Forget Rest We Need Lumber

After a long drive home from the holidays, unpacking all of our gifts and packing all of our Christmas decorations all we wanted to do was sleep. But instead we got busy DIY-ing!

We were given an aquarium from Brian’s family but nothing to sit it on. We bought lumber and stain, and got busy.

We had to build something strong enough to hold 300 pounds! It needed to be 28″ deep and we wanted the middle to be pretty large so we could easily get into the aquarium when we need to clean or add fish. Brian designed the shelf and tried to make the book shelves on the bottom look like the rest of the furniture in our place. We added strength by putting boards in the back. The boards also keep our books from falling off the back of the shelf.

I love that we have little squares at the bottom. In about a day we had the shelf built and stained. After it dried we could add the aquarium.

We wanted a natural look so we bought real plants, real drift wood and real rock. We can start to add little fish in two weeks but until then we have been staring at the pretty plants and admiring all of our hard work.

Everything in the tank came from a great little fish store, Menagerie in Cabbage Town. We both agreed it was well worth the two hour walk for the amazing service. Nothing was pushed on us and the staff were really knowledgeable. Their website could use an update, but the store is worth a visit for any animal lover.

Edited: January 2nd, 2012

Buy Handmade? Or Ask For Handmade?

There is a big push among crafty types to buy presents handmade, either DIY or from another crafter. I think for the most part this is a great thing. It keeps money out of the hands of big business and supports someone in your community. But what about people who don’t want handmade things? They want brand names, DVDs or gift cards. I mentioned in my last post that I was unable to keep to my goal to buy handmade/or diy, and this was a big reason why. People didn’t want handmade things.

So when I was forced to let people give me gifts for my wedding, I decided to change my perspective. I didn’t want them to spend mush, so I ended up asking everyone to make us something. We got awesome stuff! It was such a good idea. A close friend learned to embroider so she could make us something beautiful. It meant a lot to both of us. Another friend made me stationary, and attached the originals so I could make copies. A very cool, very me gift.

So for next year, instead of committing to buying handmade I will commit to asking for handmade.

Keep Up the Imagination,

Melissa

Edited: December 21st, 2011

Tie-dyed

A few weeks ago, I spent a crafty afternoon learning how to tie-dye with some friends. I didn’t really know what I was doing, just sort of dipping the shirt into bowls of colour at random. I liked how it turned out enough that I want to do more. An old white tank top that was destined for rags is now one of my favourite shirts.

From the back

Front, looking tough in aviators and tie-dye

Edited: July 25th, 2011

Pillow

In my last year of high school, before I even started university I bought a comfy grey hoody with Western embroidered across it. Over the years it’s been stretched, shrunk, ripped and repaired. Eight years after the purchase it’s not holding up very well. It’s too short to be comfortable to wear around the house, and it’s so wide that I feel awkward wearing it outside.

I couldn’t part with another sweater this year, or rip up more clothes to turn into rags, but it was only taking up valuable closet space; so I hopped on my sewing machine and made a pillow.

I’m very happy with how it turned out!

I remembered some of the awesome tips I learnt from the class I took at The Workroom.

• Cut slow, careful and right next to the table with sharp scissors.
• Reverse stitch at the edges to keep it strong.
• There is no need to sew fast, it’s easier to keep the stitching straight when you sew slow
• It’s okay to stop. To straighten material, to remove pins, to scratch your nose.

My pillow still needs a bit more cushioning but I love having the pouch part of the hoody to snuggle with. Also, hoody material is awesome for a pillow. It might not be as fancy as silk or velvet but it’s perfect for rainy days watching movies.

Edited: May 29th, 2011

Super Star Vegan Crackers

I’ve been trying some new recipes lately, working more vegan meals into our routine and trying to lower the grocery bill by making more at home. I know there are options for vegan crackers that are pretty mainstream but I found a really easy recipe so I thought I would give it a try

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp of salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup water
• Spices – whatever you want!

Mix dry ingredients, mix wet, pour wet into dry, and stir. All of that should be straight forward and easy. Next it’s time to roll out the dough. You want it as flat as you can get it. I had a hard time with this, I suggest breaking the dough up into quarters, rolling it all at once is impossible on tiny counters. Once it’s rolled toss it on a baking sheet. I decided to use the first cookie cutter I grabbed, but you could just use a fork to perferate the dough and make the crackers come apart after baking. For my spices I used a bit of garlic salt, oregano and basil, I added these to the original dry ingriedients and also to the top of the cracker before baking.

They bake for 20 minutes at 350f. And they make a lot! I think I have over 40 stars, it really depends on how big your crackers are both in thickness and diameter.

I want to try them with a bit of brown sugar for a sweeter cracker and maybe with red peppers for more of a kick. You could really add anything. If the vegan thing is less important adding honey would probably taste fantastic.

Edited: April 11th, 2011

A Handmade Year

It’s been awhile since either of us have updated, I wish we had exciting reasons like art shows and massive craft success but that isn’t entirely true. Regular boring day to day things have kind of taken over from blogging. However, no more of that, I hope!

I have a bit of a challenge I am going to try and complete this year. It’s kind of a resolution of sorts. Every year, usually in November, I start thinking how cool it would be to have a handmade Christmas. At this point it’s a little late to pull out the craft supplies and make all those gifts. So this year, I’m starting way early! I’m also expanding my dream, not just a handmade Christmas but a handmade year. Here are my rules:

• All birthday and holiday gifts (mothers day, fathers day, Christmas) will be handmade
• Gifts can be bought from other crafters, but only if I am running out of time to make something
• All wrapping paper, tags, and packaging will be handmade, or again bought from other crafters.
• The exception to this may be for non-family and non-close friends, such as colleagues or acquaintances, (I have a nice box of re-giftables for these types)

This is a pretty loafty goal, but I’m aiming high and hopefully it can be done!

The other massive craft project this year is our wedding! We plan on doing the decor, invites, food….everything ourselves, with help from family and friends. A pretty big DIY undertaking. I’ll be posting pictures and ideas as we go.

I’m working on two presents now. One for February and one for July. I can’t post pictures of gifts until after these birthdays have passed but I will try to keep you updated as the year goes.

Edited: January 17th, 2011