confessions [of an artist] part. 9.

So, I have had an on-going love affair with colour since I was a child.
Warm colours, cool colours... I just can't get enough of their pretty palettes.
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This served me well since I worked in an arts supply store as a teen.
Then painted murals, and faux effects in homes as a twenty-something.
Also worked for Benjamin Moore paint store.
And then ran an art drop-in for youth.
Now, I have my own wee artist in residence! 


Colours.
They've been in my blood all my life. 
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The problem is when it comes down to home decor, graphic design... or even my wardrobe.
 I just can't ever decide what 'mood' I'm most connected to:
I want to re-do our bedroom (though I know the likelihood of that actually happening is close to nil)!  So I've been wrestling afresh with this issue lately.

I love those muted 'seaside' tones: bleached driftwood. sea glass green. pale turquoise. sand.
I love those vibrant 'Moroccan' tones: indigo.burnt oranges.eggplant.chartreuse.
I love earth tones. etc...  and I'm even tempted by the idea of white.washing everything!
What's a girl to do? 

Ok.  I must confess that ever since I was a young (tom.boy) girl... my favourite colour has always been blue though...

Now it's an antique turquoise that I adore.
I am eager to get a can of this colour in spray paint and re-do various items around the house soon!  (You'll be seeing another painting project I did with these tones.  Love it)!
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Anyway, that's my colour obsession and if you share it, you may want to go here. 


What colour do hue love?


Mel ;o)

thrifty & nifty threads: upcycled fashion #6

 Well friends I did it again... this 'lace-crazed' brain took something thrifty and sewed it into something nifty... for only $3.fifty!  Sure it rhymes, but it's also true.

 I recently saw this lace curtain panel while thrifting and thought "time to make another skirt".

I had some wide elastic waist band already... and two large silky tan pillow cases to use for the lining of the skirt.  Good cheap fun at this nest.  

 Voila!

My very own lace maxi skirt! (Who decided these trendy skirts should be called 'maxi'?  All I picture is a giant feminine pad?!)  

Anyways, I'm pretty happy with it - despite the usual sewing blunders along the way (at which point Ben hears me saying "eeeeeeeediot!" at my sewing machine).  Case in point: that gold lace waist was the perfect cover for an atrocious sewing line.

Yes, most of my projects are really the attempt to camouflage the bloopers and highlight the successes!

 Sooo, here's a success: the pretty scalloped edge at the bottom of the skirt thanks to the curtain hem.  Let's just pretend I sewed that part.

Annnnd, because I'm crazy.like...that...^  I also used the leftover lace to make yet another infinity scarf.  Two upcycles for the price of one!

Yes friends, we made a tablecloth into a skirt... and now a curtain. 

You know I did this just so that if I ever get complimented on it I can use Carol Burnett's great line: "I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it!".

Hope you're inspired to wear what ever's hanging around the house, 

and if you want to catch up on previous upcycling posts you can go here! 

Have a great weekend,

long & lacy mama,

Mel ;o)

happy Hudson

 Psssst!  Now don't tell my Ben... but I have a huge crush on another fella here at the nest.

He babbles sweet nothings into my ear.

Cuddles close to my neck.

Smells like a warm mozzarella ball.

I'm in love.

 Maybe it's the dimple in his chin...

...and cheek...

or how he giggles into his fists all bashful-like.

This almost 5 month old has stolen my heart.  I sometimes feel this sense of 'urgency' in loving him lately.. like I just want.need to savour every moment with him... and maybe it's because he's grown so fast, I felt like I never really had the 'infant-size' stage with him.

This guy never plateaued like I kept expecting him to... so now I figure it just means there's  more to love!

Awww, I heart you too, Hudson.

Can I just say how ridiculously happy and social this boy is now?

Remember those early insane months where I finally thought I had figured out his issues?

A while after that.. he was acting super cranky.constipated.gassy again... (you know as a mother you start to feel guilt for seemingly poisoning them with your milk).

I opted to try going off dairy first... and it's made all the difference... he's now such a happy, cooing, giggling, sleeping through the night chunk of cuteness.

See for yourself:

Who knew "booop" could be so entertaining?

smitten mama,

Mel ;o)

D.I.Y: iced mint cafe mocha [french press]

 I got chills.. they're multiplyin'... and I may just be loosing control for this summer treat!

Now I'm no barista, but I know I love this iced coffee... for cheap (*cough* homemade).

Join me in the kitchen and let's make some 'caffeine-creativity':

 French Press style:

Grind up fresh coffee beans of your choosing.

 Pour steaming water over the coffee grounds in your press.

Stir to mix.

Steep until opaque (tall, dark and handsome)...much like my Ben really.

 Sweeten with your ratio of cream/soy/milk... and sugars while hot.

**for a MINT hit... mix in some pure peppermint extract** 

(Allow to cool overnight in fridge).

Shake it like a Polaroid picture the next day (isn't this thermos awesome?!!)

The true measure of a great iced coffee?

Frozen coffee cubes... so that while the 'ice' melts... your flavour doesn't have to!

 Time to get fancy:

+pour chocolate syrup down the insides of glass

+drop in your coffee cubes

+pour iced coffee over the rocks

+dollop on the whip cream

+sprinkle with chocolate shavings

+garnish with mint leaf

nom nom nom... what?

Enjoy,

and stay cool friends!

cafe mama,

Mel ;o)

Some kind of wonderful...

Photo from the Noisy Plume

If I could only have ONE blog to read... this would have to be it:

The Noisy Plume 

artisan

poet

photographer

naturalist

::beauty of a soul:: 

I won't call her a blog-crush... it's deeper than that.  She inspires me on so many levels: creatively, poetically, aesthetically, spiritually, and any other "ly" that's good out there! 

Photo from the Noisy Plume

Maybe it's the way she takes the small ordinary things in a day and shows them to us through a lens of wonder and beauty.  Or the way she can weave words into a soul-stirring tapestry that wraps around my heart.  I've already told her that she's my white Maya Angelou... since she writes with a depth - a gravity - that pulls me in.

Photo from the Noisy Plume

Oh, and she also crafts exquisite jewellery (the above beauties are Psalm 23 inspired).... 

her etsy shop is always nearly cleared out!

If I didn't love my firstborn Azriel so much... I'd cash her in to buy one of these incredible pieces.

I kid, but gosh... I'd start buying lottery tickets just to get the 'chance' to afford one of these! 

She's just that talented.

So thank you Jillian - Ms.Plume - for being such a place of beauty and inspiration in this world! 
If you haven't met her before... you should go check her out.

Enjoy, I know I do.

Mel ;o)

how our garden grows...

 Thanks to my guy, we actually have beautiful blooms around our nest!

(Yes, I avoid gardening... too busy crafting! hah).

 I love the style of 'country English gardens'...messy, full, almost untended beauty.

Where I do get involved: collecting basil from the pots for pesto and other meal prep.

What else does this mama do in the garden you ask?...

... I like just hangin' with my gnomies!

These guys have helped guard our green goodness ever since we got 'pranked' with them as a house-warming gift.  You may remember our cute (younger) Azriel hanging with them in last year's post too! 

Are you a green.thumb?

How does your garden grow?

Mel ;o)

slide.show.sunday. take 42.

Hellooooo friends! 

Things were quiet around this nest since we had flown the coop for a family vacation!

Apologies for all my pre-arranged posts not being published here last week (Blogger's blunder).  Here's some fun pics from our trip:

We love driving through the Canadian countryside... the wind ripples through long grasses and hay fields like waves of jade and golden waters.  The sun sparkles across the lakes as though God has flung a thousand crystals across the indigo expanse.

 Ben had rented a cottage for us up on Georgian Bay... and when our Azriel saw the (tiny) beach she squealed with delight: "can we stay here forever??!"

 Sun. Water. Rocks. Sand

The ingredients of a great vacation.

(We won't mention the goose poop, seaweed, ear wigs and spiders!)

Day trips to neighbouring country towns also made for fun adventures... seeking to blend in with the yokels locals. ;o)

 

 Granted, a vacation isn't all R & R when you're kids are with you... its kind of like the chaos of home in a new setting!  For some reason Ben and I brought a stack of books thinking we'd be living it up all leisurely... ha.

 But evenings with this guy makes any holiday wonderful... especially when we're whispering and laughing (because everything's funnier when you have to be quiet) while the kids sleep nearby!

Seriously, he could have rented a soggy cardboard box for all I care... as long as these dear hearts are with me - I'm one happy mama.wife!

Now to enjoy our holiday weekend together... Happy Canada Day fellow neighbours!

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P.S.. you may have noticed this weekly series has been missing more lately... and it's intentional. "Slide.show.sunday" photo dumps of our weekend will be retired for now.  Call it a desire to not be the mama.razzi in our home.  ;o) 

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Hope you all are doing fabulous, 

see you on the flip side with more posts to come this week.

Mel ;o)