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2016 Gift Guide: Preschoolers and Their Siblings

For the past few years, I’ve shared a few gift guides on subjects near and dear to my heart – and today I’m kicking off this year’s gift guide series with an installment inspired by my two girls! Sophie is 4 years old and Alice is 2 years old, so we officially have two wild and crazy little girls running around the house! Alice hadn’t yet started walking when I wrote last year’s post, so this is the first year that we’ve seen the girls both really play together and seriously compete over toys. This year, I thought I’d share some gift ideas for preschoolers along with a few ideas for toys that will encourage siblings to play together!

2016 OSBP Gift Guide: Preschoolers and Their Siblings

1. I purchased a teepee on a total whim earlier this year, and it turned out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made! The teepee both encourages my girls to play together and to use their imaginations. The teepee has been a bedroom, a kitchen, refuge from a sudden storm, and a hiding spot from monsters. We don’t have a lot of space in our house, but we set the teepee up in an area by our laundry closet and just fold it up and stick it in the corner after the girls go to bed at night. I actually bought this teepee from Target’s Pillowfort collection for the colors in the design (light pink, light purple, and mint green), but I love the solid bamboo poles of the Land of Nod teepees. Either way, you can’t go wrong! My girls love theirs so much and play so well together in it, I’m seriously considering getting a second one just to keep at the grandparents’ house.

2. – 4. Blocks, blocks, blocks! Sophie comes home from school every day and immediately starts building these incredible structures with her various blocks: Magna Tiles, Lego Duplos, and regular wood blocks. Alice is starting to play with blocks, too, and I’m looking forward to the two of them building all sorts of things together over the years. I’ve had my eye on these Kiva and Kapla wood blocks for a while now, but I also love the idea of slowly expanding Magna Tile and Duplo collections at birthdays and holidays over the years.

5. Ikea has been really stepping up their kid toy section lately! Have you seen their new costumes? We were just at our local Ikea this past weekend, and I’m kicking myself for not grabbing this rainbow abacus or this wood stacking game.

6. We can never get enough art supplies in this house! I carry a set of washable markers and a drawing pad with me pretty much anytime we go with the kids, and we spend lots of time drawing and creating at home – so we go through lots of drawing materials! I love these washable Faber Castell duo-tipped markers and these Crayola Pip-squeaks markers for the kids.

7. Now that Alice is a little bit older, the girls are able to play together with their pretend play toys – their toy kitchen, doctor’s kit, and now train sets! I’m seriously loving the colors and elevation in this Metro Line train set. These bigger toys are definitely an investment, but so worth it for the years of shared play.

8. + 9. Puzzles! Sophie has been really into maps this year, and I think this floor puzzle from Petit Collage looks like a lot of fun! We’re also big fans of the Melissa & Doug wood puzzles – Sophie enjoys the 48-piece puzzles, while Alice is still pretty into the chunky toddler puzzles.

10. + 11. J.Crew and the Cat & Jack collection at Target are my go-to sources for cute accessories, from purses to necklaces. This necklace even glows in the dark! And how cute is this pink watch for little girls??

12. LOVE this pink superhero cape and hat set for girls from Lovelane!

13. Sophie has officially outgrown her tricycle, which means time for a big girl bicycle! I’m loving the clean design of this bike, and it comes in pink – which Sophie will definitely like.

14. Alice doesn’t quite yet have the leg length or strength for a tricycle – not that it stops her from trying! But now that big sister is ready to move onto bigger wheels, I’m looking for something other than a wagon or push trike that would help Alice keep pace. These micro scooters are at the top of my list!

p.s. Gift ideas for 3 year olds, 2 year olds, and 15-month olds

This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on these links, you’ll help support Oh So Beautiful Paper while also purchasing some wonderful gifts. I only recommend products that I truly love and trust that you’ll love, too. My full disclosure policy can be found here.

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

I love figuring out ways to make holiday gift giving more personalized and meaningful, especially for adult family members. My parents and in-laws are usually my biggest challenges: they already have plenty of things and accessories in their home, but they’re always on our case for more photos of my kids. Zazzle offers an incredible range of personalized and photo holiday gifts – including a really impressive collection of artisan gifts! – and I was thrilled when they invited me to share some of my favorite personalized holiday gifts with you! You can customize pretty much anything and the beautiful products come so quickly in the mail. I love being able to include some meaningful and personalized items in our holiday gift-giving list!

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

I had to start with these adorable custom tote bags that we made using some of my 4 year-old daughter’s artwork. I’ve been a big fan of Zazzle’s custom tote bags ever since we collaborated with them on the Paper Party tote bags a couple of years ago, and I wanted to try printing some of Sophie’s black and white illustrations on a tote! The whole process was super easy: I just took a photo of Sophie’s artwork with my phone, upped the contrast to full black and white, and then uploaded the image to Zazzle. I went with the versatile budget tote since I like the handle length, but there are also heavyweight versions for errands and grocery shopping, including custom BAGGU duck bags!

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

These photo mugs are the perfect way to share a favorite memory with far-away loved ones! And I love having another way to share more family photos beyond just framed prints, especially since so many of our favorite photos are just quick snaps on our phones. I made a few mugs using only Instagram photos, and I’ve pretty much decided to gift a new mug to the grandparents (aka my parents and in-laws) every year. We’re all big coffee and tea drinkers, and I love that they’ll start their mornings with my girls’ sweet faces!

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

These little photo Post-it® notes make the cutest stocking stuffers! And if you need to scribble out a quick shopping list or appointment reminder, why not do it while also looking at a favorite family photo? I made these with my parents and in-laws in mind, but I also love the idea of making a few of these for your spouse to take to the office.

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

These beautiful custom name bar necklaces are the perfect gift for any mamas in your life: wife, sister, mom, or even grandmother. The necklaces are available in silver, gold, and rose gold, and I love the clean, minimalist design. So simple and chic.

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

I always struggle with “traditional” gift ideas for the men in my family. Books and magazine subscriptions are usually a better fit for holiday gifting than anything involving golf (or sports in general), grilling, or power tools. These monogrammed pocket squares offer an extra dose of flair for my fashionable husband that wears a three-piece suit to the office, while the engraved Waterford ballpoint pens are the perfect choice for my music teacher brother-in-law. I also love these personalized leather journal covers for my historian father-in-law who is constantly taking notes for his World War I book series!

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Personalized and Photo Holiday Gifts with Zazzle

Thanks again to our partners at Zazzle for letting us run wild with their many personalized and photo holiday gift offerings! Click here to explore their extensive collection of artisan gifts, here to create your own custom tote bags, and here to create your own custom photo mugs. You can also check out their collection of holiday photo cards here!

All photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This post is sponsored by Zazzle. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

Happy Weekend!

Well, I meant to write my usual weekly round up last Friday, but we decided to take advantage of the Veterans Day weekend and escape DC for a few days at my dad’s house in New Jersey (boy, did we need it!). But honestly, despite my intentions I’m not sure I actually could have written my usual post last week. I try to keep a positive tone here, and I think I needed more time to wrap my head around everything that has happened in our country in the last couple of weeks. I rarely discuss political issues here, but I couldn’t move forward without acknowledging that this has been a very difficult time for many of us, myself included. I posted this on Instagram the day after the election, when I felt the need to be quiet, to listen and process. Two weeks later, I’m still feeling pretty unsettled, and I want to send a giant virtual hug to everyone out there who might be feeling the same way. But life moves forward and this too shall pass, and in the meantime I’ll do my best to bring a smile to your face by sharing beautiful stationery that helps celebrate life’s special occasions and encourages us to connect with each other in a meaningful way.

Anne Robin Calligraphy / Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti

Image (and print) by Anne Robin Calligraphy via Instagram

A few links for your weekend:

Recently on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for us this week! I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo

Election Night 2016 Bingo!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been feeling some major election-related anxiety over the past few months. Well, the good news is that the election is finally coming to a close tomorrow, but I thought a fun little game might help calm nerves while we’re all watching the results come in on Tuesday night. Introducing: Election Night 2016 Bingo!

 Election Night 2016 Bingo

So here’s my plan for election night: put the kids to bed after dinner, grab a glass of wine (or get the husband to make up some cocktails), and sit down to watch the returns with my bingo board in hand. There are four different game boards, so you can play with a small group if you’re hosting an election night party with friends â€“ or play twice with your significant other if it’s just the two of you. You can grab the printable bingo boards right here, print them out on letter size cover weight or text weight paper, then trim down to size using scissors or a paper trimmer. I printed mine on pastel card stock because that’s just how I roll these days!

Election Night 2016 Bingo

My version of Election Night 2016 Bingo is meant to be totally bipartisan so you can play along regardless of your political affiliation. I tried to incorporate words that you might hear from the pundits on any network, including the names of key swing states, election terms, policy terms, and keywords from some of the more recent election-related scandals (sigh) – all with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. Also, a big thanks to Courtney of Swiss Cottage Designs for the flag illustration for the center free space!

Election Night 2016 Bingo

Election Night 2016 Bingo

Election Night 2016 Bingo

My husband said this is probably the nerdiest thing I’ve ever posted, but that’s okay with me. We’re lucky enough to live in a place where we get to choose our own leaders and help determine the kind of country we live in, and that’s something to celebrate. If you voted early, good for you! Otherwise, let’s all go vote tomorrow and play Election Night 2016 Bingo together in the evening!

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations

Kids often have all the fun when it comes to celebrating birthdays. I’m always so happy to see adults celebrate some of their own milestone birthdays, especially when the invitations are this pretty! Clara of Goldie Design Co. created these traditional black and gold screen printed invitations for a 40th birthday party at an historic hotel full of southern flair. Clara brought the elegant feel of the venue into the invitation design with the moody black and gold color palette and a crest inspired by the hotel logo, along with custom watercolor envelope liners inspired by the hotel’s tile floors. Beautiful!

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

From Clara: This design was for the invitations for Courtney’s 40th birthday celebration to be held at the Hotel Emma in San Antonio, Texas. This hotel is Courtney’s all time favorite, and she wanted the simplicity and elegance of this hotel to shine through in the paper pieces. The Hotel Emma is a historical building that used to be a brewhouse, but now houses the 146 rooms of this riverfront hotel. The elegant and traditional, yet modern and warm southern feel was exactly the look we were going for with the birthday party invitation suite.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

Courtney wanted to incorporate her initials into a crest similar to the hotel’s logo, which she planned to use throughout her stationery for the event. This crest sits centered at the top of the invitation card, with a simple double lined border around the text to give it a traditional feel.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The invitation card was screen printed in metallic gold ink on a smooth black paper. The typefaces used in the invitation were kept fairly simple, except for her name done in a flowing modern calligraphy, that would tie together with the hand addressed calligraphy envelopes.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The black and gold color palette brought in that moody southern feel of the hotel, but we wanted to incorporate a pop of color. Courtney mentioned that she loves the beautiful tile floors seen throughout the hotel. After researching these gorgeous floors, I decided that a soft watercolor painting of the tile pattern would provide the perfect pop of color for the invitation suite. So each envelope was adorned with a custom envelope liner featuring a hand-painted watercolor of the floor pattern. It really tied the suite together and gave it that last bit of southern flair.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The outer envelopes were addressed with calligraphy in metallic gold ink and dressed up with some hand picked vintage stamps to go along with both the theme and color scheme. My favorite stamp used is the Texas statehood one that not only is perfect for the venue of the the party, but also brings out the blues of the watercolor envelope liner. The back flap of the envelope is blind embossed with a simple return address. The invitation was wrapped in a very thin white twine.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

Thanks Clara!

Design, Calligraphy, and Styling:Goldie Design Co.

Screenprinting: Atmosphere Printing Company

Envelopes: Cards & Pockets

Photo Credits: Clara Odgen