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A Weekend in Ottawa: Hand-Lettering Workshop with Joanne Lauzon

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Have you ever seen a chalkboard at a restaurant with the most exquisite lettering on it? It's something I notice. I've always loved doing "fancy" letters. So, I guess I tend to notice them elsewhere too. Artist is Lauren Hom So, I was definitely intrigued to find that there were local workshops where I could try my hand at this. Here is a cool little video example of hand-lettering, by Joanne Lauzon, the workshop instructor, whose company … [Read more...]

Minecraft Lootbags (for less than $8 each!)

Minecraft Lootbags

As per usual around here, it was the night before the birthday party and I needed to get lootbags ready for 8 boys. I have a major love/hate thing with lootbags. On the one hand: kids love them and it's so fun to see how excited they get at the end of the party when they receive one. On the other hand: they can get really expensive (and time consuming!) and seem to be an unnecessary distraction away from celebrating the birthday boy … [Read more...]

4 Ideas for Quick, Low-Cost, Thoughtful DIY Teachers’ Gifts

Monogram Button Letter

Psst! This is a heads-up that if you wanted to give your kids' teachers a gift, time is kinda running out! Join my club and check out these ideas that I've hand-picked because they are (a) not a coffee mug, (b) can be created quickly, (c) are very low-cost. Notes of Appreciation for that Special Teacher Here's a great idea from Cyn at Creative Cyncronicity: a sweetly decorated glass jar that holds paper apple cut-outs. On each cut-out is a … [Read more...]

Handmade Christmas Cards

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Do you still send out Christmas cards? I lapsed on this a few years back (okay, so maybe it was more than a "few" years back ... more like almost a decade ago!) and never got back on the wagon. But I still really enjoy the act of crafting with paper. My friend Kerry and I recently got together and spent a Sunday afternoon making handmade Christmas cards. There is something seriously calming about crafting. I had a great time and came home with … [Read more...]

Remember how you used to scrapbook? Yeah, me too …

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This time last week, I was madly searching throughout my basement for my scrapbooking supplies. My poor scrapbooks have been terribly neglected and ignored for years. But somehow I had gotten myself signed up for a weekend scrapbooking retreat with my long-lost scrapbooking buddies and now I needed to resurrect the stuff. … [Read more...]

Christmas Cheer: Homemade Wooden Ornaments for the Christmas Tree

Wood Christmas Tree Ornaments

Hubby picked up a lathe from one of the local second-hand sites and turned these wooden ornaments. I hope the recipients find them as charming as I do. … [Read more...]