Easter Wreath

Usually I'm talking about yarn, and hooks, and crocheting, but today I'm actually sharing an easter wreath I made.  It was pretty quick to put together - it had to be because my life is ramping into high gear, it's competition time!  But first the wreath....

I had purchased those plastic refillable easter eggs from Target.  48 for like $3?  Sweet deal!  Then I picked up a foam wreath from Michaels for $9.99.  Thankfully I had a 20% off coupon, so I actually paid $8 (still too much for foam, but whatever!)  

I started by wrapping some pink, sparkly ribbon I had on hand around the wreath.  Silly me I thought it would get all the way around...NOT!

Ha ha ha, silly me.  Then I decided to wrap washi tape around the bare foam so you couldn't see the white through the eggs.

I also wrapped the washi tape around the eggs to give them a bit more punch!  Plus, I have a lot of washi tape ;) Then I just glued the eggs around the bottom of the wreath.  

And here's the final product!

I love it so much.  Because of the foam base it's super light AND it was quick and inexpensive to put together. It's such a great pop of colour on my grey front door! Happy Easter.

Have you made an Easter wreath?  Be sure to leave me comment with a link to you project-I'd love to see it!

...And A Happy New Year

As the year comes to a close and many of us are spending time nestled together with friends and family, I want to thank you, all my readers, subscribers, casual acquaintances, and maybe this is your first time checking out my blog!  I want to say thank you!  

2013 was a pretty amazing year for me.  Most notably I started my new business West Coast Leslie Designs - a handmade crochet women's apparel company.  Considering it just got off the ground in November, I'm proud to say it's been fairly successful.  My products are online, I sold a whole bunch at my first craft fair, and you can find WCLD products at Modern Sole in Sherwood Park AB and Tryst Boutique in Saskatoon SK.  I created my own website and online store and wore off some of my arm hair from getting orders ready (I crochet pretty fast!) LOL

It truly will never be enough, but I want to thank all the people who have been SO super supportive, including my husband, sister, mum, and dance co-workers (some of my first clients), as well as my partners at Modern Sole & Tryst!

Wishing you and yours a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

See YOU in 2014!

Vancouver Christmas Market

When my Mum and sister were out helping me for Crafty Affaire, I had to take them to my favourite holiday tradition.  The Vancouver Christmas Market.  It's based on the traditional German christmas markets, with vendors and food from Germany!  LOVE!

 We're HERE!!!

 These are some of my favourite noodles ever!  

They're called Schupfnudel and they are DELICIOUS!  They're fried with prosciutto and sauerkraut! Yumm-o!

 In a super flukey coincidence, my mum 

ran into an former colleague!

 Most awkward face when eating sauerkraut! LOL  After our schupfnudels we decided to get some pork hocks!

 Smiley Smiles!

It was SOOOOO fun! We spent a good chunk of change on some christmas ornaments, handmade soaps, and of course delicious, delicious food.  If you live in the Lower Mainland you should definitely check it out.  Bonus, it's only $3 admission weekdays between 11am-4pm!  

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day.  

The day when we take time to stop, and remember all of those who have protected our country.  I often hear stories from my friends, talking about their grandparents, or great uncles etc, who served in the Canadian military.  I always felt upset because I couldn't share a similar story.  My Grandpa never went to war.  And thankfully he is still alive (86 years young!) and such an important part of my life! He makes the best beans and sausage!

But I felt like the odd kid out, who couldn't take pride in her grandfather.  So I finally asked my Mum why my Grampa never went to war.  And I know it sounds funny, but my he never went to war because he is Mennonite, and Mennonite's believe in social justice and peace, and non-violence.  It all made sense, and I understood why my Grampa had never been to war.  Acknowledging this information made me realize why I am passionate about things, like non violence, gun control, anti-military, pro peace.  It had never occurred to me before that so many of my strongest beliefs, things I believe to my very core were shaped by my grandparents and the thread that ran through my family.  I am proud of my family's non-involvement in world-wide conflicts.  Most importantly I'm proud that my family stood up for what they believe. 

I am thankful to those who have made the choice to join the armed forces, like my cousins who are members of the US Air Force and Army.  They are both SO young, I pray that they will never be called into combat.  I am thankful for those who go to places far and wide, to serve their country.  And I am thankful for those who, like my grandparents, stayed at home, to work, to farm, to support the economy, to pray, and to welcome the soldiers home.  On this Remembrance Day remember all of those who fought, who resisted, who succumbed, who survived.  Thank you will never be enough.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween all you gouhls and gals.  I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween.  In fact I can't wait stop seeing my blog roll FILLED with pumpkin crafts - seriously blogland, we really need to talk about this problem!  Like for real...you gotta cool it with the "September 1st, OMG! Pumpkins!!!" Ok rant over.  

So here's my ONE and ONLY pumpkin post this fall.  These are the pumpkins that I carved last year.  I'll be carving some today but for now, enjoy these.

This is the Wicked Playbill.  

It's hard to 'get it' with out it being lit....

Lurch  "You raaaaaang"

ALL LIT UP

I am so proud of this Jolly Roger that I carved last year.  

I'm sorry but it is So freakin' awesome!

Here's the "Wicked" in the dark

And here are all three!  I'm not sure how I'm 

going to top these, but I'll do my best.

National Lampoon's European Vacation

Dear Try To Keep Up! Readers, 

Thank you for sticking through me this sporadic summer, tuning into new salads and checking out my latest crochet creations.  It's been a slice.  But I have to take a little hiatus - my husband and I are headed to Europe tomorrow!  We are flying into Amsterdam and then driving through Germany & Austria for a 2 week Bavarian tour!  I still can't believe it's happening.

This is one of the castles I'm going to in Germany! King Ludwig II's Neuschwastein castle, aka Fairy Tale Castle

Anywho, I won't be bringing my laptop with me so I won't be blogging about the trip until I get back.  BUT if you want to see what I'm up to be sure to follow me on Instagram!  I'll be posting pics from my vacay there to share with all of you (well, when I have free WiFi).

This is the medieval town of Rothenberg Germany! We'll be staying here for 1 night before heading south into Bavaria!

I hope you have a wonderful August and I'll see you at the end of the month!

It was SO cold in Saskatchewan....

... * all together now* "HOW COLD WAS IT?"  

F$%KING cold (pardon mon francais)!  

But seriously it was super cold. 
Like -30* CELSIUS! 
That's -22* for the Yanks! 

So cold I had to make myself a new scarf while I was there.  

Do you like it?  I love it!  I made it with Martha Stewart Alpaca, Wool, Acrylic blend that I got for $2.99 a skein!  Yes you read that correctly!  The wool was normally $14.99/skein and I got it for $2.99 each! I may or may not have purchased copious amounts of said wool.

If you crochet you can find this pattern on Ravelry.  It's super easy, takes three skeins (don't skimp, it really takes three) and one evening (depending on how fast you are!)  I made three while I was in SK over the break and made two for Christmas gifts.  It's a great winter warmer.  It hasn't been very warm here inVancouver, so I've been able to wear this lovely since being home.

Picture Ornaments

I told you, I was busy this Christmas season.  Making many gifts.  Including these beauties.

I got the idea from Pinterest.

So I went out looking for the wood.  Not as easy as I thought.  I found these at Michaels, but realized that it was a bit too big and too heavy for someone to put on their tree.

Then I found these.  They were a lightweight balsa; perfect for crafting and hanging on a tree.  Plus they weren't too big.  Best part was, I got 4 in the package for $4.99. It was the only thing I purchased to make these! BONUS.

When I got them home I painted the wood with a gold shimmery paint.  Then I inked the edges with an old black ink pad, so it was a nice, soft border.  

Then I Modge Podged the photos onto the wood.  

Once they were dry I took old sand paper and roughed up the edges of the photos to give them a more vintage look.  I had printed these pictures from the instant Kodak printers you see in Wal-Mart or the grocery store.  They're not the highest quality but great for a quick project when you need pictures NOW.  

Then I got to embellishing. That was the fun part.  I wanted to make sure that they were all different but also traditional.  

Jill helped me, of course.  I did use a lot of goodies form her stash so it was only fair!

She made this one with the copper flower.

I really liked this blue one.  I made the rosette out of ribbon and then used the ribbon on the back.

These two white ones were for my Mum and Gramma.  They were so beautiful I didn't want to give them away!

I gave these to all the ladies in my life (Sister in Law, Mum, Gramma and Mother in Law) as a wedding keepsake that they could hang on their Christmas trees every year.  Another project that I loved making (and not breaking the bank).  They were just so hard to give away!

Three Mango Seeds