Up On the Mantel

Happy Monday! It's a long weekend for us, so today's post will be short and sweet, about a project I mentioned a while ago. Back when I shared our autumn mantel decor, there was a big empty gap just begging for something to fill it up. 

In that same post I talked about how my ideal solution would be to get a large canvas of Halle up there. I had a photo in mind, but I just couldn't pull the trigger with the cost of getting a canvas being so high. Then, one wonderful Groupon was the answer to all of my prayers... a great deal on a 30" x 20" canvas for only $49. How could I possibly turn it down. The deal was purchased, and then I jumped on the company's website, ArtsyCanvas, uploaded my photo and ordered it the same night.

Last Wednesday, when Halle and I returned home from a great afternoon play date, I was thrilled to find a large box on our front step. I immediately cut into it, and was thrilled when I pulled out our new canvas.

The quality of the canvas itself was incredible, and the photo looked beautiful. It went directly up onto our mantel and I couldn't be happier with how it looks...

Though I have the photo in colour as well, I opted for the black and white version. I figured this way we can leave it there all year round and it will always match our seasonal decor.

The photo was taken by the fabulously talented Nicole of Bittersweet Photography during Halle's one year photo session way back in July. It's one of my favourites and I knew it would be canvas worthy as soon as I saw it.

Yes, the space could have used a larger canvas, but this was the largest size available, and to be honest I didn't want something TOO large that may eventually not fit into whatever space we end up in. I think this is just perfect and will be easy to hang wherever we would like in the future - our bedroom, Halle's bedroom, a playroom, the options are endless!

Have you turned any of your own family photos into a canvas? What website did you use and where does it hang now?

Remembering...

What an important day. Today I remember all of those who have fought and served for our country. Those who have made life what it is today in our free country. For those who have fought, and those who lost their lives, today we remember and honour them. Please, take part in a moment of silence today at 11am. It's such a small act in comparison to what all of those men and women have given for us.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Fancy Friday Love

Happy Friday friends! I am SO excited to be sharing another Fancy Friday Love post with you today. It's been far too long since I've had a chance to scour the web and blogs and bring you some of my favourites. Right now is such a great time to get back into it though, with everyone really gearing up for the holidays - what an inspiring time! Here's what I was loving this past week...

Loved this post on desire to inspire over the weekend. It included a bunch of interior shots from a magazine in France called MilK, that is directed towards parents. Seriously, there are family interiors, and this is what I want MY home to look like (but seriously, two dogs and a baby girl who gets into EVERYTHING - not happening)...

I hope you are all familiar with the incredibly talented Staci from Switch Studio. If not, you are in for a treat. This lady does everything from making lovely pillows to reupholstering some really gorgeous furniture. Most recently, Staci has released a new line of modern Christmas Stockings in her Etsy shop. They are absolutely lovely! Make sure you swing by her shop to see all of the beautiful different stockings she has!

This dress, from Ruche, is way too cute! Would be great for so many of the holiday's coming... especially for a fun New Years out! Even better - it's only $54.99!

Christine's peek at Alice's first birthday invites, has me itching to see all of the photos from the party. I know it will be awesome, and I hope they all have a great time celebrating Alice's first year. What a fun and bittersweet milestone!

This beautiful modern home in Oregon is not something I would normally gravitate towards. However, the more I poured over the photos on 79 ideas the other night, the more I fell in love with it. Maybe it's just the part of me that is craving a clean and organized home (lord knows it's nearly impossible right now with a 15 month old running around)...

The most perfect Elmo themed birthday party ever, over on On To Baby. I love that it's not overkill...

Hello gorgeous kitchen, found on House of Turquoise...

I would also like to extend a big HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my little Etsy shop! Not only have I been receiving the kindest words and comments about Halle Handmade and my products, but I've had some great mentions as well, including this sweet little write up over at Stimuli Magazine, and a mention on my good friends blog! I also made my first sales (yes plural) on Wednesday, which was incredibly exciting! Thanks for all of the love and remember to swing by my little old shop often! I already have some new designs up since I launched it on Monday!

We have MORE family fun planned for this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to it! It's a long weekend here on the west coast, so I'll be back on Tuesday to share everything with you! What do you have planned for this November weekend?

In This House...

It's hard to believe, but we've been in this rental for over 6 months already. Time is certainly flying by, and we're still working on making this place feel more like home. One of my biggest initiatives has been to get artwork that is unique, personal and meaningful up on our walls. I've already shared our bedroom art project here and here, our hallway gallery wall here, and the updates we've made to Halle's gallery wall here. Next on my list was this big blank space next to our entertainment unit in our living room...

Just like everything else we have put on the walls, I wanted it to be something we loved and something that really reflected us as a family. Everything worked out perfectly when I attended the BLEND event back in late September, and won this beautiful decal from Danielle's shop, Urban Walls.

A decal is the perfect solution for art in a rental. It's a great way to get something on the wall that isn't permanent, and it won't cause any damage. Plus, options are endless so you're sure to find something that speaks to you, especially in Danielle's shop. 

For us, it would've been easy to just slap it up on the wall and call it a day, but that wasn't what I wanted. Since we're not too sure how long we'll be in this home, or where we'll be next, I wanted to do something to ensure we could take this message with us wherever we go. It all started on a rainy Sunday when we made a trip to The Home Depot...

That melamine coated pressed board was exactly what we were looking for, and we were thrilled that we didn't even need it cut. It was larger than the decal, but would leave us the perfect border all the way around, and it put us out only $26!

Election night was the night to get this project going. While the TV kept us up-to-date in the background, we got to work preparing to apply the decal. B measured everything so we could get it nice and centred. Then we gave the whole board a wipe down with a slightly damp cloth and then began to apply the decal.

We had some problems with keeping the decal straight on the board. The easiest way to fix this was to actually cut the decal in between the lines of text, and apply it in sections. You can see B cutting it in the middle picture on the right, and it's obvious in the picture on the bottom left that we have two separate pieces. Cutting the decal really helped make this whole process easier. In the end, it worked out perfectly and the whole thing looked great. Halle loved helping too...

With the decal on, it was time get our big heavy board up on the wall. B would guess it weighs around 30lbs, so we had to be sure to get something sturdy to keep it up on the wall. B had picked up some of these corner braces at Canadian Tire when we were out on Sunday...

Then, there was a whole lot of measuring, drilling and inserting of anchors...

What B did was place the braces in the wall so that the board would rest on top of it, not cradled inside of it. Then he took the two braces for the top and attached them to the board first. Lastly, he put the board in place and attached the top braces to the wall, and then screwed the bottom braces into the board. One night of a little bit of dedication and we ended up with this beauty in our living room...

I am SO in love with it. I have always loved how decals look on walls, but I really love how this one looks on our melamine coated board. It's thick and heavy and really has presence in the room. I think it's a statement piece, and the message is a perfect reminder for all of us on how we should approach each day. Halle really loved it too. Once it was up on the wall she kept running over to look up at it, then she would laugh, run away and repeat. I wish I'd got a video of it. The best part for me though, is knowing that I will get to take this with us wherever we go in the future.

If you're looking for something great to spruce up your space, check out Urban Walls. I'm already eyeing up these awesome polka dots - I think they'd be perfect for Halle's room!

Have you been adding artwork to your places? Getting up to anything besides preparing for the holiday's? I can't lie... I have Christmas on the brain these days, I'm just not allowed to decorate until after American Thanksgiving! ;)

A Week Later...

... I decided I would make a quick post with a few photos from Halloween. Last Wednesday was Halle's second Halloween. It was also the first time she experienced trick-or-treating.

We brought her around to about 4 houses in our neighbourhood, and the lovely couple next door was even sweet enough to get her some very special treats that were appropriate for her to eat, and let me tell you, she loved them!

I think I could dress her in that elephant costume ever single day. When she walked the little tail in the back would wag back and forth and it was seriously cuteness overload. We were lucky that B got her to leave the little hood on for trick-or-treating, and these few photos - she really hated it. Bonus that it was a nice warm Carter's costume that we snagged for $12 at Costco back in August.

Ah, she's getting so big, and I'm loving every single second of watching her grow. She makes me laugh every day, and she is just the sweetest. She seems to have endless hugs, cuddles and kisses... especially for her Mama.

I'm slowly catching up on blogs, and may reach everyone's Halloween posts by Valentine's Day. Between my Etsy shop, and all of the fun stuff Halle and I get up to these days... there isn't a whole lot of time for blog reading... I'm lucky I find time to throw some posts like this together...

My Teethease - A Product Review

Today the blog is switching back over to a bit more of my Mommy/Baby content. The other month I got an email from Lindsey over at Teethease. You may remember my review on her products from back in the spring. Well, Lindsey has just launched a few new fabulous pieces in her collection, and wanted to know if I wanted to try one out and write a review. Since Halle had just got her fifth tooth, and had such a hard time with it, I knew it would be great to try one out with tooth number 6 on it's way soon.

After checking out all of her fabulous new designs, I picked the Rockease Trio to give a whirl. When it arrived I loved it instantly. Even without Halle trying it out, it's such a stylish piece and I got a ton of great comments on it right away, so on the Mama front I gave it an A+ for style!

What about the most important critic though? What did Halle think? Well, the first time that I showed it to her, and let her know it was okay to chew on, she chewed on it briefly, but seemed to give up rather quickly. I thought maybe the rocks were too big for her little mouth, but the other weekend my theory was disproved.

Poor baby girl has been battling with tooth #6 for what feels like months. She'll have a period of chewing a lot, and then it will pass and this repeats frequently. A couple of weekends ago, while helping friends move, I noticed she wanted to chew on everything she could get her hands on. Thankfully, I had packed my necklace into my diaper bag, so I grabbed it and put it on and away she went, happily chewing on this cute little necklace...

I love how easy it is to bring everywhere, and she's not able to toss it on the ground when I have it around my neck. Of course, she loves it as well - it definitely seems to help soothe her sore little gums when those teeth are making their way in. 

I loved Teethease after our initial experience with them in the spring and I love their products even more now. They are perfect for busy Mom's, and their poor teething babes, and I love them as a baby shower gift. What Mama wouldn't love a pretty necklace that serves a purpose as well? 

Ending my Silence

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and got to enjoy an extra hour of sleep... we didn't. BUT, in the good news category, I'm finally ready to reveal what's been keeping me so busy. Dear readers, friends and family... I'd like to introduce you to my sweet little Etsy store - Halle Handmade! I am so excited to finally have the shop up and running, and I hope that you are as excited as  I am.

I have been thinking about and talking about setting up this little shop for years and finally the timing just seemed right. Though I only got the ball rolling on this a little over a month ago, I'm thrilled to share with you my line of personally designed and handmade chalkboard gift tags.

Each tag was hand cut, sanded and painted to bring a unique and pretty touch to any gift you are giving. 

In my family, we always make a big deal of decorating our gifts. Big bows, beautiful paper and often, gorgeous handmade paper gift tags. The sad part about them was that after the holidays they were always cast aside, creating more waste and leaving us searching for more beautiful tags (often at high prices) for the following holiday season. Well, Halle Handmade is my answer to this. Beautiful hand created and painted tags that you and yours can use season after season.

I'm continuing to create new designs, and paint more of what you already see. I'll be stocking the shop with new pieces throughout the next few days and following weeks, so make sure you come back and keep checking out what we have.

I'd also like to say a HUGE thank you to Brittany of Gallery No. 8, who did all of my design work for my Etsy shop header, avatar, blog buttons and mock up business cards (still to be printed). She was an absolute dream to work with and created exactly what I wanted! I highly recommend her for any design work that you need!