“He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out whose naughty or nice”…on day 4 we are making a Naughty & Nice sign. I bought a naughty and nice sign a few years ago at Target (while they made their brief appearance in Canada), but someone naughty broke it. So I made a new one and pointed at the naughty party.
DIY
Christmas Crafting – Day 3
On the third day of Christmas my true love made for me…JOY. For a few years I have been photographing my friends and their families for Christmas. I make props and setup photo areas in my house. I made these JOY letter last year for the photoshoot, after which one of my kids broke the J. Which promoted me to yell “stop breaking my JOY”.
Christmas Crafting – Day 2
On the second day of Christmas my true love made for me…A Santa pillow. I saw one of these in a store and it was more than $50.00, which is a little out of my snack bracket for a Christmas pillow. Knowing that I had 2 red cushion covers and inserts at home I figured that I could whip some up for a fraction of the cost. I am adding the stores where I got the supplies not because they are sponsoring this post but because if you want to make these it is advantageous to know where to get supplies.
Christmas Crafting – Day 1
For years I have been doing the 12 days of Christmas crafting, and will continue this year too. The 12 days of Christmas Crafting historically has been a mix of crafts, decorations and baking ideas. This will be year number 4, so there is quite an archive of ideas already on this blog and each day I will throw in past years projects as well. Let’s kick off this year with the First Day of Christmas my true love made for me…Pom Pom Ornaments.
Capilano Suspension Bridge
I mentioned in my last post that we traveled to Vancouver as a family for a week. My husband had a conference and I though that it would be a great time to take the kids and spend some time playing tourist. We went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge on the last day of our trip after spending three nights in a hotel as a family of four. It was just what I needed after spending most of the week inside hiding from the rain.
Vancouver Aquarium
My “Making A Life” philosophy to living includes creating a homemade life but it also embraces making memories. When my husband announced that he had a conference in Vancouver I took the opportunity to invite myself and the kids along for the week. I firmly believe that learning happens everywhere, so I have no qualms about pulling the kids out of school for a few days for educational field trips of my own design.
Remembrance Day
As I was making Christmas Sock monkeys (on a Saturday night after most of a bottle of wine) I got to thinking that if the socks had meaning the monkey would be more than just a decoration. My mind went on a bit of a spiral and I ended up thinking about the family from my son’s class that lost their dad & husband. The father was a member of the Canadian military and died on leave on the way home to see his family.
Before I sound like a complete nutter, we see this family everywhere, our kids are the same age, they go to school together, our youngest go to a play group together and our kids have swimming lessons together. So in the school yard bright and early Monday morning I approached the mom. I told her that I was thinking about them on the weekend and I explained my idea about turning her late husbands socks into sock monkeys for her kids. It was a slightly awkward conversation because I was asking for her late husbands socks and I have no idea how that conversation can be anything but awkward, but she brought me the socks a couple of days later.
When I started working on the sock monkeys I was in tears because one of the socks had pink paint on the toe and heel which I later confirmed came from painting their daughter’s room. As I worked on these monkeys I thought about my own family and how I can’t imagine the pain of this family and the strength of the mom. It’s my hope that these monkeys bring them comfort. I know that she was going to save them and give them to the kids for Christmas which made me very happy.
In addition to my own Grandfather who we affectionately called Poppy, I will be thinking about this family and all of the others that serve and have served our country on Remembrance Day.
Soc-tober
October is the month that the wool socks come out. I don’t like wearing socks, I am convinced that it’s genetic. My dad has gone so far as buying a place in Florida so that he doesn’t have to wear socks year round. I don’t blame him. My youngest doesn’t like socks either, he wears them only when leaving the house and even that varies. We got to preschool the other day and he was wearing one lonely sock. His version of a compromise I am sure.
6 Years for Better or Worse
Historically October has been a big month for my husband and I. We met 10 years ago in October, 9 years ago in October I moved across the country to live with him, and 6 years ago we got married not once but twice in October. October is our month. We got married legally in Victoria on 10/10/10, which is a very convenient date to remember. We then got married in Mexico on October 28 surrounded by friends and family.
I have become a celebrator, I celebrate everything post brain tumour. But a wedding anniversary that is a super big deal. Being married is hard, which is why I think that there is so much divorce. It’s hard to stick through the “for better, for worse”times and still love each other. We have had our challenges but we are still making the choice to show up and that deserves a celebration!
Spider Web Cookies
I love Pinterest, I pin lots of projects and even make some. BUT it’s very misleading. That whole perfect pinterest thing is a bit much, even for a devout maker like me. Most of my projects look decent, but that is often after many tries, 20 years of crafting experience, and photography skills. I have been hooked on watching the Sweet Ambs Cookie baker on Facebook, and her videos make cookie decorating look so calming. Just a little wiggle here, and a jiggle there and the cookie masterpiece is complete.
Making A Life 