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DIY Fall Garden Wreath

For the gardener, for the flower lover, finding ways to extend the season of being outside with the plants is always a welcome activity.

After the reward of the blooming season, there is still joy in preparing the soil and the spaces for the season to come, but the pleasure in knowing that nothing is wasted, sigh, the life of the flowers extends.

In gardening zone 3 where I live, there are a few particular flower types that are both abundant in the landscape, and dry oh so beautifully in the fall; masterwort, meadowsweet, queen of the prairie and hydrangeas.

There is a beautiful acquaintance that happens with the garden in the practice of making fall wreaths. Knowing which flowers don’t wilt, but rather dry beautifully. What plant to prune that won’t affect the spring growth. The shape and colour of a plant past it’s bloom peak. The whole experience is just wonderful.

Materials
● pruners
● gardening wire
● a wreath/embroidery/any kind of hoop
● plants from your yard

  1. Group your plants by type and start creating bunches. The bigger the bunch, the more full your wreath will be.
  2. Secure the first bunch onto the hoop by wrapping gardening wire around the stems, leaving one of the wire ends uncut.
  3. Overlap the next bunch to cover the stem of the previous one, wrap wire tight three times, and repeat. Remember to leave the wire end uncut, you’re using one continuous piece of wire to secure the whole wreath.
  4. When attaching the last bunch, tuck the stems underneath the first bunch and secure.
  5. Using the lose wire end of the first bunch, secure and attach to the last.

It’s one the easiest things to do to mark the fall season, and to know that it was made from all the work you put into your summer garden makes it even more satisfying. Believe me that once you make one, you will be making many.

It looks beautiful displayed on the front entrance, inside the house, as a centre piece for a Thanksgiving dinner, and would even make a most beautiful and thoughtful gift.

And so I encourage you to go out and get to know your fall garden, the opportunity for beauty is endless.

Gabriela

If you are inspired to make a fall garden wreath after reading this, please make sure to tag me @our_everydays on instagram or use hasthtag #oureverydayswreaths so that I can see your beautiful creations.

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Super Easy Kid Friendly DIY Lanterns [making our own winter festivals]

You know that scene from the movie Tangled, where Rapunzel and Ryder sit on a boat and watch lanterns in the sky? Yeah, that is my dream.

There is just something magical about lanterns, and so yesterday afternoon, we made lanterns to have our own little winter festival in our backyard.

Using materials that we had around the house; recycling bags as aprons, cupcake cups as paint holders, and recycled glass jars as our lantern, we improvised to make something beautiful. My favorite kind of craft.

Materials:

 – Glass Jars (empty jam/pickle/tomato sauce jars)

–  Acrylic paint and brushes

– Tea Light Candles

– Pipe Cleaners

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It’s mesmerizing to watch them craft. Both so different in their approach.

Penelope is very focused; careful about where her colors are, and covers large areas before she switches colors to paint again.

My sweet Oliver is more playful. Sometimes painting the glass, sometimes painting his hand, and just happy to be experiencing the activity.

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They covered the surface of the glass, and once it dried, I secure some pipe cleaners around the mouth of the jar to create a handle.

While they sang happy birthday (which they do every time they see a candle lately haha) I added a tea light candle into the jars. And Voila! Beautiful lanterns!

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More winter theme DIYs below:

DIY Mini Pine Branch Wreaths [Creating Tangible Memories ]

DIY Easy Paper Snowflakes [Holiday Decor Inspiration]

DIY Lanterns

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Flower Crowns and Smoky Days

It’s been a smoky couple of days in the city. The smoke from the forest fires in the province that neighbors us has blown over, and I’m sad for the circumstances, but trying to find the silver lining.

At a new moon circle I attended last week, the ceremony started off with the burning of sage. I’m learning that smoke, or smudging, has been used by many cultures throughout history to cleanse one’s aura and clear one’s space.

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Ironically, our city has been filled with smoke for the past couple of days, and I’m trying to view it as a cleanse. A cleanse of our souls and our aura, and when the smoke passes, everything will be clearer and we’ll appreciate more just how beautiful the air is when it’s clean, and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy it. A beautiful and important lesson that life is giving us.

Yesterday afternoon, the smoke was not as intense, and we spent it in our backyard.

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Our little backyard oasis; how much I love it. It’s not very big. We have a pergola in the middle of it that takes up quite a bit of the footprint, there is a mixture of grass and stone surfaces, and a deck that needs to be redone; still, there is something special about that space. From the color of the grass in the afternoons, to the angle of the sun as it sets, to the way it feels like it’s in the middle of the country in it’s privacy.

I picked flowers, and roughly braided a flower crown that we all took turns to wear. The flowers were yellow, my favorite color, and they very much complimented the sun that we were finally been able to enjoy after a few days.

Later in the day, our day was very different, it was hard.

My Penelope, overtired from an active day in which she skipped her nap – a transition she’s going through right now – had a long and tearful (from my side too) meltdown. She cried and screamed for things she wanted, and when she had them, screamed because she didn’t. I sat by her side when she needed me, and left when she asked me to. After what felt like a really long time, she calmed down, and while still whimpering, asked for her milk and colcha (blankie in spanish).

We were laying on her bed, her little body cuddled into mine, and after a few minutes of silence, she turned her face towards mine and whispered in my ear-  “I love you so much”.

It was her way of saying “I’m sorry”, and I was sorry too. My eyes teared up, I told her I loved her so much, and then she told me about bears and caves, and how dinosaurs lay eggs that hatch into giant T-Rexes.

The smoke had passed.

And still, at one point that day, while sitting on my lap, with my arms wrapped around each of them, they shared a bowl of raisins. We cuddled, we laughed, and did nothing more than sit there with each other. If you know me, you know that moments like those fill my heart in ways I cannot explain.

Happy Friday xo

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DIY Backyard Bouquets [ simple and beautiful kids activity]

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It’s been raining a lot the past couple of weeks, and you can tell the plants are happy for it.

Every year around this time, our backyard flowers begin to bloom, and making backyard bouquets is something I have fallen in love with. I am so grateful for the previous owners of our home – a couple who you could tell loved their yard – who laid down such a great foundation for our little backyard oasis.

As a lover of the simple things, making backyard bouquets is something that makes me so happy, and the kids have learnt to love it too.

Materials:

  • Pruners
  • Glass Jar – I collect old jam/pickle/tomato jars for this exact reason 🙂
  • Water
  • Plants from your backyard, or area near your house like a field/park.
    *Make sure you’re allowed to prune plants from public areas before you do*

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Wearing their diapers and underwear, the perfect attire for a summer night in the backyard, we spend about 10 minutes creating our little piece of nature art.

I prune the flowers, and cut as many leaves from the stems as possible. If the leaves get stuck to each other when they are trying to put the flowers in the jar, the activity quickly becomes very frustrating for them and it will be over very soon – I’ve done it before haha.

Watching the process is wonderful.

Penelope is very proud of her arrangements, and in a very endearing way, is almost too protective of “her” project, which sometimes leads to her not wanting Oliver to even come close to her flowers. I love her sense of ownership in her craft though.

My Oliver is happy to watch and learn, and slowly learns to be gentle with the flowers as he caresses them while simultaneously saying “niiiiiceeee, niiiicceee”. He follows me and pretends to prune branches that he can reach, and whenever he gets close, tries to steal the pruners from me, ha.

If you don’t have flowers in your backyard, pruning different types of green leaf branches can create a wonderful bouquet. We are lucky to live in Alberta where there are so many different types plants; a quick walk around your neighborhood let’s you see so many different shapes, textures and shades of green. A “green” bouquet can be just as colorful and beautiful.

The most beautiful part of these bouquets is, of course, seeing Penelope and Oliver continue to love and find wonder in doing the simplest of things.

And at the end, a beautiful bouquet to keep brightening our days.

xo

Gabriela

Similar nature inspired DIYS:

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DIY Branch & Macrame Plant Wall Hanging

Last week when working on our yard, we trimmed a few of our trees, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw away this branch.

It’s not the first time this happens.

Something about branches, seems to me anyway, often asks to be transformed. Maybe it’s the artist in me, and if not, finding potential and beauty in the raw is a good thing, I think.

An old branch. A little string. A little macrame. A long pothos plant I already had. Some picture hooks, and a branch that was otherwise going to be thrown away, allowed for something so beautiful.

A lesson for our everydays.

Materials

  • And old branch
  • Macrame String
  • Picture hanging set
  • An S hook
  • A vine plant
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DIY Branch & Macrame Plant Hanger

Perhaps this is my way of bringing more green indoors with the cooler seasons arriving, or just me finding new places to hang new plants in the house, ha! Either way, I love how this little DIY turned out.

In the process of winterizing our backyard, I found two sticks/branches I had saved from a tree we cut down in the beginning of summer. They were a lovely shape and color, and I knew they would come in handy when inspiration arrived. Indeed, inspiration did arrive when I suddenly noticed the wall directly across my front door seemed a little blank and needed a little love.

I immediately knew I wanted to fill that space with plants, so I figured a branch macrame plant hanger would be perfect.

This DIY didn’t take long at all to make, it was a wonderful way to use materials I already had, and up cycle ones that I found. I worked on this during nap time for two days, and re potted the plants with Penelope’s help while Oliver napped ; very doable for us busy mamas.

Materials

– String & Scissors
– Pots (I found these at a thrift store for $8.00)
– Indoor Plant you have around the house.
– Branch/Stick (from backyard)
– Hooks

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TIP : I found the “pots” I used for the plants at a thrift store, and since they were not actually meant for plants, they didn’t have a draining hole. To make sure your plants grow well and it’s not too moist during watering, add a few pebbles at the bottom to allow the water to deposit there.
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I started the macrame from the bottom. Measure the bottom of your pot, divide that in half, and that’s the length your first knot needs to be from the beginning of your macrame, to create a nice seat for the pot. I then continued trying neighbor strings to create a net, and made sure to place the pot on top often to make sure it fit well. You can do whatever decoration style of macrame you want on the string, I stuck to some simple spiral square knot pattern. If you want to know how to do these styles of knots, a helpful video here.

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I screwed two hooks on one side of the stick, and separated them the same distance as the anchors existing on the wall. On the opposite side of where the hanging hooks are, I screwed four more for the plants to hang on. Once that’s done, hang the stick, and arrange your plants are you like, and voila!

I hope this inspired one of you. Such an easy project, but the result is so beautiful!

Happy Day xo

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DIY Branch Macrame Plant Hanger

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DIY Rope Shelves [Adding color to the cloudy days]

As much as holidays are refreshing, good for the soul and provide that nice break, there is nothing quite like walking into your own home after a few days away. One of the first things I did when we returned, was water my plants. Ironically, it’s been raining every days since we got back, so my outdoor plants are getting all the water they are going to need this winter, but that also means that the past few days have been a little grey.

As I’m taking down the plants from the rope shelves, I realize how blank the wall behind it looks when it’s empty. I notice how much color my little plants add to the house, to my days, especially on the rainy ones.

As we transition to fall, there will be more rainy and grey days, but this is a super easy way to brighten up and add color to the days that need it most.

I precut to wood planks to size at the hardware store, and using some string, hung them on the loops created by tying a knot. It’s super easy to make, sturdy (the wider the plank, the sturdier it is), and takes less than 5 minutes. I hung the shelf on two hooks that are anchored to the wall to make sure it’s attached safely. Once done, all you have to do is decorate!

I hope this inspires one of you!

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An Abstract Portrait of my Children (Play Area July 2017)

I am especially aware of how I perceive the way time passes ever since becoming a mom. When my little Oliver no longer fits a piece of clothing because his legs are too long. When my Penelope outgrows her shoes. Anytime they move up a diaper size – time.

Their play area, set up for a baby who just learnt how to crawl and a toddler who likes coloring, becomes an abstract portrait of my children at 2 years old and 7 months old Anytime they change and grown, so does this space.

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I love their little corner. Other than their shared bedroom, this play area is the only other spot in the house that is completely theirs. An eclectic backdrop of toys, lots of handmade details, and stuffed toys that were once valentine’s day gift given to me by their father, now theirs. There is something special in that isn’t there?

We don’t spend much time in this area during the summer months, but with some rain the past week, I got a chance to watch them play in this space again. RDOG0856
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As a parent, do you find yourself feeling nostalgia with things you never thought you would? I do, I am nostalgic often. All of their little toys have memories attached to them. Pepe, for example, was Penelope’s first doll. She loved him from the moment she saw him, in an IKEA hallway, love at first sight, ha! I have videos of her dancing with him when she was still learning to walk properly, because Penelope danced before she walked. Pepe is still her favorite doll. Pepe has a special place in her heart, and he does in mine too.

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Oliver’s little corner still has a mirror at floor level, the one he could see himself in when he could only roll over. Now that he’s crawling and pulling up to stand on anything he can, that mirror will soon be gone, but I wanted to capture him playing in that area with the mirror still there one more time.

In this area, I watch how they play together. Oliver is Penelope’s little copy cat. If she’s reading a book, he wants to read too, if she’s in the little canopy, he wants to be there too. Perhaps the reason the second child usually does everything sooner, as he’s trying to keep up with the oldest. It’s a bittersweet thing, but I love that he sees Penelope as his teacher. As with any siblings, they are starting to have their moments of frustration towards each other. The time they both want the same toys, or when Penelope gets a little tired of him following her around, or when Oliver tries to walk like his sister, but he can’t. Regardless of their dynamic, it’s wonderful to watch them grow, and learn through play, with their little corner as their stage.

I pulled out my camera, and without any interventions, watched them play. Like a fly on the wall, I just watched. Their play, their interactions, their little conversations. The things I want to remember forever.

——

How to’s for the DIYs in their play area below:
Wall Art 
Nature Mobile 
Umbilical Cord Shadow Box 

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DIY Plant Hanger (with Repurposed Baby Gates)

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Ok, I’m pretty proud of this DIY. It’s not often that baby items can be used again once they’ve been outgrown, or just not needed any more, and baby items aren’t cheap. Soooo… when you accidentally find potential in an old baby item, and make it into something so pretty, it makes me so, damn, happy. Without further ado, a DIY plant hanger/ wall hanging made from old baby gates!

If you’ve been following my blog for a bit, you’ll know that I always look DIYs to be simple, easy and affordable. A little creativity, love put into your craft, and you can make the most beautiful things from items that you already have in your home. In this case, baby gates that we were getting ready to discard , as we had replaced them. My husband had them stacked up against the garage wall until the next garbage day, and I just couldn’t throw them away; there was potential screaming out from them. Baby gates are an item all parents have, and hopefully this DIY gives you an idea of what you could do with them once your kids have outgrown them. The side of an old crib would work just as well! #yourewelcome

What you’ll need:

  • Old baby gates
  • Wire and Wire cutters
  • Small indoor plants you have around the house.
  • Picture Hanging Set (which you can get at the dollar store)
  • Hammer

DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (4)I started by giving the gates a good wipe, as they had their years worth of love from a toddler with sticky fingers, and a dog, ha! I then measured enough wire that could go around the perimeter of one pot, added about 2 inches to that, and cut them with the wire cutter.DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (6)DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (5)With the baby gate leaned up against the wall, I twisted the wire around one bar where I knew I wanted a plant to hang. Once one side was secure, I place my plant adjacent the baby gate, looped the wire around the pot, and secured it to the other side. Because the pot is wider at the top than it is at the bottom, the wire loop is enough to keep it secure and from falling down.DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (7)DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (9)Once I had wired a loop for all my plants, I screwed two small hooks to the back of the baby gate, and secured the wire it would hang it from, just like you would for a picture frame. What I found worked best, was to hang the gate first, and then add the plants. And voila!DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (10)DIY Plant Hanger with Repurposed Baby Gates (12)I love how it turned out! Such an easy way to create a wall hanging to display your plants, or pictures… the potential is endless really. I hope you enjoyed this, and that it inspires one of you. Thanks for reading! xo

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DIY Nature Mobile / Embracing Multiculturalism

I hadn’t ever thought to press a dandelion flower, but the children have taught me to find beauty and potential with everything. Dandelions press beautifully – who knew? They are delicate, the yellow color preserves well, and there is something magical about them. From the moment Penelope could walk, she has loved picking dandelions flowers. I imagine Oliver will be the same. Where live, these flowers are everywhere in the spring and summer, perhaps even over looked in their abundance, but they really are quite beautiful.DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (3)I didn’t grow up in Canada, so the dandelion is very much a flower that I consider native to the land. To my children, the dandelion is something they will have seen since the moment they were born, just a flower that grew in their home land. I imagine one day, when they are older, travelling the world, and come across a dandelion flower, they will remember this mobile, their mother, their father, where they came from.  The dandelion flower, the inspiration for this DIY post.

As a mother raising bicultural children, I am always looking for fun and creative ways to teach them about both their cultures. My children are Canadian, and they are also Peruvian. I speak to them in Spanish so that they learn their mother’s tongue, I sing them the songs that I was sung as a child. During our walks in the beautiful Edmonton trails, Penelope picks up dandelions, fallen pine cones, tree sticks, and she learns about the flora of her country. Through exploration, my children are embracing the nature of their homeland, and learning to love their mother’s language as they practice the names for trees, flowers, rocks in English and Spanish.

As with any DIY that I do, like this and this , I look for it to be easy, simple and affordable. In this case, most of our materials are collected from nature, and the rest, most likely in your home already, or easy and inexpensive to get (ie- your local Dollar store).

 

DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (4)We began by cutting the stems off the dandelions we collected, placed them face down between two sheets of paper in a large heavy book, and allowed them to dry. Penelope then helped me tie “talking knots”, or “quipu” into the string, a practice that is native to her Andean culture. The number and color of the knots conveyed meaning, sort of like writing. In this mobile, the number of knots in the strands reading both her and Oliver’s birthday.DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (5)DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (6)Once the dandelions were dry, I glued a small piece of cardboard onto the back of the flowers for easier handling, and glued them back to back onto the string. I tied pine cones at different heights and secured a little Spanish note in there as a special touch.DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (7)
DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (8)Once two pieces were completed, I placed them together at a perpendicular angle, and secured them with wrapped knot, leaving a little loop at the top for hanging. And voila!DIY Nature Inspired Dandelion Mobile (11)I love how this DIY turned out! In the process of making this mobile, with the stories I tell my children while we’re out exploring nature, they are learning about the history and the culture before them, and I give them a sense of identity, a place in the world.

Gathering materials that are abundant in the native flora of where we live, with addition of details native to my ethnic culture, my children and I create a simple, but special piece of art that brings activity, culture, and nature together. All encompassed by something all mothers, of all cultures, share – love.

I hope this inspires one of you.

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