Finger Knitting and Ombre

Finger knitting. Ombre. Right now I see them everywhere. So why not combine the two? 

A quick an easy way to dress up a mason jar come candle holder. For this project I opted for embroidery floss instead of yarn. Want to learn how? You can follow this lovely tutorial over at Gussy Sews. It's addicting. Once you start you won't want to stop. 

Daffodils

Yellow is my favourite colour. Always has been, always will be. It so bright and cheery even on a cloudy day like today. Thanks Mom for the daffodils. They really do brighten my day!

Embroidery, Hoop Art and a Panda

I have a thing for hoop art and embroidering right now. I can't help it. I like them. Remember these little cuties? Sweet little eggs embroidered on silk for my little loves. The eggs were fun to stitch. It's been a long time since I've done any sort of hand stitching. I used to cross stitch, but that was years ago. I can't quite get back into the grove of cross stitching, but embroidering seems to be one of my faves right now. Do you do any hand stitching?

I've also been working on another little project which I share once it's done. Almost there. But in the meantime, I thought I'd share this simple little project. It was quick and easy. Little Miss is happy. All is good.

Little Miss loves pandas. Dogs are her first love, but pandas do come in a close second. I found this sweet little hankie in a bag of craft items at a thrift store. Of course it came home with me.

One small vintage hoop later and voila! Hoop art for Little Miss. Stitching is fun, but sometimes finding something already embroidered is just as good if not better.

Easiest Flower Arrangement Ever

Sometimes you just need a little bit of colour arranged in a fun way to make you smile.

Are you ready for the easiest flower arrangement ever?

What you need:
5 jars - I used vintage milk jugs, but mason jars or jars from the recycle bin would be great
1 box - I used a vintage amo box  (thanks Dad!) but any rectangular box or basket would work
1 bouquet of colourful flowers - thanks Dianne!

What you do:
Put jars in box. Fill with water. Arrange flowers in rainbow order. That's it. C'est tout fini.

Yummy Labels

Where Andrew works, it's tradition to bring in treats to share on your work anniversary. Today Andrew celebrates his first year anniversary, so of course treats were required. It's a nice tradition, don't you think? Something to brighten the day. After baking up a storm, I decided that these treats needed some labels.

It's easy to do.  All you need is a paper bag, markers, scissors, double-sided tape and a stick of some sort. I used these metal sticks that I found in amongst some craft supplies. I'm not sure what they are. So if you don't have some unidentified metal stick thingamabobs, you could use toothpicks, skewers or chopsticks.

It's easy. Write. Cut. Tape. Press.  C'est tout fini.

Sharing here:

Waffle Love

It's no surprise to many of you that we love waffles, especially the kids. They would eat them everyday if they could. The kidlywinks do eat waffles a couple of times during the week.  I like quick, simple and easy and this waffle mix fits the bill. It's actually a pancake recipe that I've had for many years, so if you don't have a waffle maker, don't worry, you can still make this mix. We choose to use a waffle maker because, well, it's fun and the thing beeps at you at an alarming volume that you can't ignore. Pancakes on the stove on a weekday morning would be a burnt mess around here I'm afraid.

Every once in a while I assemble the mix. It's quick. It's easy.

Grab a funnel - one used for canning is best since it has a wide mouth, jars, measuring spoons and cups.

 Into each jar put:

1 1/3 cups flour

3 TBSP sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

I make a bunch at a time. Like nine or so. No joke. It takes next to no time, yet saves an absolute ton of time in the morning when all you want to do is sit quietly and drink coffee and not make breakfast or pack lunches or get kids out of bed or hope your husband heard the second alarm. The mix helps. Really, it does. It doesn't do the laundry, but it helps.

You can add a nice chalkboard label or  metal rim tag.

On the reverse side of the label, list the directions.

Add: 1 egg, 1 1/4 cups milk, 3TBSP melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla.

Mix just enough to combine. Don't over mix. The batter will be lumpy. Let it sit and get happy for about 5 minutes. One jar of mix makes four large waffles or a bunch of pancakes. 

Sharing here:
Lil' Luna
Not Just a Housewife

Because I Just Couldn't Take It Anymore

The cupboard under the bar portion of our counter is where we store the cookie sheets. It's awkward. The worst part is when you pull out one thing, everything else comes tumbling to the floor. If you're lucky, you leave with your toes intact.

And then it hit me. (The solution, not the cookie sheet). The file organizer. I mean, really, file organization is overrated. Besides, the office will soon be getting a shake up anyway.

So much better!

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Three Cute Little Trees

Three little trees all in a row.

So easy to make.
For the first little tree, all that it took, was a empty box of cereal and an old table cloth. Oh, and a cute puppy who likes to help.

You could make one too. Flatten an old cereal box and make it into a cone.  Rip strips of fabric and wind them around the cone. I used the white part of the table cloth, but you could use any fabric you have. When one strip of fabric is getting near the end, simply tie on another piece of fabric and keep wrapping. The ties make cute little bows.

For the second little tree, all that it took, was some left over underlayment.

This stuff normally goes under laminate flooring. We had some left over from when we remodeled the apartment. You could make one too. Roll the up the underlayment into a cone. Glue.  I cut out a star out of the same material and glued in on the top. C'est tout fini!

For the thrid little, all that it took, was a package of handkerchiefs and a stitch or two. You could make one too. The package of handerchiefs came from a thrift store. Still new in the package. A set of four. Fold the handkerchief in half.

And then in half again.

Repeat with the other handkerchiefs. (I love saying that word!) And stack them one on top of the other. Then sew through all four handkerchiefs on the diagonal. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Cut off the corner.

Hold it by the point. Shake. Stand it up and arange the folds.

And there you have three pretty little Christmas trees.

I'm linking up here:

Life Made Lovely

Today's Creative Blog

Getting Ready for Christmas Part Two (or Nativity Hide and Seek)

I thought I should mention that this year I have decided two things. One, I am much better at decorating in stages, hence the part one, etc. of decorating for Christmas. Two, I decided not to buy any new decorations (except for one string of outdoor lights), unless it came from a thrift store. Fast forward to Saturday. Out came the nativity scene. I love, love, love this nativity scene. It was a gift from Andrew and the kids a few years ago.

We carefully took it out of the box and put it on the side table in the living room.

Yah. Um. You-who! Nativity set! Come out, come out where ever you are! The set totally disappears.

Enter a box, some burlap left over from another project, corsage pins and ribbon from the thrift store.  Oh! And a cute little puppy.

Projects are always much more fun with a cute puppy.

I simply wrapped two boxes in burlap. One for the base and one for the back. Using a Sharpie, I wrote lyrics to a Christmas carol on some velvety ribbon and attached it to the box with the corsage pins. Voila! C'est tout fini! And now the nativity set has been found.

Now for some bunting at the top of the rug and this corner with complete. Stages, remember?

Doors

You know what it's like. You start painting one thing and the next thing you know, what looked -ish before, is all of sudden looking totally beat up, screaming to be loved. So that's just what I did - I gave my doors some love. Goodbye chipping paint, scuff marks and just plain boring.
Before

                             Front door                                                                     Side door

After

I'm enjoying the dark grey doors, but now the walls need to be painted. I love the grey, but was wondering about painting the side door red? Hmmmm. Something to think about. What do you think?

Making It Work

I pulled out my good dishes for dinner on Saturday night. I love my good dishes, but hardly use them. This needs to change and what a better time to start than when friends are coming to dinner?

Only one slight problem. Everything else I own is casual, very casual, not-china-worthy-casual. What to do? With next to no time left to make things look nice and no fresh flowers in the garden to pick, I had to come up with something quick and easy.

So outcomes a vintage green and white cloth that once belonged to my grandmother, blue cloth napkins that we use everyday and some vintage green and blue binding.

A gold marker, some vintage binding and a little bit of paper ribbon later...and voila! Easy napkin rings that tie the napkins, table cloth and napkins together while serving double duty as place cards.

Sticking to my theme, simple and vintage, buttons were added to base of the candle holders and a vintage ribbon (seam binding actually) was tied around the candle.

 At that I called it quits. Pretty. Simple. Vintage. Not magazine pretty, but pretty just the same.

A Bed for Puppy

One cute little puppy in need of a bed.

One old sleeping bag all tattered and torn.

One sharp pair of scissors that snip, snip, snip.

One sewing machine that can stitch, stitch, stitch.

One comfy bed all folded and neat.


Placed in a crate for puppy to sleep.

Another little bed all tattered and torn. Too much plaid on the dining room floor.

Come cute little flannel and sewing machine too. Work your magic in five minutes times two.

A new little bed for puppy. And now that makes two!