Felting Favourites

Our Felting Favourites List 

Inspiring : ) Helen Keller Quote

The lovely Maggie Glossop is an exceptional artist whom we love to learn from.

Where we purchase our supply of needles and fleece: Wabi Sabi

Felted Glowing Lamps!! LOVE these: Fiona Duthie's and this talented artist

A School of Felting Arts! So neat: Larkspur

Really neat felted chair: Evelyn Bendjeskov's art

Step by Step Wet Felting: Felt Making

Absolutely nothing to do with felting, but worth watching!! It will make you smile: Take a Seat-Make a Friend

Felted Friends

What exactly is needle felting?

It is the process of interlocking wool fibers by stabbing them with a large barbed needle. The barbs catch the scales on the fiber, forcing them to tangle and fuse together. To make an animal sculpture  it can take hours of work and sometimes thousands of stabs from beginning to end.

It does take time, but I  (Renee) personally find it therapeutic and very relaxing. It is interesting to see the different styles we all create, even when we are all following the same pattern. Turns out I - who normally don't pride myself on fine detail ( I struggle with patience : ), end up needle felting very, tiny, tiny creatures. Normally in an art project I become overwhelmed when I approach a section that involves detail and patience. Not so with needle felting! I actually like it, which is a surprise. Check out the following books, stock up on fleece and give it a try. Perhaps you will learn something new about yourself in the process.

The books that we love and guide us:

Felted Feathered Friends

Wool Pets

Here is what has come to life in our home!

Gnome Home

Lately a menagerie of fiber creations has come to life at our home. Felting has been on our brains lately, as this coming weekend we are teaching a fiber arts workshop. This week we are going to show our different felted creations in hopes that you might be inspired to try and love felting too. This is also a sneak peak for our felting DIY's coming soon!

 

 





















































A Gnome Home

Hidden between periwinkles and brambles, gnome homes are perfect for little people play time

Leah's Double Chocolate Granola

Leah is famous in our home for making the absolute best granola. She lovingly makes large batches, stores it in mason jars and gives it to all her siblings. It is so delicious you want to eat it all day long! We like to put it on cereal, almond yogurt, oatmeal, coconut ice cream and of course by itself! It is packed with so many good things, your body will thank you. Have fun and if you have a granola recipe of your own, please share in the comments below! 

Leah’s Chocolate Granola

 

Ingredients 

5 cups of rolled oats

1 1/2 cups of sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups of walnuts

3 tbsp of chia seeds

1 tbsp of flax seeds

1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut 

1/2 cup maple syrup

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1/4 cup of honey 

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1/2 tsp of salt

1/4 cup of sifted dark cocoa powder

1/2 cup of mini dark chocolate chips 

yields roughly 8 cups 

1. Preheat oven to 325’ F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.



2. Mix walnuts and almonds in food processor until they are finely ground. 

3.In a large mixing bowl, add oats, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds and coconut. Stir and set aside. 





































4.In a separate bowl, add maple syrup, extra virgin olive oil, honey, vanilla, salt and cocoa powder. Stir until combined.





































5.Pour the maple syrup mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spatula or clean hands and mix the granola together. 








































































6.Spread the granola onto the lined baking sheet. Take 1/4 of the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and sprinkle on top. Put in the oven for 15 min 





































7.Take the pan out of the oven, stir the granola to prevent burning and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips. Put back in the oven for 15 more min. 


8.Take out granola again, stir, place back in the oven for the last 15 min. 


9. Remove from heat and let the pan completely cool. Store in cute jars, or eat!  


10.Be creative! 

A Friday Ritual

A single photo without explanation. A moment captured- a time to be still, to breathe and remember.

Happy Friday!

The Golden Flakes of Goodness

A few years ago we started incorporating and eating plenty of vegan food. We read this book: Eating Animals and happened to see this movie: Forks over Knives and were convinced. In our quest for delicious vegan recipes, we found this secret ingredient: Nutritional Yeast. It is the best wonder food out there! We didn't know what it was, but found it at our local health food shop: Sol
(we are going to say more about them in another post-but they are our favourite health food shop). Most health food stores should carry it, and I heard you can sometimes get it at Bulk Barn.

We discovered that Nutritional Yeast is high in protein, B vitamins and the best:
IT TASTES LIKE CHEESE! let us just repeat that: IT TASTES LIKE CHEESE! 

When you haven't eaten any dairy products for years, you tend to get a little excited : )

What is this stuff? When we first saw it were a bit hesitant to try it as it kind of looks like goldfish food. We sucked up our courage and tasted it on popcorn. We were hooked! We found out that Nutritional Yeast is one of the three kinds of edible yeast. The other two being Brewer's Yeast and Baker's Yeast. Nutritional Yeast differs in that it is an inactive yeast and is oh so good for you! It is primarily grown on beet, cane sugar or molasses then fermented, harvested, pasteurized, and dried at high temperatures to deactivate it.

Nutritional Yeast is named so because it is high in protein, fiber and several B vitamins. An average 1/4 cup of this good stuff has: 45 calories, less than half a gram of fat, 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.

How on earth do you consume these Golden Flaked of Goodness?






























 


























We love to it eat it: on popcorn, on pizza, in sauces,  on lasagna and other pasta dishes but mostly we love it on popcorn. Be brave and try a little on some popcorn. Your body and taste buds will thank you.

If you are curious for more info check out these sites:

Wikipedia-Nutritional Yeast
20 ways of using Nutritional Yeast
Natural Health Research
Gastrochef

5 min DIY sock bun without a sock!

Ekkk Leah and I have thick hair and the sock bun doesn't work! A hundred sad faces inserted here :(

Ekkkk I only have 5 min!

Our hair is so thick that a sock bun (in case you missed it is: Mr Kate Sock bun), looks like an extraterrestrial space ship perched on our head.

Thank the Lord for Leah's genius skill, as she came up with a super simple bun for us girls with the big hair.

The 5 min DIY Sock Bun Without a Sock 

Step 1: Gather hair into a pony tail (It can be loose or tight whatever your preference is) and tie securely with elastic.

Step 2: Twist the pony tail once.

Step 3: Wrap pony tail around elastic in a doughnut shape.

Step 4: Secure hair around the edges of the bun with bobby pins making sure to grab the hair that is pulled into the elastic.

Step 5: Pin down any loose ends following the direction of the bun.

Step 6: Enjoy and admire!  :-)

Totally Trifle

Trifle can come in many shapes and forms. Traditionally it is a British dessert and involves soaked spongecake, custard, fruit and whipped cream. We are not British in the least, and had never had trifle until one day many years ago. Our sister was in the hospital for appendicitis, and we were all coming and going from her bedside. There was plenty of stress, lots of take out and not a whole lot of cooking. It was a welcome surprise one night when we pulled up in the driveway, opened the door and saw a huge bowl of a creamy dessert sitting on our step. It was trifle, left by the kindness of a dear friend. We devoured it and were hooked. We loved trifle! But sadly this rich bowl of creamy goodness didn’t love us! Our tummies ached and we had to switch around the recipe until we came up with a simplified version. 

So here you go, spread the trifle love. It is super easy and tastes best the next day. 

Chocolate Cake: 

Died-and-Went-to-Heaven Chocolate Cake

Modified from Eating Well 

You will need:

2 cups of spelt flour 

1 cup of white sugar

3/4 cup of unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp of salt

1 1/4 cup of soya milk

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1/4 cup of canola oil

2 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup of hot strong black coffee

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9’ by 13’ pan. Dust with spelt flour and tap out excess. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, white sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add soya milk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla, beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 min. Whisk in hot coffee, mix again for 30 seconds. 
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 min. 

Coconut Cream or cream of choice: We like this one: Coconut Whipped Cream

Cherries or fruit of choice. We admit we love sugary canned cherries in this one..

Trifle Assembly: 

Once cake has cooled, cut into cubes. Using a large bowl, layer with cake, cherries, and cream. Repeat! Enjoy! 

Happy Family Day!

Today is Family Day, a statutory holiday to spend with your family. For us it is a day of thankfulness for our families, a day of gratitude for our relationships. We like to celebrate it by eating family sized bag of chips, going on a family walk, or bowling, and watching a family movie.  Even if you don’t have this day off, perhaps take a moment and be thankful for your family, whatever shape, form or size. Happy Family Day! 

 

Girls just wanna have fun!
 

A Friday Ritual

A single photo without explanation. A moment captured- a time to be still, to breathe and remember.

Happy Friday!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Happy St. Valentine's Day! 

It is the day of love, a time to be creative and share how you feel with the special people in your life. In our home St. Valentine's day is  often celebrated with a nice dinner (sometimes cooked by our dad and brothers) homemade cards and lots of candies. We also love quotes and have a few favourites for you all. Enjoy and spread the quote love! 

"See, I will not forget you. I have written your name on my heart" Jo Packham

"Yet when we came back, late,  from the hyacinth garden, Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not speak, Speak and my eyes failed, I was neither living nor dead, and I knew nothing, looking into the heart of light, the silence." T.S. Elliot.

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul." St Augustine

"A friend is someone who knows the song of your heart and can sing it back when you have forgotten the words" Unknown. 

"I have a dream," he said slowly. I persist on dreaming it although it seemed to me that it could never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and a dog, the footsteps of friends-and you!" 
Gilbert to Anne- L.M. Montgomery. 

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do..but how much love we put in that action"
Mother Theresa

"Some people care too much. I think it's called love." A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo























































If you are a special girl going out on the town tonight with the one you love and are desperately searching for a new look..say no more Leah's Messy Updo instructions are below. Give yourself time as it does require a bit of practice. 
 

Leah's Messy  Updo

Step 1:Separate hair around an inch from the ears on either side of the head. Twist the hair in your hands, the twist should be around two inches.

 

Step 2:Once you have a twist, push it up and pin in place with bobby pins. Use as many as needed.

Step 3:Visualize the hair in three sections if thick, two if hair is thin. Grab section of hair underneath the first twist. With this new piece of hair, twist once and pin into place. Repeat the above step if you have very thick hair like us. Do not use all the hair.

Step 4:With the hair that is loose, split it in half. Cross the hair on the right over to the left, twist it a couple of times and guide it along the bun you have made and pin in place.

Step 5:With the hair that is on the left side, cross it over to the right and do the same: Twist, Pin and Voila! Finished!