Happy weekend, my dears! In case you thought I hadn’t been posting lately, I just realized there has been a problem with my feed (now remedied) and updates were not, well, updating. If you haven’t visited for a while you may want to catch up, because there is a DIY gift guide, info on some fabulous giveaways, and a tiny peek at Bixby’s new chalkboard wall. But on to the reason I am popping in now, and Sweet Paul…

You know those places that never fail to cheer you up? Sweet Paul magazine is one of those for me. The winter issue is out now, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you simply must. It is crammed with all sorts of delicious things to eat and drink, inspiring stories, and fun craft projects. I’ve included just a few of my favorites here to whet your appetite! Above, you can see a quick and easy craft idea for embellishing acorns with old fashioned glass glitter. You can tie on little ribbons if you want to hang them on your tree, but I think they would also be lovely displayed in a glass bowl or apothecary jar.

Next on my list is the wintermint cake recipe from Baked in Brooklyn, created especially for Sweet Paul. Doesn’t it look fantastic? It’s dark chocolate cake with mint chocolate ganache inside and fluffy peppermint buttercream outside. Mm.

Finally, I was so impressed with the story about a 16 year old crafter named Lova Blavarg from Sweden, who is currently attending the high school of Fame glory in New York. Her crafts have already been featured in several magazines, and she created all of the origami for an IKEA campaign. In this issue of Sweet Paul she created several beautiful projects, including the origami-covered string lights shown above. You won’t want to miss the video of Lola creating the crafts, it’s totally charming.

I hope you will hop over to Sweet Paul right away and indulge in a little weekend reading with the winter issue and a cup of your favorite warming winter drink! xoxo Laura

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psst: Don’t forget to enter today’s 24 Merry Days giveaway on Funkytime – it’s for 17 rolls of washi tape from Wishy Washi and a super cute camera strap from Bloom Theory!