Summer Festivals!

There is something about Summer...the warm breeze that blows through the laundry on the line, the way the sun dances on my kitchen counters in midday, the way that raspberries taste like childhood memories at my grandmothers house...had a glimpse of one of those memories yesterday when I tasted raspberries for the first time this year, staring at my nighty two year old grandmother sitting across from me bound to her wheelchair...in that moment I wanted nothing more than to be eight years old again spending a weekend at my grandmother's house where time stood still, cookies were baked fresh daily and bedtime stories flowed endlessly...it's those moments you think this will last forever but somehow in an instant twenty plus years have passed...how??? Seriously how???

After becoming a parent for the first and now the second time I have made a promise to myself to make the most of everyday, no matter what type of day it is (we all have "those" days...) to live in the present, not to rush moments past cause as we all learn as we get older that we may not have much "time" left.  So that is why this Summer with new life in my arms and older life in my heart I really want to make a point of "living" each day, not that I didn't "live" each day before but with the dull days of Winter it does limit a person especially with little ones to get out of the house and make the most of the outdoors and the community that surrounds us.

We will be hitting our first festival the first week of July, full of music and art...oh how both of these glorious  fill my soul!  That will be the first of a handful of festivals this Summer, along with trips to the beach, walks to the park, digging in our garden, making memories with loved ones old and new, sipping that first morning coffee as birds chirp from the treetops and children wipe their sleepy eyes ...so many joys of the season to come.  With the sun shinning on my face and music, art and nature filling my soul I'm hoping to be filling this space a little more often with some words from within. Life happens, live it, love it and enjoy it!

Until next time. 

How To: Ribbon Blankies

This weekend I decided to try a new project, I have always wanted to try and make a blanket with silk ribbons attached in the past but have never taken the time to sit down and try and figure out how to make them. So finally I did and this is what I came up with! This is fast and easy. The materials you will need are:

Cotton Fabric

Variety of Ribbon

Scissors

Ruler

Fade out marker

Iron

and of course a sewing machine

Now fold your fabric inside out and mark out two pieces the same size with your fade out marker, depending on how big you want the blankie, the smallest I would go is 13"x13" you can do 16"x16" or 20"x20" if you would like larger.

Now take your ribbon and cut about 20 strips in a variety of lengths ranging from 4" to 7" long. I did five ribbons on each side.

Fold the ribbons to make a loop and pin them inside the two squares (right sides together) of fabric so the raw edges are aligned. (Loops are now inside the 2 squares)

Sew around the square to secure the ribbons in place remembering to leave a 3" opening to turn your project the right side out. Don't forget to back stitch at the beginning and end.

Turn your project so the right side are facing out and iron the square. Clip your corners to a 45 degree angle. I do not clip the seam allowance because I want to make sure I am re-securing the ribbons when I do the top stitch.

Now for the top stitch sew around the entire project 1/4". Back stitch at the start and finish. Iron flat one more time if needed and slip stitch the opening closed. Voila! You did it, now you have a quick and affordable toy that will provide hours of fun to a precious little one.

Mmm...Soap!

Above are some samples of the bars of soap I made a few days ago.

 I have always wanted to try my hand at making home made bars of natural soap and am glad I did.  The clear bars are made from Olive Oil and the creamy bars are made from Goats Milk.

 I decided to not add any dyes or additives like oatmeal and such for my first time just to be safe.  On my next try I think I will play with natural dyes like beet juice and curry to see what they turn out like.  I would also like to add some fun things like coffee grounds and oatmeal.

For the scents I stuck with pretty common mixtures, they turned out really well and smell delicious.  I may try to play around with some different varieties of scents as I get more comfortable with making soap and become more daring!

What are some of your favourite scents?  Any tips or tricks that you would like to share?  Please leave a comment below or link to you blog or website.  Happy Crafting!!!