The exciting news... The very first giveaway

I would like to welcome and thank everyone that has visited my blog in the last week. This is an adventure and journey, that I am sharing with you. Thank you so much. Since you have been so kind to visit me, I would like to give something back.

This is my very first giveaway. What is it you ask? Well, since I enjoyed the Sukie Iron- Ons so much, I figured I would give two Sukie Iron-Ons books to my viewers and readers. All you have to do is write a comment, telling me your project idea for Sukie Iron-Ons and don't forget to leave your email address. Whether you would like to use it on a onesie, tote bag, t-shirt etc.

The contest ends Monday at 12 P.M. Don't forget to add your email address and please do not have duplicate entries, since everyone deserves a chance. The winner will be picked randomly, with the kind help of random.org and Sequence Generator. The winner will be announced Tuesday afternoon. Have a great day and good luck.

Sukie Iron ons- Iron on Away - All the possibilities of iron-ons

I remember back in the olden days that we had iron-ons. Cute little stickers that Mom put on our jeans or T-shirts. Unfortunately, they used to come off after a couple of washes and mom would have to put another one on or we would retire the t-shirt. They have been around for a long time and they will live on. 

On a recent trip to my favourite dressmaker store, I found this cute little book of iron-ons with cool and interesting pictures. It is in the form of a little notebook and inside you can find sheets, where you can cut out the design that you want to use. The book is called Sukie Iron-Ons and it looks like this.

I had a closer look and I saw that it had really unique, one of a kind designs, letters, faces, drawings. Here are some pictures from the book to give you some ideas. They would be lots of fun on tote bags or cloth pencil cases.

Anywho, I decided to give it a shot. I had bought a couple of blank onesies for my son a while back and figured that would be the perfect way to try them. Whatcha thinking? These would also be great for a baby shower activity or to make a unique birthday present?

I bet you want to know what the difference is between the printer version and the Iron-on version? The difference is that the printer version is like a decal (with wear it will peel at the edges), whereas this other version is not going to peel off and is more like a dye/ pigment transfer onto your clothing. 

My experience with Sukie Iron-Ons is great. I really like how the onesies turned out. The colours are beautiful and it is very easy to use. All you need is the item that you want to add the iron-on on, a hot and I mean really HOT iron and the picture. Also, you need a really steady hand. Once your iron is hot, take your design, decide where you want to put it on and place it carefully on there. Don't move the iron. Unlike the printer versions, where you need to go over it, here you don't. Steady and slow is the way to go. Well, don't move your iron, because your picture will slide as well. I am attaching some pictures. I just lifted mine a tiny tiny bit.

My observations
A couple of things that I would like to share with you about the Sukie Iron-Ons.
-I would like to mention that you should do this on a hard surface, a piece of wood or on the floor. I also don't recommend trying the iron-ons on your ironing board, because it will damage the fabric on your ironing board.
-You will NEED to put a piece of cardboard or paper between the front and back of the t-shirts as the image will bleed through if you leave it for a long time. I pressed for 2-3 minutes and the image did not seep through, but when I left it for 5-6 minutes it did.
-The longer you leave the iron on the image, the darker and sharper it is. But sometimes it will not be necessary for the whole 5-6 minutes. The giraffe was pressed for about 4 minutes. The lion was for about 6 minutes.

So, what do you think of the result. Liking it? There are so many different designs and so many possibilities. I might try a tote bag in the future. Have you heard of them? Have you tried them? In any case, you have to give them a shot. How neato, peachy keen is this!


Come back this afternoon for an exciting announcement!

Simple, easy, beautiful, cheap wall decor- wall stickers

Walls surround us wherever we are and we spend a good portion of our day looking at them. So, we want them to be nice looking, pleasant, colourful and enticing. There are many ways we can decorate them. We can paint them, we can use wallpaper, hang pictures, but one of my favorites are decorative stickers. Not only do I love decorative stickers, but I have used them to decorate my own walls.

This picture is from Ikea showing a sample of how your wall would look like using the stickers. 

Living in an apartment puts further restrictions on decorating. Often you are not allowed to paint the walls, or even put any pictures up, so decorative stickers are definitely the way to go. You can find them in so many stores, but one place dear to my heart is ... Ikea. Yay! Ikea has a very nice variety of decorative wall stickers. They are not expensive and will transform a room in no time. The stickers peel off easily and will stick to your wall without leaving any marks on them. Not only that, but they are removable/replaceable so you can move them somewhere else in your home. Here are some examples of what you could be adding to your home's appeal.

When my husband and I were decorating our baby's nursery, we wanted to add something different to the walls, but didn't know what exactly. We knew we wanted something colourful, playful and interesting to look at. Well, I never knew how thoughtful my husband was. He suggested this.

What do you think? Do you like it? This is another stick-on decoration, but unfortunately you cannot reposition this. It makes it a little tricky to find the ideal spot for it. But nevertheless, we decided we would go for it. We wanted to create a little cuddle/ reading corner/ play area for our little baby. I keep saying little baby, but he is not that little anymore. He is walking everywhere and now he loves looking at it. Whenever we go in his room, he will look up and point to it.

Have you been to Dollarama lately? Well, you can find these beauties there as well. I bought this one for a friend of mine. They have quite a big variety of decorative stickers, for example, Eiffel Tower, chandeliers, chairs, frames and many many more. Here is a sample of one from Dollarama.  Quality is an issue (don't expect too much) and they may not stick to the wall indefinitely, but for the price they are great.

Since we are all trying to work on a budget, you might want to know what these would cost you. The Ikea decorative stickers are $16.99 a pop and the children's decorative sticker was around $40. The ones at Dollarama go for about $2.  So, the choice is yours, from fancy to frugal, but be bold and try accessorizing your walls.  

Do you have a reading nook in your child's room or nursery? Have you tried decorative stickers?

Baby feet and baby shoes

Babies. Babies have the most adorable little feet. I could look at them forever. The tiny little toes make pictures of baby feet artwork. Not this picture, but professional ones.

Babies don't really need shoes and when they start walking, the question always is, which shoes are the best ones for your baby. Well, the answer is: not so sure. Some say that the sole of a baby shoe (that is starting to walk) should be harder, and others say it should be made out of a softer and bendable material. This is what worked for us.

My son has had two pairs of shoes and he enjoyed both. We bought him his first pair of shoes, when he was about 4 months old. We wanted him to have a nice pair of shoes, so we chose Robeez. They had a nice flexible sole, they looked very nice and they were made of leather. Here is a picture. Aren't they cute? Sorry, but I couldn't find a picture of him wearing them.

His second pair of shoes have been used quite a bit, since he has started to walk and is almost at the point of running. We have hardwood floors in our apartment, so it was crucial to find a pair that had a non slip sole and I figured that a more flexible sole/shoe would be best. I had seen these shoes before, but wasn't sure what they were called.  I discovered Nowali. They are a Swedish company who creates these beautiful sock + shoe combinations. Love them. Fall was approaching but my baby was not walking yet. I didn't know what to do. Should I spend $40-50 on a pair of boots that he would never walk in? Well, I decided that I would buy these ones. As you can see they are in rough shape, because they have been used a lot. And I mean a lot. Isn't the lion adorable? I think it fits his personality. They have lots of different beautiful designs for boys and girls. It is hard to pick just one.

They would keep him warm and he can use them well after winter is over. We thought that he would learn to walk in them. And so it happened. Little by little he started to walk in them. They have a leather sole, so he doesn't slide on the hardwood floors. Perfect.

While he is still perfecting his walk, I know that they are keeping him warm and they give him the support that he needs. We have been very happy with them. This has been our experience. It is quite hard to take pictures of a very active baby boy, but he did strike one pose, that I just had to share with you. Here it is.

Did you know about Nowali? Are you using them? I would love to hear about your experience.  Have a great day!

Etsy Finds

Etsy, oh dear dear Etsy. If you haven't heard of Etsy, here it goes. If you are familiar with Etsy, well then, you know how amazing Etsy is.

It is 'THE' website for everything unique, gorgeous, cheap, exquisite and definitely one of a kind items. Etsy is a website, where people will post some of their creations for sale online. What do they sell? Well, almost anything, but here are some categories- art, jewellery, children's clothes, toys, ceramics, fabric, glass etc. I was unfamiliar with this website and when I found out about it, I got very excited. Every week, I will be writing a post about a couple of great finds that I came across on Etsy.

Here are some of my favorites for this week:

How about this cute little vintage brass buck? Isn't he adorable? He would add so much character to your mantle or entryway. Check him up close. There are similar versions of him as well.

I have been looking for a desk lamp, so here is what I found on etsy. It reminds me of an old secretary desk.

Take a little time to explore etsy and you'll never know what you might find. Ciao and have a great day!

Ideal Sunday Breakfast - Simple Buttermilk Waffles

What makes a great breakfast, you ask? Well, waffles of course. We always have busy schedules and there are few days during the week, that we have time to sit with the whole family and enjoy some delicious waffles. But, there are fewer excuses on the weekends. Maple sugar season is coming up and who doesn't love maple syrup I ask. Everyone loves it, especially little fingers who are getting their first taste of fresh maple syrup. Not only that, but our little fingers also enjoyed some yummy waffles. So, I figured this would be a good post for a Sunday morning. Hope you enjoy it.

Before I post the recipe, I just wanted to add that if you don't have buttermilk, don't fret. You can make your own buttermilk in just a couple of minutes with items that you have at home.

Buttermilk Substitute Recipe

You will need:

- just under 1 cup of milk
- 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice

Put 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to fill it up to 1 cup. Let stand for 5-7 minutes. Use as much as you need for your baking needs.

Simple Buttermilk Waffles

3 cups (750mL) all- purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 eggs
3 cups buttermilk
3 tbsp melted butter

1.)  Grease your waffle iron.
2.)  Put the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir lightly.
3.)  In the middle of the flour mixture, crack the eggs and pour the buttermilk and melted butter over them. Stir gently until you have a lumpy batter.
4.)  Pour approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter in your hot waffle iron and bake until golden and crisp.

You will get around 10-12 waffles. If you make half the portion you will get around 6-8 waffles.

Yummy yum yum! Enjoy!

P.S. These really are easy to make, so give them a shot. You might need/want to add a little bit more buttermilk than the recipe asks for. Good luck and please let me know if you make them and how they turned out!

My very first DIY project post- new painted vases

Blogging is very exciting, but so are diy projects. I have recently discovered that I am absolutely addicted to them and cannot stop. I will try almost anything, even though I might fail miserably and regret trying it. Yes, believe it or not, I do fail. And I do plan on writing about the good, as well as the bad and the ugly and disaster projects on here. This project on the other hand was a success. With spring and Easter fast approaching, I thought this would be a great and quick spring project.

I had seen these vases in lots of different magazines, different websites, blogs, so when I came across a video on how to make them, I just had to try it. You can find the video on the House and Home website for a demonstration. They have some amazing projects by the way. I hope to try some of them in the future and post my experience on here.

This is a picture of the vases on the window sill in our kitchen. They are quite pretty and make looking out the window, much more appealing. The vases have been made from left over jars and bottles. So save your funky jars and glass bottles. This project is also quite inexpensive, since everyone loves adding some inexpensive beauty to their home.

What will you need for this project, might you ask?

1.) clear glass jars, bottles, even glass plates. (you can recycle some, or if you have to go out and buy them- here are some ideas- you can buy small glass starbucks frapucino bottles, tall clear glass bottle, jam jars)

2.) you will need some paint; you can always use some of your leftover paint, which you probably have in your garage or you can buy a small amount at Home Depot for a whopping $4.99 a pop). Not too bad, eh?- also, make sure that you stir your paint well. You will see what I mean later.
3.) a syringe- you can find one at Home Hardware. They are quite inexpensive at $1.99 each (on sale).

So, here it goes. They are super easy to make and look amazing, don't you agree?

Make sure that you washed and dried your jars and bottles and that they are completely dry before you use them. Fill your syringe with paint and hold the bottle at a 45 degree angle. Squirt the paint into the jar or bottle. At the same time, you will turn the bottle so that you cover the walls of the bottle. After you made sure that it is all covered, you put it facing down for all the extra paint to flow out. I would recommend that you put it at an angle, since you want it to dry as well. It will take less time this way. Another thing, that I would recommend is to use somewhat newer paint. I had used a older paint and it showed. Maybe I didn't stir the paint properly...hmmm, I thought I did. Anywho, I was extremely pleased with how they turned out and it was a very easy and cheap project in the end. You will need to use flower viles if you want to display flowers in them, since the inside has latex paint.  Even my husband thought they looked good, so that must mean they look good.

You can also try it with a glass plate, but mine was a half success, not too sure why. For the glass plate you will need a  foam refill brush. If you are not sure how they look like, they are the black things in the materials picture. I tried to do it the same way as in the video, but it didn't look clean. I had done several layers and I felt that the paint was being smudged around and not sticking to the glass plate. Here is a picture of mine.

I would love to know if you have tried this or if you are thinking about trying it. And of course, I would love some pictures if you ever do decide to make it. I think they look very crisp, sweet and sophisticated. You should definitely give them a shot.

Oh what a tapestry!

Have you heard of Peter Blake? Better said Sir Peter Blake. If you have, then you know some of his amazing work, and if you don't here we go. I was speaking to my neighbor the other day and she introduced me to him. Well, Sir Peter Blake is a British pop artist who has created some amazing pieces. He has even designed the sleeve for the Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

His work played an instrumental role in the British pop art movement. His main interests are to combine fine art with pop symbols. Here are some of his paintings. 

Sir Peter Blake Love Target tax disc holder

So, here we are. Some of his artwork has been transferred to tapestry and it is really beautiful, unique and exquisite wall decor. It isn't your regular artwork, and for thousand of dollars, it better well not be. Here are some of the examples. The alphabet tapestry sold for about 15000 pounds, if you were wondering. When I first saw the alphabet print, I was really blown away by the intricate, yet stylish design. I could never spend that much money on the print or tapestry, so... I think I see a potential future diy project in the works. Maybe for a little nursery? Maybe. 

Hope you enjoyed the post and maybe you can add a little pop art and love to your home. 

Welcome and ay ay ay ay, my very first post! Exciting!

Here it goes. After much consideration, soul searching, debating, discussing and more debating etc etc, I have decided to write this blog. Recently, well not so recently (since I was little), I have found myself doing lots of artsy, diy things. Don't get me wrong, I am not an artist, but love doing artsy things. So, with my passion for art and diy things, I decided to write a blog about how others can do things at home. I live in an apartment with my husband and baby boy, and even though I wish we had a big backyard, or garage where I can do my projects, but I have not given up and that hasn't stopped me.

A couple of days ago, I read a very inspirational post about giving up your day job and starting to blog about interior design and diy projects. It was inspirational, uplifting, motivating and encouraging. I love diy projects and interior design, decorating and I would love to share in this blog my 'how to' to different projects. I will be writing posts about diy projects that I make, dinners that should be quick and easy, fashion, and much more. So, welcome, enjoy the ride and I hope you like it. Please feel free to email me if you would like me to write a post about something in particular, or if you would like me to try a project. No guarantees, that I will be able to make it or that I will be successful, but that is what it is all about. Have a good one, and come back again soon!