merry christmas to all!!! i hope that today finds your homes filled with the joyous wonder and magic... from my family to yours...may your christmas day be all about love!!
spreading a little extra love...patty gave me a blog award...such a sweet gift right at christmas time...now to share the love adn pass this award on....
1. ronda
2. revelie
3. gigi
4. jude
5. chanel
peace and joy!!
this idea was inspired by mel...she made these adorable memory cards using pattern paper. as soon as i saw them i knew they would be a fabulous tool to help aid my son with his french transition and to help my daughter just for fun. i plan on making a set of them....here is the first one in that set...
the deck goes up to 12 (douze)...i just didn't lay the all out for this photo! i plan on doing a set of these for colours and animals....can't wait to see how they come out...think how cute these would be with shapes...and what a great tool they would be for eager toddler minds!!!
soooooooooooooooooo...i have some EXTREMELY good and EXCITING and HAPPY news to share...but i can't...i have to keep it to myself for a bit...but i am exploding with giddyness that i had to share in some way this little tidbit!!! so i promise you will all the details in a litle bit!!!
alright off to make some supper and get ready for a school concert...have a fabulous day!!
joyeux noel!
one of my favourite parts of trying to live a greener life is the somewhat vintage way of doing things...you all know how much i love things from the past...well, part of that is love has extended into herbs...these plants have wonderful qualities for aiding in health, beauty, and cleaning!! and i am a BIG believer of natural remedies...so this year i have tried my hand at making fragrant bath salts. something i will continue to do...the best part about these green choices...i find the more i make of my own...the more i never go back to commercial...and i love that.
do you know how beneficial to ones health epsom baths are?? by adding epsom slats to your bath you increase your magnesium levels, and this is huge....from circulation, to diet control to muscle control and ridding your body of toxins and this is before mentioning the benefits of the salts to your skin...i know...who'd a thought...you can read more about the benefits of this here. the additional benefits come from essential oils added into the salts...lavender is a natural and effective stress relief and reducing or ridding headaches completely. vanilla oil is an anti-oxidant, an aphrodisiac, anti depressant, lends to tranquillity and relaxation, and an anti carcinogenic.
you know when i started reading more about the benefits of herbs...i kept thinking to myself...why did we try fixing what wasn't broke. the earth has provided us with these amazing miracles and we have forsaken them for chemicals, commercialism, and mass production...anyway...i promise...i will not get onto my soap box today....back to making salts!!!
so what you need...
epsom salts
essential oils
and food colouring (optional)
put your epsom salts into a glass bowl or measuring cup.
add your colour a drop or 2 at a time, mixing well in between each addition until the desired colour is reached
now add your essential oils a ddrop or 2 at a time, mixing in between each addition until desired strength of scent is reached.
DONE!! i know how easy, huh??!!! you can also add dried bits of the herb you are using in essential oil for a pretty look, for exampl...i made lavendar vanilla salts and added dried lavendar into my batch.
i suggest that looking up the benefits of specific oils to find out what you or the recipient of the salts will be benefitting from....i am going to make a batch of eucalyptus salts...benefits include : decongestant, doedorant, anti infammatory, stimulant, antispetic, antibacterial...and more!! plus, let's face it...the smells of essential oils are amazing!!! you can package your oils up in cute glass jars or organza bags, add a cute tag to specify the scent and the benefits your recipient will be benefiting from...and whoever you give them too will LOVE them!!!
so happy salting!!! have a fabulous day!!!
salut!!
i taught a class this weekend...old fashioned christmas...i demanded a lot of the girls who attended, lol...we created those paper globes and victorian cones i posted a bit ago...and this fun banner
some detail photo's for you girls who promised to finish their projects at home...:D!!!
i hope this helps ladies!!! and i hope you all enjoyed the class!!! and to the rest of you...go make a fun banner...there is no technique....just bits of paper, ribbon, stamps and lots of fun embellies....have fun!!
salut!
simple...sweet...today i wanted to share with you a favourite way of mine to decorate!!! i grew up on vancouver island and was always excited to decorate each christmas with cedar and holly...upon moving out here to alberta 10 years ago...i always get a little homesick at this time of the year...nostalgia settles in. i miss the cedar boughs and sprigs of holly. this year in our effort to maintain a simple christmas, a homemade christmas, a green christmas, and a vintage inspired christmas...i kept trying to figure out how to not decorate with plastic. and then it hit me...yes...seriously like a smack upside the head!!! i have been living in alberta for 10 years and have completely ignored the fact that pine trees grow in abundance out here...they weren't cedar so i dismissed them!! and we have 3 pines growing in our backyard!! so jay cut down some boughs yesterday...and this is what i want to share with you!!! some decorating ideas...that can go much further....
wrap an outdoor bannister with pine (or cedar or both)
fill outdoor pots with pine branches and line your steps...i do plan on adding pinecones into these pots...i collected the pine cones from our yard and will wrap some wire around them and add them to the pots and railing
centre piece...add candles ( i have some pinecone and pillar candles here) and some pinecones ( i cut mine to create pinecone "flowers")
fill vases with pinecones and boughs
fill random baskets around your house with it
it doesn't have to be overly complicated...just simple. and i love the feel this gives my home...like i have stepped back in time...my favourite part being...there is no commercial or plastic in any of this. and i love that something i feel like i have been missing out on over the last 10 years has been included once more in my life!
happy december 1st...have fun decorating!!
art portfolio's!!! i love them!! such a simple, easy, and fun gift to make and give!!! but soooooo versatile...by changing some of the pockets out you can make a notepad holder, a stationary folder, a portfolio to hold your day planner and business cards. there are so many tutorials around on how to make them, like here,and here (instructions here).
i used no pattern for mine...i cut 2 rectangular pieces of coordinating fabric, using a sketch book as my guide for size and allowing for seam allowance and to insert a piece of chipboard inside the portfolio for structure. i created a pocket for the inide of the portfolio but cuting a rectangular piece of fabric the same length but half the width of the other 2 pieces. i am a create as i go girl...so before attaching the inside and outside pieces of the portfolio...i sewed my pocket to the inside cover, created my pockets on one sidfe of the portfolio with stitched lines for pencils and whatnot ( i used a pencil crayon for measuring space and pins to mark the spaces). i also added a piece of elastic above this pocket to hole things like erasers, scissors, etc. and followed the same method as creating pockets for pencils. the other side of the portfolio i left the pocket the full size to allow a sketch book to slide in.
with right sides together, i pinned the outside and inside cover together...if adding handles...pin one handle (created either from fabric or ribbon, your choice...i used a length of fabric folded in half and zig zag stitched the raw edge together)to the side edge that is being stitched closed on the INSIDE with your edges lined up with your side edges ( you will not see the handle...as it should be inside, inbetween the two covers), and stitched 3 sides together, (the bottom long edge, side edge, and and top long edge...making sure on the bototm and top edge NOT to sew all the way to the open edge...you need to be able to fold in the edge to create a seam AFTER you have turned the porfolio right side out. turn the portfolio right side out, iron flat. you will have a handle on one end and an opening opposite. slide a piece of chipboard cut to the size of your sketch book. stitch your centre line....from top edge to bottom edge of portfolio. slide in a second piece of chipboard for the other half, fold in raw edges of opened side edge, adding your hadle to this side, and stitch your edge closed. i also added a top stitch at this point...sewing along the outside edge close to the seam.
and done!! this one is for haillee...got 2 more to make!! well off to see a performance of les trois petits cochons...the 3 little pigs...and a rendition of la cloche de noel!! have a fabulous day...get sewing!!!
salut!!
in our effort to teach our children the true meaning of this season...to show them how to give of themselves...willingly and lovingly...i came up with an idea we are implementing for the first time this year. as part of my old fashioned christmas class, i made victorian paper cones. and it occurred to me that instead of filling them with candy as per the usual...i thought...we could fill them with sweet thinking of you notes and gifts. so we will hang them on our doorknobs...and fill them with little notes or pictures...maybe even candy!!! but the idea was to show the kids that it doesn't take money or a lot of effort to show someone you are thinking of them. whether you put a little "i love you" note in the cone...or a draw a picture and fold it up to pu inside...or even grab a cookie from the cookie jar...whatever...we will have to see how it goes, lol...but they are super easy to make...and make a great addition to your own decor as a fabulous gift to someone else!!!
so the how to...they are super easy!!!
what you need: pattern paper, ribbon, any embellishment you like ( i used chandelier beads letter stamps, chipboard stars, paint, stickles,hand cut holly and berries, versa mark and utee),glue dots, hole punch, and circle template of some form ( i sued a kitchen bowl :D) that will allow you to cut as big of a circle as possible on a 12x12 sheet of paper.
what you do: trace your circle onto your 12x12 sheet of paper, cut it out, and cut your circle into 4 equal quarters ( like a 4 pieces of a pie). add a line of glue dots to the inside of one of the straight edges, roll the other straight edge to overlap slightly over the edge with adhesive and press firmly to adhere. embellish with ribbon around the opening of the cone, add any embellishment to the middle of the cone. punch 2 holes opposite each other near the top of the cone's opening to add your ribbon handle. thread the ribbon hand thru from the inside of the cone to knot it on the outside. done!! see...easy peasy!!
to attach my chandelier crystals i used a needle to thread some waxed linen thread thru the bottom point and tied the jump ring with the crystals to the the linen thread. then i tied a bit of ribbon over the thread to hide it.
now to share some progress!!! i finished one poncho and one reversible skirt...love how they came out and can't wait to see how my girls react to them!!
hope you all have a fabulous day!!!
salut!
this year we are all about the homemade...and as my family's path ventures deeper and deeper into a greener lifestyle...a homemade christmas seemed the next step. not only that...but i really believe it brings back to life the true sentiment of christmas. this is the season for giving...giving of ourselves, of our hearts, of our time, of our services. and we all know how commercial this holiday and many others have become...it's easy to get lost. but i want my kids to know about the finer things in life...about the effort, the commitment...and doing it because you want to.
so i thought as we get closer and closer to christmas,i would share with you little ideas, big ideas, inspiration and projects...and maybe...you will find yourself having a homemade christmas too!!
and being that today is my birthday...and birthday's celebrate giving...what a perfect day to start!!! my gift to you is project number one....quick and easy...
embroidery needle holders. i came across these adorable gift ideas on melissa's blog. loved them. made them.here are the instructions. as you can see...i embellished mine and used different stitching methods to make each one i give unique...but you can definitely save yourself some time and keep them simple!!! these are the ones i have made using her tutorial
can't wait to see yours!!!
salut!
this is my story...as it goes...as it's lived...as it's created. this is my journey as a wife... mother... friend... artist...teacher. this is me...sweet and simple.
Recent Comments