As avid Brit + Co readers know, our very own founder Brit Morin is expecting her own bundle of joy this fall! To prep, we’re all scouring the web for most creative quilts, onesies and nursery designs. And, of course, we’re DIY-ing our little hearts out as well. We’ve teamed up with JOHNSON’S® Baby to show you how to create three different mobiles using origami storks!
But why storks? Well, time for a little history lesson. There’s a Japanese legend that folding 1,000 origami cranes will result in a wish granted and a hope fulfilled. To put a baby spin on the legend, we’ve created origami storks in place of cranes! The idea was adapted from JOHNSON’S® Baby brand, who created a beautiful, 1,000-piece origami stork mobile of their own to symbolize how they have delivered on their promise to always listen to moms and create the safest possible products for moms and babies :) In fact, JOHNSON’S® Baby scientists and their families came together to write down their promises, and created the mobile to beautifully express this promise to moms everywhere. See this labor of love right here and share your promises at #PromiseToBaby.
We got on board with the beauty of these storks and created three different mobiles designed to fit the personality of any nursery. 
First things first, you need to learn how to fold an origami stork! The steps below look like a lot, but we promise it’ll be quick once you get the hang of it. We should know — we made over 300 storks to create the three mobiles you see above!
With the colored side of the paper facing the table, fold up one edge creasing the paper in the center. Repeat this from right to left.
Flip the paper over so the colored side is facing up. Fold on the diagonal and then fold the other side on the diagonal creating an ‘X’ shape.
Open up the paper, and then push each side in, reverse folding the right and left creases. You should have a square shape with two flaps on each side.
With the open end pointing down, fold the top flap in towards the center. Repeat this on the other side. Then fold the top triangle down and make a nice crease. Fold in the flaps on the back side going in the opposite direction.
Unfold the flaps and folded triangle. Lift up the top flap and reverse fold it along the crease at the top (where you folded the top triangle down). Draw in the sides reverse folding them as well.
Flip the paper over and do the same thing to the other side. You will wind up with a long diamond.
Now you’ve got your bird base. Turn your bird base to the side and you’ll see that one end is split and the other end is not. Rotate the base so that the split end is on your left side.
Fold the bottom edge of the top flap along the center. Do the same thing with the top edge.
Lift up your bird base and swing the back flap on the right side over to the left..
Pinch the top folded flaps up towards each other and fold the bottom flaps down towards each other.
You should have three flaps on the left side — two look the same and then there is a third one in between that is smaller.
Take the top flap and fold it to the right. Then fold it back and up towards the left. Do the same thing with the flap on the other side so that it matches.
Now take the bottom flaps and fold them up on each side towards the center line.
Fold the piece you were just working with back and up. Then outside reverse fold this piece (it’s the neck!). Outside reverse fold a head.
On the other end, make an inside reverse fold with a small piece at the tip of the tail.
Now, let’s turn this stork into many storks… and then turn those storks into decorative nursery mobiles!
Materials: – large embroidery hoop – origami paper in colors of your choice – white spray paint – needle + thread – scissors
OMBRE HOOP MOBILE
Instructions: 1. Spray paint your embroidery hoop white, or any color you like. 2. Organize your origami paper in an ombre color pattern. Make storks! 3. Use a needle and thread to string the storks and hang them on the hoop. 4. Hang each stork a little lower than the one before it, descending a spiral shape.
The first thing we did was spray paint our embroidery hoop white.
Organize your origami paper in an ombre color pattern. Make storks! Then, use a needle and thread to string the storks and hang them on the hoop.
Hang each stork a little lower than the one before it, descending a spiral shape. How pretty is that?
Done!
Materials: – large branch – origami paper in colors of your choice – gold spray paint – needle + gold thread – scissors
GILDED BRANCH MOBILE
Instructions: 1. Spray paint your branch gold, or any color you like. 2. Make storks using gray and white origami paper. 3. Use a needle and gold thread to string the storks and hang them on the branch at different heights.
Spray paint your branch gold, or any color you like. For paper, we chose gray and white to keep things minimalist and chic.
Make those storks! Then Use a needle and gold thread to string the storks. Hang them on the branch at different heights and you’re done!
So chic!
Materials: – square paper lantern + pendant light kit – origami paper in colors of your choice – needle + thread – scissors
COLORFUL LANTERN MOBILE
Instructions: 1. Pop open your lantern! 2. Make storks using paper of our choice. 3. Use a needle and gold thread to string the storks together to create tassels. 4. Attach the tassels to each corner of your lantern. 5. Turn on the lantern and turn down the lights ;)
Pop open your lantern! For paper colors, we chose a mix of colors and one pattern.
Make your storks. Then string them together to create tassels. Hang them on each corner of your lantern.
Turn on the lantern and turn down the lights. Misty’s little Elijah certainly approves! :)
Totally captivated!
Who knew storks were so versatile!?
What other unusual mobiles have you seen or made? Which one of the ones we made is your favorite? Talk to us in the comments below.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
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