Christmas Mail 2020: Snowflake Screwdriver

I won't bother boring you with the cliche '2020 was the worst' recap.  With 7 days to go, we got out healthy so fingers crossed we drag ourselves across the finish line and have a much more positive 2021 waiting for all of us. Without further ado, here is this year's Christmas mail.  I included this little snowflake screwdriver tool because I can't be the only one who can never find one when I need it. I hope all of you have found magic in the holiday season.  Happy New Year!

In case you missed them, here are our Christmas Mails from the past decade:

2019: Hot Cocoa 

2018: Air Fresheners

2017: Hand Warmers

2016: Lump of Coal (this one might be my fav)

2015: Bottle Opener

2014: Socks 

2013: Markers (I loved this one too but so many people were confused!)

2012: Cinnamon 

2011: Mints 

2010: Chapstick 

Christmas Mail 2019 | Wake Me Up Before you Cocoa

Another year, time for another Christmas mailing!


This year we sent out 2 single serving tubes of yummy hot cocoa + marshmallow bits. Just add hot milk and enjoy.

This year I totally splurged on the postage but I will warn you postage rates have gone up a lot since the last time I did something bulky like this. We hand delivered a bunch to save some $ but then just bite the bullet on the rest.

As usual, I designed the card (thank you selfie stick for this year's family portrait) and put Luke to work in helping putting it all together.  It's a labor of love for sure. We hope our family and friends enjoy a warm cuppa on us.

Sources:
Test Tubes
Marshmallow Bits
Envelopes
Labels

Christmas Mail: Wishes for a TREEmendous Holiday

It's nearly Christmas and in our house that means the annual mad dash to put together our Christmas Mail.

Each year we send out a little something extra in our cards to brighten up snail mail. We've sent everything from dishtowels to soap to socks (click here to see the ghosts of Christmas Mail past). It's become a little bit of a creative game each year to come up with something new and it's always fun to hear about how well they are received.

This year we did little tree air fresheners with wishes for a "treemendous" Christmas and New Year.  Simple and sweet - we hope our friends and family enjoy them.

So if you aren't on my Christmas Mail list, let this be my holiday greeting to you:  Sending you the happiest of Christmas wishes and luck for the New Year!

Halloween Wine Labels | Free Printable

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Time to get ready for the most fun, obligation free holiday - Halloween.

I'm kicking off the holiday prep by participating in the Ella Claire party with a new free printable that could not be easier to use in your Halloween soirees big and small.  Halloween Wine Labels that can be printed on label paper and stuck right onto a store bought wine label.


You can scrub off the existing label like I did (word to the wise: the back label is oddly easier to pull off than the front) or just plop this label over the existing.

I've just started on working this year's Halloween projects and this was the perfect warm up.  I hope you can put these labels to good use and have a good scare with friends.  Don't forget to share your party pictures with me!

DOWNLOAD THE HALLOWEEN LABELS HERE

Thanks so much to Kristen Blog for inviting me to be a part of the fun. The deadline really got my creative side in gear just at the right time.  Check out all the amazing free downloads beings shared today by some of my favorite bloggers.



Flying Bat Cake Topper by Ella Claire | Halloween Labels with Faux Rust by Finding Silver Pennies | Haunted House by My Someday in May | Trick or Treat Tag by Boxwood Avenue | Vintage Inspired Halloween Greetings Postcard by Live Laugh Rowe



Trick or Treat by anderson + grant | Bats- 2 Sizes by So Much Better with Age | Black & White Halloween Cupcake Toppers by Cherished Bliss | Trick or Treat Stickers by Zevy Joy | Soul Taker Drink by My Sweet Savannah



Vintage Crows by Paint Me Pink | Hocus Pocus by Lolly Jane | Halloween Wine Labels by Brooklyn Limestone | Black and White Halloween Gallery Wall by Taryn Whiteaker | Vintage Halloween Treat Bags by Town and Country Living




Halloween Paper Rosettes by Happy Happy Nester | Wizard School Acceptance Letters by Nina Hendrick Design Company | Monster Mash by Clean and Scentsible | Trick or Treat Halloween Banner by The Happy Housie | Happy Halloween Treat Bags by On Sutton Place



Vintage Style Animal Skulls by Twelve on Main | Skeleton Paper Cones by My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Christmas Mail 2017

I'm happy to report that my Christmas cards all arrived before Christmas - that has to be at least 100 elf points right?   This year we went with something to help keep our friends and family a little warmer this winter season.  Hold your mouse over the image to see what little surprise was tucked inside the card.



The text reads:

To our family and friends, new and old
warm wishes from us, to have and to hold
This little gift will help you keep warm
Through bluster, snow dusters and winter storms.

Inside were a set of hot hands warmers!




Happy Holidays to everyone reading.  Thank you for always being so supportive and encouraging.  I really appreciate all your time, attention and kindness this year and always.  Wishing all your holiday dreams come true!

Baby's First Year Book | Oscar

You know how everyone has their "things"?  Well one of my "things" is that I don't want Oscar to think he got the short end of the stick being a second child. ( Even though we all know that he is definitely getting a more tired and crazed mother than his older sister got!)  To that end, it was super important to me that I finish a real baby book for him.  I did one for Aggie and despite it taking FOREVER, I finally got it done for Oscar as well.


made with Blurb



I know it's a small thing but you have no idea how excited I was to cross this off the to-do list I've had all year long.  Granted, I'm way behind on my usual annual photo book (hello 2016, I'm coming for you just as soon as the holidays are over).  Here are some of the highlights...

Or if you really want to see the entire baby book, click here.


I realize he won't have any appreciation for this in the near future but one day when he is older he might know how much his mother was worried about him feeling second best.  That has to count for something right?



Ok moms of more than one.  Am I crazy?  Or do you do this stuff too?

Eternal Rest Hotel Key Fobs | Halloween Invitations

With Halloween on a Tuesday (boo!) and all of us having school/work the following day, we are toning down this year's party quite a bit. Think candy crazed kids running around my living room and you'll have a good idea. But I couldn't resist sending a proper invitation just the same.




Since this year's theme was a haunted hotel, we sent out skeleton keys with a custom hotel style key fob and key folio. Party details are printed on the reverse side.





I had the key fobs printed online using my design and I made the folios on my home printer and stuffed the whole thing into a kraft paper button & string envelope with a little Spanish moss for effect. 


I'm not sure quite sure how it measures up to prior years but I'm happy they are in the mail.  Which ones were your favorites?



ICYMI check out prior year's Halloween invites: Poison Apple Slices | Butcher Aprons | Ghostbuster Patches | Sharknado Warning | Ruby Slipper | Medicated | Freakshow | Creature Survival Kit

DIY Ring Valentines + Free Printable

I'm probably violating some kind of blogger rule here but I tend to do holiday projects at about the same time the holiday occurs.  Which is why I'm sharing this just one day before Valentine's Day.  Ok shoot me - I'm a last minute mom.  That said, I think these turned out pretty cute.



Not pictured (because I was just too lazy to take more photos) is how Aggie wrote her name on the back of each one and water colored each gem.  She also stuffed the bags so I could put the hang tags on. Obviously I did a lot of the work here but I wanted to do it with her, not for her - and these ticked the box.



I used these flashing sparkly rings loaded into small ziploc bags but you could just as easily slap these tags on a prepackaged ring pops and call it a day.

Any other last minute moms need a hand?  You can crank out a classroom quantity of these in no time. Download the free printable here.

Christmas Mail 2016: LUMP OF (char)COAL

Mail call!  It's that time of year again - for the annual tradition of binge watching bad Christmas movies as I put our annual little treats together.  This year the gift was a lump / bar of charcoal soap.






If you are new to Brooklyn Limestone you might be wondering just what this is all about  Each year we send out a little gift in place of traditional cards.  Prior years have included an antler bottle opener,  elfish socks, "reMARKable" (get it?) markers, seasonings greetings, merry mints, mistletoe prep, tea towels and lots more. It's our fun little tradition and I hope our Christmas card list enjoy the little surprise every year.

Halloween Invitations | Poison Apple Slices

Since we were doing a Witch Supply Co. theme for Halloween, we needed an invite for our small trick or treating party.  What better way to give guests a taste for Halloween then with a little candy? This year's invitations were "poison" candy apple slices presented in glassine bags.

Unlike my prior invitations that have been ahem, a little more macabre, I'm leaning toward the more family friendly. Not to mention easier (and tastier) to assemble!

Materials used: Glassine Bags | Green Apple Jelly Slices | Glitter Washi Tape | Label Paper

Airplane Birth Announcements

Airplane birth announcements perfectly compliment the arrival of our baby world traveler.

In an age of electronic everything, I'm a sucker for snail mail.  Especially if the occasion is a happy one.  So of course I had do so something to announce Oscar's arrival in an old school way.  Sticking with the same inspiration for his nursery, we went with a retro travel inspired look.

Just like with all my mailings, I like to include a little treat (Agatha's birth announcements came with candy). This time it was a little balsa wood flyer. I admit I had never seen these before but they are fun to fly and race.  Not sure who enjoys them more - the boys or their fathers!



So off they went on their little adventure along with a tag and photo, introducing our newest traveler.

Glowstick Valentine Free Printable

Let's kick off February with a little free printable in time for Valentine's Day.

I admit, I'm more of a candy valentine fan (remember Aggie's sweetheart birth announcements? but I think the other mothers my run me out of town if I dared to give a bunch of already hyped up 3 year olds a sugar high.  Instead we went with a non edible option this year - glow bracelets.  Or in this case, glow fairy wands.

Easy peasy - just print, punch and push the bracelet through. Want to make your own?  Grab the free printable here.

Christmas Mail 2015: Oh Deer!

This year's Christmas mail was simple and sweet.  A ceramic antler bottle opener with a tag wishing our friends and family a Merry Christmas. Getting a photo of all three of us looking into camera was harder than I expected but thank goodness for a selfie stick!

If you are new to Brooklyn Limestone you might be wondering what Im talking about it.  Each year we send out a little gift with our Christmas cards.  Prior years have included elfish socks, "reMARKable" (get it?) markers, seasonings greetings, merry mints, mistletoe prep, tea towels and lots more. It's our fun little tradition and I hope our christmas card list enjoy the little surprise every year.

Twisted Charlotte's Web | Halloween Invitations

It's that time again!  This year's theme is Charlotte's Web with a Halloween twist.  The hoax is found out, the pig is no longer and Zuckerman's farm has turned into an artisanal Brooklyn butcher.  (insert evil laugh here)



The invites are the Zuckerman's farm logo apron inviting patrons to try that radiant, terrific, humble pig along with a hang tag that completes the story.  It reads:

You might have heard
about "some pig"
we thought he spun webs
and struck it big.
But that pig was a cheater.
He was totally faking.
Alas he got his,
now that pig is some bacon.

The package is tied up with some twine and butcher paper and off to the guests.





Now the invites are out, it's time to get decorating.  Stay tuned next week for more.

Annual Photobook Complete

Checking off a personal to-do, our 2014 year in review photo book is here. It's one of those things I push myself to get done by February because I know if I wait, I'll be tempted by good weather and it will fall the wayside. Starting with travel books in 2009, 2010 and 2011, it then morphed into more of a  year in review in 2012. Last year's book was supplanted by an baby's first year book since that made the most sense. Now back to a year in review style. I love having the years most important photos in physical form.



Once again I used Blurb to make my annual book - mostly because I've used them so many years now and I want the book to be the same size. Up until now I've been really pleased with the company but this year was a little bit disappointing. The book is still a good quality piece at a reasonable price but they made two changes this year I wasn't crazy about. First they changed the software which made it much more annoying to line up photos correctly. Since I use a lot of collage layouts that was a lot of spot checking and editing to get it right. Second, they changed the size slightly so now its a tiny bit longer which means the books don't line up perfectly anymore. A small annoyance but I might just look for another supplier next year. Any suggestions?

If you can't see the preview above click here to flip through our 2014

Christmas Mail 2014: Go Elf Yourself

It's almost Christmas so despite not being entire sure that the post office has actually delivered our cards this year, I'm going to blog share now.  This year's little treat was a pair of red and white striped socks perfect to elf yourself. Who couldn't use a fun pair of socks?

Wishing all of you the warmth and magic of the holidays this year!

ps: Our holiday photos were taken by the lovely Kayla Poole who also blogs at exquisite banana.

Want more?  Prior years' Christmas mail have included metallic markers (for a remarkable year), cinnamon (seasonings greetings), mints (merrymint!), chapstick (mistletoe ready), tea towels (for a fresh start), bookplates, cards, lottery tickets and cds.  I have absolutely no idea what I'll do next year (I usually have something in mind a year out) - good thing I have plenty of time to figure it out.