Just a Little Bit Crafty

I don't know what's gotten I to us lately (the girls in our house) but we are in crafty-mode!

Inspiration seems to be everywhere we turn... 

In any spare moment we can find, Grace, Jean and I are making something!  It's so much fun!

This is our craft cupboard. A few years ago I decided we needed a craft corner in our playroom. It turns out we are covering a few corners of the house but this is the main area for kids craft items. 

Last Christmas Grace got a set of looms from Uncle Ben and Marieve. Both Grace and I love to loom with yarn and very recently have picked it up again and we are going loom-crazy!  It turns out not only can we make scarves but Pinterest is loaded with ideas and instructions. We went to Michaels the other day and bought a set of round looms so we have almost every shape and size now. Shopping for yarn is almost as much fun as shopping for fabric and much less expensive!  Ha!  The other thing I love about looming is it is portable and easy.  I can bring it everywhere with us... such as waiting at dance class, watching hockey, in the van...anywhere we are just sitting around. I don't like to just sit with nothing to do and it turns out my daughters are the same!

My greatest passion is quilting. It may not be a home decorators good idea but my sewing area is set up in our livingroom. The reason is that the best room in the house for sewing is over-run with toys and is also our laundry room so the next best space is where we gather to relax. I usually sew in the evening so at least I can be where Ian is - watching tv. If my sewing machine and cutting table were elsewhere, I wouldn't be able to work at it so easily. Maybe someday I will have a quilting studio but that will most likely be when the kids are grown up.  

Right now I am working on a quilt for Jean's birthday. She turns 6 in a few weeks and this will be a sweet butterfly quilt to go with a redecorated room for her. This quilt is pushing me out of my comfort zone but I have two goals for myself this year 1) to learn some new quilting techniques and 2) to work on my quilting projects for at least 30 minutes a day (unless I am not at home). Hopefully my skills will become greater and I have more completed projects!  Wish me luck!

So it turns out this girl is a chip off the old block but she has more talents than I can imagine a 10 year old kid could have!  She is a great student, great dancer and very crafty. She isn't afraid to learn new things and just goes for it!  She lives in the age of information at her fingertips and knows how to use it. Like many girls her age, she rainbow loomed for hours with YouTube guiding her and now she is learning techniques for yarn looming the same way. She whipped up that hat in just a couple days...between school, dance classes and sleeping!  That blanket beside her is made by her as well. She likes to sew and even though it takes more time and guidance, she works away making up patterns or just practicing her sewing techniques. She learned a bit about mosaic recently and that's another craft she plans on taking up. She loves to paint and colour...the list goes on and on. 

Jean is learning to loom as well and I notice that she is able to do more fine motor skill work. She is interested in the rainbow loom as well.  We have so many craft supplies that she can do what she wants but roll-playing is still her favourite activity. That's perfectly fine with me. 

As for Grace and I, I can just see a craft supply shop in our future...hmmmm or just a place for inspiring others to create. It's so much fun!

Janie's Collage

I just wanted to share this...it's a beautiful collage made for us. I would call it a treasure. 

Ian and I are very proud to be living in a home with so much history meanwhile bringing it into the time when we can fully enjoy our own moments. Hockey nets outside, massive amounts of toys inside overtaking a whole room (aka the playroom), red wine bottles on a long counter, loud voices and photos taken in every room!  I love sharing our home. 

That being said, it seemed like we had a dishes crew on for at least an hour and after everyone left we still had a lot of clean-up. We went to bed and tackled it the next day. Until next time!

Feeling Thankful Today

I took some time this morning to read two blog posts I wrote about Thanksgiving.  Each year I take this holiday in stride as we are most likely harvesting and still selling our products at farmers' markets.  In other words, we don't always spend Thanksgiving together.  I have made a point in doing my best to somehow celebrate around the dinner table with whomever can make it within our family and I am taking on the challenge of cooking a turkey with all the trimmings.

I am still so very thankful for what I have mentioned in the past... none of that has changed but this year I feel especially thankful for the life we get to live.  I love being able to provide opportunities for our children and seeing them thrive within those opportunities.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see our children part of a competitive dance team or on a competitive hockey team or being able to watch them at cross country meets.  I didn't know they would love being part of activities that push them to their potential... we get to watch them become pretty awesome human beings that love to participate, love to help others and have so many friends.  The experiences that Ian and I get to give our kids leaves me in awe... I was not overly athletic and I lacked the confidence to be part of teams and competitive activities.  Money and time was always an issue growing up. It wasn't that I didn't have some of those opportunities but it wasn't as easy for me to "put myself out there".  I look at Grace, Alex and Jean and feel such pride that they can do just that and as a result, they have opportunities that are amazing.  That being said, it does take finances and time from us as parents but we are more than happy to do just that - I know we will NEVER regret it.  This year I am thankful for all of that!

Now back to getting my house ready for 22 + visitors...

Leaf Piles

We have a huge maple tree beside our house. Every fall it sheds huge amounts of leaves and inevitably becomes the place of choice for making piles of leaves and jumping into them. Within minutes this pile was taller than Alex. 

All I hope is that they don't jump into each other or leave the rakes and shovels hidden in the pile. 

They give it all when they jump!