No-sew Canadiana fabric art
The crushing U.S. election results — and the angst that’s continued ever since — have me feeling pretty grateful to be a Canadian these days. So I thought I’d experiment with making some true patriot love fabric art for our son’s bedroom.
I’d seen cute ideas on Pinterest where crafters pieced together maps of the U.S. using different fabric scraps and I wanted to do something similar. Lord knows I have a million bits and pieces of fabric I could have used, but I thought it would look a little cleaner if I settled on a few shades of the same colour — especially since we have far fewer provinces and territories than states.
I headed to Atlantic Fabrics for three different shades of green Kona cotton, since nobody beats Kona for a beautiful texture, and a deep blue to use as the background. I’d considered using reds and whites, but decided I wanted the art to sort of mimic a globe — green land, blue sea.
I added a canvas to my pile of goodies along with some iron-on adhesive and I was good to go. I was especially chuffed because I realized I wouldn’t have to pre-wash my fabric since I wasn’t going to be sewing it, and pre-washing gorgeous new fabric is torture when you’re eager to get started.
Once I was back at home, I Googled a silhouette map of Canada and printed it out in four pieces on regular 8.5×11 paper …
Sharing the local love
I am NOT a fan of Black Friday because crowds = awful. Seriously. That’s why I do most of my Christmas shopping back in October and avoid malls pretty much year-round.
(I had to run out yesterday for storage bins and I reeeeeally didn’t want to.)
Full disclosure: I did just make *one* Black Friday purchase today, and I spent exactly $50.16 to get the $50-and-it’s-free-shipping deal. I bought the clock radio I’d been planning to buy D (you can see the full run-down on what we’re getting the kids for Christmas here) and threw in a retro game of Twister for the whole family (from Santa) and four of those stocking-sized Skittles books (one for each of us) so I’m pretty proud of that total.
So the kids are done, but I still have nearly every adult left on my list. I’ve saved them specifically because tomorrow my totally awesome town is celebrating “A Little More Local Love.”
You get a passport and it’s stamped at every store or restaurant where you make a purchase, any time on Saturday. Then you get the chance to win $800 in gift cards! It is SUCH a genius idea to get people out supporting local businesses.
I also love The Local Traveler’s “The Local Wishlist,” which is a buy-local shopping guide for all things Nova Scotia: food, stocking stuffers, experiences, clothes, jewelry, home decor, EVERYTHING.
So what if you’re not in Truro … or not even in Nova Scotia?
Here are some friendly reminders of where YOU (yes, you) can finish up your holiday shopping …
- Etsy shops! Support artisans in your own city/state/country or abroad. There are so many amazing gift ideas.
- Craft markets. They’re like Etsy stores but IRL, guys. Awesome stuff.
- Farmers’ markets. Lots of vendors have holiday deals on right now.
- Locally-owned shops. Even spending $20 can mean a lot. These small business owners are so much more deserving of your shopping budget than a faceless big-box store.
Good luck finishing up your shopping, and I hope you do it locally!
xo
The (almost) no-sew sweater pillow
Who has old sweaters lying around? C’mon, you KNOW they’re itchy and sometimes it’s hard to find a thin long-sleeved shirt to wear under them so the itch doesn’t drive you mad.
Make ’em into pillows. You’ll both be happier.
Try something that scares you
When you’re self-employed and you work all alone at home, there isn’t a supervisor who’s going to assign you a more challenging project or suggest you step outside your comfort zone.
There isn’t a boss you’re trying to impress for a raise (raise! ha!) or a team goal you’re trying to hit with your colleagues (what are those, even?).
There’s just you … and it’s up to you whether you keep doing the same thing or try to challenge yourself.
For me, I find myself going through the motions a lot professionally. I get so caught up in my regular, ongoing assignments and projects that I don’t always make time to experiment. There isn’t time, I tell myself. I have deadlines! I have paying work!
But still … I want to do more. Be more.
After watching Amy Schmittauer‘s video “Everyone’s quitting vlogging. Let’s color!” yesterday morning, I felt kind of inspired. Her channel is fantastic and I love her vlogs (also, I get really distracted by her prettiness + shiny hair).
Could I try something like that?
Did I have the time?
Would it be completely embarrassing?
I recorded it in about 10 minutes, while the dog barked and slurped water in the background and the kids ran in and out from the backyard (probably wondering why I had fresh lipstick on at 3 p.m.). I edited it in a rush while doing other things, and uploaded it just before sitting down to dinner.
And you know what?
People liked it.
Not everyone, of course. Haaaaaaaa, can you imagine if all of the haters stopped hating? Nope, that will never happen and I’ve accepted it. After, what, 11 years of writing professionally, I’ve gotten pretty used to mean comments + emails.
But most people? They did like it. They liked my silly little vlog that I recorded on a random Tuesday afternoon in a baggy sweatshirt with a tea stain on the front (whoops). Best of all, AMY LIKED IT. Do you think I imagined, while lying in bed watching her vlog that very morning, that by the end of the day she’d be LIKING AND SHARING MINE?!
So today, for #WorkItWednesday, let that be what you take away: try something new. Take a giant leap out of your day-to-day comfort zone and try something that scares you. It’s the only way you’re going to see if it’s something that works for you.
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Heather's Handmade Life 