Idle Hands...

Got ten free minutes? 
Perhaps ten minutes that you really should be doing something else, but procrastination has set in full force and you have spent the morning cruising design blogs like the junkie you are (and you happen to come across this awesome tutorial on 
hand dyed curtains). AND it just so happens you have two rather long unbleached curtains begging for a bit of lipstick and rouge...well sister, I say do it!
But - what if you only can scrounge up one box of red dye, which may make your entryway look like a stone cold bludgeoning occurred recently? You improvise of course.


A peek inside my brain on any given day...


"We only have red dye"
"That will look weird"
"Should we drive to Michael's and pick up some more"?
"Don't be crazy, you have work to do"
"Well what then? Give up"?
"Think dummy"
"We have all that left over pink food colouring from Valentine's Day"
"Will food colouring dye fabric? It is obviously not the same product or the FDA wouldn't let us eat it"
"A big part of DIY is improvising, thinking fast on your feet...I believe this is genius"
"What if it doesn't work"?
"How wrong could it go"?
"Proceed"


About fifty percent of the time it goes horribly wrong. This time the crazy half of the brain was onto something and it all turned out ok. It's kind of fun and springlike.

Hurray for crazy!

xo

Fierce Love...

As many of you know, I recently styled an Easter photo shoot out here at the house for Today's Parent. After much anticipation I finally got to see the finished product and it is lovely (house looks clean...bonus). It was a great experience and I was super stoked to be a part of it. Not sure if I am ready to shuffle my kids around to photo shoots, but it was fun to do it in our own space. You can get a copy of the April issue of Today's Parent on newsstands now.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out an oversight in the credit area. It seems the amazing Fierce Bunny I gave Georgia for Christmas made her way into a shot and the artist, Sonja Ahlers, was not credited. 
I was lucky enough to come across Sonja and her booth at the One Of A Kind Show this past Christmas. A wall of delicate bunnies stood before me and I was sunk, I had to have one. Each is stitched from carefully chosen vintage sweaters, some with little adornments (feather headband - what?!) or hand dyed. Each one a peaceful, perfect delight. Her bunnies are sought after and appear in magazines and videos worldwide (most famously Bella's bedroom in Twilight).
It took forever but I finally chose one to take home. Georgia of course wanted it immediately, and I (of course) relented. With the strict rule that we admire this bunny. It is art - not something we throw into the barbie / transformer mosh pit that happens around here on a daily basis (and maybe she lives in Mama's room until you arrive at a less grubby age). 
So go check out Sonja's work (www.sonjaahlers.com). Get your own lovely Fierce Bunny (she has beautiful books as well). Her work is gorgeous and she deserves credit for it.
Thank you to Rachelle from Hawk Eyes  for bringing this oversight to my attention. You can also find Fierce Bunny at her store (at 103 Roncesvalles Ave.) in Toronto.

Our Fierce Bunny, who Georgia has named "Sparkle Diamond". 
(Sorry for that as well).

xo

Eastery DIY...

So Easter comes early this year folks; well here at the StayLucky it does anyhow. Those that know me know I am rarely (if ever) ready for an occasion this far ahead. I am a more do it all the night before cursing myself and my bad time management skills (maybe crying a little into whatever fancy craft I have decided is a must for said occasion) sort of gal. 
Well not this year! 
I would love to say I have turned over a new leaf, but that would be a super huge fib. I have however been asked to do this in a timely fashion by the lovely folks at Today's Parent.
We were super stoked to host a photo shoot for the magazine here at the house last week. The theme was Easter. So the kids got into some fancy Easter duds, invited over some friends and we decked out the place for the occasion. 
I managed to come up with not one, but two DIY's for this event - personalized, speckled Easter eggs, and a build your own nest centrepiece to put them in. Neither are hard, anyone can do them. I find the biggest challenge with DIY is the actually getting around to getting it did (if I can do it people, so can you)!


First up Speckled Eggs:


You will need:
- Eggs (dozen or so)
- Food colouring
- Vinegar
- Initial stickers
- Brown acrylic paint
- A toothbrush (preferably an old one)
- Bowls for mixing dyes and paint


Hard boil as many eggs as you need. Boiling extra is a good idea as some will always crack open, or roll off the counter in a mutinous sort of way. There are many different schools of thought on how to boil an egg (for real...who knew)? I went to Simply Recipes and followed their instructions.

Pick your desired initials and affix them to the boiled eggs. I got these lovely typewriter font stickers at Michaels.

Make sure each sticker is on good and snug or the dye will get underneath and mess with your crafty plans.

Combine 2 cups of warm water with 1tbsp of white vinegar and about 20 or so drops of your favourite food colouring into a bowl or coffee cup. Repeat steps for as many colours as you plan on using.

Place an egg in the dye. Gently roll the egg around a bit or you will end up with a whiter circle where its behind was poking out.

When eggs have reach your desired shade remove and pat dry.

Thin out some brown acrylic paint with water (not too watery). Dip an old toothbrush in and run a finger along the bristles to create a spatter effect on the eggs. I took the stickers off prior to this step, next time I would take them off last and keep the white initial underneath spatter free.

It is best to spatter at a distance keeps the drops more evenly spaced out (I got a bit close to the pink egg). Make sure you have laid down enough of a drop cloth, it can make quite a mess.

Let eggs dry and there you have it folks - lovely speckled personalized eggs perfect for your Holiday brunch. 

Next week - a DIY birds nest made out of a repurposed grapevine wreath to display all your pretty eggs in. Stay tuned, and in the meantime look for us in the next issue of Today's Parent on newsstands soon!

xo.