Zippered Elephants on Etsy

Elephant pouches of all colours and sizes on our etsy shop. These will also be available at the SpeakEasy Spring Craft Show next Thursday. Make sure you stop by and say hi!

::: Nathalie

Recipe: Ravioli Lasagna with Sausage & Mushrooms

Pre-dinner drinks: trying to calm Diana's neurotic tendencies...

4 parts dry sec (or vermouth), 1 part creme de cassis.

My over exposed lasagna shot. The setting sun was super bright.

Dinner at my house yesterday - Diana made my day when she told me I was her favorite cook ever! Thanks bff!

I made ravioli lasagna with sausage and mushrooms (from Chatelaine). The first time I made this recipe I stuck to the directions exactly. It was really good, but a bit heavy on the sauce.

This time, I varied the recipe (since I didn't have crushed tomatoes in my cupboard). I mixed small can of tomato paste with a can of diced tomatoes (796mL) and I got a much lighter, and still super-tasty tomato sauce. Last minute, I threw spinach leaves into the lasagna toss to add colour to the dish.

Here's another variation for the cheese topping. I didn't have mozzarella, so Diana helped me by shredding cheddar and topped if off with some asiago.

Tip: In my house it's just Geoff and I so making a 9 x 13 dish of pasta is too much food for us. I split the lasagna into 3 dishes - one for dinner that night, a little one for my parents, and a portion that I froze for another day's dinner.

This is my favorite kind of recipe - easy & super tasty and relatively healthy. For a vegetarian option - just delete the sausage. Happy cooking. : )

::: Nathalie

Etsy: Vibrant Colours with A Hint of Silver

My latest esty treasury: Vibrant Colours with A Hint of Silver.

I love the Etsy community for being able to buy directly from so many talented artists around the world (who we might not have a chance to know otherwise).

Be sure to click on the treasury link to find out about these beautiful works of art. : )

::: Nathalie

Sources: dahlhaus, mujoyas, EloiseRenouf, etco, sweetestelle, Caracarmina, verabel, Judykaufmann, jennykim, thewheatfield, crystalljackson, OldNewAgain, sushipotparts, Geninne, tushtush, PeggyWolfDesign

Recipe: Double Chocolate Cookies

I love chocolate so naturally one of my favorite cookies are Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Cookies. Straight out of the oven, the warm cookies ooze hot chocolate chips as you bite into them.

I prefer to eat them cooled, when the chocolate chips are solidified and the rest of the cookie is soft. I have them with a cup of hot orange pekoe tea (clear thank you), which is absolute perfection.

Variation: Instead of chunks of milk chocolate, I lazily threw in chocolate chips. And, instead of making over-sized cookies, as suggested, I made them a standard cookie size, using my OXO cookie dough scoop. I ended up with over 4 dozen cookies, perfect for sharing.

Recipe for Double Chocolate Cookies are found here.

A Snowy Spring & Event Meetings

Late this morning: spring in Oakville, Ontario. Please go away snow.

Last night, pre-snow, Diana and I met about the table layout for our upcoming event - the SpeakEasy Spring Craft Show, held April 7th at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto.

(Sorry about the bad pics. We took them with a camcorder...)

Diana thinking. (Or is she bored?)

Blurry me.

There's now a couch in my bedroom and it's brilliant!

Diana bonding with our linens.

Until next time...

::: Nathalie

Inside Books: The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berg

Happy Monday and welcome to a new section of the blog for book previews/ reviews.

The idea for this category comes from my own book hunting experience in suburban bookstores which don’t often carry a wide variety of design/ art related books. A lot of the time, I search for info online – where helpful previews of a books contents aren't always available and subjective reader comments are all you have to go on.

My first review and latest book purchase is The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berg (ISBN: 0865652511).

This book has been on my wishlist for months so I was really excited to finally get it.

Unfortunately, the book wasn’t as I'd remembered from months earlier. I was expecting opulence and exuberant décor and styling (which it has) to jump out of the pages and inspire me, which it didn't.

My favourite of their eight homes was the one in Marrakesh. Perhaps I should look for a book on Marrakesh design. Recommendations anyone?

Beautiful book featuring beautiful homes but it didn't inspire me enough and for $77 (amazon.ca price), I thought it'd be best to return it.

Bright Pinks and Sunny Yellows and Gold

This is what experimenting looks like. Yellow and bright pink fabric paint are pulled across an acetate stencil (attached to a screen) with a textile squeegee.

The inspiration: I use yellow screen printing tape to protect my frames from water and paint. Printing with only yellow seemed a little boring so pink was added to the mix.

The pulling of the two colours makes an exciting combination. I love how it starts with the clear separation of yellow and pink and then moves to sunny yellows and oranges on the other side of the fabric, when the colours have been pulled more.

The lining consists of bright pink crosses screen printed on cotton twill. It keeps the geometric and bright coloured theme from the exterior of the pouch, yet varies enough to act as a little surprise every time the pouch is opened.

Geoff says this is his favorite print to date. He's requested I make him a travel bag with blues and greys streaked across the screen as per the above. I'll be sure to post it once it's complete.

::: Nathalie

Subdued Tablewares

My colour obsession continues but this time, with a more subdued palette. I love these gorgeous glazed china spoons. They'd be a great addition to my collection of tablewares.

Also loving the beautiful Pools collection, by Fleet Objects, of ceramic pieces with subtle colour painted inside. So pretty!

And how can you not love these pretty wooden doily coasters from Uncommon?

::: Nathalie

Upcycling Craft Project - Pennants

I thought I'd make pennants to decorate the shop for our upcoming craft show - SpeakEasy. Here I'm creating a template for the little flags. I wanted a reason to use left over scraps of fabric. So much better than throwing them out.

The flags look pretty cute against the little army of pencil cases, makeup cases and coin purses!

Finally, I thought I'd share my inspiration board. As you probably know, this spring I'm feeling loud, saturated colour. It's how I'll make my patterns pop against the neutral canvas of unbleached cottons.

What's your inspiration for spring?

Happy Sunday everyone. It's a cold but sunny day in Thorbury today. Geoff and I are here visting his parents. I've got this fun song in my head so I thought I would share.

::: Nathalie

A little closer to Spring...

Shop screen printed aprons

It's officially March and we're that much closer to spring!

I launched an assortment of handprinted aprons on the shop today along with the beautiful handcrafted wooden keys by my husband, Geoff. Be sure to check them out and spread the word!

And just because - here are 5 random facts:
1. thelimeshop.com re-design launched today. Diana and I spent all weekend working on it so be sure to check it out. : )
2. My iMac died last night making all future site updates a little tricky. RIP iMac.
3. The spring issue of Sweet Paul is out today. Check it out!
4. Spring means I have to think about what vegetables to plant this year. Yum!
and finally...
5. Diana and I will be at SpeakEasy on April 7th. Anyone local should stop by to say hi!

::: Nathalie