Jessi is 10!

And just like that, my baby is 10 years old! She had a quiet but lovely day that started with her favourite breakfast (pancakes), a call from her grandparents, and a few gifts. 

Rocks & Minerals!

Jessi also enjoyed her favourite lunch (grilled cheese sandwich) and dinner (pizza), with online learning in between. Then we topped the day off with updating the growth chart, taking our traditional mommy-daughter picture, and her favourite dessert (chocolate cupcakes)!

Jessi's birthday wasn't totally friendless -- on Monday she and Emily had a little backyard "party" with their two neighbourhood friends. About all you can expect during a pandemic.

Happy 10th Birthday, Jessi!

We love you xoxo

First Swim

We enjoyed our first swim of the year in our neighbour's pool this week. The water was warm and the girls were happy!

Looking forward to more!

p.s. Remember the first time we swam in the neighbour's pool 7 years ago? Oh my, the girls were so little ♥

Book List #16

I am blown away by the number of books I'm able to get through now that I also listen to audiobooks. Over the last six months I've read/listened to 47 books -- over double what I used to read in the same amount of time! Of those 47, only 15 were in paperback/ebook format while the rest were audiobooks that I listened to while driving, working out, cleaning, or scroll sawing.

Some of my favourite audiobooks are memoirs/autobiographies, which seem to do well in that format. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Know My Name by Chanel Miller had such powerful messages.

Here are all the books that made it onto my list since November (quite a mishmash of genres and topics):

I can't imagine I'll be slowing down any time soon, so here's to another 6 months of heavy book consumption!

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15

Scroll Saw Project #9: Reclaimed Wood Frames

I was very excited when I glued together the layers of my first couple of shadow boxes. But there's no denying that to make the project look complete, a frame needs to be added. I dove right into frame-making without knowing much, but learning every step of the way.

In keeping with the forest/nature theme of my shadow boxes, I like to use rustic, weathered wood to create the frames. For example, this wood pallet that I grabbed from an abandoned construction site:

  

First time using a circular saw

To cut the wooden planks accurately, I bring them to my dad. He uses his table saw to cut them into 1" strips -- the right depth for my shadow boxes. Doing this part with the scroll saw would be very difficult to achieve and take way too long.

One pallet gave me enough wood for six frames:

Then comes the fun part! The scroll saw has a handy tilting feature, which is needed to create the 45° angle on frames. After making a few test cuts, I learned that my saw needs to be set at just shy of 45° in order to achieve the correct angle.

A lot of precision work is needed here, in order to get a perfect fit and clean look. The first frame I made the pieces were cut too short, leaving a small gap at the corners (sorry Alanna!). Through trial and error I discovered that I need to take the measurement of the artwork, then add 1/16" to get my cut line. And make sure to cut straight!

Once the pieces are cut, I usually sand the back and joints to smooth out any rough edges.

To glue the frame in place, I put carpenter's glue on the sides of the shadow box and on the corner joints of the frame. Then I use a belt to tie it tightly together until the glue sets.

The final two steps are to attach hooks at the back and sign my work! Both are quick and fun jobs to do.

Making use of Jessi's spirograph kit ♥

Other than wood pallets, my dad had a few old cedar fence boards that he cut down for me. I love the variety of textures and colours you get from the reclaimed wood.

That'll make a lot of frames ♥

Time to go make use of my new skills!