Spring is in the air and so too is Mother Nature's calling to revitalize, rejuvenate and rejoice. After a long and stress-filled winter, I know I feel compelled to escape the everyday, indulge in some rest and relaxation, and celebrate the beauty of the season, which also happens to be replete with many a birthday. Luckily, I had a little help from Hallmark in finding the perfect gifts for my family and friends. First up is this beautiful Mark & Hall Camel Colorblock Tote Bag, featured above. Stripes are always fashionable and this handbag has the perfect blend of simplistic style and practicality. It's a steal at a special value of $14.95. Featuring comfortable shoulder straps and a reinforced bottom panel in attractive vegan leather, it pairs beautifully with a matching embossed luggage tag and passport holder set. We gifted this as a bon-voyage-slash-early-birthday gift for my sister-in-law who is living in Italy for a few months while she works on writing her cookbook. But it would also make a great gift for a graduate, honeymooning bride and groom, or a friend journeying abroad. We also threw in a botanical inspired Floral Grey Scarf, available at a special price of $9.95.

For the littles celebrating springtime birthdays or kindergarten graduation, check out these new Happy Go Luckys mini plush toys ($12.95). The Springtime collection includes Twirp, the adorable chick, who is as mighty as he is little, his friend, Boe Kay the flower, who loves to brighten everyone's day and the street-smart gray bunny, Hip Hop, who bounces through the day with a style all his own. And of course, I can't forget Floral Print Floppy Snoopy ($12.95). This stuffed animal screams "spring" and is just begging for little hugs!

Finally, whether you're going away for the weekend or planning a staycation filled with yoga and meditation, don't forget to spoil yourself. Hallmark's Hot + Cold aromatherapy Lavender Comfort Wrap ($34.95) soothes, relaxes and rejuvenates achy shoulders, sore spots on lower and upper back or the tummy area for relief of uncomfortable cramps. It features a blend of aromatic herbs known and selected for their qualities to calm, soothe, and release stress, including flax seed, lavender, chamomile, peppermint, spearmint, lemon grass, rosemary, cinnamon and other natural ingredients. While you let the wrap do its thing, chill on the sofa in a pair of "Just Chill" lotus flower slippers. These fun and casual slippers are soft and cozy, and retail for $29.95. And remember to rehydrate and remind yourself that glamour has no age limit with a sassy 17-ounce water bottle, featuring a double-wall construction and a screw-top lid. Need somewhere to store them all while on your mini getaway? Check out their classic faux-leather Mark & Hall zippered tote. It features two decorative tassels, gold-tone expansion zippers and a bright floral-lined interior that makes it easy to find what you're looking for. It also includes a zippered interior pocket and a detachable zippered wristlet.

Want the perfect excuse to just chill? Enter for a chance to win a pair of "Just Chill" slippers, valued at $29.95. This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only, excluding Quebec, who have reached the age of majority. Please complete the Rafflecopter form below to be eligible to win.

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Disclosure: I received product to help facilitate this review. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Now that I've got my craft groove back, I knew I just had to try creating my own scalable vector graphics using Google Drawings which I could then upload to Cricut Design Studio. For this particular project, I wanted to make a gift card holder in the shape of a coffee cup for my goddaughter's birthday. One of her wish list items was a gift card to Starbucks so I thought I'd create a removable lid to which I could attach the gift card.

To create the coffee cup design, I used two basic shapes: a round same side corner rectangle (in two different sizes) and a trapezoid (in two different sizes). Once I had the right proportions, all I had to do was download as a scalable vector graphic (.svg) file. Then I uploaded it to the Design Studio. The black outline of each shape was interpreted as a shadow layer so I just deleted them from the project. To make the pocket coffee cup, I duplicated the image, resized and rotated the shapes to create the backing and flaps, and then welded them altogether. 

I also decided to try designing a parody of the logo that included her name. I've seen so many of these fun designs on Pinterest that I wanted to challenge myself to create my own on Google Drawings. Unfortunately, word art features in G Suite, unlike in Microsoft Office, are very limited and there was no way to curve a word. This meant I had to create separate art for each letter and rotate them to varying degrees. Here is one I created with my profile pic in the centre, which I cropped using a circle. You can see how many different parts there are to it, each outlined in blue.

If I ever venture into cutting using vinyl, I could download the file as an SVG. For the small logo that I needed for the card, it makes more sense to download it as a PNG or JPG and upload it to the Design Studio as a print and cut image. (I have yet to calibrate my Cricut Explore Air 2 for cutting printed images so I took a shortcut and cut it by hand.) This way you only have to adhere a single circle and it still looks great. I'm so happy my goddaughter loved her card!

July is a fun-filled month. It means the start of summer vacation for myself and the kids, and it starts off with a bang - Canada Day! This July also marked the PanAm Games here in Toronto as well as National Chocolate Day on July 7. But for our family, it's also the month where we celebrate several birthdays and anniversaries. Of particular note was my daughter's 10th birthday. To celebrate this milestone year, we threw her a special Minion-themed party. She originally wanted an Inside Out theme but she changed her mind when she saw Minion party goggles and matching plates at Walmart. We also picked up some customizable drinking cups in yellow with a peel and scratch so guests could write their name or draw their own Minion eyes. My daughter also thought of purchasing yellow balloons so she could draw a number of Minion faces and decorate our main floor. And we can't forget the cake! We ordered a double chocolate Minion cake from Longo's, which was absolutely delicious.

For the party, we decided to try something different and went with a painting party. My daughter wanted to paint something a little more 'artsy' than a Minion cartoon so she went with something that had equally large eyes - an owl. First of all, let me tell you how much I value quiet. But given that it was a party with 16 kids and 10 adults, I prepared for three hours of high volume fun. Instead, it was the complete opposite. I mean, they still had fun. But for the first 45 minutes, the kids were concentrating so hard on their paintings, they barely said a word. You could hear a pin drop! In total, it took about an hour and a half to complete the painting which meant the kids could have some fun outside while their paintings dried. They also played "Pin the Pocket on the Minion" before enjoying some cake. Since they each got to take home a beautifully painted pièce de résistance, I didn't see the need for your typical loot bag. Instead, each guest left with a Kinder Surprise Egg. Minion-themed, of course!

Rummaging through some old photos, I came across an old personalized birthday card I made a few years ago. It was similar to the safari themed birthday card (based on Handmade by Odette's original) I had made earlier in 2012. I had fun putting it together and using foam dots to add dimension. I also lightly inked the edges and slightly curved the palm tree leaves for added depth. The monkey is one of my favourite cuts on the Cricut Create-a-Critter cartridge. I even used it in my son's fifth birthday card and turned it into a magnet!

Pssst! If you're a crafter like me and need quality lighting, or even if you just want to beat the winter blues, I have a Verilux HapplyLight Natural Spectrum Energy Lamp up for grabs. Open to US and Canada!

"Mom, can I have a birthday party this year?"

Cue mom guilt.

My son turned six last month and, never having thrown him an official birthday party with his school friends, I couldn't possibly say no. I blame his melt-your-heart puppy dog eyes. Granted, we have always celebrated his birthday each year with family and close friends but I knew he desperately wanted to invite some of his friends from school and daycare. So off I went to Walmart in search of brightly coloured decorations and party supplies.

I found amazing deals on hanging decorations, tablecloths, napkins, paper plates and cups. We even ordered some helium-filled balloons from the party store. But with a house full of kids ranging from five to nine years of age, I felt a little apprehensive about how on I earth I could possibly keep them all entertained.

Luck seemed to be on my side when I happened across an email regarding Creative Club Inc. – "a unique concept in ‘edu-tainment’ that combines the fun and creativity of LEGO® building with education to help kids develop skills in important areas like problem-solving, team work, communication and presentation skills and overall confidence-building." Based in the GTA, Creative Club has been delivering programs to over 100 schools in the area for the past five years. In addition to their in-school programs, they also offer school break and summer camps as well as LEGO® birthday parties. When I browsed their selection of birthday party themes, I knew instantly that my son would love to host a Make-and-Take party where each guest gets to build and keep their very own racecar. After booking a date and time, I went ahead and custom designed the following Creative Club Inc. invitation. Isn't it cute?

Once the big day arrived, my son was bursting with excitement. With every knock at the door, he would run to greet his friends. They played, they laughed, they played some more. We ordered pizza and set out some fresh fruits and vegetables. 

It wasn't long until LEGO Man Rob arrived. Given that we had a dozen kids at the party, Rob brought along another team member to help with the build. They brought loads of LEGO and a special LEGO book to give the kids a brief history on the well-known bricks. For example, did you know that LEGO means "play well?"

Soon, the kids were each given a little basket full of different coloured bricks and tasked with building their first initial.

The kids took great pride in their final product. They even got to keep them and place them in the gift bag supplied by Creative Club Inc.

My friend Odette never ceases to amaze me with her incredible talent. This Minnie Mouse balloon creation is simply spectacular! Check out the Balloons by Odette Facebook fan page to view more photos of her designs, including a motorcycle, palm tree and yes, a life-size Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player!