This month's Domino suggests finding your own wrapping paper and stocking up on it. Then you never have to worry about running out of paper or about using the appropriate paper for the occasion. Instead, people come to recognize "your" paper in the pile of presents.

Both of these are 60% recycled and printed with soy based inks, from this Etsy shop.

From Kate's Paperie

from Luxe Paperie 

My papercrafting has been neglected over the last six to eight months, while I focus on learning to deal with fabric. Lately, though, I've been itching to scrapbook or make some cards.  Finding these cute stamps has only increased my desire to return to the paper.



I'm a big fan of these little nesting dolls lately.  My oldest daughter received an authentic set on her fourth birthday from my mom.  One of the little inside dolls has been sitting in the craft room/office/guest room for the last few weeks, and I think I've been inspired by it (wait until you see the little Matryoshka covered buttons I ordered last week!)  Check out The Small Object for a little set of four nesting doll stamps.

And how cute that you can get a custom name stamp that resembles the named person?! That Craft Pudding is amazing.



And shoes! Sweet little toddler shoes.



I also love the idea of a unique return address stamp.

Such a pretty return address might just motivate me to get those handmade cards in the mail.

This weekend is the third party to celebrate our oldest daughter's fifth birthday. Yes, this will be the third time we party. The first two celebrations included various family members, with plenty of food, cake and gifts. But this weekend will be her party with friends from school.

After much deliberation, I finally decided we should have the party at the Little Gym.  This is where both girls go for gymnastics, so it practically feels like a home away from home. The beauty of these commercial party places is that they handle all of the entertainment, serving, clean up, etc. The stuff that no one really wants to do. We'll bring the cake and the goody bags. Ah, yes. Goody bags.



It's amazing how much angst the goody bags have caused me. I've struggled with finding a "theme" that was fun and crafty, rather than overdone and commercial.  Wandering around Deals yesterday, I finally hit on it. (Yes, Deals, it's commercial. The irony is not lost on me).  We're going with an outdoorsy theme. Perfect for her little Montessori class of nature lovers, especially now that Spring has arrived.



We started with plain white kraft bags (with handles) and stamped each child's name on the bag. Then we decorated with stickers and markers.  In the bags, we included bubbles, plastic bugs (for the boys) and butterflies (for the girls), flower seeds, candy (because "it's the best part of the goody bag!"), stickers, mini pinwheels and sidewalk chalk.


We found these sidewalk chalk friends at Deals.



We packaged each one individually, labeled them, and included them in the goody bags.



After the final RSVP's are in (that's right, we had one come in less than 24 hours before the party), we'll finish the goody bags with pretty ribbon and pack them for the party. 



UPDATE: Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to photograph the bags before we left for the party. Once there, I didn't have a chance to get a picture before the kids snatched them all up.  Given the frenzy, I'd say the goody bags were a success.  The mini-pinwheels were a big hit!