Jun 18

The end of the school year is upon us and this year I’m going out on a limb and making a gift for Avery’s kindergarten teacher. I can’t remember where I got the idea for this project – likely somewhere in the depths of the internet and I’m just not willing to dig that hard. So I documented the process here in case there are other people out there who just don’t want to buy the same old gift certificate year after year.

So. Let’s begin:

1. The idea is to make a set of pens that look like flowers in a pot or vase.  You start with a standard BIC pen. Make sure you get the kind with the soft plastic casing and an end that can pop off. Some of these pens come with a rubber grip around the bottom and that can be helpful but is not necessary. Or you can use a random pen from your drawers that appears to have come from Las Vegas and spend many hours wondering how it got there as you have never been to Vegas. Hmmm…..

2. Take the pen apart and discard the cap.

3.  Pry off the cap from the end of the pen. Some are trickier than others. If you can’t do it with your fingers use something to try and pop it off. I used a philips screwdriver that fit through the tube to try and push it out from the inside.

4. If, like me, you are a weakling and still can’t get the damn thing off, use scissors and cut the tip off. It doesn’t matter if the end looks a bit jagged. This part will be covered up.

5. It is mildly disturbing that this picture looks like those pregnancy test photos that bloggers sometimes post.

6.  You’ll need a fake flower for each pen you decide to make. Theoretically any type could work, as long as the stem is small enough to fit into the pen tube. I think daisies are pretty cute.  This time I used some zinnias as well and they turned out well. Trim the stem of your fake flower to maybe 6-8 inches, depending on your preference. You don’t want it to be so long that the pen is too heavy or wobbly to write with. Put the pen back together and insert the flower stem into the open end of the tube. If you can wedge it in between the plastic-ink-holder-thingy and the tube so it sticks in there a little bit that is helpful.

7. Use the florist’s tape to wrap around the pen starting at the tip and continuing up and around the flower stem. Wrap the flower stem right up to the base of the flower so the stem colour will be consistent.

8. You end up with a flower that looks like this one below. Repeat the process to create as many flower-pens as you want.

9. Find an appropriate vase or flower pot to hold your flowers. I used this metal pitcher but I have done this using a basic terra cotta pot as well.

10. Fill your pot or vase with…something. Pebbles, dry beans or seeds, decorative stones or small marbles or anything with particles that are not too small (like sand) and not too big (like large stones or marbles that won’t hold the pens in place when they are stuck into the pot). I used decorative coffee beans bought at a craft store. They smell nice and they are a dark colour like dirt.

11. Now your flower-pens can be stuck into the “dirt”. You can tie a pretty bow around the pot or have your child paint it to personalize it.

12. They almost look real, don’t they?

Of course handmade gifts are a gamble. Some people will find this gift quirky and adorable. Others will find it weird and too crafty for their taste. But, for good or for ill, you can be sure that none of your child’s classmates will be giving the same gift! I think it’s a cute gift for teachers of young children because half the appeal is showing kids the secret and teachers always need pens!

Oct 30

On Sunday we decided to carve pumpkins with the kids because we’re clinically insane. Pumpkin carving is supposed to be a great family activity, right? Well it appears that our kids are already too cool to do the family thing. Because after five minutes of feigning interest in pumpkins that weighed more than the two of them, they left me and the hubby to the messy work of cleaning out the mucky insides of the pumpkins while they ran off to play. That is despite the hubby’s very best efforts to entertain them and keep them engaged…

He’s special, isn’t he?

Then I decided to morph into Martha-freakin’-Stewart and try, for the first time ever, to actually use the pumpkin flesh.  How hard could it be, right?

I’m here to tell you: HARD. 

Sweet Baby Jesus, I had no idea it would be a WHOLE DAY PUMPKIN EXTRAVAGANZA. I scraped, I chopped, I sorted, I cooked (and cooked and cooked), I mashed, I blended, I mixed. And then I made pie dough. Anyone who says pie dough is SO HARD to make has never spent a whole afternoon fiddling with messy pumpkin guts. Pie dough is so easy, people! It has like 5 ingredients and it always turns out. Where as pumpkin pie filling….not so much.

I used a recipe from an old Mennonite cookbook created my the community where my mother grew up. There are awesome recipes in there. Perhaps this was just not one of them? But I figured with this being a recipe from a woman who would probably have died rather than use “store-bought” pumpkin pie filling, it would be an authentic pumpkin recipe. However using real pumpkin made the filling too wet and runny and the result was that I cooked those little bastards for a full TWO HOURS before they were finally totally cooked through! In ten minute increments. Because I didn’t know how long it was going to take and I was NOT going to burn the damn pie crust! And then, thinking I would fix the problem with the third pie, I added about 84 cups of flour and cornstarch to the pie filling, hoping to thicken it up and make it cook faster. BIG FAIL. It cooked somewhat faster but the pie tasted like beige. Literally, it tasted like bland.  So the final pie was a wash. But at least the first two tasted all right. It was 11:00pm before I finished the whole ordeal. 

Oh and I also cleaned and roasted the pumpkin seeds because I like roasted pumpkin seeds and since I’m already making a mess, what’s a little MORE mess? Because nothing says Marthat Stewart like a kitchen that looks like a pack of feral monkeys with a food processor destroyed an entire pumpkin patch all over it!

Now I understand why some people sneak around at night and smash other people’s pumpkins. I am now convinced that it is not teenage vandals, but men and women driven to the hysteria after a bad culinary encounter with pumpkins, who lose it and lash out at the unsuspecting vegetables.

Apr 27

Since we’ve been packing in the past couple weeks we’ve also been attempting to rid ourselves of the clutter that tends to accumulate, no matter how hard we try to prevent it.  We really try to keep it to a minimum in the course of daily life but it sneaks up on us and suddenly I find myself with bbq tools that we inherited and have never been used, clothes that I haven’t worn in years, papers that are piling up, and all kinds of other junk. 

I’ve discovered over the years that purging is good for the soul. It makes me feel so free.  It’s nice not to be tied down to “things”.  Especially things that just take up space but serve no useful purpose.  Of course, my mother-in-law has accused me not having “a sentimental bone in my body” but this is not true. I simply like to be sure that things that I keep for purely sentimental reasons are kept to a minimum. 

Here are some of my suggestions to reduce the clutter in your house.  I’m no Martha Stewart but, in my experience, these ideas have helped:

  • Always have a box or bag dedicated to items you are ready to get rid of.  This way, if you notice something that you want to give away it doesn’t get forgotten and end up cluttering up your house for years before you finally remember to do it.  When it is full, drop it off in the Community Living Bin or at the Salvation Army or another donation site.  If you aren’t already on their list, sign up for Community Living (this is in SK) to come by your house every few months.  They always call to ask if you have items to donate and they pick up all kinds of things.  If you don’t have anything you just tell them and they’ll call you again in a few months.
  • If you haven’t opened a box in more than a year you are probably ready to get rid of it (except special memorabilia items).  People are always afraid to get rid of something in case they “need” it again some day.  In my opinion, holding on to mountains of junk for the slim chance that you might need some small item one day is a waste of space.  On the off chance that you do need something again there is almost always a way to borrow or buy the same object again.  I’d go out on a limb and say that if you’re not sure you’re going to need something again chances are good you won’t.
  • Use moving as an opportunity to purge.  Move as little of your belongings to your new home oras possible.  If you haven’t looked at or used something since you last moved, you probably don’t need it.
  • Memorabilia is tricky.  I think it’s probably fair to go through boxes of items that hold sentimental value occasionally just to see if it’s all still as “special” to you as you once thought it was.  You can’t keep every piece of baby clothing or every drawing you (or your children) drew.  You have to pick a couple things that are special and save those.  Even better, for truly special object with an important history, find a way to display them.  Shadow boxes, picture frames, decorative shelves, or whatever works. If it’s important to you, find a way to enjoy it on a daily basis rather than hiding it away in a box.
  • Label, label, label!  It’s so much easier to keep things organized if you know exactly what is in a box.  It’s easier to go through and decide what you want and what you don’t and you won’t waste as much time trying to remember where you put certain items.
  • Organize regularly when the mood strikes you.  Even if it’s just one of your cupboards in the kitchen or the linen closet in the hall.  It feels good and it will inspire you to find other ways to keep your home uncluttered and remind you of things you want to give/throw away.

So do I live by these principles?  Not as much as I’d like to.  But I know that I feel really good when I do.  I don’t know if this will inspire anyone but I actually feel inspired just by writing this stuff down. So I guess it’s just a good reminder to me.

Jun 30

We have had cable TV for the last month to entertain me during the many hours I spend sitting and breastfeeding and to keep Avery entertained in the many hours that she is being neglected.  Poor child.

But one of the benefits of cable has been that I was inspired to organize my junk drawer.  A show I watched had a segment about the junk drawer that everyone has – you know… the catchall for paper clips and scissors and every little receipt and piece of crap that we find lying around and can’t think of a place to put?  Anyway, I am very proud of this organization. I got rid of so much crap out of that drawer.  I had no idea that I actually owned 3 bottles of white out and a white out pen.  And there were 5 practically brand new erasers in there!  All in all, I think the 10 bucks we spent to share the cable with our basement tenants was worth it.