Month: October 2011

by Allison

Halloween round up

There are a million and one amazing things on the interwebz, many of them made by amazing friends with mad skills.  Here’s a Halloween round up of absolute fun for everyone.

Get excited, get very excited.

halloween potion bottle

{photo from Make and Takes via Little Birdie Secrets}… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

Comments are off for this post
by Allison

Halloween craft roundup

Looking for a few last minute ideas for a Halloween party this weekend?  I’ve got your back.  Need some treats for your: co-workers, roommates, kids classroom?  Did and done.

how to halloween treat bags

Treat bags for Halloween

how to make a pumpkin orange

Pumpkin craft for Halloween

And:

 

Have a safe + fun Halloween weekend!… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what’s in your purse series week sixty nine

This week’s What’s in Your Purse Series purse is from Emily.  Love it!

If you love this series and want more of it, submit your purse. Take two photos of your purse {nice, clear, non-blurry ones} one of the outside, one of the inside, along with a listing of the contents to allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

Here’s my purse: A white/grey Tano crossbody bag with a turquoise interior, scored on MAJOR sale at Anthropologie for $19.95 (marked down from over $100).

what's in your purse series

Inside I keep:

what's in your purse
purse contents

  • My red Hobo wallet, bought on a discount shopping site-great wallet
  • My Gap sunglasses
  • My “My” makeup bag (Joe Fresh lip gloss, powder, hand cream, ibuprofen inside)
  • My checkbook
  • A pack of gum
  • A hair elastic
  • My beehive birdhouse key-chain and keys
  • Pen

    • … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

how to make glitter pumpkins

Over the weekend the kids and I went crazy with glitter.  I forget how much fun it is to play with glitter until I do it, and then I’m looking for anything in the house that needs a little “sprucing up”.  Oh dear.

Anyway, we crafted like crazy, and today I’m here to show you how to make glitter pumpkins.

how to make glitter pumpkins

Fun, right?

glitter pumpkin supplies

 Supplies:

  • Elmer’s Glue or other inexpensive school glue
  • paintbrushes + shaped sponges
  • glitter in all different shapes and colors
  • newspaper or paint tarp

how to glitter pumpkins

Step 1:

Thin out the glue with water to make it go further.  About a 50/50 mix, in a paper cup.

Step 2:

Apply glue to pumpkin.  I decided to do glitter dots with a sponge brush, but anything you do is fun.  Next time I’m going to glue and glitter the WHOLE pumpkin.

how to make glitter pumpkins

Step 3:

Sprinkle glue with glitter.  Put something underneath the pumpkin so you can catch + reuse the glitter.  That stuff is pricey!

Step 4:

Using a dry, clean paintbrush, sweep away the excess glitter.  I cleaned up the non-dot areas so the glitter circles look more pronounced.

kid craft

Step 5:

Show off your work!

Charming glittered a very adorable face with, … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Shoulder surgery is for suckers

Fifteen years ago when Viktor and I were just dating, he had shoulder surgery.  He recovered quickly because, well, he was a teenager.  {side-note: I was a child bride}  Over the passing years that shoulder has fallen apart, but his *good* shoulder has become a nightmare.

spouse

When we went surfing last Fall, poor Viktor just paddled out in the water to encourage me.  He can’t hold his arms above his waist, so one of his favorite pastimes, surfing, is completely out.


surfing family

Tomorrow Viktor is scheduled for shoulder surgery, and will hopefully return to climbing, surfing, and pull-up-ing {ha!} soon.  Today I’m running around like a crazy person trying to get a week’s worth of everything done so I can take Viktor to the hospital + be his nursemaid while he recovers.

Poor guy.  I’m not used to him being sick, it’s usually me.  Anyway, don’t worry, I’ve scheduled posts all throughout the week so you’ll have something to read while I’m away.  Cross your fingers everything goes well + Viktor returns to normal soon.… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

how to pumpkin mask

I’ve had this pumpkin mask in my arsenal for awhile, so I’m excited to finally whip it out for you. Whip it out! Get it?  Because you whip the pum…..

Never mind.

Are you here from StumbleUpon? Thanks so much for visiting! If you like what you see, I have plenty more where this came from. SUBSCRIBE today! THANK YOU!

pumpkin facial

Pumpkin probably isn’t at the top of your list when you think about ingredients for facials, but it should be.  This pumpkin mask facial is amazing for your skin, and this time of year you probably have a lot of pumpkin around the house anyway.

Pumpkin is filled to the brim with vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, zinc, beta carotene, antioxidants and potassium.  It naturally exfoliates, soothes irritation + redness, calms breakouts and makes the skin more bright.

pumpkin mask

The other amazing thing about a pumpkin mask {like you needed something else to love}?  It only takes 4 ingredients.

Basically, you’re 4 ingredients away from a spa in your kitchen.

Ingredients for a home made pumpkin mask:

  1. 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
  2. 1 egg
  3. 1 tablespoon honey
  4. 1 tablespoon milk

face mask

Whip it all up {see the hilarious reference … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

must have travel kit for children

We do our fair share of traveling, and over the years we’ve developed some systems that work really well for our family.  One of these is a travel kit for children.  No matter where we are, whether it’s a on road trip to California or on a train across Europe, we pack a little Zip-Lock bag filled with the essentials.

traveling kit for children

Travel Kit for Children:

  • gum
  • chap-stick
  • wet wipes
  • band-aids
  • hand sanitizer

travel kit for children

We pack it all up in a Zip-Lock bag for the inevitable explosion, and pop it into a backpack.  When we were in Warsaw we never left the apartment without a backpack + this little handy travel kit.  You never know about bathrooms, pinching shoes, or bad breath.

And someone’s always complaining about chapped lips.  Without fail.

In Europe we replenished the kit every time we ran out of something so we weren’t caught unawares in some hilarious bathroom situations.  Plus, you always need hand sanitizer when you’re riding in cable-cars and underground trains.  Nasty.

As long as we carry this with us, along with a bottle of water and a snack or two, we’re set for miles and miles.… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what’s in your purse series week sixty eight

This week’s What’s in Your Purse Series purse is from Cabesh.  Thanks you!

If you love this series and want more of it, submit your purse. Take two photos of your purse {nice, clear, non-blurry ones} one of the outside, one of the inside, along with a listing of the contents to allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

leather purse

My purse is actually a camera bag from JoTotes.  My husband gave it to me for Christmas last year (Christmas got so much better when he started shopping off my list).  When I got home from BlogHer I literally dumped my purse out on the bed.

purse contents

Contents:

  • - Business cards, both those I got at BlogHer and my leftovers
  • - Keys with an orange Croc key-chain
  • - swag 1st Aid Kit
  • - Burt’s Bees chap stick that I bought in the airport on the way to BlogHer because I couldn’t find mine
  • - Ticket stub from one of my flights
  • - blue pen, black pen, pencil, orange swag pen
  • - Soft-lips chap stick that I found ~3 seconds after buying the Burt’s Bees
  • - one penny
  • - two combs
  • - little zipper pouch containing my iPod
  • - travel size deodorant
  • - small plastic containers with

… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

how to: melting crayons

Have you ever melted broken crayons?  My mom used to let us dump out our huge #10 can full of broken odds + ends to melt on the griddle about once a year, and let me tell you it’s one of the highlights of my childhood.

crayon

There’s something magical about the smell of melting wax.

Well, not really.

It doesn’t smell amazing, but it’s so much fun to do!  And if you want, you can end up with a new crayon that looks like this.  I know it’s not much to look at, but my kids sure love it.

melted crayons

Here are the supplies you need to make this homemade crayon happen:

  • Empty containers {we used old pill bottles, natch}
  • Old broken crayons
  • An old or rarely used saucepan
  • Paper towels or old t-shirt

melted crayon

Step 1:

Unwrap all the crayons and melt them one color at a time {or a bunch of colors at a time, depending what you’re going for}.  We wanted to keep the colors separate because Charming and I are both O.C.D. like that.  Use an old, cheap pan from a thrift store or a flimsy one from IKEA.  It will stink of cheap wax, so you … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.