Pin Attempt - Paperclip Earrings

Once again, I find myself apologizing for the lack of posting, but I promise it wasn't my fault! :) It was Saturday morning when I decided I would finally make that pin attempt, paperclip earrings, happen. But, as I went to upload the photos and start my blog post I found we had no internet, not to mention no phone! You could imagine our panic, with our house for sale and the contact number our own... but no phone in service! For those of you that live in Canada and know our main telephone service provider, you also know that things don't get fixed quickly. It was late Sunday before we had phone again, and tonight before we had our internet - not impressed! But, that being aside, I am proud to say I finally did that pin attempt I promised, paperclip earrings, and I'm pretty sure I failed! :o/

Originally I found this idea on Pinterest, but it belongs to evie s. and belongs to her post: Art from Everyday Objects: Paperclips + String. Here is the picture of what they should look like:

Paperclips + String

Awesome aren't they? Well, here's what I did. 

First, I started out with some paperclips, earrings and yarn. 

I bent the paperclips into triangles and put them on the earring hooks. (I should have stopped here).

Don't they look great.... for now. 

Did I mention that I had a little friend batting around at the string as I worked away...

And of course, my moral support to my side, convincing me I can do it. :o)

Okay, so I got side tracked. After many, many times wrapping the paperclips with yarn I gave up. I liked the way they look, but I couldn't figure out how to knot them.... As you can tell the one on the right is a little better than the left, that's because I started to give up.

HAHA... there you have it. I was really disappointed by the fail, but now I just laugh. I know I probably wouldn't have wore them, but still... If you can figure out how to finish the string, without losing the look or it coming undone, let me know!!! Leave your comments below. Now, you must stop laughing, my next pin attempt will hopefully be a success!!

Nice to be back, hope you're having a great week out there.

It's "Favorites Friday" | Etsy Shoppes

The beloved Etsy Shoppe. Yes, I have one - no I haven't added any products to it yet. But, hopefully by the end of this year, I think that's a reasonable goal, don't you? :o) Okay, so as promised, I will make an attempt at a Favorites Friday post, today's topic being my five favorite etsy shoppes at the moment. Here goes:

(1) The Nest UK
Some of the most amazing pillows and decor for the home,
here are three of my favorite items they have right now:

Burlap Beach House Starfish Sea Star Pillow Cover

Home Burlap Banner Bunting

Linen Ruffle Lumbar Pillow Cover

(2) Little Goodall

Sometimes, it's a good thing we don't have kids or I'd be broke!

These are absolutely adorable jackets, every kid should have one...

Kids Fantastic Little Fox Coat

Kids Coat: Cheeky Green Dinosaur

Girls Teddy Bear Coat in Pink

(3) Made by Nanna
When it comes to purses, I had a few favorites,
but this store won my heart tonight with plenty of colours to choose from.

Yellow and White Chevron Carry On Hobo Bag with Burlap

Navy Blue Striped Weekender Hobo Bag with Burlap

Green Tapestry Hobo Bag Boho Chic

(4) M Bart Studios
A little different, but for some reason I find these
clay artworks absolutely amazing. I think I want one. ;o)

Clock 9x9 Simple Modern

5" Dish Rumi Quote

5" Dish I Cherish You

(5) Sukan
And because we all know how much I love pillows,
this shop is a dream come true, it was hard to pick just three.

Sukan / Yellow Flowers, Gray Linen Pillow Cover

2 SET - Plant Linen Pillow Cover

Kite Pillow Cover

Etsy, the beloved market place of homemade goods. Check it out and get lost in all of the great finds for hours! Nothing beats a rainy day on the couch, curled up by the fire, still being able to browse through the many unique gifts that are out there. I hope to have my Etsy Shoppe: TheMarthaAnne open soon, maybe that will come after we move into our next house. Be sure to check back often!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Before and After - The Laundry Room

Wow! What a busy couple of days. Our Cape Cod now has the for sale sign in the front lawn and not even twenty four hours later we've had our first call. While many people are asking why we'd sell our home after all of the beautiful renovations... we just can't wait to move on to the next project. :) Now, for all of you who have seen these pictures on Facebook, I apologize. But, in the next couple of weeks I'm going to do some before and afters of our whole home for everyone to see! :)

First up, our laundry room. That shelf you see was tucked into our now pantry across the hall. But if you look closely, the bead board behind it hides our well pump and hot water tank.

Here's a closer look. As you can see it takes up a lot of space. To the left of it is where our dryer went when we moved in. And the open shelves have held paint cans and other stuff since we got here.

 

On the other side of the room was a hideous shower curtain hiding the main water/sewage pipes for the home. (We are on a cement slab, so our basement is all combined into the room, apart from the electrical panel that is in the garage.) And below the rack is where our washer sat. Take note of the great linoleum floors! They were in such rough shape I couldn't wait to get rid of them.

 

And VOILA! Here is the after. We (as in my husband - haha) reran the water and stacked the washer and dryer, I never realized how nice this is on the back when folding laundry, not to mention the space we gained.  :o)

  

The pipes that were hidden by a shower curtain now hide behind this post that is open on the back side for access if needed. A cabinet sits below that is great for storing all of the laundry detergent and other needs. And the best part - our new laundry sink! It's farm sink deep and looks completely modern, oh how I've missed having this sink with all of the painting! Love it.

 Across the way sits our new closet!! All of the shelves were left in and it now tucks away our hot water tank and well pump. It also hide lots of paint cans, the mop, broom and more! And if you look closely, you can see our new floor... click laminate tiles! They turned out great...

I know I've talked a lot about our renovations lately and selling the house - believe me, there is a lot more where this came from. I hope to show it all to you over the next week or two. I know I never got to my pin attempt and the materials are still waiting for me. I promise, next week. Tomorrow is Favorites Friday, I'll do my best to post again. If not, have a great weekend out there... hopefully next week brings relaxation and lots of house tours! :o)

Happy Family Day | Tortilla Chip Recipe

Happy Family Day out there!!! While I wrap up the last day of my four day weekend, I decided to throw a snack in the oven for this week at work. So, I took a pack of twelve grain tortillas and made some yummy tortilla chips! The best part is they were quick and easy... and they are a lot healthier than packing a bag of Doritos!! So, here goes, my tortilla recipe:

Twelve Grain Tortilla Chip Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Package of Twelve Grain Tortillas (Any kind/size will work)
Olive Oil Spray
Epicure's Herbed Garlic Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the tortillas with a knife into desired size chips - I cut mine into 8s. Lay the chips out on baking sheets and cover with olive oil spray. Turn chips over and coat other side with olive oil spray and sprinkle with herbed garlic sea salt or any spices you prefer. Place chips in oven for at least 5 minutes, after 5 minutes keep an eye on them as they will curl and start to brown underneath. You shouldn't need to bake them any longer than 7 minutes. When done to preference, remove from oven and let cool. Chips will harden. Enjoy your easy healthy snack and be sure to try them with your favorite salsa!

It's "Favorites Friday" | Ikea Kitchens

An extra long weekend for me, I thought I'd get my Friday post wrapped up early! This weekend brings all final touches to the house, a massive cleaning and moving of unneeded options to the in-laws basement! You guessed it, the listing agent comes Wednesday to take pictures and put the sign in the front lawn. It's hard to believe it's already here. So, while I missed my pin attempt this week, I certainly can't miss Favorites Friday. Last weekend we stopped by the new Ikea in Ottawa and I fell in love with a few pieces they have, as well as a few kitchens... so, today's subject is five favorite Ikea kitchens. Enjoy!

Trendy Ikea Kitchen Cabinet Designs

White Ikea Kitchen

Chad Eisner Trendy Ikea Kitchen Cabinets Design

Family Kitchen Design by Ikea

White Ikea Kitchen Cabinets

Okay, so if you haven't guess it I'm pretty much a sucker for white kitchens... although gray is slowly growing on me! The second picture is my absolute favorite, while it came up as an Ikea Kitchen, I'm not 100% it is after analyzing it... SO, I apologize if it isn't... but it's just so beautiful! And of course the last one with the mix of grays and white is beautiful! Have a great weekend out there... if I find time I'll try and make up for my missed pin attempt post and do it on the weekend... if not, see ya Monday...

It's a Baby Shower Photo Card!!

So I was approached the other night by a certain someone requesting a baby shower photo card. I'm not sure if it's a surprise or not, so I've changed all information and names on them. They requested sheep and pastels at first, so I put together this one:

Baby Lamb Photo Card
copyright martha.anne

Then, my hubby thought why not use the babies current nickname and make a really fun one that is completely different, so I came up with this one:

Baby Duckling Photo Card
copyright martha.anne

Then, I spoke to that someone one more time and she pointed me to a website that had an invite in browns with sheep. She wanted the same colors and idea. So, I turned it into my own interpretation and can't wait to share the results... (it's a secret for now!!)

She loved it! So excited, I haven't been promoting my design/marketing business at all this year and I was very excited to fulfill the challenge. Now, if I could only get more ambition to create these more often without the requests! I will post the chosen card in the coming weeks, keep an eye out for it!!

For more information and pricing, visit me on Facebook.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

25 Things Linky Party!

Alright here goes, 25 things about me... and I'm attempting to complete this in under five minutes...

1. This is completely random and that's why I love it.

2. I am so sick of renos right now, I don't want to lift another paint brush for a year.

3. But, I am loving all of the results and our home is coming together perfectly.

4. And, I will be lifting another paint brush sooner than I'd like, we are looking at a house right now! :)

5. My hubby sliced his arm open last weekend with a chisel.

6. It was because of renos and he was 1/2 a cm from slicing his main artery - it was completely gross, but we didn't have to wait when we arrived at the emergency room!

7. I am so done with winter and can't wait for spring.

8. I am also done with having a career and wish I could retire.

9. I could spend all day on Pinterest - finding great pins and being led to even better - amazing blogs.

10. This is not my first attempt at having a blog, I failed every other time.

11. One of my other blogs was based on me planning my whole wedding on a budget.

12. The wedding planning consumed my time and it was worth every minute.

13. I need a lot of variety and to use creativity daily, or else I get bored.

14. I love lists and this one is even better because it's not a to do.

15. I wish I could get people to comment on my blog - if you read this, please say hi below! :o)

16. I often wonder if people actually read what I post or if it's just spam bots patrolling the internet.

17. Yes I just used internet marketing terms, I am a marketer by profession.

18. I love traveling and want to see the world.

19. I could live in hotels for the rest of my life... and I don't think I would get home sick.

20. My favorite vacation was my honeymoon when we traveled through Maine and back into Canada.

21. I wish I could cook like a chef.

22. I want to learn how to use spices and make the most amazing meals from the simplest things.

23. I have an epicure wish list, as well as pampered chef.

24. I have been with my husband 10 years this summer.

25. Yes that makes us high school sweathearts.

This was a blast. I don't have a link list, but please feel free to post your 25 Things and link below in the comments!! (This was for Perfectly Imperfect)

It's "Favorites Friday!" | 5 Free Valentine's Ideas

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I've been seeing a lot of freebies popping up. For those of you who have left your v-day goodies to the last minute, here's my five favorite free Valentine ideas:

1. Free Printable Valentine's Photo Card
(from me - martha.anne)

Free Be Mine Valentine's Day Photo Card

2. Free Love Printable
(from Perfectly Imperfect by dodeline + design)

Love Valentine's Day Printable

3. Free Printable Valentine's
(from Jones Design Company)

Free Printable Valentine's

4. Free Be Mine Valentine's Day Wrapping Paper
(from Jenny Steffens)

DIY Be Mine Valentine's Day Wrapping

5. Free Friendship Bracelet Valentine's

(from dandee)

Friendship Bracelet Valentines

Click on the captions below the pictures to get your free goodies, and remember Tuesday is the big day, make sure to tell all those who matter that you love them!! Have a great weekend out there!!