improving the patio

With the arrival of summer and of the new puppy,

I have been spending a lot of time outside,

working on many projects,

small and large.

Our backyard is much smaller than our previous one (see here and here),
(but larger than our first house!)

(I do not have to spend 2-3h mowing twice a week!)

it is pleasant, mostly in the shade,

with a large deck (old but still OK)

On one side of the yard, there is the shed,
convenient but not aesthetically pleasing.
So I decided to "fix" it
and I was totally inspired by this post by Making Lemonade.

Doesn't it look like the perfect place to sit down and read a fun book?

Here is where I started:

basically a blank wall, with terrible baseboard,

as it is actually baseboard, not good for the outside and the amount of rain we get here!

So I purchased some trellis and painted the house accent color: grey

( I also repainted all the doors of the house, from a weird green to a dark grey)

and some pressure treated 1 x 6 for the baseboard, a lot more substantial than the previous tiny board!

The trellis were screwed into the wall of the shed,

and just like Making Lemonade, I hanged IKEA pots

with flowers. I would love to grow herbs there too,

but we get so little sun right there....

 I figure the best way to have a herb garden right there,

was to make it "movable"! I can move the pots in the sun and still enjoy the view against the shed

And also it allows me the possibility of larger plants, we go trough a lot of basil!

And finally here it is all together, with paint and flower!

Another great perk of this patio makeover is that we can enjoy it

also from the inside, as our seating room as view to this part of the patio!

So here is the before and after:

I am quite pleased with the outcome!

Happy day!

linen, Liberty and selvage!

I have been working on a new project,

that I need to keep secret for a few more days...

but I think it will turn out really cute.

I am using linen, Liberty of London fabrics

and selvage,

so all the good stuff.

Here are a few details:

Yep still a work in progress!

Happy sewing!

PS the new puppy makes sewing

very....challenging!

But she is so cute!
and Black dog is warming up to her...slowly!

butterfly brooches for Mother's day

I have been looking around for a easy and fun project
to do for Mother's day with the Brownies.
There are quite a few options out there,
but the one we went for is a butterfly brooch made out of felt.

(mine on the top, Miss C.'s on the bottom)

They are pretty and a good project for the girls,
perfect to learn to sew a simple stitch.
I used this tutorial from Bugs and Fishes.
I prepared kits for my brownies:
2 precut butterflies with a brooch back already attached.

The same blog has another version of the butterfly brooch,
with more details, prettier and a lot less simple,
it would be prefect for older girls,
who could do all the cuttings and sewing without help,
or younger girls with more help.


I will not show you how they turned out,
it was a lot harder than I expected....
(I am used to crafting with Miss C.)
but all the girls worked hard and had a great time.
I hope their mom appreciate all the hard work they did!

Happy sewing!

early mother's day present

This week end, I received my Mother's present,

I know you probably think it is too early,

but it could not wait!

I got a puppy!

There is no keeping that little girl in the box!

I might be partial but she is quite cute.

She is about 3 month old and a real trouble maker!

I took me a long time to be able to want a new puppy,

after Great Big Dog's departure, it was just too hard.

But with Black dog getting older and grayer (almost 12!)

it was time.

She is making his life very difficult, she is definitively a work in progress!

After more than 3 weeks at the shelter, there are a lot of things to work on....

The kids are delighted, they never had the chance to have a puppy,

our dogs were older than they were!

Now it is all play and sharp puppy teeth!

Any ideas on what kind of dog she is?

The shelter said lab mix, the vet thinks sheperd mix,

I guess we will know more as she gets older!

Happy day!