[TUTORIAL] Orange Pomanders

SNOW DAY!! My kids lasted all of half an hour in the snow this morning, before coming in begging for hot apple cider, a warm fire and demanding a craft to keep them occupied. Luckily, I had some cloves and oranges on hand, and we got busy making some lovely smelling pomander balls. It's a great craft for little fingers and helps develop those ever important motor skills. Here's what you need...

SUPPLIES:

• Oranges
• Whole Cloves
• Toothpick or skewer
• Ribbon or yarn if hanging

STEP ONE Poke holes in orange with toothpick

STEP TWO Poke long ends of cloves into holes

STEP THREE If tying, you may want to do this first and then decorate. Just simply tie the orange as you would a present. Knot at top of orange and then knot excess ribbon to create a loop to hang. Et Voila!

[FAMILY] Astronaut

My son...the astronaut. I do not know how this came about, but at some point during the last few weeks of school last June, Logan became obsessed with building a spaceship and travelling to outer space with his pals, Ethan and Christopher. Apparently, there is a nasty storm happening right now on Jupiter, and these budding scientists are worried that it may get out of hand and destroy the earth. The fate of the planet is in their hands (and their pets).

At first, the constant chatter and planning of this space mission was so sweet. Logan talked and talked and planned every day for this adventure. He made diagrams of how to build the rocket, lists of what food he needed to bring, emergency supplies and so on and so on. But then I realized, that this was going beyond imaginative play, and he was very serious that he needed to get into space. He started asking daily if we could please go to the building centre, and buy his supplies because this needed to be accomplished before summer was over, to the point that he was near tears or angry, when I tried to explain, that they don't sell rocket ship supplies on Bowen. I suggested we find some big cardboard boxes, and make a pretend ship first for practice. This made him very upset, and the obvious anxiety he was feeling towards getting this spaceship built was starting to build. When I tried to explain, that building rocket ships and becoming an astronaut meant going to a special school when you're an adult, he became very irrate, upset and heart broken. It made me feel terrible. Did I do the right thing? Where do you draw the line between allowing their imaginations to run wild, and bringing them back down to earth (pun intended).

He stopped talking about the rocketship shortly before school started, as we were very busy with end of summer activities. It has started up again, now that he is in kindergarten, however, he seems to be using this 'story' more to reel in new friends. One of the first things he does, when meeting someone new is tell them about the spaceship he wants to build, and then asks if they would like to join him. He then comes home, and adds their name to the ever growing list and explains to me the special skill each of his new friends brings to the mission.

Did I do the right thing, or should I have continued down the make believe path, and come up with a new excuse every day, why we were not pulling out the welding materials and scrap metal to construct a space craft. Comments welcome.

[FAMILY] Happy New Year

Well, we are half way through our first week of full day kindergarten. Logan is doing amazing. Much better than I expected, and I...well, I am also doing a lot better than I had anticipated. I think a lot of that is seeing how excited he is to attend the 'big kids' school. He loves his teacher, his classroom, the playground, gym class, library...he loves it all. He is making new friends, bonding wonderfully with his new teacher and enjoying being in a split Kindergarten/Grade One class

My days are so quiet without the constant chatter in my ear. I miss it...I miss him, but I will admit, the quiet time I now get to spend with Chloe, is lovely. I am seeing a different side of her. A much calmer side. I really haven't had the chance to get to know this little person as well as I would like. She's never had me all to herself - it's always been her and Logan, and then trying to focus on Logan while she naps, or goes to bed...but never the other way around.

I am really excited to see what this 'new year' has in store for us. I think it's going to be nothing short of awsome.

[DOCUMENT] Project Life Update

I've been busy playing catch up on my Project Life pages these last couple weeks. It's coming together wonderfully. I am incredibly proud of it.

I think my favourite part of this journey is realizing just how much I do with my children, my home, my friends, my family...my life - it has been a real eye opener. I sometimes feel I'm not making good use of my time home with them, or that our days and weeks have not been very fun and exciting. But then I sit down and start to put together our pictures, read over my notes from the day, and realize that 'hey, I'm doing a pretty good job!'

As you can see in some of the photos, I have used sticky notes to keep me on track with the dates of the week while I catch up on my journaling. I have briefly re-capped our days in my daytimer and when I get a (rare) quiet moment, I will type them up and print on my 4" x 6" recipe cards.

My children love this project too. Chloe looks at this album almost every day - in fact, I have to hide it or she'll drive me nuts wanting to look at all the pictures. She has the album memorized to date, and has funny little smiles, noises, faces she makes for certain images on the page. It's adorable.

note the little hand 'helping' me turn the pages while i take pictures (why some images are blurred...had to be quick!)

[FAMILY] Capture

I may not bake my own bread, grow my own vegetables, have the cleanest house on the block (although i would love to do/have all of the above), the one thing I have done consistently since our first little nugget arrived, is taken pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I have tried my best to document my little family unit, through my lens.

Since joining the iPhone crowd last December, I have been slacking in taking my 'real camera' on our daily explorations. So out came my trusty friend, charged the battery, cleared the memory card and headed out to one of our favourite spots on the island. The Meadow. This is my favourite image captured from the day. My beauties.

Speaking of captured moments. Is anyone out there still participating in Project Life? I have managed to hang in there, and am only about a month (maybe two) behind but am hoping to have some time to myself soon to get caught up. What a wonderful project. Here's some inspiration I've been collecting to keep up the creativity and remain motivated.

xox

[NATURE] A Pox On Our House

Welcome sunshine (finally!). We've had a nasty bout of the chicken pox sweep through our house the last week or so. Luckily, the weather co-operated for most of our housebound days, and we were able to get outside and walk the mutt, explore the meadow, catch snakes and eat yummy salmon berries. Some days I feel I need to really rack my brain, to try and come up with something fun and interesting for my children...and yet, simple is always better. Who needs all this planning and stressing, when we have nature. It's the best playdate companion a mama could as for.

[MAMA MADE] Diorama Rama

Hello Friends! It's been awhile. Life with two children, is certainly taking it's toll on the productivity front in these hear parts. Let me re-phrase that: the crafting, sewing, making anything to do with me kind of productivity. It seems my crafting consists of surfing Pinterest on my iPhone while nursing Chloe. So, my boards are bursting and lovely to look at. sigh.

I did manage to get one little project completed recently. I seem to have developed an obsession great interest, in dioramas. Yup, you read that correctly. Dioramas. I'm a nerd. But seriously...aren't they too cute?!? My little girl loves carrying them around. They are fun, magical little worlds. And, they are easy and fast to make, which seems to be my kind of craft right now.

For these two, I used 2"x3" kraft jewelry boxes, scrapbooking paper, washi tape, thread, tiny plastic figurines, glue and lots of patience (these little pieces are tricky).

Leave me a comment if you are interested in a tutorial, and I will get one up as soon as the monsters my angels give me a chance.

[FAMILY] Five!!

Okay...so I'm doing this a little backwards, but these are the pictures that have made it off the memory card, so first up, the boy's fifth birthday.

My little man, turned five on April 10th this year...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! I am a mother to a handsome, smart, funny, lovely five year old. I don't know why this seems so shocking to me, but it is. It seems like just yesterday, I was holding my little nugget in my arms...oh wait it was (that's how we start each and every day...love). I can't be a prouder mama. He is one awsome kid!

The theme this year, was vintage carnival. Okay, so maybe I had a little to do with the theme, but the stuff I was finding for his treat bags etc. was just way too cool to pass up. If it wasn't for his birthday, then I would have used another excuse to pull out the puppies on unicycle bags and cards I found (seriously, they were on unicycles...how could one resist?!?)

We had our little kitchen nook set up with balloons, polka dot napkins and plates, my vintage step ladder had mason jars climbing the rungs holding candies, toys and noise makers. Rather than a cake this year, Logan requested ice cream sundaes, so I found some lovely vintage sundae glasses to house our candied toppings, and colourful plastic bowls for our dessert. Fun party hats, vintage carnival themed masks, balloon animals and bingo to boot. It was a GREAT day!!

Next year, he wants a science party. I am already sourcing ideas. I'm a geek.

[DOCUMENT] Layout + Design

So I am really obsessing over enjoying Project Life. I love that it encompasses my love of photography, documenting and design. I thought I would share with you some of the design elements and styles that I like to use for my weekly spreads.

Colour. I try grouping or manipulating my images so the colours of the photos meld well together. If I have a page that uses monochramatic imagery, then I would be sure to not mix with overly saturated images. I can accomplish this by either manipulating the images so they are all similar value, apply a filter throughout, or mix colour and black and white. It's not as tedious as it sounds!

The same rule of thumb applies to more muddy, warm images. I love using Instagram on my iPhone photos to achieve many different moods and help my images work together rather than compete. I can't help it...it's the graphic designer in me.

Documenting: I am using three simple fonts throughout to help achieve a clean and co-hesive design. I hate clutter...especially when it comes to my layouts. With this being said, however, I don't want my pages to become boring. I have put together some pretty designs to use with both a photo and some text. I use these journaling cards as a way to transition from one day to the next. I try to choose a design that works with the colours of the photos. In addition, I have created a simple border shape that I use throughout on both the photos and my journaling cards.

Another fun element, is to use a series of images to tell a story. I LOVE capturing these animated events. Here's one of Chloe trying to put on her own shoe:

Last but not least, documenting directly on the image. I like the journalistic feel this gives an image. It brings a mundane photo to life. Here's two of my favourites from last week:

Next up, some more ideas on how to scrapbook using materials you already have. Fun!

[DOCUMENT] Project Life

I came across this amazing scrapbooking project last summer and have been waiting and waiting for the new year to begin, so I could participate in Project Life. The idea behind Becky Higgins Project Life, is to document an entire year through photos and journaling. She has created a system using journaling cards and an assortment of pocket templates to house your photos. You can choose all one style or mix and match depending on your needs. I chose a simple template that houses two 4"x6" landscape pockets on the top, four 3"x4" portrait pockets through the middle and two more 4"x6" on the bottom. Two of these pages side by side (back side of the previous page and front of the next) is your weekly spread. How you decide to organize is up to you. I wanted to keep mine simple:

Rather than purchasing the pre-designed journaling cards, I created my own. I wanted them to be subtle and simple, in order for the photos to play centre stage. I am loving the way it's coming together so far.

Letter sized sleeves hold Logan's school and art work from the week - it's a great way to take note of his progress.

The last pocket of the week is a brief re-cap of our days. I try to scribble little notes in my daytimer at the end of each day or in the mornings before my babies wake up. Some people may think this is tedious, but I find great pleasure in capturing these moments and making the time to take note. I only wish I had discovered this process when Logan was born.

**UPDATE**

I completely forgot to include my Canadian supplier. I ordered everything through this company. My entire order arrived within the week and was in perfect condition. I purchased a binder, a years worth of photo pages, a deck of graph paper journaling cards and a pack of large 12"x12" folders with a pocket in the front to display the contents.

I used the graph paper for journaling, as well as, 4" x 6" index cards from the dollar store (lined and plain). You could also cut down to size (letter size or index card) ledger paper, construction paper, brown kraft paper from the role, air mail envelopes, etc. All these items are available at most dollar stores, along with page protectors and baseball card holders which are fun to use in conjunction with the 12" x 12" pages if you want to add additional photos from the week. Here's a link to my pinterest board for further inspiration. Enjoy!

[FAMILY] Bliss

I would trade a weeks worth of sunny, summer days, for just one day of honey coloured, warm, crisp, winter magic. Today was one of those days. February is one of my favourite months here on the west coast. It is probably the most diverse month of the year weather wise. It's when Vancouver becomes truly amazing...you can beachcomb in a t-shirt while the mountains are filled with fresh powdery snow. And the air...oh it smells amazing over on our little island. The salty ocean breeze mixed with the smoke from the wood fireplaces still being used for warmth is, in my mind, the scent of Bowen. It envelops you the moment you step foot on our rock. It's magic.

We spent the afternoon at a lovely beach. I have very fond memories of spending summer days with my parents and brother on these shores, jumping the huge waves from the ferries wake that travel by, searching the deep tide pools that hide in the many caverns, building forts from the endless supply of driftwood left from the log booms that tuck in here during bad weather. This beach has a difficult access, which is probably why we haven't explored it much since having children. But today, with all the fresh sunshine and energy coursing through our bodies, Logan, Chloe and I decided to venture down the steep (very steep) path and our efforts were hugely rewarded.

 

 

 

[FAMILY] Maxie the Beardie

I am excited to announce that there has been quite a bit of interest in the Nature Exchange idea. I will be putting some more thought to it and posting the details soon for the swap. In the meantime, spread the word to your friends and family near and far. Let's see if we can swap mother nature's loveliness to all four corners of this great planet!

On another 'nature note', I thought I should officially introduce our newest family member, Maxie the Bearded Dragon. Logan is the proud papa of this little lizard, and he takes this new responsibility very seriously. Every morning, he makes Maxie a fresh salad, spritzes him with water, helps me catch Maxie's crickets (could do without that part) and spends the morning snuggling him to help him warm up from a chilly night.

Bearded Dragons are found in desert and woodland areas of central Australia. They like to bask on rocks and low branches and have a calm and gentle nature which makes them a popular pet for children. They have broad, triangular shaped heads and flattened bodies, with adults reaching approximately 16" - 24" from head to tail. We feed our little guy crickets and fresh vegetables daily and when he/she is a bit bigger, we'll try some fruit as well. So far it's been fairly low maintenance other than the regular trips to the pet shop for crickets.

It's fun learning about these critters. And even more fun watching Logan fall in love with his new little friend.

[FAMILY] Goals

Goodbye 2011...Hello 2012. Started off the new year as a spectator at our annual island Polar Bear Swim (one day I'll particpate)...then celebrated with friends and this AMAZING view!

Simplify . Organize . Focus: that is my motto for 2012. I decided to throw the New Years Resolution mumbo jumbo out the window and instead think of three words that describe the lifestyle I want for me and my family.

Focus . Focus on the here and now. Enjoy the quiet moments, busy moments and just plain being. And what better way to document said moments than to participate in Becky Higgins Project Life. I am so excited and inspired to begin this project.

Simplify + Organize . I believe these two go hand in hand and span the physical and mental. I know that once I have physically simplified and organized a space in my house for example, a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and restfulness sweeps over me. I am planning on tackling this goal by systematically choosing a room in my home and purging from top to bottom, re-organizing and simplifying by ridding the clutter. First on my list is Logan's little space. Stay tuned...

I wish everyone happiness, good health and joy for 2012.