A printable download of a 4 x 6 photo calendar card for February.

Hey there friends! Happy first day of February! We’re still in the thick of winter here… snow is falling as I write. Just a short post today to give you this little printable calendar card. If you missed January’s and want to keep up with the whole year’s set, that post is here. 

Free January Calendar Download

Happy New Year my friends!  Welcome to January 2018!

This blog has been sadly neglected this season, it’s true. And I’m just popping in quickly today for my lovely Instagram followers… I’ve promised a free download of the January calendar I posted there, and here it is.

Neutral Fall Mantel with Symmetry & Texture

How to create a neutral fall mantel using symmetry for simplicity and texture for interest.

Hello friends! Last week marked the official beginning of fall according to the calendar. Thanksgiving is just around the corner in Canada. It’s time to get our fall decor on! If you’re here as part of our week long #FallFestival blog hop then welcome! Did you see the gorgeous mantel Jamie created over at Anderson & Grant?  I hope you’ve been as inspired as I’ve been by the beautiful ideas and recipes all week so far.

Hurricane Lanterns Decorated for Winter

How I decorated my large hurricane lanterns for winter with some leftover Christmas decor and found items from around the house.

We’re in that lull after Christmas holidays, where decorations that were named cozy and cheerful in December are now called clutter. Some people love the tidy-up and back to minimalism. Some people hate taking everything down and find it depressing. I think I fall somewhere in between those two extremes. 

DIY Eucalyptus and Mint Foot Soak

Bath salts and essential oils make a pretty, scented and therapeutic soak for your feet at the end of a long day.  Wind down and clear your head with this eucalyptus and mint foot soak you can make yourself.

Must-Have Sugar Cookie Recipe

A basic sugar cookie recipe is a must-have in your baking repertoire. Simple, versatile and keeps well, this is a recipe you'll come back to again and again.

If you’re like me and don’t bake all that often, I’ve found it helpful to have a few standard no-fail baking recipes to reach for over and over again. Recipes like ginger cookies and chocolate cake which suit many occasions, and make you look like a rock-star chef.

Homemade Gourmet Olives

Homemade gourmet olives are simple to make. A small batch is perfect for fancy snacking, entertaining or gifting.

Hello friends! I have two things for you today, one delicious and one beautiful.  First, with the busiest entertaining season of the year just around the corner, I thought I would share one of my favourite appetizers with you.

Nutmeg Spice Mini Loaf Cake

Deliciously spiced and light nutmeg spice cake, baked in mini loaf pans it's perfectly sized for snacking or gift-giving.

Last summer we had the good fortune of spending a few days in Boston, MA to do a bit of sightseeing, shopping and eating well.  I looked up some of the most highly recommended restaurants ahead of time and one of them was the Flour Bakery.  It didn’t disappoint.  It had all the charm and character you would want in a neighbourhood bakery/cafe.  Plus a completely decadent assortment of baked goods and yummy beverages to go with them.

How to Make Birdseed Ornaments

How to make birdseed ornaments for your own backyard birds, or as a pretty and practical handmade gift.  Fun craft to make with kids!

So a sad thing has happened in our neighbourhood over the past couple of years.  An invasive species called Emerald Ash Borer has either killed or made sick all of the ash trees.  All.  Which is a lot of trees, considering our neighbourhood bears the name Ashgrove. 

Rustic and Cozy Winter Plaid Wreath Trio

This has been one of the most beautiful fall seasons around here in recent memory.  The colours continue to hang on to the trees or make beautiful carpets on the lawns and walkways.  The temperatures are getting colder and colder though, and with Halloween now celebrated and behind us, I think it’s okay to start transitioning our mindsets toward winter. 

* rustic & cozy winter plaid wreath trio *

Kate Spade Inspired IKEA Desk

A plain white IKEA desk hacked into a Kate Spade inspired glamorous desk, with some gold spray paint and striped wrapping paper.  Read on to find out how...

So this is part of the ongoing story of me trying to make life happen a little bit better.  Everyone has this story, so hopefully you can relate.  My goal is always function before form.  In other words it’s more important for it to work well than to look beautiful.  But it kinda has to look beautiful too.  Here's how I came up with a functional IKEA desk made to look beautiful, inspired by Kate Spade.

How to Make Watercolour Gift Tags

* pin me *

When I was a kid I used to love using watercolour.  I loved the brand new set of paints, the used up palettes, mixing in water to different consistencies, mixing colours together to make new ones.  I loved the weight and texture of the paper, I loved the ombré and marbled effect of the paint.  I think maybe I missed my calling as a watercolour artist.  Probably not.

new paints and brushes

But recently when Michael’s had a coupon for a discount on an entire purchase, I decided to get me some inexpensive water colouring stuff.  Just for fun…for a rainy afternoon.  My philosophy is just because I’m not an expert, doesn’t mean I can’t give something a try and create something beautiful.  I hope you feel the same!  Don’t be nervous to try something new…enjoy the process and don’t worry so much about the result.  Creativity is good for the soul.

pastel palette for spring

So while that rainy afternoon is probably a long way off (it is mid-winter after all) I took out my new paints, paper and brushes anyway when I saw this idea for making watercolour gift tags.  It’s from this book which I got for Christmas.  The book teaches creative hand lettering of all styles, which I can’t really teach, but one of the projects is for calligraphy on watercolour tags.  So we’ll cheat on the calligraphy part …shhh… but still end up with some pretty tags…

looks just like calligraphy, right?

So I cheated on the lettering part by feeding the watercolour paper straight through the printer.  I laid out the words (or names) I wanted to use in three columns in a Word document, leaving enough space for the tag shaped punch I was using between each word.  I used this font which is one of my new faves, and mimics the look of calligraphy a bit.

line it up perfectly

If you’re using a punch to cut out your tag shape, hold it upside down so you can see where to line up your words inside the tag borders.

start painting

And then I just started painting.  If you’re a REAL watercolour artist please don’t cringe… I’m just making a craft…  My only tip is if you wet the paper really well before you start painting then the paints will flow and marble together to make these pretty abstract designs.

love making a mess

Depending on how wet the paper is, it will curl up at the edges even when it’s dry.  Which is fine with me but you can press them under a heavy book if you prefer to have them flat.

pretty pastels

When they were dry I punched a hole in the top and tied in some twine.  I think these would be pretty for Valentine’s Day or any Spring occasion.  I had a suggestion on Instagram to use them as price tags if you sell boutique merchandise.  I would totally shop at a store that had price tags this pretty!  Wouldn’t you?

pretty gift

Once you’re all set up, it’s easy to make a whole lot at once.  Make some with generic greetings on them like I did, or print them out with your family’s or friends’ names for a lovely personalized touch.

watercolour gift tags

What would you use these for?  Let me know in the comments… I’ve got a whole stack of them now to use up!  Hope you enjoyed my easy and pretty craft.  And hoping you have a chance to be creative too.

See you next time!

xo andrea

linking to thoughts from alice, monday funday, diy dreamer, joy in our home,

Candy Cane Shortbread + Christmas Playlist

candy cane shortbread

So when I’m having a complete Christmas moment, and I’m baking away, and the tree is up, I love to have a great Christmas playlist happening that I can sing along with, and love every song that comes on.  If your Christmas playlist needs some mid-season additions, then here are my top three albums for this Christmas.  I could put this set on shuffle and listen to it all day.  I think.  That opportunity hasn’t come up yet!

Classic Ginger Molasses Cookies

A classic old-fashioned gingersnap recipe with a perfectly crinkled top and chewy center.  A must-have for Christmas baking, but delicious all year long!

With the Christmas season around the corner, serious bakers will getting busy stocking up on cookies for the holidays.  I wouldn’t call myself a Serious Baker, but these ginger molasses cookies are always on the list of Christmas baking.  If you’ve been around here very long you know that I stick to the tried-and-true.  Recipes that never fail and that everyone will love.  Christmas baking is no exception.  In my repertoire I have gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies, lemon thumbprint, plus something chocolate.  With chocolate I’m willing to experiment…you can’t really go too far wrong.

How to Make Strawberry Jam for Beginners

Hello and Happy Summer Days!  It's strawberry season in our part of the world and it's been a year for beautiful strawberries!

Strawberry picking is an outing that I’ve managed with the kids almost every summer since they were small.  And I love that they still like to come along and help.  #trainupachild