Snowman Soup - Printable Label

Snowman soup is a kid-friendly gift to make for friends, neighbors, etc. What is Snowman Soup? It's hot chocolate! These packages of Snowman Soup mix along with cookie dough rolls were given to our friends last year for Christmas. Most people enjoy a good cup of Snowman Soup and it's also a yummy treat to make with your kids.

Inside each brown kraft bag we added a ziploc bag of hot chocolate mix. We made sure to include enough hot chocolate mix depending on the size of the family we were giving it to. Christmas shaped marshmallows were added on top of the hot chocolate mix. Staple instructions to the ziploc bag.

Assembling gift bags: wrapping paper was cut and glued to brown kraft bags, snowman soup labels were then tied to the brown bags with ribbon. A stirring stick (candy cane) was also attached. Tissue paper was placed in the gift bag after the SS mix was added.

I've included the free download Snowman Soup Poem. I first made this label about 10 -12 years ago - I happened to have the SS label so I scanned it! I did not write this poem and sorry but do not know who did. Print this SS poem on cardstock - makes for a cute label.

Snowman Soup

We've been told you've been really good this year,
Always glad to hear it!
With cold weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit
So here's a little snowman soup,
complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow, it's sure to do the trick!

Enjoy!

The Ultimate LEGO & Sports Bedroom

Nathan Sawaya creates awe-inspiring art out of LEGO bricks. Nathan helped make a boys dream come true for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. Nathan created this very cool OTT LEGO sports room for a young boy who loves sports and LEGO's. Don't you love it?? The headboard goal post, football field bedding and the bed is the ultimate for a sports loving boy.

Lego handles for the dresser and custom art made out of LEGO's make this room so cool.

LEGO dispensers hung on the wall.

Helpers making the custom art out of what else??

I just absolutely love this bed. All made out of LEGO's!!!! Nathan is one talented guy - make sure to check out his website for more incredible sculptures and art.

Pretty In Soft Pink!

Karla created this charming bedroom for her little girl. Check out Karla's blog - It's The Little Things That Make A House A Home - to view more photos of this sweet pink and green girls bedroom.

1. What gave you the idea for the room? Anything special that inspired you?

After having two boys, I knew that I wanted her room to be as pink and as girly as it could be! I love eyelet fabric and scallops on little girl dresses, pants, socks, bed linens - you name it - I love it, so I wanted to recreate that look in her room. Painting the scallops on her walls was a ton of work, but completely worth it! The dot at the point of the scallop was intentional to give it that eyelet feel. The matching polka dot border that I painted near her ceiling came after I had finished decorating the room. I had been feeling like the room was lacking something, and adding that pop of green at the ceiling brings your eye up and shows the contrast between the wall colors.
2. What are the paint colors? Any do-it-yourself projects?

The paint colors are: Primrose Bouquet #PPL-43 and Palm Breeze #420E-2, both by Behr. Painting the scallops was a big DIY job, but the biggest DIY project in her room is her bed. My husband built it for her, which I think is such a sweet little touch. I love it that the place that she lays her head every night was created by her daddy! I also took an old, small pedestal table that I found at a thrift shop, gave it a makeover with paint and words and it became a tea table for her and her dolls.


Clever idea with the big brothers holding signs in the photo! This is how Karla announced they were pregnant to their friends and family.









3. Please share any bedding, art furniture finds? What's your favorite purchase. Is there something you had to have?

Her bedding, curtains and curtain rod are all from Target from the Simply Shabby Chic collection. The bookcase is from Ikea. The dresser is from a local all-wood furniture store.

It's hard to narrow down what my favorite purchase was. It was so much fun to start buying cute, little, pink accessories after I had convinced myself that we were destined to have all boys!

The item that I knew I had to have for her room was the Ikea bookcase. It has scallops on the top which just reinforce the theme and I love that it feels like a girly piece of furniture. The fact that it is functional as well, is just icing on the cake!

Thanks Karla for sharing such a well-loved, adorable room!

It's Time To Announce the $250 Moody Mamas Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is....

Ashley from -

Congrats Ashley! You've won $250 in maternity clothes from Moody Mamas. You have 3 days to claim the giveaway prize.

Thank you to everyone who entered. We also have a $150 pearl giveaway going on.

A Sip And See Nautical Baby Shower

Chris from Celebrations At Home designed this totally creative Sip & "Sea" Shower for a friend. The theme was nautical to reflect the nursery. Chris describes the shower: "All the glass plates had a different nautical map underneath, while the favors were my version of the "message in a bottle" concept. Water glasses held nautical alphabet flags, each representing the first initial of a guest's name.
I used baby toys throughout, that mom could take with her. Bath toy boat and fish were tucked into flower arrangements and floating in vases filled with blue tinted water (see dessert table). Stuffed whale, dolphin, and shark were placed here and there."






A welcome message on a life preserver perfect for the front door. Cute photo of the guest of honor, more great decor and a nautical themed invitation. For more info on this fun, adorable nautical themed baby shower check out Celebrations At Home.

Giveaway - Pearls $150 Gift Certificate...Open to International Residents!

Pearl Paradise is the world's largest online pearl company. They specialize in providing affordable, high-quality, classic, elegant and stylish pearl jewelry designs at up to 80 percent below retail prices. This includes pearl necklaces, pearl bracelets, pearl pendants, pearl earrings, pearl rings and pearl jewelry sets. With more than 100,000 satisfied customers the value that Pearl Paradise offers is spreading quickly. PearlParadise.com has been featured in several respected publications including: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, InStyle Magazine, and Modern Bride and many more!

Pearl Paradise is offering one Design Dazzle reader a $150 gift certificate for your choice of pearls! Perfect for you or as a gift for Christmas! This giveaway open to US and International residents!!

Pearl Paradise let me choose these beautiful lavender pearls with a white gold clasp. My pearl bracelet came in an elegant box with a pearl care kit, cleaning cloth, and an appraisal. The appraisal states these are appraised at $500+.... but cost $125 through Pearl Paradise. They are beautiful!





To enter to win this $150 giveaway, please go to Pearl Paradise and choose your favorite pearl! Then come back here and leave a comment on this blog post about your favorite. Contest closes December 19th at 11:00 pm (PST).


Additional entries:

• 2 Extra entries -become a Design Dazzle follower (by adding yourself to the follower group on the sidebar)... would love to have you as a blog friend and reader:)

• 2 Extra entries - add our Design Dazzle button to your blog or website.

• 3 Extra entries - blog about Design Dazzle on your site and provide the link in your comments.

1 Extra entry - follow me on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway on Design Dazzle.

If you are entering this giveaway, please click here for my blog


Each entry needs its own comment! Post a separate comment for each extra entry - if you entered all entries you would leave 9 separate comments.

Random.org will be used to help choose 1 winner (comment). The winner will be announced December 20th on a blog post. If winner fails to respond within three days, a new winner will be chosen. You need to be at least 18 years old to be eligible for this prize. Open to US and International shipping addresses.

Sports Chairs For Kids!

These delightful sports chairs are perfect presents for Christmas or a birthday. The chair and ottoman base are constructed of wood. The chairs have thick padding and are covered in a leather-like fabric, designed for many years of use. Perfect for kids ages 3 - 6 years old. Design Dazzle sells each sports chair with ottoman for $149 and shipping is free. Go here to purchase the baseball chair.

To purchase basketball chair go here.

To purchase soccer chair go here.

Rooms With Red

The holiday season is here, and with it comes a hefty dose of red just about everywhere you look. This time of year reminds us how colors such as cranberry red, crimson, poinsettia red and peppermint red are festive hues that need not be limited to just the holidays -- especially when it comes to your child's room.

I love red for children's rooms because it's a color that encourages creativity. Since most children prefer bright, vivid colors, red is a great choice when creating an inspiring space.

Pair red with cool colors such as blue or green. This will create a complementary color scheme that has interest and balance. Or, opt for a classic red and white palette, which is always in style.

Red is a child-friendly {and baby-friendly} color that looks merry and bright during the holidays and all throughout the year.

By Kelly Porter, featured contributor and publisher of Color Sizzle.

photo credits: ohdeedoh.com; stylehive.com; designdazzle.com; dutchboy.com; ehow.com

How-to Make A Diaper Cake!

Diaper cakes are all the rage. A diaper cake is a "cake" made up of diapers. It's not eaten and thus is zero calories : ). I made this cake for a friend Tami's baby shower last month. It's easy to make - but can be a little time consuming.

Supplies:
One large disposable serving platter
100 diapers size 1 and 2
1 bottle of sparkling apple cider
package of 1/4 inch elastic
couple of rubber bands
couple of straight pins
decorations to decorate diaper cake

Scissors and a hot glue gun will help the process

The bottle of sparkling cider is used as an anchor to wrap the diapers around. It's also a fun way for family to celebrate the arrival of the new little baby.

Place the bottle in the middle of the serving tray. I wrapped diapers around the bottle and secured with a rubber band.

I kept adding diapers to the circle until I couldn't fit anymore around. The bottom cake layer has 60 diapers (mostly #2 size). I tied the 1/4 inch elastic around the perimeter of the diapers twice to keep them securely in place.

Add a 2ND cake layer of diapers with approximately 28 diapers - these were #1 size diapers. Make the 2ND layer a smaller tier.

Repeat for the top tier. This tier covers the bottle completely and used about 12 (#1 size) diapers. So all together 60 diapers for the bottom layer, 28 diapers for the middle layer and 12 diapers for the top layer = 100 diapers.

Most diaper cakes the diapers are visible behind ribbon that's been wrapped around the perimeter. I decided on this one to cover it in "white icing" which is an inexpensive piece of white fabric. I tucked the fabric in between layers and used a couple of pins to secure in place.

Decorations were added to make it a completely girly diaper cake. I wrapped eyelet lace and ribbon around each tier and secured with a little bit of hot glue. I purchased 2 peachy pink hydrangeas and a set of ballet shoes for the top. A darling pink carriage Christmas ornament is also on the top. The pearl letters were purchased in the dollar section at Michaels. There was no letter "y" so I made one from a "t" - just bent the top apart a little bit. I wish I had better pictures - it was a very pretty cake.

Place the diaper cake on a cake stand and get ready for plenty of oohs and aahs!

Do you know someone who needs maternity clothes? We're having a giveaway for $250 in Moody Mamas maternity line. Go here to enter.