Mr. Roboto...

So...my Creative Kids have been feeling a little left out. It seems my work schedule along with Mr CB's schedule has been more than they can handle!  To combat this we planned a Robot Day...which turned into a Robot weekend as it took a whole day just to make our shirts!

These shirts were done in phases with freezer paper stenciling, puff paint, and button sewing.

I knew this was a hit when Mr. CB came home and got THAT look on his face. You see, there is a certain reaction that I strive for...I love to get a reaction, doesn't everyone?

 And here is the Creative Princess' tee...she also put a battery cover on the back along with buttons to open and close the cover.

I love the Creative Guy's fuel gage...

 And the Creative Baby (I know he's not really a baby...any suggestions for another nickname?). He and I had some creative differences but in the end we came together.

 These shirts were fun to make with the kids and they have worn them fresh out of the wash every time since they finished them! The kids at school love pushing their buttons too! I hope they aren't too distracting!

On Sunday we watched Robots and enjoyed a Robot Meal with classics such as...

 The ever-important....

 And what would we do without...

 And a little bit of lubricant...

 And of course my favourite...

These things are important to the Creative Kids...with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I know they won't have to wait so long for the next time!

Enjoy!
Heather

When you're the best of friends...

It was Friday morning...2 of 5 costumes were done. I had handed over the responsibility of Mr. CB's costume to him. I was stressed. There was no menu plan, I couldn't find any Toy Story Themed menus on line that were simple and to the point.

So, I broke the news to the kids over breakfast.  First Sarah started talking about liquorice lassos...

Then Sean started talking about mashed potatoes to represent Bo Peep's Sheep. Now, my kids don't actually eat mashed potatoes and it just didn't seem like party food so we started talking about marshmallows...and the next thing you know we had pink jello with Cool Whip and Mini-mallows! Yum!

Speaking of potatoes...who doesn't love Mr. Potato Head?

We listened to all of Jessie's Pull String phrases and Sarah suggested Animal Crackers...lovin' it!

This is when I got to thinking we need something a little healthier...what do cowboys eat for dinner? Chilli cooked on a fire of course!

Now, we had covered a few of the characters we would have present at the party...except for the army guy...so he brought along the biscuits!

Now for something for the kids to eat...where else would you get your pizza from?

And who doesn't love those little alien guys? Well, they were pretty punchy at the party! This was a super citrus punch with lime sherbert. Yummy!

I seem to have lost this photo somewhere along the way...but here are the Aliens that Buzz saved from the punch!

 The inspiration for our party. The loves of my life.

 Our family portrait...

 A smaller group than in previous years but we had fun none the less.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Enjoy!
Heather

Yes, I did get all the costumes finished in time. It seems that I always get by.

We were picking cherries...

The whole way to the farm we rode to (yes, we rode our bikes as part of this adventure) I was singing a modified Great Big Sea song. It's how I felt. Then we arrived at the farm (to which I had never been before) and saw this...how much more authentic could it get?

I cannot express to you how much I love this moment. I pretty much captured Simon's daily life. "Hey Guys! Wait up!"

The trees were stunning, simply beautiful and the cherries were plentiful.

We stopped at one basket...I'm not even sure what I am going to do with them! Simon wasn't happy about stopping though! He loved it out there!

And no one, but no one could put those cherries in the bag from the basket except for Simon!

What an adventure we had!

Enjoy!

Heather

Bright Lights, Big City!

I know it's ONLY Toronto to some of you but it's been awhile since we've spent time in Toronto Proper and it was nice to visit (glad we don't live there anymore!)

When I heard that Redpath was opening their doors for Open Doors Toronto...how could I resist? I mean what could be sweeter? The kids were super excited to see their friends from the Acts of Sweetness Team AND they had been asking about visiting Redpath (TRUE story!) Hmmm, I wonder what else is on their bucket list!

Here we are driving in...you can't see it here but there was a HUGE line-up (and we were running a little late - Mr. CB moves slowly on Sundays!) But lucky us, we knew the person at the gate and they let us slip in with the next group when we got there!

This is Richard Feltoe, he is the curator of the Redpath Museum. He had some great one-liners for us before he took us into the tent for the video about how sugar is refined!

Look how excited Sarah is here...and this is just about watching a video!

The refining process brought me back to my roots in oil and gas (really, it did!)

So each of these containers has sugar in various states of refining...from Magma to Fine Liquor. Mmmm liquid sugar!

Speaking of sugar...everyone of us loved this part! This building is as big as 2 football fields and gets filled with the raw sugar (not sugar in the raw that you buy) but the sugar that comes off of the boats. Look how tiny that tractor looks!

We finished our day by waiting almost 2 hours to go up the CN Tower. It was totally worth it though...the kids loved every second of it!

Enjoy!

Heather

Small Business, Big Impact!

I wrote to you last week...telling you that we are stuck. Well, we are still stuck but things are looking a little better. We have worked through some of the requirements with the town and found a way to reclassify ourselves so that these requirements are minimized but still focused on safety. Such a relief!

In the meantime, there is a contest...I heard about it through a friend and well, after the response I got last week, I think it applies to me. The contest is being run by Scotiabank and it is focused on how small businesses make a big impact in their communities. I believe that I am one of those businesses. I also believe that my community isn't just Beamsville/Grimsby and the rest of Lincoln but that it includes my on-line community as well. I know that some of you follow me for inspiration and others follow me to keep up with the happenings here at our house...

So, I am asking you to help...go vote, leave a comment, 'like' my page. I am not judged on votes alone so while the numbers look great (there are higher ones out there), I am certain that your comments and 'likes' will help too. So please take a moment and vote, or take more time and vote daily, hourly, whatever you can do is great!

Some moments I want to share with you...I love my sign. I am so proud of my business...and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for many of you. Help me stay here!

Photo Credit: Stacy's Creations Photography

Everyone knows I love Shrink Art...here are some girls watching their charms shrink!

From our Creative Science Camp, we are ready for our hover craft races!From Fashion Camp...what a fun day we had!

This is a family business through and through...our children enjoy it as much as I do...

Photo Credit: Stacy's Creations Photography

They make me so happy...but every child who walks in my door and gets excited about being a part of Creative Bug makes me happy.

Photo Credit: Stacy's Creations Photography

I am so blessed to have all of you and have the opportunity to work with so many children. In 2 years we have had more than 40 birthday parties, we have made over 60 cakes...that's a lot of smiles!

Please take a moment and vote for me http://www.scotiachallenge.projects.fm/entry/4104805-Creative-Bug.

Enjoy!

Heather

St. Patrick's Day at our House

After much deliberation, some of it rather loud and confrontational, the kids decided to make a Leprechaun House rather than a trap. I had told them that their trap shouldn't look like a trap if they wanted to catch him and this is what they came up with!

Check out the portrait on the walls, there is a fridge and stove on one end. They also wrote down the features of this place including food, a bed (the brick), the gold...they are definitely sales people in the making! The food is marshmallows from the Lucky Charms Cereal...sweet!

Well, it looks like our Leprechaun stopped by over the supper hour and got himself some grub!
But this is the closest we got to see him. Some portraits done in food!
The only gold at the end of our rainbow were Lucky Charms squares. We had to go to the grocery store on St. Patrick's Day especially for the Lucky Charms and marshmallows so we could make these!

And these...we didn't have any ice cream in the house! So we made Peppermint Milkshakes, something for everyone here.

Cheers to Patty O'Malley!I hope everyone had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoy!

Heather

8th Annual Habgood Haunt!

I have a bit of a reputation when it comes to Halloween...the funny part is, my house is not decorated, there are decorations I wish were out but haven't had the chance to retrieve from my storage area, we have no pumpkins or anything fall like outside...it's actually kind of sad! But we sure were't sad this weekend!

Which way would you go? This tree was my idea...the kids had such a fun time making it with me!

Meet my flower friends...any guesses on the theme yet? These flowers are all over the place...aren't they delightful!
You should be able to figure it out by now for sure!
These just brightened the room...you can find a tutorial for the tissue pompoms here (I would use 20 sheets rather than the recommended 8.) The paper lanterns are inexpensive and had a great effect as well!
Now...this is something that I particularly love! You can find the tutorial (and lots of other cool ideas) for this wreath here.
Finally...the costumes! I bought mine (first ever store bought costume for me!) here. The shipping was super quick! I made Simon's (the white rabbit), Mr CB's was a compilation of goodies...I found the vest at a Good Will store for only $3.50, the hat and gloves we picked up at a costume store and the bow tie I whipped up with some remnant sequin fabric. Alice is Dorothy from a few years ago revisited and the Ace we made in a few hours with a couple of yards of felt.
Simple enough? There are SO many great ideas out there...one of my favourite spots to find them is at One Pretty Thing. I bought the fabric to make this door but just ran out of time!

There was also Bubble Gum Iced Tea (totally forgot to take photos of this) that the kids loved adding sugar cubes that I got from Redpath Sugar to! (thank goodness I didn't sweeten it ahead of time!) You should check out Redpath Sugar's Acts of Sweetness Blog and Facebook! I am looking forward to doing some work with them soon!

Just 6 more days until Halloween!

Enjoy!

Heather