Monday, April 26, 2010

My Crafty Weekend - Girly Edition

My Crafty Weekend - Girly Edition


Welcome to this weeks' edition of My Crafty Weekend! This week, has been dubbed as the Girly Edition. Largely in part due to my mom's birthday dinner and a fancy Nancy inspired parasol. Oh and shoes! Is there anything girlier than cute shoes?

Do you like the cake? It is a New York style cheesecake I came up with a little over a year ago. This one in particular has a baked banana topping. When it was sliced we drizzled a strawberry reduction and butterscotch sauce made by The Mister. It was so good, I'll be sharing the recipe later this week.

The giftbag was made with two of Wednesday's paintings. regrettably the gift inside was not handmade (Bought Mama some 'real' Crocs.) There is always Mother's Day though right?

The shoes are a work in progress, but as soon as I have ten minutes to call my own they will be done and a super quick tutorial will be posted. I will tell you though, by removing the ribbon trim they became some super comfy shoes! I already wear them everywhere, I cannot wait o dress them up.

Lastly, some of you have already seen the fancy Nancy parasol. I posted the tutorial last night but it was disguised as a story book review! I'll be linking it up below, it is so easy and so awesome you simply must make one for a special girl in your life!

Okay, onto last weeks links. Can I just say thank you ladies! Last week there were twenty one links! And only two of those were mine! And although I wish I could show you all of them up close, I haven't the time or the space. But the following were in such green spirit, I simply had to share them.


Photo is property of Two Chicks and a Hen

The first is a mesh bath toy bag made from collected produce bags. How clever is that? Jamie from Two Chicks and a Hen posted this tutorial and I love it. I also love her blog, she is a Californian-homeschooling mom transplanted to Montreal, Quebec (One of my favourite cities in Canada.)"An urban mother hen's journey to provide a simple, sustainable, creative life for her two chicks." You should check out her journey.



Image is property Adventures in Dressmaking

Isn't this dress gorgeous? Can you believe it came from a pair of clown pillazo style pants? Seriously! Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking has both serious vision and serious talent. I mean look at how that dress fits! This is one of my new favourite blogs to follow. Fun to read and great projects to ohh and ahh at. If you haven't already jumped on their bandwagon, go..now..do it.



Image property of Let's Go Fly A Kite

KJ from Let's Go Fly A Kite submitted one of the most frugal re-uses I have seen in a while, and certainly the cleverest (wow that is a word) are these cookie cutters re-purposed from the cutter strip on aluminum foil boxes. In the post her friend V (The Baking Barrister)teaches us how to turn that unfriendly little cutting strip into a cookie cutter of any shape that our little hearts desire. I love it! And I cannot wait to do this! I rarely bake cookies, and I have a giant tin if cutters, but this...this is special! Heads up Canadian mamas, KJ is a blogging mama from Toronto who is incredibly talented. Why don't you go fly a kite?

Thank you so much to everyone who participated last week! I cannot wait to visit your blogs and see what wonderful things you have baked/sewn/glued and everything in between!


   
     


Storybook Sunday : Fancy Nancy : Bonjour Butterfly

This is a super fun edition of Story Book Sunday! After I review the book: Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly, I have a tutorial for a great craft inspired by the book! So stick with me, I promise you will not be disappointed!

Fancy Nancy: Bon jour Butterfly is a fantastic book written by Jane O'Connor. It touches you on so many levels. It touches on the joy of being feminine (that is a fancy word for girly), it touches on disappointment, it touches on the need to be there for your family (and in return, your family being there for you.)

This was our first Fancy Nancy book. As a parent I loved the constant infuse of larger vocabulary. The fancier the better. As a mom of a little girl I was almost squealing with delight at her costumes and accessories. And as a person who appreciates illustrations j'adore (that is French for I love) the artwork in this book. I think it might even have stolen the show.

As intriguing (that is a fancy word for interesting) as the text and dialogue were, it was the artwork that drew me in. I just loved how expressive Robin Preiss Glasser was able to make Fancy Nancy on every page. Not just when she was sulky but when she was happy and angry. I think my absolute favourite picture is when Fancy's Mom gives her some bad news. She is just beside herself, I mean, distraught (that is a fancy word for upset) and it is clearly (and adorably) illustrated.

But the story is wonderful too, with a most important lesson to be learned. Our lives are enriched (That is a fancy word for better) because of family. This was our first Fancy Nancy book, but it is definitely not our last. I am on the hunt for more. Apparently there are a few lol. Between the library, eBay and discount stores we may just be able to read them all.






Feathered parasol

And what Fancy Nancy reading time would be complete without our own Fancy Nancy parasol?! Well, it just wouldn't so let's make one! It is super easy and super cheap!

Materials

Loop ends.

Glue.

Glue ends.

Halfway there.

Embellish.

Feathered parasol

Feathered parasol

Feathered parasol

Thanks for stopping by! Bonne nuit! (That is French For good night.)
 
Linking to:

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog
Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts  
Creative Share Wednesdays @ Trendy Treehouse
Idea Sharin' Wednesdays @ Women Who Do It All 
Make It & Wear It @ The Train To Crazy