pressing flowers

Okay I know this sounds really lame and granny-ish but I promise you can do some really cool stuff with pressed flowers. I know I'm lacking on the 'beauty' related posts but it's summer so there are lots of cool 'summer craft' ideas kicking around in my little head.

Ok so the first thing you need for pressing flowers is obviously some flowers! In Cape Breton there are TONNES of really really nice flowers that grow every summer that look great when pressed, daisies and lupins just to name a few.

Grab a tonne of big, heavy books (what a great way to put to use all of those big, bulky psychology text books that you ahem, "read" during University).

You will also need some paper towel and wax paper!

So here's how it's done:

• Go outside and pick flowers like a hippie and/or 5 year old child...


• Once you've got what you think you'll need, take one of those heavy text books and open it to say, about 1/2 way, and place a sheet of wax paper the side of the 2 pages inside, laying it out flat.


• Take 1-2 sheets of paper towel and do the same, depending on the size of the text book.


• Next arrange the flowers (hey, you can also pick some leaves and stuff, they work great for fillers!) so that they do not overlap and touch, this will probably make them stick together when they are done..but if you want them to stick together by all means go ahead..


• Close the book (you can keep putting pages of flowers in the book, or use other books and pile them on top of one another) and leave sit for approximately 24 hours. The paper towel helps absorb the flowers moisture and the wax paper keeps it from ruining the pages of the texts. If you don't wish to save your text books, you can omit the wax paper :)


• Once you've pressed all your flowers you can arrange them in a cool pattern or you can use one single flower and frame them! They look super cool! I picked some purple flowers and framed them for my friend who was moving into her first place and her bedroom was purple, they looked great in a black frame with a white border mat.

Thrift Shopping in Cape Breton

One thing I wish more people around here did was visit thrift stores. Everyone is always shocked when I tell them "I got it at Louis'" or "it's from Value Village". Why not many people take advantage of the cute finds and low prices, I still can't understand. I buy things for my whole family here and it is the best place to shop for babies and children, as they are growing constantly.

I guess this is my mini guide to thrift store shopping in Cape Breton.

First, I avoid Value Village unless I am looking for something specific and can't find it anywhere else. My favourite thrift sore is Louis on Keltic Drive. I would like to give a little background on Louis - their clothes come from Boston, and they are in fairly good condition as residents of Boston receive a tax benefit for giving clothing to charity, so they often buy and donate frequently. Also, on Mondays at Louis there is a 'buy one get one free' sale, so you could get a baby onesie for 85 cents, and another for free. That's insane! They have the coolest vintage dresses, and even carry uniforms, maternity clothes, and bedding. They do not carry household items (dishes, furniture etc) only clothing and shoes. So I urge everyone to go check it out.

The next place is Salvation Army on the way to the Pier. This is a very small shop but you can often find the cutest things here, even sometimes cd players and dishes. The money made here goes to charity so I don't feel bad spending a lot there :)

There is a Frenchy's in Glace Bay that also has fair prices, but i don't go there often as it's sorta out of the way, but... i hear they have good deals and they usually have a bag day. Bag days are common at thrift stores, they will charge a base fee for a big bag, usually a garbage bag, and you fill it with whatever you like. They also have this at Louis.

The store Gala has been around a few times in various locations but it's a good store for mostly late teen and young adults. Also, this store aims to be more like a retail store selling "vintage" clothing and used brand name label clothing. It tends to be slightly expensive (when it comes to thrift stores) but you can usually find some really cute stuff here including scarves, hand bags, shoes, dresses and tops. They also carry mens clothes. I would recommend this to anyone browsing the shops of Charlotte St.

Anyway, I would avoid Value Village mostly as their prices are ridiculous. The only thing that Value Village is good for is the home items. They usually have lots of dishes and kitchen objects, curtains, linens, and furniture.

If I am missing anything, let me know but I encourage everyone to at least go explore a thrift store today, give it a try you will find something you like, I promise :)

Shadow Box Project

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted but the weather has been so nice lately (and apparently will continue to be for a few days) so we have been enjoying the sun and such.

I was thinking on my 'days off' what i would do for my next post and I thought of some cool ideas, but this is one of my favourite things to make, and cool idea as a gift for people from the east coast who live out west to remind them of home!

Basically this project involves beach combing and using things you have collected from outdoors and putting them in a shadow box to show them off!

How to make a shadow box

What you will need:

• a Shadow Box (or boxes if you want to make a cluster of wall hangings - I like to use groups of odd numbers). You can purchase these at most dollar stores (i got mine at dollarama)


• white tole paint (or any paint that works on wood)


• a paint brush


• a rag or paper towel


• glue gun or very strong glue


• shells, rocks, seaglass, starfish, flowers (pressed or dried) or anything else you would like to display in your shadow box - if you really are pressed for time and lack the ability to collect your own stuff - dollarstores work great too, they usually have small bags of pebbles and seashells, but the real deal looks so much more authentic!

First, apply a white wash to the shadow box by painting on a thin layer of paint and wiping it off with rag or paper towel.

Let it try (shouldn't take long as it is a very small amount of paint).

Take your shells, rocks, etc and lay them in place inside the shadow box.

I like to arrange them first before gluing them so I can try different arrangements - then glue them in place..
A great tip is to always keep it simple - don't over do it. Starfish work great on their own, or with a few shells. Flowers look great with larger, lush leaves.

I will make one later on tonight so I can post some pictures - the last one I made as a shower gift for a friend getting married and living in Alberta...

They look great in a bathroom with a candleholder filled to the top with pebbles and shells..

Thanks and I hope you guys really enjoy this project as much as I do !

Remember, if you have any ideas - let me know I'm up for new things :)

*note: the starfish in the shadow box pictured above was brought to me by my boyfriend Chuck. He dried it on top of the boat he lobster fishes in... They should be easier to find near wharves and boats!