Category: Parenting

The end of an era

Posted on October 7, 2021 by

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My children have grown up smiling through the pages of newspapers across Atlantic Canada, and now they have a thick scrapbook of brightly coloured newspaper clippings to look back on — a storybook of their younger kids, captured forever on newsprint. 

Category: Our Daughter, Our Son, Parenting, The Mom SceneTags:

New school year, new worries

Posted on September 8, 2021 by

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Unmasked kids combined with potentially removing face mask requirements one week into the new school year, and you’ve got a perfect storm for worried, anxious parents.

Category: Our Daughter, Our Son, Pandemic, Parenting, Safety, School, The Mom SceneTags: , , , , ,

Surviving the first big slumber party

Posted on August 12, 2021 by

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Everything was going great … until it wasn’t.

I was washing the dishes when a wide-eyed child appeared in my kitchen, motioning to the backyard where six little girls had all been playing nicely just moments earlier.

“You’d better get out there,” she told me darkly. “People are sad.”

Category: Our Daughter, Pandemic, Parenting, The Mom Scene

I’m Heather Laura Clarke. I’m writer living in beautiful Nova Scotia, I have a 11-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter, I married my high school sweetheart, and this is the story of my handmade life.

I have depression and anxiety, and I fight like hell every day to keep it from taking over my life. Making things isn’t just a hobby — it’s part of what keeps me alive.

Whether I’m writing novels, decorating a room, busting out my power tools to build furniture, getting muddy in the pottery studio, sewing clothes for my kids, or cross-stitching a swear word, I’m all about using my creativity to craft a life I love.

I’ve been writing this blog since 2009, so if you dig deep into the archives, you’ll meet a bright-eyed 25-year-old newlywed who was basically obsessed with having kids, buying a cozy house, and supporting herself full-time as a writer. (Spoiler alert: she got exactly what she wanted.)

Pizza Bites (425F for 10-15 min).
@HFXHeather on Twitter
My Top Posts
DIY dog crate cover
Build your own slide-out pantry
Easy DIY sofa tables
DIY quilt made from old jeans
How to re-cover patio furniture cushions
DIY monkey bars
DIY memory quilts from loved ones's clothes
Easy hairstyles for Crazy Hair Day
How to sew a cozy nap mat
DIY chair pockets for classrooms
PREGNANCY blog posts
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© Heather Laura Clarke and Heather’s Handmade Life, 2009-2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heather Laura Clarke and Heather’s Handmade Life with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.