Wednesday, March 27, 2013

bunny desktop and easter ideas


I know, I know. You're getting sick of desktop wallpapers, aren't you? Well, I can't help it. I've been feeling very uninspired this month and when I get even a hint of an idea, it turns into a complete flop.

Maybe it's because Easter was early this year and coincides with my birthday or maybe it's because I don't can't eat eggs (they make me so sick!), or maybe (just maybe!) I still haven't gotten over the parking lot bunnies eating a lot of my garden plants last summer. So really, everything that goes along with Easter elicits a big "why bother?" or a "what's the point?" ala Aunt Linda (facial expressions, eye rolls and all).

I might also just have the winter blues. It feels like everyone's talking about crocuses, while we're still trudging around through snow and ice (it literally felt like I was walking through a glacier after they finally plowed out all the huge snow drifts on the walking path yesterday. The snow is me-high in some places!).

Anyway! Enough of my poor-me story. I was in a thrift shop last week and found this super cute little ceramic bunny. There were other ones there, too, and I wanted to say that you should look in your local thrift shop for Easter stuff. If you find some bunnies but don't like how they're painted, just get the ones with the shape you like and spray paint them. Gold seems to be trending right now for eggs, why not spray paint a bunny gold?

I liked the look of this one, blue (like how I'm feeling) and modern looking (which is a lot to ask of thrift store merchandise). I also like that his face isn't too sweet.

So the best part about this guy? I think he was (or is) a cotton ball dispenser.

Behold:


There's a hole right where his little fluffy tail should be and it's the perfect size for a cotton ball.

I'm sure you know where to go to download the desktop wallpapers by now. They're all in my Flickr photostream. I like the iPhone and iPod ones. Bunny face for the lock page and bunny bum for the homescreen. Due to an error on my part, I'm without a Flickr page and all of my Flickr photos have been binned. You can now find the photos here:


You'll give me extra points for this, though, right?


Oh yes. And I thought I would share some of my favourite Easter Pinterest pins with you in a post, but those amounted to a whole three of them (whoa!). There are lots of others that I like on my Spring and Easter board that might tickle your fancy, too. Especially if you needed some last minute ideas.

My top three (that I would probably do if I weren't so grumpy):

I would use the Paint Chip Carrots on cards instead of as a garland.

These bunny ear sachets are so cute! I just wish I had some use for them! I wish it so hard!

I love anything having to do with origami (cuz it's easy and cheap!). Actually, I should rephrase that. I'm more into origami shapes right now than I normally am because they're so graphic and geometric! I love these paper bunnies and these bunny treat holders. I mean, if you were doing an Easter supper, I can really see either of these sitting at every place setting. And I forgot about this origami bunny print which you could use as wrapping or on a card.

Also, I have to tell you. When I went to Greece, we did a lot of family visiting, and, well, obviously, for me there's this huge language barrier that pretty much leaves me just sitting and smiling quietly for hours on end. My one moment of grace came when there were children around and paper and I created the two origami figures I have memorized -- the paper crane and the paper balloon. And they were such. a. hit. Words cannot express how quickly I went from "that Canadian girl who knows nothing" to the superstar hero cool dude of the room. If you were to just learn how to fold a bunny (or anything, really), you'll be the friggin' star of any party you go to forever. And finally, don't forget to blow their minds when you make one out of a gum wrapper. Trust me. Parlor tricks. You should really have some up your sleeve.

Friday, March 22, 2013

friday fixations: chocolate

chocolate!

I'm trying to watch my calories, but it's also my birthday. So the first two are a little easier on the waistline without having to go the ol' boxed mix plus diet soda route (which is still very much in play although I'm still very much cringing at the thought of that). The last two appeal to my sense of simplicity.

Friday, March 15, 2013

friday fixations: gift technology


technologyBecause having a tech-savvy husband usually means I'll get technology for anything involving presents, so I might as well find gadgets I really want.

{1} Jawbone Jambox speaker; {2} God of War: Ascension; {3} Macro cell lens band; {4} I can't decide between Fitbit One or Fitbit Flex (which isn't available yet anyway); {5} XFlex LED book light.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

bonus: green desktops

We don't really do a whole lot around here for St. Patrick's day. We don't eat green potatoes or drink green beer and there certainly won't be any pinching if we're not wearing green. But I still wanted to do something green in celebration of St. Patty's day and (the idea of) spring (we're so very far from it still), so I made up some bonus desktops for this month.

I was inspired by another photo blog who took these sorts of pictures with their house plants, and I thought the photos infused just the right amount of green into the day and were so light and airy that I just had to take some of my own.



hoya


christmas cactus


mystery plant

Friday, March 8, 2013

friday fixations: gift art


Gift Art











March is my birthday month, so I'm going to share gift ideas every Friday during March!

{1} I'm Still in Love with You print; {2} March birthstone print (my favourite print); {3} Kris Atomic prints "Y U No" and "Chronic Bitchface"; {4} Feather Print II (I would also like to have I, III, and IV so I could have them as a collection on one wall); {5} Tinou Oiseaux Poster; {6} 3 Feathers watercolour print (I'm just now realizing there's probably too many bird things in this list).

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

diy: painted bamboo cutting boards

I saw bamboo cutting boards with a painted neon edge in a magazine a while back and loved the idea. I already have a couple of bamboo cutting boards that I thought were in need of a spring refresh, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I feel silly giving an explanation for this project. It's super easy!

Grab some paint -- I used Crafter's non-toxic acrylic paint in Pure Pumpkin and Tutti Fruitti -- and a foam brush and simply painted the edges of my cutting boards. I did tape off the surface at first but quickly realized that was completely unnecessary as it's really easy to keep to the edge.

Both colours required two thin coats of paint which I allowed to dry overnight.

Then I used a fast-drying polyurethane to seal the edges ONLY. I did not use it on the cutting surface. It's also very important that you allow the polyurethane to dry and cure completely before using your cutting board for food. (Here's some info if you're worried 1; 2; but since the edges are rarely coming into contact with food, you can breathe easy.)

That's it! Now my cutting boards are a little more lively and my kitchen looks a little happier!

{tip} My cutting boards slip all over my counter tops, so I stuck on four of those little grippy plastic bumps on one side of the board to act as feet. They're definitely a finger saver!

{also} One of my worst habits is not oiling my cutting boards often enough and it really shows (it's hard to tell in the pictures, but they were really dry and the bamboo does start to kind of crack at the joints). If you've got wooden cutting boards, make sure to oil them frequently!

{fyi} I don't use both cutting boards for cutting. One of them I use as a trivet when I need to set hot things on the counter.