Thursday, 31 March 2011

Delights: Giving Back

I was reading the Brooklin Crier and thought it would be a good idea to mention this upcoming event as well. It is the Baby and Kids annual fundraiser, a huge charity yard sale, with all earnings going straight to Sick Kids Hospital. The event, founded by the Archer family, started in 2009, as a way to "pay it forward" for the amazing treatment their son received at Sick Kids when he was born at just 29 weeks of gestation.

The Baby and Kids fundraiser has earned close to $20 000 in the last two years - isn't that amazing???? The Archer family looks for donations from local family's to make this possible. They accept items such as books, clothes, games, strollers, you name it! You can contact them babykidsgearyardsale@live.com , or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000742089389&sk=wall if you'd like to make a donation.

This year they are holding the event at Winchester Public School's gym - which tells you how big this sale has become. Last year the gym was PACKED with goodies of all types. It'll be held on Sat. May 28th and Sun. May 29th from 7am - 2pm both days. Take it from me, you want to get there early!

One word of advice: the prices are amazing so lets keep in mind that all the money raised is going to a great cause. This isn't the type of yard sale to barter (I saw one person doing this last year and it irked me a tad!).

I hope you go and check it out!

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Yummy Mummy

Have you checked out this site?

http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/index.php

If you remember Erica Ehm from back in the day on Much Music, you'll know the gal behind this site. This site is JAM full of things to help out moms! It has articles to help with safety, parenting tips for sleep training, things to help ehausted parents, tips for travelling, contests, blogs and so much more!

The best part - signing up is free!!!! Check it out today!

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Terrific Tot Tuesday: Duckies!!!

Any word ending in a "y" or "ies" my little guy is all over! That's why this art project was fun for all involved. I cannot take credit for this idea - I found it when I was Googling one day, and now I can't find the site again! (That teaches me to make sure I bookmark next time I find a great idea!) So here it is, Duck feet art, just in time for Spring. Take an old spatula and dip the flat side into orange or yellow paint. Then let your little guy or gal make prints of the spatula on paper. You can either glue on pipe cleaners or draw lines for the legs of the duck. And there you have duck feet. I'll post pics of Kman's master piece soon. If your little one has created some spring time art email me with pics, I'd love to post new ideas!

I also just learned about how some Chapter locations have a free craft and storytime usually on Tuesdays. I called Ajax and Oshawa and unfortunately, they don't hold this event. If you know of a Chapters near you that does, please post a comment below I'd love to know where!

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Sunday, 27 March 2011

Spring Pillows

Earlier this week I wrote about my proud purchase from Tonic Living. Here is the first wave of pillows I've made from the fabrics I got. Check it out:

Here's how I slipcovered my "winter" pillows for my spring look:



Measure your fabric with your the pillow you are slipcovering, and cut.


Make a fold on the ends that will be the envelope opening for the pillow insert. You will sew these ends as well.


I double checked how the pillow would look beofre I started sewing to be sure everything was ok.


Sew the seams you pressed, then turn your fabric inside out and sew the sides.

Stuff the pillow inside the slipcover and there you go! New pillows for the new season!
Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Intoxicating Tonic

Yesterday the babes and I had a mini road trip to Tonic Living. If you don't know what this store is, and you love fabrics or home decor, you have to check this place out. They were actually an online store and they just recently opened a warehouse. I loooove their fabric selection, and their prices. You can buy swatches for buck, buy in bulk reminents for $10, or buy in yards. I went there thinking I would have a look, but not hung up on anything in particular, style wise or colour. I walked away one happy customer. For under $30, I bought some fabric to add to some drapery in the nursery, and fabrics for my spring/ summer look for the living room. Check it out:
Spring colours for the living room!
Stay tuned for the updated drapes and the mini, seasonal changes to the living room!
Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Terric Tot Tuesday: Playdough!

My little guy is very quiet whenever I pull out the playdough bin! He loves using the different toys, pulling apart the dough, and trying to shape the dough into different forms. I am not an idle personality, so I jumped at the chance to make some homemade dough. You can find the link for the recipe here. This recipe took no time at all, and what I like about this recipe, is that it feels like the real deal, and doesn't crumble like the recipe my mom use to make for us as kids. I made a batch back in November, and as long as you properly seal the Ziploc bags, this playdough keeps very well! The great thing is, if Kman ever tries to sneak a taste, it's all natural (minus the dyes!). Try it out!

Thanks for reading

Friday, 18 March 2011

Friday's Dream: Pay It Forward

Today I was at the grocery store, and a man ahead of me offered me to go ahead because I only had a few items. This got me thinking about how there are some very genuine, kind people who still live by the phrase "Do onto others". With that in mind, I took our bags from my Spring Cleaning (up to ten now) of used clothes and donated them to the Canadian Diabetes Society.

This is a good start, but I think I can do better. With all that is happening in Japan, I feel I should do something. Perhaps it's as simple as making a donation to Red Cross. I would love to hear from you as what you have done or are thinking of doing.

Here's a great example. To help with the efforts in Haiti, my aunt joined a volunteer campaign to help gather used crutches and send them to Haiti to those in need. What a fantastic idea!

Hope this inspires you to think of how you can pay it forward.
Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Today's Doodle

Our office is my latest area to decorate and I'm "doodling" with wallpapering for the first time ever. What I've learned is there is a reason why people rarely wallpaper anymore! My wonderful aunt came and showed me how to apply wallpaper - this one wall took us close to four hours (thanks to 9ft ceilings!). But, I am loving how everything is turning out. Take a look!

I'll continue to update the decor progress in the office.
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Terrific Tot Tuesday

A little back ago I mentioned I wanted to try this art activity with Kman; you can find the link for it here. Here is the end result! Super easy, no mess and very inexpensive! Try it out! Here's how:

First, I just poured some acrylic paints onto a paper plate and watered them down.

Then I dipped the sponge I already cut into shapes, into the paint.

Then place the sponges into the Ziploc bag and sealed.

Let the "painting" begin!
The final product!
Thanks for reading!

Saturday, 12 March 2011

Spring Cleaning

I was inspired by the blog over at Clover Lane called 40 Bags Update. I don't imagine I will be as thorough as the author Sarah, but I still hope to put a dent into our house by getting rid of things we are not using and donating them. I'm on day four so far and here's what I've tackled:

1. Master Closet
2. Linen Closet
3. 5 Kitchen drawer/ cupboards
4. Upstairs nook drawers
5. Kid's bathroom

In those small areas alone I have three garbage bags full of clothes and linens to donate. I also have a box full of kitchen gadgets that we never use that I'll donate. The clean as you go though is key. Making sure I have the vacuum, and the Lysol towelettes on hand has been helpful. I'm now debating between tackling the spare room closet (a disaster zone) or the laundry room. The good thing out of this process is I'm making a mental note of the little things I would like to get to organize everything. For instance, I'd like to get small containers from the Dollar Store or Walmart to make compartments certain objects. Happy cleaning!

Friday, 11 March 2011

Friday's Dream

I think every parent dreams and hopes for a healthy child. We have had a couple of scares with Kman. The picture below is one of my favourites as it's when our little man started to feel better after one of his scares. Sometimes scary situations can put things into perspective for you, and you appreciate what you have that much more. Today we had a routine visit to Sick Kids. We are soooo lucky to have such a state of the art hospital in such close proximity. We found out today that Kman will most likely under go a routine, day surgery in the months to come. As we were leaving, we saw two kids entering the hospital in wheel chairs. Every time my husband and I visit that hospital we always remind ourselves how friggin lucky we are! Hug your little ones - they are the most precious, amazing gift you can receive!!!!!

Thursday, 10 March 2011

DIY Soother Clips

Back when I was expecting my Kman, a friend of mine had made me two soother clips using colourful ribbon, a button and a clip. Well, I finally got around to making some of my own. It was so easy. I got some ribbon from Michael's using my 40% off coupon, then got the clip form Fabricland and the velcro from Walmart. So for under $6 I had enough materials to make four of these babies - no pun intended - and I still have tons of velcro and and ribbon left over when I get more clips. Check it out!

The orange clip is the one made by a friend with a button to attach the soother.
Here's how:

1. Measure the length of the ribbon you want. Remember 2 important things: First, you want to ensure the ribbon isn't long to avoid any choking hazard. Secondly, you are sewing the bottom and top so leave yourself enough ribbon to do so.
2. I then took the clip part and wrapped the ribbon around and sewed in place.
3. For the top, I looped the ribbon around the soother to know where I wanted the velcro located. I then sewed them in their place.

And that's it - three easy steps!

Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Living Room Transformation: The Reveal

Back in January I posted pictures of our Living Room's "Before" shots. You can see them again here. And here are the "Afters"! (I'm very proud!) For under $400 I was able to create the living room I wanted. Here's how:

1. I posted an ad on Kijiji for our old couch and loveseat (they actually weren't that old, maybe 4 years old). We sold them for $400. I looked on Kijiji to replace our sofa and loveseat. There was an ad from RentWOW, a Homestaging business that sells some of there furniture to keep their inventory up to date. I got a more contemporary sofa and loveseat for $600, and by using the $400 I got for selling our old set, it only cost $200 out of pocket! Sweet!

2. The art, well yours truly did those. The two square canvasses I painted while in labour with my first babe - to take my mind off of the contraction pains! The rectangle canvas I did recently. I wanted to arrange the grouping so you got a sense of the ceiling height. The cost of the rectangle canvas, $30.

3. I had to get another "piece" for the coffee table. Again on Kijiji, I found the matching Ikea Klubbo table for sale at $35.

4. I got a side chair from Urban Barn with gift cards I was given for Christmas. The side chair was discontinued so it was on sale for 1/2 price. Even better!

5. While I was at Urban Barn, I saw the grey bowl. Well, you have to accessorize, and it went with the scheme of the room. It was on sale for $10!

6. Lastly, the cowhide, an eBay purchase! My husband and I had looked for one for a long time. We found this one on sale for $118. Not bad!

And that's it! What do you think?????

Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Terrific Tot Tuesday: March Madness

As I mentioned before I decided to focus on a green themed bin for Kman for the month of March in celebration of St. Patty's Day. As promised here is a pic. Yours truly made the green bean bags in the white bowl. From Walmart I bought green fabric that's meant for quiltting for $2, the bag of dried navy beans for under $2, and the iron on numbers from Fabricland. The numbers were about $2 each, but well worth it when you're trying to teach your little one their numbers and counting.

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

March

It's March already, can you believe it? This week my goal is to make a St. Patty's Day inspired bin for Kman. Everything in the bin will be green: green cups, green cars, green bean bags, you name it! Stay tuned for some pics to see what the green bin will contain!