Quick DIY furniture makeover...and some thoughts about how less is more!

Very often, I stop in my tracks and consider whether that trip to the mall is actually the best or smartest move.
Very often I end up using leftovers, or whipping up a quick DIY project, and this leaves me a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Let's be clear, I'm a girl and I love the occasional trip to shopping places.
But for a few years now, precisely after an emotional shock (the loss of my dad) and later a shift to a new condition/status (parental leave), I started pruning, decluttering,stashing away, while intentionally keeping the most precious and meaningful. And I haven't stopped loving it.
Decluttering actually seems to automatically open new spaces in my mind. It freshens up my brain while freshening up the space I live in.
This week I stopped again in my tracks. I gave up grocery/errands shopping; instead I cooked pasta and spotted a set of shelves abandonned in a corner of the attic.

I also decided to give up my tendency to wait for the best material/best moment/best fit. Better done now than possibly perfect in an indefinite future!
These shelves didn't have a particular style. They had protruding elements on the top (to allow for the addition another shelf).

I then moved to my little boy's collection of Legos. Although he loves them, he didn't play too often with them. Mainly because they were heaped in a box, where it was hard to sort them out, where they were an indefinite mass of items. Kids need to have easy access to their toys. They need to be able to go through them without drowning in a pile of objects. They need a place to play with them. Sometimes just a little teeny tiny spark to set new games in motion. They need to be able to see what they have. Not to invest time in choosing and sorting through more toys than they can deal with. Excess induces stress not only with adults. Kids too, need space to breathe and relax, feeling free for creativity and imagination. And fun. And dreams.

So I took out all my boys' Lego blocks. Simply hot-glued a selection of them on the higher shelf (one layer), along the whole perimeter, and on one fourth of the bottom shelf (following my boy's instructions, as he wanted a small garage). This reduced noticeably the number of Lego blocks and allowed new playing space to play with the remaining mobile Legos.
It was also the occasion to set aside a few toys that were broken or outgrown.
In addition to that, it allowed me to finally create a kind of Lego table. I had seen some of those for sale, at a very high price. This one didn't cost me anything!

It was also fun to make, and all my kids engaged in the process, some simply watching, some selecting the Legos to glue, and some giving directions! ;)
But the best part is that since this quick DIY furniture makeover, they have spent hours playing with my boy's Lego blocks. The little cars have found their place on the middle shelf, and I have customized the blue container that is now officially and obviously the box for Lego toys!

Quick giftwrapping

A few weeks ago one of my daughters was invited to a birthday party.
I have conflictual feelings about birthday parties for kids, maybe the subject for another post...Anyhoo, giftwrapping is also something conflictual with me: I like doing it, yet I always wait for the last minute to proceed and then, since I'm in a hurry, I mess it up!
This time I made it on time, so I was able to fully enjoy it.
For me, the wrapping is very important, it is a jewel case, and when it is a little customized, it is also a sign of the care that comes with the gift.

One simple way I have found of making an upgraded giftwrapping (apart from making my own wrapping paper, with annotations, or dedication or drawings), is to wrap the gift with some thread and pompom.
I recently picked a link on Kristel's blog to a site explaining how to use a fork to make pompoms (can't find it now...). You simply wrap the yarn around the fork, then tie it with the yarn once the desirable size is achieved. So simple!
It is something my kids can assist me in doing, it is fun, it can be declined in infinite colours, sizes, and it looks cute, doesn't it?

 

Little Froggy

And let the crafting begin! :)
I was among other things dreaming/planning of sharing here my readings, and my crafting and cooking activities.
Here is finally one post about crafting...Better late than never.
Two weeks ago, I found some time again to complete a little crafting project.

The pattern is very simple. Two identical frog shapes, no technical difficulty. You just have to be careful when sewing both parts together, as there are round, curvy shapes.  I picked two different fabrics, one of them very soft for the belly of the frog.

The neat trick is to fill the little animal with lentils. Magical: little Froggy  can bend her legs, lie flat on her stomach...

She can take any position your little kiddo might want her to adopt.

It was a relatively quick crafting activity, and the result filled my little ones with joy.

Even though there are plenty, way too plenty dolls and toys out there, there is nothing like hand-made toys.
They carry so much time and efforts and care and fun and love...They are also unique, with their imperfections and sometimes quirky looks.

 

I still remember the moments spent watching my mom sewing and crafting, coming up with wonders that amazed me. At some point, when I was very young, I believed my mom's sewing machine had magical powers! Somehow I wasn't far from the truth ;)

 

Making a dried flower wreath

I posted this in my other blog steps to the sky, but I would like to share this here too.

I hope you can enjoy her beautiful photos. Photos are universal language, aren't they?:) 

I have often visited the blog "Nature's 工房 -晶- " since I had happened to find it.

That photos are all beautiful and the wreaths she makes are full of purity, 

tenderness and warmth goes without saying of course,

however, what caught me the most is the owner's strong sense of love for nature

and her warm thoughts of protecting the earth.

Besides, the fact that her favorites (Ms.Venesia and Ms. Rachel Carlson)

are the same as mine is one of the reasons that I have visited her occasionally.

Last Saturday, I participated in her work-shop at Cafe Slow Gallery, 

and learned how to make a dried flower wreath.

I wanted express my love of nature, with a sense of protecting our earth like her,

but oh my! I failed to make a wreath like hers with a sense of clarity.

I'll challenge myself again, maybe using the flowers and leaves from my tiny garden.

Apart from the disappointing result, it was really nice to finally meet her face to face.

In the event space at Cafe Slow, I looked at an exhibition 

through which some young art students expressed their feelings 

after visiting Fukushima following the disaster March.11, 2011.

 I chatted with two of the exhibitors for a while.

One of them told me that he felt some distance among people 

who live far away from Fukushima;

he sensed a different feeling between the people 

who live far away from Fukushima and the people who live in Fukushima.

In his work he expressed the difference by making two life-sized boys;

 one of them has a placard written "No"(to nuclear energy) and the other has "Yes".

Oh, I should have taken some pictures of their works.I'm sorry for the lack of the pictures.

Somehow, it was so encouraging to me to know there are young people

who have visited the field and caught a sense of the need 

to express their feelings for the sake of a better future. 

After all it's each of them and each of us who possess the ability

to change our world into a beautiful and peaceful place.

A little pretty something

One of the things I'm doing every day of my life is working/slaving/toying/crafting/fidgeting/building, well, making things large and small, usually small, that look beautiful to me. Things that look hopefully beautiful to the ones I love.

A day that goes away without the possibility of making a pretty little something is a day that doesn't sound too good to me. A day with too many worries, or too much work, a day that doesn't allow me this moment of pause when my mind elaborates in concert with my hands.

I have like many of you a busy life, I can't scheme huge plans all the time. But I can do this pretty little something very often.

And it boosts my energy. Brings a smile to a dear one. Adds a little light in a corner of my home. Gives a positive touch to my surroundings. Eases my feelings. Comforts my babies. Cheers up my man. It means a little satisfaction. A little touch of beauty in a world that rushes and roars too often.

It is sometimes the smell of pancakes whipped up at the last minute. The flickering light of a scented candle. The touch of fresh clean linen. The look of a clean counter top. The innocence of a small bouquet. The vivid colour of a fruit salad arranged in a tiny cup. The neat look of a meal  lovingly prepared for the whole family.

Sometimes it takes on the grandeur of a project coveted for months. Like, say, the celebration of a birthday. Why on earth should I spend evenings preparing a simple birthday. Craft late into the night? But there is no complication in that. Only fun. Passion. Expectation. Love. Beauty.

I have a blast preparing the birthday of my kids. While I am sure the real meaning of an event like that is the time we spend together, the affection and tenderness, the gratitude for being all together alive and well, I reach a climax of happiness making this event as beautiful as I can. Again, the real beauty is what we share and have. I think it lies also in the devotion we show to our loved ones, in the efforts we make to show how much we love them.

It is about simple things from the heart. Shining diamonds that I like to polish.

That's how I find and see beauty in the big and small events of my life. There might well be no small events, because a simple evening with an improvised 'tartine' of grilled cheese eaten while watching a surprise movie is a beautiful treat. A treat as valuable as any other treat I'll prepare for my family. Or for friends. Or out of kindness for someone who's not friend or family. My day shines when I can manage to do something beautiful, maybe helping an old person pick up her bag, or hold the door to my neighbour, or saying a nice compliment to a workmate who can't repress a smile. Beauty!

And there are those dense, more solemn moments. I cherish celebrations, they make my heart race, they create dancing lights in my kids' eyes. That's why I can give the appearance of working when I am actually having so much fun. Like for this birthday, recently. Based on the theme of Harry Potter. Soon to be a post for our craft section.

I'd love to know if you do pretty little somethings...sometimes...all the time...every now and then? I wish you to enjoy a pretty little something today, whether you do it or someone does it for you!

Val