Create Curate One

June 12, 2013

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
Going to Alt in January was an amazing experience for all the obvious reasons, but the one thing it really inspired me to do was to take charge. If I wanted something done, I had to be the one to start it up. And what did I want? A blogger meetup for likeminded DIY/lifestyle/fashion bloggers in my city.
With the amazing help of Reb from The Life Nostalgic, our host Jenny form The Makehouse and all our incredible sponsors, we did just that.
Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
The evening was spent getting to know each other, chatting about the blogging world, sipping on cocktails, munching on macarons and crafting.

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
We were lucky enough to have the lovely ladies from Diggit sling us their very own cocktail – the Diggit Pour. Let me tell ya, they won my heart with this drink – grapefruit juice, gin, rose water cardamom simple syrup. Delicious!

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
And what makes a more perfect pairing with the Diggit Pour than sweet parisian treats from Bon Macaron! If you’ve ever tried to make a macaron you’ll know how incredibly difficult it is to get the flavour and texture just right. David and Yann, originally hailing from the land of macarons (France), get it perfect every single time. We munched on a variety of incredible flavours including Rose, Mimosa, Lavender Chocolate and hazelnut. What was the crowd’s favourite? Salted Caramel.

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
After sipping, munching and gabbing, Jenny led us into a garland making activity, a workshop she offers at The Makehouse . Fabric was a flying everywhere and a few sewing-machine savvy girls were stitching up a storm. Anytime chatting with gal’s and crafting is involved I’m a happy lady.

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
And at the end of the evening, everyone went home with lovely gifts from fantastic local Victoria businesses. Big thanks to Leka, The Regional Text of Assembly, Saltspring Soapworks, Gala Fabrics, She She Bags & Shoes, and Vintage Fair Victoria for contributing!
And of course a huge thanks to The Makehouse, Diggit, and Bon Macaron for being a part of our first Victoria Blogger Social, Create Curate!
Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
And lastly a colossal thanks to my partner in planning Reb for helping make an idea become a reality!

Create Curate Event on Squirrelly Minds
Create Curate Two is already underway. I can’t wait to hang out with these girls again! If you’re a Victoria BC business and are interested in hosting or getting involved, certainly send on an e-mail and we’ll chat!

If you want to see more photos head over to the gallery. A crazy massive thank you and hug to my jet lagged, preggers sis who took time out of her vacation to photograph for us! xo’s.

Until the next Create Curate!


All photos taken by Jo de Frias
(thanks for helping out when preggers and jet lagged!

      

Category: Entertain, Life / Comments: 9 <3s

On Shirking Responsibilities

June 11, 2013

On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photo by Jo de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds
“When you’re deep in the middle of prepping 2 posts due tonight & you get a call asking if you want to go on a helicopter ride, you say yes”
This was my Twitter post at 3:30pm last Tuesday. I was exhausted from a week of non stop busy, had two posts due by midnight, plus a pile of marking and report card prepping. But when I got the call I did not hesitate one bit (and only felt the slightest bit guilty when forced to do all the work that night).
On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photo by Jo de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds
My uncle is logging hours for his helicopter license and offered to take my sis, bro and I along. We all jumped at the chance. It’s not every day you get to ride in a helicopter after all.
On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photos by Jo and Bill de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds
It was my second time. The first was a prize I won in Japan. It was a pretty cool experience but choppy and scary as hell. The fear was either due to the choppy ride or because of the wide eyed children staring at the fat white girl sitting beside them (in Japan you’re automatically fat if you weigh over 125lb).
On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photo by Jo de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds
Even though I didn’t have the best helicopter flying experience the first time around, I had to go again. Why? To spend time with my family of course, that was #1, but also to escape.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever taken on far more tasks and responsibilities than you can handle, often resulting in a puddle of tears and self pity.

…I’m raising both hands.

Now raise your hand if, despite your insane schedule, you decided to jump ship – completely abandon all your work on a whim to do something spontaneous, fun, and totally unnecessary.

I can only count this one time.

But isn’t occasionally abandoning responsibility just as important as taking it on? (I’m not talking about picking up your children from school or feeding your dog. You’re a bad person if you don’t do those on purpose. Just sayin’).

On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photo by Jo de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds
We spend a huge chunk of our lives working so hard to pay off debt, bills, a mortgage, (a ticket to Alt). In a world where money and the things it buys equates power and worth, it is so easy to lose sight of what matters – you and your happiness.

I’ve always said happiness trumps how much money I make, and that’s why I don’t teach full time, and why I don’t have all my debt squared off or have a healthy savings account. But I have traveled and taken risks. I’ve learned to say no to work I know would make me miserable, because in the end my happiness is worth it. Sure I often take on far more than I can manage in a short time because, if it’s work I love, I will always do more than I can. I don’t think I will ever escape that need to do and create more.
But life needs balance, and I am learning that, every once in a while, it’s okay to shirk that mountain of responsibilities when it gets to be too much. And in the end stepping back away from it all is what makes you a better worker. It allows you to escape, see the world a different way, and return fresh and renewed.
Shirking responsibilities makes you appreciate them that much more.

Besides, who else gets to fly in a helicopter over their childhood home and wave to their parents down below?

On Shirking Responsibilities on Squirrelly Minds / Photo by Jo de Frias / Design by Squirrelly Minds

When was the last time you abandoned all good judgement and responsibilities just to have fun?

All photos by my sibs – Jo & Bill de Frias

      

Category: Life / Comments: 4 <3s

Give It Away with Kate J: DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art

June 10, 2013

…
I am just loving this nursery art from Kate J. I’m thinking I’ll have to make one for my soon to be British-born niece or nephew, just so they are reminded of their Canadian roots.
…


DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds
One of my mantras when it comes to gift giving, especially DIY gifts, is: big impact without big effort.
So, when I came across this idea for a baby’s room, I knew it was the perfect gift for a good friend of mine who is expecting.
I love this gift because it is personalizable (you can pick the colour scheme and the images) and very easy.
Here’s how to make a set of four nursery silhouettes:
DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds

You will need:

  • 8 pieces of scrapbook paper
  • 4 picture frames
  • Printed silhouettes of four animals or other images
  • Scissors (one pair of regular and one small)
  • Glue stick
  • Pencil
  • Paper clips

1. Find out the colour scheme in the baby-on-the-way’s nursery. The more details you can get the better! For this project I managed to coax the paint swatches from my friend.

2. Head to Michael’s or another store that sells scrapbook materials to buy 8 sheets of scrapbook paper. I chose to have a uniform navy blue for the background colour (four sheets) and assorted patterned sheets in similar green tones for the animal silhouette (four sheets).

3. Buy four frames that are small enough that the background colour paper will fit. I chose 8×10 frames.

4. Pick a theme for the images. I picked Canadian animals, including a moose, bear, whale and beaver. Some other great options are: safari, ocean or farm animals; transportation (trucks, boats, planes); or nautical (boat, starfish, sea horse, anchor).

5. Once you’ve settled on the theme and the images that you’d like, use Google images to find a silhouette of each one. Select the “large” setting and avoid any that will be too difficult to cut out, unless you are a master cutter! Download and save the images to your computer.

6. Decide on an approximate size for the silhouette image that will fit well in your frame. For the 8×10 frame, I chose 4×6 as the approximate size for my moose, beaver, whale and bear. Insert your images into a Word doc (one on each page) and resize them to your chosen dimensions. They don’t have to be exact. Remember: you want the animal to be the right size (not the whole image), so if there is a lot of white space in the image, crop it so the animal reaches almost to the edge before adjusting the size. Print!

DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds
7. Paper clip your silhouette to the paper you’ve chosen for it. You’ll want the silhouette and the front of the paper both facing upwards.

DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds

8. Use a window during the day or a light box to trace the silhouette onto the backside of the scrapbook paper. Do this with each animal and then cut it out. Using small scissors for the detailed parts will make it much easier. I used nail scissors!

DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds

9. Cut the background paper to the right size for the frame. Glue your silhouette onto the centre of the paper. I put a dab of glue in the centre only, as the frame helps press down the rest without making a sticky mess.

DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds

10. Pop it into a frame and you’re done!

DIY Canadian Animals Nursery Art with Kate J on Squirrelly Minds

What is your go-to gift for new moms and babies?

Kate Jongbloed thinks the best way to procrastinate from her PhD is by making things to give to others. When she’s not making things or doing science, she is busy blogging over at
Because I’m a Girl.

      

Category: Craft / Comments: 4 <3s

DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags

June 7, 2013

DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
If you saw Wednesday’s post on my sister’s baby shower you would have seen these cute fringe wine glass name tags. I made 12, one for each guest in each of the three colours – mint, orange and grey.
DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
These name tags are a sweet way to mark each guests’ wine glass to ensure there’s no mixup. I can pretty well guarantee your guests will love to see their name surrounded in pretty fringe, and you’ll love how simple it is to whip up a batch. Now let’s get started!
DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
You can also use tissue paper. Crepe paper just adds more volume.
If you have fringe scissors then awesome, otherwise you can make multiple vertical cuts with regular scissors to get fringe.
You’ll need white glue (not pictured).
I used a calligraphy pen and white ink but a regular inky pen will work fine.
DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
Feel free to have fun with different lengths and colours of fringe. You could even have several colours on one name tag. Why not?
DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
1. Cut kraft paper into strips 8.5 inches long and 3/4 an inch high. Fold in half, line up edges, and cut a ribbon point (two points on each side) on the end.
2. Cut a piece of crepe paper 3 3/4 inch wide and however long the paper is. Fold in half multiple times until it is about 1.5 inches high. Cut along the folded edge so you now have multiple 3 3/4 x 1.5 inch strips.
3. With your fringe scissors or by making multiple vertical cuts, cut fringe along each length of your crepe paper, leaving a 1/4 inch margin in the centre. Take one strip, bead a line of white glue in the centre and place another strip on top. Do this two more times so you have four pieces of fringe crepe paper strips glued on top of each other.
4. Place a piece of double sided tape on one side of the inside of your kraft paper and stick the crepe paper on, making sure you have an even amount peeping above and below the kraft paper (about 1cm). Stick another piece of double sided tape on top of the crepe paper, but leave a 1/2 inch margin by the fold. You don’t want double sided tape on your wine glass. Don’t remove the tape cover just yet.
5. Using a fancy pen (I went for white ink calligraphy), write each guests name on a strip. Make sure the fold is on the left side, otherwise it will be upside down when you put it on.
6. Only do this step when it’s almost party time and you’re ready to decorate your wine glasses. Place the name tag’s fold right against the bottom of the glass stem and remove the double sided tape cover.
7. Align the ends to ensure the points meet up, then press the kraft paper against the tape on the crepe paper to seal your name tag. Voila! Fringerrific!
DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds
It’s not scientifically proven, but I think drinking out of a wine glass with fringe on it significantly boosts happiness levels, don’t you?

DIY Fringe Wine Glass Name Tags on Squirrelly Minds

Happy fringing, celebrating and wine drinking!
(yes this can be used for non alcoholic drinks too…served in a wine glass.)

After the last few weeks I’m pretty celebrated-out and am looking forward to lots of relaxation time.
But are any of you celebrating an event this weekend?

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Category: Craft, Entertain / Comments: 4 <3s
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