gathering pins {calligraphy & handwriting}

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cheers the swell in adoration for calligraphy & handwriting of late! so i'm gathering lovely calligraphy & handwriting pins over on pinterest. 

beautiful how-to DIY ideas, {including printable calligraphy paper to practice} & gorgeous custom handwriting made just for you, and the prettiest calligraphy kit to help us learn! 

and wonderfully... there's just enough time to practice your own hand at romantic lettering before valentine's day. love lettering here we come!

happy writing, lovelies!

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happy halloween link up!

happy halloween cuties!

hope you have a fun & festive day.

i'm off to finish up my last minute costume -

and don't worry - little rikrak's is done cause, yes of course, he really wanted another *bought* costume this year. alas. :)

here are a few of my favourite halloween thingies: enjoy! AND PLEASE ADD YOURS! costume photos, ideas, spooky decor ideas, halloween recipes, halloween blog posts, etc!

BOO!

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small business ideas: PicMonkey as a great (& free!) Picnik alternative

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sadly, picnik.com is closing next week. 

it was much a friend of small businesses everywhere, but i'm happy to say that i'm super pleased with one of picnik's suggested photo editing & graphic designing replacements:*PicMonkey.com* 

wonderfully, PicMonkey is free, created by some of the folks that made picnik originally, and has many many of the same great features of that other site, except that i've found it's even EASIER & faster to use! hurray!

it's my current fave in a crop of new editing tools for everyday small business use.

you just upload (or *drag*) photos to the site and the rest is easy-peasy.  (and here's hoping they'll soon integrate a number of other features like collage & more, too!)

i'm recommending it to you, nicies, and any of my clients looking for a great stand-alone, FREE editing & creating tool. 

what do you use to edit & make small graphics? 

tried PicMonkey? what do you think?

{ps: superthanks to my superfun brother for suggesting it!}

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brilliant advertising photos: the architecture inside musical instruments

 all images courtesy of the berlin philharmonic

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ah... the art of music!

as small business entrepreneurs we're always talking about the importance of GREAT great photography to advertise our businesses.

so i especially love the way the berlin philharmonic took this idea to heart recently & showcased these AMAZING macro lens photos of the INSIDES of orchestra instruments, for a series of promotional posters. aren't they BRILLIANT?

don't you want to just LIVE inside each one?

talk about unique perspectives! bravo!

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handmaking with kids: best toys ever!

bakers twine @ katrinaalana

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still looking for that perfect toy gift for the wee ones?

look no further than the neighbourhood park or front lawn.

love love LOVE this fabulous post over at geekDad where jonathan liu reminds me about the virtues of: 

the stick

a box

string

a cardboard tube

& dirt.

yes. good old dirt.

so true.

so true.

oh the endless possibilities all around us!
{thanks for the fun link, mr. rikrak!} 

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fun handmade halloween costumes: the womens edition!

fabulous handmade halloween costumes

pippy long stocking inspired headdress | posh fairytale couture

vintage 1940s socialite dress | fabgabs

original raccoon mask | captain cat

rainbow sugar wig |  miss violet lace

forged copper mask | vagabond metal

tulle tutu skirt | tutuschic

victorian newspaper dress & collar | posh fairytale couture

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we all know kiddies seem to adore dressing up, but what about us fun adults?

do you like to dress up for halloween? 

i sure do. 

loving these fabulous handmade or DIY costume ideas. 

have you decided on your costume for this year? 

i'm still brainstorming!

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fabulous handmade halloween costumes

the lioness dress | bangbangcrash

sushi romper | lipglossandblack

cat woman mask | nokturnel Eclipse

princess knitted buns hair |  royalkane

the hitchcock hat | topsyturvydesign

fantastic fox hat | awberry

victorian top hat with bird | topsyturvydesign

mod 60s dress | fastslowfast

hot pink cocktail hat |  arturo rios

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today's the day!

today's the day!
hope you'll join me this afternoon at 4:00 EST
for a fun little Packaging Holiday workshop
LIVE in the Etsy virtual labs!

after the event, i'll be posting my notes here (lots and lots of great links for you, cuties!), so check back later, just incase you can't join us!

be sure to bring your packaging & wrapping
questions & ideas to share.

hope to see you there, nicies!
woohoo!

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fun handmade lunch ideas!

fun & healthy lunch ideas from the article "Sayonara, baloney":
Globe and Mail, wed. aug. 26th

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well well well... it's back to school time here in ottawa for
the wee little ones!

little rikrak is loving his fun new teacher, his fabulous arts forward classroom, & seeing all of those wonderful school friends all day again!

as mommy, i'm delighted for his joy, and to be honest... a wee bit missing my little sweetie! it was such a great summer! alas! how are you feeling about the wee ones back at school?

i saw a GREAT article in the Globe and Mail last week on the joy of packing a gorgeous healthy handmade lunch for our kiddies! indeed, lunch-packing can be a parental chore & problem-solving task! but i loved the great bento box ideas. beautiful! thought i'd share some here.

check out the whole article online for more pro-healthy school lunch ideas. they might take a wee bit longer to craft, but what a handmade lunch! {loving the use of cute reusable cupcake holders to divide some of the lunches, too!}

woohoo! yay school! lunch never looked so creative & delicious! (ps: by the way... little rikrak's lunch didn't look much like any of them today! alas... i'll keep trying! :)

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fun & healthy lunch ideas from the article "Sayonara, baloney":
Globe and Mail, wed. aug. 26th

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handmaking with kids: building sandcastles

welcome to my kingdom sandcastle photo via williamcho's photostream

i don't know about you... but i just love sand sculpture building. playing in the sand at the park, at the beach, in the sandbox with soothing, therapeutic sand and water. there's just something so festive and inspiring about it to me. i could do it all day!

so for kids of all ages,
here's a round up of some fun sandcastles (and more!) sandbuilding ideas!

• some great tips & tricks on wikihow & ehow & buzzle on master sandcastle building!

• kids turn central that includes fun sand dinos instructions!

• martha's great quick list for easy tools to take with you to the beach!

• creative mold ideas from happy living

and last but not least... check out these inspiring images from the
sand sculpture photo group on flickr! wow!

we're off to the beach today to make our own!
tell me about your fave sand sculpture you've crafted or seen!
happy playing in the sand.

{ ps: don't forget to enter and win my PomLove 7-piece paper poms giveaway on now here on the rikrak studio blog! just 2 days left to enter! }

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happy earth day!

atlas card by pine street makery

happy earth day, lovelies! yay to the earth!

i think we can probably all agree that earth day is best celebrated each & everyday! i'm so excited when i see folks adding to their earth consciousness on a daily basis. but i do love a special day to focus on things: i think it's exciting when folks can find community in feeling encouraged, empowered & inspired to keep doing the great things they're doing for the earth, start new things to help our world, and spread the word!

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here's a little roundup of some fun everyday earth day ideas from around the blogosphere!


something eco-fabulous to re-make!

• something pretty for the kitchen? the ever-brilliant chakrapennywhistle just posted this tutorial on recycled table runner aprons!

• feeling festive? creature comforts' wonderful DIY grocery bag pompoms are scrumptious!
  

• time to re-invent your place? try 20 fun DIY re-invent your stuff projects on sunset (via design*sponge)

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something eco-fabulous for greening your home!

• down to earth's wonderful blog has so many fabulous recipes for green cleaning

• planet green has great tips on how to green your laundry.

• and there are lots of great energy saving home tips @ the david suzuki foundation
  

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something eco-lovely for eco-fying your little business!

• laura bucci shares a great tutorial on the Trans-Canada Etsy Blog about turning cardboard boxes into stylin' business mailers! love 'em!

• the brilliant tanis alexis shares a fabulous array of eco-wrapping ideas, perfect for your business OR your home, on the ecoetsy blog.
  

• treehugger suggests 7 ways to save your office money by going green.

• planet green suggests the top tips to go green @ work!

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eco-ideas to get the kiddies excited about helping the earth!

• Kaboose has lots of great recycling crafts for the kiddies.

• EcoKids has lots of fun games, activities and ideas for spreading the word!

• Echoage offers a fun alternative to the spending & waste @ a bday party (little rikrak's friends have been doing this lots this year! great ideas!)

• help kids calculate their ecological footprint here on zerofootprint

• play outside!

and of course, so many many other wonderful ideas, too! please share yours!

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what are you doing to celebrate the earth today?
i'd love to hear about it!
thanks for everything, kindly earth.

we're off for a little walk in the puddles. be well, nicies.

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