DIY: Butterfly Houses with Chalk Lids

Can Brie + Butterflies be friends?

YES!  Save those left over Brie and Camembert packages and make these:

Chalkboard Topped Butterfly (or Bug) Containers.  Not only is this a re-cycling project, but it's also a super-easy, super snazzy and functional Butterfly House project, too. 

These versatile houses can board butterflies, bugs and ... fireflies. Do you have any other ideas of what you could do with these? Gray has his eye on our local frogs and is already calling his house the "Mt. Blanc" for Frogs. Don't you agree that these are the kind of Butterfly Houses that will please parent and kid alike? 

Make these with your kids.  Make them with a class. Throw a Butterfly or Bug Birthday party and use these as the party craft. Don't want bugs in the house? Use your imagination to fill these with paper butterflies for a room decoration.  I think these are a wonderful way to expand your children's outdoor exploration and inner creative world, (even encourage spelling) while looking great, too.  Just click, below, on READ MORE for full tutorial to get started, too!

Happy Monday: It's Very Cherry in Stockholm

They're here.  The Cherry Trees are in full blossom at Kungsträdgården or Hammarby Sjöstad. 

Rather than biking further out into the archipelago, this weekend, we biked into town and found the cherry blossoms in full bloom. (Click below on "read more" for more pictures)

Gift Wrap Series #26: Hand Print Gift Wrap -- Mother's Day Inspired

Are you ready for Mother's Day? 

This gift wrap is perfect for Mom. It's an all in one: card + gift bag that is complete with a flower. I've been so captivated by the Swedish Spring "Gulsippa" flowers (here) that I wanted to come up with a way to send some these to our Mothers (and the other special Mothers in our lives, too.) With Gray's help, we'll share both how we made these Spring Flowers and how to make the Handprint Gift Bags, too.

just an idea: ... fill one of these "Mother's Day Brown Paper Gift Bags" for a surprise Mother's Day Picnic! I have stand out memories of Mother's Day picnics with my Mom, as a child. (Click on "READ MORE" below for full tutorial and more)

Friday Night Apéritif --- kid style No. 2: Mexican

¡hola! It's soon "Aperitivo" time in Sweden because we're starting another Swedish National Holiday weekend and tonight feels like a Friday night here!

With this beautiful weather, I prefer to spend my time outside or enjoying, rather than hidden in the kitchen. Are you the same? ... the sun... the sun,. the sun is calling! Mexican salsas fit the bill perfectly! These dishes can be made ahead of time or quickly chopped, tossed and served at the last minute. (I don't know if I should divulge how many times we've had guacamole this week! One of the foods I really miss, living in Sweden, is Mexican or Tex-Mex.)

Pictured Above: 

1. Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2. Fresh Jicima Sticks

3. Pico de Gallo

4. Our favorite Guacamole (recipe click here).

5. Warm Tortilla Chips

If you've visited willowday before, you know that Friday nights are made special in our house with something we call: "Friday Night Apéritif." This is the night where I close my eyes to treats by serving them along side "healthy foods" in a basic ratio of 2/3's healthy treats and 1/3 snack foods (tortilla chips, potato chips, etc).  It's been such a fantastic way to expose the kids to new foods and to elevate vegetables.  Here are 4 super simple, quick + easy to make, Mexican dishes we're enjoying right now. Click on "read more" to continue reading and for the recipe.

Our Favorite Guacamole

It's sunny and we have yet another two day National Holiday in Sweden starting tomorrow! It feels like it's Friday Night already which means: it's Friday Night Aperitif in our household. Rather than waiting to share our night's treats with you on Friday, I'm going to share right now! Happy Night and sunny wishes to you all!

Through the years, I've learned 2 Tricks to making our house favorite:

1. Use a Pestal and Mortar for best texture.

2. Create a paste of the key flavor ingredients and then, toss the avocados with this paste later before mashing.

Did you know that Guacamole isn't actually one particular dish, although in our house, it is? The word actually came from the time with the Aztecs met the Spanish and combined the Aztec words: ahuacatl" (avocado) and "molli" (mixture). From what I understand, "Guacamole" is a dish created any time you combine food with an avocado.

For this classic Guacamole recipe + family favorite, click on " Read More" below to continue.

Big + Small: Wrapped Washer Necklaces for Design Mom

Today, I'm a contributor over at Designmom and confess that I've been checking all day to see if these were ready to share with you.  I'm so happy that the time has come. Sometimes simplicity speaks the strongest, don't you agree? 

Today's project is exactly that and full of so much meaning: Mother Necklaces for Grown Ups + Birthday Charm Necklace for Smalls (Can you believe these were made by wrapping ordinary washers?) You can make these, too! We'd love to hear from you and see what you make. 

If you look at our examples, 
- I made the Big version for Grown ups: 3 wrapped washers that are bound for me --- one for each of my 3 kids.
- My daughter, Francesca, made the Small Version for kids: She wrapped 10 washers in rainbow colored embroidery thread,  since she's 10 years old. We hope you have as much fun making and wearing these as we do! 

Continue and click on "Read More" below for the full Tutorial:

DIY: "Cinco de Mayo" Serving Spoons

Happy Weekend! Make these festive spoons in a snap!

I know that I signed off on Friday with a weekend good-bye, but realized that I had to share these with you.

Warm Spring weather brought a Mexican Aperitif to us, this weekend. (This will be Friday Night Apéritif --- kid style #2 - coming soon!)  I found our mortar and pestle and prepared: Guacamole, Pico de Gallo and Roasted Corn + Black Bean Pesto....  Unplanned, I realized that this was the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, too. My husband's lived in Mexico, we all love Mexican food and I knew it would be the perfect way to help him over his jet lag, after a week's travel to NYC.  (He still dreams about the grapefruit sized avocados he'd had there. I love to draw out stories of dinners, adventures and the social scene he experienced from his days in Mexico City....it founds so festive, interesting and spontaneous ... warm.) But, I find that food can serve as travel on it's own! 

With a snip and a twist, I added these Serving Spoons!

Nyckelviken

Happy Friday!

Look! Can you believe Stockholm is literally on the other side of the tree? 

The First 3 Swedish Spring Flowers with Elsa Beskow

Elsa Beskow brought Swedish flowers to life in her children's books and illustrations. This time of the year, when I see the first blooms, I almost hear them in her voice.  Are you familiar with first 3 Swedish Spring flowers?

These photos and illustrations show the first 3 Swedish Spring flowers and a character in an Elsa Beskow Book.

1. Vitsippa (Wood Anemone)

2. Gulsippa (Winter Aconite)

3.) Tussilago ( Colt's Foot)

What are the first signs of Spring where you live? In the area I grew up in the US, the first signs we'd look for in the Spring were 1. Robins and 2. Trilliums.  In Sweden, some of the very first real words I learned where the names of these flowers: 1. Vitsippa, 2. Gulsippa and 3. Tussilago.

Happy May Day

Happy May! Happy May Day.

A blustery Valborg, has brought in a beautiful 1st of May. Above is my first May bouquet! It's time pull  our mini vases out from storage. Are you ready?

Swedish Holiday: Valborg

Valborg

Valborg is a Swedish holiday that you almost have to experience to believe. I've found a few pictures from last year to give you a little glimpse of this holiday through a Swedish looking glass. Today is chilly, occasionally rainy and very, very windy. I keep wondering if the show will really go on, but, honestly, Swedes are so robust about the outdoors that I'm sure the fire will be lit at dusk tonight --- on schedule.

The year our first born baby was born --- as one does in Sweden --- we wrapped up our baby and pushed our him in his baby buggy to the local park to see the neighborhood Valborg Bonfire. Once there, my maternal alerts buzzed into high:  my instincts were to flee, as you could feel the heat from the less-than-ordinary-bonfire from a distance.

Happy Monday: Wild Strawberries

Spring is singing!