[FAMILY] Monster Party

Logan's EIGHTH (how did this happen) birthday party theme was a little out of my element this year - MONSTERS. I was finding it hard to switch gears from Chloe's beautiful Under The Sea soiree (pictures to come soon) to zombies, skeletons and gravestones. Once I started collecting bits and pieces, (and my Mom had already scooped up a ton of stuff after Hallowe'en...thanks Mom) it was really fun. We hosted this shin dig at Collins Hall - A beautiful little hall and church with a fenced in yard and small playground that was absolutely perfect and saved my house from a dozen hyper, crazy kids. Phew. And we totally scored with all the creepy decorations from a total stranger that offered up their very extensive Hallowe'en collection - gotta love Bowen for the absolute trusting kindness of strangers!

First up, the food. We had Monster Boogers (popcorn), Potato Chips (cartiledge), Ghouls (chocolate pudding and cookie crumb cups with body parts candy coming out of the dirt), Monster Blood (fruit punch), Monster Eyeballs (Oreo cookies with the top off and fuzzy peach candies with a raspberry wine gum in centre), Bag O' Bones (veggies and dip) and of course creepy zombie cupcakes.

The craft was MY FAVOURITE. And the best part...it was my own idea not Pinterest (unlike everything else). I spray painted a dozen terrecotta pots flat white so it would be easy to colour on, purchased beautiful and interesting tropical plants and a ton of fun googly eyes, monster mouth stickers, pom poms, etc. to decorate.

Once the pots were turned into MONSTER HEADS, we headed outside to the planting station and placed gravel in the bottom, followed by potting soil and then a lovely plant. They turned out AMAZING!! SO MUCH FUN!!

The party finale was a piniata filled with candy - I left this event for when the parents arrived so I would not be responsible for the hopped up candy filled children for longer than I had too!! I could not find a monster piniata, so settled for a Tiki Head - it's monstery right??

[SHOP FOXGLOVES] Packaging

Busy getting ready to launch the FOXGLOVES Etsy Shop - what a fun and exciting journey. In my usual Kirsten fashion, I am completely obsessing over it, and totally neglecting everything else on my plate (sorry house, kids, dog...). Just waiting for my boxes to arrive, then I can get some accurate shipping costs from the post office and open up my wee store.

During my quest to find the perfect box (much harder than you would think), I started thinking about how I would package my dolls for shipping which of course launched a Pinterest marathon that took up way too much time but oh such lovely inspiration.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/105882812/set-of-2-yellow-personalized-french

http://www.dreamkey.nl/a-35640349/oh-so-pretty-party/oh-so-pretty-wrapping-sheets-set-van-3/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/decor8/8142638714/

http://www.ishtarolivera.com/blog/2012/02/letter-to-a-friend-%E2%99%A5-carta-a-una-amiga/

http://www.snailmailmagazine.nl/search/label/april%20snailmail

http://www.cocogold.nl/2012/10/snailmail-inspiration.html

[DOLLS + EVENTS] Refresh Market

Just coming out of my post market haze - what a day! I've never done a market off my little rock before, and was feeling freaked out a little nervous about a new venue and a sea of strangers in a city I'm not very familiar with. Turns out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about as the day went off without a hitch and as an extra bonus, I had the nicest 'table neighbours' a gal could ask for.

The atmosphere and vibe at Refresh is always exciting. The structure is perfect as it boasts natural light, neutral finishes, high ceilings...nothing to distract from the vendors wares. There's live music throughout the day, activities for the kids and yummy food.

I added a couple more characters for this market - the Fisherman's Wife and the Lighthouse Keeper. The Fisherman's Wife features whispy white hair, a pretty cotton dress with patterned leggings, and a soft toque and cowl to keep her warm on the seashore while waiting for her Fisherman to return.The Lighthouse Keeper is a handsome gent with his perfectly trimmed white beard, tailored dark denim pants and thick wool turtleneck - ready to tackle the storm and light the way for the brave sailors.

My set up was pretty much the same as the last market I did, with the addition of another doll stand for mermaids and a lovely grey linen table cloth and geometric table runner. Once again, the typewriter attracted almost as much attention as the dolls (it is a great typewriter).

Now to finally stock the shop...

[TUTORIAL] Domed Terrariums

I LOVE building terrariums and luckily, I live in the perfect part of the globe to satisfy this obsession pretty much year round. Unlike the majority of our beautiful country, we are NOT burried in snow. In fact, we only received one day of snow this entire season and yes, it stressed me out. With that being said, our forest floors are thriving with baby ferns, moss and my newest find - Rattlesnake Plantain - a native orchid. Now that I know what it looks like, I'm finding it all over the place and decided to try it out in a terrarium.

I have posted in the past a tutorial for making these fun Little Forests using local specimens in a different array of vessels. This time around, I decided to try making a terrarium using a 'dome' to cover the plantings (in my case, an upside down vase). Here's a little DIY in case you're interested in trying one yourself.

MATERIALS

terrarium base such as a dish, cake stand, shallow bowl, garden pot base

glass dome (think outside the box)

local foliage with height - ferns, orchids, interesting grasses

moss

florist charcoal

potting soil

gravel or small stones (we used aquarium gravel)

STEP ONE Gather Materials. Take little bits and pieces of nature for your terrarium. I have had success with moss, baby ferns, violets and, fingers crossed, wild orchids.

STEP TWO Pour a small mound of gravel in centre of base

STEP THREE Sprinkle charcoal layer on top of gravel to continue building the mound

STEP FOUR Mound potting soil over gravel/charcoal layer

STEP FIVE Spritz with water if soil is dry to help keep mound together. Make a small divet in top of mound (think volcano) and carefully insert plants without toppling everything over. I used orchids, but a delicate fern would look lovely too.

STEP SIX cover mound with moss - give a good spritzing to help moss root - carefully cover with glass dome starting on an angle at one side and coming up and over plants and down the other side tucking in moss as needed. Give the glass dome a couple good twists back and forth to work out any dirt that may be between the glass and base. Clean up the base and voila - a beautiful nature vessel for your spring table.

*** NOTE ***

The base and glass dome that I used allowed for a margin between the glass vessel and the rim of the plate - I filled the gap with the same moss as in the terrarium. I found that watering this outer border of moss all the way around the dome, let water seep under the glass and wet the terrarium. We'll see what happens...

[EXPLORE] Spool Of Thread

Getting super excited for the upcoming Refresh Spring Market on April 25th!! Have a few more doll designs to get underway and then it's sew sew sew sew!!! Speaking of sewing, have you ever checked out Spool of Thread on East 15th?? It's been on my 'places to visit' list for quite some time now, and I finally got to go with my favourite lady - My Mama! And looky looky what I came home with for my birthday (thanks Mom!!!)

She (yes 'she') is a Janome 419S and is oh so pretty! She breezes through my dolls thick layers, has beautiful tension for each stitch and is super simple to use. She is certainly not light weight (my kinda gal) as her body is aluminum, which means my needle stays nicely in alignment.

Other than my gorgeous new machine, we also perused the fabrics - and oh my word...they are WONDERFUL. Anything and everything you can imagine - I was like a kid in a candy store...sigh.

They also offer sewing classes for every level at a very reasonable price - there was a class in session while we were there, and it looked like so much fun. Don't need lessons? Love to sew but have no room?? No problem, you can also rent one of their lovely Elna's, and use their cutting tables (my only problem would be I'd bring my own fabric then change my mind and end up buying something else...it's just too tempting!).

[FAMILY] Hazel

What do you get when you cross the majestic Maremma Sheepdog with a Golden Lab?? This sweet little girly - meet Hazel, our 8 week old pup.

Hazel and her siblings were born in Fruitvale, BC - a little town situated in the Kootenays near Nelson - on December 4th 2014. She made the long journey to Bowen Island last weekend with Geoff and Logan...what an adventure.

She loves snuggling Chloe at home and in the car.

She loves to 'help' me garden.

She loves hangin' with Logan and his pals and snuggling up on his lap after a long and busy day. She's just lovely. Now if only we could curb this puppy biting so Chloe can freely walk around the house without her ankles being chewed off...advice anyone...?!

[EVENTS] Resfresh Market

So so so excited to announce that FOXGLOVES Lovely Lads + Lasses will be participating at the 2015 Spring Refresh Market in Squamish. This lovely event is held biannually at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park and features both handmade and vintage goods from local folks. So mark your calendars and make the trip up the Sea to Sky and visit me on APRIL 25TH 10AM-5PM.

original photograph from www.refreshmarket.ca

Here's a link to last years market that I attended with my Mama - can't believe I'm going to be a part of it this year...or at least I will be if I get my butt to the sewing table!!

[DOLLS] Tick Tock

We're entering the last lap of preparing for the annual CSA Craft Fair - the pressure's on...so why don't I feel it?! Normally, at this stage of the game, I'm freaking out - what was I thinking...how am I ever going to finish...who wants my kids...but nope, not this year. I am loving every moment of creating these little personalities. I've never made dolls before, and I'm hooked...completely in love with this new found obsession (and yes...it's turning into that).

The goal is to have 40 dolls ready...I'm more than half way. Wish me luck!! And good luck to all you other crafters out there that are tackling the craft fair scene this season.

[EXPLORE] Fall Treats

FALL...glorious, glorious fall. Kids are back in school, warm sunshine mixed with crisp salty air, wood fires, fog horns and a sea of autumn leaves. This is my favourite time of year on our little island. Sure the long summers days are nice, but there is just something so magical about this seasonal change that awakens the natural hunter gatherer in us to prepare for the inevitable winter. Woodsheds are being filled, chimneys cleaned, gutters emptied, harvests preserved and every minute of our limited sunshine used to the best of our ability.

This was our first true fall morning, and we filled it to the brim with our friends.

Frog hunting, spider studies, fuzzy caterpillars and a lily pad filled lake started our day. Beautiful light, warm translucent reflections and skipping stones were on our agenda. Dense forest trails, holding hands, running, jumping and skipping the entire way - that's how we roll.

Lunch on the water, a walk on the dock, icecream and a new little addition to our windowsill.

Home to our happy chickens, clucking and scratching their way through the yard for bugs and other tasty treats. Admiring their beautiful colours in the sunlight and giving them a little cuddle before heading in to continue sewing my dolls for the annual Christmas craft fair. Perhaps one more outing before dinner...