Believe it or not, today marks culinary guru and businesswoman extraordinaire Martha Stewart's 71st birthday! In honor of the day, we've rounded up a handful of our favorite recipes that Martha's had a hand in, from salmon mousse to blackberry crumbles and a little bit of everything in between. With these well-tested recipes in hand, you'll be set to toast to Martha from dawn to dusk. So cheers, Martha. We hope it's a good one!
There are few things more Summery than a vase full of daisies sitting on the table. The yellow and white flowers are perfectly casual yet sophisticated, lending themselves to baby showers and birthday parties. Darcy Miller, editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings and a celebrations expert, knows a thing or two about the sweet flowers — she named her daughter after them. We simply adore Darcy's party-throwing style (who can forget her daughter Pippa's perfectly purple party) and knew that only she could create a daisy-themed celebration that didn't look like it was thrown in an English tea garden! For Daisy's first birthday, the party expert gathered up her favorite daisy party items — cookies, hanging paper daisies, lollipops, cupcake picks, etc. — to create a beautifully sunny outdoor party for her tot.
Today, for the first time, Darcy is giving fellow party givers the opportunity to create their own daisy party using the same party items she did through her first curated sale on OpenSky. The sale includes everything you'll need for your next daisy party or shower, from the cookies and gumball sticks to napkins and a coordinating Slip 'n Slide.
Source: Donna Newman Photography
There's no excuse for boredom in the Summer. With long, warm days, there are endless ways to keep lil ones busy while school's out of session. But when rainy days keep them inside or the temperature soars, it's only a matter of time before the dreaded "I'm bored!" comes out of one of their mouths.
According to Jodi Levine, kids director for Martha Stewart Living, the key to avoiding lulls in activity is being prepared. She recommends stockpiling supplies throughout the year in themed bins — think "fashion," "recycled," "cooking," etc. — so there's no need to scramble when the unpredictable weather arrives. Jodi spoke with us about her tips for creating the bins and several crafts that can be made from them. Best of all, the practice also teaches tots the benefits of recycling, as most of these crafting items would have wound up in the trash otherwise!
With all of the beautiful parties we see around here, it's easy to start thinking that every mom seems to have design talent but me (unless you count the stick figures I draw so effortlessly). That's all about to change though. Today, the new Martha Stewart CraftStudio App (free, for a limited time) for iPad launches, and it will instantly turn grown-ups and kids alike into Pinterest-worthy designers.
The app brings all of Martha Stewart's crafting tools to the digital space, allowing users to design digital cards, announcements, invitations, and thank-you notes based on one of four included theme bundles (Everyday, Birthday Party, Doily Lace, and Nature) — additional theme bundles are available for in-app purchase at $2 each (currently, Elegant Celebrations, Spring, Summer Fun, Vacation Adventure, and The Great Outdoors). Simply select your background "papers," add virtual stickers, punch shapes out of corners, "glue on" glitter (my favorite feature on the app because you literally have to shake it off the paper after it is sprinkled about), add text in any font you can dream of, and upload personal photos to create customized stationery pieces. Once the designing phase is done, the creations can be emailed, posted on Facebook or Twitter, printed at home, or sent to SnapFish for professional printing by simply tapping a button.
While the app will certainly help moms create custom birthday party invitations, birth announcements, and scrapbook pages, I foresee crafty kids commandeering it to simply express their creativity (without any cleanup afterward!). With all of the crafting tools available, it's a lot more fun than simply drawing apps, and the end results look really beautiful — whether you choose to print them or not.
Planning a family barbecue for Father's Day? If you're looking to wow the crowd with recipes that take a (slight) departure from the expected burgers and hot dogs, then we can think of no better place to turn than to our friends at Martha Stewart. These seven recipes (plus one smart shopping tip) range from the lightened up to the utterly indulgent, and they are all sure to appease dear old Dad.
Update: Martha Stewart announced her 30-minute show, Martha's Cooking School, will air this Autumn on PBS. "The response to our announcement for a PBS cooking school series is wonderful," she tweeted, taking a dig at Hallmark: "Easy access to PBS as opposed to Hallmark will be wonderful."
This morning broke news that the Martha Stewart Show will be no more. The program, which has been on the air since 2005, struggled to maintain the necessary viewership, even with a 2010 move to the Hallmark Channel and a more heavy celebrity focus (side note: how cute does Hugh Jackman look in the above photo?).
There is, however, some good news in all of this. The finale show promises to be "a lavish Oprah-style send off," which is always fun for viewers. There are also reportedly talks of a Martha makeover show being pitched around, and we're not sure how we feel about that just yet. How are you feeling about this end of an era? Will you miss Martha or did you think it was time for the show to say goodbye?
Source: The Martha Stewart Show
There's no better time to make the switch to green than when there's a new addition to the family. We turned to Alanna Stang, editor in chief of Martha Stewart's Whole Living magazine — who's first "Blue Issue" hits newsstands today — for some eco-friendly baby shower and new mom gift picks to help put the family on the road to sustainable living. Keep reading to check out her picks!
Photo by Mitchell Feinberg. Courtesy of Whole Living magazine’s April 2012 issue.
Editor's note: The following is a guest post written by Darcy Miller, celebrations expert and editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings. Having just thrown her daughter's third birthday, Darcy shares the original — and sweet! — way she planned the entire party around the birthday girl's favorite color.
In our house, birthdays are not only a celebration, but also a fun activity for us to do as a family. We always start with the theme (of course it is a negotiation at times), but we end up with fun celebration that we enjoy organizing together. We have done everything from a Daisy Party for my oldest daughter Daisy's first birthday to Pajama Parties and Puppy Parties. This year, for my youngest daughter Pippa's third birthday, her sisters decided she should have a purple party since it's her favorite color. I will admit, although I love lavender, I can't say purple is my favorite color — but purple it was! As you might have already guessed, everything from the favors to the play dough stations was purple. There was purple icing on the cake and purple bouncy balls tossed around the room. I even set up a reading station featuring purple-themed books like Harold and the Purple Crayon on a purple blanket. At Martha Stewart Weddings, we love to start with a palette, and monochromatic is a color theme we've returned to over the years.
Editor's note: The following is a guest post written by Darcy Miller, celebrations expert and editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings. With Valentine's Day upon us, Darcy shares some original — and sweet! — crafts she and her three girls put together for the holiday.
With three little girls — Pipa, Ella, and Daisy — who adore all things hearts and sweets, Valentine's Day is always a huge holiday in my house. In fact, I start collecting pink and red materials in early January to prepare. It's the perfect time to surprise loved ones with custom handmade gifts that show how much you care. I always like to involve the girls, and this was a great way to spend time together. Here are some of the sweet DIY gifts we'll be sending with love to family and friends this year.
There won't be any penalties for serving up kid-friendly food on Super Bowl Sunday. Sure, once kids are in the picture Super Bowl parties can take on a more family-friendly atmosphere — a little less gambling and a little more attention being paid to the commercials — but that doesn't mean traditional football food won't make it onto the table. I spoke with Sarah Carey, editor in chief of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, about how to make the traditional Super Bowl menu into a tot-friendly affair. Check out her tips and recipes!
