City to City: Tamarack General Store

Hello strangers! Jenni and I have been busy being aunties to the cutest little newborn boy around. (You can argue this, but we think he's the cutest!) We've been a bit busy spoiling him. Excuse our absence!

A little while ago, owner Richard Anderson was kind enough to let me snap some photos at one of Saskatoon's most unique stores. I had heard of Tamarack General Store before they even opened, and was excited to see the specially selected items they would bring in! I've visited a few times, and they are all about good quality items that people want to have. And my goodness, I want to have it all! 

Another unique feature about this place is that its entry is in the alleyway. Luckily, it's located just off Broadway, so foot traffic is plentiful, I'm sure. I love the idea of a hidden away store that has to be found to be enjoyed! 

If you pop in, you have to try this Marou chocolate. Crafted carefully from cacao trees in Vietnam, this company is seeking to show that the small, family farm really is a more environmentally friendly business model.  I identify with this as I know this is most often the story for quality coffee. 

And did I mention it tastes amazing? Seriously. Dark Chocolate at its finest. 

Check out their fine line of men's products from Prospector Co. That labelling. I love good labelling!

 

Speaking of good labelling, Common Good knows what that's all about! This company from Brooklyn seeks to eliminate the excess in plastic, and has created a household cleaning line with bottles that you can take to refilling stations! I love this idea. They also give a very well written list of ingredients that are in their products on their website, eliminating the mystery of the more widely used cleaning product ingredients! Smart people, right?

These shelves, love the industrial metal backing and the simple wood shelves!

I see future gifts for my nephew! He will be the coolest kid in school. 

After all these beautiful products from a little further away, I loved seeing these spoons made by a friend! Joel started burntwood makery, hand carving and wood burning unique spoons. We now have two burntwood makery spoons in our house, both so beautiful.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some beautiful items in a beautiful space. If you want to see more of their ever-changing general store, head down there yourself! 

Tamarack is open:

Wednesday-Saturday

11am-530pm

#10 - 638 Broadway Avenue (alley entrance)

Saskatoon

facebook: Tamarack General Store

website: Tamarack General Store (in the works!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kristen

Embroidered House Project + Pattern

Hey guys, I'm so excited to be posting this little DIY project with you! I've been happily planning and embroidering for the past few weeks in order to share this with you today. Lately, I've been so inspired by scandinavian folk design that a few of my paintings and drawings are filled with tiny little red cottages. Aren't they the cutest things? And since I started to paint them, I've been dreaming up other ways to incorporate them into our home (especially since my husband is Finnish- it only makes sense, right?). 

Embroidery has always been close to my heart. I first learned how to stitch from our amazing mom who is an expert when it comes to stitching of all kinds. I remember Kristen and I making our first embroidery projects on lazy summer afternoons- our days were always filled with carefree crafting during summer break! I'm sure mom was just trying to find ways to keep us busy, but learning from her instilled the love I have now for the simple task of creating a picture using only a needle and thread. There's something so essential to this art form. I feel as though it connects me to the women of the past, those who wove tapestries or worked on their children's clothing in craft circles. And if you've never tried any sort of needlework, I highly recommend starting with embroidery! It's so very simple, relaxing and can be done anywhere. So without further ado...

You will need:

-Pattern Print Out (link below)

-Fabric (any solid coloured cotton will do).

-Measuring tape

-Scissors

-Transfer Paper

(If you don't happen to have vintage hand-me-down paper from your grandmother...try looking at a fabric store. It'll probably cost more than 49 cents, but shouldn't be too pricey!)

-Embroidery Floss in the colours you like. 

I chose a deep red, light grey, brown and white. Embroidery floss is one of my favourite things to buy. There are so many colours and each one goes for about 40 cents! I buy mine from Michaels. 

-Embroidery Needles 

These needles have an end that are more blunt than regular sewing needles, which is great for not poking your fingers! If you don't have embroidery needles, you can use regular ones, but you may want to don a thimble!

-A Small Embroidery Hoop, such as this one. 

Embroidery hoops often run rampant at thrift stores and I pick up a few every time I go to have on hand. 

If you decide to make something out of your embroidery, you'll want to think about how the end product will look. I chose to make a pillow, but you can also use this pattern and make it into anything you like, such as a wall hanging or felt coaster! If you choose to make the pillow, you'll want to cut your piece of fabric 1" larger than the dimensions of the pillow you're choosing to cover (I won't be explaining the pattern to my pillow, but I found a good tutorial here).

Begin by lining up the transfer paper (coloured side down) and the pattern on your piece of fabric. Make sure your transfer paper is facing the right way by testing it out on a scrap piece of fabric first. I also used painter's tape to secure it so it wouldn't move on me! This tape can be found at any local hardware or art supply store. Once everything is in place, you can begin to carefully trace the lines onto your fabric. Don't mind my gnarly grandma hands... thanks mom. 

Once your pattern is transferred, you're ready to begin sewing! Line up your hoop around the pattern and make sure to tighten into place. The fabric should be fairly taught, but not so tight that it stretches and skews the pattern. Once your hoop's on, you can choose your first colour to start- this is where your artistic license comes in :)

I'm no expert in stitching (yet!) and there are SO many stitches to learn! I plan on learning and practicing some new ones over the next while, but I used three really basic stitches for my project. If you haven't learned any embroidery stitches before, I suggest taking some time to learn and practice a few stitches before getting started. Here are some tutorials for the stitches I was using: 

split stitch

back stitch

satin stitch

Once you have the hang of it, it's easy to just start filling in the lines! So turn on your favourite show, make a cuppa tea, hunker down for the evening and start sewing! Below are some shots of my finished product- I think if I were to do it again, I'd blow up the pattern to make a larger house, but I'm still happy with the end result. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous to be posting a shot of my living room, as it's a work in progress, but at least it's clean and I've now added one more detail to beautify it! Also below is the link to download the pattern. Happy Stitching! 

Snippets of Decorating and Organization.

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone had a good long weekend. And learnt a little about Queen Victoria from our previous post! I know many are busy this time of year. The sun is coming out (finally!) and warmer weather means many of us not only have inside spaces to take care of, but also outdoor spaces! I plan on planting a few pots of flowers and veggies very soon!

 Busy Schedules often means not being home as often as I'd like. This is when I'm thankful for a small space that doesn't need nearly as much upkeep as a house! I love our little place. When I am home, here are some of the things that have been going on lately. 

We are hanging frames this week! We do have some things on our walls, but we've been talking about doing a frame collage since I moved in...9 months ago...Yikes. Stay tuned for a post on the process!

New terrarium for the coffee table! You better believe those are some more fake blooms. I can't stop!

Okay friends, I have been searching for a better way to store and use cosmetics. This is the latest attempt at organization. I like the idea of open storage, but I want something neat and tidy. I have seen ideas such as this wood block, and have previously used a cosmetics roll like this that I made.

What has worked for you? Let me know!

I organized our open shelving a while ago, and so far these chalkboard labeled baskets have worked really well for me. And yes, swiffers and lightbulbs should get stored together. 

Nothing too exciting going on around here, but I've got project ideas for decorating and organization all the time. Now just to get to them!

What's your week bringing you?

Kristen

Newlywed Nesting: Seasonal Decor

As Jenni and I are both newly married, these past few months we've been able to settle into our homes with those men we now call husbands. With our newest feature, newlywed nesting, we hope to show you a little of the creative projects we are working on in our respective homes.

Jordon and I live in a small basement suite. It's cozy, it's really nice, but it doesn't have too many windows. Just another reason to get more creative with my decor to make it feel cheery, even without the sun streaming in. 

I've decided there are a few places in our house that I like to change seasonally, these are two of them.

First, is my little glass covered terrarium. This was something we used during our wedding as we had a plethora of succulents as additions to our day. Now, it sits on our coffee table. I like to change its contents seasonally to reflect what's going on out of doors. So far, I've had red berries, some pebbles, and now these lovely everlasting flowers. Yes, they are fake. But what better way to preserve florals in a sun-less plaace?

Second, I like to change our clipboards in our living room. Yes, framed art is changeable, but who really takes the time to change it? I don't. Clipboards are so easy. I've had some prints and pieces from people I know, but currently they are images gathered from many places. I like the springy, muted colours they are representing currently. 

And yes, more fake flowers. I really do prefer real blooms, they make their way into these vases occasionally!

Just a few small things I like to do to give our home some reflections of the seasons. Do you decorate seasonally? 

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here! Closes Monday!

Kristen