Sorry...

Life has become a little crazy as of late, as it is apt to do from time to time. Bear with me....I promise I will update soon! P.S. - Doesn't the date look weird today? Happy Leap Year Day!

In honor of some lovely, crafty ladies ...

            

    I think that everyone in the world can agree that Grandmas are the best. Right alongside Grandpas, Grandmas bring warmth to your heart and make you feel like a kid again.  A trip to Grandma’s house is like nothing else as a kid and, as an adult, much the same.  The hubs and I were lucky to have three very amazing, very crafty Grandmas who we loved very much.

                 My Grandma G was an amazing knitter, who could create beautiful sweaters and blankets without a pattern. She owned a wool store when I was a kid and some of my earliest memories are of shelves and shelves of brightly coloured yarn. Going up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house was the highlight of the summer - a time to laugh and chat and play and love and knit. My Grandma was left handed and, to this day, I still knit left-handed despite the fact that I am a righty.

                My Nana was also quite crafty. She sewed cabbage patch dolls and rabbits that could be found strategically placed throughout her home. The Nana I remember was always quick with a laugh and a joke. One of my most prevailing memories is her singing a slightly inappropriate song and laughing hysterically.

                The Hubs' Grandma R was also very lovely and very crafty. She sewed and quilted and created many bags and blankets for all that knew her.  Every time we visited, she would show me some of her new creations and we would admire one of the beautiful quilts that she had put so many hours of work into. Many times, I would leave with a beautiful new handmade bag. I now have quite the collection.

                Like my Grandma G, the hub’s Grandma R recently lost her fight with cancer. She was a very kind, gentle and giving woman who always thought of others before herself. We are sad that she has left us but find solace in the fact that, like my Grandmas, she is no longer suffering and has now found peace.

                Our memories of these lovely ladies are now kept close to our hearts. We will always cherish the time spent at Grandma’s with cousins and siblings -hours and hours spent chatting and laughing and playing and sharing stories. We also have the beautiful things that our crafty Grandmas have lovingly made, beautiful blankets and bags and sweaters that we will cherish forever. And when the time comes, we will pass these to our children with stories of the lovely and crafty women who created them. 

How to make Monday (mornings) not suck.....

                                            

A morning full of sunshine, date bran muffins, greek yogurt with trail mix and honey and coffee (preferably made by someone else) is all you need to start Monday right.  Happy Family Day!

Today's Crafty Adventure.....

Hello! Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Today’s crafty adventure involves wool, needles and knitting. A few months ago, I whipped up some hand knit cloths that I thought I would share. These can either be used for dishes or as wash cloths. They are especially good for babies and young children. You will want to use cotton wool of some type. I chose organic cotton wool, which is nice and soft. The pattern is quite simple: start by using seed stitch (knit one, purl one) for five or so rows. On the sixth row, use seed stitch for five or so stitches and then knit using garter stitch (knit, knit, knit, knit and so on) until you reach the last five stitches in the row. The last five stitches will again be in seed stitch. Apparently stitch markers will make this process a little easier (I spied some beautiful ones on Etsy). I, as usual, decided to live dangerously and did not use stitch markers. Enjoy!

Happy V-Day.....

Normally, I boycott this "holiday" but I couldn't resist making these guys from a kit I picked up and adding some sweet love inspired details to a cowl I had previously knit....

For more lovely V-Day crafts, check out this and also this. Feel the looooooovvvveeeee!

How To Make Mondays Not Suck...

We can all agree that, for the most part, Mondays are not fun. Here are 6 ideas for adding a little more joy to your Mondays ....

We woke up to this today......

 Happy Sunday! 

Crafties for the Kiddies

Kids’ crafts are the best. I run a weekly craft program for kids where I have made some pretty awesome crafts with some pretty awesome kids. Our projects have ranged from edible playdough made of cream cheese and icing sugar (blargh....) to log cabins made of pretzels and milk cartons. I thought I would share some of these great projects that I have found for those who are on the lookout for projects for the kiddos that involve more than tissue paper and glue. I wish I could take credit for these ideas, but I’m really not that inventive.

One of the coolest crafts that I have made is an underwater porthole that uses paper plates, icing, goldfish and oreo cookies. You can find the full instructions by clicking right here. Be prepared for a giant mess, kids on a crazed sugar high, and lots of crafty fun!

Taken from http://crafts.kaboose.com/paper-plate-porthole.html 

What's Old Is New

 When the hubs and I first moved in together, he was not even a hubs. We were also very recently out of school and very, very broke.  With little money, we relied on the kindness of friends and family and old furniture to make our little apartment a happy home. The thing about old furniture is, it’s generally made well and usually has an attractive design. Add a little paint, a little material and a little elbow grease and you have yourself a one of  a kind piece.

My first DIY furniture project involved some old chairs that my parents purchased when they were first married. I thought the teak was kind of interesting looking, but could not stand the weird black, brown, grey stuck in the early 80’s material that was covering the cushions. A quick trip to the fabric store and I found an awesome heavy duty yellow paisley that was also on sale for like seven dollars a metre (score!). “Sweet!”, I thought to myself, this will be easy.  And it was, relatively.  It was a little labour intensive (mostly due to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing) but, armed with my trusty staple gun, I got the job done.  And I must say, it turned out pretty ok!

I still like the idea of re-using old furniture and making it into something new. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of IKEA going on, but sometimes it’s nice to incorporate older pieces and give them your own personal touch.  Plus, it’s waaaaaaay better for old mother earth if we try to re-use and reinvent rather than constantly discarding and buying new stuff.

If you are looking for more inspiration, one of my most favourite blogs to read has some sweet ideas for giving old, tired furniture a little bit of a makeover.  Check it out here.

Hello Diana,

      My Dad loves and collects old cameras. When I was younger, he lamented the influx of digital photography, claiming that we would be a "lost generation" with all our pictures and memories trapped in technology that could no longer be used. At the time, I thought he was a weirdo. I am older now and, as often happens with parents and children, I see what he means. How many pictures have I downloaded on my computer that are never printed and destined to be forgotten? With this is mind, I decided to check out the whole analogue photography thing. I bought this little gem, a Diana Mini, and am ready to begin. Any tips for the budding (hopefully) analogue photographer?

On Tap For This Weekend....

Please don't think that I am incredibly lame and uninteresting, but I am very jazzed for a little fam - jam and Apples to Apples this weekend. Have you played this game yet? If not, you need to proceed directly to your automobile, drive to the nearest board game vendor, purchase said game and play RIGHT NOW! The concept is incredibly simple, but for whatever reason this game is amazingly fun.....as in I could play for hours. And to be honest....I hate board games! I cringe whenever someone mentions the word Monopoly, card games send me into a coma of boredom and don't even get me started on Taboo. But this game...she is something special.

    I also plan to cook this weekend. I usually leave that task up to my very capable husband - I'm more of an eater than a cooker, although I do enjoy the concept of cooking. I plan to make a little sweet potato recipe from my favouritest (not a word) food blog ever. Yum! Good food, good company and Apples to Apples. This, my friends, is what weekends are made of.