Queen B - Creative Me

Little Baking Vignette

2012-02-28T18:31:00.000-05:00

Aimee Weaver recently added this to her kitchen:

I love the jars of flour and sugar and the vase of baking utensils.

And I had pinned this recently, too. Gotta love the bow on the tall jar and the collection of baking cups. Pretty!

I was in search of a change in my kitchen area, so while these baked.......

...... my youngest son helped dump about 1500 of these into a recently thrifted jar.

Look at all of those pretty colours!!

Of course - I tied a pretty bow on and poured some of my all-purpose flour into another shorter jar. The mini-muffin pan was a yard sale find (but used often) and fit perfectly into the little baking vignette in my mind.

Another baking necessity - chocolate chips! I go through tons of these. I wonder how long these will remain in the be-ribboned canning jar??

Hmm...something is not right......There we go- more height needed in the baking tin department. Up on a couple of clear lids and everything seems more balanced.

And the final touch - some wint'ry cookie cutters.

Done and done. The perfect vignette for the top of the cabinet that holds my selection of baking books, cookie cutters and sprinkle collection!!

Camden's Quilt

2012-02-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

Way back, at the end of last summer, I purchased this selection of fabrics to make a quilt for the foot of my youngest son's bed. Camden has a set of bunk beds in his room- one bed already has a antique quilt made in 1941 across it, so my plan was to make a matching one for the other bed.

Within a week I had the 6 rectangles cut and sewn together into strips and lined up in between rows of cream coloured cotton. Ta-da!

My hope was that it would turn out looking like rows of bricks. I didn't get the layout quite right, but the colourful blocks still look eye-catching.

Finally, in the fall, my mother helped me pin the backing and quilt batting together so that I could proceed with machine quilting it all together.

After the "quilting" was complete, the Christmas season was upon us and it became lost in amongst all of the seasonal crafting I wanted to do. But last weekend, mostly by request of little Cam - "Where is my quilt, Mommy?", I dug it out again and sewed on the edging. This is the hardest part, if you ask me.

It turned out far from perfect, but I don't think my little guy (and girl) mind! (Within minutes of its completion, Mr. Quilt became a cover of warmth while the kids watched "Astro Boy" for the 27th time that week!)

Here, Cam and I are admiring mommy's handiwork from above.

When the movie was over, onto the top bunk it went. It works perfectly with the brown bunk beds, the yellow walls and the blue bedcovers.

Here it is with the yard sale purchased antique quilt. The older quilt is definitely more delicate and was created by a far more talented sewer than I!! But I do believe Camden likes the one made by Mommy more!!

Already, I have begun searching out my next big sewing project. Hmm...I think I'll choose something that practises my edge-binding skills. That needs work!!

Thanks for the visit! Please leave a comment and become a follower!

Cornflowers - In Memory of Dad

2012-02-26T08:35:00.000-05:00

This is my dad and my 3 children. This photo was taken about 3 weeks before he passed away from complications from ALS. ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a progressive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed. My father's diagnosis and death at the age of 63 were a great blow to my family, yet we take great joy in sharing our remembrances of him and caring for each other in our sadder moments.

Like many other charities, the ALS Society of Canada has chosen a flower to represent its work in the community. The Blue Cornflower, which grows abundantly here during the month of June, has become such a symbol for ALS.

One day, browsing through Etsy, I searched "cornflower" to see what lovely things I could find featuring our family's new flower. Without a thought, I jumped at purchasing 4 of these (1 for me, 1 for my mother and 1 for each of my sisters):

It is a specimen painting of a bouquet of cornflowers printed on a vintage dictionary page. It came from here:

My plan is to use my cornflower print as a centrepiece to a gallery wall in our family room. To unify all of the items I plan on displaying, each piece will be displayed in a black frame. So, several frames got hit with black spray paint this weekend!!

The largest frame, an 8x10, has become the home of my cornflower art.

I look forward to filling a few more frames and getting my wall display started. My goal is to have the wall complete for Easter Weekend so I have 5 weeks or so. Plenty of time, right??

Thanks for popping by. I'd love to hear from you so please, LEAVE A COMMENT. And I'd love a few more FOLLOWERS!

Searching for "Pretty"

2012-02-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

Today was dull and gray. After work I needed a little pick-me-up that was easy on the wallet and high on excitement! I had a hour before the kids needed to be picked up so I knew right away what I wanted to do - SHOP!!

Trying to keep the outing inexpensive, I hit the "vintage shop" first. Look what I found lying in amongst all of the ugly old picture frames:

Isn't she lovely? And she was $1.00! Oh Yeah! A few aisles later I grabbed this chunk of red and white cotton fabric. So pretty- and a huge piece for $2.00! I have plans for it already!!

These wreaths are new with tags and are bout 8 inches across. I think they may become the basis for my spring door wreath, stacked like a snowman and tied together with ribbon.

And look at these! I don't think they are vintage, but they are plain and simple. I have been "pinning" a few things lately that use old spools. Now I have the beginning of a collection for one of those projects.

After my journey through the thrift shop was done, I headed to Michael's. I still hadn't used a gift card from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law from Christmas - so anything I bought at the craft store would be FREE!

In the theme bins I managed to nab a few more flowery baking cups. My hubby estimates I have well over 1500 paper cups - ready for more muffins or cupcakes then I'll EVER make! Maybe, but they sure are pretty!

This flowery bag was $1.50. It is small but the perfect size for a small crochet project. Pretty!

And at the scrapbook store - what did I find there? This is a new line of papers from Echo Park. Love, love, love!

My daughter has an ugly orange cat-shaped piggy bank. I can't stand it. And I don't think she is big fan of it either. So when I came across this little piggy at the next stop, a discount decor store, I just HAD to buy it for her! Not only is he purple AND pretty.......

...he is also Polka-dotted! Love it!

After picking up the kids, we headed home for dinner. My primroses looked pretty darn good. Look at that awesome magenta colour.

Because it was Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!) we had these for supper:

Pumpkin Ginger Pancakes with delicious breakfast sausages. Mmmmm... The perfect meal after an exciting shopping excursion!

Thanks for popping in! I'd love to hear what you think of my "treasures." And please, become a FOLLOWER if you have liked what you have seen!

The Bookshelf - A Few of My Favourite Things

2012-02-19T09:04:00.002-05:00

I hate dusting. I usually save it for a special occasion. Hee,hee. However, this weekend, I decided to change things up a bit and hit the bookshelf in my Living Room for no reason at all!! (Okay - there was reason - my shelves were starting to look grey-ish with dust!!)

Of course, because I had to take everything off the shelves, I took special care in re-arranging them all as I put them back. I took some shots of my favourite things after all was said and done.

After Christmas, I needed some low-colour, restful , decor for my front room. I switched a lot of the colourful, sparkly items out for low-key white and cream.

At the top pf the bookshelf went a few of my white pitchers and a milk glass bowl.

Books add some much warmth to a home - I used several here.

I have often thought of painting or wallpapering the back of my bookshelf - but I always come back to the simplicity of the solid wood behind all of my "objet d'art."

My in-laws gave me this set of flower vases for my birthday last year. I love the script on them.

I found this in a little gift shop a few summers back on a weekend away, just hubby and me. I was just about to have our third child and we couldn't have felt more blessed!

This is a stack of my hubby's travel and wine books. He had read each of them several times, but never tires of them. They need to be kept close by!

We are off on our 3rd trip to Europe together this summer. Hubby has been to UK only once before - this will be my 4th trip. I love it there and I am so eager to return. Our travel guides have been well-read already and we don't leave until August!

I am not sure what to call this "rose-covered thing." I bought it years ago at a discount decor store. Its little porcelain roses caught my eye.

I guess the dusting was worth it. I got to pay a visit to some of my favourite things. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

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Ripples - TA-DA!

2012-02-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Do you like my new blog header? I'd been wanting to change it for a long time, but just didn't know how to do it. So last night, I downloaded "Smilebox" and created a collage. Hubby helped me pop it on here - and I LOVE IT!!

Now...... onto the TA-DA!!

I began this ripple baby blanket back in January. After a week's work, this was how much I had completed:

I had hoped, at the time, to have it done by Valentine's Day - and you know what? Success! I crocheted the last row of edging a whole week before!

So - what do you think? My daughter loves it. She has already tried to claim it as her own on several occasions. At almost six, she still cherishes the blanket she received as a infant. It's on its last legs (even though my mother has mended and re-mended it several times) and I think she might be on the prowl for its replacement!

I would have loved to have made the blanket a little wider, but I ran out of the pink coloured yarn! It is still plenty big to wrap a baby in, or to drape across the stroller on a chilly day.

My stack of baby blankets and quilts continues to grow. For awhile there, I couldn't keep up with the demand for hand-made baby things at a time when all of my friends were having their children. Now most of us have completed our families and these cozies don't leave the house as often as they used to. Oh well. I just keep making them - I DO enjoy seeing the pile increase in size!!

Thanks for coming by for a visit! I'd love to hear from you! And please, become a FOLLOWER!

Birds in the Bedroom

2012-02-15T21:24:00.002-05:00

As I was tidying the master bedroom, putting away all the loads of laundry I had recently done, I realized that without any pre-meditation, I had used a bird theme throughout in its decoration.

Here is the vinyl wall decal that decorates the window wall:

And it continues around the corner onto the next wall.

These little porcelain birdies cuddle up next to my wedding photo (taken 10 years ago!)

And atop this pretty little jewellery tray sits another couple of lovebirds.

I recently hung a handmade quilt given to me by one of aunts on this antique quilt bar. There was a fair bit of space above it, so when I found this blue and white china plate in a nearby discount decor store, I knew exactly where I wanted to hang it!

I love its scalloped edges!

I have recently been working on another bird-centred decor project. Here is a sneak peek:

Hopefully I'll be able to complete this little project while hubby is out after later. I love getting my sewing machine going in the quiet of a winter evening!!

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A Wish for Today....

2012-02-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

This weekend, just for fun ( and for school lunches!), I did a bit of this:

Then stuck on some of these:

Little Lady helped with this, too.

And when they were cooled off, I had a bit of fun doing this:

And this:

And before I go, my family and I would like to wish you this:

Love, Queen B

At the Door.....

2012-02-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

My front entrance needed a little pick-me-up. I had been churning some ideas around in my head for a few weeks and I finally made the decision when I was able to pick up these 6-inch letters for one dollar each at a local discount store.

Can you guess what they spell? Take another look as I spray paint them Antique White.

Got it yet??

Yep. There it is. That's a good greeting for the front entryway, right?

And here is where it hangs:

I'd seen this somewhere on Pinterest months ago only the homeowner had use the words, "Shoes Off Please." My word feels a little warmer - a little more "WELCOMING."

I spruced up the area with a new silk flower arrangement, too. I stuck with cream and pale green, and accented with a few sticks and a rusty metal star decoration.

Here is the whole area, lit by the sunshine that streamed through the windows today while snow whirled through the air. It was a wonderful day to do "home-making" type things inside our cozy home.

Thanks for coming for a visit. I'd love to hear what you think of my spruced up foyer. Comments are always welcome. And you know, I'm always looking for a few new FOLLOWERS!

Trixie Pillows

2012-02-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

Recently, while perusing Etsy, I came across this shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fleamarkettrixie?ref=seller_info

I instanly fell in love with a couple of her printed panels. It took forever, but I narrowed my purchase down to these two designs:

Look at that French script and butterflies! Absolutely gorgeous!

And the Union Jack - in un-traditional colours, but perfect for my living room!

After giving the panels a wash, I turned them into pillows by creating envelope pillows using a natural coloured muslin as the backing.

I really like the Union Jack (I am partial to all things Britain!), but the butterfly pillow is just so colourful and eye-catching. I am sure it won't be long before an order more stuff from this lovely Etsy shop!

Thanks for the visit! Please leave a comment and tell me what you think. And PLEASE become a FOLLOWER. I'd love that!!

An Apron for Afton

2012-02-05T14:43:00.004-05:00

Recently I took all three of kids to the new public library here in our hometown. After searching the stacks for Barbie and Lego books, the kids settled into read their choices and I was able to take a gander through the sewing and quilting section. Oh - there were so many choices! I came home with a half-dozen books with so much sewing eye-candy I didn't know where to start!!

But after a few evenings of reading and re-reading, I settled on this project from Cath Kidston's

"SEW!"

--- the GIRL'S APRON!!

I took my 5 year old daughter with me to the fabric store so she could choose her own pretty printed fabric . I was very surprised that she didn't jump immediately for a pinkish-purplish pattern. Instead, this is what she chose:

Cath's book comes with a huge fold-out pattern sheet, but because my book was from the library, I had to go "old-school" and trace the pattern onto scrap paper before I could cut my fabric.

I cheated a bit. Instead of making my own home-made seam binding like the book said, I bought some pre-cut, pre-folded seam binding in a contrasting blue. Honestly, even with the pre-made binding, I'll still had some problems - thank God for straight pins.

Here it is - not bad, eh? I created my own pocket style so that I could use more of the pretty blue binding.

But for some reason, it just didn't look finished to me. Hmm...

It didn't take me long to figure out that any girly item like this needs some flowers! Out came my yo-yo flower makers, some matching fabric and my button stash (oh! - and my mochaccino!)

Ta-da!

(Do I put one of these in every one of my posts??)

This is my favourite part of the whole apron!!

And it fits perfectly!!

And today we tried it out. Our first baking mission - Lemon Blueberry Muffins.

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Two Remakes for the Master Bedroom

2012-02-02T19:23:00.003-05:00

I had been looking for an interestingly shaped mirror for our bedroom for ages. I was so pleased to find this one at the local Goodwill for just over 10 bucks. It was perfect except for the tarnished silvery coating it had. (That's my youngest- Cam, helping to model my latest purchase!)

Once again, spray paint to the rescue! It was a bit of a chore figuring our how to cover the surface of the mirror so that I didn't get paint on the glass, but in the end it was well worth it!

I love how the texture and detail of the mirror seems to be more easily seen now that it is white. (Don't you just love my new wallpapered bedroom wall in the background?)

Last year I bought these hand-made corbels at a vintage store. They have sat idly in my basement until inspiration hit. At Christmas I wished for more display area in the master bedroom. I wanted a surface that I could decorate with a few Christmas-y items, yet wouldn't get in the way of our daily "living" in that room. So Hubby put them together with a piece of 2x10 and voila!- I had a new display shelf I our bedroom!

I have a large collection of glass candlesticks. Actually, I used to have a large collection. When we moved houses a few years back, several of my sticks didn't survive the move. They have been boxed in the basement since then, so when my shelf was done, I lovingly un-packed what was left of them and placed them to glisten in the sunlight of our bedroom.

Here is the full vignette on the south side of bedroom. I am trying to make a real effort to keep it clutter free so that I can enjoy each of my favourite items.

Thanks for the visit! Please leave a comment - I love reading them! And I'd love a few more FOLLOWERS!

Bye for now!

This + That =_________

2012-02-02T19:20:00.004-05:00

I have had both of these items lying around for ages. Yes - the frame often becomes part of my vignettes. And the bulletin board has had random magazine tear sheets plastered on it for months. But it was time to do something about of this wishy-washiness!

The frame has lovely detail, but was a little to "golden' for me. And cork-coloured cork - BORING! Once again - SPRAY PAINT to the RESCUE!!

Ta-da! Now that is a makeover!

I think I may own every colour of spray paint you can buy at the Home Depot, but this has got to be one of my favourites! It's bright enough to add some zing, but gentle enough to not overpower the carving detail on the frame.

And the cork board - it got a couple of coats of antique white. Much cleaner looking now - and a much more friendly colour for displaying my daughter's many art projects!!

Thanks for popping by! Please leave a comment and PRETTY PLEASE - will you BECOME A FOLLOWER!??

A Thrifty & Vintage Bedroom

2012-01-28T21:00:00.005-05:00

As I was tidying my daughter's room (AGAIN!) this morning, it struck me how much of her bedroom is old, re-made, home-made and re-used. I grabbed my camera and took a closer look....

Here is a shot of one corner of her room - the sleeping section. Girly - pink, purple, patterned- perfectly girly!

See the medallion on the wall? Thrifted and spray-painted. The heart pennants - handmade by me! The bed - thrifted (it used to be an ugly shade of wood), now painted a pale grass green.

And the pillows - all made by me. The one in front was made to match the drapes in her newborn nursery. Though the drapes stayed with the old house when we moved, the pillow will stay with us forever! The striped one - made to match the drapes in her current bedroom. And the pink one - made from a thrifted sweater. I sewed on several old mis-matched buttons for an extra bit of detail.

This is her view when she lies on her bed. I made 9 of these for her 5th birthday party last year. They took hours to complete and were not going in the garbage after the party - so up they went on her bedroom ceiling.

Just left of her bed is this vinyl wall decal. I picked it for 9 bucks at a local discount decor store. I like how it has a patch-worked feel to it with its mixed patterns.

Here is her nightstand. This was a garage sale find. When I found it, it was dingy and grey. the woman selling it thought she was over-charging me when she asked for $2.00!! SOLD! A couple layers of white paint and an antique knob and she was perfect!!

I found this clock at Value Village. A whopping 6 bucks! No batteries in it yet. My little lady can't tell time! Hee, hee.

I love the bead detail on this lamp. Once again a discount store find. Look at those beads and the "crystal" on the base.

Aren't these the prettiest purple flowers? I found this bowl at Goodwill for 99 cents. It is perfect for corralling my daughters barrettes and jewelry. Otherwise they get tossed on the floor beside the bed!

Now the quilt. My mother made it for my youngest sister 30+ years ago. It has been packed away in her belongings for years. One day last year, my daughter, my sister and I were perusing a flea market and darling daughter fell in love with a $350 vintage quilt with just this dolly design on it. Of course, the $$$ made me gasp and shout NO! My sister quickly came to the rescue and improved my daughter's mood by promising her the use of the family-made Dolly quilt currently located in my sister's storage locker. And here it is - it gives my little lady (and me!) great joy every day!

Thanks for the visit. I look forward to reading your comments each and every day. Please leave and note and let me know you have stopped by! And please, become a FOLLOWER!

Using Up Those Scraps!

2012-01-27T20:25:00.006-05:00

I use quilting charm packs quite often for small sewing projects. I love working with charm packs because each package contains 20-30, 5"x 5" squares all in perfectly coordinated fabrics. It lets me use tons of lovely patterns all at once.

Lately I have been sewing lunch-bags, makeup bags and the tops of dolly quilts. But every time I complete a project, I have lots of little scraps left over from each charm pack. And I CAN"T BEAR to throw them out!!!

Recently I was left with a bunch of these:

Each piece is about 1 1/2" x 5" and pretty useless. Or are they??

Nope. Not to an expert patchworker like me!! ( Ha, ha!- Aunt Mary - if you are reading this, your skills make me look like a patch-Slacker!)

Even little strips can be used up! Here is my simplified "Log Cabin" quilt block. I had to wing it a bit because by the time I got to the outside rings, my strips were too short, so I sewed a few together to make the correct length.

My plan was to make this patched square into a pillow top so I had to add some edging to increase its size. I went with a row of white and then a thin edge of coordinating pattern.

There she be. Not bad, eh? Considering I used very small scraps and it took less than 45 minutes to put together.

And here it is, backed and placed onto a pillow form. I love how it adds a little bit of zing to my mostly green and aqua living room. Maybe I'll lean towards some more of these colours as I spruce up for spring. Hmmm......

My new owl wanted to get into the photo action, too. I grabbed him at a discount decor store just after Christmas. Love him to bits!

Thanks for the visit on such a cold January day. I hope you are seeing some lovely snowfall in your neck of the woods! Please leave a comment and BECOME A FOLLOWER! I'd love that!

Yellow & Graphite!!

2012-01-25T07:25:00.010-05:00

This is the "art" I had hanging in my powder room duriung the Christmas season. I finally decided it was time for it to come down.

The walls in my powder room are a lovely butter yellow. I love this shade - sunny, cozy and warm. In the past I have accessorized it with green, turquoise and pink. But this winter I needed a change. So..... I looked to a fellow Canadian for some inspiration.

This is Sarah Richardson's farmhouse bathroom. Look at that yellow tub!

I LOVE the mix of warm yellow and every shade of grey. What a modern mix - yet with a vintage-y flavour.

Can I create this feeling? I'll give it a try!

How about changing my scrapbook frames from Christmas papers to grey and yellow ones from October Afternoon.

What do you think? I love this pennant one - and the colour combo is perfect for my new colour scheme.
And the towels- switch'em to grey!! Excellent with my nickel fixtures.
New rug - cloudy grey - CHECK!!
And here is my little medicine cabinet. I found it years ago at the Christie Antiques Fair. I gave it a good cleaning, spray-painted the rusty hinges a nickel-colour, and replaced the broken glass with some yellow and white gingham.
And added an antique glass knob. Perfect.
Quick powder room transformation - COMPLETE!
Thanks for popping by. Please leave a comment or two and become a FOLLOWER!!

Wrap, Pin, DONE!

2012-01-21T16:15:00.003-05:00

You take one grapevine wreath - on sale at Michaels for $2.99.

Grab a cozy looking scarf from Goodwill ($1.99!)

See - it's Jacob Jr. I would have paid at least $25.00 at the Jacob Store!

Then,

Wrap,

Pin -

DONE!!

Easy as that. I love when things come together so quickly!!

My black star wreath hanger adds a bit of jewelry to the look. Love it!

And there it is - hanging on the front door. I figure this a good look for a few weeks until I dig out the heart-shaped Valentine wreath.

What do you think? I'd love it if you left a comment. And NEW FOLLOWERS are always welcome!!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2012-01-18T19:22:00.003-05:00

After the kids head off to bed, after tomorrow's lunches are made, backpacks are filled and the kitchen is clean, this is what I look forward to putting my hands on:

Yes! My ripple afghan. I have been working on it for just over a week and I am in love!

Row by row, colour by colour, I watch its cozy warmth grow. I average one colour an evening, more if my bed-pillow isn't calling too loudly!

Look at those pastels! Oh, they make my heart sing. I never get tired of them. Don't they look like a glimpse of spring on these cold Canadian winter days??

I hope to have my blanket done by Valentine's Day. That is the goal I have set for myself. If I keep up my rate of crochet I should make it easily!

What do you think? Do you "ripple?" I'd love to hear from you. And please, become a follower!

Cam's Pinwheels

2012-01-15T19:47:00.005-05:00

This is Cam.

Actually, he would correct you and say, "It's Camden-Alexander -John."

He's pretty darn cute and he's three.

And he's got a pretty darn cute bedroom, too.

I'm going to show you a small section of it today.

This is what you would find on top of the large shelf unit in his room:

I tweaked the vignette a little today after doing some dusting.

These wooden words have hung in various places in his room since before he was born. I found them in a discount home store back while I was pregnant with him. They went perfectly with the yellow and green colour theme I was putting in the gender-neutral nursery. The stars have been everywhere in our home, but are now a permanent fixture in Cam's big-boy room.

This blue-ticking bear is from Pottery Barn Kids. You'd think I pain$30+ for him. Nope. Cam fell in love with him while visiting a local Goodwill Store. He was $1.99 so he came home with us!!

And what is he leaning on? Well, after horizontal-striping the bedroom walls, I needed some way to camouflage the ugly air-return vent near the ceiling. I had purchased the tall orange bucket on a whim months earlier, but even it's height couldn't hide the vent.

Then one night lying in bed, it came to me - I needed to make a half-dozen paper pinwheels that could stick out of the bucket at a height and block the vent.

I used several coordinating scrapbook papers and several buttons from my crafting stash. I hot-glued each pinwheel to a thin bamboo dowel and then shoved them at different lengths into some floral foam inside the bucket.

So what do you think? Cam has finally stopped asking to play with them - he'd love to give them a blow and see how well they spin. Unfortunately, they don't spin at all. Too much hot glue. But they look good, right??

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you! Take time to leave a comment and become and FOLLOWER, too!

A "Pretty" I Can wear!

2012-01-13T19:39:00.012-05:00

Before Christmas, I was dressing up for a concert at the school where I teach primary music. I was dressed in a black suit, with a red sleeveless shell underneath. Hubby said I looked lovely, but something was missing. I really needed a shot something light and feminine. But as I looked through my very large collection of scarves, necklaces, brooches, nothing seemed to be the "perfect" accessory. I settled for a red and silver scarf and walked out the door, making note, that I needed to fill this accessory "void" as soon as possible.

So when I had a minute, during the Christmas holidays, I grabbed my crochet hook, and a ball of white yarn wound with a silvery thread and whipped up this "pretty" in a jiffy!

I love this little pattern. I had crocheted a bunch of these in pink to make my daughter's wreath back in November.

I can whip one up in about 10 minutes, and really, you get a lot of flower for very little time!

Hmm...pretty - but I need more glamour. How about one of these:

Yep. That's the ticket!

Here I am, modelling my handmade flower. Hubby took the pictures. (One of my resolutions for 2012 is the BE IN more photos. I'm off to a good start!)

What else does a girl need? Red lips, a flattering pose and a pretty little flower!

I've worn my brooch several times already and many of my friends are hoping for one, too. Maybe this weekend I'll get started on a few. I'll sit by the window and watch the snow fall, sip some orange pekoe and do some pleasant crocheting.

Thanks for the visit! Please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. And I'd love some new FOLLOWERS - please join in!

My New OLD Lantern

2012-01-11T07:05:00.003-05:00

We moved into our newly-built home just over 3 years ago. Of course, the builder included the UGLIEST light fixtures throughout the house. So, I am constantly on the prowl for lovely new light fixtures to replace the old. At this point, I have replaced 17 of 21 fixtures. I am getting SO CLOSE to being done!

Recently, I stopped by the ReStore for Habitat for Humanity in the small town where I grew up while visiting my mother. I never know what I am going to find there, but this time I SCORED:

Okay. In this state, it's pretty ugly. Actually, it is probably uglier than the glass ball currently hanging in my laundry room. But I looked deeper and saw some potential.

And look at that PRICE! Even if didn't work out, I hadn't wasted a ton of $$$$.

Now, we all know what a can of spray paint can do and I was hoping it could work its magic on my wooden lantern.

Ta-da! So what do you think? Not bad for $15.00, eh?? It's already hung in my pink laundry room - the next step in this room's transformation. I know - the bulb is kind of ugly, but I like the energy-saving bulbs. And really, when the lantern is on, there is just a sunny glow and you can't see the bulb anyways.

I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment and think about becoming a FOLLOWER!! I love logging in each day and seeing so many new friends stopping by!

One Project Turns into 2!!

2012-01-07T11:04:00.011-05:00

I had been looking for ages for something to hang in the big empty space above my daughter's bed. And then, one day, as I was walking through the "vintage" shop, I came across a circular piece that looked like plaster but weighed next to nothing. Right away I knew its scale and scrollwork were the perfect addition to girly's room.

I loved the little "fleur-de-lis" design, but I wasn't a big fan of the yellow-y, aged look, so.....
....of course, I hit it with a can of vintage white spray paint, and handsome hubby hung it on the wall.

For a few days, I popped in and out and admired my thrifty re-make. But the more I looked, the less satisfied I was with the overall look. Pretty, but also PRETTY BLAND!!

What to do.....colour is needed. But in what form??

Of course, I did what any creatively-blocked girl would do - I VISITED PINTEREST!

I knew there'd be a "pin" that would fill this colour gap. After glimpsing through just a few of my boards, I came across this:

Oh yeah! This is it! I'd been saving this tutorial for a rainy, colourless day just like this one.

http://juliacrossland.blogspot.com/2010/03/teeny-tiny-heart-bunting.html

So out came my crochet hook and 6 balls of yummy pastel yarn ( and an episode of "Downton Abbey) and I was off and running.

First came the inner parts of the hearts - I made a dozen.
Then I crocheted an accent coloured edging on each one. Aren't they pretty??
And another unnecessary photo ( but they are just so darn cute!)
I followed the tutorial and added a rope that strung each pretty heart onto the next. Easy peasey.

And up it went - fastened easily to the back of the spray-painted circle.
There we go! The perfect splash of colour. It's just what I needed during these gray January days.
I'll admit I take full-advantage of the fact that my only daughter is a real girly-girl, and I add every feminine detail I can. Look - she has a lime green bed, pink and white bedding , lace-y scroll work on the wall, heart-shaped bunting and tissue paper flowers hanging from the ceiling.

She loves it - AND SO DO I!

Thanks for visiting. I'd love it if you left a comment. I cherish every one! And please - become a FOLLOWER!

A Snowy Wreath....

2012-01-05T15:07:00.004-05:00

I found this wreath recently on a trip to the "vintage shop." That's what my sisters and I call "Value Village." "Vintage Shop" sounds more on trend, right? Hee, hee.

I fell in love with it because it reminded me of a similar wreath my mother had hung in our farmhouse for many years when I was a child. It was just like this - pinecones, a mix of real nuts, and little red berries. Very brown and very seventies.

I had to laugh, though, when I arrived home with it because the first thing my husband said was, " My mom had one just like that when I was growing up!"

Even though this brownish wreath brought back some fond memories, I knew I couldn't leave is AS IS - it was just TOO rustic for me. So off came the ugly plaid bows and out came the can of spray paint!
TA-DA!! Big change here. And I love it. It took about 3 layers of paint, each time spraying at a different angle so that I could get in behind the cones and nuts and paint all around them.
Once the paint was dry, I added a bit of sparkle by glue-gunning some shiny pearl beads amongst the cones and nuts.
Here it is on our front door. I like how it looks snow-covered and stands out clearly against our dark-blue door.
Now - does it need a bow? I have thought about this for several days now. I was thinking just a big white one. Hmm...what do you think?
Thanks for checking me out. Please leave a comment - everyone likes "mail" right?? And maybe join the on-going party - BECOME A FOLLOWER!

Keeping Her Pretty Little Neck Warm!

2012-01-03T08:39:00.000-05:00

I had to buy my 5 year old daughter a new snowsuit this year. I had hoped the one I had bought extra big last year would last another season, but to no avail. So after a quick trip to a favourite kid's store, we came home with a chocolate brown coat, lined with pink,orange and white polka-dots.

So with a coat, comes the need for new matching accessories. I bought her some cozy, double-lined mitts, but I wanted to get my OWN knitting needles going in order to make her a matching hat and scarf.

I opted at the last minute to make her a neck-warmer ( or an old-fashioned "dickie") because it would be easier to put on herself and much safer on the playground. I used a pattern I had bought at a yard sale - printed in 1957!!- and knit up this basic turtle-necked cozy in a few days.

Although I thought the stitches looked pretty darling knit in plain pink, I, as usual, needed to jazz it up a bit! On went some orange crocheted flowers:

Hmmm...More texture needed here. How about some brown in the form of little button centres in the flowers??

Still not done. There is a lot of empty space in between those flowers. Time to embroider!

There. That's better. And it matches the lining of her coat to a tee!

I think she likes it too. In fact, I know she does. For the last few days, she has been wearing it around the house like it was a diamond necklace!!

Thanks for visiting! Please leave a comment. I'd love to hear your questions and comments! And I always like a few more FOLLOWERS!

From Discount to Decor!

2011-12-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

I have about 43 decorative pillows in my home. Well, maybe not THAT many! But lately, I haven't felt too fond of the ones I DO have. They need a refreshing - new shapes, new colours, new prints. I think little changes like this will be perfect for the New Year.

So today I began with the pillows on the master bedroom bed. I wanted something cozy ( and cheap!), so after perusing Pinterest, I hit the second hand store and bought these:A couple of woolly Irish Knit sweaters from the ladies department. I had come on the right day, too, because everything was an additional 50% off!
So I actually only paid half of this:
Not bad, eh? And because I was covering pillows I already had, this was my only cost!

Shopping done, ( I got some other really great second hand bargains - but I'll share those in another post!) now the pinning, cutting and stitching part of the project.

First I turned the sweater inside out and placed my pillow form inside. This allows me to find out exactly how much sweater to cut-off.
I then pinned the sweater snuggly around the pillow form. I made sure the cable designs were straight and balanced equally on the pillow shape. My pillow form fit perfectly into the sweater, right up to the turtleneck. I pinned across the lower-neckline of the sweater.
I am glad I had some sharp scissors for the next part. After removing the pillow form, I cut a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the pinned circumference.
Immediately my sweater began unravelling, so headed to the sewing machine and quickly zig-zag stitched around the whole edge. After, using the pins as a guide, I switched to a straight stitch and sewed around 3 of the 4 sides of the pillow cover. I left the bottom open so that I could slip my pillow form back into the cover. Then with matching thread, I hand-stitched the bottom of the pillow closed.
Ta-da!! Don't they look great? And I managed to sew 2 sweater pillows in less than an hour for a grand total of $6.00!!Ah the cozi-ness of it all - sweater pillows, the handmade cream-coloured quilt we received as a wedding -present from my aunt and the patchwork quilt I made for university dorm-room 16 years ago. Oooh -I could snuggle into that bed right now!
Our bedroom is slowly coming together - new wallpaper, new headboard, new pillows, and the new hot-water bottle and cover my hubby gave me for Christmas. Picture perfect!

Thanks for visiting! Please leave a comment - I love reading them all! And please- BECOME a FOLLOWER!

LEGO Cakes for My LEGO Boy

2011-12-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

My oldest son just turned 7 years old. I can't believe it! It feels like only yesterday we surprised to find out we were pregnant after almost 3years of trying and several rounds of fertility drugs. Bryn is one of of our Miracles.

This year's birthday has been particularly joyful for us because shortly after Bryn's 6th birthday, we found out that he had developed a fist-sized brain tumour. To make a long story short, Bryn has had surgery and has recovered with flying colours. We are forever on "tumour watch" but are glad that everything has worked out so well.

So - when my sweet little Miracle Man asks for a LEGO- shaped birthday cake, I have to deliver! After googling this several times, I came across some easy instructions to create building-block cakes perfect for my LEGO-obsessed 7 year old.

By the way - I am by no means a cake-decorator. You'll find much better examples elsewhere on the web. : ) But you can tell my cakes were decorated with love!

1) Bake one 9x13 slab cake. Chocolate by my boy's request! I lined the pan with parchment paper so that I could easily remove the cake from the pan.

2) Cut the cake into "building-block" shapes - squares, rectangles and long strips.
3) To make the raised circles on each cake, cut a large marshmallow in half with sharp kitchen scissors.
4) Ice each cake in your choice of LEGO colour. Also, ice the marshmallow halves needed for each cake.
5) Apply the iced the marshmallows to the iced cake.
So what do you think? They aren't perfect (in fact, at the time, I was quite embarrassed by them. But now, looking at the pictures, they really aren't half bad!)
And my son- what did he think? He said they were "awesome" and couldn't wait to show all of his friends. So, after seeing "Puss in Boots" at the movie theatre, we returned home for slices of LEGO cake. And yes - they other kids thought they were cool too!
Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment and BECOME a FOLLOWER!!

Elf on a Shelf Antics

2011-12-26T18:43:00.000-05:00

Our Elf, Cricket, did some crazy things leading up to Christmas Day. He arrived right after Hallowe'en and almost everyday he did something silly to entertain our 3 kids. (Thank goodness for Pinterest for whenever he ran out of his own ideas for adventures!)

A Sugar Angel:
His favourite perch - on the wreath in the TV room:
Cuddling with the pumpkins, right after Hallowe'en:Making a ju-jube pattern:Helping himself to a little snack:
Another cozy wreath:On Christmas Eve Day he arrived with this jar of cookie ingredients. What a lovely final gift!
Time for some art!
On your mark, get set - GO!
MMmmmm...candy canes.....Marshamllow initials:
And my favourite one - giving a concert for the members fo the Nativity!!

Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment. I read each and every one!

And BECOME A FOLLOWER - I'd love that!

From My Family to Yours....

2011-12-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

Red, Green & Healthy Kids Mix

2011-12-21T20:14:00.000-05:00

Want something as easy as shopping the pantry and a quick stop at the bulk food store? And the guarantee that the kids will LOVE it!??

Well then - start with a couple cups of 2 different breakfast cereals: (Cheerios and Corn Pops here - but anything kid-friendly will work!)

Pop 1 bag of microwave popcorn and dump it in (after you have sifted out the un-popped kernels - no kid likes those!)
From the bulk store - a handful of chocolate teddy bears, candy cane corn, and Santa Ju-Jubes.
How about throwing in some Christmas jelly balls, Smarties and holiday-shaped mini candy?
Festive candy corn, Santa-mallows and honey graham cracker bears.
Don't know what these are called. Hmm.. Chocolate with mini-sprinkles- yummy! And some (healthy!) dried cranberries
Oh yeah! Doesn't this look good! And really, there is more "good-for-you" stuff than candy, right?
C'mon - it's Christmas. Every kid (and mom!) deserves a treat these days. Enjoy!!

Please leave a comment - I love reading those. And BECOME A FOLLOWER. Only 2 more until I hit the big 5-0!

Our Christmas Home - 2011

2011-12-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

How about a little tour of our home, decorated for Christmas. I tried to make it colourful and whimsical, just right for the enjoyment of our little people who are 3, 5 and 7 years old.

Here is our tree. I made and bought (mostly second-hand!) all new ornaments this year. After 10 years of using the same old stuff on the tree, I was ready for a change. (That's our Elf on a Shelf, Cricket, right there in the middle. We find him in all of the craziest places!)

I added a fair bit of Christmas decor to the items that are up all year long. I hate having to store my favourite things during the holidays, so this year I just left it out and decorated around it!
There is our most recent family portrait. Family is the most important thing at Christmas, so I put it right in there amongst the pretty Christmas-sy things.
Just jazzing up our family room mirror here. We received this wrought-iron mirror as a wedding present 10 years ago and I still love it!
This is our "hands-on" Nativity set. My mother bought it for the kids a few years back. I am pleased that all three kids know the story of what is taking place within its walls. I find it quite adorable that they often re-enact the first Christmas with these little plastic people. Sometimes though, Baby Jesus becomes Barbie's newborn ( and daddy is Iron Man). It's fine with me. This nativity was made for children to handle and love.
My husband's grandfather build this hanging shelf unit many, many years ago. When Grandma had to sell her house after Grandpa passed away, I asked if we could have this piece of home-made handiwork for our home. Grandma was so pleased to see it go to a good home.

I made this paper wreath way back in October. I had almost forgotten about it until I scrolled through some older posts here on the blog. I glad I did. Now it hangs on the glass door of one of our kitchen cabinets for all to see!
My mother gave us this clock when my then-fiance and I moved into our first apartment together. It hangs in our kitchen above this cabinet that holds all of my recipe books. There is nothing in these presents (much to my kids disappointment!). I thought some pretty wrapping paper was needed in this particular vignette. The arrangement in the middle of my kitchen table is always built on a wooden tray. That way, I can move the whole thing out of the way when meal time comes.
The pincecone wreath was a second hand store purchase. It was originally naturally coloured, but I wanted to update it a bit. Out came the white sparay paint - and voila! A snow-covered wreath!
I found these bottles at a discount store. I was drawn to their shape and their stoppers. The icey flake seemed to fit well with them, especially after I poured some mini-snowballs into the jars.
Oh pink poinsettias! How I love thee! I have these all over the house this year. My local grocery store is selling them for $4 each - of course I am going to take advantage!
Thanks for stopping by and visiting our little home. Please leave a comment- I LOVE reading them all. And please - BECOME A FOLLOWER. That just makes my day!

Festive Cream Cheese Rolls - A Recipe

2011-12-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe that is ALWAYS very popular around this time of the year in my house, and at all the parties I attend. And they couldn't be simpler ( or prettier in festive red, green and white!)

Ingredients needed:

5 white 1o" tortillas
Spreadable cream cheese
Green Onions
Dried Cranberries
1. Cut 3/4 cup of dried cranberries into little pieces using a sharp knife.
2. Cut only the green part of the onions in small pieces. You will not use the white end of the onions.
3. Spread the cream cheese in a thin layer over the whole tortilla, right to the edges. This acts as the glue, holding the rolled tortilla in place.
4. Sprinkle the green onions and cranberries all over the cheese-covered tortilla.
5. Roll the tortilla carefully from one side. Be sure to roll it tightly, catching all of the inner fillings.

6. Place the rolled tortilla in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This allows the cheese to firm up a bit before you begin cutting.7. Using a sharp serated knife, cut the long rolls into 1/2" wide circles. Done!
Here are my rolls as part of my buffet at a recent house party I held for some dear old friends. The red and green rolls fit in perfectly with the other festive items I put out that day.
Thanks for stopping by! If you give this little recipe a try, I'd love to hear about it!

Comments please!! And become a FOLLOWER!!

Christmas Decor in the Bathroom?? Yes!

2011-12-14T17:22:00.000-05:00

Sure, why not? We spend a lot of time in our bathrooms, guests see our bathrooms, and frankly, the more decor the better, right?

I kept my seasonal changes minimal, but it was enough for my kids to squeal with glee when they saw it!

This is what has been hanging on the wall of my pwder room for several months now. My "art" is 12x12 frames that I have placed coordinating scrapbook paper. Pretty, but not good for THIS season. So instead....

I switched to this:

What do you think? I found these in my local scrapbook store and I was in love.

Great colour combo, cute prints and they match my powder room decor perfectly.

And how about the kids' bathroom, upstairs? I knew they would love some extra festivity in there.

The bathroom is painted aqua and has tons of orange accessories. These can be Christmas colours, right?

( These are wooden letters I picked up at an antique store near my hometown. I had 200 gold letters to choose from and chose these ones as a "reminder" for my 3 kids to lather up!)

Yep. Orange and aqua ARE Christmas colours. I grabbed these turquoise balls and silver and white garlands for next to nothing at a local hardware store. The orange ribbon was leftover from Hallowe'en decor.

So what do you think? (Sorry. I couldn't get my camera settings to cooperate for this photo.)

May daughter was in love.

"Disco balls in the bathroom! Cool!"

I really like how it turned out, too. Sparkle, glitz, and a seasonal feel. exactly what I set out to do!

Please leave a comment, and perhaps BECOME A FOLLOWER! I would love that!!

Hot Chocolate Bar - Oh YEAH!

2011-12-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

This is what has been taking over my counter for the last month or so:
The truth is, during the cooler weather, I am a HOT CHOCOLATE GIRL! I never miss filling my travel mug with some of it's creamy goodness before I head out for school in the morning. I really think the sugary yumminess helps me keep up with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders to whom I teach music each weekday. And bedtime - oh yeah! Usually the low-calorie kind made with skim-milk- perfectly soothing before I crash into the flannel sheets.

But really, this hot drink collection is getting out of hand. Time to do something about it- AND FAST!

And it has to be pretty - something I can handle having on my counter for all to see.

Clear, 250 ml canning jars will be perfect!Unfortunately, the silver rings that come with aren't all that attractive. And they rust so easily!But I found these in the canning section of the store. Much nicer. (Plain, but I'll fix that later!)
I found these FREE printable labels here:
http://blog.worldlabel.com/2010/christmas-labels-for-free-by-ink-tree-press.html

I tried to edit them on the computer and add the text before I printed, but it didn't work out like I planned. So, instead I went with my perfect primary printing (11 years of Kindergarten teaching has made me an expert!)

Carefully, I cut them out and erased the pencil lines.
Out came my trusty glue-gun and onto the glass jars the labels went.

Now onto the transfer of the precious chocolate powder. Look at all of the colours for each flavour!

Now to decorate those plain white lids. I searched through my scrapbook paper stash for paper with a "Hot Chocolate" theme. Score!
After cutting the appropriate sized circles, I aged the edges using some scrapbooking ink.

And onto the lids my red circles went, once again with my trusty glue-gun.

TA-DA! Now doesn't that look much prettier that the BEFORE picture? Hubby says they can stay on the counter. Now it's functional decor, not dysfunctional mess crowding our counter!
Now which flavour will I choose for before bed? Hmmmmmm....Rolo Hot chocolate it is!

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment - I love reading them! And please, BECOME A FOLLOWER!

Pretty Paper Garland

2011-12-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

My life needs more pink. It is my absolute favourite colour and frankly, I can never get enough of it. However, I have 2 sons ( luckily I do have one little girl I can slather in Pink!) and a hubby that has only one decor rule - NO PINK!

However, this Christmas, my dearest better half DID think it was a good idea to add some pink to our decor. Hurray! I was off and running with my RED, BLUE, GREEN AND PINK colour scheme.

What to make this time....... Paper Garland!! I saw several on Pinterest and I decided on this method:

1. I picked a variety of Christmas scrapbook papers matching my colour theme.

2. Next, I dug out my trusty paper punches in a variety of sizes - scalloped and plain.
3. I cut a huge pile of circles. My youngest gave me a hand (even though he should have been in bed!). I loved watching the mix of colours grow in my favourite milk glass bowl!!4. More red I think. I need to balance those pastels.5. Then off to the sewing machine. I slid each circle under the stitching foot and gradually let them slide through, always ready to add the next. I kept my thread a neutral white so it hid well on most of the papers.

6. Then voila! It was ready for the tree!! We hung it right after we placed the strings of lights.
My daughter thought the garlands reminded her of a necklace - "one with really big beads!" Of course, she tried it on.
Then, onto the ornaments. Here is my youngerst admiring his circle-cutting handiwork.
Our tree. Lights, paper garland, kid-made ornaments, vintage glass balls, mommy-made ornaments, and right in the middle - our Elf, Cricket ( that is where we found her the morning after our tree went up!)Thanks for stopping by. I'd love it if you left a comment. And BECOME A FOLLOWER, TOO!

Simple Centrepiece

2011-12-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

I usually put a large bundle of holly and poinsettias in the middle of my dining room table. It can a substantial size because we hardly ever use this table. Space is NOT at a premium. But this year I wanted something different and I wanted a change from red and green.

So this time I started with a large wooden crate my father-in-law had picked up for me at a garage sale for $1.00. He figured I could fine some use for it and make it look like it's worth more than a buck!

I added a fair bit of fake greenery next. It doesn't smell as good as the REAL stuff, but it is inexpensive and fills crate the quickly and easily.

Next I added some crystal beads that I have had for years. In fact, I remember them decorating the bathroom in our first home, 10 years ago! (It just goes to show, classic NEVER goes out of style!)
I knew I wanted candles in this arrangement. They add a wonderful glow and add ambiance to our dining room. I had hoped to find some pillar candles in my wax collection, but alas, no. Instead I opted for some snowy tea light holders that I nestled in amongst the greenery.
Now for some more sparkle - but with subtlety. I had some pale pink and muted gold balls kicking around that weren't going on my tree. I arranged them around the tea lights where they could catch some candlelight shimmer.
By now I was pretty pleased with my arrangement from nearby, but when I stood back at the entrance to the room, I knew it needed more. So for added height, I stuck in a few tall, slim branches to extend the size of the centrepiece.
Ah yes. Much better. Back goes the table runner. Light those candles up and this is what you see:

What do you think? Do I need to paint the crate? Should I wrap it in something? Hmm...

Please leave a comment - I LOVE reading those! And become a FOLLOWER! Everyone likes to make new blog-world friends!

Snowball Ornaments

2011-11-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

I found these decorative balls at the $$ Store a few weeks ago. I thought they were rather cute, but had no idea what I would do with them. Then, a few days later I picked up a package of clear Christmas balls at the second hand store.

Put them together and this is what I came up with:
Snow-Ball filled ornaments!
Into the clear balls I tossed in about 30 mini-snowballs.

Then I capped them with the silver tops. Pretty already. Bu they need more!

How about some ribbon? Oh yeah. Never too much of that at Christmas time. Simple little pre-tied bows that I glued on with the hot glue gun. Then I had some fun. How about red gingham?

Or green with pink mittens?

Or ricrac? I glued this around the middle this time. I like the graphic line it gives.

What do you think? Pretty simple, eh? But perfect for our pink, green, red and blue tree this year!

Please leave a comment - and BECOME A FOLLOWER! I would LOVE that!

A Stack of Advent Books

2011-11-27T20:52:00.000-05:00

Here is another great idea I found on Pinterest. The kids in my house always have difficulty waiting until December 25th for Santa to come. So, on top of our usual "chocolate-a-day" Advent calendar, I've thrown this new "tradition" into the mix.

First, I picked 24 of my favourite Christmas books (Luckily I have taught kindergarten for the last 10 years so I have tons of these!).

Then I wrapped each one in colourful paper (I'll admit it - I bought the cheap stuff for this - but it still looks pretty!)
Using my Creative Memories tag punch, I cut a tag out of cardstock for each book
A black ink pad and number stamps add the date to each tag, numbers 1 - 24.
I used a black marker to add some detail and to beef up the numbers a bit.
Onto the packages they went!
As a mom, I need to think through the whole process and make sure I avoid as many possible problems as I can. I can just see my three little ones fighting over who gets to un-wrap the book each evening. To avoid this, I have put a child's initial on each package. Fighting avoided.
I think the kids will be so excited to see the stack of books on December first. In fact, I am pretty excited too. I ADORE all of these stories and I can't wait to share them with my little ones during the most wonderful time of the year!

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$$ Store Ornament - Only Better!

2011-11-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

This year I want all new ornaments for our Christmas tree. Not becasue I don't like all of the ones I have collected since high school (I'll keep them all for another year), but just because I want a change.
We have a 7 foot, double-thick artificial fir tree. It takes TONS of ornaments to make it look fully decorated. So, if I want all new ornaments, I need a inexpensive way to gets LOTS of them.

So - off to the Dollar Store I went.
There was tons of useful stuff there, but everything seemed a bit simple and plain. But I had lots of ideas on how to improve what I found.

For this $$$ Store remake, I used these supplies: Buttons from my stash, hot glue, sparkly embroidery floss and some glittered snowflakes (sold in packages of 10 for $1.00).
I chose these button colours because they fit into my Christmas 2011 Colour Palette of red, green, pink and blue.
The plastic flakes are quite pretty, covered in a fine glitter. But they need more!
Bring on the buttons and the sparkly thread! I simply tied a bow of thread through the holes of the button. Cute, eh?
Then the hot glue-gun shot into action, adhering the button to the centre of the plastic flakes.

Now isn't that simple and pretty? I haven't decided if I will hang them using the small little wire ornament hooks or buy some thin ribbon to make loops. Hmm.....
The tree is going up on Saturday. We meet Santa that evening at a local event so I think that will be a good start to our very Christmas-y day.
Please leave a comment if you like my $$$Store makeover or my blog in general. Thanks!

Pink and Sparkly Christmas Wreath

2011-11-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

I heading towards a different looking Christmas this year, in terms of colour in my decor. Lately I have really fallen in love with the use of pink, red and turquoise that I have seen in magazines and on many of the blogs I visit.
So, when my little lady requested a pink wreath for her bedroom door, I immediately went for pink. After all, she has a lovely little pink Christmas tree right inside her room. Wouldn't they look lovely together?

On a recent trip to Dollarama I found this simple white and silver wreath. I shopped my house and found all the other materials for my wreath - silver ribbon, a silver snowflake, white branches and some plastic icicles.

And some crocheted roses - of course! I've made a ton lately, and now I am putting a few more to use.
Then, with my trusty glue gun in hand, I began adding the sparkle - first the twigs and snowflake ornament.
A lovely silver bow:
And seven pink roses, crocheted in a variety of blush shades, including one with a thread of silver running through. To amp up the girly factor, I glued large pearl beads into their centres.
So what do you think? Me? I LOVE IT! It turned out even better than I hoped.
It glistens.
I kind of wish I could display it in a more "public" place in my home so more people could enjoy it. But I guess it can our family's pretty little pink secret at the end of the upstairs hallway.
Please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Cricket is Back!

2011-11-17T07:12:00.001-05:00

Two years ago, a box arrived in the mail addressed to our three children, sent directly from Santa Claus. Inside was our own personal elf, sent to watch over our children each day leading up to Christmas. Each night he flies home to the North Pole and fills Santa in on their behaviour during the day.

On Christmas Day, Cricket returns to his home in the north, waiting for the day during the following November that he will travel back to us for the next Christmas season.

This year, he arrived the Saturday morning right after Hallowe'en. The kids awoke to this:

Cricket had arrived and left a fully prepared breakfast and a note chronicling what he had been doing over the last 10 months. There were also some simple instructions about behaviour for the months of November and December.

The kids were so excited about the arrival of Cricket - she signals the beginning of the Christmas Season. My husband and I were most excited about the fact that our 7-year-old son could read the whole letter from Cricket without any aid!

Cricket had prepared a baked egg dish, and left strict instructions that it tasted best with a little bit of ketchup. And on the side, there was mugs of hot chocolate, complete with 5 mini-marshmallows for each of us.
The table was set with holly covered dinner plates and each place setting had its own candy cane. Candles lit the table in the early morning light.
Breakfast was yummy! Family time is wonderful! And Christmas - let it begin!!

Please leave a comment. I'd love to know you visited!

A New Obsession......

2011-11-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

I spend too much time on Pinterest. No- that is not my new obsession. I do spend lots of time "pinning" a large variety of recipes, decor ideas, craft projects and pretty pictures, but I am proud to say that I actually make an effort to use my "pinned" items as inspiration.

But I came across this picture the other day.

I am not sure if it is the colour combo, the mix of textures or the simplicity of the craft, but I was in LOVE.Look at those lovely little hand-made flowers! Luckily I was easily able to locate a tutorial detailing how to crochet these darling roses.
http://www.planetjune.com/blog/free-crochet-patterns/basic-rose/

I spent 4 hours in the car this weekend, driving to and from my my mother's house and I am almost embarrassed to say how many of these pretty little roses I made!

Most of the flowers I created were pink, white and silver (for use in an upcoming project - stay tuned!) but I also whipped up a couple of chocolate brown roses for an alternate use.
My daughter wears a lot of chocolate brown and recently her favourite brown hair clips have gone missing. "Mommy-The -Crafter" to the rescue!

It was very easy to attach these crocheted flowers to some heavy-duty hair clips (my daughter has wickedly-thick hair!) and add an embellishment of a large pearl bead.
Lovely - and she ADORES them! If fact she changed her clothes this morning so that she could wear these brown clips to school today. : )

What do you think? My hubby thinks they are too big, but when you have this much hair, you need big acessories!
Hopefully in a couple of days I'll have my next crocheted rose project done. Come back and check it out!

Pumpkins and Chocolate? OH YES!!

2011-11-12T07:51:00.001-05:00

We probably went a little overboard with pumpkins this year. Really. Everytime the kids and I were anywhere you could buy them, we did! By Hallowe'en we had our own gigantic pumpkin patch growing near our front door.

Here is a shot of maybe 1/4 of our pumpkin plot:

As we were putting away all of the Hallowe'en decorations, post trick-or-treating, we began throwing all of our pumpkins, big and small, into the green waste bins.

Oh! I felt so guilty!!

All of those perfect little sugar pumpkins heading straight for the compost. How wasteful is that?? I know they are destined for a future as green fertilizer on the gardens of my local town, but really? Shouldn't we EAT them? Isn't that they are sold??

My guilt overtook me. Okay. So did the thought of my favourite pumpkin recipes. Mmmm....

How to take a pumpkin from decor to dinner? Very, very easy.

1. Cut the sugar pumpkins in half.

2. Scoop out all of the seeds and stringy bits.

3. Cover the open side with plastic wrap and microwave for 10 minutes.

4. Using a large spoon, dig out he softened insides, leaving only the outer shell. This is what the yummy guts look like:
5. My pumpkin guts were a little stringy so I mashed them up with a fork.

Now onto my favourite pumkpin recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree ( or some of the yummy homemade puree you just made!)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

Oh yeah! Look at these!

I love how moist these squares are. They are divine, and honestly, they don't taste like pumpkin. I think the pumpkin just adds to the warm colour.

By the way, don't cut these squares until they are completed cooled. Otherwise the squares just mash and rip and all of the chocolate comes out on your knife.
Mmmmm......time for tea....and a pumpkin square!

A Rainbow of Granny Squares

2011-11-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been crocheting a lot of baby blankets using leftover pastel yarn- pale blue, pale pink, pale yellow. Although I ADORE those colours, I was ready for a change of pace!

And that's why I began THIS:Oh yeah! Look at the rainbow here! I have just as many leftover balls of yarn in these bright, saturated colours so I dove in head first.

I picked most of my colours from the mixed variagated yarn I used in the first few squares I made. Then it exploded from there!

My hubby says it would be a perfect baby boy blanket. I have to agree. My boys are very well "blanketed" already (mostly from Nana!) so this homemade "blankie" will find it's way into another child's nursery soon!

I have collected another basket of leftovers, ready for another crochet endeavour. I think I have had enough of granny squares for awhile. I think I might attempt a zig-zag style blanket next.

So, give me month or two - and I'll have another crochet"ta-da" to share!!

A Few Hot Glue-gun Burns & A Pretty Paper Wreath

2011-11-05T08:05:00.000-04:00

Sometimes crafting is painful. I can't even count how many hot glue-gun burns I gave myself while completing this paper wreath!

But I think it turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself!

Though time consuming (and painful at times) it was really easy to do.

To begin, I cut 6 different patterned scrapbook papers into 100 1"x 6" strips.
I folded the strips in half then used the glue-gun to hold them into a loop shape, flat at one end.

My loops were then glued onto a foam wreath form, overlapping each loop under the previous one by about 1 inch. I was also careful to mix the patterned papers up so that no 2 loops of the same colour were close together.

Around and around I went - it took nearly and hour (mostly because my toddler kept getting out of bed and I had to keep returning him there!) but it came together nicely in the end.
I am not sure exactly where I will hang my new paper wreath. There are plenty of closet doors around my house - which one needs some holiday colour??
Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment so I know you have stopped by!

From Garish Gold to Perfect Pink!

2011-11-02T20:03:00.000-04:00

This year I vowed I would get rid of any Christmas items I haven't used in recent memory. So there I was, the day BEFORE Hallowe'en, going through my boxes of tree ornaments, culling and purging like I was on "Hoarders" or something!

And there were so many! I'd been collecting ornaments since high school - and let's just say, it's been A LONG time since high school!

I had a ton of cheap plastic baubles and balls leftover from our early married years when we bought all of our ornaments from Wal-Mart in sets of 64 or something!

Here are the best ones - garishly golden pinecones and cherubs.

Hmm...these just aren't my style anymore. Time to get rid of them...or maybe.....

I can just hit them with a can of flamingo pink spray paint! Oh yeah!

After 3 good coats on either side in the fresh air of my garage, these lovely little beauties appeared!
I'm in love. A little pretty, and a little girly and a whole lot kitschy, but perfect to go with my new Christmas Decor theme for 2011 - RED, PINK, BLUE & GREEN.

My daughter thinks her mother is a genius.

"What else can we paint pink, Mommy?"

(Speaking of pink, do you see the rosy little cheeks on her? Couldn't you just eat her up? )

Thanks for the visit. Stop by again soon. I'm sure I'll be doing MORE CHRISTMAS craft projects VERY soon!

Mmmm...Gingersnaps....

2011-11-02T19:54:00.001-04:00

I haven't made these in ages! Thank goodness for Pinterest! It was here that I was reminded of these delicious cookies!

I love 'em - and they are nut-free and pack perfectly in the kids' lunches.

~~~Gingersnaps~~~

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.

3. Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container

A Wreath for Mom

2011-10-29T19:56:00.000-04:00

My mom has had a crazy year - the illness and death of my father have been very hard on her.

But man- she is a trooper! Never one to stop for anything, she is back in the saddle, filling her time with all of her favourite things. She goes out for coffee 3 times a week, meets for power walks in the park, volunteers for the local hospital and theatre, sings in the church choir and will drop everything at anytime to come spend time with her grandkids!

So, when I saw a particular wreath on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to make it for her.

You see- my Mom is a knitter. Not just a knitter- her liscense plate actually says "NITTER" and she has been a demon with the needles since long before I was born!

I knew this wreath would be perfect for her front door.

Mom's door is purple - so I thought this colour combo was festive and modern to go with it.

Lovely isn't it?

How did I make it? Easy Peasy.

First I wrapped 3 sizes of foam balls in 4 colours of yarn. There are about 30 foam balls and it took all of each ball of yarn to cover them completely.

I used a hot glue gun to attach them to the grapevine wreath I picked up at Michaels. I began with the largest balls and attached them the whole way around the wreath, then added the medium sized ones. I then added in the smallest ones to fill in the spaces left between the bigger balls.

I think the big red polka-dot bow is just the perfect way to finish it off. Not too much, but just a little kick to fancy it up!

I hope to give it to her tomorrow. Once Hallowe'en is over I am sure she won't waste any time getting her Christmas decorations up!

My Spooky Home...

2011-10-29T19:42:00.001-04:00

Well actually, I kept the Hallowe'en decor to a minimum this year. Just a few touches here and there. In fact, I just changed up my autumn decor a little bit by adding Jacks, and Cats and witches!

This is wreath that usually hangs on our closet door. Only now it's a little more spooky!

Here I just added a few Hallowe'en sticks to my pot of Chinese lanterns and traded my "Be Grateful" sign to "Happy Hallowe'en."

My mother gave me these witch-parts way back before I was married. I LOVE getting them out each year and turning a plain-old pumpkin into one darling witch!

This sign makes me giggle very time I see it. I bought it at a craft a show last year and it might be my most favourite Hallowe'en decoration!

I'll be back with a few outdoor pics in the next day or two. We have a whole pumpkin patch of pumpkins out there!!

Jingle Elf Card & CPS # 241

2011-10-28T08:13:00.000-04:00

Last night I made a quick list of names for Christmas cards 2011. My list had 27 families on it! I haven't made nearly enough cards! So, I joined in with this week's Card Positioning System's sketch challenge.

Here is the sketch:

I rotated it and made a horizontal card instead.

"Jingle All the Way" Card

Don't you just love that little elf? And the flag! Darling.

All product is We R Memory Keepers.

A Candy Cane Card & Card Patterns #138

2011-10-28T08:12:00.001-04:00

This is Card Patterns Sketch of the week.

And here is my card.
Add another one to the Christmas card pile!

What do you think of the paper bow? Looks good now, but will it survive a ride in an envelope this December? Probably not. : )

Die cut : Making Memories

Patterned paper and stickers: We R Memory Keepers

Spooky Snacks for My Little Monsters

2011-10-25T19:37:00.000-04:00

Although my little ones love a good little chocolate chip cookie, I just can't bring myself to make them every single week. I am constantly on the lookout for something sweet, tasty - and NEW- to serve them.

A recent trip to the bulk food store inspired me to make this:

Oh yeah! Look at all of that sweet delight! And the kids - they died and went to heaven! Can you see all the stuff I added?

Popcorn (cooled first so that it didn't melt the chocolate elements)

Goldfish

Pretzel twists

Multigrain Cheerios

Candy Corn

Reese's Pieces

Mallow Pumpkins

Ghost-shaped marshmallows

Chocolate chips

Raisins

Mini gingerbread cookies

&kull-shaped hard candies

OH-YEAH!

I had to limit the 3 kids (and my husband!) to two small bowls at a time so that the mix lasted more than a day or two! My oldest is already asking when I'll make it again. Maybe next week. Maybe not until December when I can switch fall goodies to Christmas ones. Ooh! I am already excited!!

Apple Picking with Nana

2011-10-24T20:48:00.000-04:00

One lovely day in September, Afton asked if Nana could come over and teach her how to make apple pies from scratch using apples picked fresh from the trees. Not one to turn down an opportunity to come visit her grandkids - Nana was there the next day!!

We visited an apple farm not 5 minutes down the road from here and we picked apples in 19 degree weather - it felt like summer!

We sampled each type of apple and came home with a 20-lb basket that contained PERFECT apple specimens in a variety of colours.

Aunt Stephanie also dropped by on her way through to Ottawa - but left before the pie-baking began!
Nana and Afton spent 2 hours turning lard and flour into 10 pie crusts then filled several with a delicious mixture of apples, cinnamon and sugar. The first pie out of the oven was amazing - obviously baked with love!
All product - JilliBean Soup

Splash!

2011-10-20T21:48:00.001-04:00

Once again in August we used our season's passes (given to us by the Brain Tumour Foundation - gosh! we love thsoe guys!) and headed back to Marineland.This time the belugas and the orcas were out and about and ready to put on an unscheduled show!The belugas were the best! They bobbed up and down and played peek-a-boo with the kids on the edge of their large holding pool. They seemed to get so much enjoyment out of popping up and surprising all the kids nearby. Such performers!Afton thought this "show" was just amazing until one of the belugas emerged quickly right in front of her and then quickly splashed back into the water. She was DRENCHED and she did not like it!! (See photo below!)We hadn't seen the orcas be as active as they were that day either. We spent at least a half an hour watching them travel back and forth in their big tank. They nuzzled each other and scratched their backs on the big rocks at the bottom of the tank.Of course, Bryn, being a boy, had to ask, "Where do the whales poop?"And almost on cue, orca whale #1 let it rip. Bryn and his siblings got a first hand view of how the whale digestive system works. Ewwwww....Afton insisted I add these fishies to my layout. I guess they are pretty cute!

"Hello Sunshine" & Tickets - LRW

2011-10-17T10:40:00.000-04:00

This week, the challenge over at Little Red Wagon is to use TICKETS on your creation.
I love my cute little ticket stamp from Imaginisce and decided to use it on this double-page layout.

"Hello Sunshine"

See the tickets, right near the title? I stamped them, cut them out and stuck on little images from Simple Stories "100 Days of Summer" collection.

All of these pictures are random ones I took throughout the month of August. I Really like inclding these "daily" pictures in the scrapbook too.

I love that clothesline sticker!

Here's the journalling:

Thanks for stopping by!

"Sand & Sea"

2011-10-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

Tidying up. Thinning it out. Dumping the extras. I feel like I am doing this constantly at my house. Drawers, closets, basements and the craft area!

I find it very difficult to get rid of any of my scrap stash. I have thinned it a bit lately, sending my extra bits and bobs with my daughter into her kindergarten room.

The papers I used on this beach layout almost ended up with the 5-year-olds at the local school, but at the last moment I decided to match them with these sandy pictures from a lovely day at the lake.

"Sand & Sea"

The natural coastal colours really went well the pics I took that day.

And I used my "Sew Easy" again. I love how it pops the holes for my stitching. It makes for some really pretty borders that seem to finish the layout off just right!

All paper products by BoBunny.

Splash!

2011-10-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

Once again in August we used our season's passes (given to us by the Brain Tumour Foundation - gosh! we love thsoe guys!) and headed back to Marineland.

This time the belugas and the orcas were out and about and ready to put on an unscheduled show!

The belugas were the best! They bobbed up and down and played peek-a-boo with the kids on the edge of their large holding pool. They seemed to get so much enjoyment out of popping up and surprising all the kids nearby. Such performers!

Afton thought this "show" was just amazing until one of the belugas emerged quickly right in front of her and then quickly splashed back into the water. She was DRENCHED and she did not like it!! (See photo below!)

We hadn't seen the orcas be as active as they were that day either. We spent at least a half an hour watching them travel back and forth in their big tank. They nuzzled each other and scratched their backs on the big rocks at the bottom of the tank.
Of course, Bryn, being a boy, had to ask, "Where do the whales poop?"
And almost on cue, orca whale #1 let it rip. Bryn and his siblings got a first hand view of how the whale digestive system works. Ewwwww....

Afton insisted I add these fishies to my layout. I guess they are pretty cute!

Afton - Gardener and Star Soccer Player

2011-10-11T18:27:00.001-04:00

I do scrap about my boys - honest I do! But truth be told - I love all things girly and often it is easiest (and just more enjoyable!) to go all out on an "Afton" page!

Afton and I planted sunflower seeds in our garden back in May. We had placed them along the edge of our garden hoping for a colourful show that everyone could see as soon as they walked into our fenced backyard.

Our mini sunflowers did burst forth in lovely colour, but nearly got swallowed up by the huge pole beans right beside.

Luckily the yellow of our blooms was so instense that they easily shone through the tangle of green vines. Afton was so pleased with the results of her "garden" this summer that we plan on giving her a plot of her own to tend come next year.

I have had this "Tuscan"paper from BoBunny FOREVER. I was so glad to be able to incorporate it into a sunny layout for my daughter.

Our Afton -not only can she garden- she is a star soccer player too!

This year she was on Team England and her pink and black cleats raced her up and down the field every Tuesday evening.

(Of course - girly as she is, she wore red hair bows every week to the game. I love how in the third picture her curls show the force and might behind that kick of hers!)

Thanks for visiting!!

"Happy Day" - Afton's Quilt

2011-10-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

During the summer, I fianlly completed a quilt I had begun months before Afton's birth. I was so pleased to have it done - and Afton was too! We both ADORE its pinkness and it's not too bad for cuddling in either!

Here is a 2-page layout I scrapped about its completion:

"Happy Day"

I used a variety of pinks and reds from my scrap stash to match the fabrics used in the sewing.

Here is the journalling: My layout is kind of "patch-worky" too!

Afton told me her favourite part of this layout is the row of pink buttons. Mine too.

Gosh. We couldn't be any more similar!
Thanks for stopping by!

Capturing Time

2011-09-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

It's official. Summer 2011 has been and gone. And what a summer it was! This summer we realized we didn't have any babies anymore. All three of our offspring are officially "kids" and that meant we go anywhere, anytime, without worries about diapers, sippy cups or afternoon naps.
Needless to say, our summer was not restful - but it was fun! B, A and C are 6 1/2, 5 and 3 respectively, and were a riot to be with every single day.

Here are the kids on our last trip to the beach. I had taken lots of typical "beach " pics earlier in the season, so this time, I tried to capture the "time" instead.

"Summer 2011"

I used October Afternoon's "Seaside" line and tired to use it's vintage feel as inspiration. And instead of typical "we've been to beach" journalling, I added words of wisdom for each of our children.
Camden wanted to get in on the "layout photoshoot." Cute little dude, eh?

Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment so I know you've visited!

"Yummy" & Sketchy Thursdays

2011-09-27T18:47:00.000-04:00

Camden and Afton helped plant the garden this year. This was our second year cultivating at this particular address and we are slowly learning what grows best here. Once again, we had more green beans than we knew what to do with! And cherry tomatoes - a zillion!

After a rough start, several carrots grew too. Camden couldn't wait for these. And look how large they grew!

My layout is created using the sketch at "Sketchy Thursdays" this week.

The scale of my layout is much larger because I wanted to fit on three bigger photos. However, I stuck with the overall shape of the layout and added lots of little veggie details.

All product by Cosmo Cricket.

Never Too Early!

2011-09-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

The other day I sat down and calculated that I needed at least 40 Christmas cards this year. WOW! That's a lot. SO- I got down to business and made some of these:

When I make cards I try to only use leftovers. I like to keep my full sheets of Christmas paper for layouts, but I always have lots of little bits left at the end.

I LOVE using up these little bits in my stash. No waste - and an excuse to buy more!!
I really like the mix of colours in these cards. Not traditional by any means, but festive and pretty.
Pretty paper, bling and a few shakes of glitter...I hope they bring joy to my friend's homes this holiday season!
By the way - only 90 days 'til Christmas!!

A Little Autumn Nesting Around Our Home

2011-09-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

Autumn arrived today at 5:30 in the morning. It was nice to not be awake then. The last 5 days I HAVE been awake then, re-tucking my toddler back into his bed because he kicks off his blankets as he sleeps and gets too cold to sleep. Another sign of Fall, I guess.

I love Autumn. I love the colours, the coziness of sweaters, the return of flannel blankets, apple cider and the pumpkin patch.

In the last week, I've added some "Autumn" to our home - mostly in the living and dining rooms.

Colourful corn, cones from a nearby pine tree and, of course, some colourful foliage.

Do you like my runner? I made it. Out of burlap from the Home Depot. Classy, eh? Yet oh so pretty. I love the rustic texture it gives.

I added a ruffle near the edge, to finish it off. I made the ruffle out of a cream coloured sheet I bought at the Goodwill Store.

These are some of my hubby's favourite books. I pulled them off of the shelf and added them to the top of this little cabinet. This is where he unloads his pockets everyday when he gets home, so I thought maybe they would make him happy here.

How about the dining table? Perfect place for a little tablescape.

I stitched this sign last Thanksgiving and added it to a frame that I decoupaged with a mix of Autumn scrapbooking papers. The acorns are from Pier 1. I bought them the year we were married - 2002!
The pumpkin tree was new last year too. Each pumpkin is a votive holder. I have been lighting them every evening this past week. So pretty!
I bought these artificial Chinese lanterns at a nearby farm store. I just love them! so delicate!
Thanks for looking!

Happy first day of Autumn to you!

Little Red Wagon Challenge - Twine

2011-09-18T14:39:00.001-04:00

OOOHH! I love this challenge. Actually - it isn't really a challenge at all! I have been using twine OBSESSIVELY lately- almost every project has it!

Here is a new layout, featuring some sparkly twine I picked up at the Scrapping Bug recently:

My other obsession lately has been Doodlebug product. I used as many Doodlebug bits and pieces on this one as I could.

My garland is several die-cut tags and mini-stickers from a darling cupcake line they released a few years back.

What are we celebrating in this pictures? On this particular day we took the kids to a new cupcake shop to celebrate that it had been 6 months since my oldest son's brain tumour surgery. We couldn't be happier in his health, growth and development and we count our blessings everyday for the care he received at McMaster Children's Hospital.

Afton and I Make a Burlap Wreath

2011-09-18T14:25:00.000-04:00

Afton is always looking to do something crafty on the weekends. Sometimes she joins me in the scrapbooking room and cuts and pastes while I make a layout. Other times, she takes a few flowers from the garden and puts together her own arrangement for her bedroom while I make a centrepiece for the kitchen table.

I recently refreshed our front entryway by painting our door a wonderful shade of dark blue. My hubby also hung a gorgeous black metal post box on the wall nearby. Our new spruced up area needed a new fall wreath to go with. When I mentioned my plans to Afton, she was all over it - "Can I help you, Mommy?"

We searched pinterest for some wreath ideas and decided at last to create a rustic, yet charming burlap wreath decorated with autumn silk flowers.

A quick visit to the Home Depot gave us a huge sheet of burlap meant for wrapping trees for the winter for the huge price of $4.99! Then off to Michaels for a wreath form.

And the crafting began!!

We began by cutting long 6-inch wide strips of burlap. Our fabric was quite see-through so we doubled to make it much more opaque. I allowed Afton to use the hot glue-gun for the first time (supervised of course!) and she applied the glue onto the foam so that we could add the folded and pleated burlap to the form.

We continued around the wreath form, being careful to overlap each piece of burlap on top of the previous.
I burnt my hands only about 27 times and then we were done! Now to add the pretty details.

I liked how the wreath looked here, but I wasn't sure if there was enough visual weight with these few flowers. So we glued on a few more:

Aahh! Perfect! Afton was so proud of our little project. Now, of course, she wants to make one with pink flowers for her bedroom door!

The Scrapping Bug September Reveal - Part 2

2011-09-12T20:18:00.000-04:00

How about three layouts to go with the three cards I showed you in my last post??

Butterflies and paper pleating on this layout:

"Great Grandma"
Additional Products: Ribbon - BoBunny

Punches - Martha Stewart & Fiskars

Letter stickers - Doodlebug &Jillibean Soup

Pearls - KaiserCraft

Argyle on the next one -

"How Civilized"
Additional Product: Thread- DMC

Rub-on - American Crafts

Stamps - Doodlebug & We R Memory Keepers

Chipboard - American Crafts

Letter stickers - Reminisce, Making Memories, Jillibean Soup

"July"

How about a little bit of lacing detail??

Additional Product: Chipboard - American Crafts

Stamps - Autumn Leaves and KI Memories

The Scrapping Bug September Reveal - Part 1

2011-09-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

This month my Scrapping Bug Design Team kit featured papers from American Crafts' "I Do" line and papers from Creative Imagination's "Creative Cafe." I also received a tabbed chipboard album and crystal bead pins from Maya Road.

For a change this month, I created some cards used this pretty mix of papers.

"Just Because"

Additional products: Rub-on - American Crafts

Button - Cosmo Cricket

Thread - DMC

"A Friend Always"
Additional Products: Rub-ons and chipboard - American Crafts

"Just Because" - bird card

Additional products: Rub-on- American Crafts

Stamp - Autumn Leaves

Thanks for looking! Part II of the reveal in my next post!!

Camden and the Owl

2011-09-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

My family and I recently spent a few days a friend's cottage up north. I needed a knitting or crocheting project that would be small and simple enough to take along on the long car journey and easy enough to pull out at the lake.

I searched some Etsy shops and found the pattern for this little guy in the shop called "FreshStitches."

I bought it and downloaded it right away.

Isn't he darling? It took about 4 hours of slightly interrupted crocheting, but I think he was worth it!

Cam agrees too!

"Who-hoo," as Camden has called him, has become a constant companion.

My daughter has asked for one too, only she requests hers be all pink. Sure. I can do that!

Hmmm..I'm trying to decide. Who is cuter? The owl or the boy?

The owl is pretty darn sweet, but the toddler snuggling it definitely takes the cake!

Last Visit to the Beach- 2011

2011-09-12T19:37:00.000-04:00

My mother lives close to Lake Huron - it's only about a 15 minute drive from her home.

As a child, my mother and father would take my sisters and I to the beach at Grand Bend weekly. It was a cheap outing that we loved - and we were guaranteed to sleep well at night!

Now that I am a mommy too, I like to take my children to this beach. It's clean and clear and the waves are rarely higher than the kid's knees.

These pics are from our last trip to the beach, Labour Day weekend.

(Those are my toes.)

And Camden. What a monkey! He loves the water, but often we have to remind him not to be too brave!!

Here he is on "Beach Timeout." Yep. You can be timed-out here too. Especially if you throw rocks at your sister!

And Afton Clare. She spent the whole summer in this bikini. I hope she always feels confident enough in her body to wear one. Lovely.

And my Bryn. So healthy and exuberant. It's hard to believe there was a time in early 2011 we could have lost him. Thank heavens.

Afton is already asking which month in 2012 we can go back to the beach.

Hold your horses little lady! We've got lots to do before then!!

Upcycling!

2011-09-12T19:25:00.001-04:00

I have spent way too much time on Pinterest lately. I have found so many project ideas that I want to try, yet there is only so much time in my day!!

I have come across many ways to "up-cycle" t-shirts and one of my faves is to use fabric yo-yos.

I recently found this t-shirt in my daughter's size at a local children's consignment store for a whopping $1.00. It's Old Navy and has the cutest elbow-length sleeves!

I dug out my sewing stash and got to work.

Ooh! Which pretty red buttons should I use????

I created my yo-yos using this tutorial:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/index.html

I stacked my yo-yos and buttons in various combinations until I found the look I liked the best.

Then with the whoosh of my needle and thread, I attached the "flowers" to the t-shirt. I stitched them many more times than I would normally, just to be sure that everything stayed attached when I laundered the shirt.

What do you think?

My daughter loved it - she wore it the next day (and the day after that!)

Thanks for stopping by!

5 Doodlebug Cards

2011-09-04T19:29:00.001-04:00

I love Doodlebug product, but I have so much of it that I never use. :(

I often find myself just staring at it, having difficulty making a cut!

So one day last week, I dug out my Doodlebug stash and got busy on some cards. No theme, no agenda, - just playing with some of my favourites from my stash!

I have few friends due to have babies in the next few months. If any of them has a boy, then this goes on the present:

My in-laws are going to Eastern Europe in a few weeks. Maybe this will end up in their mail box in the next few days!!

Is it your birthday soon? Would you enjoy receiving this?

This is my favourite! Look at Mr. Worm! (There's more of that twine that I am addicted to!!)

Hmm... What occasion is this one for? Would you be offended to be referred to as "Brown Cow? "

All of these cards are made from sketches found in Becky Fleck's "Card Patterns" book. I hope there is another volume of these soon!!

LRW and "Sketchy Thursdays" - Memories of You

2011-08-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

This the the sketch of the week at "Sketchy Thursdays this time round. I combined it with the challenge from Little Red Wagon which was to use newsprint on your creation.

I used the circle idea and the placement of the the title and journaling from the sketch. I did, however, add a few more circles and turned them into accents, instead of photographs.

The paper is My Mind's Eye and I love the glittered circles with the NEWSPRINT inside. I don't usually use gold - in fact I NEVER do, but I really like this colour combo.

I have 2 more diecuts and lots if left over paper so you will be seeing this new fave colour combo again!

2 Pink Paislee Layouts

2011-08-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

I LOVE the "Hometown Summer" line from Pink Paislee. I've used it several times and gone back to the store to buy more of it! The colours are lovely and the images are just darling , especially the grid paper with children all over it! Love, Love, Love!

Enough gushing...Now how did I use these well-loved papers?

Number 1: My layout for Project 12, June 2011

I think I managed to include 5 different patterned papers form this line on one 2-page spread!
I also used my "Sew Easy" tool to help create the stitched banners on the top of the layout. I am not usually a "tool" person, but this one I really like. Simply put, it is a roller that has interchangeable heads that help punch a variety of holes onto your paper so that it is easy to stitch a pattern.
Number 2 : Summer!

There's that kids-in-a-grid paper!

I used my heat embossing tool on this one. I didn't have the right combo of black letter stickers for the title so I made textured letters using black powder and the heat of my embossing gun.

See the pics of Kevin at the splashpad? Usually we just sit and watch, but on this particular day, it was hot enough for Kevin to get involved. :)
Thanks for stopping by!!

A Summery Layout....

2011-08-16T15:28:00.001-04:00

Here is a quickie I put together this morning while my hubby went for run. He gets exercise, I get to have papery fun!! (The kids are at daycare - it's a nice break on a Tuesday morning!)

I used some ancient BoBunny - the duckie sticker went perfectly with these pictures of Camden at the wading pool.

Do you like the mosaic border? That was the most time-consuming detail, but I love how it looks!

I also used some really old Making Memories brads. Can't remember the last time I used brads!! I love the feeling of using up old stuff - all the more reason to buy more new!!

Glad to see you! Come visit again soon!

August Design Team Reveal for The Scrapping Bug

2011-08-15T19:32:00.000-04:00

This month I had several papers and a lemon stamp from Imaginisce's "Berrylicious" line. I also had additional paper from Pebbles, buttons from Creative Imaginations and an arrow-shaped coaster album in frosted acrylic from Maya Road.

Here is what I came up with:

Something a little different- "How to Make Lemonade" - a step-by -step guide!

Embossing Powder- American Crafts

Letter stickers - Jillibean Soup

Here are some pictures from our recent visit to an apiary near my mother's hometown. Perfect pics for "Honeycomb" paper!!

"Dig It!"

Stamp - We R Memory Keepers

Heart Punches - Fiskars

Growing up, every single year, my mom turned the bounty of the harvest from our garden into delicious bottled food we could enjoy all year.

I don't do nearly as much preserving as she did, but I certainly make as much jam and jelly as she used to!!

"Just Like Mom"

Letter Stickers - Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey

Stamps - We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for paying me a visit!!

In My Basement....

2011-08-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

In my basement I found a pile of these:

I had bought this fabric and started making a pink and white quilt way back when I found out we were having a daughter - 6years ago!!

So- I sewed them into these:

Measured and modified them into this:

Added a top and bottom edge and backed it in pink flannel........

So that I could finally do THIS:

(I think she appreciates it more NOW than she would have as an infant!!)

Sketchy Thursdays and "Sun Fun"

2011-08-09T21:36:00.001-04:00

I worked with the "Sketchy Thursdays" sketch again this week. I had this adorable picture of Bryn and Afton at the splashpad and I knew I had to use it.

For this project, I used Cosmo Cricket's "Salt Air" line. I also had the inaugural use of my "Sew Easy" tool from We R Memory Keepers. I think this stitch is meat to be flower leaves, but I placed it on this layout because it reminded me of seaweed!
Instead of including a smaller picture like the sketch suggested, I added a large flower embellishment made form layered stickers and some "splashing" leaves.

Thanks for visiting!!

One About a BOY & One About a GIRL

2011-08-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

Here's the one about a BOY:

Isn't he darling?

We try to avoid naps these days-if he gets one in the afternoon he's up until 10PM or after!!

But if the house is quiet and we aren't outside under the sprinkler or playing with the neighbourhood friends, there is a chance he may just slip off to dreamland while lying on the couch.

And MAN!- it is so darn cute!

And the one about a GIRL:

A whole page about my lovely little Afton. Pink and flowery and sparkly, just like her!

I ADORE my boys, but it is wonderful to have a little lady with whom I can share all of my favourites.
She loves to draw, craft, organize, shop for clothes, look for treasures at yard sales and bake.

She is just like me.

I guess it is true what they say - "An apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"

Sketchy Thursdays & "Fresh and Fun"

2011-08-02T08:49:00.000-04:00

This is this week's sketch from "Sketchy Thursdays":

I used it quite literally to create my layout about Camden, Afton and I enjoying some yummy watermelon.

The product is all Imaginisce's "Berrylicious" line.

For the banners in the sketch, I cut images of seed packs from one of the patterned papers and glued them along a stitched line.
I love how bright and colourful this layout turned out. It's like summer on a page!!
Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment if you can!!

Finished!!

2011-08-02T08:34:00.000-04:00

Even though our family is finished, many of my friends are still having babies! It's wonderful for me because I can still make cute baby things, but I don't have to be up all night caring for a infant!

When a few of friends announced they were pregnant back in the late winter of 2010, I got started on several baby afghans- a few blue ones and a few pink.

Here is the beginnings of a pink and purple one:

Fast forward to summer 2011. None of those afghans are done. All the babies are born, named and are coming up to their first birthdays. Yikes! (Don't worry - even though the babies didn't get their blankets at birth, they all received something handmade from me- only smaller!)

But now - I am pleased to say, that one of those baby blankets is complete! I buckled down this month and finished the remaining granny squares. I stitched them together and I put a lovely picot edge around it.

It was close to midnight one day last week when I sewed the last end in. What a moment!

The next morning I made my morning cuppa tea and opened Facebook like I often do after breakfast. And there was a sign.....

Little Avery Lockett was turning 1 that day!!

She was one of the babies for which these blankets were supposed to be made!

I called Kari, her mother, right away and said, "I'm coming over. I have something for Avery!"

Kari took these pictures of Avery that day. What a pretty blankie for such a pretty girl!

Happy Birthday Avery!

LRW and "Life's A Garden""

2011-07-30T20:22:00.000-04:00

This week, the challenge at Little Red Wagon was to use heat embossing on one's creation.

I am no heat embossing expert. In fact, I can count on one hand how many times I have used my Martha Stewart heat gun since I bought it a year ago! However, Now that I am getting the hang of it, I might use it more. Maybe as I get started on my Christmas cards.....

On my double layout, "Life's a Garden," I used my heat gun to emboss the letters in the word "BUZZZ." I thought this stamp from We R Memory Keepers went perfectly with my layout about my family's recent trip to an apiary fun farm.

I like how it adds a little shine to the words, adding another texture to the layout.

Most of the other product is from Imaginisce's "Berrylicious" line and is part of my August design team kit from The Scrapping Bug. You'll see a bit more of this as the month progresses.....

Thanks for stopping by!!