DIY: Craft - Giant Squishy Sensory Bag

And here I present you with a Giant Squishy Sensory Bag, courtesy of the Go Kid Yourself  blog.

Duct tape & plastic sheeting (painting dropcloth). Oh and water. And you're done!

This is an amazing idea - Pinterest simply wasn't enough, have to share it on here too.


Found this on Go Kid Yourself. Check out her other great ideas!

Pinterest amazes me.

First, I just saw this amazing idea on Pinterest, which orginated from Laura's blog called Come Together Kids. It's a for a bean-bag stuffed animal chair. What a great way to keep them all together (and not all over the floor!). Fabulous idea.

And THEN just below the amazing-bean-bag-chair-storage, I see the above picture! My niece and nephews will absolutely love this. Next time I see them, this is happening!

Visit Go Kid Yourself to see her instructions! Seems easy enough! If I do this in a few weeks for the kiddos I will take some pictures for sure :)

~Helen

DIY: Craft - Guestbook Shadowbox with 911 Shoulder Crest

Here's a Guestbook Shadow Box that I made in June. I wasn't blogging then, so I didn't take pictures all the way along - just at the end!

I used good 'ol Microsoft Paint to black out the name of our 911 centre, because I have already shared one silly 911 story with you and there may be more - I have to be careful!

Please click below to see more pictures & info!

911: My Balls Won't Move

So this is my first of what could be many posts about my job as a 911 Dispatcher. I'm at work right now, and this call came in earlier.
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Me: 9-1-1, what's the address of the emergency?
Caller: Yes, well, it is a bit of an emergency.
Me: Okay sir, where are you?
Caller: Well, I'm at my place here in _________.
(plus my questions to get his name & phone number - sounds to be an older gentleman. We'll just call him Joe)
...then
Me: Okay Joe, tell me exactly what happened.
Joe: Well, they just won't move. It's my balls. I was trying to give myself an enema, and I did something wrong and it won't work, and now my balls won't move. I didn't know who to call.
Me: You did the right thing by calling. Just stay on the line and we'll talk with the ambulance dispatcher. Don't hang up, okay?
Joe: I was thinking they could maybe just send a nurse over here, you know?
Me: It's okay Joe, we'll get you some help.
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I listened to the recording afterward, and I *think* he was actually saying bowels, not balls! Poor guy! It really sounded like balls though! Either way, hopefully the paramedics got everything straightened out for Joe :)

~Helen

DIY Crafts: Wedding Decor - Rustic & Vintage

One of my best friends since 1997 got married last month, and I made the trip across the country to celebrate.

She is absolutely stunning, and she did SUCH a great job decorating the hall.

Here's a picture of the rustic/vintage mason jar centerpieces Catherine put together, and the entryway to the reception hall. She had so many nice touches to work in the beautiful green colour.



Rustic / Vintage Centerpieces at Catherine's July 2012 Wedding

For more pics, click below!

Sewing: Monogram Taggie

I got the idea to make the Monogram Taggie from this pin, which was orinally posted on Twelve Crafts til Christmas by Elizabeth. Great blog! When you read her first post from back in 2009 it sounds like where I am right now - i.e. having to google how to thread my sewing machine :)

So this is the one I made, again with the super cute star stitch that my sewing machine does. This was the 2nd thing I've made, and the stitches are not even at all. It is getting easier though.

For more info, click below!

Sewing: Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket

Sewing: Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket

Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket

Allow me to preface this by saying that I am NOT a seamstress. I have owned my sewing machine for one month, and this was the 3rd thing I've made. If I can do this by following directions on a blog, so can you!

I just dropped this blanket off with the new mom & dad a few hours ago. They were so sweet and told me not to worry about the crooked lines :) They said they were honoured to have one of my first projects!

This adorable idea came to me from Aesthestic Nest, which I found via this pin on Pinterest. Anneliese has put together an amazing blog with so many creative ideas. I've only just started to browse through her "Sewing" tags... and found another spin on this project, but a Chevron version. I cannot resist! I'm hosting a baby shower in a month and I need to acquire that Chevron fabric and get to work!

I made this blanket kind of as a test run for my goal of the Chevron Chenille blanket, and I am thrilled with the results.



Heirloom Cut Chenille - aka 3 Layers of Flannel

For more pics & info, click below!

Giveaway - Dyson Vacuum, $699 value

Check out this great blog for Canadian deal-hunters - tons of info on here. I've only just discovered it, so it will take me a while to look through everything.

Tenille at Feisty Frugal & Fabulous has a giveaway on the go for a Dyson Vacuum - a $699 value. Must be Canadian to enter :)

I could sure use a Dyson around here!

~Helen

Why hello there!

I've pretty much started this as a place to upload my (sometimes fail) attempts of Pinterest copycatting. I'm really not a handy person... but I do consider myself crafty.

I'm in the process of uploading all the pictures from my phone from Oct 2011 to today, and I have several pictures on there of the DIY crafy things that I've tried so far. I have had some projects that turned out wonderfully, and others that would have been better untested...  I sometimes change one or two little things in the instructions, so I have found myself longing for a place to upload pictures of my variation of the wonderful projects from blogs all over the world. So here it is!

A disclaimer: All my pictures will be from my iPhone. I don't (yet!) have a digital SLR that take such beautiful pictures, so the 'ol iPhone will have to do for now!

I am brand new to blogging. But if I take to this, I will probably also mix in some stories from work and life in general. I used to love keeping a journal, so this can't be too hard, right?

Thanks for visiting!

~Helen