Jolie-Oiseaux Blog

2014-03-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

Kay... This is Freekin' Dee-Lish

A perfect Loaf Cake when you gots a hankering for somewhere tropical...

Seriously... go make it...

In the Thick of It!!!

2014-02-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

We are into our first week of Homeschool! It's been a very nice change of pace for my daughter and I. No more fighting in the morning to get on the bus at 7:40. No more hairdo and outfit meltdowns! Although our son is still attending public school his independence at 14 is very helpful during the mornings. I still get up with him and make sure he has a healthy lunch and get him out the door. Then, because Mila LOVES to sleep in I get my morning tea to myself. At this point I have been just trying to complete her Learning Plan. I also clean homes 2-3 times per week and Mila uses that couple hours to use the laptop to do some learning games and drawing. So far we have attended one 4Cats Art Class and a Cloverbuds 4H meeting. Yesterday we went to the Library and signed out a lot of books! Everyday we do Calendar (days of the week, weather, season etc.) She also insists on doing Show and Tell daily.

I will be posting her learning plan on here when it has been finalized. That way others may get some idea of how this should be laid out and what to include. So far SelfDesign is very hugely involved in making sure you are covering all the bases. I like this because then I don't feel as though I am floundering along without a plan or a semblance of a plan anyway.

I am hoping to add some templates as I complete them, for day and lesson planning. I love lists and schedules that I can make and change! So far I haven't found anything that coincides with SelfDesign's Learning Praxis.

Well I better go and wake up my sleeping beauty so we can start our day! It's beautiful here today!!

Taking the homeschool leap!!

2014-02-07T13:23:00.002-08:00

Well after a few months of soul searching we have decided to try the home learning side of things! My 6 year old daughter is enrolled in our local French immersion school currently but will be done with that on Valentines day. I am excited and nervous to get rolling but I am confident we are making a good decision. We have enrolled her in SelfDesign's distributed learning program. Here we have access to a learning consultant and will receive a small amount of funding for activities and other curriculum. I felt more comfortable having some kind of plan to follow and some extra support.

I am hoping to record our trials and tribulations on here as well posting what other crafty bits I have been up to with my glorious time at home with my little girl.

If you are thinking of home learning for your child maybe this will help you make your decision.

Homemade Halloween

2013-10-27T16:34:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile but... This year I am trying my best to only use homemade decorations for Halloween. Usually we go all out and spookify the place with spider webs and scary music. This year I wanted to keep it classy British Columbia...
My little sign for after we get tired of coming to the door...haha... you know when it's 9:00 and just the teenagers are left. Or for when we really actually run out of candy!

Feel free to use this as a printout for your own entry.

Or how do you like my Pumpkin Address Stack?

More to come...

Cleaning on the Cheap!

2013-01-21T09:49:00.002-08:00

Wow I guess it's been too long since I have posted anything. I assure you though I am going to have some cool projects up soon. Having fun planning and getting half way through many ideas lol.

For the first time in 13 years I have my days to myself again. Currently unemployed and loving it. I am truly blessed to have a husband that just really enjoys me being at home contentedly making dinner, baking, crafting and cleaning the house. Fine by me!! In my free time I have been purging and getting our home organized and livable. I have been totally loving Peter Walsh's 31 Days to Get Organized. Fun 10 min Challenges posted every day in Jan. Check it out on Facebook. Very inspiring.
Well in the last year our financial situation has changed drastically. I am coming out with it and admitting to our struggle through a ...dun dun duuuuuh....Bankruptcy.
We are slowly but surely learning to live within our means... albeit measly means.
In that time though I have learned so much about DIY and doing things on the cheap it's been really amazing.

I want to share with you all today 3 cheap/homemade cleaning products that work: I am sure you have all seen some of these on Pinterest but I wanted to to give you the real deal review and breakdown.

Vinegar\Dishsoap Cleaner

One Part Vinegar One Part Dish Soap

(although I add water to mine)

This one here... is.AMAZEBALLS!

Honestly. I am pretty much the kind of gal who thinks that if it's not full of bleach and chemicals it's not going to work. I assure you, this one works.

I use it for my bathroom always. Spray in the shower or tub and leave for thirty mins. Easy Peasy! Not much elbow grease involved either. I am thinking mixing a bit of bleach into that combo may be a stinky poisonous mess, but if I could I would in order to get the jets cleaned in my tub.

Any chemist-y smart peoples out there who would like to comment on that further please feel free.

Homemade Citrus Cleaner

Ok this one here takes some time but once you get going with the rotation it is really great.

Basically you soak the peels of about 2 oranges in a mason jar filled to the brim with Vinegar for 2 weeks.(I mark my lid with the date filled and the date to use)

Pour your crazy citrus pickle liquid into a spray bottle and add one part water (more if you find it too strong)

Use to clean hardwood or laminate flooring. The perfect solution for spot cleaning.

Cascade Dishwashing Liquid

As Toilet Gel!

Not really rocket science but I came to this conclusion last week.

Cascade has bleach, smells citrusy, and is low suds....

Not unlike...Super Expensive Toilet Gel!

You can get a huge bottle of Cascade for the price of 1.5 Bottles of Toilet Gel.

Keep one for Toilet use only or if you are really up to the challenge, refill and old toilet duck bottle with Cascade to get into those hard to reach nasty recesses of your stink bowl.

So there you go...Have fun with those little tips and tidbits of fun, thrifty ideas.

Back at'er....

2012-11-12T23:02:00.001-08:00

I finally made some stuff...

It's been so long!!!

Here are some little crafts I worked on over the weekend...

First is the signs made from vintage graphics and reclaimed construction materials.

I also bought a box of Christmas thingees at an Antique store and used a few of those.

As always I have to thank The Graphics Fairy for most of these awesome vintage graphics!!

This little cutie is a demo I made for an upcoming class at our Shop.

I saw it on Pinterest and HAD to make one.

So cute...And easy.

Terracotta Pot and Plate

A bowl that fit

a cute knob

Spray Paint, ribbon, Jewelers glue and a waterslide decal!

It will be a PERFECT xmas craft for moms and kids.

Tomato Basil Yam Soup

2012-10-15T14:39:00.003-07:00

We had an amazing tomato year and in turn I had about a zillion tomatoes to use up.

Well, I was inspired by a crock pot tomato soup I saw on Pinterest and decided to make up my own recipe. I didn't do it in the crock pot so it didn't take quite as long. It turned out AMAZING. Seriously restaurant worthy...not to toot my own horn but good gawd... it was delicious.

Here she is:

I used about 15 med to small fresh tomatoes.

Peeled, seeded and chopped.

You could defintely use canned diced tomatoes.

2 Large cans (14oz) Diced Tomatoes

1 onion finely diced

1 Celery Stalk finely diced

1 Garlic Clove minced

4 Cups chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon )

1 Med Yam peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 Tbsp Fresh Basil. (Could use dried herbs)

1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano

1 Bay Leaf

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper ( or just a few grinds of the mill)

1/4 cup butter YUM + 1 tbsp for sauteing veggies.

1 Tbsp Flour

1 Cup Cream

1/4 cup (or more) Parmesan

Saute onion, celery and garlic until soft. (drooling whilst doing so...) Add tomatoes (juice and all). Turn up the heat a little and add chicken broth. Bring to a low boil and then add your yam.Throw in Basil, Oregano, Bay Leaf and pepper (maybe a dash of sea salt if needed). Stir it up, cover and simmer until yams are soft.While all that awesomeness is going on... In a separate sauce pan: Melt butter on low heat, add flour and make a roux. Slowly add cream and whisk until it is nice and smooth. Continue whisking and add Parm. Make it all creamy and smooth. Turn off the heat on both.Give the soup a stir. Now add the flour mixture and stir well. Do not return to heat.Serve with grated cheese on top and some yummy bread product.

Le tableau

2012-09-29T14:44:00.001-07:00

Hi all...

I had to share my first project done in van Gogh Chalk Paint.

As usual I forgot to take a picture of the table before...But you know...it was a standard 80s kind of thing. Solid as a rock though. Believe me, I may or may not have broken a rib whilst lifting this on the work table in the shop. It's a heavy mofo.

Now that we have our beautiful stock at Cameo Boutique I have a myriad of colours to choose from and choosing a combo between all these combos is a difficult process...

I have shared this palette before but, what the heck I am going to again

Well I was a boring gal and picked Mascara underneath and Halo on top....

the paint is a dream! It's everything you have wanted when refinishing furniture.

La Pièce de résistance...

The French caffeine wax that goes on top. This stuff is the "da bomb" and the best part is you can get this stuff alll over you and you don't have to worry about any nasty petroleum products. It's made from Bee's Wax!!! Right next door on Saltspring Island by Claphams.

So Here It Is Mon Tableau:

and as usual I have to thank Karen from The Graphics Fairy for the wonderful French Graphic on the glass top. I enlarged the image and reversed it, taped it face down on the top of the glass and painted with paint pens on the underside of the glass.

BUSY BEE

2012-09-26T21:28:00.001-07:00

With the shop being open for business now I am very busy. But found some time to squeeze in a few more projects.

I am so grateful that Karen from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY was kind enough to feature me on her blog! What an honour.

Here are some of my new items:

I know...Not very exciting... But I did photoshop this image from the graphics fairy.

I took the lines out of the original so you can add another image or even some words en francais.

"SUPER TONIC"

I just LOVE playing around with these images. Feel free to contact me if you ever need help with manipulating anything.

Things are Really Taking Shape at the Shoppe!

2012-09-09T22:40:00.002-07:00

Our "Shoppe" as we've come to call it, is reeeeeally forming nicely!

We have recruited the help of my husband for all the painting and "man" jobs. And now those no fun jobs are almost done so we can get on with the real FUN. DECORATING!

I think one of the most exciting additions to our boutique is the fact that we are OFFICIALLY the new South Island Distributor of van Gogh Chalk Paint.

Here is a sample of there great Palette of Paint Colours.

The best part about this company... Petroleum Distillate Free Waxes and Paints

Aaaand The waxes are made on Beautiful Salt Spring Island. Another way to support Local Cottage Industries!!

After our lovely visit from Kathy, the creator of these excellent products, we will be Level 1 Certified to teach classes on how to properly apply and refinish your pieces.

We are recruiting vendors for the Shoppe and are still looking for artisans to sell their wares in house. If you know anybody who may be interested contact us.

Or visit us on Facebook .

Well I have been so busy working on the shoppe that I haven't had any time for projects. But here is a cool cameo wall hanging I spruced up...Perfect to hang at "Cameo".

New Items and New News

2012-08-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Well we are doing it!! We are opening a boutique!

So much work in the next month to pull this all off but I think it can be done. The idea is to have a retail location where we can sell our hand crafted/up-cycled wares as well as other vendor's goods. But we will be providing Studio and Craft supplies as well. It's going to be great! We have some great leads on perfect vendors on Vancouver Island and can't wait to be working with some of these outstanding artisans. I am so excited to update with more info as I get it!

I have also been working on a few new items which are as usual for sale on my Facebook Page or Click "Items for Sale".

Another Sale, Before and Afters aaaand Our OWN Store???

2012-08-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day! My lady homies and myself decided to have a lawn sale. It wasn't the busiest day sales wise but I love just hangin' out and hearing feedback from passerby's.

The big topic of discussion was retail space...we've been tossing this idea around for a few months and humming and hawing about it. But this afternoon we went and looked at an actual space. The dream MAY just be a reality in the next few months so stay tuned.

So here are the latest and greatest of my creations, first things first is a before photo... a good ol' trip to the thrift store and a few garage sales... :

Here are the items after a good once over:

Oh and another piece that my lovely neighbour grabbed for me to re do:

This turned out so well I have shared it here:

If you are interested in purchasing any of these items check out my Facebook Page 's For sale album.

Well that's all for now! Come back again real soon ya hear!

Krysta

CO-Operative Decor Show N Sale

2012-08-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

My girls and I are having a little showing of our items this Sunday August 19th!

Come and browse our goods on display outside at:

3081 Glenora Rd

Duncan BC

From 10-2

Vanity Faire Furniture

Not too Shabby Home Decor

Jolie Oiseaux Upcycled Decor

Blackberry Bonanza

2012-08-15T19:20:00.001-07:00

"OH EM GEE Blackberree!"

Wow, that was terrible...

Anyway, my kids and I found the most convenient, wasp free blackberry picking spot yesterday and in 20 mins collected about 5 cups of nummy berries!

Well well well... What a coincidence, I needed about 4 cups of blackberries to make that lovely fruit cobbler I made few weeks back.

Perfect!

So here we go again with the simple pimple cobbler recipe.

FRUIT COBBLER

4 cups Berries
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour**
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 Cup butter, melted

In a 9×13 inch dish pour melted butter. Mix flour, milk, and sugar to make a smooth batter. Pour batter over melted butter. Put fruit on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Let set 10 minutes before serving. Serves about 10. We didn't have any ice cream, boooo...., so we poured cream on top, still pretty delicious.
* if using fresh fruit, add extra sugar to the fruit, about 1/2 cup
** if using plain flour, add: 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to the flour.

**TIP: Melt butter in dish whilst oven is preheating.**

My disaster...I cook like this all the time... Chef Ramsey would totally be swearing at me!

DIY Light Tent

2012-08-14T12:55:00.002-07:00

Ok, so I have had a really awesome camera for 3 years now and slowly but surely I am getting the hang of things. Still I probably delete more pictures than I keep, but that is the beauty of digital.
I remember the days of film.... Taking 24 exposures on your $6 roll of 35mm film and "thinking" you got some totally rad shots. Taking it to the 1 hour photo place to be "developed", paying the standard $12, opening the envelope, and the folder full of pics, sifting through the negatives...there they are...your masterpieces?...cue Price is Right loser music...wha wha whaaaaah.. A bunch of BS over exposed blurry crap... Thankfully the photography depression is over....
In walks the Digital SLR era, throw in PhotoShop...Now EVERYBODY and their dog is a pro!
Sort of.
It still takes an amazing amount of skill, creativity and VERY expensive equipment.

Since doing my crafting and stuff I have been overly frustrated trying to take decent pics of my creations.

Here is a great addition and must have piece of photog. equipment. The best part was it was free for me to make because I already had almost everything on hand.

Check out this awesome DIY Project

Super easy to make! I left the fabric as a little curtain in the front so I could just stick the camera through whilst keeping yellow light out. I also took pictures in my windowless bathroom with the lights off. I set a work light on the counter and shone it down on the top. My bathroom is teeny so I set the light tent on my toilet.

Here's what I got:

I was very happy with the results.

You can also experiment by adding lights on the sides as well as the top.

Every budding photographer or DIYer should make one of these, it's definitely an essential.

Things are cookin...

2012-08-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

My brain is doing one of it's creative explosion things where I have too many ideas and then no time to execute...
Well I did finish a few more items in the past week. And have many upcoming projects to get started on. I am SO excited to start. I even got my shop all cleaned up and "sort of" organized. I am working on getting an Etsy page up and running. My wonderful husband has made me a kick ass DIY light box for photographing my "objects de art" So when I have that all figured out I will be more inclined to post photos on Etsy. It has to be just so in order to compete with the level of professionalism I am seeing on there. Wow! It's some tough competition out there.
Anyway if anybody is actually looking at this here are my latest additions which I have also posted and priced on my Facebook Page.

Also I did forget to mention all these awesome graphics are from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY who is currently my hero.

Zucchini!

2012-08-08T19:28:00.001-07:00

"Holy Zucchini, Batman"

So like we have 3 zucchini plants in our garden. And if you have ever grown zucchini successfully you know that 3 is enough!!

So far we have gotten about 8 HUGE zucs and there are more to come.

Well I figured I would zuc it up yesterday and made Dinner and Dessert and only managed to use 1 up.

Wahhhh....

But wow I made a lot of food!

One Huge zucchini made: 15 Mini Quiches an 8 inch Crustless Quiche aaaaand a Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Sour Cream Frosting.

It all turned out amazing so I will share my recipes with y'all.

Zucchini Bacon Quiches

This is just kind of a list of ingredients that I cooked up and threw an egg and cheese mixture on top of it.

30 Frozen tart shells
4 cups finely chopped zucchini
1 Large onion
1 Pack of Bacon
2Tbsp fresh basil
2 Cloves Garlic
Salt and Pepper
5 Eggs
1/2 Cup Parm
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup of whatever grated cheese you want.

Cook your tart shells on cookie sheets in a 400° oven for 10 mins

Take shells out.

Turn oven to 375°

Cook Bacon until crispy, set aside to drain on Paper Towels

Throw zuch, onion and garlic in a hot pan still greasy from cookin' bacon.

Stir fry until soft, throw in yer basil and garlic, keep stirrin'

Add some S&P

Cook on low for a bit, then chuck in yo crispy bacon (if you haven't eaten it all)

Spoon into your ready made tart shells

Mix 5 eggs with 1/2 cup parm 1 cup grated cheddar or mozza and 1/2 cup milk

Mix it up good and carefully spoon on top of yer veggies an stuff.

Bake in oven for about 30 mins.

Now for Dessert!!!

This will be quick and easy since I stole somebody elses Cake Recipe and added some Chocolate Chips and about 1/2 cup of Sour Cream to the batter.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE

VOILA!

The Loo

2012-07-30T14:35:00.004-07:00

Well since it sounds more fun than Water Closet or Bathroom...I made a few of these.
Thanks to the Graphics Fairy for the label frame!
Both are made from used wood. One is handpainted on a cedar panel from our old fence.
The other piece is a rescued board from a construction site.
Both are for sale on my Facebook Page

CRAFT FAIR!

2012-07-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! I actually did a craft fair!
It was really great. My friend and I had a great time although the fair was REALLY under promoted. So sales were not terrific. I can't wait for our next one.

Here is the Links to our FB Pages
This is mine
This one is my friend Fawn's

Here are some pics from the day. Also I really want to do some tutorials on how I make some of my items. I am just waiting to see if there is any traffic on my blog... So comment away.

Peach Cobbler! (Originally Posted July 23, 2012)

2012-07-29T18:13:00.002-07:00

PEACH COBBLER!!

So my girlfriend pinned this cobbler and I had to pin it and then HAD to make it once I saw how easy it was!
seriously
MAKE THIS COBBLER NOW! You could use anything. (Pears, Apples, Berries, Rhubarb...)
The hardest part was peeling the fresh peaches!
And no I didn't have self rising flour so I just made my own.
Also I used another poster's idea of melting the butter directly in the pan whilst the oven is Pre-Heating.
So here is the original link to the recipe:
http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2010/05/blog-revival-week-wednesday-miss-jeans-peach-cobbler/

Miss Jean’s Peach Cobbler
4 cups fresh peaches sliced* or 29 ounce can sliced peaches in heavy syrup
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour**
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted

In a 9×13 inch dish pour melted butter. Mix flour, milk, and sugar to make a smooth batter. Pour batter over melted butter. Put fruit on top, syrup and all. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Let set 10 minutes before serving. Serves about 10.
* if using fresh fruit, add extra sugar to the fruit, about 1/2 cup
** if using plain flour, add: 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to the flour.
And here of course is my picture of mine (dotted with a few raspberries and a sprinkle of nutmeg):

Newspaper Sign (originally posted July 20, 2012)

2012-07-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

CREATIVE juices...

Sounds a little dirty doesn't it?
Anyway I have been working hard getting ready for this craft fair next week. It seems like every day I come up with "the thing" I want to make a billion of.
What it boils down to is me in my garage with a house full of unmade beds, a growling belly and a full bladder. When I am creating I simply cannot break my stride!!
So here is a craft I have been dying to try since I discovered I had obtained a stack of 1960's newspapers in and old orange crate I purchased.
Today was the day here is my first attempt...
If you would like a tutorial please comment as I am going to be making more of these very soon...

Switching my blog over...

2012-07-29T18:07:00.002-07:00

Here goes...(Copied from previous blog Originally posted July 17, 2012)

Hello,
My name is Krysta and I...am a Pinterestaholic. Going on about 6 months now.
There. Got that out of the way.
I have been meaning to get on the bloggy bandwagon for a while...have had a few attempts but always slipped up and lost interest in posting stuff.
For the past few months I have been prepping for a craft fair. My first one. What do I make you ask? I am not sure. I have been trying to stockpile little projects and am pretty much winging it. I am riding on the coat tails of my friend and neighbour who makes Shabby Chic signs. So at least she'll have some good stuff at our table.
But in my search for "My Inner Crafty" Pinterest has become my best friend. I have a board dedicated to things I have ACTUALLY made from things I have pinned.
http://pinterest.com/krystamartin79/did-this-for-realz/

So in the days to follow I hope to post pics and little reviews/tutorials on how these "pins" were to make etc.

While you wait with bated breath I am sure...just check out my link and see what I have made. Feel free to discuss and share your results too.

Happy DIY-ing.
Krysta