A Craft War of my own....

Well hello.  Did you all see Craft Wars last night?  Any thoughts/opinions?

 I think these ladies are amazingly talented and I can't wait to see more. 

I feel as though I have my own little Craft Wars happening here at home as I have a few things on the go.

I have been working on some models for Canvas Corp for display in their booth in the upcoming CHA summer show in Chicago.  It's such an honour to have been asked and I can't wait to show you, but for now, it's top secret ;)

I also have an upcoming church camp mural to complete.  I have been helping with this ministry for a couple of years now and here's a close up of last years, which you can read more about here and here 

 And this is the one I worked on two years ago...

 I have so much fun painting these giant murals.  As I paint, I
know this is one of the ways God is using me to bring Him honour...:)

And lastly, Isabella's room is finally complete.  I can't wait to show you

the final reveal...I just need to find some time to paint a rug (no biggie..ha)

 The room is bright, happy and most importantly,
she loves it, which makes hubby and I happy...:)

Oh and because that wasn't enough, I have also been playing with the new DecoArt Ink effects...so fun.  You guys are going to love this new product which will be available at JoAnn's at the end of this month.  I have an upcoming tutorial which I hope you'll enjoy.  Here is a tiny peek.


Well, back to the drawing board (or the family room floor).  I just wanted  to give you a little glimpse into my current day to day....hope you are enjoying your week! 


I'll come back  tomorrow with a yummy recipe that says ' Oh so Canadian, eh! '


much love,
Lucy 

Canvas flower tutorial.....by request

Hello everyone.  We made it through Monday - yay!  I have been super busy of late trying to complete several projects, many of which have deadlines that all seem to fall in and around the same time.  But I'm not complaining as it's the type of busy that makes me happy as I get to create.

I did make some time to put together a little tutorial as per a request.  This one is for Joanna, who wanted to know if I had posted a tutorial of this flower canvas envelope.  I had promised a video tutorial but I ran into problems with loading and editing.  If anyone has any suggestions, they will be more than welcome.

I took several pictures to show you the various steps.  The steps I follow are similar to those in this tutorial.  Once the paint is dry, cut out the flower and pinch the bottom as shown.  I then painted a smaller flower, cut it and glued it to the centre of the larger flower. I then painted a little stem and some leaves.  You can hot glue the flower or stitch it onto the desired surface.

Here is another flower using one

single colour without the gradual wash

I glued these onto a sweet little cotton sac but you can use these as embellishments for just about anything.  Wouldn't they be adorable on a pair of shoes?

Well, my friends, I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and if you ever have a special request, just send me an email or leave me a message on my fb page.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Tuesday! 

much love,

Lucy 

Smitten and a giveaway...

Hello everyone.  How was your weekend (other than too short)?  I spent most of the weekend trying to complete several projects before the kiddies finish school this week.  I'm looking forward to having them home and enjoying the summer to the max, especially the sleeping in part ;)

I recently received a little package from a new company I was not overly familiar with called the Freckled Fawn.  I immediately became smitten with not only their products but the little signature bronze fawn.  Isn't he adorable?

I wanted to create something tender and sweet to represent the product so I made these sweet lanterns by simply gluing all four sides of these gorgeous doilies.  I love the elegant detail of them and think they would look so beautiful lined up on a table at a wedding, baby shower or just because...

here it is at night...

I also received some washi tape, which I must admit, I've never used before.  I know I'm probably the only one that hasn't as you see it everywhere on the blogs and I now understand why it is so loved by everyone!  Have you ever had a material you just don't want to use because you love it so much?  Well this was one of those materials.  I also wanted to challenge myself and make something different with it and so I decided to use it in a three dimensional way as opposed to its usual use...

So I used some of this to make....

A little washi tape flower bookmark...

I will share via a tutorial with you later on...

 The shop has so many pretty things...

 So girlie and cute...

And guess what....

Can I enter my own giveaway?

For this giveaway, we are going to make things easy by using Rafflecopter. I was a little hesitant about using it for the first time but love the convenience of it.

There are 5 possible entries all in one stop:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will be open for a week and will end on July 2nd at 11:59pm EST.  Good luck everyone!


Have a great Monday!


much love,
Lucy

The weekend...

I don't believe I have ever introduced you to Boxster.  We rescued her when she was a little kitten and believed her to be a 'he', hence the name.  We have had her for 13 years and she is classy and fabulous, nothing short of a diva. 

Fun family fact: all the pets we have ever had have been named after luxury cars starting with the letter 'B'.  

Beemer - our English Springer Spaniel who is in dog heaven now.  Benz - our oldest cat who is oh so very sophisticated and proper and undoubtedly has an English accent.  Bentley - our super friendly but over the top mischievous black cat who has convinced himself he's a dog (the kids are also convinced he speaks with a heavy Spanish accent) and of course Boxster.

Sometimes we sit around and do voice overs for our cats.  Weird, we know, but entertaining nonetheless as the kids always end up laughing out loud and that's what makes it so great! :)

Well, I just wanted to wish you a  fabulous weekend. 

Hope you come back on Monday as I will have a fun giveaway to share with you...

much love,

Lucy 

My summer mantel ...

As part of the great Ready for Summer Blog Party, being hosted by Maggie and Kristin

Let me share with you my summer mantel...

Summer official arrived at 7:09pm yesterday.  I always wondered how they determined the exact time, but nevertheless, with summer comes heat and trips to the beach.  This year, I wanted my mantel to tell that very story.  So I have been playing around with several items from around the house...

Unfortunately, I have changed this mantel several times and I'm still not completely satisfied with it.  I'm not sure if it's the anchoring art that I painted in the background that's throwing it off for me (?).  I wanted a beach scene, but the blues were too bright so I added glaze and now I think the colours might be too dull.  I'm sure I will show you a new rendition soon.

But in the meantime, I have used several items both, home made and bought.  The large piece of driftwood did not always look like this.  It is actually a piece of wood I found in the forest that I scrubbed and bleached.  Have you ever heard of wood bleaching?  It works wonderfully to give wood a white wash effect.

I found the big Pottery Barn look-alike lantern for $22.00 at HomeSense and decided to incorporate some of the other lanterns we had laying around the house...

During the hot months of the year when the fireplace is not in use, why not use the space in front to add interest to the mantel?  Perhaps place a bench or a collection of greens in front of it so that you're looking at something nice instead of a black hole. 

I have also been having a hard time photographing this particular area of the house as there is a lot of natural light that flows in and it's making my pictures a little washed out.  I have to find the perfect time of day to take photos, but I believe that to be around 7 am.  As dedicated as I am to this little blog of mine, 7am is generally reserved for getting the kids ready for school, or caressing my pillow on weekends.

Looking at these pictures now, I realize the mantel looks completely different today than what I'm showing you but let me show you the first version...

...and here is the second version. Do you have a preference? 

As mentioned, I have used homemade items and here is a list of where you can find each tutorial:


1. Glass buoy
2. Sea glass bottle or here 
3. Clay Seastar

I also have a brief tutorial of the painting if you are interested. 


So there you go - another summer, another mantel.  Go here if you wish to see last year's mantel.  The same theme, but very different.  


It sounds like we are gearing up for a hot summer and I hope you are enjoying it so far!

See you all soon.


much love,
Lucy 

ps
Don't forget to head over and link up...they'll appreciate your presence...xo

Linking to

The lettered cottage summer linky party

Cherry Syrup Lemonade...two ways

 Hello friends, I hope your week is going well.  

 We're currently experiencing our first heat wave here in 
Ontario; which means finding ways to stay cool and hydrated.

When I think of a cool refreshing drink for summer,  I immediately think of 
lemonade and of course an ice cold Diet Coke, but I need to work on that bad habit :( 

In trying to keep a healthy low sugar diet, I have written two different 
lemonade recipes.  Both using fresh cherries to spice it up a bit...

Cherry Syrup Lemonade (the traditional way)


Lemonade
1 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup of sugar
3 quarts of water
Mix together and stir until sugar dilutes 


Cherry Syrup
1 lb bag of cherries pitted (you can use sour cherries for a tangier taste) 
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Combine ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain and reserve syrup. Allow to cool

Serve lemonade over ice and add syrup to taste, stir and enjoy!

(note: you can replace the sugar for the syrup with Sucanat)

The key to the healthier alternative is to make single servings using a sweetener like Stevia drops


Lemonade (the healthy version)
Juice from half a lemon
1 cup of water
Stevia drops to taste


Cherry Syrup
3/4 cup of cherries pitted and mashed
3/4 cup of water


Simmer cherries in water for 15 minutes, drain and reserve syrup.  Allow to cool in fridge.
(note: by mashing the cherries, you will release some of its natural fructose which will sweeten the water naturally)

Serve over ice and combine lemonade and cherry syrup to taste, stir and enjoy!

 I look forward to this time of year to enjoy the taste of cherries....

And did you know that cherries are as effective in getting rid of a headache as aspirin?  They are very rich in anti-oxidants, particularly in melatonin, which can cross the blood brain barrier easily and produces soothing effects on brain neurons. 

God sure knew what he was doing when he created nature! 


Go ahead and make yourself a nice tall glass of cold lemonade as either version will refresh you! 

Stay cool! 

much love,

Lucy

Snippets from home and a blog party...

I hope you had a great Father's Day weekend! 

I had fun this weekend trying to put together my summer mantel which I will be sharing with you this Thursday as part of a blog party being hosted by two very talented ladies:

Maggie from Midwestern girl DIY and

Kristin from Simply Klassic Home 

After looking at the line up of blogs, I'm certain you'll find an array of inspiration.  So much fun and what honour to have been included. 

The blog party starts today with Food and Drinks.  Please visit Maggie or Kristin for a complete schedule :)

 

In the mean time I leave you with some snippets from our home....

It's summer time, so we're embracing
the cool and calming colours of the ocean...

Stay tuned for the entire reveal....

Have a fantastic Monday! 

much love,

Lucy