A pencil case full of pencils, markers in every shade and thickness, sharpeners, erasers, thingamabobs, and enough to go around. Growing up, I was the kid you wanted in your corner when you were in a bit of a situation and forgot all of your school supplies at home before a very important test. I was the kid you could depend on to fill your every need, the one you could always count on to “borrow” a pencil from. I had gadgets and gizmos of plenty, and I was always a little TOO prepared.

What can I say, my Mom was an artist and her arts and craftiness really rubbed off on me at an early age in a big way. We had a Craft Room that people would only dream of, with absolutely everything you could possibly want or need at your fingertips. It was truly like having my very own Michael’s Arts and Crafts store within an arm’s length away. My Mom was a real Willy Wonka, except it was art supplies she was stockpiling instead of candy. Quite the opposite, my Dad was a HR Professional working long days putting food on the table and art supplies in the cupboards. So naturally, my brother became a Fine Artist, my sister became a Business Lady, and I fell somewhere in between.

For those of you who don’t know, I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so I do consider myself a bit of a yank with a prairie upbringing. I have fond memories of summers spent at a family camp in rural Pennsylvania where every summer my family would spend almost the entire week in the Deer Valley Craft Shop listening to Peter, Paul and Mary, and tinkering away on our latest ceramic or clay project, only to have them blow up in the kiln at the end of the week. Time well spent for sure! And so it all began… fast forward 20 years.

I am a Mom of three delightful kiddos River, Story and Oxford that keep me on my toes each and every day, and the wife of a Comedian who keeps me laughing through it all. My little family built our home in a suburban neighborhood in the heart of Calgary, AB Canada. We’ve really tried to make our home an inspiring space for the kids to daydream, play around and spark their childhood curiosity. While our Craft Room is a little more like a Dollarama than the Michael’s store I grew up with, we still keep it well stocked and make sure that the kids have access to all the tools and craft supplies they could possibly need.

As for me, some things never change. I love food, entertaining, changing seasons, fashion, decor, and so much more. I truly love being home, and the center of my world is without a doubt my family. What I love most of all is to create. I love surrounding myself with beauty, and creating beautiful things out of next to nothing. I believe you can make extraordinary things out of regular old nick nacks. Being a stay-at-home Mom, and living on a single income has pushed me to be innovative with what I have, and I am proud of what I have been able to pull off with minimal resources and limited time.

Now, I want to inspire others to create as well. I used to keep all of my ideas near and dear to myself, and now I’m sharing all my tips and tricks with all of you. I am so excited to finally have my blog up and running, and I truly hope that I can inspire you to create a beautiful life for you and your family. Thank you for following along on my journey and letting me share my story with each of you.