Time Flies

Even when you're not having all that much fun. We have all been very busy here in our Crafty World. Unfortunately there's not been much craftiness going on. We've been consumed with what seems to be our usual summer buzz of home improvements and making endless trips to the hardware store. Sometimes I wonder will it ever end?! In short, I have been doing a lot of painting, priming, shutter removing, basement cleaning, etc.; nothing really worth documenting with pictures.

Amongst all these home improvements we have had a birthday party. Our Favourite Boy turned five a few weeks ago and I think this cake is my favorite yet. Probably because it was so easy! He loves construction vehicles, so it was super simple to put together. I think Bulk Barn is my new favourite store for all things to do with cake decorating.

I even squeezed a few hours in to cross stitch a simple card for him, simple being the key word! I made the crab card because he's a Cancer baby.

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I haven't been thrifting in a while, so the other day I dragged/bribed the kids to Value Village. I was not disappointed in what I found: lots of fabric and a lovely pink and white tablecloth. I had planned on cutting the tablecloth up and making oodles of dishtowels, but it coincidentally goes perfectly with a tea cloth I found in my trunk. As yet I have no recollection of where the tea cloth came from!

The tag for the fabric on the left said there were three meters all together. I thought that was a good deal for $4. When I got home and measured, there are actually just under six! I am thinking about using it for my spare room curtains. They look very pretty and vintage-y in there. It's newly painted a fresh cream, and really needs a pop of color in there.

The other fabric, about three meters, will be the perfect backing for my rainy day quilt. I have been looking for a sheet to use, but this is even better. I think it only cost $4 or $5, so it's a significant savings of the $35 or so I figured it would cost to buy new fabric. Pretty don't you think?

I picked up theses books today at Goodwill. I just love the cover of the Betty Crocker book. Inside are "secrets" to becoming a "famous hostess". Who wouldn't want to know those? I think I'll read the other book and brush up on my Canadian history.

Sunday brings the birthday of our Favourite Girl, so preparations are being made. We're having a tea party and there will be some fun crafts and activities. I'm sure the post about that will be quite picture heavy! I won't be posting about that for a while though, as the day after the tea party we are headed out on a much needed vacation. No hammers, paintbrushes or ladders to be seen for a week. I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great week.

Colorful Summer Days

Despite the gloom and rain lately we have managed to bring some color into our Crafty World.

We've been to a party and made cakes:

We've had an undersea adventure making cupcakes:

We've created a host of butterflies to flutter on our fridge:

This picture just makes me laugh:

My Favorite Boy threw his stuffed kitty into the air in an effort to make his windchimes tinkle. The nylon string wrapped around the cat's paw, keeping him in the air.

We were supposed to go to the beach today, but it looks like the rain will come sooner than expected. I think we will be at our usual stations, around the kitchen or craft table, making more colorful days.

Have a colorful day!

Our Favorite Girl

I have a new project on the go. I am "re-doing" our spare room to become our Favorite Girl's room. We have removed old wallpaper, and now it's time to pick out paint colors.

My Favorite Girl has had a lot of bedrooms in her almost 7 year history. When she was born, the bedroom she moved into was sky blue with a glaze overcoat. It was really pretty, but not what you want for your baby girl. You want candyfloss pink and eyelet lace and fluttery butterflies. That's what she got after she turned a year old. I'll never forget the paint color: it was called Paris Pink by Martha Stewart, and we thought it was so perfect because she had already been to France by that time. It was also a very pretty room, but something was just not right.

We moved away and this way I was determined to capture the "essence" of our Favorite Girl. Her room was painted lavender and cream, with swirly green vines and colorful wooden (cute) bug cut outs around the ceiling line. She had a bug light from Ikea and a buggy curtain valance to go with it. I thought it was OK.

We moved again and this time her room was painted yellow, with pink and white accessories. It's nice too, but I still feel that it's not her. So I'm trying again.

If I had to describe her using a series of pictures, I would say jellybeans and candy popcorn; daffodils and tea roses. I would think of polka dots and rainbows; colored marshmallows and warm squirmy puppies. A box full of new crayons and a rollercoaster ride. This is a little girl who giggles in her sleep, yet cries at happy ending movies.

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There's a song, called Daddy's Little Girl, written by Bobby Burke and Horace Gerlach in 1949. When I read the book (and cried the whole time too ) I understood that this is universal, how people feel about their little girls. My favorite part is the chorus, and I'm repeating it here with a few modifications.

"You're the end of the rainbow, our pot o' gold. You're our Favorite Girl to have and hold; A precious gem is what you are, You're our bright and shiningstar; You're the spirit of Christmas, our star on the tree, You're the Easter bunny to daddy and me; You're sugar, you're spice, you're everything nice, and you're our Favorite Girl. You're the treasure we cherish, so sparkling and bright, You were touched by holy and beautiful light; Like angels that sing, a heavenly thing, And you're our Favorite Girl."

Now, given all that, how do I pick the perfect color?

Catching Up

I feel like we've been really busy this last week and a half, and in looking over my photos I guess we have. So, lets get started:

I have done a bit of fixing up and sewing. Our neighbor had a garage sale and I picked up this incredibly ugly table top ironing board for $2.

Not one to let bad fabric choices deter me, I removed the old fabric and wool, and replaced it with clean felt and a pretty cotton print. I love that it's made of wood so it matches the large wooden ironing board I got from my Grammie. It needs a new cover too, so I might just use more of this print to have a matching set.

It has been raining a lot lately, making it hard to play outside. What have we been doing?

Funny enough, the kids are really enjoying doing this job, and I am grateful for the help.

It stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy our local Canada Day celebrations. After watching the parade we headed to the park for birdhouse building, pony rides, crafts and balloons. We came home just as the rain started again and enjoyed our Canada Day treats:

With a possible break in the weather we decided it was time for a road trip, and we packed up the car and headed south. We drove to Cultus to put flowers on my grandparents grave, then on to Tillsonburg and Port Burwell. The kids loved the sandy beach at Port Burwell:

At our hotel I discovered what our Favorite Boy had packed for our trip. I believe he considered all this absolutely essential.

I was just happy he packed his bathing suit! There's nothing in the tin by the way. I'm not sure if he was planning on filling it up with souvenirs.

The following day we headed for Port Bruce, and the kids enjoyed playing on a rock beach this time. There was a stiff breeze which made the waves come in a bit quicker than the day before, and not so gently. A little support was required:

I collected these rocks to take home. I think they are about the loveliest rocks I have ever seen.

You didn't think I could go without a little shopping now did you? What made it even better was thrift shopping! These are my souvenirs:

I also bought these two botanical prints. I love that they're done in blues and have linen mats around them.

They were very dusty, and oh so vintage-y, right down to the dirty frames. The backing paper on the frame looks like old blue and white wallpaper. What is really intriguing though, and something I didn't see until later, is a small bit of writing on the framers sticker on the print on the left. Someone wrote that the print was dated 1849. Hmmmm, we thought. I didn't want to take the frame apart just yet, so I did a bit of poking around on line, and it looks like I may have at least one antique botanical print done by a woman named Jane Webb Loudon, in or around 1849. Kind of cool huh? I haven't found any information for the print on the right just yet.

Have a great day!