Ten things I love right now…
:: the possibility of these white silks… nothing like a blank canvas to play with. Fingers crossed they turn into beautiful christmas presents for my children. (playscapes, skirts & capes!)
:: chalkboard paint — and I haven’t even finished the projects yet. I’m just so excited about the doodling/note surfaces in my small kitchen/dinning area.
:: how quickly November has flown by. In a way it’s freaking me out since that means we’re that much closer to christmas & the baby coming and I’m not quite ready… but at the same time I find November such a LOOOOOONG month usually, and I haven’t had time to feel that at all this year.
:: handmade gifts — even though there’s going to be a whole lot less of handmades this year, I’m loving the ones that are being created…
:: my husband, for having to take over dinner duties some night because my body aches too much and (mostly) doing it with a smile on his face. He’s also been running a million errands (would be a lot less if I could just manage say… a real grocery shopping trip!) but he does it and does not complain…
:: that Alexandre has woken up HAPPY for the last many mornings in a row. A welcome change in our home, for sure.
:: that because it’s dark early Elizabeth is faced with soooo many mirrored surfaces in which to chat, and make funny expressions to. It’s priceless to watch her go. The other day I caught her saying “WHAT DID YOU SAY??” to her reflection, over and over. Such an expressive being.
:: that Alexandre CANNOT stop talking a mile a minute from the minute I pick him up from school until we get home (~15 min. drive) and even then it doesn’t usually stop. Elizabeth (normally the talker) can barely get a word in edge wise. He also chatted with me for a whole hour drive (while Elizabeth fell asleep) coming home from visiting a cousin on the week-end. It was like chatting with a grownup – the conversation flowed so well I could barely believe how fast it made the drive feel… Normally if they’re happy they’re signing or talking to each other, but this was the first time we had an hour long conversation while driving… though I guess perhaps it’s because mine are never alone!
:: this squash (mostly from my mom’s share in the family communal garden) that’s in the freezer for a quick soup on any given winter day… ahhhh winter preserves!
:: this beautiful roving I got from a friend who dyes wool (and who I am thankful to have the opportunity to help from time to time — love spending a day painting skeins of wool without having the expense of having to buy the wool! it’s like a colour AND yarn fix for an addict. perfect!) Now to think of something wonderful to create with it… (i have ideas, though I’m thinking it needs to be changed to something needle felted because my body will now allow me to wet felt at the moment — at times it barely allows me to walk!)
Imagination in Parenting [a creative blog] 
Hi there, just wondering what you used to make the chalkboard placemats? I’m thinking they would make lovely Christmas gifts! Thanks for the inspiration!
hi Lisa —
they’re not placemats actually — one of them is an insert for a cupboard door in my kitchen and the 2 larger pieces are 20×30 inserts for photo frames I have hanging on my dinning room wall… There is fabric you can buy that`s ready to go as a chalkboard though (check etsy it`s all over the place) I have some from last time this year when i was going to make a bunch of gifts with it — I only ended up making 2 for friends… but I should probably make a few for my kiddos!
hope that helps!
Annie