DIY Christmas Crafts at Sitka

On a dark and dreary evening in YYJ, some of Victoria's finest came out to play!

We attended Sitka's DIY night last night and created Christmas decoration masterpieces; West Coast style!

Sticks, lace, feathers and hemp were all being tossed around while each lovely lady created something unique. Entry was by donation with all proceeds going to Hurricane Sandy relief.

Two things we learned while DIYing at Sitka:

1.Victoria has some of the most stylish, creative ladies around (well, we actually already knew that!)

2. You can never have enough pairs of scissors at a DIY night!

Thank you for a wonderful evening, Sitka!

Check out their website at www.sitka.ca

xx

C + S

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Refurbished Nightstands & Moving

Hello, little gems! I have been M.I.A recently on the island secret and I want to apologize to everyone who supports us. I have been going through some big life changes these past few months and one of the newest changes is moving in with my good friend Kelsey.

With moving into a new apartment I decided I wanted some new, updated furniture but after looking at prices on-line and in stores, my bank account had other ideas. I turned to Used Victoria, a site where you can buy, sell and trade almost anything. While browsing through the 'free items' section I came across these beat up and outdated night stands and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to put my DIY thinking cap on.

I headed to Home Depot and chose a red mahogany stain and silver handles. After many hours of sanding and many coats of stain, the night-stands were complete! I need to send a big thank you to my dad for helping me with all the hard work. If he hadn't helped me out I would still be outside sanding and staining. We are both so happy at how they turned out and even talked about how refurnishing furniture could become a side project for us. 

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Here are a few extra photos from around the new apartment. 

DIY Mason Jar Brush Holder

Our first house warming gift.

DIY Key Bowl.

I can definitely say that after moving 14 times in the past 4 years I am ready to stay put and enjoy my time at this new apartment.

xx

-S

A Day on the West Coast

Some days are just meant for exploring. Yesterday morning I woke up to the sun streaming through my bedroom window and knew that it was going to be a day filled with adventure. Tossing my ‘to-do’ list out the window, I hopped in my car and let the road take me wherever it pleased. One of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday afternoon is to leave the city and head west to Jordan River; the home of the BEST fish + chips served from an old camping trailer. Jordan River is a surfing hotspot and we sat admiring the surfers and savouring our lunch. We then continued all the way out to Port Renfrew on the very west coast of Vancouver Island. It is home to nothing but the most rugged, beautiful west coast beaches. There is no cell phone reception, radio reception or shops. The perfect place to go and just clear your mind while watching the waves roll in. We stayed until sunset where they sky transformed into the most vibrant shades of violet and magenta, then we made the three hour drive back to Victoria with the freshest air filling our lungs ♥

Jacket: Sitka

Sweater: thrifted

Jeans: Citizens

Boots: Hunter

Sunnies: Ray Ban

Sitka clothing is based in New Zealand and Canada and truly embodies everything it means to be from the west coast. Check them out here: Sitka

Love,

C

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DIY Envelope Clutch

If your sewing room resembles mine, it probably has boxes overflowing with fabric and little jars filled a variety of studs, beads and pearls all scattered about. Lately, I've been looking for quick projects to help me use some up of my supplies and get things organized. This DIY envelope clutch was the just the project! In less than an hour, I transformed some old scraps of fabric into a piece that I can use on a daily basis. If you're wondering what to do with your extra scraps of fabric, why not make a clutch?

Scroll down for the tutorial ♥

Jacket: Warehouse

Jeans: Citizens of Humanity

Scarf: Thrifted

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Boots: Primark

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Tutorial

What You Will Need:

.5 meter lovely fabric of your choice

.5 meter of sturdy fabric (i.e. vinyl)

matching thread

pins

sewing machine

Step One: Choose the fabric for the exterior. If you don't have any fabric at home, head to your local fabric store (hint: always check out the discount walls or bins first!). It's easy to walk into a fabric store and feel overwhelmed by all of the different prints and patterns. Before you go in, decide what you want your clutch to look like and what you will be using it for. This will minimize the amount of aimless wandering. Will it be a statement piece to brighten up neutral outfits? Or a glittery piece to match your New Years Eve dress? 

Step Two: Select a sturdy material for the base. I chose to use a heavy vinyl fabric but it depends if you prefer an envelope clutch that is slightly 'slouchy' or more rigid in shape. 

Step Three: Determine the size of the clutch. Measure the height and length of the clutch onto the vinyl. Double the height measurement as you will be folding this in half to create the base of the envelope. 

Step Four: Determine the centre of the clutch and create the envelope 'flap'. Now you have the base of your clutch and it should look like an open envelope. 

Step Five: Cut out this shape from your pretty, exterior fabric adding half an inch to the edges. Lay the vinyl on top of the pretty fabric and fold the fabric over the edges of the vinyl and pin, as shown. Make sure the exterior fabric is facing outwards!

Step Six: Sew around the edges. Sew carefully around the edges making the sure the gold fabric stays in place and isn't sliding around. 

Step Seven: Fold like an envelope and sew the sides together. Fold your clutch up then sew the sides directly together. 

Step Eight: Add a pretty clip or button to keep the flap closed. For my clutch, I chose a snap to create a seamless look... Buttons are also cute!

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-C