My creative space: Angels and trying to make bendy dolls

It's been pretty quiet here on the blog lately, I hope you didn't think I was forgetting about you? I've just been mostly sick for the past couple of weeks, but now I'm on the mend. Though I wasn't updating the blog much, it doesn't mean I was laying down doing nothing.

While I was clearly ignoring some household chores, I still found the time (and inspiration) to be creative. I have my priorities straight, don't I? ;)

I made these beautiful little angels for a swap I am participating in. I was inspired by a lace trim that I found at the thrift store and was going to add it to them, but the trim was too wide and I couldn't make it fit. None the less, that's where the vintage-y inspiration came from for them, and I love how they turned out.

I made a signing one,
And the others are simply smiling, peacefully :)

They were so much fun to make, and a huge hit with my daughter... I had to make a fourth one for her. She really, really wanted one!

In between making the angels, starting a mitten Christmas garland for my friend Myriam, starting on a dream catcher for my daughter (as she often has bad dreams), and making a couple other things to add to my yet to be opened Etsy shop, I found the time to try something I had been wanting to try for a long time now...

A bendy doll!

I haven't fixed her hair into place yet, and still need to give her a face, but I'm pretty pleased with how she turned out! What do you think?

So there you have it. You're all caught up on my creations! Now I better go and catch up on everything else that needs to be done in my house since I'm starting to feel better.

Have a Happy Monday!

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Got a cold or flu? Make Elderberry Syrup!

Last week, just before I got sick, I stumbled upon a video from Mountain Rose Herbs that shows how to make some Elderberry syrup. This syrup is said to be great for both helping to prevent and treat colds and flus.

Only a couple days later, I was sick with a really sore throat. Little did I know at the time, that it was strep and not the flu, but I made the syrup anyways. There is lots of honey in this syrup and as you probably know, honey can really help with sore throats as well.

I got my son to help me measure the ingredients and then I let it simmer down. The result was this beautiful, deep and rich syrup you see above. I can even get my kids to take it, which is great. We've been sick so much since fall, it makes me feel good that I can get them to take something that will help boost our immune systems. It's natural, healthy and homemade to boot. Remedies don't get much better than this!

Here is are the ingredients, but just watch the video to see how simple it is to make!

Elderberry Syrup

• 1/2 cup dried elderberries
• 2 cups water
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 Tbsp grated or chopped ginger
• 1 cup raw local honey

Note: I have not been paid by Mountain Rose Herbs to review their products, or to speak about, or even share their video and recipe. I am simply sharing with you what I found. It's been working for us so far, and I really prefer natural remedies to store bought ones. Just know that I am not a Doctor though, just a mom ;)

Baby it's cold outside!

Last weekend, we went away to visit family (about a 5 hour drive) and had a great few days. The difference in weather between here and there can be vastly different sometimes, even in such a short distance. Something to do with all the mountains of Alberta.

By the time we got home, we realized we missed the first snow fall of the year, as the ground was covered by a thin blanket of pure white snow. But it wasn't the last one. Since then, it's snowed, and snowed, and snowed.

And by this morning, this is what it looked like when I was standing beside my car.

It's -15 Celsius today (that's 5 Fahrenheit), and it's going down to -19 Celsius (that's -2 Fahrenheit!!) for the next few days!!

There's something so calming about cold winter days though. Life had gotten so insanely busy here, and I was trying to slow our pace down, without really succeeding though. Then I got sick earlier this week with a high fever and a very sore throat (I think it was strep or something like that). But I am not complaining. It forced me to reduce the pace. I caught up on lots of sleep and even made a natural cold and flu medicine yesterday (more on that soon).

I love the winter rhythm! And of course, there is something to be said about how beautiful everything looks :)

A touch of nature and a new addition

After the business of Ashton's birthday, I found myself with a nice quiet day and a clean house on Sunday. My kitchen table looked particularly bare (which does not happen often, as I am very disorganized most of the time, but shhh, don't tell anyone ;) . It usually has a pile of papers, or a WIP, or the centre of the table is held hostage by my large bowl of fruit. And most times, it's all of the above. But not Sunday. There was nothing at all on it. And I decided to add a touch of nature to it. So I topped my jute placemat with a small wooden bowl where I put my handmade rolled beeswax candle surrounded by acorns and tiny pinecones. And I added another candle, because one can never have to many candles ;)

Next, I thought that those two pomegranates would be a great addition to a centre piece while they are waiting patiently to be eaten. They are such perfect colours for fall decor, don't you think?

Then, right before supper, I decided I really needed to make a new gnome, but one that I would keep. I had been seeing little gnomes with toadstool hats here and there on the blogsphere and Etsy, and thought, I can make this! Next thing I knew, I had my very own toadstool gnomie.

And you want to know what? I love my arrangement so much that I've been making a real effort not to pile things on the kitchen table since. (I know, I know, it's only been a day, but I'm telling you, it's big, lol)

There's something so pretty and calming about the simplicity of it all. Now, if I can just tackle other corners of my home in this way, I'd be all set! lol.

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Harry Potter birthday and traditions

It was a busy couple days here. Ashton turned 6 on Friday, and his party was the next day. If you've been following, you know that he wanted a Harry Potter birthday. And a Harry Potter birthday it was!

See this picture? That's not just Hedwig, Harry's owl. Would you believe me if I told you that was Ashton's birthday cake? I kid you not!!

My insanely talented friend Myriam (same girl who made the beautiful and delicious chai cake for my birthday), made this one as well. All I told her is that it was a Harry Potter theme. She came up with the design and my gosh, did she ever deliver!! (you can find her here.)

I've always been a procrastinator, so in my true spirit, I waited until the night before the party to start making the 8 Harry Potter wizard inspired wands for the kids.

When it comes to arts and crafts, I am usually better at copying things that I see. I'm not very good at coming up with something and executing it. But I had a vision for these wands. I knew what I wanted them to look like. And to my surprise, they came out exactly the way I wanted them to. They are all unique in design, and slightly varied in colour as well.

I am so proud of how they came out! What do you think?

But something I am more proud of, is my son. He just turned 6, and he is such a caring and thoughtful boy. I am so proud of the amazing person he is growing up to be!

This year, I decided to add a new birthday tradition. The felt birthday crown. It is something I've been seeing ever since I first heard about Waldorf education and all the wonderful traditions, crafts and toys. Some of those influences have been making their way into our lives, and the birthday crown is something I've been meaning to add.

I was really glad that he went along with it :)

Another tradition that we've had for the past few years already, is that my kids always give each other presents on their birthday's and Christmas. As much as I love handmade, it's pretty much always been bought. I am planning on making more of an effort for this Christmas and have them craft something for each other. But no matter what it's been, it seems that the present from the other sibling is the one they seem to look forward to the most.

Her, excited to give her brother something she picked herself.

Him, finding out what she picked, specially for him.

And the gratitude showed after, is always something like this.

They don't hug each other often anymore it seems, so I'm glad I caught this on camera :)

Ashton was very excited about his HP Lego's, but I'd like to direct your attention to the dramatic little girl in the background. I don't know why she did that at that particular moment, but I had to share with you, because this picture cracks me up!!

Fun with his crystal mining kit. And lots of silliness.

Then the next day, came the party with friends. It was a fun theme to work with. I had tried to make silly putty for the kids, as a party favor, but it didn't quite work out. Ashton wanted to keep it, said it looked like guts (his words), so we decided to put it in a jar as a prop. I was able to use some things I had around the house, purchased the feathers from the dollar store, and used some Halloween decorations we had on hand (aka the eyeball balls in the jar). I mean, who knows what wizards use in their potions, right?!

I made a simple batch of "dirt play dough" and added some critters and that was part of the loot bag, instead of the ruined goop.

I heard it was a hit! (Recipe found here).

Ashton had a great birthday and loved his party. He says it was his best birthday yet. And I think I might have to agree. It might be a long time before I can top off this birthday and party, but in the end, it's not about topping off each year after year.

It's about time with family and friends. About instilling new traditions, and keeping old ones alive. That is what I love the most, and I hope my children grow up with that same love for what really matters :)

But can I just say as a side note, it was really hard cutting into this cake to eat it! You would have had quite the laugh to see me struggle cutting it. Maybe he looked too real, or just too cute to cut.

Do you have any special birthday traditions that you have in your family? I'd love to hear about it!

Linking to:

{this moment}

Turning 6

{this moment} - (inspired by Soule Mama) A Friday ritual. A single photo - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Harry Potter birthday (Part 2)

As mentioned in this post, my son requested a Harry Potter party for his 6Th birthday, and I am more than happy to do this for him. What a fun theme this is to work with!

This weekend, this is what I worked on. Little Harry Potter pegs to give to the kids as loots.

I don't know who started the whole loot bag thing, but I really dislike it. I could really vent on the subject, but I'm going to refrain. Anyways, I decided that I was not going to buy anything for the loot bags this year, but simply make everything. And I'm keeping it simple too. So these little Harry's are one of the two things going in the bag. Aside from the bag, each child will get to take a wand home as well, but they will get to play with them during the party. I just haven't tackled the wand making part yet.

I found my Harry Potter peg inspiration here. They proved to be much harder to paint then I thought they would be. Especially the glasses. I much prefer to paint Waldorf inspired peg people, like the little ladybug I made for my daughter, or even the astronaut and aliens I made for a friend's little guy (I should post the picture sometime).

Anyways, I think they still turned out ok. I think they will do. Especially since Ashton saw them already and was very impressed. He says he loves the ties. I do too.

Now, if I could just get those wands started...

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Juicing for the good of it

A few days ago, I decided to dust off, I mean, take out, my juicer. To be honest, I hadn't used it in a long time. *Shakes her head in shame* We had all (the kids and I) been sick for the past month, off and on, in one form or another, from colds, flu's, double ear infections (twice) and tonsillitis. At one point, enough is enough.

Juicing is one of the best way I know to get pure nutrients in your body quickly. I had some carrots that needed to be used that day, so I decided to make a simple carrot-apple juice for the kids and I. We made one batch (which made 1 cup) and the kids drank all of it minus the one sip I had.

My daughter really surprised me, because she's always refused juice from the juicer in the past. This was the first time she drank any, and she finished her glass! And then, Ashton asked for some more, so I happily obliged.

Out of that second cup, I got none. He drank it all!

Carrot-apple juice

1 organic apple (I used Gala)

About 2 handfuls of organic baby carrots or 2 small carrots

Note: when juicing, it's especially preferable to use organic produce, as all the nutrients get concentrated in your glass of juice, so will the pesticides. If you don't have organic produce, just take the time to peel it :)

Put half of your apple through the juicer, then the carrots, then the rest of the apple. It's nice to finish with something juicy, that way, you make sure to get a little extra out of your carrots that may still be stuck in the juicer, therefore, more nutrients and less waste :)

Enjoy!

I think this will be a great time to start making juicing a regular part of our lives. Keep the momentum going, especially with the kids. I'll just have to make more next time so I can have some too:) And it's also a great way to keep the sun shining in our bodies, as we head into winter and get knee deep in the cold and flu season.

Prevention is the best medicine!