Friday Finds - The Art of Mandy Budan

Mandy Budan is a Canadian artist based in Pickering, Ontario who works primarily in acrylic paint. She is inspired by nature using strong colour and rhythmic pattern. You don't need to be from this part of the globe to appreciate Mandy's work, but her art reflects the nature that has surrounded me all of my life here in Ontario. Her art makes me feel at home and I love it.

Lovely isn't it? If you would like to see more of Mandy's work please visit her Etsy shop , or her website.

Tomato Spotting

We have had some real crummy weather the past few weeks. Not the best summer on record, but the sun has come out today. With such nice weather I was anxious to inspect my veggie garden. Look at my tomatoes!


I'm waiting for these guys to start changing their color...

I have been following Ontario gardening guru Mark Cullen's advice for tomato growing. Here are some of his helpful tips:

• 20kg composted cattle manure per plant – plant right in manure
• While planting mix fistful of dried eggshells (3 or 4 eggs) prevents blossom rot
• On top of soil place generous layer (3-5inches) of finely ground bark mulch or 12 to 15 pages of newspaper to retain needed moisture and prevent weeds
• In July apply Bordeaux mixture (contains copper) to prevent early blight

My tomatoes are of the Beefsteak variety - I hope to try different varieties next year. Mark recommends ‘Whopper’, Early Girl’, ‘Sweet One Million’ & ‘Better Boy’.

Strike you're out!

Ahhh, a garbage strike. Nothin' quite like it is there?

Nothing like living in our own filth to make us open our eyes to our own bad, bad habits.

There have been a lot of people playing 'the blame game' during the past month - "It's the union's fault!", "It's the mayor's fault!". I'm thinking perhaps we should all take a step back and look at the big picture. Perhaps if we were a little more careful with what we put into the garbage, we wouldn't have as much garbage and therefore, wouldn't have such a big problem when garbage strikes occur. Talk about a way for the city and taxpayers to save some money! Just sayin'....

So how can we reduce our garbage? I've compiled a list of my favorites:

1. Cook fresh food, rather than packaged food (cheaper & healthier). For convenience cook a large amount and freeze it in single servings, or cook something large (such as a chicken) & use in different meals throughout the week.

2. Buy from bulk bins, or in bulk quantities. Bring your empty yogurt containers to a bulk store to stock up on flour, sugar, dried fruit and spices.

3. Avoid non-recyclable plastics (for example if your municipality only takes type 1 and 2 plastic, don’t buy products with 3, 4, 5, etc.)

4. Build a composter. It can take all vegetable and fruit scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells and much, much more! If you don’t want to build one – check with your local municipality they often give them out to residents for free.

5. Try cloth diapers. You can even sign up for a diaper service that will pick up the soiled diapers and drop off pristine replacements every week.

6. Fresh produce: Not much waste left over after you cook/eat fresh produce. Think of all the bags, cans and jars you won’t have to toss.

7. Old clothes: Sell to a thrift store, or donate them to a shelter. Or if your crafty, make something new out of the old!

8. Stop the junk mail: If you can get off of those annoying junk mail lists this could save you tons of garbage every year.

9. Repairs: Have an old pair of shoes you want to throw out? Take them to a shoe repair shop instead. I can attest to this, I’ve done it and my shoes turned out to be just like new – really!!! Try this with other clothing items as well and also electronics.

10. Use reusables: Instead using paper towels/napkins use rags, towels or cloth napkins. They are washable and reusable. Also, a lot of foods come in plastic containers that could easily be cleaned and used for storage.

11. Buy durable – the longer it lasts the better. Saves you money too.

12. Buy less: Sounds hard, right? Maybe not. Do you really need to buy the latest DVD or book? Why not borrow them from your library? It’s free you know....

"...those patio lanterns, lighting up our lives..."

I was inspired this evening while sitting on the back step under the stars. Here are some diy patio lantern ideas to help you celebrate summer evenings.

Craft Tutorial: Photo Lanterns at Decor8

Design sponge - Kate's Homemade Citronella Candles

Seashell lights at Martha Stewart.com

Studio G Garden Design: Cheap Outdoor Lanterns

Craftzone.com blog - How to Make Paper Lanterns

Glass Jar Lanterns at BBC Gardeners' World.com

Friday Finds - Customizable Blackboard BBQ Apron

I love shopping on Etsy or anywhere I can find handmade goods. There are so many talented people and so many great items! I'm always finding something interesting and thought perhaps I could do a weekly feature and share my finds with you. Introducing - FRIDAY FINDS!!! (note: I am not receiving any sort of compensation for featuring these artists/crafters, I simply want to share some of my favorites with you, so enjoy.)


Our first featured Friday Find is fitting for a Friday in July (say that ten times fast! ~whew~). I love a seller with a sense of humour and the picture above clearly shows that Shirley at Scraphappieaz has one. This 'Customizable Blackboard BBQ Apron' would be all the entertainment needed for any BBQ. Love it, love it, love it!

You can find this apron in Shirley's Etsy shop here.

Cosmetic Bag Tutorial

I've been making these little gals for the past few days. They are the perfect size for inside your purse (large enough to carry lipstick a compact or two, mascara, eyeliner). These are super easy to make with almost instant gratification. For those of you interested in making your own "Makeup Mini" (as I've named them) below is a little tutorial. For those of you who don't like to sew, you can also find them in the shop if you so desire one.

Materials you will need:

*2 pieces of the fabric you want on the exterior approx 9"x7"

*2 pieces of the fabric you would like to use as the lining approx 9"x7"

*1 zipper - 8"

1) Take your exterior fabric make a 1/2"fold on one of the longer edges on each piece. Press.

2) Line folded edge of one piece with zipper leaving approx 1/8" gap between zipper teeth & folded edge. Pin in place. (note: I had to sew a new zipper stop as my zipper was too long - pen is pointing to this in pic above)

3) Using a zipper foot, sew together fabric and zipper as close to the edge of the fold as you can.



4) Attach the remaining exterior piece of fabric the same way on the other side of the zipper.


5) Now unzip the zipper 3/4 of the way. This is the most important step and if you miss it you be soooooooooooooooooo mad when you get to step 11!




6) Now line up your pieces & pin right sides together.



7) Stitch perimeter of 3 sides without the zipper. 5/8" seam allowance. Then trim off extra bulk on corners & sides as shown above .


8) Fold corners together to form a point as shown in picture above. Pin in place.


9) Stitch a line approx 1.5" in from the point you have created. Now repeat on other side.


You will now have something that looks like this.


10) Trim off the points you created about 1/4" from stitch line

11) Now turn case right side out and press (this is why you had to unzip the zipper in step 5.)

12) Take interior lining fabric & make a 1/2"fold on one of the longer edges on each piece. Press.

13) Line up interior lining right sides together & pin. (folds will be facing out)

14) Sew 3 sides as show in picture above. Trim off excess bulk the same as you did for exterior fabric.

15) Repeat steps 7, 8 & 9 with lining fabric.

16) Turn exterior fabric inside out again and insert into lining fabric, wrong sides together.

17) Slip stitch the interior lining to the exterior of case along the line of stitching that attached the zipper to the exterior of case.

18) Turn case right side out and press. Voila! You now have a cosmetic case!

Fall Colour /09

I wanted to share with you the new colours from the 'Pantone Color Report for fall 2009'.

I don't typically follow seasonal colour trends, but I'm excited about these ones. They are not what one would expect for fall. The colours look almost look spring like.

Colour names from top left are as follows: Iron, Purple Heart, Majolica Blue, American Beauty, Honey Yellow, Rapture Rose, Burnt Sienna, Warm Olive, Nomad & Crème Brûlée.

Just a little food for thought...

A harvest...kind of...

What I grew: zucchini & basil - from seed

What I did not grow: tomato (although mine are getting there) & steak

And yes - I did eat all of that steak myself...

Day Trippin'

I want to share some photos of our trip to 'Niagara On the Lake' last weekend. We took the 'GO Train' from Toronto to Niagara Falls with our bikes in tow (approx 1.5 hour train ride). Once we arrived in Niagara Falls (Canada) we biked all the way to Niagara on the Lake. There is a fantastic bike path that takes you all the way along the Niagara River.

If you didn't know, the Niagara region is popular for its wineries. The bike ride to Niagara on the Lake would technically take only 40 -60 minutes, but with all of the wineries on the way, it took us a good 3 hours. We stopped at a few and did wine tastings. We then bought some wine and treated ourselves to a bottle of chardonnay with our picnic lunch.

And finally, beautiful Niagara On the Lake...

View from Niagara on the Lake looking across Niagra River at 'Old Fort Niagara' situated on the USA side (Youngstown, New York).

And check this out - a view of home (Toronto) across big Lake Ontario. It was a really clear day so I think we lucked out with this view! A fantastic day trip - I highly recommend it.

Penelope Passport Wallet

I have created some new passport wallets for the shop. I made one for myself a long time ago and have been meaning to make more - finally got around to it. The design is much improved from that of the original.

The new design features the original two large pockets to hold your boarding pass, itinerary, travel insurance documents, etc. and two smaller pockets perfect for your passport, ID or business cards. What's new is the built in pen slip (no more fumbling for a pen to fill out those customs forms!) and an exterior pocket with a zipper closure. I also added a strap with a Velcro closure keeps the wallet closed.

I plan on making more of these in different fabrics for the holiday season. <---- Oh gosh - did I just say that? I know it is a long way off, but now is the time to plan. Sorry to startle you all...my bad. You can learn more about Penelope here.

Lookie, lookie what I found...

Look what I found this morning!



That's right folks - you are looking at my first born zucchini - I am one proud mama. Isn't she perfect?

Some things I have learned while expecting: Zucchinis usually grow approximately 15 leaves before flowering. A zucchini plant has both male and female flowers. Male flowers will not produce any fruit. The female flowers are the stars of the show - you can identify a female flower by a small swelling at her base.

Now I just have to wait until it grows a little. Apparently zucchini is best picked when it is 6 to 8 inches long. It becomes 'woody' and tough once it exceeds this range.

Eyeballs Anyone?

Mystery solved! I have received an answer to my 'Strange Invader' post. Thank you to Helen who is so wise. I highly recommend Helen and Sarah's blog, Toronto Gardens. I am quite addicted to it - lots of fantastic gardening info and plenty of humour to boot! So what is the mysterious migrant you ask? Why the answer is Campanula rapunculoides, common name Ladybells. Here is some more info on this specimen if you are interested. I have since moved the lady to my garden and she is fairing well so far.

Ok, I have been meaning to show you these for quite sometime now. They are the coolest cat toys ever!


Don't you love them!?!? I think they're hilarious! If you would like to get some 'Catnip Eyeballs' for your little kitty, please check out Tessa's Etsy shop. There you can find these and other kitty goodies. Great job Tessa!

A Lovely Day

Just wanted to share some pictures of our day spent along Toronto's waterfront.

Mr. Ducky ("you're the one")...oops, my mistake - Ms. Ducky.

A tall ship sailing at dusk...

Sparklers!

Some belated Canada Day fireworks at 'Ontario Place'.

Strange Invader

I need your help. I found this stranger growing behind my garage today (please overlook the mess behind my garage - it is on the to-do list, believe me!). It is growing among the weeds back there, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is not a weed...I suspect it might be an extension of my rear neighbour's garden (sneaky little thing crept under the fence!)

I went through the two gardening books I own in hopes that I might identify it, alas no luck. Does anyone out there know what this is? Is it a weed, or is it something good that I should care for and move into my garden. Please leave me a comment if you do! Thanks in advance!