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Free plans for kids!
In partnership with Lowe's Canada, Ruffman Entertainment has produced a video series of fun, colourful projects that families can build together!
Each 3-5 minute episode is accompanied by downloadable step-by-step instructions loaded with extra tips and mini-lessons, so even if parents aren't experienced in building, they can learn alongside their kids!
Dear Universe,
I'm sorry I've been ignoring your messages.
I'm sorry I forgot you had my back all along. I was too closed down to see the proof, no matter how many times you gave me obvious signs.
I'm sorry I forgot our bond and lost trust in you.
I'm sorry I tried to take everything into my hands and control Life, instead of letting Life show me the 'next right thing'.
Today I'm changing that. Today I'm opening myself to all of the hints, nudges, people, and ideas that I've walled myself off from. Today I'm giving up the power of choice that I've clung to for years, always insisting on selecting my own opportunities from an ever-diminishing field of options.
Thanks to Laura Grande for this lovely interview!
Some of us tend to forget what we’ve accomplished in our lifetimes and we find ourselves feeling like we’ve never done anything meaningful, useful or worthwhile.
Some of us may even go through low spots when we feel that our lives haven’t had any validity.
But when we express that to friends, they're aghast, because that’s not their sense at all. They may think we’re highly accomplished, but we feel like impostors.
So, after a couple of years of feeling that way, I decided to start questioning that belief. Just for a few days.
And in that few days I looked back at all the things I’ve done and you know what? Just scrolling through the ridiculous number of things I’ve made, tried to make, or failed to make, I felt better.
Here’s an example: Episode 1 of Anything I Can Do – “Fountain Do” – how to make a meditation fountain. It was my first day on set with this show (early 2000) and I was giddy to the point of hysteria. But it was kinda fun. And I got to shoot the show on the same farm we used when we shot Road to Avonlea. Such beauty and happy memories.
Get the free downloadable plans for making your own version of Mag's DIY Meditation Fountain.
And if by some chance DIY isn't your thang, here's Episode #1 of my relationship show, Men On Women, which aired in Canada in 2000-2001.
Topics:
- Crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression or chronic pain, experts say
- It may also ease stress, increase happiness by releasing neurotransmitter called dopamine
- Leisure activities such as reading and crafting may protect brain from aging, study finds
via www.cnn.com
I abandoned my blog over a year ago. In a sense I abandoned myself, because my self was in a weird downward spiral.
When you can't pull up out of a gnarly place, sometimes it's better to not pay attention to your own thought processes.
Knitting got me through the last 18 months, which featured abrupt changes of fortune and emotional lows.
Recent neurological research shows that creating something - anything - interrupts negative emotional loops that can keep us stuck. Knitting helped me release stress and I'm certain that it prevented me from crashing into depression. I didn't quite have the heart for woodworking, welding or more challenging hobbies. But the soft, cozy yarn and the quiet click of my needles seemed to be the perfect tonic.
The CNN article above documents how others have experienced emotional healing through crafting. Maybe you'd like to share your own experience in the comments below. Or maybe just read the article and take comfort in knowing that there's an inexpensive, gentle solution waiting for you if you're in a dark time.
If you're the type of person who gets fidgety while riding in the passenger seat of a car for prolonged periods of, say, 5-10 minutes, you may need to work with your hands to modulate your nervous energy.
Crocheting bird feeders out of 40-pound test fishing line is satisfying and productive. Whittling is an effective way to build up your supply of tinder for the winter, and the pile of wood shavings under your feet will keep your toes warm on long winter drives.
Or you can turn to your smartphone for solace and revel in arty/crafty/hacky/buildy project tutorials and start plotting your next DIY attempt.
If you're naturally frugal with a sideways imagination you might enjoy the incredible range of human ingenuity I've collected in my Upcycling board on Pinterest.
Who wouldn't want to make a combination candle/TP holder from scrap lumber and steel pipe?
Or make a bench from an old bed headboard/footboard...
Or build a side table out of cut-offs...
Is there any human who doesn't like to make new stuff out of old stuff? I haven't met one yet.
This just landed on my Christmas list with a big gorgeous thud. Kevin Kelly has been blogging about inventive gadgets and devices for as long as I've had a computer, and he's finally produced a compendium of his faves. Don't put this book in the bathroom or you'll have a bum ring from sitting there far longer than necessary imagining all of the things you can do/build/make/share/hack. Glory tool-e-lujah, baby.
Things change in an average life and for some of us, that means hanging on to time-honoured traditions, like our Christmas tree style, with renewed tenacity. For others, it means jettisoning the familiar in an effort to redefine ourselves and acknowledge change. For the latter group, here are a few suggestions for kicking up the festive while maximizing the restive.
A driftwood Christmas tree...
A homemade scrapwood Christmas tree...
A wall Christmas tree made from treasured ornaments...
Another wall tree...
A cardboard Christmas tree...
And of course, you can always create a DIY tree with used spindles, although one of my readers complained last year that it was god-awful and 'what was I thinking?'. Of course, if you're a died-in-the-wool non-traditionalist, you're used to hearing that.
What about you? Any searingly unique tree installations to share?
Tweens are hugely creative and we've been having a blast shooting new episodes featuring their designs - here are a few:
Zoe (12) and her swinging treehouse lounger
Ella (9) and her climbing net
Lucas and Kevin (11) with the chalkboard desk they built (steel pipe base)
We'll be posting tween episodes on Lowe's Canada in time for the Christmas break - check out our other kids' projects (ages 3+) if you ever find yourself stuck indoors with rowdy kids!
I've been exercising and working outdoors all spring, in clouds of black flies, and I don't have a single bite. In a normal year, my face, neck and arms would be covered in red welts that itch and burn and swell, in spite of wearing long sleeves AND a ridiculous hat made of netting that the bugs always infiltrate. (Once you've got a black fly INSIDE your net hat, you're just a big meat sandwich to that little dork.)
But this year I've been using a Canadian homeopathic preparation called Mozi-Q (one small tablet dissolved under the tongue a few minutes before going outside).
I have no bites. They don't even LAND. Horse flies, mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies. Apparently it even works on lice and bed bugs. The homeopathic effect is so thorough that you'll think irrational thoughts like, "Well, maybe the bugs just aren't biting this year."
Then you'll make your friends try it. And when they come back to you and say, "My god, I don't have a single bite, even after gardening all weekend", you'll maybe start to believe it really IS working.
I've given it to 3 people besides me and they all said the same thing, "My god, I don't have a single bite!"
So if you're suffering with the bugs this season, give Mozi-Q a try. (where to buy)
P.S. I've been using homeopathic treatments for 30 years and even took courses in homeopathy because it's such a fascinating and cool science. Homeopathic remedies are prescribed extensively in England by physicians. The members of the royal family are huge fans of homeopathy. You can read about the origins of homeopathy in the lovely little book, "Heal Thyself" by Dr. Edward Bach. (available as a free PDF)
I've been caught up in a number of eyebrow-blowing-off experiences lately.
First, my talk at TEDxWaterloo at the end of March. It consumed me. I've never worked harder on anything, yet I still made crucial mistakes, which have driven me crazy for more than 2 months. Until this morning, when I realized that our mistakes become our future strengths so I should respect my mistakes, not revile them.
I also started work on a new season of Lowe's Family Fun Projects. This year we're working with Tweens. The kids have lots of cool design ideas (headboards, WarHammer terrains, treehouse upgrades). It's going to be amazing to watch them work with their hands.
I've been experimenting with getting some cool finishes on furniture. Here's one of them:
And here's another:
I made sheers after the blinds fell apart (employing doorknobs from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore)
Kicked off the 2013 Habitat for Humanity WomenBuild. Want to join me in September?
Walked a lot. (shades of Avonlea)
And traveled to Saskatoon and Vancouver for Skills Canada's provincial and national competitions. More on that this week from Vancouver with the adorable Mike Holmes.
This week's free ToolGirl How-to video gives you a billion options for bone-easy handmade gifts. You'll learn to frame any two-dimensional item using inexpensive materials and a soldering iron...
How To Make A Tinned Picture Frame - step by step instructions
If this crisp cold snap is making you frantic and testy, your hands can calm you down and put you in The Zone where time ceases to exist, all problems turn to vapor, and Winter is just a word that applies to some other part of the world. Here's my curated list of places to find craft instruction online.
Now, if you want a truly in-depth course from a world-class instructor at a fraction of the cost ($20-$40) you'd pay to take the course in person, here's a closer look at my favourite online learning resource, Craftsy.com: (Correction to article: Craftsy won't be offering 'food tech' in 2013, but they will be offering food and cooking courses)
Craftsy offers fantastic classes that show you in REAL time (not fast-forward-big-reveal TV style) how to actually DO something. Grab a cup of coffee and peruse your options for learning how to quilt, weave, sew, crochet, knit, decorate cakes, cook, garden, and even re-finish furniture. TIP: When you're scrolling through Craftsy's Featured Classes, you can click on any of the Free Mini-Classes for a taste of the instructor's style and content.
If you don't have a local independent yarn store or craft retailer that offers classes, Craftsy.com is an amazing virtual resource. You can study anytime, 24/7, talk to the instructor and/or fellow class-mates while the lesson is in progress, record personal notes onscreen, and instantly repeat the last 30 seconds of video if you missed something.
Have fun!
P.S. I'm enrolled in two courses (so far) if you want to join me - Scrap Quilting and From Drab to Fab (upcycling furniture).
Here are some of my classmates' furniture projects from our Drab to Fab course...cool eh?
Felt is my new BFF - it's cuddly, uncomplaining and easy to make, plus you can form it into endless cool projects.
The steps are fast and simple. Take a pile of wool sweaters, scarves and mitts, wash them a couple of times in the washing machine so they're good and matted, then cut them up into strips, shapes or blocks and reconstruct them into rugs, blankets, dog beds, soft sculpture, toys and accessories.
[For more details on the felting process, see this week's column, I Felt That.]
You can join pieces of felt together by hand sewing it, machine sewing with a zigzag stitch, or by using a crochet needle.
You can create fast ruffles from strips of felted wool using nothing more than a crochet needle. You end up with a robust and rambunctious spiral that you can turn into a bobble/pompom (like the one on top of the tea cozy at the top of this post). Here are the steps.
Because felted wool doesn't ravel, you can cut it into fringe, too. I'll keep posting pictures of the stuff I'm making for my last minute Christmas gifts. Or if you can't wait to see mine, you can find a lot of cool ideas here.
This really touched me. What a great way to connect kids to their inner brilliance.
It's getting to be gifty season and I've got a hostess treat that's fast and classy depending on your definition of classy. This quick video contains my hard-earned tips for festooning candles with microwave-pressed flowers (or hardware for a more manly version).
Irwin Tools has declared that today is National Tradesperson Day in the U.S. and Canada. I'm heading out to join CHCH's Bob Cowan to celebrate this morning. Please tune in to CHCH at 9:15 if you get the channel where you live.
When I get back from Hamilton I'm going to publish thank you notes from approximately 200 readers who sent me details about their favourite tradespeople.
In the meantime, show some appreciation today for the people who keep our world humming - carpenters, plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, welders, machinists, ship builders - by buying them a cup of coffee, calling up to say 'thanks for all you do', dropping off cookies at a local job site, or hugging a tradesman in line at Tim Horton's.
For more info, visit Irwin's salute to tradespeople everywhere. If you're a young person with a great 3D aptitude, visit Skills Canada to explore careers that'll let you use it!
My friend Shyenna (7) has an eye for colour. When there's paint around, she cuts loose. Her choices are instant and fearless. I love watching her because it inspires me to go with my own instincts, even though I've always doubted them.
And this project isn't just about decorating with fabric and paint. We also built the mirror frame from scratch. It's a simple, fun project that any beginner can accomplish. (Plus there's a monster who lives in the mirror!)
Photo by keltickelton via flickr.com
This just in from Irwin, makers of some of my favourite hand tools. (I've upgraded the term 'Tradesmen' to Tradespeople in a few places and like it better!)
The second annual National Tradesmen Day will be held on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, and IRWIN® Tools encourages all Canadians to make plans to recognize Canada’s tradespeople – the men and women who are the backbone of our nation. The country’s skilled craftsmen should be proud of their incredible skills and talents. And they deserve to be recognized for their hard work, which is often performed in difficult environments under stressful conditions.
National Tradesmen Day, held each year on the third Friday in September, is a day when the nation pauses to thank skilled workers like auto mechanics, roofers, bricklayers, plumbers, woodworkers, electricians, carpenters, and others who help keep Canada running. During last year’s inaugural National Tradesmen Day festivities, many people found ways to show appreciation and gratitude for tradespeople by holding celebrations, recognition events and activities throughout the country.
It’s vitally important that we say thanks and find ways to encourage skilled trades as valuable career choices for young people. Without these hard working men and women, Canada’s infrastructure and our way of life would come to a screeching halt. Despite the fact that these jobs are so important there is a looming skills shortage in Canada. The Construction Sector Council projects that over the next 8 years there will be a shortfall of 156,000 skilled workers across the country. This shortfall is driven primarily by expected retirements. Between 2012 and 2020 there are 219,000 workers expected to retire and not all of these jobs will be filled through expected workforce growth. The projected gap of 156,000 workers is a serious issue that could create project and service delays in many important areas of the economy.
This year, IRWIN is coordinating multiple activities throughout the nation and is partnering with retailers and community groups for National Tradesmen Day celebrations. IRWIN offers some ideas Canadians can use to show their appreciation of skilled tradesmen:
For more information visit www.nationaltradesmenday.com or http://www.facebook.com/nationaltradesmenday.
We're All In This Together
Based on four years of interviews with Steve Smith, Mag's unconventional biography reveals the personal stories, sorrows and joys that continue to inspire the man behind the Red Green legacy.
How Hard Can It Be?
Mag's quirky and entertaining book of home improvement projects for beginners.
