gardening with toddlers

i went online today to look for some helpful info on planting and growing a tomato plant. i was especially interested in articles relating to gardening with kids and was surprised at the lack of interesting ones. just as i was about to give up i came across a site called kiddiegardens. if you are in the same boat as me, a newbie gardener wanting to find interesting and fun ways to open up your child's eye to the wonder of gardening, check out their section on toddler gardening. there is also a whole section dedicated to kids garden crafts!

for some more info on growing tomato plants this article was also helpful at canadian gardening. i'd love to hear about some other sites with ideas for container/deck gardening for veggies and herbs. let me know if you recommend one.

indie fixx galleria

the indie fixx has added another great site to their growing family filled with goodies:

"The Indie Fixx Galleria is an online gallery of indie goods. The gallery is like an 'indie mall' featuring a juried mix of indie designers & boutiques. The Indie Fixx Galleria will be updated each month."

Here's a few of my faves. I want that purse....how far away is mother's day?

drawing room purse no.2
theseawithin or here
bird in heaven ring
vadjutka or here

cheerful eco cup cozy with pocket
laurabucci handmade or here

the overtime has started

tax season has started in our household (translation - my hubby is never home) and mack and i are doing pretty much anything to entertain ourselves these last few nights - hooded pictures being one of them.

purl mama sale

purlmama is having their 1st birthday sale featuring brands like oobi baby, the hip infant, dwell baby, ramalama, pastel toys, egg baby, thinkbaby, quilt baby and more. i got a kick out of this scrumptious 19" long monkey handmade with natural fibers in peru.

how to make a woven button coaster

photo by linda permann

check out this tutorial by linda permann at craftstylish for a woven button coaster. it looks time consuming, but oh so worth it! let me know if any of you decide to give this one a go, i would love to see your finished projects.

photo by linda permann

diana krall - quiet nights

quiet nights
by: diana krall

can't wait for this one - it's available march 31st and if you live in bc (like me) she will be playing at one of my favorite venues - the orpheum theatre, on may 13th & 14th in vancouver, bc.

ps. doesn't she looks fabulous! thank god for little black dresses.

how scared is she right now?

she just doesn't trust those ducks and i don't blame her...

cosa verde: think big, shop small

cosa verde is "a new marketplace connecting independent and emerging artists with environmentally-conscious consumers." you can shop by category or by the following ideologies:

organic, reusable, repurposed, recyclable, conflict-free, cruelty-free, green sources

for every new store they plant 10 trees and they donate 10% of all fees to charity. the sellers feature a ton of info on the products they are selling from materials used, processes used, and they earn extra credit for sustainable material and processes. they also have a great blog featuring new sellers and products.

you all know how i love repurposing and this site is full of creative ways to get inspired to repurpose in your own home and it's a great place to buy handmade while being environmentally-conscious all in one site.

n.e.e.t. magazine

go on, take a little coffee break or parent break and drool over the gorgeous clothing and inspirational photography of n.e.e.t. magazine. check out the diy section for some handy little recipes for facials from ingredients in your own kitchen. hmmm, i don't think my avocado is making it into my salad tonight.

diy hanging lightbulb vase

learn how to make your own hanging light bulb vase here. i came across this handy little repurposing tutorial on the site emerging thoughts. they are:

"an online boutique filled with one of a kind pieces from our favorite independent designers. We scour the country looking for the coolest accessories, clothing and talent. Emerging Thoughts wants to promote creativity and individuality because wearing unique clothing isn't just for people with money. We started the tutorial section to show that with scissors, an old outfit, and some imagination, everyone can easier create an original piece of clothing."

what's not to love?

moments in the mommyhood

chilling out on the swing when she suddenly spots the moon.

"hi, moon!!!! mom, the moon!"

"mom, mom, i see the moon! pretty moon."

"bye, moon. hi, moon. bye, moon. hi, moon. bye moon."

"pretty, pretty moon, up in blue sky."

damn, don't you just love these kind of moments?

feed your soul: the free art project

the feed your soul: the free art project is here! i have been eagerly awaiting this site and am very excited to tell you all about it.

what is feed your soul? here's some info from the website:

Feed Your Soul is a free art project. Each month artists are invited to participate and to contribute a print which is totally free and available for download.

This project is coordinated by Jen Wallace of Indie Fixx to help art lovers feed their souls with art in these recessionary times and to help artists promote their work.

so go feed your soul with some great art or feed us by sharing your art with the world.

a little ditty about art

music video for tanya davis' song art by andrea dorfman:

making a soft toy

i finally made my first soft toy for mackenzie. not too sure what came over me, but i found myself on saturday night, curled up on the couch, crying while watching rob lowe almost die on brothers and sisters, being harassed by my hubby for crying over the show, all while sewing up my first fleece toy for mackenzie. some of the stitches aren't perfect due to the amount of water seeping from my poor eyes, but i got ellie the elephant done. yep, that's what happens on an exciting saturday night in our household.


mackenzie has some soft puzzles that have little animals on them. i took my fave one, the elephant, and traced the outline on a piece of paper, cut it out and pinned the sucker to my pink fleece (yes, i know i used pink again, what a surprise). i then cut (2) pieces of fleece, the pieces for the highlighted areas on the elephant in a light blue colour, sewed those pieces on each side of the elephant, stitched that puppy up and stuffed her all full and fluffy. last, but not least - the button eyes. of course i had to use buttons, right?

the puzzle piece i used for inspiration

this was super easy and i now admit i am hooked on this whole soft toy thing. fleece is so inexpensive but what appeals to me most is being able to use up lots of scrap material or pieces from some of mack's fave clothes that she has outgrown or stained. i love the idea of making her little toys from something we already have in the house. there are a lot of resources out there on making your own soft toys, but this time around i wanted to wing it and ellie the elephant came to life and rob lowe didn't leave the show.


p.s. a big shout out to erica fritch from nouvelle mama for highlighting luvinthemommyhood in her newsletter! yippee - the mommyhoods first writeup! i will be writing more about erica in the next few weeks but if you want more info on nouvelle mama in the meantime go here.

new look and a new name

we are excited in the mommyhood to announce that we have our own domain name and a new look! we are now happily:

www.luvinthemommyhood.com

but don't worry, you won't lose us. things should work as normal and you will be redirected from the old addy to the new one. if you notice any problems please notify the mommyhood. subscriptions should remain fine and the same with the following feature. the mommyhood is looking forward to it's new neighbourhood and to seeing you all there!

with all the snow and cold weather we had this week i thought these pics my hubby took could give us some hope that spring is just around the corner. so grab a cup of coffee, take a breather and have some fun with us in the mommyhood.

amy butler's going green

amy butler is one busy lady. with her already successful fabric line, patterns, crafts and more, she is now adding:

a 100% organic bedding line (available this month)

fresh, green post-consumer recycled paper is now available

recycled crafts paper line

she also has a green gift wrap line and eco paper tableware. i noticed that her pattern packaging and instructions are printed on 100% recycled post paper as well.

for more information on these products, free patterns, and whole lot more of amy butler goodness go here.

blue eyes

hoping you all have a great weekend.

kids quote canvas

isn't this fun? a great way to showcase the quotes we love in our home where we can see them. you can find the how to at ohdeedoh

softies

a friend of mine recently showed me a copy of miyako kanamori's book "sock and glove" and i instantly melted. i have been wanting to start making mackenzie some toys but haven't gotten around to it. the patterns in these books use gloves and socks to make adorable handmade toys.

i also have had on the top of my to knit list these precious softees from ysolda teague. you can find the free pattern at ravelry or on her site.

do you have a favorite soft toy pattern you would like to share?

framing treasured picture books

do you have a book you loved as a child that is falling apart and you want to hold on to the memory? i am lucky enough to have had a mom who kept all my treasured books as a child to pass down to my kids. i was a big reader and still am. thankfully my daughter is the same way. she loves her books.

the images from the book "bow wow! meow! a first book of sounds" from the little golden book series were some of my favorites as a child. unfortunately our copy is falling apart. i have tried to fix it, but to no avail. i decided to turn it into a piece of decorative art for mackie's room instead. we took a simple wood frame from ikea and painted it to match the colors in her room. i took my fave pic out of the book (yes, it hurt me to cut it up) and popped that pretty, little sucker in a frame.

now every time i go in her room i find myself drawn to that picture and to the feeling of the fond memories that wash over me. she wakes up in the morning and has taken to carrying it around the house saying "pretty". she must agree with me. the picture reminds me of my daughter and of all those little moments when we take the time to relish in the beauty of the things around us, especially when they are brand new.