Heartmade

Welcome! To the re-designed site and new junebugs logo! We kinda snuck it up on you! Since I'm not very tech-savvy, Dale has been working round the clock to learn about blogger and all it has to offer. And I think he's done a terrific job if I do say so myself!  There is still tonnes to learn, but this is a great start! 

We are a bit of a diy family.  It would be great to have a professional graphic artist work on the logo, but for now this is perfect, and Dale put so much thought and love into it...which makes it even more special.  I can't forget to give a little shout out to John for turning our original image into a vector file...I have no idea what that means...but I like that it makes me sound like I do.

The craft of making things yourself seems to be coming back lately.  We are a diy generation, and with resources like pinterest and blogs coupled with a lot of determination, there isn't much that one can't succeed at.  With that being said, the "quality" of the item may be questionable, but that's what it's all about... taking a chance and trying something new.  It's okay for the finished product to be imperfect, rustic, a little rough around the edges per say.  There is a whole "joie de vivre" aspect about it.  You made it yourself, celebrate that project and enjoy it, even if it doesn't look perfect, or perhaps even the way you imagined it would.

There is also a great lesson in having the courage to take it apart when you make a mistake, start again from scratch or call a friend with a little more expertise.  A lesson that I have had to learn over and over. I can so easily get upset with myself for messing up, reminds me of Levi. Ah, so that's where he gets it from.  I've mentioned this before, how his frustrations can mount so quickly from a tiny setback. I'm happy to report that he has progressed remarkably well in this area.  Instead of screams of frustration we're hearing more words like: oops, it's okay and aww no ( in a positive tone of voice). Guess it's time for me to learn yet another lesson through my son and step up my game. Recently, I've been working on this in the sewing realm. When I'm doing the final pressing of a crayon wallet and iron over the velcro subsequently melting it, resulting in my needing to take apart mostly the whole project.  While in times past I may have whipped it on the floor and called myself something like stupid...told mysef what a "great" job I did, this time I just calmly set it to the side and left it there.  Good news is that's progress, bad news is, its still sitting there.

Some of us have been do-it-yourselfers for quite some time now, but then we might just call that our craft or hobby.  It could be scrapbooking, carving, knitting, sculpting, painting, crocheting, sewing, gardening, baking, woodworking, assembling models or skinning an animal for all I know.  The fact is that there is a deep sense of accomplishment that comes from starting and completing a project on one's own.  We live in a world, where one can go to work and do, do, do for eight hours without having really even completed anything in some cases.  For some, the day is only spent working on a portion of a project without even seeing the full thing come to completion.  You do your part and then it gets sent away, off into the digital world, or to someone else's desk or hands and you start on a new project. Don't get me wrong, team work is an important aspect of life, but there is also something to be said about completing a project start to finish.

Homemade breakfast in bed

Homemade pizza night

For those of us who have received anything made with the sweat and tears of someone else, it is certain that these gifts are held in a close part of our hearts.  It might be something as detailed as a quilt or simple as a nice plate of freshly baked cookies. So whether you whittle, stitch, sand, paint, bake or dig, whether you call it homemade or hand made, it is most definitely heart made.

Quilts from grandma

Simple date and almond butter balls

 So what's your thing or what do you like to receive? Let me know and be entered to win a free crayon wallet in the colour of your choice! View styles here.

To enter the crayon wallet giveaway:

1. Leave a comment below telling me what your favourite handmade thing is to make or receive.
2. Receive a bonus entry by sharing this link on your facebook page and leaving me a comment saying that you've done so.
3. Receive a second bonus entry for becoming a follower of junebugs blog.

Keepin' it real

Oh the chaos that can sometimes surround a home of five.  Though I mostly post positive picturesque photos there are those in between shots that don't always make it in.  So I  thought I would share a few photos of the reality of everyday.

Then there are moments of peace in amongst the craziness of everyday.  While I have moments of regret, I'm not hanging on to them.  These are the ones that I'll hang on to, cause they make everything worth it.

Yah, caught you buddy. Black faced and red handed!

Oops, sorry kiddos, Guess I'll need to buy some more snacks for study morning.  This was a combined effort from all three.  But the girls soon found out that they don't go down so well.  A little tough for them to swallow.

For every moment like this...

There are ones like these.

But let's end on a positive note shall we?!

Sewing table was busy the past week.  Here are a few new crayon rolls for your colouring pleasure!

For the cowgirl/cowboy artists

 Dotty Dots

 Moondance

I have been able to find some supplies for these that are a little more affordable, so I will be lowing the price a little to a round $12 rather than the $13 originally posted!

Have a great tuesday! Enjoy the good times today!

Peace!

Loves

I find it interesting that we don't really know too much about Saint Valentine himself.  The fella got this day of love named after him, and according to wikipedia all we know is that he was born on April 16, and died in Rome on February 14th.  In fact, we didn't even know if the day is named after him or other saints with the same name.  Did he love? Was he loved?  What did he love?  How did he love? One thing is for sure, he loved Jesus. He died for it.

It's a great day to remember all sorts of love.

 Levi's home made valentine for Daddy.

Young love: Dale and I were reminiscing the other day about the old valentines days, when you would tape your envelope to the front of your desk and wait for the cards to pile in...hoping that a certain someone would put there's in.  If you didn't happen to catch them putting it in, then you'd hope that they slipped it in while you weren't looking.  Ah the good old days, love was simple back then...when did I make it so complicated?

Sweet love: I made these for Dale and I to enjoy after the kiddos went to bed.  Well, best laid plans didn't pan out.  Dale was not feeling so hot after round two of the flu and headed to bed early.  Not too worry though, they were well taken care of.  Love is eating them for him, so he wasn't tempted.

Family love: There is not much quite like it.  The older I get the more my love grows for my kin.   It has a lot to do with gaining new perspective as the years pass.  Loving and appreciating the little things more and more.

Pure Love: The love that Jesus has for us.  The ultimate love.  He is love, that's why he loves us...pure and simple.  I love him in return, because of what he did as a love offering.

"We love because he first loved us"

1 John 4:19

Now that I'm looking for it, I'm noticing love all over the house.

I'm really enjoying this song about love lately:

How did you spend your valentines day?  I'd love to hear about some of your favourite types of love!

Enjoying the weekend.

Dale is downstairs minding the three wee ones so I can quickly write this post. So here goes!

Enjoying this weekend:

We made the most of Dale having a bit of time off this weekend; stretching it as far as we could.

*Going for walks and catching snowflakes on our tongues.  Friday afternoon's softly falling snowflakes beckoned us outside.

Followed by homemade hot chocolate topped with marshmallows of course!

* A trip to the library.  One of his highlights was the elevator.  This picture totally captures the moment of him taking in all the sensations. I have to say I enjoyed the elevator more than usual. It was exciting to experience it through him.

The first book we found was I think the biggest in the whole library.  Hopefully he won't ask to take one of these home one day.  I can't really see it coming back the way it left.

Thrilled to find the French section in the library so that we can practice a little more at home.  There is a whole world of resources there that I had no idea about.  I also can't wait for the reading terrace to open up on the roof.  It should make for some great dates with my little man.

* Surprise date night with my hunky man.  Thought we would try out milestones since it just opened, but the wait was over an hour, Moxies same thing. So we headed downtown and ended up At the Five. We expected it to be packed but it was hardly even busy.  Live music, incredible food, fantastic service, amazing date...sigh...loved it.

Night cap...and learning how to use my v-day present... a new camera. Yeah right...sista's got it made over here.  Seriously loved by her man.

Chocolate cake in bed...what more could a girl want?

*Sunday afternoon smiles and play time

*Take out for dinner with friends.

Yes it will. Enjoy your monday!