Little Hand Drawn Memory Books with Huge Sentimental Value

Fireworks: Bonfire Night

Some time ago, I wanted to do something special for my parents. My dad had recently been very ill and I was really feeling that distance. Everything was touch and go for a while, The Canadian and I discussed the likelihood of me flying home because things were changing constantly. I was, needless to say, feeling pretty rubbish. During that time, I found myself pulling up memories of my parents and their love. I wrote them down and then, when I got tired of writing, I drew little pictures to represent the memory. One of the things I miss most is the silly conversations you miss when you're so far away, the ones often rooted deep in shared experiences.

Barbie and the Multitude of Handmade Barbie Clothes. Oh, and that time my mum gave Ariel a shiny new bob because not even a dinglehopper could have helped out her tangles.

Custom Dolls House: Complete with Victorian era furnishings, dolls and handcrafted fimo food

Such as all those times we listened to the cassette that played the Windmill in Old Amsterdam and not quite understanding why my Dad didn't just have it ready to go whenever we had it in the car (a. it was very annoying and b. he probably wasn't all that into listening to it when we weren't around).

Only experiencing The Hobbit whilst being in the car. Miracle cure for travel sickness.

Tick Tock: All the hours of waiting up

As a way of coping with the upheaval, I started putting together a little watercolour book for them. You have likely seen one of the images already, as I had it posted to Society6.

The Green Dress and The Memories of HAVING to Wear The Buttons at the Front

Each image reflects a small memory that, for me, is a big deal. I sketched each one out on watercolour paper, the only ones I had on hand were from the dollarstore. After that, I painted them, somewhat messily. Once they'd dried, I layered on more colour until I was happy with the messy look.

Finally, I used my stockpile of hand made cardstock as fillers; writing on them to tell my story, the meanings behind the pictures and little notes of love.

Once this was all piled up together, I hole punched the card and papers and tied it up with twine. The end result was a very messily bound book filled with messy memories and love, which, in my opinion, makes it all very perfect and reflective of the intent. I didn't get a great final picture but that's ok. I made them to be shared with my parents, posting it here was an afterthought, which I'm also happy about. I don't think they would have been so organic had I known I'd be posting it on here.

That was that. I loved being able to put these together for them. When I spoke with my dad, he was most amused that he remembered it differently or that it had triggered other memories for him. My sisters even informed me that I had drawn the little mice incorrectly because they remember the stories my mum told and they had imagined the mice to have waistcoats. I'm glad I took the time to do this for them and that it brightened up their holidays. 

Would you do this? Is it a good idea generally, or is it just for super dooper sentimental people like me?

As an aside, my dad is much better ;)

How to Make Quick and Easy Greetings Cards While Making Your Own Scrapbook Stock

A few years ago, my mum gave me a book by Traci Bautista, in it she gives lots of advice about using collage and other forms of mixed media. Lots. The part that stuck with me the most was the, to me, revolutionary idea of using scrap paper and paper towels to clean your brush between colours.

So, that's what I do. I now have a great stockpile of scrap paper covered in strokes of bizarre colour combinations and swirly marks.

The only awkward part of having these scraps of paper everywhere is that I don't do anything with them, other than stare at them longingly, enjoying the funny marks.

A while ago, I decided that now was the time to do something with them, so I started using them as backgrounds in scrapbooks and incorporating them onto cards.

The best part of using these scrap pieces of paper to make greetings cards comes from how they don't look 'scrappy' at all. Ultimately, you're saving money by not buying those scrapbooking papers and creating your own lovely pieces of stock paper.

In short:

- When you're painting, clean your brushes on pieces of cardstock and paper between colours

- Cut the remaining pieces into squares

- Attach them to folded card

- Hand letter / scrawl your handwriting across the front

- Use a metallic sharpie marker for creating a scalloped edge

Simple!

Last Minute Valentine's Day Gifts and Cute Puns

Valentine's Day is soon! Keeping the gifts cost-efficient is fun and easy. I like keeping it simple and fun. So, here are a few ideas if, like me, you leave Valentine's day until the last moment:

You'll need:

- snacks

- gummy bears

- other things that you're loved one will like

- a gift tag

- sharpie markers

- white card board

- washi tape

Directions:

Buy all the goodies.

Come up with ridiculously cheesy phrases for your products.

Coffee:

"I love you a latte"

"You are the perc of my day"

"You keep me grounded"

"All you need is love and coffee"

Chocolate and Sweets:

Gummy bears

"You are bear-y cute"

Swedish berry candy

"I like you berry much"

Chocolate covered nuts:

"I'm nutty about you"

Mints:

"We are Mento be together"

"You are a breath of fresh air"

"We are mint to be together"

Salsa/ pepperoni sticks etc:

"You are hot stuff"

These are all incredibly cheesy things for Valentines day but I had fun with them and it only cost me $15 for all the products I bought. Plus, I get to eat these as well so it really is a win-win.

Decorating your Own Holiday Plant Pots

It's no lie that I love painting plant pots and, well, anything around my house. I absolute love giving something my own style and my own voice. It's a quick project and it's really straight forward to do. The hardest part, as always, is figuring out the design you want.

I put together a straight forward, easy to use guide to painting your plant pots for indoor use, in dry areas. This process is definitely not designed for pots intended to be used for plants.

Step 1:

• Collect your supplies

You'll need:

 

•  Plant pots - I used 2 terracotta pots
• Acrylic paint - I used 5 colours in total (teal, purple, antique white, silver, black)
• Paint brushes
• Water to keep your brushes nice and clean
• A little imagination

Step 2

 

•  Paint your plant pots in the base colour, remember to do the bottoms.
• Leave them to dry properly

Step 3

•  Turn the plant pots around and paint the inside a bright colour
• You can skip this step if you want it to remain the original colour
• Alternatively, the inside would look just as fab all one colour, in this case it'd be antique white.

Step 4

•  Paint the rims of the plant pot because this is the one you likely missed when painting it all one colour.

Step 5

•  Below the lip of the pot, paint a contrasting colour line
• The straighter the better but it's ok if it's a bit wobbly

Step 6

  Paint your patterns on the outside

• If you're feeling ambitious you could always add pattern to the inside.

 Step 7

•  Add black detail around your patterns to define them further
• I added a little silver shapes that contrasted against the main pattern to make them a little more fabulous

 

I love how these turned out. Mainly because I love the idea of mini containers holding ornaments littered around the house. Adorable.

These do take a little time to get right and you will need to be comfortable with a paintbrush to get results you're happy with but they're worth the time and effort. 

If you don't have time for this but love them as much as I do then you can always pop over to the Etsy shop and buy them to be delivered directly to your house.

 

What do you think? If you tried this I'd love to see the links to it below!

5 Ways to Get over the Winter Blues

Here's a confession for you: I suffer from winter blues! Ok, so it's not much of a confession if you've ever met me through winter. But for those online folk/people who only know me in the summer, winter is a tough time for me. I get lethargic, I need more sugars, I sleep more, I hibernate. To be fair, moving to Canada helped a little bit, there's something to be said about winters that are filled with sunshine, even if it is cold. Anything is better than the gloomy, cloudy winters of England!

Although my issues with winter may not be a surprise to those that know me, it's still something that I don't really talk about with many. It's been a real struggle for me to post on here lately. I felt bad about this, but then I received a beautiful letter from a friend in the UK. I had never expressed my struggles to her, so I was surprised when she mentioned that she was writing because she knew that I tend to get sad at this time of year and letters seem to make me happy. I got a little teary eyed because, ya know...winter, and then I thought about it. Everyone knows that I struggle in the gloomy end of winter and yet I never speak about it. Having dealt with this for years, I, perhaps, have some knowledge on the experience that I could actually share, so, share I shall.

1. Be kind

Being kind to yourself is the best way of dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or, in fact, any sadness. Sadness happens, don't be tough on yourself. Allow it to be there, cut back where you need to and take time to be kind to yourself.

If you're hard on yourself, it's just going to make it worse. Criticizing yourself for being lazy or feeling 'that way' isn't going to lift your mood or change the situation.

2. Get outside, in the daylight

It's so tough to leave the house in winter because it's cold and, lets face it, you don't want to. Seriously, leaving the house in the winter is the best thing you can do! Get some sunlight on your face, or at least feel fresh air airing out your head. Even if the sun is hiding, there are still benefits to being outside in winter.

3. Dress up

Do something for you. I have a bit of a love for cocktail dresses and high heels but I rarely have anywhere to wear those clothes. I don't dress up often but when I do, I feel awesome. It's not unheard of for me to just dress up for no reason, or for very little reason. It makes me feel good and I enjoy myself. Find something that makes you feel good, preferably something you don't do very often and then just do it. Even if I don't go anywhere and just spend the evening dressed to the nines, watching the TV with a nice big portion of ice cream, it lifts my mood.

4. Eat healthy

I'm not talking about eating 10 fruits and vegetables a day. I really struggle with healthy eating during the winter. I just want to eat junk food (such as the ice cream that made up my breakfast this morning), and I do (I try to be kind to myself about this slip up), but I find it better to eat junk food that I'm making at home, so I stop pretending that I will make pasta sauce from scratch, like I would in the summer, and I'll buy the pre-made jars of tomato-y goodness, the frozen pizzas and gross frozen lasagne. I hate them all but they're better than eating out every night and they mean that on those days that I really can't face chopping vegetables, I have something to eat that isn't as bad for me as a burger from a fatty take away.

5. Friends, showing love, connecting with people

If hibernation were an Olympic sport, I would be champion. It's a seriously great talent of mine, however, we all need a level of social interaction and ignoring that just won't help any gloominess. I spoke here about how I want to make more effort to connect with people and this is partly because I need that social interaction to stay positive. It's an effort to leave the house and make myself look decent but I always feel so much better afterwards. As an introvert, it's really easy for me to get overwhelmed and then hide again, so I set limits during winter. I try to fill 2-3 evenings a week with social interaction, whether that be skyping with friends around the world or driving to spend time with my pregnant friend who wants someone to sit with while she organises her nursery.

These work for me and help me feel more sane. What about you? Do you relish winter and snow? What do you do to keep sane during the chilly months?

How to Write A Thank You Card

I love writing cards and letters but knowing where to start can be really difficult, even for those who love words. 

Embarrassingly, it took 6 months to post out our thank you letters following our wedding. Dreadful etiquette, I know. Really bad. Some of that guilt lifted when I realised many people don't even send a thank you tweet let alone a card after their big day, but I digress.

Thank you notes are important. Whether they are sent verbally, through Facebook or through the mail, saying thank you is what makes the world a nicer place to live in and it makes you feel better.  

Verbal Gratitude

This is, hands down, the best way to say thanks. It is fraught with awkwardness and the necessity of showing sincerity, two things that are not easy to do.

To sincerely thank someone in person, or, by stretching it, over Skype or Face Time, just remember these simple rules:

1. Make eye contact.
2. Be sincere. Don't make jokes or diminish the gratitude. If you must joke, save it until the end. 
3. Start by saying that you're grateful/thankful/incredibly happy for XY and Z. Express how it made a difference, why you enjoyed the act and how much the gift meant to you.

For example:

"I am really grateful that you spent last night talking with me after my break up with So-and-So, it meant a lot to me knowing that I still had a great friend."

"I love you for cleaning the house on your day off, it means so much that you cleaned the areas I hate and that you did this for me! Thank you."

"Thank you very much for the wonderful wedding gift. It is the perfect, as Husband and I had decided to become healthier before the wedding. Your juicer will definitely make it easier to consume all those exotic fruits that we're not sure what to do with"

Hand Written Gratitude

Writing a thank you card or letter is really awesome. Especially if it has to go through good old fashioned snail mail. There's something delightful about receiving mail thats only purpose is to iterate how fabulous you are.

I have a tendency to be incredibly flowery when I write thank you cards, ask any one of my friends anywhere and it is likely they will have received note cards with both inside pages filled with squished writing and gushing words of love. Sometimes, there are drawings. When I feel particularly creative, I will limit words and just make little people express my intention through stick figure dance.

There's no right or wrong way to write a thank you card, although I would leave the more wordy and elaborate ones for close friends and family.

As a general rule, follow the formula below. 

Thank you for + specific action / item + what impact it has on your life / how you will use it

A written card has more impact if its sole purpose is to convey thanks, so leave out the updates, further requests for money and gossip. Just write thank you.

If you want your card to be a little fuller and more 'robust', you could elaborate in my detail, focusing on feeling and expressing sincerity. 

"Thank you for your friendship over these past years. It is amazing to me that even though we are literally thousands of miles away, you and I have maintained a strong relationship. I know that often we go weeks, and sometimes months, without talking to each other but it always feels as though no time passed at all. You are truly wonderful etc. etc."

Electronic Gratitude

Ok, so I debated putting this one in. Does saying thank you electronically even count as anything?

I'd like to think it does. Although it's definitely not conventional and doesn't have the impact of a handwritten note or verbal expression of thanks, it's still good for reconnecting, reaffirming gratefulness and connecting with those who you are close with to those who you've just met.

Sending a thank you message through any electronic medium is really very easy and should be used as a minimum.

Choose your format properly. E-mail is a safe bet generally, but you could use Facebook/Twitter etc.

E-mail allows you take anything from an informal to formal approach, whereas Facebook and Twitter do mean that some informality is expected. Don't send anything important via social media, saying thank you for your job interview through FB just sends a bad message. Don't do it. Just send the physical thank you note card and skip electronic altogether.

What are your go to thank you guidelines? Which way do you prefer to express thanks?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls!

Ok, it's not a secret. I love chocolate.

And, guess what, the Christmas season is fast approaching and that means one thing: sugar! It also means that people will drop by unannounced or that you'll feel so depressed about the weather that you will seek solace in that big tin of quality street under the tree (or is that just me?).

My friend in Edmonton gave me this fabulous recipe. Well, it was fabulous, except it involved dark chocolate. No thank you! Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed her dessert when I had the pleasure of being in the same area of the country, but I do not keep dark chocolate in the house! It's just one of those things. So, I decided to change it up a bit. I got rid of the dark chocolate, then discovered that I needed less butter and less sugar, therefore entirely changing her recipe. Still, "Thank you, friend in Edmonton"! Without her, I wouldn't have found my perfect snack for gloomy days.

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Krispie Bites

Perfect holiday treat

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice krispies
• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of icing sugar
• Enough milk chocolate chips to cover

Directions

• Place the rice krispies, icing sugar and peanut butter in a bowl (if you keep your peanut butter in the fridge, try melting it a little first in the microwave or by just leaving it on the counter for a few hours)
• Mix them all together.
• Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of parchment or greaseproof paper covering it
• Get your hands in that bowl and start making spheres of the mixture, approximately about an inch thick (bigger if you want them to taste more peanutty)
• Place the balls on the baking sheet and pop them in the fridge to cool. You can also place them in the freezer if you're short on time
• While they're hardening, melt the chocolate (and resist the temptation to eat it with a spoon! Why does melted chocolate appeal to me so much?)
• Bring out the peanut creations, and drizzle them in chocolate, or dip them, roll them, just get that chocolate on there
• Pop them back in the fridge (or freezer for up to 6 months) until your guests arrive

Pumpkin Love

 

 

It's Halloween! Nearly.

I am dressing up and touring the neighbourhood as Cruella D'Evil. Black and white cocktail dress, talcum powder in my hair and wicked make up. It's going to be fabulous. Presuming the snow stays away and it's not too cold. Otherwise, I will be going as a sleeping bag.

A few weekends ago, I went in search of a pumpkin to carve. I came back with 5. I thought it would be easy, it turns out that my mum really used to do most of the manual labour for this when I was younger and, therefore, gave me an unrealistic impression of how boring pumpkin carving is! Thanks mum!

Watermelons or pumpkins...you decide.

The Canadian and I spent a great part of last weekend carving 2 pumpkins. There was one large and one small. And both were equally tiresome to clean out and carve. We had 5 pumpkins and I was bored after two. I wasn't really sure what to do to ensure that the other purchases had been worthwhile. I really wanted to use these for Halloween!

I was doing my daily exploration of blog posts when I came across the Boo pumpkin at Life Over Easy (fabulous blog by the way!). I loved the idea of sticking letters on a pumpkin but I was still a little stumped because I didn't want to buy letters. In the end, it was going to the pet store, where an overzealous assistant had painted and branded a pumpkin to match the stores logo. I asked her what she'd used only to learn that acrylic paint does a really brilliant job of sticking to pumpkins. What's better is that you're not actually wasting pumpkin when you do this. So here's the last minute idea for pumpkin decorating:

Last Minute DIY Pumpkin Decorating

Supplies:
A pumpkin
Pencil
Black and white acrylic paint
Paintbrush (quite a small one) 

Directions
I started off by searching the internet to get inspiration. Try looking for "Pumpkin Silhouettes".

After I'd found one that struck my fancy, I outlined it with pencil on the pumpkin itself.

I then painted within the lines, embellishing as I went.

Tip: I found that having separate paintbrushes for each colour meant I could work faster, as there was no need for washing the brush in between colours.

Tip: I loved the dollar store paint because it dried really fast. Nothing worse than getting paint all over the counter!

 

These are the results, what do you think? Which is your favourite?

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We're going to be hosting a really awesome giveaway this Friday, so be sure to stay tuned!

How To Use Pinterest

What's a pin? How do I find a board? How do I ...?

I love Pinterest and everyone should love it. It's a mood board. An online mood board,  where I can make wish lists for my mum and The Canadian to look through, a place where I can put crafts I want to do and code I want to learn. all. in. one. place.

So, I put together a little bit of an introductory guide to Pinterest, in true Pinterest style. So, look over it and see the typed out information at the bottom!

Pinterest Navigation

Creating Content on Pinterest

Pinterest Profile Navigation

Finding Content, Boards and People on Pinterest

Exploring Other Peoples' Pinterest Profiles and the Art of Repinning

My technical skills failed me when trying to upload the above image, Blogger and Photobucket kept resizing the image regardless of what size I uploaded. However, you can find the image in it's entirety here.

Read on to answer more of your questions about Pinterest...mum, I'm talking to you...