Happy Birthday Irma!

We love you,

Aimee, Bebsy, and Virna

1. Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one. ― C.S. Lewis

Craftmates at Crop & Create

The Craftmates spent a whole weekend at the Crop and Create event in Markham, ON last March 1st to 2nd, 2014.  Aside from paper craft projects, the girls spent some much-needed bonding time just to catch up, share a few laughs and even [over] indulge in high-calorie fare.

We want to share with you a photo gallery of the event. Thanks to Craftmate, Irma for always capturing every occasion through photos.

Craftmates first major event for the year

Maria and friend stopped by to say "hi".  She peaked at our blog a couple of time and immediately recognized us.

Busy bee's crafting away in a sea of pink pompoms

Craftmate table #10

Virna and her projects

Aimee & her projects

Irma, the paper craft guru, and her projects

Bebsy and her projects

Craftmates has their ponchos on - Thanks to Virna!

Prizes and giveaways galore during the event - Bebsy won a paper package

The weekend is for indulging!

Temptations all around - craft supplies were for sale during the event!

Table of prizes - Craftmate Virna really wanted to win the craft organizer bag



Enjoy your week!

 

Waste Not, Want Not

First off, I want to wish all our Craftmates friends a Prosperous New Year!!!  With 2 weeks into 2104, I already started to fine tune my family budget for the year.  One of my resolve is to cut down "excesses" and follow the 3R's of waste, i.e., reduce, reuse, recycle whenever I can.  This includes my craft projects.

For my first project of the year, I decided to create headbands from scrap fabric.  I usually save leftover  material from sewing projects. 

There are a lot of tutorials for fabric headbands out there but for a novice like me, I found the one from Lil Blue Boo easy to follow.

I made one for me and a smaller one for my niece.

It feels good to be able to re-use material that would otherwise have gone to the landfill.

Have a great weekend!

Crafter's Dream Job

To our friends and readers, please indulge me one last time as I showcase my last event for the year.  This time, I partnered with another event planner to bring to fruition the first ever "Christmas Gift Fair by the Vineyards."

The event was a lot of fun to put together as I got to meet a lot of fabulous craftspeople and artisans.  The event even caught the attention of local press (Niagara Events Presents “Christmas Gift Fair” by the Vineyards | Niagara Falls).  I was in awe with the assortment of handmade goodies and the support from Niagara residents.  

Clockwise: Soaps by Nikki, Wanda's Wicked Jelly, TCH Catering, Cherryl Corris of Better Homes & Garden Realty / Photos courtesy of Daniel Morel, Nichole Robinson

Clockwise: Lucien Gagnon Reclamations, Those Girls' Garden Arts, Simply Stitches, Kozmo's Kos

Clockwise: Waggin' Walks, Angelic Stones, Collier Creations, Imagine it Crafts

Clockwise: Grandma Jean's Creation, Lucien's Gagnon's Reclamations, Clocks by Walter, 4 Paws Pet Bakery 

 I find my new "gig" very rewarding. Not only do I get to promote local craftspeople, but we were able to collect toys to build Niagara Regional Police toy mountain during the event.  I am hoping this will be a start of a Holiday tradition in the community.

Enjoy your Holiday shopping and don't forget to support your local artisans & businesses!

Thowback Thursday

Do you remember the chair from my post last year, Trash to Treasure (coincidentally, another post with a double "T" in the title)?  My hubby picked up this chair from the dumpster last year.

We decided to give the chair a new lease of life and here it is now...

Have a Terrific Thursday to All!

 

"Get Well Soon" Care Package

My friend Carol Ann and I attended a trick-or-treat function at the zoo recently.  Although the event was a lot of fun, we both caught the bug from handing out candies to almost 800 kids.  

I was able to shake off the sniffles but Carol Ann is still feeling under the weather.   So, I decided to put together a care package for her.

From my pile of goodies, I pulled out honey and tea, my surefire remedy to any ailment (at least, that's why I think).   

To package the gift, I made a gift box to make the present extra special.

I hope the care package makes her feel better or at least let her know that someone is looking out for her.

Enjoy your weekend and have a fun & safe Halloween!


 

Plush Pumpkins

I am seeing signs of fall everywhere that I turned my "orange" on.  I created my plush pumpkin based on the squash softies tutorial by Spoonful.com that I think will be perfect addition to my fall decor.   

I found that my "ShamWow" rag was perfect for this project (used but clean ones, of course).  My other twist to the tutorial is the stem - instead of using a stick, I used toothpick wrapped in twine.

Easy peasy project to do indoors (even with kids) and yours to enjoy as a keepsake. 
Have a good weekend!

Harvest Season

Harvest season is upon us.  We are celebrating Grape and Wine Festival here in Niagara and I am seeing purple everywhere. 



With my dad and father-in-law enjoying the sights at one of the local wineries

This inspired me to create my grape ornament. Pretty soon, it will be gift-giving season and my grape ornament will add a special touch to gifts from the vine.

Here's the ornament up-close and wrapped around a bottle of wine for a festive feel to a holiday or hostess gift.

Enjoy your weekend!

Garlic Fever

"There is no such thing as a little garlic." - Arthur Baer

My love affair with garlic started with my first taste of "Adobo", a "garlicky" dish staple to any Filipino home.  Incidentally, as I was writing this blog, my mom who is visiting, prepared this delicacy for lunch. 


Mom's version of Chicken-Pork Adobo loaded with garlic - YUM!

Mom won't always be here to prepare Adobo for me.  So on days when I need to satisfy my garlic craving, one quick way is through roasted garlic.   Roasted garlic can be enjoyed by itself or as a topping for mashed potatoes, bread or pasta. Here is one recipe from Elise Bauer who posted her idea at Simply Recipes. 

To my delight, September is proving to be the month of garlic...at least in my neck of the woods.  The Stratford Garlic Festival starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday in Stratford, ON.  Next weekend, the Niagara Garlic Festival will be held on Saturday, September 13th at Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON.   And on September 22nd, the Toronto Garlic Festival will take place at Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto, ON.  These festivals help promote local garlic growers and producers of garlic. 

For those interested in free tickets to the Niagara Garlic & Herb Festival, email me (or craftmatesetc ^@^ gmail.com, if link doesn't work) with your address, # of people attending, and I'll mail out the tickets to you.  Or, if you prefer, pick it up at the admissions tent on the day of the festival.  Note that the free tickets are limited so they are on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Thank You, Volunteers!

One of the events I helped organized, the 1st Niagara Food Fight for Foodies festival, was held last August 17th.  The event would not have been possible without the help of friends and volunteers (special mention to Craftmate, Virna who volunteered in the admissions tent).  I was pleasantly surprised by the volunteers from Brock University.  They were all very helpful and stepped above and beyond what was required of them.






As a thank you, I sent them a small token in a little handmade card.  I got the gift card holder tutorial from an awesome blog, "Secret Life of Paper" .  What I love about the tutorial is that I was able to use scrap stock card that I had saved.

Enjoy your weekend!

Tea at Stratford

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea

- Bernard-Paul Heroux

My hubby is an avid green tea drinker.  He claims that it is the secret to his good health and well-being.  I, on the other hand, enjoy the aesthetics and ceremony that goes with enjoying this beverage.  So on our last trip to Stratford, he was ecstatic checking out the quaint tea shops.  Our first stop is Harry Ten Shilling at Downie Street for afternoon tea.  One can enjoy light lunch, dessert or traditional tea inside the delightful tearoom, or, take it outside if weather permits.
 

 

Next stop is a few blocks down York Street at Distinctly Tea.  The store boasts of a wide assortment of tea blends, tea pots, tea cups and accessories.  For the occasional drinker like me, I can try out various flavours in affordable, single-serve bags.

 

On top of the traditional food-themed tours, a guided tea tasting should be added to Stratford's offerings of themed culinary experience.  We cannot wait to go back and discover more hidden gems in this gastronomic paradise.

Have a tea-rific day!