1st Birthday Party

Ezra recently turned 1 this last February. At the same time, we were also just moving into my parent's new basement suite (yep we are boomerang kids). My parents graciously offered to allow us to host his party in their part of the house, since we had a ton of boxes in ours.

 We did lots of balloons, since Ezra loves them! We tied them all across the banister, on chairs, on toys, and above lamps. I wish I had more pictures of some of our decorations, but I kind of had my hands full.... to say the least.

I have a lot more appreciation for Pinterest after planning this party... Especially for planning the food. We wanted to have a classic kid's birthday party; no theme in particular, just lots of colours and fun food. We can always do themes for his party's later on.

A few items on the menu from Pinterest were:

Rainbow Fruit Skewers
Oreo Pops
Hummus and Bell Pepper Octopus

 

We really wanted to start a birthday tradition with our family. I found a pack of 3 foam crown from the dollar store. Each year, the idea is to add one significant item to the crown and our children get to wear their crown on their birthday during cake time. Since it was only Ezra's 1st birthday, and it was a classic party, we simply cut out a felt "E" and glued it on.

My Favorite Local Stores to Bite the Craft Bug

I've lived in the Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver area) my whole life and have scouted out some awesome shopping locations for the creative individual. Here is my list of go-to places:

Birkeland Bros Wool Ltd - (Vancouver)

Birkeland Bros is my absolute favorite place in the lower mainland to go for beautiful yarn! The staff is super friendly, knowledgeable and eager to help you out. The prices are higher but expected since the quality just can't be beat. What is amazing is that this is a Vancouver company that has been in its original location since 1939 and still run by the same family! When Jesse and I got married in 2006 I wanted to make a warm shawl (pictured above) and found exactly what I needed here.

Dressew- Downtown - (Vancouver)

I go to Dressew to get CHEAP yarns, fabric, buttons and costume accessories. They have quite the variety of crafty items at a liquidation price! The quality is fair too. I'm so glad that they take debit now! They used to be a cash only place and I never carry cash around anymore. Some of the staff are a bit unfriendly... especially when it is busy there but if you go early in the day and follow their rules (no food in the store and don't touch the scissors!) you can usually find friendlier faces if you needed help finding something in their Goliath sized store. If not, enjoy the hunt!

Opus - (Downtown, North Van & Granville Isl)

My all time favorite art store is Opus. My favorite location is their Granville Island store because I found they had the most variety and quantity of products. You might have to put up with a few nervous looking Emily Carr students but they hire the friendly ones to work in their store.

Rokko Fabrics - (East Vancouver)

Rokko Fabrics has an amazing amount of variety of fancy to casual fabrics in their store for the amount of square footage they have. The prices are great if not the best next to liquidation prices. A big bonus... no hunting because everything is very well organized.

Urban Source - (Vancouver)

Sometimes you don't know what project you are going to do next until you walk into this store. They have obscure little items like little scraps of papers, rubber, magnifying sheets, containers and fuzzy balls? Every time I go in they have something new. Its always worth checking out when I'm in the Mount Pleasant area. The best part is that most of these are being saved from a landfill.

Welk's - (Vancouver)

One of my favorite discount stores! They carry dishes, household items, toys, gardening supplies, storage bins, canvasses, pretty paper, beads and the list goes on. It is relative to a candy store... really. As far as comparing the prices to a conventional dollar store, I've found them cheaper. Plus its in one of my favorite neighborhoods: Mount Pleasant.

Capilano Rock & Gem - (North Vancouver)

Whatever level of jewellery maker you are (from hobbyist to professional goldsmith) this is a place for you. Jewelry makers from all over the lower mainland seek out this store for knowledgeable staff, great product and competitive prices. As much as I enjoy to shop online, nothing beats seeing and touching my supplies before I make a transaction. Plus, this store is family owned. 

Dollar Max - (Richmond)

There are so many dollar stores in Richmond, but the Dollar Max located a few blocks from Richmond Centre is my favorite. They have low prices, even for a dollar store, and nicer quality and variety than the others. There is something about dollar stores that make me a bit queasy (who had to suffer to offer me a huge package of popsicle sticks for $0.99?), but sometimes you just can't find your typical dollar store items anywhere else!

MCC Thrift Mart - Abbotsford

Finally a reason to go to the valley! This is the queen of all thrift stores but please don't tell anyone. Not the best for clothing, but as far as finding books, housewares, lamps and furniture (there are two building to check out one across from the other) this is the best place. I wish I had a huge house that I could fill with furniture to refinish from here. In the same building where you find the furniture they have a plethora of frames and old lamps. The ladies that work here are all volunteers and as sweet as cherry pie. All profits go to the charity... nice!




Now go shopping!

Etsy Treasuries

From time to time I have friends/family who follow my Facebook Fanpage ask me, "What is this treasury thing you featured on?"

If you aren't familiar with Etsy, it is an online market place, much like ebay, that allows members to sell and buy supplies, handmade and vintage goods. I've been buying from artists and selling my PIE jewellery line on Etsy since December 2008. Most of my experience has been very positive.
"Etsy is more than a marketplace: we're a community of artists, creators, collectors, thinkers and    doers." - Etsy . Its a great place for support and inspiration for emerging and established artists and hobbyists.

Part of the community of Etsy has treasuries: a collection of images tiled with usually a theme, curated by members from Etsy. Its a great compliment to be featured in one, just because you know that someone out there is appreciating your work enough to include it in what they think is worthwhile to showcase.

Treasuries are also listed as one of the ways Etsy suggests people to shop. If there is as Etsy member who prefers to shop this way, you are more likely to have your stuff seen if you are in great treasuries.

Another great thing about treasuries is that sometimes they will make it to the front page if enough people hype the treasury be commenting, viewing, "admiring" or "favoriteing" them.  I guess favoriteing isn't a word, but its much like "liking" on Facebook. Its kind of a no brainer, but if you sell on Etsy, you want to get on the front page. Its the first page people see when they go to Etsy.

Are you starting to get why I post and share almost all treasuries my work is in? Its mostly a lot of fun!

Here is a treasury I finished today!

Featuring : Salvagehouse, TheDrunkenWord, WillowontheWater, Orange CountyCandle, Letterpress, TheGirlintheSticks, SeeLifeShine, illusy, braggingbags, TheLonelyHeart, SeedSewn

Grab a Bowl - 10 of my Favorite Uses for Rice Bowls

Some of my rice bowl collection

While growing up, my mother would often include a small bowl of rice with dinner. There was a generous stack of porcelain rice bowls with random patterns in the cupboard: it was a beautiful sight. We used those bowls for more than just rice. “Just grab a rice bowl! ” was often heard in our hive of six. 

Before I moved out, my mom bought me my own set of four rice bowls. Over the last five years I have added to this collection. I now own eighteen (I think) and they are never all in the cupboard at the same time because I use them so much.

Source

• Prep Bowls - They are the perfect size to hold chopped veggies, and herbs. Measure out spices into a rice bowl before you add them to the big pot so there are no accidents. Its happened to all of us at one time or another, right? The salt pours out too quickly from the box or the little spice jar cover with the holes pops off and goes into the soup along with all of the jar’s contents.

• Decorating Cookies or Cakes - Pour out your sprinkles and mini sized candies into these to create easy access and visibility. To get a variation of coloured icing to choose from; separate a batch of white icing into the bowls then add food colouring and mix in.
• Dying Easter Eggs - These bowls are the perfect size to hold just enough liquid to immerse a chicken egg.
• Defrosting Baby Food - About an hour before baby’s meal sit the bowls in the sink with hot water to defrost homemade purees. Because the rice bowls are small and ceramic, they transfer the heat from the water to the food quickly.
• Portion Control - Tempted to sit on the couch with a bag of chips, chocolate covered almonds or a tub of ice cream (or all three)? Dish your treats out into rice bowls in the kitchen, then sit down.
• Night Stand Duty - Some rice bowls are very pretty too and could make a great companion on your nightstand to hold your jewelery while you sleep. 
• Vanity Organizer - Avoid chaos in drawers! Organize bobby pins and hair ties into rice bowls.
• Manicure Soak - After removing old polish and filing your nails, soften up your cuticles. Fill a rice bowl with warm water. Scent it with a few drops of your favorite essential oils and a teaspoon of grape seed oil or olive oil. Soak your digits for 5-10 minutes.
• Crafting - There are bound to be bits whatever you are into. Use rice bowls to keep your bits in or from rolling away from you.  
• Snowflakes - One of my family’s favourite Christmas traditions was to cut out paper snowflakes. We would start every snowflake by tracing a perfect circle with a pencil around a rice bowl. The size of these snowflakes are big enough to get detailed with your designs but small enough that we could put a whole bunch on one window without it looking to crowded.

I feel like my home really wouldn't really be complete without one or two rice bowls around.

Source

Baby Food - Pureed Roasted Yams

So baby food is so easy to make! Ezra has been eating solids for over two months now and I thought I would share quickly how I make his favorite puree: yams!

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Get about 4-6 regular sized yams and wash thoroughly

3. Slice each yam in half laterally

4. Lie yams faced down in a centimeter of purified water on a cookie tray
5. Bake until fork tender and you can smell and see that carmilization has occurred. About 30-45 minutes depending on how big your yams are.
6. Remove Yams from oven and allow to cool until you can easily handle them.

7. Scoop out the yam from the skins into a bowl and mash or blend depending on your child. I usually add a bit more purified water if I am pureeing it for the right consistency. 

I’ve making batches of purees like this and then freezing them for future use. How I do this is easy too.

Just spoon the puree into an ice cube tray, wrap with saran wrap and freeze overnight. Then in the morning pop them into a freezer safe container or zip bag. 

This baking method is also great for making squash purees.

I like the ice cube trays because they take up little room in the freezer. The cubes are also a really nice size. They are small enough that I can defrost what I need, rather than a whole big block. 






About an hour and a half before it is time to feed Ezra I take out a few cubes and let them defrost to room temperature in little rice bowls. I've also sat the bowls in hot tap water in the sink if I am running short of time or forgot to plan ahead (it happens). Since the bowls are ceramic they transfer the heat to the food evenly.

Once every other week I will make 1-2 new types of purees and it takes me under half an hour to make them. I like knowing what exactly is in his food. It also tastes way better than the jarred foods.

Peppa Bonding Doll

So I feel like a person again! (Mom's you know what I mean, right?)

I was getting up almost every 2 hours every night, and spending from 5pm-10pm putting our little boy to bed. It also took me at least 30 minuites to an hour to get him to sleep (by rocking and nursing mosly) during the day for 40 minute naps. We also felt like we couldn't go anywhere! When he turned 7 months... I'd had enough.

With sleep deprivation, you don't feel very creative. This is my excuse for not posting in forever. Its a good one, I know. 

From a lot of encouragement and hand holding from a few lovely mom friends (May the Lord BLESS you) ... we've got him "sleep trained". It did involve a few nights of crying, but it was less than I thought it would be. It also wasn't the crazy "I'm scared" or "I'm hungry" crying either, just more of... "I'm tired and a bit frustrated" cries.

All worth while! He now sleeps from 8:30pm - 7:00 am! Not to mention, Ezra has been eating better and has been an overall happier baby too!

I feel like I owe some of our success to is this super cute "bonding doll" we got him. It is made out of 100% cotton and 100% wool and is fair trade.

The first night we got it Jesse and I slept with it so that it would absorb our smell. The doll stays in Ezra's crib and is his little friend there. I've seen Ezra chomp on the ears, hands and feet to sooth his poor little gums (he's been cutting teeth). I'm sure it helps because we haven't had to use baby Advil or as many Camillia drops as we were.

Anywho... now with this great milestone I hope to be writing more. Thanks for reading.

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