DIY: Tag Blanket

I have seen blankets like this given at baby showers, and I thought, "I could make that!" I have a powerful ribbon fetish, so this was a partially selfish indulgence. Being a designer, I also wanted to make it with the most stylish materials I could. Many of the ribbons are those I have gathered on my travels in New York and London, or even saved from fancy gift packaging. The fabrics are a very soft corduroy on one side, and on the other that silky-plush material with the dot bumps. If you make one, be sure to use fabrics that are machine-washable and ribbons that are colored with dye and not with the patterns "stamped" onto the outside, or the pattern will eventually just wear off.

I also made extras as gifts; one for my nephew and one for my unborn niece. The cost was about $20 a blanket to make for one this large. I added quilt batting and a simple quilting stitch. It's nearly a yard long and has dozens of different ribbons, so I've been getting comments that it's the biggest "taggie" blanket people have seen. There is a "Taggies" brand...but I say, do it yourself and you'll get exactly what you want.

Our Christmas Card

Just sharing our Christmas card for 2008. I actually was able to make over a dozen hand-assembled cards without any stress! A little on the crafty side, I must say. But I think I'm getting a bit worn out of stressing over the perfection of details. Enjoy.

Tasty Paper Ornaments by Art School Girl

I actually discovered Art School Girl's work through her photostream on flickr, and I fell in love with these clever paper "cookies." Don't they look like you could eat them? She sells them and other great paper products on her website, which you can view right here.

Another Look

This fantastic crest I discovered in an old volume in the periodicals section of a university library (The Paper Nut title in the center is my current addition, via Photoshop). In addition the high-res scan I made, this graphic was vividly etched my "visual inspiration file". It really laid the foundation for the idea of The Paper Nut, the squirrel-and-nut perched iconically. Sometime I'd like to implement this as a secondary logo, perhaps for a line of more ornate-style products.

Jewell's Picks & Pics: Some of My Toys

Vintage or not?

Has anyone ever seen the giraffes in the above photo? Mommy found them at a thrift store and wants so badly to find the entire set. They are probably Fisher Price or Playskool, circa 1985. We've seen the elephant and chicken in the set, and also have one of the sheep. It's a silly obsession.

The blocks are from ebay. We have quite a set!

The stackers, little bear and the pig and monkey tops all may look vintage...but they're not. Thank you Target and Old Navy. The spoon and fork are from a Japanese shop in a mall.

The Paper Nut Letterpressed Gift Tags

Newest addition to The Paper Nut's Etsy site: A set of 8 different letterpressed gift tags!