It's December and the count down officially begins. As the month rolls by, time seems to tick faster and the next thing you know it's office parties, kids parties, schools out and you are scrambling about to get the little things done. In such times it can be easy to jump out and buy 'whatever' at 'whatever' cost. Handmade may not be your first thought but handmade doesn't necessarily mean time consuming, sometimes it can done relatively quickly and at a low cost. 

These little packages contain homemade chocolate cookies, wrapped in wax paper, packed into brown paper bags, embelished with ribbon and mini ornaments. They tasted good (you have to taste test them don't you), looked good and the total wrapping costs was $5.00. 

There you go, exhibit A on handmade done pretty quickly and at a low cost. 
These were made with co-workers in mind. What do you think, would you like them?

I've been asked a few times where I purchased the storage bins in my studio. The truth is that most of the bins are from the Dollar store. Take these for example, great little containers...6 of these babies for $2! They are frosted, stackable and the lids are white, which is my preference in my studio. Perfect indeed, especially for those small left over craft supplies that can end up pilling up or getting stuffed into a drawer and forgotten.

Take those perfect, affordable containers, add my trusty label maker and I keep those little supplies organized, identifiable and easy to find. 

Ahhhh....I love structure and order....now if only I could structure and order my toddlers!

My little boy is officially three years old. Where does the time go! With the end of summer here, my big girl saying good-bye to pre-school and prepping for Kindergarten and with my little man's party...it's been busy around here. Like many three year olds, my little one is a huge 'Cars' fan...he would probably watch that movie a thousand times if we let him. So what better theme for his party this year then Cars.

I love to throw the kids their parties but as I have said before, I try to do it using what I have and without breaking the bank. My best deal found this time around was the large decal that covered almost the entire sliding door; found it in a little run down local party shop for $5! With a little time, some bargain shopping and creatively using existing items, I think the place looked pretty good. 

The kids loved it, he especially got a huge kick when he woke up and found the house decorated with all things Cars! More importantly we were in the company of our amazing family, we celebrated another milestone and we made him smile...now isn't that really what it's all about? 

We've always enjoyed Canada Day but since having the kids, it's so much fun to go all out for them. This year I was inspired by the Oh Canada post by Squirrely Minds to make Canada Day t-shirts with the kids. The original post did it a little different but since my children are only (almost) 3 and (barely) 4, I modified things a little bit to ensure I'd get pretty close to the desired result. So here is what I did and I think it worked out well.

The next day, we hit the Canada Festivities and had a wonderful time. The kids were so good, they listened, they had fun, they walked over 4 miles (aprox 6.5 km) on their little feet (one took the stroller on the way there and switched on the way back) and we got so many compliments on their Canada Day gear most especially their shirts! It was a wonderful day and we can't wait to do it again next year! I hope all my fellow Canadian's had a wonderful Canada Day!

Oh how I enjoyed reading about all the amazing people that attended the oh-so-amazing Altitude Design Summit. The pictures and stories alone were enough to inspire me. Thankfully and much to my delight they also have the Alt Channel that provides inspiration and education all year round. I have taken a few of their classes already, Blogging 101, Advertising for Bloggers and DSLR 101. I have learned quite a bit from these classes and even met quite a few other bloggers out there that I may not have met otherwise. The classes not only opened my mind to the possibilities out there but also opened the door to networking.

I am now looking forward to the pictures and stories that will come out of the upcoming Alt NYC in August. It is going to be a one day event on the 23rd at where else but Martha Stewart Living headquarters...oh la la. Thanks to the search engine bing Alt NYC is now a reality but they didn't stop there. Thanks to bing I get to enjoy something too!

Thanks to bing the Alt Channel is offering 2 free classes to folks like me - whoo-hoo! I have signed up for my classes and am excited to expand my mind and my network even further. Alt SLC and Alt NYC may be out of my reach right now, but thanks to bing I am just a little closer. 

Check out THE BING SUMMER OF DOING and get your summer of doing started...I have!

Last year we tackled the enormous task our landscaping our own backyard. Part one was the exhausting digging, part two was putting down all the stone (and an injury) and part three was the garden wall. Before and after pics and summary can also be seen here. 

After all that work we decided to NOT do the vegetable garden we had in the plans...we were so tired! So we tackled it this year. We downsized the initial size/scale to keep more grass/play area for the kids and we also decided to use a Raised Bed Garden Kit to save ourselves from anymore digging. Found them on super sale which was a bonus! 

We purchased three kits, put them together, filled them and planted them with the kids help, all within an hours time. Bed 1: strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Bed 2: tomatoes and peppers. Bed 3: cucumber, broccoli, onions and leeks. We got carried away and even planted two grape vines. Our kids are really enjoying watching them grow and are beginning to understand that veggies don't just appear in the grocery stores or farmers market. 

We've only had one problem and that has been with strawberry theft. We quickly realized it was our very own dog who was eating all the "baby strawberries" and so now that bed is protected with netting. The dog still heads straight to that bed in hopes of finding a way in but so far the net is holding up.

Everything is doing really well, tomatoes are covered in flowers, cucumbers are budding and the leeks/onions smell so good (I am not a fan of onions). A year late in completion but now it is done and thriving. Well worth the wait I'd say.

I would love to hear or even see pics of your vegetable gardens. Feel free to leave your links below :)

For months I've been inspired by the people around me, both those I know physically and those that I may only know virtually. I have been watching these people as they take on challenges, embark on journeys and change their lifestyles completely. 

One wonderful lady I know has been working on quitting smoking, both a wonderful but difficult decision. She is making strides and although it's been a slow and bumpy road, she is happy about her progress. Another lady I meet online a few years ago, has been training to do a half marathon. I've read about her training, her improving pace times and not that long ago about her big victory day. An old friend from my single days, decided to change her lifestyle. She began eating smarter, committed to working out regularly and the changes have been obvious and fantastic.

The list continues with a member of my extended family who is embracing her passion and starting her own business. The many that I have meet online and in the Etsy community working towards the success of their shops. To finally my old friend who after struggles and obstacles is now expecting her bundle of joy. 

These people, these women, are so inspiring. Rising to the challenges, overcoming the barriers, taking the small steps that lead to the large impacts...bravo ladies and keep up the fantastic work. You are not only changing your own lives but also the lives of your friends, co-workers, families and children. Bravo!

Is was all these women (plus those that I didn't include here) that inspired this weeks print. Simple, straight forward and meant to remind us of why we set our goals and more importantly, that we will reach them.

My goal? Lose these last 20 pounds of course success with my shop.
What is your goal? What does that journey look like for you?

It's that time of year again, yup, my daughters birthday. There is something about birthdays that I love. I think a lot has to do with my family. My parents always made a big deal about birthdays, not by throwing crazy parties but by always buying a us new clothes for our day (my mom still does this for me), making sure we always had a cake, a special meal, maybe a special day trip, always waking you up with a birthday song (spanish tradition which my mom also still does via phone), and generally making the day special from morning, noon to night. 

Now that I have kids of my own I am enjoying birthdays even more. We are lucky that both their birthdays fall in warm months so we invite the whole family over, throw a nice family BBQ, play some games, bust a piñata and of course have cake. But I must confess that because I love an excuse to create and be creative...I am enjoying putting  a theme to them. Last year my daughters party was Tinkerbell inspired and my sons was Construction inspired. I don't go over the top (not even remotely close) and in fact I challenge myself is to use what I already have and limit any purchases to Walmart or the Dollar Store.

This year my daughter is into anything sparkly, she enjoys playing princess and dress up in general. So this years party will have a Princess meets Mad Hatter feel to it. I've already starting making her a princess tutu and some glamorous party hats. I will be sharing these little projects with you soon but in the meantime here is peak at her princess attire in the works. 
I have a lot to do...and I am so excited to do it. Did I mention I love birthdays? 
What are your favourite thing about birthdays?

The weather is unseasonably warm here; people are wearing t-shirts, shorts and generally enjoying this summer-like spring. People are heading outdoors, taking in the fresh air and closing their eyes as they feel the warmth of the sun on their skin. It makes me smile to see this spring phenomenon. Driving through my neighborhood I notice mostly the Mommies. They are everywhere. Packs of mommies with strollers walking, the running mommies pushing their babies along with them (I really admire those ones), a few towing their young ones behind bikes and a few walking with their little ones snuggled up in wraps. It makes me smile again remembering the early stages of motherhood. Around the corner you see another influx of mommies picking up their kids from school. Waiting in cars, waiting with strollers and even with wagons towing their younger children along with them. One block further is the high school and I see a mother and her son packing his tuba into the back of their Civic. I chuckle a little and can’t help but remember all the things my mother did for us growing up. My creative experiments, early morning rehearsals, attempts to teach me to cook, guidance, love, oh how the list could go on.

It’s truly amazing thing this thing called “Motherhood”. Mothers have the ability of being whatever you need them to be. They will remember where you should be, take you where you need to go, they can be a medic to heal your wounds, a therapist to heal your heart and feed not only your stomach but your mind and soul too.

It isn’t Mother's Day yet but why wait! Thank-you Mom. I hope that I will be able to do as much as you did for us and still do for us. Perhaps we too should get out and enjoy this weather. Mother, daughter and grandchildren going for a walk...I think this would make everyone smile.