With My Toes in the Sand....

When you read this I will be doing this:

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And some of this:

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And probably a little of this:

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We are on vacation this week so I won't be posting as often.  We're in Cuba on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.  Can't wait to share with you all the fantastic scenery, food, flora, & fauna when we get back.

Hasta pronto!

It's Big - Really BIG!

Today I'm going to ask you for something.  I have a really hard time asking people for a favour, but in this case it's for a such a good cause that I just have to.

On April 28th I'll be riding in an event called The Big Bike in Aurora, Ontario to raise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.  Along with 29 other people I will be riding on a specially-designed bike that, along with raising much needed money for research and support, is going to be pretty funny to watch. 


Here are some pictures from previous years:

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Tell me that doesn't look like a heckuva lot of fun!

On a serious note, the goal this year is to raise $7 million.  Any little bit that you can donate helps.  Heart disease & stroke is the #1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. More women die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined (source: Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and American Heart Association).

If you would be interested in sponsoring me for this event, you can click on the link below and it will take you directly to my sponsor page.  Donations can be made by credit card (secure site) and a tax receipt will be issued if you need one.  Also, if you live in an area that is holding one of these events and would like to participate, go to http://www.bigbike.ca/ and register. Thank you in advance!

Click here to sponsor me!

Yarn Eggs (Pinterest Challenge)

Are you ready for some Pinterest goodness?

Katie from Bower Power & Sherry from Young House Love are hosting another Pinterest Challenge, along with Erin from The Great Indoors and Cassie from Hi Sugarplum.  The idea is to take something you've found on Pinterest and put your own spin on it.  Then link up at the host sites so everyone can see what you've created.

I missed out on the last one because I couldn't get my butt in gear fast enough.  I did eventually post a Pin-spiration, the pinecone map ornament - better late than never, right?

This time I knew what I was going for.  At least a month ago I bought some styrofoam eggs from the dollar store.  How's that for planning?  Then I forgot about them.  That's more like me.  But this past weekend when my sewing machine broke down and I had to buy a new one, a walk through the yarn department reminded me of those poor lonely eggs and my plan for them.

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I've been wanting to make yarn-wrapped eggs for a while and thought I was going to use jute twine - my first love - but I also realized that the house needs more colour.  Since the living room is going to be grey-beige with navy curtains I thought some eggs with blues and greens would be just what it needed.

Here is my inspiration:

Nest Candy via pinterest

The Remsnyders via pinterest

Aren't they sweet?  And done up in warm, fun colours that could be displayed all year round.

So we hunkered down to clear off some of the 15+ hours of programming on the DVR while I wrapped eggs in yarn. Regular Monday night, right?

I decided to use plain white glue instead of hot glue, mostly to reduce the number of burns I'd receive.  Reduced it to zero!  Go me!

It was a little slower though as you have to wait for the glue to dry a bit or the yarn will slide around.  I started by gluing the end of the yarn to the bottom of the egg, and then winding it around in a circular pattern.

Do you see how the yarn is twisted so that the pattern repeats itself all the way up the egg?  I love that.  You do see a pattern, don't you? I see a pattern. By the third and fourth eggs my fingers had so much glue on them that I was having trouble getting the yarn to stick to the egg.  Yarn-wrapped fingers?  Maybe I'll start a trend.

One egg:

Two eggs:

Three eggs (bwah-ha-ha!):

All the eggs:

I tried them out in different places, but I think my favourite is just in a bowl with some moss.  Makes it a little rustic and natural-looking.  Maybe a wooden bowl?

I did have six eggs to work with but ran out of time.  I'll finish the other two later this week and get them displayed.  I might even work in some terracotta hues to pull in the tile around the fireplace.

I hope you'll head over to the hosts' sites to see what everyone came up with this time. Everyone has such great ideas and awesome projects. You can't help but be inspired to create something new.

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I'm linking up here this week!