Category: DIY

  • DIY Handmade Paper Experiment

    DIY Handmade Paper Experiment

    Take a walk through human history and learn how to add your mark. Literally. Handmade paper could not be easier to do yourself. Challenge yourself to step into the handwork and making process of our ancestors. It is not difficult and the results can be stunning, once you get the hang of it! The intriguing…

  • Broke down, bought yarn, have to knit

    Broke down, bought yarn, have to knit

    I sent out the letter for February and the moment my sister read it she sent me an email, “buy the yarn”, was all she said. That is how I found myself selecting a pattern and chatting with the lady in the local yarn store.  Our little town called Fish Hoek, has a neighbourhood mall,…

  • Hong Kong sky high elegance DIY

    Hong Kong sky high elegance DIY

    For anyone who is a frequent shopper, and by that I mean purchaser of IKEA furniture, you know the basic colour, look and feel of the pine or bamboo wood items. Every item in the store comes in this quintessential finish. It is the hallmark look of many indoor wood items, across Scandinavia. But there…

  • Why do people stare when I knit in public?

    Why do people stare when I knit in public?

    “It is creative apperception more than anything else that makes the individual feel that life is worth living.”   -D.W. Winnicott, psychoanalyst, pediatrician and creativity expert Some people might think it is a bit strange to have packed knitting needles on a year-long trip away from home. I have to admit, this even gave me…

  • Billy needs a facelift

    Billy needs a facelift

    I am a huge fan of IKEA, here in Canada. Maybe because my family has a long ago tie to Sweden? (My Grandfather was born there, but left when he was 2 years old). Or what is probably a more plausible reason, is my Mom getting me started with my first bedroom set, brand new…

  • Creative love for an old piece

    Creative love for an old piece

    I found a great dresser at the second hand store the other day. I have kind of been looking for years. But, on this day, I took the measurements, my husband, our truck and we had some luck! Because you never know what you will find at the second hand store. Some days are golden…

  • A creative way to wrap potatoes

    A creative way to wrap potatoes

    Every culture seams to have a dumpling of sorts. My paternal Grandmother was from Ukrainian descent. The unleavened dough wrapped around a potato filling we ate is called pierogi, (вареники). Although we also called it something else when I was young, but I can’t seem to find the spelling or meaning of the other name.…

  • Green is the right start

    Green is the right start

    As much as I loved being on vacation in Mexico, I really, really, really missed my morning green smoothies. In fact, whenever I travel, I miss out on the very best way to start my day. No other breakfast is as good, I’ve tried it all. In a pinch, I’ll have a fruit smoothie or…

  • Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy

    Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy

    “SABLE- A common knitting acronym that stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.” ― Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much I recently read an article which gave advice about “how to get your yarn stash under control”. The information, in step by step order, was perfectly reasonable.  But when…

  • Hoarding my kids used pencil crayons

    Hoarding my kids used pencil crayons

    I’ve seen the books in stores. It kind of makes sense. There seems to be a collective nostalgia these days. Everything old is new. After all, colouring is old for all of us adults, we did that when we were kids. Except, I had a misspent childhood. Most things that children find fun, I wanted…