bringing it all together thanks to Brother printers.

as many of you know, a couple of weeks ago we played along with ali edwards and her week in the life project. this week we are bringing it all together with some help from the wonderful team at Staples. they had contacted me a while ago to ask if i wanted to try out one of their Brother printers - the Brother MFC-J6510dw Wireless Colour Inkjet all-in-one Printer to be exact....um....yes please!!!
and this, i thought, is the perfect project for it's initiation.

now it may come as a shock to many of you that i may be a little bit cheap. ha! no...i bet quite a few of you knew that! now that being said, over the past couple of years i have come to realize the value in the upgrade. i used to buy tony one $20 backpack year - then three years ago there was a well known brand one on for $70 so i thought maybe this would last longer? bingo. three years later and still going strong.
see - value in the upgrade.
this is true here as well. i would always go for the cheapest printer that had just what i needed and that was good enough for me. when staples asked me which i wanted i was presented with two options - one higher end and one low - and after careful consideration went for the higher end because i knew that without a review or knowing someone who had it, i would never splurge on it because of the extra expense. is it really that much better than the one i already have? am i really going to get my money's worth? also i am starting to think - don't i deserve better than just good enough?

my advice: splurge.

IT. IS. AWESOME!!!

now i am not a professional reviewer by any means but i am one to celebrate and spread the word like wild flowers when i find a great product....and i found a great product.

after a couple of tries and maybe some light choice words {!} we were up and running. it's unbelievable! the most start-your-own-command-center-but-i-still-look-great-in-your-home device i have ever seen! {yes, of course there is a random stuffed penguin on my table...what? there isn't one on yours??!!!}

it can scan, print, fax, copy {like a lot at one time!}, print photo's right from a memory card - there's a slot right in the front!! - IT'S WIRELESS {in my head that was said like stephan from saturday night live!} and since it's home will be the basement that's a good thing for me, and it could probably make the coffee as well if i took the time to find that command.

for me, though, it's all about the photo's. i wanted something that can help me to stay on top of some of my photo projects rather than always relying on uploading them and then going somewhere to pick up my prints. now i am not going to do everything on here - let's get serious...i am still am cheap!! but when i am doing, say my december daily this year, i can get most of it done right away with this little baby rather forget about it and have it still looking a me 9 months later begging me to finish it!!
yep, guilty party over here on that one. i should probably get on that.....

well, no more my friends! we have no more excuses - we are going to be caught up and looking sharp! just look at the quality of these photo's:

i printed those! on this!!
can you tell i am excited?? i have had the worst luck printing photo's in the past - this time they came out so awesome! i never knew a printer would get me this excited. maybe is the ease in which it came together or the fact that i am going to be more organized thanks to this amazing machine? what ever it is, i am thankful and hooked.
aren't you excited too??

i am off to finish my album and i'll share it here next week.  maybe seeing how fabulous it is will inspire YOU to go and get one of these for yourself and document a week in your life.
it's so worth it.

thanks staples for giving me the opportunity to test out this awesome printer! you guys rock!!

blurb.

i don't know if you know but i love documenting. i have done some here and here and even played along here. and also this blog - a virtual scrapbook to my kids & husband about them and our life. love documenting. love telling our story in photo's and love photo's. we have over 25,000 documented in our ten years as a family. yikes i know. digital is the best thing that has ever happened. i was an avid film snapper as well but the costs at the end of the day were astronomical! ridiculous.
digital has definitely fueled the fire.
also most of the art in our house is family photo's captured to gaze at for years to come.

i have a crazy inclination to document everything in our life.

through this site and that one i stumbled upon photo books. beautiful glossy books produced by someone else to capture the essence of something. an experience. i love coffee table books that feature professional photographers images. the hard covers. the gloss. the beauty.
never did i think i could make one myself. never!

slowly but surely these companies that allow you to do such a thing are popping up. but they are all in the states. of course. nothing cool is ever in canada.....

YES THEY ARE!!!!

i found the company, blurb, a few months ago through elise's blog and i decide i had to have one. so i began exploring their site, seeing what their international shipping prices would be, what coupon specials were currently on the table and could i justify this in the end. in my travels through the fine print i stumbled upon something so exiting that i have to share it with you today.....THEY HAVE A DIVISION IN CANADA!!! there is no international shipping. there is actually something cool to order here and it's affordable!!!! i don't throw this around alot but - OMG!!

we had such an amazing new year's day and took some gorgeous photo's and i knew i wanted to create our first book from this day. i went to their site, used there book making software and by the end of the day i was done and it looked pretty perfect. it took me a while as i played around with the layouts - adjusting the box sizes, customizing the pages to suit us, going over it and over it. but you could be done super quick - it really is no muss no fuss. you just drag and drop your photo's. you can write text as well if you want. i choose not to. i just wanted the photo's to tell the story. and you if read it from front to back you see it. the story of the day is there.
and i think it's a pretty cool one.

{you are welcome to check out our entire book electronically here.}

happy book making!

the bonus: from now till the end of the month save 15% on your Blurb Photo Book purchase with the code SPRING15OFF. This offer is good for 15% off your product total up to a max discount of $150 USD, CAD & AUD, or 100 Euros. Each code may only be used once per user and on books made by you.  Offer expires at 11.59pm (local time) on March 31st, 2013. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offers, volume discounts or retroactively applied to any previous orders. 

Please note : this is NOT a sponsored post, but links throughout are affiliate links which means if you buy a book through one, I will make a small commission on that sale. Thanks! And have fun bookmaking!!

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while i was getting all hooked up with blurb I discovered a wonderful new site called Craftsy! Craftsy is the #1 spot for online crafting courses from the best instructors from around the world. They have courses in cake decorating, jewelry making, quilting, sewing, baking and more. Craftsy also offers free mini courses and great deals on craft supplies and patterns from indie designers. Check out Craftsy today and let me know what you think!
I am so excited to take some classes - i am already signed up for the bag making mini course and i have my eye on the gardening ones! i can't believe i never knew this was out there!!!!

happy crafting!

hanging prints in the dining room...finally!

so here we go..another post about the house. what was that i said the other day? that i won't really post about our house here? and now another so quick? i might have to eat my words!!! because i was going to tell you about our new and improved entrance way soon as well! ha! maybe it's the fact that we have been here almost three years and it's not where i want it to be? hmm...

okay so today i have a confession to make.
when it comes to hanging pictures {or anything!} on walls that we took a while to paint and look all crisp and clean, i am a bit of a nervous nelly!
i really take my time because i hate screwing up and seeing random nail holes which reveal my rush and tell my story of oops to others.
this is just how it is.

that's why it took over  year for me to hang anything in the dining room. {and for the record we still have nothing in the living room and my freshly painted tv room is still naked as i need time to lay out our photo's that were in there, pair them down, choose what's right and do it once.}

i decided last month though that enough was enough. we had to do it. it looks like an unpersonalized show home in here. just a little bare.
i got these amazing prints from eva juliet last year and have been mulling over and over what i was going to do in here. where i eventually hung them was not their originally thought out place when they arrived but one day i just decided that that was where they were going to go - it hit me like a thunderbolt. i also decided that enough procrastinating was done on the situation and that action was needed.

so i took action.

first though i had to "live" with it for a day. this way i would know if my decision was right and be happy with it from this day forward.{please do not judge me by my light fixture...it's coming down soon and another like the one in the living room is going up...it's just that whenever it seems like i have the money aside it's needed for somethings else more pressing! all in good time i guess!}

i cut out three pieces from the flyers {yes i could have used plain paper i realized afterwards but the flyers were at my finger tips.} that were the same size as my pictures and punched in a hole where the nail would go.

then i taped them up with painters tape, leveled them and spaced them accordingly. i think i changed the around three times that day.

after living with this for the day and liking the position i hammered in a nail through the flyer in the prepared hole, ripped them down and hung my prints.

for the first week i have to admit the space felt busy as it is a small nook - i am trying to define the space and since tony won't do some board and batten for me i am going another route - but now i love it and can't imagine the space without them!

i have also decided it's the tables fault why the space seems awkward and a round one would suit the space much better.

;)

there you go - my simple diy!!

this place is really starting to come together and since we have decided that we are going to live here for at least another five years {excluding if there is a transfer} i really want to get it "done" this year so we can enjoy it! {in reality though...is it ever done?}

going to tackle the stairwell and tv room next week - wish me luck!!!

made.

i think you have to sit down for this.
i have a confession to make.
a BIG one.

contrary to popular belief.......not all brilliance comes from me.
there are many people who influence what i do and what i have done around my home.

there - i said it.
shocking i know.

take a moment and let these words sink in. i know what you are now asking yourself "how can she be so bold?! how can she reveal herself to us like this?".
well i am turning over a new leaf.
i am letting you in on a glimpse of things i have made of others. influences i have had over what i have made for myself and our home.
things i have found via pinterest or my close circle of amazing bloggers.

toilet roll owls.

these guys are so cute! when i saw this post from babble i knew this was one for us forsure. i have been hoarding all of our used rolls from toilet paper and paper towels and this was a perfect fit for the toilet ones. the paper towel rolls are destined to be spotting scopes......{more on that later!}

art display wall.

when mary lauren brought this to my attention i was floored. i had a wall screaming to be a part of this and only one thought came to my mind...why hadn't i thought of this? because i am not the genius that is mary lauren. that's why. {her's of course is way better than mine!!}

ruffled aprons.

okay so i have to reveal my blog crush to you all...it's meg from whatever. i love everything she does! i LOVE her craft house...just read that again...yes she has a craft house! it's all white & colours and homemade and just plain wonderful. she hosts craft weekends about once a month for a group of 12 women {picked by lottery} and they make the most amazing things. she has inspired me with so many things & one of them are these aprons. she has kept the secret to them, out of respect for the women who attend the weekend, but i made my version for me and my gals. i have such mad respect for this women that i will keep my secret too. i hope one day to make the trek to her home in kansas to participate in all the fun!

mason jar soap dispenser.

creating things with mason jars, other than filing them with food, seems to be all the rage. so, of course, i had to jump all over that action as well. there was probably a tutorial somewhere on pinterest {where i was bombarded with all the ideas} but i didn't follow them. i took a nail to the top and just kept hammering this i had a hole big enough to accommodate my spout {borrowed from a plastic dispenser...thank you.} i trimmed the hose {?} to fit on the jar et voila! done. i did at first glue the spout to the top but the water from people's hands made it come loose and i haven't found anything else strong enough. it seems to stay in though without it - i'll try again later......


so that's it for now!
maybe next time i will let you in on some of my favorite recipes {the ones i haven't tweeked myself!}

this weekend i am planning to stick close to the homestead and finish up things and put things away.
that's the plan anyways.
what are your plans?

happy weekend!!

xo

ordinary to extraordinary.

making the ordinary.....

extraordinary!!

lately i have been going room to room making list of things to change or update. when i see that major power tools or expertise are needed i make a list for Tony. when i see a job that i can very well perform i make a list for me.
in here it was all me.
i have been going for those little homemade touches lately and have loved them. {i'm toying with an idea for a handmade tree for christmas - a second house tree - but that's a topic for another time...}
so in here my little eye floated upwards and my heart screamed yes!

the plain old ikea canopy was screaming for some frosting.
a little whimsy.

immediately i had a plan.
a little girls room + amazing fabric = perfect whimsy.
i was on the right track.

this summer i became obsessed with bunting. multi- patterned fabric bunting. i hung some here. and some here. and i even made some for here.
so...why not put some in here?
for my birthday i got a new sewing machine and have definitely given in a workout. isn't that what presents are for? to get what you want and use it all the time? that's what i thought too.

to me this bunting gave it the right touch and makes me smile.
and aydan was pretty excited about it too.
someone once told me that bunting makes you happy.....i tend to agree.

and house......this is just the beginning!

canopy transformation know-how:
okay i have to confess something here....
i am crap at step by step.
i tried to take photo's as i went but the brilliance of some does not translate to me.
so...i am just going to talk to you about it. is that okay? will you not hate me in the morning?

okay, let's do this!

first thing you need is the canopy. head over to ikea, grab one, grab a new sofa as well because we are heading in to the tv room next ;), then come back and we will go on to the next step.
don't worry i will wait................................

back? okay. so IF you are no where near an ikea some mosquito netting and some kind of hoop will work. drape the netting over the hoop, attach it and attach an s hook in the center top and hang.

step 2: measure around the hoop for the length of ribbon you will need and give your self another half of that {divided in two} for extra on either side.
now make a template out of white card stock of different styles of triangles and tape to the underside of your ribbon, hold up and see which style you like best. choose your style and let's get moving.

now pick your fabric, iron them out and cut out your triangles using your template.
once all your triangles are cut, arrange them in some sort of pattern. i decided to sew my triangles on but i also ran a double sided tape dispenser along the back to adhere my fabric to the ribbon so i eliminated to use for pins in my ribbon. less hole marks.

sew your fabric to the ribbon. you have made the bunting! now attach the bunting to the netting. i have to confess something here - i wish i had some amazing method to tell you about how to attach this and you all could sit back in awe. but that is not going to happen. i ended up taking it with thread every three triangles but then by 2/3 way through i got so frustrated that i ran the tape along the back and pressed it on. i know i know - not what you want to here but that's how i ended up doing it.
the tie the backs together to give it a nice finish.

now on to the stars.....

to give it just one more touch i went ahead and made some stars so aydan could lay in bed at night and gaze at the stars.

these were super simple.
lay two pieces of yellow felt together, trace out a star on one side and cut out the stars - both pieces at once. if you use a black sharpie cut just inside your marker and you will see it...as i found out!
next cut som ribbon the length that you want them to hang. dot a little glob of hot glue at the op inside of your star, press your ribbon into it and press your two sides together.
now you can do one of two things. you can glue your edges together or you can sew them. i sewed and i stuffed. you do not have to stuff if you don't want to. just run your stitch around et voila! if you do decided to stuff - run your stitch from side of the outside bottom to the other. {you are reversing and securing your stitch everytime you go on and off right?} now stuff in your stuffing. once you have enough in there pin the bottom closed and stitch up the rest. using your fingers smoosh around the stuffing so it get's to all corners of your star. run some white glue around the outside edge and coat with glitter. let dry. attach safety pins to the top of your ribbons, pin to the underside of your canopy. lay down, admire your work and gaze at the stars.

**my next plan for this is to wrap a string of clear small twinkle lights on white string - when it's FINALLY unpacked at the stores...i have already been to three stores looking and my unpatientness is showing - around the hoop on the inside so at night it REALLY is like gazing at the stars. just remember: do not leave them on unsupervised....but i didn't need to tell YOU guys that, did i?

our "thanks"-giving tree

when it comes to holidays i am all about tradition tradition tradition.
but.....
i also like to throw in something new every year.
be it a craft. a food. an act. i like to mix it up.
some catch on and become new traditions. some were nice to do once.
i think we have found a new tradition.

this year we made a thanks-giving tree.
it all started with a walk to make a centerpiece.
we had gathered tons of gorgeous leaves and my mom found an amazing branch.
the plan was to glue the leaves to the branch.
in the end...no thanks.
but it did get me to thinking.

what is the most common tradition for thanksgiving?
going around the table and giving thanks.
when it's your turn you say your thanks, the words hang there in the air for a moment before tumbling to the ground to make way for your neighbour's words.
hhmmm....not good enough for me.

i want to SEE those words.
i want to READ those words.
i want to REFLECT on those words.
i want to HOLD on to those words.
and not just mine. i want to do all that with my kids words. my husbands. my moms. my friends.
now we have the thanksgiving tree.

here is a place where you can write down your thanks on a leaf and hang it on the tree. this can be done the day of thanksgiving. this can be done for the week leading up to thanksgiving. and this can be left up for a little bit so you can cherish those thanks. love those thanks. give thanks for those words.

 

pretty special if you ask me.

what you will need:
a sturdy branch.
a hefty vase.
fall coloured contrustion paper.
a hole punch.
twine.
willing participants.

pretty simple really: find your branch. secure your branch. cut out leaf shapes large enough for words - i cut out generic leaf and my version of oak leaves...i love the shape of oak leaves. punch a hole through the top of the leaves. cut some twine that when tied together will give your leaves a good hang. attach twine to leaves. gather all your willing participants. give thanks. hang your leaves. done.

now stand back and admire.

:)