Last year I wrote a blog post about updating my front door wreath for Spring, and this year I’m looking to change it up again. I’m using a more expensive green wreath as a neutral base so that I can update and change it in many different ways.
Last year I chose to use yellow flowers and yellow and white faux spring buds, but this year I decided to go in a different direction. On a trip to Micheal’s I was looking up and down the aisles for something that would catch my eye. Low and behold I spotted a lovely basket filled with faux oranges and greenery. The mini oranges looked like mandarins and looked good enough to eat.
I chose three sprigs to add to my wreath and then thought it needed one more simple step. I ended up finding a beautiful open weave orange ribbon that was just delicate enough for a bow.
So, in two simple steps I created an entirely new look for this Spring!
I am so excited to announce my Etsy shop launch! Introducing to you made by mum market, a place to find handmade creations made with intention by me!
Just over a year ago, with lots of family support I began my blog – made by mum. I have loved writing blog posts and creating content that I am proud of. The etsy shop just seemed like the next natural step in this adventure.
As with anything new, there are always worries about how it will go, will it be successful, what if I fail? But as we always tell our kids – you need to try. I am surrounded by so much support and love and no matter how this little shop turns out, I am proud of myself for trying something that I never thought I would have the courage to do.
So if you want to go and check out my little market at made by mum market on etsy that would be wonderful.
What do you do with a bunch of stale croissants that you couldn’t eat fast enough? Well of course, you look up on Pinterest what to make. I was quite surprised to find that there are actually several things you can do with them. Bread puddings, croutons, French toast, and the list goes on.
We decided on French toast. I landed on Dinner then Dessert’s recipe called Croissant French Toast Bake. This was an easy to follow recipe and I had all the ingredients that I needed on hand. I altered the recipe slightly by adding in some frozen mixed berries.
This smelled delicious while it cooked in the oven and made the perfect weekend lunch with a dusting of icing sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup! Yum!
Both my parents have had milestone birthdays in the last 6 months. My Dad turned 80 in November and my Mom is turning 75 this week! When I look at them both I don’t really see them as older. They walk everyday, do their own groceries, love taking Milo for walks, and are both in good health.
I wanted to get my Mom a card to mark this birthday but was having trouble finding one that I liked, so I decided to make my own.
I have played around with watercolours before but I am so happy with how this turned out! I outlined 75 and then started filling in the white space with watercolour flowers and leaves. I let the flowers dry in between adding more layers and this definitely helped to give it a little more depth.
The final step is to outline the numbers with a permanent marker. I was going to erase the pencil line, but I think that I could mess up the line. I don’t want to take any chances.
So the next time you are searching for the perfect card, maybe you should just make your own!
Over the holidays I had the opportunity to visit one of my favourite local coffee shops, Roam Coffee in downtown Bowmanville. I had a selection from their seasonal Winter Menu: the Salted Honey Bourbon Latte. It was so delicious! My husband and I opted to have our warm drinks at a table rather than our usual to-go cups.
There really is nothing like a warm drink in a fabulous cup. If you get the chance I highly recommend visiting Roam. Try and sample their wonderful drink menu, and their amazing homemade treats.
A little glimpse of our Christmas cookie baking and decorating. A few years ago my daughter and I went to a cookie decorating evening with my work. My co-workers’ mom had her own cookie business and she ran a little evening workshop. We learned tips and techniques to create the perfect cookie.
I am usually pretty good at trying new things and on my first attempts I did not do very well. This is so much harder than it looks. You need a steady hand and a lot of patience. I honestly don’t know how these small business’ crank out hundreds of intricately decorated cookies.
As a family we decided to try cookie decorating at home. My adult kids loved it so much that we now do it as a yearly Christmas activity. Our skill levels are all over, and sometimes one cookie turns out amazing and the next is a flop. We continue have our yearly cookie decorating evening and there are always lots of laughs.
Also as an insider tip – sprinkles fix everything!
We have a cute little shed on our property that has two window boxes on the front, and when the seasons change, I like to create complementary decorations to add to the window boxes.
For the holiday season this year, I decided to forage around our yard for some things to put into this project. Sometimes I use faux materials but this year I thought I could find enough variety around the yard to repurpose into something beautiful and natural.
I started with some left over greens that I had purchased for the large arrangements I keep on my front porch, like cedar and pine. I buy these from a local farm shop called Price’s Country Market. Then, with my snippers in hand, I began to look around our yard for items to add.
I was pleasantly surprised to realize I actually had a lot of possibilities. I snipped and clipped and before I knew it I had a nice pile of items to choose from, such as dried hydrangea blooms and some stems from my boxwoods.
The next step was to start placing them into the window boxes, making sure I was giving my arrangements height as well as a variety of colours. I was lucky to have found many different shades of green as well as dark red sprigs and even some red berries from a very prickly bush (if you are thinking about doing this at your home I recommend wearing gloves).
I was very pleased with the end result. The cost was very little and I was able to repurpose some things that might’ve otherwise gone into the compost!
I simply love visiting local farm shops on the weekends. One of my favourites is Willowtree Farm. This lovely shop is located in Port Perry, Ontario. It has a wonderful country aesthetic and is strongly based on farm to table products and hand made items.
You can be sure on any given visit you can pick up a bouquet of flowers for your table, homemade jam for your morning breakfast, a sweet or salty treat for a lazy afternoon, and all the supplies you need for a delicious Sunday dinner.
This week I was especially excited about their vegetable box, which was an amazing $10 and was filled with potatoes, brussel sprouts, garlic, a red pepper, tomato, an eggplant, rainbow carrots and an onion. It was the perfect combination for 2 people and will definitely jazz up our meals this week.
With Christmas just around the corner, many of the displays are scattered with handmade items. You can find many different kinds of locally made Christmas ornaments waiting to be placed upon your tree. I especially loved the felted bird and snowman ornaments.
At this time of year it is great to be thinking of gifting local products and Willowtree has a wide variety of jams, pickles, chutneys, mustards and many more. All of which would be wonderful for gift giving. Last year we received a basket of local handmade items as a gift. It is great to know that there are so many local artisans creating fabulous products.
I was especially drawn to a display that was full of coffee and tea products. The display was set up in a vintage Grandmother’s Hoosier Cabinet/baking cupboard. We have one of these treasured cupboards in our family and it holds so many happy memories for me. I thought it was amazing that they were using such a beautiful piece for this display.
Will you wander to Willowtree Farm and check them out? I guarantee you will find something wonderful.
On Thanksgiving weekend, we attempted to make ‘pumpkin buns’ by modifying our regular ‘Grama Buns’ recipe. We usually shape the buns into a ‘knot,’ and instead, we used butcher twine to create pumpkin-like ribs. (Fun fact: each of a pumpkin’s ‘ribs’ correspond to a set of seeds inside the pumpkin!)
After mixing the dough and kneading it, we let the dough rise (1st rise), then we measured it out into individual buns. Next, we shaped them with the twine, and let them rise again (2nd rise). We then baked them with the twine on. After cooling, the twine was removed, leaving behind some adorable pumpkins.
This process looked super cute, but removing the twine was definitely tricky. Perhaps next time, soaking the twine would have helped it remove a little easier. Regardless of this small hiccup with the twine, they were cute and tasted yummy!
My Mom and Dad love to listen to CBC Radio as the background of their day. My grandparents did this too, and so does my Aunt. They regularly share interesting little tidbits that they hear from the day’s stories. My Mom likes the gardening segment in particular, and she always shares the advice with me. Though she always wonders why they don’t give more time to the gardening experts; there always seems to be so many people with questions, and never enough time.
A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that one of the CBC gardeners suggested leaving your perennials intact. This apparently allows bees and insects to overwinter in the dried out stalks, as well as providing homes and food for wildlife. It just so happened that the week before, my Mom had helped me cut back some of my perennials in our backyard. If we’d known this then, we might not have cut them back. I then realized that our new bee and butterfly garden, still full of wild flowers, would be the perfect spot to leave untouched for the winter.
Our pollinator garden project has been a huge success this year. Perhaps there are already creatures in these hollow, dried out stalks and the flower heads with their shrivelled up petals, setting up for the winter.
The garden did its job in the summer months by producing beautiful blooms and nectar for the bees. Now, as we prepare for the winter months, it is providing a safe place to rest. So I will leave my dried up stems and stalks for the winter this year, and I will smile because it makes me think of my Mom and how she shares her stories with me. That makes my heart happy and puts a smile on my face.
