Monday 28 April 2014

Graffiti Girls


My lovely friends who I met while I lived in Montreal visited me this weekend! I hadn't seen them in ages and it was awesome catching up with them and showing these two American girls a bit more of Canada.
I took them around my hometown and downtown to see the major and hidden attractions of the area! Including a giant graffiti wall, these girls love their graffiti (you have to if you live in MTL).

It was rainy the day we went downtown but they're among the most optimistic people I've ever met so it didn't rain on their parade (yes I just said that). Which in all honesty was a little eye opening for me, I see this stuff almost daily so a rainy day is a downer, but they're seeing it with fresh eyes, and the rain magically turns into ambiance. It allowed me to be a bit more appreciative of my daily surroundings!

They loved the Cyrus-esque tongue action of the Unicorn ("It's a unicorn!!!")
We went to the Parliament buildings and became celebrities to some friendly tourists from China who wanted pictures with Canadians (unfortunately for them they only got 1.5 Canadians -- half of my friend Haley is from the Great White North). There was also a funny moment when the girls hesitated to follow me onto the lawn of Parliament.

This cookie quickly turned her teeth pink!
 For lunch we went to one of my favourite places in the Byward Market and I had completely forgotten that it's the place Obama visited on his first trip to Canada as the President. They loved all the pictures and memorabilia for him!
A fun fact: These girls went CRAZY for Bulk Barn. Like they are the biggest fans ever. They couldn't believe how much the store had and the variety too. It was so funny to watch them experience something so common, and frankly, an old persons store (despite that statement it's my go-to place to buy candy before seeing a movie or partaking in a sleepover).
We went out, we hung out, and laughed about, and it was honestly a great weekend that of course went by way too quickly! I need to go see these girls this summer, and I hope they come back soon as well! Distance doesn't affect real friendships (sorry I felt like I had to have some mushy quote to finish this off).

Hope you had a lovely weekend!
Em x

Thursday 24 April 2014

I Did it Myself: DIY Kimono!


Hello! Firstly, thanks for reading me and I hope you're having a nice day. I have made my own kimono for a total of 7$! I was stumbling through YouTube and not only discovered the amazing LaurDIY but her tutorial on making kimonos! It looked so easy that I decided to give it a try.

So I initially headed to Value Village looking for a scarf like the video suggests. However I couldn't find any that I liked (ain't that always the way), so I headed to my local Fabricland. Luckily, and unluckily, their lease is up so everything was 50% off, and I was able to snag this gorgeous chiffon like navy blue fabric with white flowers that have a bit of pink in them. I got a meter and it came to just under 8$, which is amazing. I already liked this DIY, most kimono's are 30$!
So I headed home to get started on my kimono, a bit intimidating.

Now I have sewed before, but I am by no means a seamstress. I just know how to sew on buttons or mend something minor, so I was nervous to start this. And while the video is great, it isn't dummy proof, and I got a bit confused on what and where I was supposed to cut, fold, or make a seam. So I decided to grab a piece of paper to practice, which eased my nerves a bit! Looking back now I followed the directions, I just needed to practice a bit!

Another thing the video didn't really address was making a kimono from seamless fabric. However, I just ironed folds over and sewed in seams to stop frays (which this fabric is always doing). It was a bit extra leg work since every where needed seams, but the sewing is honestly so easy it won't take you long. A great thing about making a kimono is that it's such flowy fabric that when you pick a similar coloured thread, you can barely even notice the seams.
This was a labour of love, but not because it was extensive and really hard to do, but because it was such a quick reward of a DIY that I loved making it.



All in all, this was a great DIY.
You can customize every aspect of this project, the length, the colour, the fabric.

The video suggest 60cm up from the bottom to make the arm holes, however this really depends on the length of the fabric you have, I'd go somewhere between 40-60cm, and if you're not happy it's painless to redo it until you're happy!

I am sososo happy with the end result! Great price, easy work, and it's all mine! I would definitely recommend this to anyone, even if you're not all that confident in your sewing abilities!

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely day! :)

- Emily ♥

DIY Kimono - LaurDIY