custom orders, get ’em in now! November 6, 2017 - i just wanted to throw out a last minute heads up… i have received several custom orders (thank-you, btw!) and i will be closing the door on custom orders THIS SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12th. i gotta do this so that i have enough to time to complete the orders i have received and make more fun […]
snowflake window garland. November 21, 2016 - last week was super warm here in SW ontario. it was even, what some might call HOT, on some days reaching +20c!!! on the weekend the boys and i decided to help mother nature along by enticing her with our very own snowflakes! we folded our square papers, and cut, cut, cut. we made different sizes […]
how to make your own felted balls. December 11, 2015 - i love, LOVE working with felt. i’m not really sure why, but there is something about the way the material feels. last year i bought a bunch of roving wool and made felt bowls. they were a bit time consuming to make, but they turned out great! you can check-out the pictures and tutorial HERE. […]
felt envelopes for santa claus! November 17, 2015 - oh my goodness! look at what i found! i was researching other christmas crafts when i saw these lovely, adorable felt envelopes to santa claus! of course i pinned the ideas and decided to make a round-up post for inspiration. first i’ll share what i made. i used felt, thread, hot glue gun and my sewing […]
santa claus christmas crafts! November 6, 2015 - the holidays are such a great time to get crafty with the kids. my boys enjoy making gifts for their family, whether it’s painting ornaments, decorating pine cones or creating sculptures out of pipe cleaners. as the boys get older they want less help from me, but i still like to have a few ideas […]
kids felt christmas tree crafts! December 13, 2014 - the other day i pulled out my colourful felt scraps to get crafty on a snowy afternoon. my wee lion was sick from school so it was the perfect time to get creative! i cut out some very asymmetrical christmas trees, which my lion then decorated. he cut out various shapes from the felt […]
DIY gift tags! December 7, 2014 - i loooooooooooooooove a good gift tag! i always often make my own, especially at x-mas time. the fun thing about gift tags is you can personalize them if you want, make them in any shape or colour, use a myriad of materials… or not… i prefer to keep them simple, but that’s just me! i […]
white christmas ideas! December 2, 2014 - white is one of my favourite colours for the home. white holiday decorations are fresh, bright and work well with all other colours! at christmas time white is festive with all the connections to snow and ice, and looks so great with the traditional colours like all the deep reds and rich greens. here are […]
DIY felted bowls! November 24, 2014 - i’ve always loved felt products, the texture and colours they hold are beautiful. this holiday season i’ve decided to make lovely felt bowls from roving wool. last year i made felted soaps, which were my first efforts working with roving wool. i immediately fell in love. there is something so simple about felt, but the […]
homemade stocking stuffers! November 22, 2014 - stocking stuffers… stocking stuffers, sometimes these little gifts get such a bad rep. well if you’re buying something generic that may be the case, but if you put some of your back into it and create a homemade stocking stuffer then that can be a very personal gift! tis the season for getting crafty and […]
dried orange slices for christmas. November 12, 2014 - are you looking for a easy christmas project? these dried orange and lime slices are easy, although theu do take a while to bake.but, once they are done they make for lovely decorations, gifts, wreath accents, or whatever! first i sliced my oranges and limes. then i placed them on a cookie sheet and […]
green christmas inspiration. November 9, 2014 - i realize it’s only november, but let’s be real here, everyone is already thinking about the holidays. here is a visual aid to help when shopping for various green branches this holiday season. it’s helpful to know the names of the different varieties nurseries use. my favourites include pine branches and cedar. flores […]
make your own bead keychains! June 24, 2014 - for father’s day the kids made these awesome keychains for their grandfather’s. aren’t they amazing? If you love Custom keychains, you’ll love these bead keychains. They make great gifts! If you are anything like the men in my life, you are constantly misplacing keys! A custom keychain can help make your keys stand out and […]
DIY birthday applique shirt! April 13, 2014 - Â my bear turned 6 in february, so i made him this fun applique shirt. i bought a plain t-shirt for $5, found some fabric i thought he would like and then the night before his birthdy quickly sewed up the shirt. MATERIALS: plain t-shirt fun fabric for your number hem fuser thread scissors iron […]
birthday party name tags! February 6, 2014 - bear has asked for a dinosaur themed birthday! for this craft i couldn’t actually find any wee dinosaurs, but i found these cute lizards for 99 cents a pack and i thought they were close enough! here’s what i did… first, i painted the clothes pegs with acrylic paint. i had to do a couple […]
cute pom pom crafts! January 30, 2014 - before christmas i shared a tutorial on how to make basic pom poms a few different ways; check it out HERE. recently i’ve been trying to think projects that are slightly out of (my) box and then it hit me pom poms! these soft, plushy, cute things can be made of any funky […]
valentine’s day sewing crafts! January 14, 2014 - there are so many wonderful sewing projects out there for valentine’s day. i chose ones that i thought my kids, family or friends would enjoy. and, one’s that i thought i would and could actually sew! someone asked me which project was my favourite, but i couldn’t decide, as they are so delightful and lovely […]
valentine’s day crafts January 11, 2014 - valentine’s day will be coming up quickly, so it’s good to have some crafts ready for the kids to get busy with. i’ve incuded some really sweet crafts here; a wreath, some fancy jewelry and even a wonderful heart shaped birdseed treat for our outdoor friends! at our house valentine’s also happens to be bear’ […]
DIY bird feeder round-up! January 7, 2014 - we here in SW ontario have been having some wild, winter weather. to help out the birds, we have put out all sorts of yummy things for the birds to eat. i know some people are against bird seed and bird feeders, but i think they are wonderful. our whole family enjoys watching the variety […]
winter branches. January 4, 2014 - i know many of you might be slightly crafted out from all of the holiday projects, but this is a super easy craft with big effect. my mum taught me how to make these gorgeous winter branches. MATERIALS: tissue paper scissors green branches (pine, balsam, spruce, cedar…) white glue glitter INSTRUCTIONS: 1. cut the tissue […]
christmas orange pomanders! December 14, 2013 - christmas pomanders are something i make every year. they are a wonderful gift for others and beautiful decorations in your own home. they smell like christmas! all you need to make these are oranges (or clementines) Â and cloves. i have made pomanders with different patterns; spirals or hearts, so pretty! adding a ribbon is a […]
felted soaps! December 8, 2013 - most people don’t use bars of soap anymore, because of the icky mess they leave behind. why most bath sets i’ve seen like this Gruffalo gift set use liquid soap nowadays. it certainly makes bath time with the kids less messy. though if you were looking for a way to make bath time more fun […]
make your own pom poms! December 3, 2013 - look at these adorable pom poms i made. i will be using them as part of my gift wrapping this year, that’s why there are strings coming out of them. i bought cheap, acrylic yarn, deciding lovely wool wasn’t worth it in the long run. then i picked through pinterest and discovered several different ways […]
DIY rubber stamps! November 28, 2013 - i purchased some erasers on sale and decided to make some simple, festive stamps out of them. i’m hoping to make gift tags with them eventually. aren’t they cute? this is what i did… with a pen i drew my design on the eraser. once i was satisfied, i used a small knife to cut […]
paper bag puppets! November 21, 2013 - this was a HIT as an after-school craft last week. i was watching a friends lovely ladies, so i had to come up with a craft that would interest kids from 3yrs to 7yrs. this was it! before i picked up the big kids from school, lion and i got all the supplies ready. * […]
fancy festive bow ties! November 19, 2013 - my boys have their own sense of style and love to look fancy. they love to look handsome for birthday parties, weddings and christmas festivities are no different. so, this season i am again sewing new bow ties for my wee trend setters, which they will discover one december morning in their advent calender! see previous […]
christmas crafts for kids! November 12, 2013 - Â Â tis the season again to make all sorts of adorable christmas crafts with the kids. i know my kids are ready to get their x-mas craft ON!!! they have both chosen their favourite crafts from this collection! There is a craft that has been recommended to me by other parents and that’s hand […]
holiday garlands! November 10, 2013 - i {LOVE} garlands. i love how you can make them out of everything and anything. you can decorate a plain wall, a festive table, a banister or a window. i love the combinations of textures, colours and patterns garlands can hold, and i love the simplicity of the garlands included in this collection. […]
not your average burlap round up! October 17, 2013 - when dear hubby and i were married, we gave our guests little live spruce trees as favours, because we me at tree planting and it was so fitting! the trees had root pods, which we wrapped in burlap with a simple ribbon! they were perfect. but, when i purchased the burlap i bought WAY too […]
DIY stamps! October 2, 2013 - about 10 years ago i made some simple potato stamps and decorated tissue paper with hearts and x-mas trees. every christmas my mum and i still use the few sheets that are left for each others gifts. there is something sweet about the personal, creative touch, don’t you think? so, now that my 5yo bear […]
teach kids how to sew! August 11, 2013 - sewing is an important skill to have. we don’t all have to be experts, but some basic knowledge of how make things is valuable and helpful. i realize in today’s culture where everything is so cheap and easily replaced, rather than fixed, it might feel strange teaching kids how to darn socks! but c’mon, from […]
make a paper mache pinata! July 9, 2013 - my lion turned 3 and i decided it would be fun to have a lion head pinata at his birthday party. i did some research on pinterest on how to make the perfect pinata, but decided that we would just do our own thing… i mean, how difficult could a paper mache lion head really […]
salt cookies for all occasions! March 31, 2013 - a few years ago the kids were hooked on baking and painting salt cookies. after the millionth batch, i kinda went on a salt cookie strike, and we discovered lots of other projects to get excited about. the other day i decided to quickly whip up some salt cookies and re-introduce the fun of them […]
lovely valentine’s day card crafts! February 6, 2013 - kids love to hand-out valentine’s day cards to each other at school. we were even sent home a list of all of the student’s in bear’s class to ensure that no kid is left out, i suppose. here are eight super cute, super easy cards you can make with the kids for valentine’s day. i find my kids […]
birthday invitations :: a DIY craft January 26, 2013 - bear is turning the big five-o-roonie in a few weeks!!! valentine’s day to be exact. and what almost-five-year-old doesn’t want to have a birthday party with their friends?! of course i went on pinterest looking for birthday invitation ideas, but nothing sprang out at me. so, bear and i designed our own little invitations. […]
nine fabulous valentine’s wreath ideas. January 23, 2013 - valentine’s day is only a few short weeks away, so i’ve compiled 9 awesome wreath idea’s for any DIY craft lover. some are more complicated than others and will take more time, but there’s something here to suit everyone’s taste! ENJOY! 1. valentine’s wreath with pipe cleaner rosette’s:: shaken together 2. valentine’s willow heart wreath […]
silly spoons :: a craft January 21, 2013 - bear, my older guy, gets a magazine in the mail once a month, CHIRP. it’s totally cute, age appropriate and makes his day when he receives in the mail.one of the activities in the january edition, is something called, SILLY SPOONS. it’s a super fun and super creative activity, that both the boys enjoyed doing. the spoon […]
hearts and cupids arrows :: a valentine’s crafts. January 13, 2013 - valentine’s day is almost upon us. the stores are already filling their shelves with heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates to suit everyone’s flavour preferences. there are cardboard cut outs of cupids hanging in windows and  there are lots faux red roses around town.  here are some cute and simple craft projects i’ve gathered from pinterest. i especially love the […]
discover the fun of discovery bottles! January 8, 2013 - my bear got some homework for this past holiday season. he was to make a “discovery bottle” and then was to share his bottle with the class during their “show & share” time. it was an assignment that he completed with the help of dear hubby and lion, too. lion actually made his own little […]- buy nothing x-mas? October 23, 2012 - Welcome to the October 2012 Simplicity Parenting Carnival: HolidaysThis post was written as part of the monthly Simplicity Parenting Carnival hosted by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM. This month we are discussing how we simplify the holiday season. Be sure to read to the end to see a list of the rest […]
a how to :: birthday bunting flags. July 9, 2012 - for my sweet lion’s second birthday party, i decided to whip up some bunting flags last minute. i have some old sheets i have purchasednand collected over the years for just such a quick project. i cut the flags with my pinking sheers, not worrying too much about size or symmetry, as the flags will be […]
chair re*do. May 1, 2012 - welcome to the first of thirty one posts in may!we have a beautiful dining set that my grandmother shipped over from glasgow, scotland at least a decade before the second world war started, when she immigrated to canada with my grandfather. it’s a small simple table with built in leafs that can be extended when […]
bow tie tutorial: how to make your own! February 16, 2012 - the first bow tie i made for bear was a few years ago for my sister-law’s wedding.since then i’ve made a few more for various special occasions. materials:fabricthreadscissorspinselasticbasic instructions:choose your fabric. synthetics and silks tend to fray and be much more slippery when sewing, so more patience may be necessary as well!1. fold fabric in half […]
tea towel tutorial May 15, 2011 - this project is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. embellishing tea towels is something people have been doing for a long time, but it’s what and how you do it that makes it fun. the window for creativity is huge on this project.i started off by buying a pack of […]