So the first one (the most challenging one) was making bats and ghosts out of paper Mache. It was a challenge because the finished product takes a very long time to dry and a lot of patience. It took us about 4 days to finish 3 bats and 1 ghost (only 1 because we failed miserably with 4 other balloons). I don’t know if any of you have ever done any paper Mache crafts but it’s fun, easy  (not so easy for a 3 and 5 year old) and you can create pretty much anything  with a little creative thinking and imagination. So for this project we used:

1. Balloons
2. A mixture of warm water and flour (about 2 cups of water and 2/3cup of flour) to act as adhesive
3. Newspaper, ripped into small pieces
4. Acrylic paint, nothing too expensive since most of it will end up on the floor
5. Paint brushes
6. String
7. Tissue paper
8. Eyes (plastic) and glue
9. Construction paper or painted cardboard.

You blow up the balloon to the desired fatness. You slap on the newspaper (shredded to smallish pieces) coated in the warm goo, you cover the balloon, every millimeter of it except for the tied up part.

You wait for about 1 day, maybe longer. When its dry you paint it black if it’s a bat, or white if it’s a ghost, or orange if it’s a pumpkin, then you stick on the eyes, you cut out wings for the bat, you make a “Sheet” for the ghost, out of tissue paper and voila! You have a small ensemble of things to hang from your ceiling.

The next project was a much, much, much simpler one that we performed (at least I did) with more patience. We made a wreath for the front door. I always mean to buy a frame for one that I redecorate for every season but I haven’t been able to find one that fits all my needs, so we decided to make a very simple one to welcome guests into our house. And all you need for this are 4 things:

1. Construction paper
2. Paint
3. Little hands
4. Scissors

Draw an barely there circle on a big piece of construction paper and ask the little hands to do the rest, stamp a circle of hands on the paper, then cut it out and hang it on your door! Have fun!

And I love to watch them with a good book and a beer! Sometimes they get in the way while I try and take my photos, I think they like the spotlight!

Our storage solutions post will be up soon (once everything is actually organized again hehe) so keep an eye out for that!

‘Til next time, happy crafting!

Summer Necklace

Summer Anklet

Summer Charm Bracelet

I have also made some natural, beachy matching bracelets/anklets for my mom, my sister, and I.  These are coconut beads with dyed mother or pearl (both beads available in the store).

Natural Beach Theme Bracelet

Otherwise I have been very busy with my last few days of exams, luckily I will be done tomorrow and can finally get around to setting up my etsy store! Keep an eye out for a post here introducing it soon!

Take care and happy crafting!

Mother’s Day is fast approaching (I love you, mom!) and a beautiful handmade necklace (or anklet) is a great way to show you care. We don’t have the heart to charge full price for such a lovely thought – use the coupon code iloveyoumom and receive a heartwarming 20% discount! Click here to start shopping now!

Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Beading!  ~ Suzanne & Emily

Spring is finally here (Toronto) and yard sales have begun; woohoo!!!  I love looking through other people’s garbage. Last Saturday we found a globe for $1 and tons of tulle, raw silk and cotton for making my daughter fairy dresses.  I have two children, one is 4 yrs old (Dante) and the girl is 2 (Eva).  Of the many things I love about being a mother, one of the most entertaining things is crafts. For Easter we decorated eggs, it was a first for both of them and they loved it.

Me, trying to explain how not to burn yourself with a candle or crayon wax. They were a bit too excited to be working with fire but amazingly nobody got hurt.

Here are the two of them showing off their finished projects. Dante’s had to be blue and green like a dinosaur egg and Eva’s had to be pink and purple like Barbie.

After the break, more cute pictures! (click through below or on the post title if you’re on the main blog page)

Just sitting down to inspect the loot after a grilling egg hunt.

I love spring!!!

Me and the kids walking down Roncesvalles to my sister-in-law’s house for part II of the egg hunt.