Boo!!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

The Dark Forest

~Believe in yourself and you will find the way.~

("Lily in the Dark Forest" - Watercolor)

Halloween puppies

This year I decided to make Halloween costumes for my boys instead of buying them. (I'm so brave!) It's been so long since I've sewed. 4 years too long! I bought a new sewing machine after Lucius was born, but never got the chance to do anything with it because of being pregnant again, chasing after a toddler, renovations, etc, etc. I had this brown material I bought half a year ago and the first thing that came to my mind was puppies. Something that was easy to put on, take off, and to be comfortable was a must. So this is the puppy costume I came up with.

I have to say it turned out not too bad! There are a few mistakes and rough edges, but I'm pretty impressed how well it turned out considering I'm a bit rusty. It sure helps with a new sewing machine! I love love love love my new sewing machine.

I'm glad I managed to catch a few good ones of Lucius sitting because most of them turned out like this of him jumping.

I have never shown my kids faces on my blog, but this one of Aymeric is just too cute not to share.

I think I've restored my love of sewing. Oh, did I mention I love my new sewing machine?!

Pot of pourri

These couple of days I've been busy busy making costumes for my boys for their Halloween party at Mom and Tots. Hopefully it will be done by tomorrow!

Last week I was going through some stuff (I definitely need to sort things out!) and I came across these beautiful sachets I got from a Japanese student. I can't believe I totally forgot about them. They are stuffed with some kind of potpourri and they smell so wonderful. When I have time I'm going to try to make some of these. Now back to finishing those costumes.

Storm in October

Yesterday we had such bizarre weather. It was so windy throughout the day with hail and snow coming and going. The wind became stronger when the sun went down. It made so much noise and shook our house so much that I thought our house was going to fall apart. Around 10 at night, as I was in the middle of painting a drawing, the power went out. After a couple hours of no electricity the house became quite cold since it was -7c outside. We brought our boys in our bed and snuggled together. When we woke up I was so surprised that we still had no electricity. The house was unbearably cold now. We headed over to my in-laws for breakfast and to warm up. At around 1 in the afternoon the power finally came back on. So it was in total of 15 hours without electricity. I've never experiences anything like that. I'm just so glad that it wasn't -30c and we have our in-laws close by who have a wood burning stove. Now it makes me realize that we need to be more prepared for events like this in the future. I think we need to invest in a wood burning stove or a backup generator or, if I was rich, definitely solar panels.

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Tonight Lucius painted for the very first time. He absolutely loved every minute of it. My little artist!

Windy

It was a very windy day today. No snow yet, but the temperature is sure brisk. It usually snows on or right after Halloween around here. I need to get my closet winterized. Here's a quick sketch colored with markers that I did today of a girl standing in the brisk wind. I think I should get one of those muffs to keep my hands warm this winter. I wonder where I can buy one?!

A cup of java

I know I should be sleeping, but I just had to make it.
A cup of coffee to keep me awake.

Pattern from Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Rimoli.

Malade

My boys are sick.
The poor kids both have fevers.
Not much is done. Not much sleep.
So tired. Coffee please!!

Chestnuts

Another wonderful weekend in Edmonton. We went and checked out the Old Strathcona Antique Mall, but we didn't come out with anything. Which was fine because it was just fun to wonder and get lost through the booths among booths of antique and vintage stuff. I love love love that place! For Darcy's birthday we went to Tropika Malaysian Cuisine for dinner. It was soooo yummy! I need to learn how to make satay now!!

I bought some chestnuts at the grocery store today. Chestnuts are one of my favorite things about fall. I"ll always have fond memories of street vendors in Japan, Korea, and Thailand selling roasted chestnuts. I can smell that lovely aroma right now.

And of course it would only make sense to draw this dancing, falling chestnut.

Edmonton weekend.

Tomorrow morning we're heading off to Edmonton for the weekend to see my family and our friends. Hopefully we can stop by a few antique stores and maybe pick up a few things for our house. I just love antique shopping.

Crochet flower brooch

I came upon the Creative Yarn blog the other day. She designs and makes crochet/knit garments and accessories that are absolutely beautiful and unique. I was so inspired that I wanted to try to make a necklace from her free patterns. The necklace has flowers in it and I've never crocheted a flower before. So I practice crocheting flowers with the many pattern links at Crochet Pattern Central.


The practice flowers turned out not too bad. I thought I would do something with them.

Added a button to one of the large flower. Sewed a smaller flower to it. Attached a safety pin on the back. And I got myself a crochet flower brooch.

A nice added touch to a simple reusable bag from a grocery store.

Oh pugs

I had the best weekend ever. I love my friends so much. They brought their two, cute little pugs. My boys loved playing with them, more like chasing most of the time. Ha ha. Lots of good food and good conversations. Great times!!

Here's a drawing that I wanted to paint for the longest time. Finally got the chance to last night. Lily and Abaddon meeting Mushy for the very first time.

("The meeting" - Watercolor)

Thanksgiving long weekend

I'm so excited that our good friends from Edmonton are coming to visit us here in Plamondon. It's going to be a fun Thanksgiving long weekend.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Well, Canadians anyways.
See you on Tuesday.

I am linked!

I can not believe it, but I am on the Halloween Roundups on One Pretty Thing!!


I am gleeing with excitement!

Je t'aime

Boys woke up so many times last night.
So tired.
The boys have colds again.
So no Mom & Tots.
It says it's -4C outside.
Still lots has to be done to the house.

But it makes it all better when your toddler says "je t'aime". (I love you)

Now to snuggle up with them and watch my all time favorite TV series, Road to Avonlea ..... and maybe some Wiggles.

Printable Halloween Invitations

Now that Halloween is around the corner, I thought it would be fun to post my first ever printable. (I'm so excited!) So here's a cute little Halloween invitation card, printable on A4(8-1/2x11) paper in color and black&white.

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I printed it on orange card stock paper since it's Halloween, but any color would be fantastic too.

Cut the pieces out and fold the envelope flaps.

Write the invitation, put it in the envelope, and place the seal on using glue or adhesive tape.

The finished product! Enjoy!!

Little miss red

Here is my version of Little Red Riding Hood.

(Little Red Riding Hood/vintage border-Hand drawn, digital coloring)

One of those days

~Sometimes you just need to escape into your own little world.~
("Lily daydreaming" - hand drawn, digital coloring)

Ami Ami

This summer I started to learn how to crochet. I saw pictures of cute Amigurumi on blogs and websites and really wanted to make them myself. I came across this book Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli (Ana Paula's blog has free patterns!). It's such a fantastic book with easy to follow instruction and patterns. Check out these cute, little guys that I have made.

Arrowroot and Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

I bought this bag of arrowroot powder a while ago thinking I would make some homemade arrowroot cookies for my boys. I searched online for a recipe and only a few came up. One of them was on Allrecipe site and since I trust the recipe ratings on there I decided to give it a try. And how did it turned out?




After some mixing and rolling and 8-10mins in the oven later. They turned out fantastic!! Lucius loved them. I did put a little less sugar then it asked for for my toddler. He has enough energy already thank you very much.

To make the design you see here (I don't have any cookie cutters, had to be creative.) I used a pizza cutter and an icing bag tip to punch in the designs. The link to this recipe: Arrowroot Cookies


Also, for the big boy of the house, I baked him some chocolate chip cookies. This is definitely the best one I've come across. It's sooooo good!

From Allrecipe site again, here's the link to this recipe: Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie