DIY Paper Curtain

These beautiful paper curtains are so easy to make, and look great in a window with the sun behind them.

1. Gather your supplies: scraps of colourful paper or paint chips in any shape (triangles, squares, circles, hearts, starts, etc.), and a sewing machine with white tread.
2. To start sewing, make sure you have at least 10 cm of tread pulled behind the needle, this is what you will use to tie your curtains to a curtain rod.
3. Sew through your first piece of paper.
4. When you get to the middle of the paper, line up the next piece.

5. Let the needle run through nothing for about a cm, then let the feet grab the next piece.
6. Once you have sewn through the middle of the 2nd piece, line up the 3rd
7. Continue until your curtain is as long as you want it to be to fit your window, door frame, etc.
8. Tie onto a curtain rod and enjoy!

Plating Lab 1

Asian Pickled Carrots, Carrot-Ginger Sauce, Carrot Purée, Peach Balsamic Glazed Haddock
Cream of Leek Soup, Mussels and Clams, Roasted Red Pepper Flan,
Miso Glazed Halibut, Lemongrass and Ginger Broth

Carrot-Ginger Sauce
1 carrot, 1 te ginger, 2 te butter, Pinch of cayenne pepper, Pinch of cinnamon, Salt and pepper to taste, ½ te fine herbs (chopped chervil, chive, tarragon)
Juice the carrots and ginger through a vegetable juicer. Skim any foam off the top. Pour the juice into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Bringto a simmer and remove from heat. Whisk in cubes of cold butter one at a time until incorporated. Place back on the heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add cayenne, cinnamon, salt and pepper and the fine herbs.
Asian Pickled Carrots
Carrot Purée
Peach Balsamic Glazed Halibut (haddock)
Cream of Leek Soup
2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons diced onion. 1 garlic clove, minced, 4 cups thinly sliced leeks, white part only, 2 tablespoons flour, 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon freshly minced parsley, separated, salt and freshly ground pepper, (optional) 2 tablespoons heavy cream 300
Sweat butter, onions and garlic. Add leeks and salt. 10 mins. Add flour. Add chicken stock to cover. Simmer 15 minutes. Add half or the parsley and let sit for 1 minute. Transfer to a blender. Bring back to a light simmer. Add hot cream.
Mussels and Clams
Lemon juice
Parsley
Thyme
Chives
Steam in a pan with a cover until shell open (the clams will take longer than the mussels)
Roasted Red Pepper Flan
Miso Glazed Halibut
Lemongrass and Ginger Broth

DIY Bound Book Part 2

Yesterday I posted a DIY Bound Book and today I will show you how to put your own cover on it. You can use any kind of paper and design you want as long as it is at least 2cm bigger around than your book. I used a Cora place mat.

1. Place your book in the middle of a sheet of paper that’s bigger than the book.
2. Glue each cover of the book.
3. Fold the sheet over and rub to secure.
4. Fold in the corners
5. Then fold the sides
6. Fold the middle in as shown, and make a cut in the middle (not shown)

7. Fold the top and bottom edges in.
8. Tuck in the paper in at the middle.
9. Cut a length of card board the same length as the book and width of the spine, glue each side, and slip in.
10. Rub the spine of the book against a desk/floor/your hand.

the Spine should look like this.

Now you have your own personalized bound book!

DIY Bound Book Part 1

I’ve been making bound books for a few years, and wanted to share a tutorial on how to make one! This one uses 25 sheets of paper to make a 50 page book, but you can use more or less if you’d like. You can use any paper you like, loose leaf, graph paper, sationary, moleskin, or your own handmade paper. I like to leave the book with the original cover, but you can wrap the cover with paper aswell, I will post that part in the next post.

1. Gather your supplies. You will need: a cardboard box (I used a cracker box), 25 sheets of paper, scissors, needle, tread/ embroidery floss, and a pencil (not shown).
2. Cut away the sides and ends of the box, you’ll be using the largest front and back panels.
3. Fold 5 sheets of paper in half.

4. Place the 5 sheets of paper inside each other as in the picture; this will make 1 bundle of 5 sheets
5. Make 5 bundles in total.
6. Take one of the card board panels; these will be the covers for the book. Mark 5 dots along the long side of the card board, then line up the bundles and mark the folded edge where they line up with the dots (see picture). Make the same dots on the other cover (not shown).
7. With your sewing needle (I used a small darning needle) poke through the dots all the way through the bundles.
8. Also poke through the covers.
9. Thread your needle and sew through the 2nd hole from the inside of a bundle, coming out the outside.

10. Sew the needle through the 2nd hole of another bundle.
11. Now inside the 2nd bundle, poke the needle through the 1st hole.
12. Bring the needle back into the 1st bundle through the 1st hole.
13. To secure the end of the tread from pulling through, knot the end and pull the needle through the tread as shown.
14. Pull the tread to secure and then pull the needle through the 3rd hole.
15. Pull the needle through the 3rd hole of the second bundle, like before with the 2nd holes.

16. Repeat till you sew through to the 5th hole.
17. To add the next bundle, pull the needle through the 4th hole. You will have already sewn through this hole.
18. in the 3rd bundle, sew through the 5th hole, into the 5th hole of the 2nd bundle (already sewn through) and back up through the 4th hole. You will sew the 4th holes of the 2nd and 3rd bundles together twice.
19. Sew the 3rd, 2nd and 1st holes together. Repeat till for the 4th and 5th bundles. You will sew through the 2nd and 4th holes twice for these as well.

20. When you have sewn all the bundles together, bring the needle through the 1st hole of the 5th bundle
21. Line up the front cover and thread the needle from the front to back. Then bring it back to front through the 2nd hole, and back into the 5th bundle.
22. Continue to the end of the cover, bring the needle through the 5th hole of the 1st bundle to start sewing on the back cover as shown.
23. Bring the needle up through the 4th hole of the 1st bundle and sew front to back through the 4th hole of the back cover.

24. Sew the 5th holes together then the 4th hole again.
25. Continue to the 1st holes, bring the needle back into the 1st bundle.
26. Pull the needle through the tread between the 1st and 2nd holes and tie a knot.
27. Tie a few more knots this way.
28. Cut the tread off.
29. (Optional) if the cover is larger than the pages like in my case, trim the edges.

And now pat yourself on the back; you’ve just bound a book! I hope this tutorial wasn’t too confusing for anyone. Good Luck!

Hand Made Valentine Cards

Oh! I've wanted to write this post for a while but I had to wait until the last minute to finish these (of course) for my Girl Guides. These were really fun to do, I always wanted to make Valentines since watching Be My Valentine Charlie Brown when I was younger, but when the time came to it, I never got around to it. Since I've joined Pinterest aswell as adding more blogs to my list, I've had more holiday ideas coming together (and more time to plan them, not last minute)

Yes they look like an 8 year old drew them, but I think they're sweet anyway. Don't be afraid to draw, you'll only get better!
Hope this inspirers you to break out the crayons and markers and whip up some homemade cards!
Happy Valentine’s Day!