Lovebirds

20:41 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Tomorrow is one of my best gal pal's wedding! So what am I doing the night before the big day? CRAFTS... Naturally! I 've been making some giant tissue paper pompoms for her reception (and I made those cute little flag banners too in black, white and red...pictures to come!), but decided I needed a brake from all the folding and fluffing!

The bride-to-be at her bachelorette!

I decided to have a cup of tea and create this adorable little card for the married couple... Lovebirds! Here is the quote I included inside... it's so adorable! ♥

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.                      - Dr. Seuss


Gahh! Hope you've been enjoying your holidays with loved ones!

xo
Natalie

DIY crafts,

Adorable DIY Hair Bows!

13:09 Natalie Karine 1 Comments

Oh Hello friends!

I hope everyone is having some great holidays! I'm enjoying relaxing and taking a break from school!

Today I decided to make some adorable hair bows and also to create a tutorial in case you'd like to make some as well! (note the extra photoshop fanciness! Hurray vacation and extra time!) It's sooooo easy and almost no sewing  required!

Enjoy ♥

Natalie xo


               Supplies:
                     ♡ Scrap fabric
                                  - one 1.5” x 3.5” for the loop
                                  - one 8.5” x 3”for the bow
                     ♡ Scissors
                     ♡ Thread+ needle
                     ♡ Iron

①Get you supplies ready. ②Fold the longer sides of the fabric about 1cm and press with an iron. ③Take the longer piece. Fold one end towards the middle. ④ Repeat with the other end. ⑤ Bunch the middle together (make an accordion!) and sew through to secure it. ⑥ Take the smaler piece of fabric (loop), fold it in half and sew across the bottom. ⑦ Make sure the seam is an inch away from the the fold. ⑧ Turn the loop inside out and pull the bow through it. ⑨Admire your beautiful finished bow. I usually add a drop of glue to secure the loop to the bow. ⑩ Insert a boby pin in the little loop and voilà!

I made a special Christmas one for the last day at school!

Nostalgia

19:02 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Nostalgia: definition (n.) A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.

I often get nostalgic when I look at old photo albums of my childhood. I know how fun and carefree it is to be a child, especially since I work with kids and witness it everyday.

The other night, I decided to go even further back in time in my parents photo albums, to a time before I was born! That happy couple going on trips, hanging out with friends, laughing...It was beautiful. It made me smile a whole lot, and I hope they smile as much when they see their Christmas gift this year.

xo Natalie

La Vie en Rose

21:18 Natalie Karine 1 Comments

This year, I'm going to spend Christmas up in Sturgeon Falls for the first time in a couple years (Hurray!), so I decided to make something special for my grandma. I found this old picture in my parent's photo album of her and my Grandpa (who's no longer with us).

It's one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen.

I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed making it.







I think Edith Piaf was actually writing about my Mémère and Pépère when she wrote La vie en rose.

xo Natalie

I also included this card behind the painting...

DIY cards,

Nuts About the Holidays.

20:52 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

I Loooooove handmade cards! They add a little special touch to any gift!

This year, for my holiday cards, I decided to do squirrels! (Get the title now....Nuts? Squirrels! Hah! I love lame puns!) Last year was birds.... And who knows what it'll be next year!

Sewing

DIY IPhone Sleeve!

06:33 Natalie Karine 1 Comments

I have a confession: I love my Iphone.... a lot. Who can resist? It does everything! "How do I spell this word?" BAM! "Who's in that movie again?" BAM! "What should we eat tonight hon?" BAM! "I need to renew my library books!" BAM! And the list goes on...

School/kids crafts

Crafty Gift Bags!

17:29 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

School/kids crafts

Fancy Mitten Gift Tags!

17:26 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

# 3: Fancy mitten gift tags!

So for the past two weeks it's been craft city at school! We are accumulating a bunch of special handmade projects! After our winter concert, the kids will get to give all their precious creations to their parents in a gift bag! And how do we know which on belongs to who?! Gift tags!



To make this easy craft, you'll need:
        ❄ White cardstock (or thick paper)
        ❄ Crayons
        ❄ Scissors & hole puncher
        ❄ Yarn or ribbon
        ❄ Glitter!

Start by ① Cutting out your mitten shape. You can either make a stencil that the kids will trace or even pre-cut the mitten (check out Martha Stewart's template here). ② Colour your mitten with a fun pattern on one side. On the other write your name (from: ...)! ③ Fancy-it up with glitter! ④ Punch a hole, tie a string and attach to your gift! TA-DAM! ❄

So, so beautiful!

DIY cards,

Christmas Tree Cards! For kids!

16:52 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

School/kids crafts

Cute Clothespin Reindeer!

12:40 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

They are all so different and soooooo cute!

Sewing

Puppets!

15:35 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Story time in a Kindergarten is simply Magical. I must admit, it's my favorite time of the day; seeing all those different emotions on kids faces... surprise, fear, happiness! I also loooove going to the library and finding fun books, and imagining my students reactions!

Last year, during teacher's college the professor of my Preschool Class introduced me to Superlapin, a 5 year old bunny/superhero). I never forgot him. I loved him instantly. This is Superlapin, over there on the left. ←

This professor also gave us an assignment, for which I decided to create a set of puppets based on a book (I've never made puppets before, so I improvised!) They looked like this →



So when I finally introduced Superlapin to my students this year, they simply fell in love with him. Especially this one little boy. It's a love affair. So after I ran out of Superlapin books (I could only find 5) the kids were pretty sad, particularly that little boy.

Now I can make up an infinite amount of stories about Superlapin! The kids are so excited. You should've seem their faces today when I showed them. Ah. Priceless. Their joy is pretty contagious. ♥

Happy Friday everybody! xo

Oh and here's how I created my little friend!

Cut out a basic shape

Sew the edge and flip right side out

Stuff it!

Make tiny clothes+ accessories

Assemble + glue on details

Paint finishing touches and a face!

Grow a new plant!

17:22 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Using clippings from houseplants is an easy (and FREE!) way to add to your own garden! On top of that, houseplants clean the air and add a touch of beauty to any home! You're about to witness my green thumb craftiness!








❶ Just look for a plant that seems to be growing (either with many stems or leafy vines)! Look at this Pothos plant...it's out of control (and one of my favorites)! I've also used Ivy and Spider plants before!


❷ Clip a few stems and place them it in a little glass jar with some fresh water near a well-lit window. Keep the water fresh, change every few days.

❸ In a few weeks (2-3 weeks) you'll notice new roots starting to show! When the roots are long enough (at least 2cm) you can plant them into pots with fresh soil (I always use africain violet soil... it's the best!) Now, just watch your new plant grow! I always find it exciting!



Then when your baby plant is all grown up... you can start the process again! And even share cuttings with friends! ♥

School/kids crafts

Shake it!

11:16 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Maracas! This craft is perfect for those of you who are looking for a little project to bring some sunshine, rhythm and fun to your classroom!

All month, we've been discovering the continent of South America at school, so what better craft to do, than a latin american musical instrument... a maraca!

    


 What you'll need:
         ♪ Clean plastic applesauce containers
         ♪ Seeds, rice or peppercorns
         ♪ Popsicle sticks
         ♪ Yarn
         ♪ Pastels
         ♪ Hot glue
         ♪ Decorations (ribbons, beads, feathers)







⓵ Start by colouring the clean plastic applesauce containers with pastels

⓶ Fill one container with seeds and peppercorns anything that will make a good "shaking noise") Don't over do it! put enough to cover the bottom!

⓷ Hot glue a Popsicle stick on the inside rim of the container. Once it's dry, add glue all along the inside rim and place the other container on top (rim to rim). Fill in any gap with hot glue (there will be a small one around the popsicle stick!)

⓸ Now decorate with ribbons, yarn, feathers... or whatever your little heart desires!

⓹ Shake it! We even made a conga line in our classroom with the students! So much fun!

Look at these maracas! Beautiful!

Happy sunday! ♥