Clay Tag Tutorial

Custom name tags

The Easter Bunny doesn't get any cuter

Custom for a salon called Evolve....

Festive tags

My days work.....

I love to craft, and clay tags are one of my favorite things to make. I made 100 for my son's wedding. We tied them onto pots of homemade jam for wedding favors. They make a great craft project for older children too. There are a few tutorials on the internet. Some you pay for like this one HERE and some are free HERE. If you want to buy tags there are many on Etsy. You can hang them on wine bottles and gifts and also hang as decorations. See below for photos of my tags on gifts over the years.

Today I made some Easter Bunny ones, some for a hair salon called Evolve, as they are having a special event, and some for Baby Emma to give her aunts and grandmother(s). For Emma's, I hung ribbons and pompoms from the bottom as well  because I was feeling very FESTIVE today. 

You need. 1 tub of Crayola white modelling clay (kids clay) About $9.00. A rolling pin. cookie cutter, Rubber stamp and ink, parchment paper, a skewer to make the hole and doiley, fabric or anything that can leave an imprint.

• roll the clay out onto parchment paper about 1/3- 1/2 cm thick...any thinner and they wil crack and be very difficult to handle
• cut your shape with cookie cutter
• stamp your design, or press whatever you wish to imprint into the clay gently
• poke a hole for the string or ribbon in the top
• leave to dry overnight on cookie sheet
• you can put them on a cookie sheet in a 200 F oven for a couple of hours to speed things along.
• tie on a pretty ribbon

THAT's IT...Easy and fun. HAPPY EASTER.

Wedding jam

100 heart tags for the wedding.

Bridal shower tags.

Hand dipped marshmallow treats.

Cookbook wrapped in a tea towel for birthday gift

A Celtic cross for my Irish friend's birthday

A pack of handmade cards embellished with a clay tag

Robins..my favourite

Wine tags

For your love......

Rumpled.

My flowers are looking a bit rumpled.

Bits by my bed

I wanted to thank everyone for the lovely best wishes on the birth of our Grand daughter Emma. It's very touching to receive so many heartfelt congratulations from the people that read my blog. Over the years it does seem that we all get to "know" each other, and share the ups and downs and daily grind with each other. I really do appreciate the friendship. Working for myself and primarily by myself, can be lonely at times. Although when shopping for clients I have come to know the Decorating Center staff, the upholsterer and drapery work room etc, most of my day is spent alone. Calculation quotes, sourcing stuff, paperwork and of course the online shop. I have no co-workers to socialize with and chat with at lunch because I work at home. So, I take breaks and when I do, I visit my favorite blogs. Over the years, the people i have met and chatted with have become friends. They email if I am missing for a while, they confide things, they share and give advice. I've cried with some of their news and been elated at others and had good belly laughs with several. I couldn't live without my blog friends. They are my coffee break pals.Thank you for that.

I'm am having my website redesigned. I am being asked by the designer my preference for fonts, graphics, layout and overall feel. One designer that I interviewed got the impression that I was very Art Deco and 1940's which surprised me. Not the look I want at all. When I had to finally put on paper the overall feel of my new site as a reflection of me, I told her I was part Shabby Chic, part vintage, ethnic,bohemian, with a bit of a colorful rumpled feel. We shall see how she interprets that.

First Gifts.

I'm think I'm going to be indulgent and post a lot of baby related posts in the future. Please forgive me! BABY now has a name. Emma. As much as I would love to post photos, the parents aren't so keen on photos on a public forum, so I am not going to post any yet without approval. She does have a shock of black hair which comes from the Raz Man's family and, I can assure you, she is a cute as can be. I won't see her in person until Thursday, but I have been putting a few things together for her. Instead of cut flowers, I sent the new parents a basket of potted pink and white tulips and hyacinth. Once the bulbs are finished they can plant them in the garden and each March a cluster of bulbs will pop up to celebrate Emma's birthday each year.

I have collected vintage baby cups for years and selected one for baby from my collection. The vintage ones are usually very inexpensive and I think much prettier than some new ones. Plus it's a reflection of me-her Nani-to give her a treasure from a dusty market and not Tiffany. This is a very feminine one, made by Rogers and has a lovely band around the middle and a barley twist handle.  I added a wee fork and spoon and tucked them into a little Peter Rabbit bag that I made. And of course a pink bow. You can't go overboard on pink bows!

BABY

We are celebrating tonight with Grand Granny, Great Aunty Bee, Auntie Ky, and us...Nani and Babu (pronounced Na-Nee, (she will be bilingual French/English), and Ba-Boo). The Raz Grand Baby has arrived (on her great grandmother's birthday), at dawn this morning. She is un-named as of yet, but parents and baby are doing really well. I didn't sleep a wink last night waiting for the news and sat here in the dark this morning with tears rolling down my face as the first photos of her came over the phone. We even had a little Skype face to face. She's beautiful and we are all blessed. 

New stock of jewelery

I have new stock of Sno of Sweden Jewelry this week. I must say, I have a lot of fun photographing the new pieces and trying it all on. So far, I've been very good, only keeping one bracelet for myself. If you are interested in seeing some of the Sno line, you can go HERE. I am offering Free Shipping in Canada and the USA.

Easter Craft

No, the baby isn't here yet. It's OVERDUE. LATE.....come on baby..... I am getting more excited by the day waiting. The baby scale is something I dug our from my Vintage Shop days. It's still very accurate and I am using it to weigh my cat. HannahKat has gone from 9.5 lbs to 7.2 lbs and despite a clean bill of health form the vet, she has warned me that any more weight loss will mean further testing which really means a TON of money. Just like everyone else these days, I taken her off carbs. She's on a grain free dry food and supplemented with fresh ground turkey which I fry up and which makes me gag. Does anyone else have an old cat that needs special food? Canned food does not agree with her. If you have any suggestions I would most appreciate them.

If you are looking for a little Easter craft for a child or bags for Easter chocolate eggs, these are really simple to make. I bought plain white bags from Michael's and stamped them with a bunny stamp. A pom pom tail and a glittered ear finish it off. I also changed the string closure to a pink or blue ribbon. (tie one end of the string to a new piece of ribbon and pull the other end until the ribbon is all the way through the bag, then remove the string). Ready to fill with chocolate eggs or your gold coins. 

Form vs. Function

Always a pile of reading material. An old stump works well as a table.

    
   In our neighborhood there are several houses that the same style as mine. The master bedroom had a powder room and a walk in closet. Some people have removed half the closet and expanded the bathroom, others have bumped the bathroom out into the bedroom a little to make room for a shower. My neighbors recently toured all the variations on the street and liked mine the best. And then they hired me to make it happen at their house. I must ask if I can take photos of theirs to show you. They opted for one large shower stall instead of the bath. 

I decided to remove the closet altogether and use the entire space as one large bathroom. Where there were once 2 doors, I closed them off and made a door in the center of the room. New closets were added to either side of the new bathroom pocket door. The was perfectly centered on the far wall making the site line very symmetrical, further balanced by the 2 wall fixtures. The tub with a Cararra marble subway tile surround has a shower curtain hoop hung from the ceiling. It's a great room for a bath, but I must admit the shower is very impractical. The curtains cling to your wet legs and you have to sneak your arms out of the curtain to get the shampoo on the ledge. 

Sometimes form wins over function.

Spring Chicken

You ARE a Spring Chicken

New scarf....old scarf

Spring must haves

You must smell this soap.....divine

   A Couple of years ago I was in St. Marten on a Mother/Daughter (3 mums + 5 daughters) holiday. One evening the resort staff were setting up for a beach wedding. Given all the daughters were in their early 20's, weddings were a fascination with them, and face it, who can resist seeing a bride. So we all gathered near the little beach pavilion for a discrete, but good view of the bride. The bride was to make her entrance from the top stairs of the resort, and make her way, on her father's arm, to the beach. It was a bit of a distance. When she finally made her appearance way, way, wayyyyy back, we saw a slim, very tanned, platinum blonde woman, in a very form fitting and elaborate concoction of a dress, with great pillows of cleavage bulging from the top of her dress. As she drew closer, we could see she was no Spring chicken. In fact, we were surprised to see she was actually likely in her early 50's, her skin aged and wrinkled by the sun like a well worn baseball glove. 

I am sure in her husband's eyes she was perfection, but I must admit I was a little amused, and very surprised. Don't get me wrong. I was thrilled that she had found love and was being married in her 50's and all that. But I've seen it many times. The proverbial Mutton dressed as Lamb (horrible expression) and heard uttered from my own lips...."she's no Spring Chicken". And it intrigues me. Do we lose our sense of appropriateness, or do we start to just not care what anyone else thinks at this point in life? Are we confident enough to just dress as we please and if it makes us feel younger, all the better for it? Now in my (early) 50's, I question my clothes more than ever before. Are ripped jeans OK for middle aged women? Red lipstick? Bold patterns? How about leopard print?

Each Spring and Fall I buy a new scarf to brighten my last year's coat. This Spring I'm wearing this bright light wool scarf that doubles as a shawl on chilly nights, and adds a pop of colour to a jeans and white T-shirt outfit. I pass my scarves on to a charity shop frequently, but one that has stayed with me for at least 10 years is this animal print scarf. Just as I love a little animal print in the house on a pillow or stool, I love to wear bit of cheetah, leopard or zebra. I do wonder if one day, I will throw caution to the wind and be one of those older Florida ladies in shiny pants and a leopard jacket with hot pink accessories. With my kids scolding me and saying "Mum, you're no Spring Chicken!"

Flowers in the House.

Never one to turn down an INVITE, I made the Raz Man pull over outside a little flower merchant yesterday as we were driving by. I had to pop in to get flowers for Jane's blog (Small but Charming)  get together today. FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE is a fun way to pop over to visit great blogs and see bunches of lovely flowers. Given the cold weather still here in Ontario, I for one, am ready to see bunches and bunches of Spring flowers.

My flowers today are one of my favorites-pink hyacinth. The scent is absolutely heavenly and fragrances the whole living room. I set them in an old tarnished silver jug on the coffee table so I see them as I sit here reading and now typing. 

And speaking of charming, see that interesting little 3 legged coffee cup? I purchased that from Anthropologie the other day, and it takes second place for the worst technical design for a pretty teacup EVER. The first place goes to this one (below), also from Anthro. The green one below has a very low handle which makes it difficult to lift a full cup of hot tea without your hand sliding down the handle to the base and making the whole thing totally unbalanced. Other Anthro cup lovers have the same complaint about this mug. The newest cup reaffirms to me why chairs, tables, dogs (and cups if they have them, are much off with 4 legs or feet. This cup has already fallen off the Nespresso Machine cup stand (2 times), spilling coffee all over the floor for Frenchie to lick up as fast as he could. He's had a lovely brunch. First an errant chocolate croissant rolled on the floor and the mad dash between Girl Child and dog resulted in a win win for the dog, followed shortly after by a nice, piping hot espresso to wash it down with. I hope you are enjoying your Sunday with coffee and croissants and pets on the sofa and FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE. Go HERE to visit the rest of us.

Wildlife Spotter

Click on photo to enlarge 

I had to share this photo that my sister took yesterday of a gorgeous owl. My sister is  not only a great photographer, she is the best spotter of wildlife and, unlike me, she usually has her camera with her when she does. Look at the way the feathers form a ring around his face. It almost looks braided. And that beak......the detail is quite lovely in this photo...I love the ruffle around his neck.

Why the fuss?

I must be the only blogger around who isn't smitten with the Macaron. The colorful treats have had a LOT of blog play in the past few years, and I must say they photograph very well. All those pretty colors and shiny disks with delicious fillings....what's not to love? Living in the suburbs, trends take a little longer to arrive, and Macarons have only just been available in local bakeries where I live. (not to be confused with the coconut Macaroon). So finally....I spotted them at my local grocery and purchased 4 which weigh about 5 grams and cost...get this $1.99 each....I figured they had had to be fabulous for that price right? Subconsciously, I ended up with pink and blue (chocolate and vanilla) and sat down for coffee this morning (while still waiting for baby news) and treated myself to a blue one.......no drum rolls..no OH MY GOODNESS.....It was HO HUM and I was totally let down by the soft-ish meringue and completely flavorless concoction. Maybe it's a Laduree Macaron I need to be trying. I'm going to try making my own and using some natural colors from fruit juice...in the meantime, I can play the He Loves me, He Loves me not game with the rest of them pink-it's a girl, blue-it's a boy, pink-it's a girl....

Are you a Macaron fan? Have made them yourself?