DIY ruler growth chart

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt’s and my nephew population increased by two last year, bringing our total allotment to four. For each of our nephews, whether he counts his age in years or months, Christmas is a big deal. But there’s an extra specialness for nephew’s first Christmas, as you probably expect.

My sisters were very specific in their gifting instructions:

“Please remember he will only be about 9 months at Christmas and does not need tons of presents. His favourite toys are currently boxes, paper, strings on his Dad’s sweatshirts and his socks. As you can see, he has simple tastes and you do not need to spend a lot of money on him this year.”

The instructions didn’t really help. The little boys still got a lot of gifts.

The one who followed the directions best was probably my Dad. He gave each of the boys a stick.

Of course, he did hand turn the wood very carefully on his lathe and then sanded them smooth and varnished them. They were special sticks… and were winners with the boys.

Matt and I also made something for the boys, although they didn’t appreciate them as much as the sticks.

We made growth charts that look like big wooden rulers.

I thought these were pretty clever when I first saw them online. Plus, if my sisters ever move, they can take this with them much easier than a door frame or a piece of drywall.

I’m not going into a full tutorial on how we made our rulers, but don’t worry, I will give you my templates, some tips, and posts on two other blogs that will give you everything you need to make your own.

There are lots of examples of these types of growth charts online and lots of tutorials out there. Here are the two posts that were most helpful to me:

Sketchy Style’s DIY Growth Chart – This one is more of a life chart than a growth chart–super inspiring and fun. Becky’s tutorial for transferring type onto wood was revolutionary for me. No stenciling! No painting! Wonderous. (The font I chose is Baskerville Old Face in case you’re interested).

Decor and the Dog’s DIY Growth Chart – Michelle’s tutorial turned me on to paint pens. Transferring type to wood isn’t fool proof, and the paint pens helped me be super precise for the touch-ups. Plus, I was obviously inspired by Ike’s cute photos… although my model wasn’t quite as cooperative.

I made my growth charts out of half inch plywood, roughly 10 inches wide by 6 feet tall. I liked the layered edge that was visible from the plywood. Since they’re so thin, they’re pretty light weight, so a simple sawtooth picture hanger on the back was all I needed.

And here are my templates, just in case you want to make your own ruler. If you’re going to transfer the type directly from paper onto wood, you’ll need the reversed file.

Growth chart template – Free printable

Growth chart template (flipped) – Free printable

Tomorrow is my third nephew’s first birthday. He lives a bit far away, so I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like. I’m hoping my sister’s able to squeeze in time–and get my nephew to hold still long enough–to make the first mark on his chart. Happy birthday, Cole. It’s been very special to see you grow over the past year.

Family photo display

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

One of the biggest hits at our month-before-Christmas party over the weekend (aside from the food) was a family photo display that I added to the living room. Everyone who came to the party spent time looking at the pictures.

It was neat to see my young nephews, who never met their great grandparents, getting to know them a little bit more through their pictures. I liked talking with Matt’s uncle about my family and introducing him to some of my relatives.

The photos sit on the sideboard behind the couch. Some frames face the living room and some face the dining room. The frames mostly came from Value Village. In the store, the smaller frames (for photos 4 inches by 6 inches or less) are bundled together and sold for just a couple of dollars. Which is great, because I think the smaller frames work best for a display like this since I can squeeze in more photos. (And I already have plans to add a few more frames).

To fill the frames, I chose a mix of pictures from Matt’s and my families. My Mom and I spent a fun afternoon a few weeks ago going through all of our old albums so that I could pick out some of my favourites.

I love having our family members with us. It was great to see everyone at the party on the weekend, and it’s nice to have the reminder of them in the pictures throughout the year.

How do you display family photos?

Remembrance

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Remembrance Day is tomorrow. You might recall that this a very meaningful day for me.

In addition to marking the end of World War I and an occasion to remember the service and sacrifice of veterans as well as current soldiers, it is also my Grandpa’s birthday.

My grandfather in his World War 2 uniform

My grandfather at Avellino Dec. 29, 1944.

In Canada, many people observe Remembrance Day by wearing poppies for the weeks leading up to Nov. 11. The Royal Canadian Legion distributes the poppies. Poppies are never sold or purchased. People donate to the poppy campaign, and donations help ex-servicemen and women and their families.

A few years ago, I came across a free knitting pattern to make my own poppy from Canadian knitting designer Laura Chau. Laura wrote a great blog post earlier this month that includes a link to her pattern.

The poppies are easy to knit. To stitch one up is a small effort in light of what the poppy symbolizes.

Remembrance Day previously:

Silver wings

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I had been to auctions before. My Dad enjoyed them, and it was a cheap activity to do with little kids. These were country auctions. Outdoors. At farms. There were usually wagons and trailers spread over the yard piled with boxes that themselves were piled with goods for sale.

At this particular auction, there was a wagon full of cartons that seemed to have been packed in the kitchen. There were dishes and spatulas and gadgets. One box was full of tarnished silver dishes.

I was young, maybe just a teenager. But I’d started collecting a few silver pieces.

This box had a dish that I wanted to add to my collection. It was a silver butter dish. What made it special was the lid, which was capped with a butterfly. My Dad agreed that it was pretty, and he said he’d bid on it for me.

The auctioneer circled around the wagon, selling off boxes one at a time. Then, he pointed his cane at my box. One of his assistants picked it up. The bidding was on.

My eyes shot back and forth between the box and my Dad. The assistant reached into the box and pulled out a dish and held it up for people to see. The auctioneer kept chattering, calling the next price, driving the bidding on. The assistant pulled another dish out of the box. It was the bottom of the butter dish.

My Dad looked at me. He said, “Are you sure that’s the one?” Nearly frantic, I nodded yes. He bid. The price jumped maybe twice more, and then the box was mine.

We came forward to take the box and moved off to the side so that we could look at what we bought. The butter dish, including the lid, was there.

People started coming up to us. “I didn’t realize this was the box. Would you consider selling the butterfly dish?”

No, I wouldn’t.

Inside, I was gleeful the assistant had only held up the bottom of the dish and not the lid. I was grateful that my Dad had trusted me that this was the box. I was thankful the price hadn’t gone too high (I think my Dad paid just either $20 or $50 for the box). I was excited the butterfly was mine.

I’m still all of those things.

The epee umbrella

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Rumour has it that one night in my grandparents’ apple orchard, there were some thieves stealing gas from the tank my Grandpa kept for the tractors. My uncle–who was a salesman and not the first person I would choose as a defender (no disrespect intended to Uncle Bob)–went out to run them off. This umbrella is what he took as his weapon.

En garde!

The gas incident was well before I was born. Eventually, this umbrella made its way to my grandparents’ cottage. Every so often, it would be pulled out on rainy days so that people could make their way back and forth between cottages. When my grandmother sold the cottage, the umbrella became mine.

The April issue of Country Living magazine featured vintage umbrellas, including one that looked a lot like mine. The shape is called pagoda, and according to CL, “Asian-inspired shapes generally indicate an older piece.” Given its illustrious family history, my umbrella is obviously somewhat old. The umbrella in the magazine was made in Montreal. That Canadian lineage makes me wonder if mine might be related.

I saw another umbrella very similar to mine at an antique show on the weekend. It was even rose ombre but reversed with the pink on the bottom and white on the top. The tag said it was from Montreal too. It was priced at $80. Country Living valued their umbrella at twice that–$160. I’m not sure that mine is worth that much, but maybe it’s about the price of a tank of gas–even at today’s prices.

Do you have any family hand-me-downs with interesting pasts? Have you ever spotted any of your heirlooms in a magazine?

The artist in the family

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Back in January when I posted about the special painting by Matt’s grandpa that we received for Christmas, a couple of people expressed interest in seeing more of his artwork. You caught a little glimpse of the paintings when I shared the hallway reveal. Today I’m going to give you a closer look.

Matt’s grandpa was a draughtsman. He worked on the Avro Arrow, which in the 1950s was Canada’s most-advanced (and most expensive) jet aircraft.

Painting was his greatest hobby. He painted portraits, still lifes and landscapes.

The four pieces that we’ve hung on the main floor are landscapes featuring rustic buildings.

There’s the two barns that Matt’s parents had framed for us for Christmas. We hung this painting in the foyer. When we were searching for our farm, a lot of the properties we toured had pictures, paintings or aerial shots of the farms hanging inside the entryways. Since this painting looks like it might as well have been painted at our farm, it was the perfect choice for a welcoming image right inside the front door.

Along the hall, the two smaller images are of Matt’s aunts’ former cottages. Matt remembers spending time at the green cottage as a child. His aunt has since sold it, and I never had a chance to visit.

The red cottage has been knocked down and a new cottage built in its place. Matt’s aunt and uncle still have the property. In fact, this is the cottage that we visit every fall. It’s special to have this very personal record of two memorable family places.

The large painting at the end of the hall shows the garage at Matt’s grandpa’s house. Surprisingly, this painting was stored away and unframed for decades. The sunlight in this picture is beautiful. It’s my favourite painting out of all of Matt’s grandpa’s pieces.

I’ve always said that I’d like to own some original art. I realized as I was writing this post that I do. Most artists make art because they love it, not as a “job.” As far as I know, Matt’s grandpa never tried to sell his paintings. He was prolific, and he painted because he loved it. He was most definitely an artist, and I’m very proud to display his paintings in our house.

Easter egg

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

As we wrap up Easter, I thought I would share a special family heirloom that has figured in our annual celebrations for as long as I can remember.

This antique silver egg coddler belonged to my grandmother. Every Easter, she would display it on her coffee table.

I like to collect silver, so I was very honoured to add this piece to my collection when my grandmother passed away.

This dish is notable for the bird and her nest that form a kind of handle at the top the large egg. This bird was never attached when I was growing up. At some point, it had broken off, so each Easter my grandmother just perched it on top of the nest. A few years ago, I found an outstanding silversmith, and he was able to rebuild the bird’s legs and put her back on her nest. There are still some obvious quality issues with the dish, but I didn’t want to make too many repairs given the age of the piece.

When you lift off the lid, inside there is a frame to hold six (very small) eggs.

I believe how this would have worked was you would fill the inside with boiling water and place your eggs in the holder. At the bottom of the dish, there is a spot for a burner of some kind, which would keep the water hot and cook the eggs.

I have no plans to coddle any eggs, but I do plan to display it every Easter. It’s a piece that I treasure.

Do you have any Easter traditions in your family? Have you ever used an egg coddler? Does anyone else collect silver?

Six(teen) years

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Six years ago this weekend, Matt and I got married. Sixteen years ago this month, we went on our first date.

How far we’ve come.

Last year, my sister gave us an anniversary card that I thought was hilarious. Just completely perfect for us (if you assume Matt is the one who’s speaking, of course).

I feel extremely fortunate to have not just a husband, but a partner. Matt and I each have our own strengths, our own preferences and our own ideas. However, at the core, we are completely in sync, and I am so grateful for that.

He’s always watching the numbers, making sure we can do what we want to do. He’s a sounding board for my crazy ideas and always willing to share his own opinion. He’s as enamored with farm living as I am.

I love the life that we’re building together, and, Matt, I love you very much. Happy anniversary.

A painter’s premonition

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt’s grandpa was a painter. It was his hobby, and he was very skilled and prolific. Everyone in the family has a few of his works. This summer, Matt’s Dad came across a piece, and he immediately gave it to us. For our Christmas present, Matt’s parents had the painting framed.

It looks like it could have been painted at our farm.

What makes this a truly uncanny back to the future moment is that there’s a stump right at the edge of the driveway where the big centre tree stands in the painting. The small evergreens behind the barn ramp in the painting have now grown into our towering stand of pines.

Matt’s grandpa died in 1991. I never met him. With this painting, it feels like he is a part of our life at the farm in a very meaningful way.

Do you have any artists in your family? Do you have a painting of your house or property?

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Given that it’s the week before Christmas, I’ve decided to keep it light and have turned the blog over to Baxter. In the meantime, I’m still working on the house behind the scenes and will have lots more DIY for you in the new year.

Well, it’s been really nice hanging out with y’all this week. Julia says this is my last post for the year, though, and that I have to wish y’all Merry Christmas.

I’m a little sad to be saying goodbye, but here goes. Merry Christmas everybody.

(Note from Julia: I take no credit for this Christmas scene. This is not our tree, not our stockings, not our fireplace, not our house. Obviously, it is our (solemn) dog. Thanks to my brother- and sister-in-law Greg and Kristine for hosting all of us for a relaxing pre-Christmas get-away. And for taking a cute photo of our favourite guy.)