DIY Light Fixture Facelift

I live in an apartment and can't do too much for permanent redecorating but I wanted to give a light fixture in my entranceway a facelift. All the light fixtures in my place are pretty outdated - lots of tinted glass and brass and not the most beautiful.

I had to come up with something that was removable and decided to bring nature inside. Luckily, the glass cover of the fixture is easily detachable so I thought it would be a good idea to wrap something around it. I live next to a riverbank so I walked along the bank and gathered fallen branches (not too sure what kind, they have beautiful little knubs and seeds on them though!).

A few hours of twisting twigs and gluegunning later, I had a beautiful new cover that just slips over the glass part of the lamp.

I love the shadows it casts!

The best part is that it didn't cost me a penny and I can take it with me should I decide to leave this apartment.

Bean bags

I have a sweet two year old nephew who I lived with first the first 14 months of his life. My sister recently asked me to make a few bean bags for him for her to keep in her purse. She's really big on homemade and wooden toys for Ben.

After a bit of delay from a jammed sewing machine, I finally got them done recently! I made a lining with a thick fabric and put the rice inside of that, so that even if Ben gets a hole in the beanbags, the rice still won't spill out.

I made three different bean bags - one with patches of Guatemalan handmade fabric, one of a ladybug (Ben's favorite animal) and one with the letter B on one side and Thomas the Train on the other.

The cutest thing was when I gave the beanbags to Benjamin, he thought they were tiny pillows and promptly put them on the floor and laid his head on them and snuggled with his blanket, his Curious George, and the beanbags.

Blog neglect :(

Sorry for neglecting my blog here - I've missed it! I've had a crazy busy fall. Lots of overtime at work working on proposals and lots of freelance keeping me busy in the evenings.

Speaking of freelance, I have a shameless plug to make. Since June, I've been working on a freelance project for an independent book publisher. I've done the cover design and interior typesetting of a book about a local Winnipeg activist named Harry Lehotsky. Harry passed away of cancer in 2006 and was well known in Winnipeg for his inner-city work, confronting pimps, working to eliminate pawn shops and helping homeless people get into stable living situations. Harry renovated a few homes that were considered unlivable into low income rental properties and established the Ellice Cafe & Theatre and was a well known minister in the area.

The book I worked on was the official biography of Harry and it was an honour to work on a project in his name. The book was launched last week and it's been great to see the support after working on it for several months now.

If you want to check out more about the Urban Saint: the Harry Lehotsky Story by Paul H. Boge, check out their website.