Corn maze, Pitt Meadows, September, 2016

Our homestay student had two of his friends for a sleepover. What would they do in the house? Just watch TV? Isn't it too boring? We decided to give them something fun to do and took them to a corn maze. 

This is a map of the maze!

We took this "train" while the older kids were running inside that maze. It was driven by a tractor. Our four-year-old absolutely loved it and wanted to do it again and again!

Do you know what you are looking at? I wonder why they had those things there!

My husband wanted to surprise the kids and went in through the exit instead of the entrance. He's met them half way through the maze. They got surprised as planned :)

I took our son to the petting zoo. We stopped at this barn at first. There was nothing interesting there for a little boy...

Loved these rocking chairs! They were there for the parents who were waiting for the kids enjoying a big slide set on a hill.

This is a cool spot, but not for us, so we are passing by...

Here is the petting zoo! Do you see this bridge? Do you know what it is for? Keep scrolling, you'll see!

The kid loved these piggies the most:

He like the goats and the sheep too:

Remember the bridge for the picture above? :)

The older boys ran for this "train"!

Almost time for the sunset. We had a gorgeous sunset that day!

The steps to the slide that was across from the rocking chairs. I was more interested in the grass mower, though. This is one substantial grass mower! 

We've missed the pig races :(

Still waiting for my gorgeous sunset...

The boys found the rolling down the hill was fun (all the boys you see in the picture!)

My patience has been rewarded! Here is why I enjoyed that trip:

While boys were buying sweets at the souvenir shop, I was looking around at the nice things they had there. How do you like this hand crocheted doily? 

We have done everything we could there, except for the hay ride. We've been promised that in 20 minutes, so we stayed and waited.

It was almost completely dark when they finally got us a driver. They boys loved it!

DIY. Easter decorations in woodcutting technique for beginners. Guest post by VZBRELO

This is one of the guest posts by the VZBRELO girls. You can find a list of all their "behind the scene" and DIYs posts here.

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Easter is coming. Maria and Tatiana of VZBRELO shared a wonderful DIY for the beginners. Love, love, love! Certainly going to do this with my kids when they get older!

Easter is coming, so we decided to share a rather simple DIY for those who would like to try basic woodcuts.

You will need:

- A good mood is a must!

- Plywood pre-cuts in egg shape (or any shape, as you can make Christmas tree decorations this way too!)

- Chisels (half-round or triangle shape)

- Paints (dyes, water colors, acrylic or inc)

- Grinding sponge or fine-grained sandpaper

- Ribbons

- Brush

- Pencil

1. Start with smoothing out the pre-cuts with the sandpaper. Do not rub too hard. A few moves will do the trick. Move along the wood fibers. 

2. Next step is to paint the eggs' surface. We like seeing the wood texture, so we used only one layer of paint. Then we slightly sanded the surface to see the texture even better. Do not let this confuse you, as you can paint the background with even two layers of acrylic if this is the look you like the best. 

3. Time to do the markup. This is a very important step. Do not underestimate the importance of it!  

Use pencil for this. You can use a colored pencil if it makes it easier to see the markups.

4. Starting the woodcuts. Slowly and carefully remove the top layer of wood with a chisel. Do not try to cut too deep. All you need is to remove a little bit of wood with the paint. You need to cut along the wood grains, otherwise you might chip the wood.

Try to make each cut (even if it is a long line) in one light uninterrupted move to get a smooth line with the same depth all the way. It is ok if you cannot do it at the beginning. It is going to be a charming handmade decoration anyway!

5. Have you noticed a light colored line in our pictures? This is not a mistake in shooting! This is a piece of wood that we use to stop the eggs from moving while woodcutting them. Never use your fingers for this and always cut away from yourself and your fingers! Move the egg to adjust it to always engrave it away from yourself.  

6. Here is what we have made! Now we just need to varnish the surface with acrylic lacquer.

BTW, the pattern can be double-sided. Just follow this instructions to decorate both sides of your wooden pre-cuts.

7. As you see from the picture, we used a piece of ribbon, twine and yarn for the finished decorations. We just wanted to see what was going to look the best for this kind of work. We like all three! Which one is your favorite?

8. We hope you enjoyed our DIY, and maybe even found it useful! Has it given you even more ideas? Share them in the comments!

Well, if you've read this DIY till the end, here is a bonus for you :) the ideas of how you could use these decorative technique:

- Gifts to your random guests (you now, to those you usually give home baked donuts), to the teachers, friends, gramma. (We are going to give these decorations to tree of our customers);

- Decorate your coasters or even bread boards (on one side, not the one you cut your bread on);

- Make a whole picture for your wall or a board for hanging your keys on;

- Key chains, crib carousels, pendants, Christmas tree decorations and garlands.

Wishing you a happy Easter!

Maria and Tatiana.

We are always happy to meet new friends! Follow us to see our other ideas (we are constantly coming up with new ones). You can find us here:

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DIY. Clothespins. Decoupage. Guest post by Elena Muse

Today my guest is Elena Muse with her beautiful and simple DIY for those who like to decorate their interior. These clothespins are so easy to decorate, that you could make a bunch of them for different seasons! Make some with flowers for the summer, fall colors for the autumn and snowflake motifs for the winter!

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The decoupage technique is interesting as it can be used to decorate various surfaces, giving them a more well-groomed look and helping to make practical things also beautiful. Today I would like to share an idea of ​​how to turn ordinary wooden clothespins into an elegant element of the interior that can serve different purposes and become an excellent small gift.

This instruction can be used to decorate any wooden surface.

You will need:

─ usual wooden clothespins;

─ decoupage glue;

─ paper napkins;

─ white acrylic paint;

─ varnish for finishing (you may use a special decoupage varnish as well as a nail polish (it dries quickly and it is easily applied));

─ brushes (a flat brush for decoupage and a thin brush for working on the edges f the clothespins);

─ scissors;

─ vinyl gloves (to make it easier to work without getting dirty).

Sand your clothespins if necessary, paint them with the acrylic paint to make the surface smooth. The best color for this purpose is white because it is the most neutral color that will not compete with a pattern of the chosen napkins. Paint very thoroughly, do not not forget the sides and corners.

Allow the clothespins to dry.

Take a napkin, separate the top layer with the picture from the other layers. Put aside the white lower layers. Cut out the chosen  motif from the upper thin layer for decorating the clothespins. Put it on the surface, dip a flat brush into the glue and apply it to the napkin. Move your brush from the center to the edges, trying to smooth out the surface. Remove the excess napkins and brush the surface with glue one more time. Do the same to the other side of the clothespin and to the visible upper corner.

Leave the clothespins to dry. Apply varnish to the surface when the glue is completely dry, highlighting some elements of the pattern if desired.

Completely dry clothespins can be used as regular clothespins or serve to decorate gifts, or...

...  to replace paper clips, or....

... or to clip flowers, or...

... to decorate a Christmas tree and New Year's interior, or ...

...to attach a magnet to one side of a clothespin, so it could be used as a note holder for your refrigerator.

Thus, ordinary clothespins become a beautiful and handy decor element with the help of a simple conversion!

Yours truly,

Elena Muse.

You can find my works and more decor ideas here:

My page in VKontakte
My Instagram
My blog

Jewellery masterpieces

Alessandro Dari

#jewelleryfacts365 257/365

Necklaces are believed to be as old as 40,000 years, during the Stone Age. The oldest necklaces were made of purely natural materials - before weaving and the invention of string, durable vines or pieces of animal sinew left over from hunts were tied together and adorned with shells, bones or teeth or colourful skins of human prey animals, bird feathers, corals, carved pieces of wood, colorful seeds or stones or naturally occurring gems, or other beautiful or artful natural elements found nearby.