most of those ideas were not mine. they were my versions, of someone else’s idea. does this make sense? i was crafting & creating art, but not the creator.  i still peruse pinterest for a myriad of reasons – checking for trends in design; recipes, what to make for dinner tonight; activities – inexpensive homemade ways to entertain young kiddos. but, when i turn on my computer or open my art cupboard and start creating with any medium, i want my mind to create original ideas. i want to come up with authentic projects to share with you. so, i am limiting my time.

last week while i was in utah, i did an interview with studio 5 on this exact topic, the segment aired this morning—

it makes me happy that utah tops the list for pinterest users. cheers to resourceful-virtually-organized-do-it-yourself-utahns!  i’m hoping that all those people are putting that inspiration to use in their daily lives.

Ben Silbermann,  said at alt. design summit this year, “if you don’t bet on yourself, nobody else will.”  i’m betting i can have original ideas.

so, what do you think? you can share your thoughts in my comments below or on the KSL studio 5 facebook page.

Posted in jane, KSL Studio 5, pinterest | 5 Comments »

diy: napkin bows

while perusing pinterest, i spotted this darling napkin bow. so, for easter dinner i tried them out! miss thirteen was my assistant, and after we figured out one, she made the rest for me! {i love having older kids who help!}

*****

instructions:

1. cut paper strips that are 8″ long, one-and-a-half inches wide. you can trim them shorter at the end, if you want a tighter center ring. fold the right side of the napkin in towards the center, leaving one inch of space.

2. continue by folding the left side in, leaving about one inch of space from the center. then fold the top and bottom inwards about three inches.

3. fold the top and bottom sides in, one more time.

4. flip the napkin over, and wrap the strip of paper around the center.

5. flip to the back, and use a small piece of tape to hold the paper ring in place.

……ta-da!

other purposes —

have you joined pinterest? i know i’ve mentioned it here before — but, people… i LOVE it. i could sit and pin for hours. i would happily trade sleep for pinning! {you are welcome to follow me, here.}

so, what do you think of the napkin bow? do you plan on trying it? i think it would be darling for so many parties – girls lunches, tea parties, wedding brunches, picnics, the list goes on and on! i love the bow-trend.

happy hosting!

{all photos by me. this is not a sponsored post.}

Posted in bowlicious, create something, DIY, easter, hosting, kiana, party plans, pinterest | 6 Comments »

raspberries + chocolate chips

this is so simple + so ridiculously yummy & cute!

i spotted this idea here, while pinning this last week.

all you need: raspberries & chocolate chips! just stuff a chip in the berry {upside down}! and you have: gourmet-looking-treats!

do you pin? have you heard of pinterest??? it’s just oozing with awesome-ness. i could browse boards for hours finding beautiful images & inspiring ideas.

this is how it works: you create an account, and start pinning all your favorite images via the great www. more or less, it’s the most fresh-updated way to keep all your “book-marked” or saved images organized online. it’s great for photographers, designers, bloggers, or anyone who loves finding & sharing all types of goodness online.

i can be found here – you are welcome to follow my boards! {i even have a board titled “a bad case of the wants” to inspire husband with gift ideas for moi! a little nudge never hurt!}

happy thursday! maybe you can squeeze in some time to start pinning! or, indulge in some raspberries + chocolate chips!

xo.

{all photos by me.}

Posted in pinterest, recipes, treats | 5 Comments »