Craftiness at it's cleanest

It's not everyday that a craft as clean and fun as this one comes along! 

I'm in awe over this crafty little project posted on Soap Queen. And family and friends should, if not already, learn to fall in love with these little bars of soap too because they'll be recieving bundles of them for every birthday and holiday from now until I tire of them.

However, it's not likely I'll tire of this anytime soon. With such an endless array of colour combinations, sents, and inset possibilities this craft has long-term potential!

 

Photos by Anne-Marie from Soap Queen

Mother's Day DIY

It’s a lot harder to shop for a perfectly amazing mother than you might think (Hi mom!)

If you’re anything like myself, you’re still scouring the shops for the perfect Mother’s Day gift. And it really shouldn’t be surprising that I have yet to find anything that’s perfect enough for my mom…hence my decision to take the DIY route. And this Flower Brooch isn’t necessarily something that will wind up hanging on the fridge, if done correctly I think it will actually look quite lovely on my mama bear!

Photos by Megan Reardon

WallFabric

An easy to remove wallpaper - perfect for the indecisive and notorious mind-changers

If my own papered wall didn’t put me in such debt, I’d be ripping it down and replacing it with the above fabric (what doesn’t Etsy have?). The blog How About Orange… featured a recipe for some homemade cornstarch glue, said to be strong enough to stick fabric to a wall but still easy to remove - simply peel it off!

Yes, the idea is a little Trading Spaces-ish but I think it’s worth a shot.

Also, loving The Needle Shop’s Etsy store, seriously considering buying one of their dress patterns…learning to sew just became my new summer project.

Candid

Just a quick candid I took while sitting front and center at Martha’s Canada Bloom’s presentation. No big deal.

Cadbury Creme Egg cupcakes with marshmallow peeps

Nothing says ‘Happy Easter’ better than a self-induced sugar coma…Oh, be still my Cream-Egg-loving heart! I thought my life became complete after sitting front and centre at Martha Stewart’s Canada Blooms presentation, but clearly I was very wrong.

Now that I’ve feasted my eyes upon the messiah of cupcakes, nothing will ever be the same. A simple cupcake will never be able to live up to this - ever.

It kinda takes your breath away.

The kind people at The Cookbook Chronicles are geniuses, and worthy of a Nobel Prize or something…

And heck, why not skip the convenience of buying cheap peeps and use Martha’s ‘simple’ marshmallow recipe to further impress your Easter guests? Follow her marshmallow pipping guide and with a few flicks of the wrist, you can top your cupcakes with the traditionally shapped ’Peep’ or an adorable Easter bun. Easy peezy.

Recycle old plastic bags into pretty new plastic bags!

A clever little project from Etsy that will turn your collection of plastic bags into crafting gold!

Because throwing out plastic bags fills me with such a deep sense of guilt, I’ve managed to gather an impressive stash. I try to remember to bring my own bags with me to the store, but sometimes it just kind of happens that you wander through a store (ie: Shoppers Drug Mart) and just so happen to leave with a giant basket of stuff you didn’t realize you needed — hence requiring extra bags to carry those very necessary things home in.

Luckily for people like me, Etsy posted this amazing craft that has just become my new favourite! Simply fuse (iron) aprox. six plastic bags in between two sheets of waxed paper, cut desired pattern and sew together! Definitely making either a tote or a bookcover — or both!

photo by Anda

Missed connections

I’ve just developed a small obsession with a newly discovered blog.

Sophie Blackall scours through the New York edition of Craigslist’s ever popular ‘Missed Connections’ in search of the most humourous and endearing entries to illustrate in her blog (appropriately titled Missed Connections). This results in an adorably addictive site that you’ll definitely want to bookmark and revisit!

What’s also noteworthy is her shop on Etsy, where Missed Connection prints run for $40 US.