Matchy, matchy

I was digging through my files the other day when I came across these pictures from a post that never was back in December. This was the fantastic little matching game I bought for my nephews for Christmas.

Can you see what makes this one so special? The images are all local Vancouver landmarks. Love it!

I bought it from a local crafter who was making her debut at the pre-Christmas Portobello West market in November. Sadly, I've since forgotten her name and can't find her anywhere online...anyone know who I'm talking about? She had the images custom printed and she assembled and trimmed each tile by hand. I'd love to get my hands on another set if anyone out there can help me find her!

Adventures in babysitting

Remember that movie? No? Well, perhaps some things are best left in the 80s.

Cheeseball movies aside, this past weekend, I got just a taste of life with two kids when I babysat my niece, Maryn...solo. I gotta tell you, there's nothing cuter than seeing two cousins go absolutely nuts-o at the sight of each other. Seriously, if you could somehow capture all that excitement, the world's energy crisis would be resolved.

Abner was eager to show her little cousin (by five weeks) how to draw the letter A. Daycare Lady taught her a few weeks ago and now we have As on every piece of paper in the house!

A reasonable attempt was made at putting the girls down for a nap. To no one's surprise, the attempt failed miserably. On the bright side, Abner was asleep by 6:30 that night! Woohoo!

Drawing seemed to be the activity of choice that day - more for me than them though, as they had me drawing items on demand including: a house, a building, rainbows, a choo-choo train, and my personal fave...a dancing chair with a seat belt (!?!?!??)

There was even a bit of dress up involved when they decided to put on each others winter hats and mitts. Pretty damn adorable, if you ask me.

With a pair of girls as sweet as this, I'm up for babysitting anytime!

One-word Wednesday: Spongy

Mild winter = Outdoor fun

It seems The Dear Sweet Husband made the right call when he replaced our tires a few months ago. At the time we hotly debated going all in on a new set of winter tires, or the riskier alternative, a set of all-seasons. Against my wishes, TDSH went for the all-seasons...and as much as it pains me to say it, he was right. The much-hyped snowy winter we were promised never materialized this year.

The upside of a mild winter is that it's allowed us to get out and enjoy the outdoors almost as much as we do during the warmer seasons. Here's a quick look at some of the places we've ventured in the past month...Torontonians, eat your heart out, 'cause this is what winter looks like on the west coast:

Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver

Lynne Creek, North Vancouver

Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen

...yes, we really did have a picnic in the middle of winter!

Blackcomb, Whistler

Eagle viewing, Brackendale

Snowshoeing, Cypress (or maybe Seymour) Mountain

And, yes, I'm fully aware that by flaunting our snow-free status, I have doomed us all to an epic snowstorm in the next few weeks.

One-word Wednesday: Steamy

 

Bartering is not dead

How do I know this? Well, I recently traded my sewing services with a designer friend of mine to get a new Milkybeer logo designed. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me!

Our deal was that Kelly would design the new logo and banner for Milkybeer (to be revealed at a later date) and I would make a new duvet cover for her son, Sacha. You see, at the time, Kelly was pregnant with #2 and needed to upgrade Sacha to a big boy bed.

Much to Kelly's chagrin, Sacha requested a race car theme for his big boy bedroom. Now, I don't know if you've ever looked at race car fabric, but it reminds me of something you would see in the 1980s. It's like no fabric designer has managed to come up with a modern version of the race car theme (or if they have, I haven't seen it yet). So, after an hour or so of browsing the options at Fabricana, we settled on a multi-coloured polk-a-dot, solid aqua (thank you Kona!).

As a concession to Sacha, we threw in a street sign-themed flannel. Street signs...they're just as good as race cars, aren't they?

The flannel was strategically placed along the top edge of the cover, on both sides, so that it would be nice and soft on Sacha's face. I stitched it right over top of the main fabrics so that down the road, it could be removed if he ever outgrows his taste for all things automotive.

Personally, I hate it when the duvet manages to work its way out at the bottom, so I used buttons to close up the opening. Aren't the buttons Kelly chose cute?

Since the magic sewing fairy has yet to deliver my very own serger, I am left finding other ways to finish my seams so that they don't fray. Yet again I opted for French seams. As lovely as French seams are, on a project of this scale, they essentially double the work involved since you have to run each seam through the machine not once, but twice...plus, you have to trim off the seam allowance in between. A tonne of work, but it's the best way I've found to finish my seams without a serger.

If you're in the market to make your own duvet cover, check out this handy dandy tutorial from the folks over at Design*Sponge. This is basically the pattern I followed with a few deviations. The tips they include are great and the pictures are oh-so-helpful!

Word has it that Sacha is loving his new duvet cover...and just in time! Kelly welcomed her second son, Rhys, on Friday!