Boom. Just like that, another week bites the dust! Anyone else wish that time would slow down just a tad this Fall? My days are full (we’re talking full) to the brim with kids/work/driving/life and I’m definitely counting down these final 8 days until Brad gets home from the wilds of Manitoba! Here’s a little roundup of some links I’ve loved this week but I didn’t quite make it to the usual 5 for Friday as I ran out of steam by number 3 😉
1. I love everything about this gallery wall and eclectic bedroom spotted over at The Everygirl yesterday:
2. Um, how flipping adorable is this Maria costume?!? I love The Sound of Music (I mean, who doesn’t) and think this is the most darling idea ever. See how to make this cutie and an astounding amount of other sweet costumes over at Oh Happy Day:
3. I’ve wanted to make homemade caramels forever (I think since reading about Laura making pulled taffy in The Little House on the Prairie books when I was little…anyone else remember that?) but never have for some reason. These salted butter confections look too decadently delicious not to try:
Any exciting plans for the weekend happening out there? Mine’s looking fairly quiet, other than being surrounded by my brood, but it’s always a treat to take a break from the schooldays routine and put my feet up…like, before 9pm 😉 Cheers to the weekend!
Oh. My. How’s that for dropping off the radar?! I didn’t mean to take such a huge blogging hiatus (at all!) but we got into a pretty good Summer groove over here and I think I really just needed a good break from the world wide web. I was starting to feel like all of the creative wonderfulness out there was just starting to blend together (you know, like when too many well-dressed people are in a room together and no one truly stands out) and have quite honestly been in quite the creative slump…can anyone relate? I think I’m coming out of it (I’ve finally started hanging art around our house and had a lot of fun styling a recent shoot for the shop) but I’ve definitely pulled back from social media and Pinterest over the past few months to try and clear my head. While I still have a mild Instagram addiction, I’m determined to fill more of my spare time with reading actual books instead of scrolling through endless images and I’d really love to pick up a new skill or two in the year to come. But I do need to find myself a cozy reading corner to coax me into sitting down and I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for a vintage hanging chair. Pretty sure my kiddos would soon take it over but a girl can dream! Here are some beauties that have caught my eye:
Cozy, right? Can you recommend any good books that you read over the summer? My friend Julia gave me The Orphan Master’s Son and it was really great…dark at times but super interesting. And is there a skill that you’d like to learn to retrain your tech-addicted brain? I’ve got calligraphy and learning to play guitar on my short-term bucket list for now. Thanks for checking in and I’ll be back to chat again soon 🙂
Man, this week went fast…anyone else feel the same? After being out of commission for the past several weeks, I’ve been so happy to be feeling better that I packed a tonne into the last few days, maybe even a bit too much judging by how late the kiddos have been sleeping in! Our weather has just been so awesome that it felt like a shame to miss out on being outdoors for even a moment! My girls were in gymnastics camp each afternoon too (fun for them but a lot of extra running around for me) and I’m looking forward to unplugging and enjoying some downtime this weekend. We’re heading off to our friends’ cabin on Lasqueti Island and cannot wait! It’s rustic and off the grid but there’s nothing like being by the ocean to recharge, agreed? Before we head for the ferry, here are some links I’ve loved this week:
1. I’ve always been a sucker for anything indigo (my collection of mismatched blue and white china is a little out of hand) and these DIY placemats by Lovely Indeed would look right at home on my dining table:
3. How awesome is this DIY Modern Cooler makeover by Almost Makes Perfect? I feel like I should make one of these for every beach-loving friend I know:
4. We’ve had the same pine sleigh bed since we got married 13 years ago and I am so over it. I don’t want to pay a tonne on a new bed frame and haven’t found any new and exciting DIY headboard ideas but this bed frame project by Apartment Therapy looks simple, quick and super cheap to do…just my style! :
5. I spotted this adorable home tour over on A Beautiful Mess and after the busy week I’ve had, can totally picture curling up under this amazing quilt:
We’re heading out first thing tomorrow for a few days of swimming in the sea and campfire cookouts so I’ll be back to chat sometime middle of next week. Cheers!
I’m late posting today but so it goes sometimes 🙂 The weekend is officially here and although our sunshine is apparently going to disappear for a little while (boo!), I’ve got some bright inspiration and link love to share with you today:
1. Loving the combination of vintage and modern in this colourful vignette, not to mention that beautiful painting :
2. Laundry is my least favourite chore but how fun is this cheerful utility room? Check out the DIY vinyl tile flooring tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess:
4. I love a good colour punch in an otherwise neutral space and these bold yellow chairs are no exception…they remind me of a modern take on old Sunday school chairs, no? :
We don’t have many plans this weekend but will be hanging with some friends and hitting the beach (if the rain stays away) before bringing Gabe to camp on Sunday. What about you, any exciting getaways in your cards? Happy weekend!
I don’t know about you, but this weekend couldn’t come soon enough! Our schedule is all out of whack with a Pro-D day on Monday and teachers on strike yesterday but kids back to school today. Not exactly cohesive the amount of work needing to be done at the shop but so goes life sometimes! I’ll be at it full-throttle today though before getting into party mode for our Summer kick-off event at Spruce Collective tonight, wahoo! Here are a few other links that caught my eye this week:
2. Pretty sure I need to make these marquee letters for our new place (and by “I”, we all know I actually mean “convince Brad to make them for me” right?) Mmm, Happy Hour:
Christmas is officially less than a week away! I’m definitely off of my game this year and will really need to hustle to check the last few gifts off of my list. I’m not exactly sure when it’s going to happen but after last week’s events, I’m not too stressed about it. I started wrapping gifts for my kids’ teachers yesterday and took just a little bit more time than usual packaging each one. With 6 teachers between my 3 kids (they each have 2…job share positions are pretty common here) plus the principal, I couldn’t spend a lot on each person but wanted to let them know how much we appreciate everything that they do. It’s the little personalized touches that make presents all the more special, wouldn’t you agree? The thought and time that goes into thinking about the receiver of each gift means much more than the value of the gift inside, in my humble opinion. Here are some beautiful and inexpensive wrapping ideas for the holidays…
It doesn’t take much more than a printer and some simple supplies to recreate any of these adorable packages. I just picked up some washi tape and baker’s twine from Spruce and will definitely be giving this bunting a shot! Kraft paper and vintage tins are always a good idea but I’m especially loving the printed family photos and hand painted watercolour papers this year…
It’s high time that I put together a wrapping kit like Ez’s over at Creature Comforts, although it’s far too pretty to hide away in a drawer or cupboard! I’ve got a busy day ahead full of school performances, shop talk and an afternoon trip into the city but will catch up with you again on Friday. See you soon 🙂
Only three more sleeps ’til Christmas! My shopping is finally done and now I can get on with the fun business of wrapping, wrapping and more wrapping! I still haven’t sent out Christmas cards and am debating between a festive email with lots of photos of the kids from over the fall and winter (although it somehow seems so impersonal) or just sending out Happy New Year’s cards with a couple of recent photos inside. An email will definitely be easier than the written word…what do you think? Is a newsletter totally tacky? Or can I get away with it for just this year? We did just get our family photos taken with my parents, sister and brother-in-law last weekend so I’ve now got some more great photo options now, thanks to Jayme Lang…I’m wearing the purple coat, in case you’re wondering!
Speaking of wrapping, if you’re looking for easy yet creative packaging ideas and printable gift tags, look no further! Here are a few of my top picks for the season, most of which only require tidbits from around your home and a little bit of time and extra care…
I came across this amazing vintage portrait wrapping idea from Martha Stewart’s Craft Department last week and I am so in love with the results! Wouldn’t it be perfect for a birthday or bridal shower as well? Or picture vintage children and infants for a baby shower…so sweet!
There are so many wrapping options, many of which you can find from around your own home. Kraft paper, book pages, fabric scraps and children’s drawings are some of my favourites and it’s nice to use recyclable options. I love Heather Bullard‘s evergreen embellishments and think I’ll definitely be borrowing that idea in the days to come! Rachel will be posting our last holiday post tomorrow and then we’ll be taking all next week off to spend with our families and friends so you won’t hear from me for a bit. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas filled with loved ones and we’ll see you in the bright and shiny New Year…Cheers!
What a weekend! I feel exactly the same way as Rachel…completely overwhelmed by how wonderful our day at the schoolhouse actually was and exhausted, but in a very good way! We still can’t believe that everything came together without a hitch and feel so blessed by the crowds of visitors who came to see our amazing vendors and their lovely wares. Each display was gorgeous and unique and obviously struck a chord with customers because everywhere we go we’re still hearing rave reviews and requests for when the next market day will be. As tired as we are, we can’t help but be excited about the next edition of The Old School Market and will be keeping you posted along the way, after a much needed spa day on Wednesday to work out the kinks!
With no extra wiggle room in our market day budget, we made all of the decorations and signs for our event ourselves. As you well know, we have a big thing for vintage maps and what better way to use up our stacks of old atlas’ than to make map bunting. It looked so cheerful strung along the blackboards of the schoolhouse! We’ll be posting more pictures in the next few days so you can get a closer look. But one of our favourite projects (which also happened to be the most time consuming!) were our homemade sandwich boards. We placed two at the main intersections leading to Clayburn Village and placed the largest in front of the schoolhouse. I came across Katie’s fabulous idea of using an old crib to create an easel on her blog, Notes from a Very Red Kitchen, and we thought it would be the perfect way to recycle an old piece into a sign board fitting for our vintage market. What do you think?
So here’s what we did. After scouring a few thrift shops and even putting a shout-out on Facebook for old cribs, we found one by chance at the back of a dingy junk barn stall. It wasn’t pretty! We left the rails behind and took only the headboard and footboard home with us.
1. We gave them a good hose down, scrubbed them with TSP and gave them a light sanding (Katie recommends another great product that we didn’t have time to source) before priming them with a stain blocking primer. 2. Once primed, we painted the frames with 2 coats of semi-gloss white paint. 3. Then, we taped off the frame and gave the centre square 2 coats of black chalkboard paint. Already looking pretty spiffy, right?
The detailed painting part was by far the most tedious and time consuming. First, we enlarged and printed off our logo in sections and taped them together to fit the chalkboard. Then, we rubbed chalk on the entire backside of the paper and shook off the excess. We carefully taped the image to our board and used a bamboo skewer to trace the entire image….be warned, it sounds as horrible as you would imagine! Once we’d traced all of the details we wanted (we left out the date and a some other wording so that we could use it again) we removed the paper and, voila, we had a chalk outline of our logo! (Sorry, it was late and I was cross-eyed and didn’t think to take photos of these steps!) Next, we used a fine tipped brush (use a good camel hair one) to paint over our chalk tracing with 2 coats of paint. And many hours and 2 sore backs later, here is the result…what do you think?
For our other two sandwich boards, Rachel had the great idea of using cabinet doors from our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. We used the same process as above, but just printed off words to transfer with chalk and painted the flag bunting freehand. All of the paint that we used was leftover from our own homes. My handy hubby attached the hinges for us and we saw more than a few happy customers posing for pictures with our crib sign outside of the schoolhouse on Saturday! The crib easel would be the perfect project for you to make for your own kids or even as a special gift, don’t you think?
Now it’s back to getting some order back into our lives and getting back into the domestic groove of things. It feels good to finally have food back on my shelves again! We’re so thankful to our families and friends for pulling up the while our focus has been on market planning and projects. From bringing kids home from school to babysitting and impromptu play dates….Thank You!
PS…I cannot believe that I failed to credit someone very important in the making of our signs when I was writing this post at midnight last night! A huge Thank You to Jessica MacDonald of Trove Vintage Rentals for getting into our heads and designing the perfect logo for The Old School Market…we LOVE it!
The Everygirl | Michelle Lange Photography
Oh Happy Day | The Sound of Music Maria Costume | Photo by Paul Ferney
Salted Caramel Caramels | A Beautiful Mess | Photo by Emma Chapman
Bathroom reno by 
Sarasota Magazine
Country Living
Candice Stringham
Sweet Paul
Creature Comforts
