Bento crazies…

Have you seen all the Bento box pictures that are exploding all over the internet?? Lemme show you some….

The artful kind…. just not for me. But oh my so cute!

picture by mymealbox.com

mybentolicious

The ones for your everyday kind of person: (just me!)

by hapabento.com

by diners journal

I liked the way bento boxes were looking and the fun they add to a simple lunch box. this is what I came up with… Nothing fancy, but hey it’s still fun!

Bought some divided boxes at the dollar store (2$ each)

and found some silicon molds at Maxi et Cie

(3 for 2$… which is cheap since I was looking for silicon molds for weeks and thought they were too expensive)

I have 4 different mold forms and 3 of each form! (I’ll be making my own lunches with them too when it’s back to school time for me The kids haven’t complained about their new lunches! What I like is I can put small bits of everything and I can buy wholesale cookies and crackers and such (not the individual portions) without using billions of containers. And I sneakily  cut on the sweets at the same time without them noticing! Amazing! The containers fit in their lunch box (from costco) but I have just enough space to put the ice pack and the yogurt.

I’m sure my kids would love these too!

by coffeeandvanilla.com

Planting trees…

The kids had an activity with the Scouts saturday, and I went along with Rachel!

They had to plant trees for a company and in return this company is giving money back to finance their summer camp.

It was a BIG  job!

2600 small white spruces had to be grounded…

in a soil made exclusively of rocks and clay. I felt like I was weighting 20 pounds more, because of all the soil that was adhering to my shoes…

the kids couldn’t dig themselves, it had to be done by adults, and it was hard.

And the field to cover quite big!

We were about 80 persons to do the job (4 Scouts group and parents)

But WE DID IT!

Man, I was pooped when we came back home and just crushed on the sofa for a while lol! It was a hard work out!  But worth it

Crafting hard!

Soon, my one and only son will be turning 8!! already!  And I’m planning a big party for his birthday Since it’s the only member of the family that has a birthday in summer (we are all just before Xmas) it’s fun to be doing something outside and have the place…!

I’ve started a pinterest board  to collect ideas of what I have in mind Pinterest is sooo addictive…. but very useful!

So here’s a teaser of what I’ve done today….

I made the invitations look like  creamsicles and I love them. Just made a template out of a cereal box and cut in cardboard from the $ store.

I’ve a pretty good idea of what I want in term of décor lol. Thanks to Pinterest!

It will involve lots O’ candies….

Pinwheels….

Banners and balloons….

And popsicles of course!

T-shirt top play dress tut!

Michelle at MichellePatterns is doing another challenge this week It’s called the pinterest challenge (it’s not too late to participate and do the giveaway!) and you have to make something inspired from something you pinned on pinterest… I saw lots of  dresses made from t-shirt tops so I decided to give it a go! (here’s another one for inspiration)

Remember the white cami I dyed? I finally used it Along with some fabric my friend Katrina gave me (Hi Redrane!)

It was going to be for Camille, since I find it hard to find some cute dresses the length we like.

I cut the cami about 4 inches under the arm.

Then I cut 2 inches strips from the remnant.

Sew 2 strips together to make a long one and ruffled it with my sewing machine.

I then pinned  it around the collar and cut the over and sewed the 2 end together to make a loop and sewed it on.

The purpose of this ruffle is to make more girly and to hide some of the dye stains

Next I measured the length I wanted and cut the fabric  accordingly (width is selvage from selvage). Sewed the selvage together.

Gathered it and sewed it on the cami.

Made a ruffle with the fabric remnant and added it to the skirt. Put a cute belt and you’re done!

When I showed it to her when she came back from school she squealed with delight and was wearing it the next morning (so the pictures are taken before she left for school and she ‘s standing up on her dresser lol!)

Rhubarb orange compote

It’s rhubarb time here in Québec

I thought I’d share a recipe that is a big hit in this house.

My son just loves it

My mom-im-law made this a couple of years ago, and it has become a classic.

If you want to try it you’ll need for one batch:

• 4 cups (one liter) of chop rhubarb (fresh or frozen, doesn’t matter)
• 1/2 orange rind, grated
• 1 cup of sugar (I use fructose and put a bit less)
• 3 tablespoons of water

I like to do a couple of batches at once. This time I did 3 batches so I used, 12 cups rhubarb; 2 orange rind; 2 1/2 cup of fructose and about 1/3 cup of water.

Chop your rhubarb and grate your oranges.

Add the sugar and water, mix and bring to a boil. Let simmer until it has the texture you want (we like it with bits of rhubarb still left!)

Pour in jar, put the lids on and let cool.

When cool enough store in fridge for a couple of weeks or keep it in the freezer for a winter sweetness!

Rain boots

What is it with girlie girl and rain boots??? How come it’s so cute put together ?

This one is growing up way too fast if you ask me…

already 9 1/2…

She’s so beautiful and funny… I think I’ll cry on her 10th birthday…

I promised I’ll show you my new school bag so here it is. Vintage. Mustard yellow. LOVE! I bought it at AdVintagous etsy shop!

I love pic monkey and Orton and Dusk are my favorite effects! Make me feel like a professional photographer ha!

Pattern try

I’ve caved in… again…

The cuteness won me over so what a gal to do??

buy the new pattern of course!

Kim at Retromama released this new cutie dachshund pattern, and I just had to have it and make it…

I sewn 7 of them and one already found a home since Camille’s friend lost her grandmother, so she gave her one.

Quick and easy, fit for beginners…

You can find the pattern on her blog on her sidebar or in her etsy shop.

The ones I’ve sewn are list on my etsy!

For mother’s day….

I was a lucky mom I’m always a lucky mom, even though I forget it sometimes… We had a great day yesterday. I slept in (yay!) and then I woke up to that….

And even a paper cake!

With a craft that Camille made at school for me! Yes, my oldest decorate all the house for mother’s day with a bit of a help from her brother and sister! You can tell, she worked hard

And they all made me cards with Oh so nice messages inside. I was impressed by what Julien had to say… And Julien made me a small cushion to put under my pillow

Camille is funny. This girl makes anything she wants with paper! She made me a bouquet of flowers as you can see above. She made herself houses for her polly pockets. She made musical instrument once too. And my cake a couple of pictures above. No wonder is costing me an arm in scotch tape…

The Kids were thrilled that Daddy made pancakes for lunch.

I played cards with Julien, read books with Rachel and was going to the ceramic café with Camille when we hit a locked door. It’s closed for good now, and we were very sad… So we ended up at Renaud Bray to read some comic strips instead lol!

Hope you had all a good day and enjoyed every bit of it!

 

Help!!!

Would you help me please??! I’m pathetic… I know, but it’s so hard. Too many choices and options.

The thing is, I really NEED a new handbag. The one I currently have (bucket) is agonizing and I want something different now

But what to choose?? I saw lots of lovely patterns on etsy and just can’t make my choice. Soooo easy when it comes for someone else, why is it so hard to choose for myself?! I know I will use grey pants with red. With that in mind will you stroll through  the following pictures and tell me the one you prefer? All are the size I want and I want cross body style (or on one case the backpack style lol).

All pictures will take you to the etsy store of the pattern’s designer. I borrowed pictures from their store for easier viewing

picture by sew spoiled

picture by sewspoiled

Cabrio tote by Sewspoiled

Isn’t it cool that this bag pattern is a shoulder bag AND a backpack???!!!

picture by ChrisWDesigns

Bella bag by ChrisWDesigns

With lots of pockets…

picture by charliesaunt

Rural correspondent bag by charliesaunt

Love the tailored look on this one!

picture by charliesaunt

The Poacher’s bag by charliesaunt

Cute looks!

picture by thesterlingowl

The hobo messenger bag by thesterlingowl

Love the clean lines of this one!

picture by SweetPeaTotes

Hobo bag by SweetPeaTotes

I like the flap and structure!

I told you! Too many options….

So which one would you be choosing???

Pretty please, help me decide!

sfdasf

Mother’s day sale!

I’m having a sale for mother’s day on both stores!

Just enter coupon code   MAMAN    for a 10% discount!!