Hex Nut Bracelet DIY

Here is a little DIY post on how to make your very own hex nut bracelet. I saw a few how to's and even a bunch of videos so really the only thing I am doing differently is the materials. Most of the posts used some sort of jewelry clasp to finish the bracelet. However, I do not have any jewelry making supplies and wanted to keep the cost of this project down so I was not interested in buying them. 

 To make this you need : 

17 6-32 hex nuts in either brass or silver 

Scissors 

Nylon twine ( most tutorials use butchers string or swede/leather) 

BBQ lighter 

Tape or a clasp to hold your strings down 

So the reason why I chose nylon string is because it's strong, still easily braid-able, and with a little heat you can melt the ends off so everything looks finished. This is where my tutorial is different. 

So lets get to it ! 

 Step 1- cut two lengths of string. One that is about the length or your arm. Bring both ends of this piece together and cut a second piece which matches up to the halved first string. Knot them together as shown. Now all the pieces should be the same size. Use the lighter to melt the  3 ends closest to you so they don't fray while working with. 

Step 2- Start braiding. This is personal preference but most suggest to braid 1 1/2 - 2 inches depending on your wrist size. 

 

Step 3- start adding your hex nuts. I like to start on the left but it really doesn't matter. Always add the hex nuts to the outside strings and continue braiding. Make sure to keep everything as tight as possible. 

 

Step 4- I use 16 hex nuts (8 on each side). After they are added, continue braiding as normal for another 1 1/2 - 2 inches. 

 

Step 5- knot all strings to finish off braid. 

 

Step 6- add a hex nut after the braid. This will keep the bracelet on and work as our clasp through the loop made earlier. If you can get all three strings through the nut, that's ideal. If not, don't worry about it because you can melt down the stray strand to make it look nice and finished. Knot the two strings on the other side of the nut, leaving a little give. 

 

Step 7- Melting. So this is what my pieces look like after being melted. Obviously it was impossible to get a shot of using the BBQ lighter as I only have two hands. But you don't need a lot of heat to start melting them. After heating, I used the scissors to press the hot melted strings down and secure them because they are hot and will burn you if you don't have something to manipulate them with. A pair of pliers would also work well for this. 

Step 8- now your bracelet should look something like this. You can either stop now, or if you want to tackle that stray string by the loop, you can melt it the same way as before, 

 

( I melted mine as shown above. Again secure hot, melted string down using your scissors.) 

 

TA DA !!! All done :) I really liked that I could get everything at the hardware store and didn't have to make multiple stops for this project. Again, this is just how I did it using a synthetic string but there are lots of tutorials using other materials if you prefer, 

Now go have fun because once you got this down, they are super fast and easy to make. From start to finish, I can now make one in under 10 minutes. Great little project that is perfect for a unique, inexpensive, present! 

19th Carp- Mommy Con Boston

Have you heard of MommyCon yet? Well, if you haven't, you better sit down while I enlighten you on all the wonderful things this convention promotes, teaches, and supports for families of all shapes and sizes.

I first heard of Mommy Con when my oldest was about 7 months old. I was following The Baby Guy NYC on instagram and saw that he was having a TON of fun at the Mommy Convention in, what I think was, New York City. I then started following the Mommy Con instagram account and from what I saw, I was hooked. I promised myself, "I WILL attend one of these get togethers someday."

What did I see you may ask ? I saw a lot of babywearing, cloth diapering, guest speaker-ing, general supporting, and mingling of like minded parents. I saw a ton of great baby gear, and to my utter amazement, the giving away of all this crazy awesome baby gear. I saw laughs, tears, fun times, and inspiration. In short, I saw all I needed to get involved.

I knew that the closest event to my area would be Boston... a mere 8 hours and one border crossing a way. However, I felt that this was something that would be worth the hours in the car with an infant (second son) and, after speaking to my husband, he agreed and was even looking forward to it too! I couldn't wait until I could purchase my tickets in April for the August 1st event. Which was apparent after speaking to the creator of Mommy Con, Xza, as she said I was one of the first 5 people to have their spots paid for when the tickets went live. "Well," I told her, "I didn't know how fast they would be scooped up and wanted to make sure I grabbed a coveted VIP spot!" She laughed at my enthusiasm and thanked me for my support.

To show you the diversity of the Mommy Con event, I have the schedule from Boston to give you an example of all the wonderful information these ladies provide to countless families across the country.

 

Not to mention that while all these seminars are taking place, there is a full vendor area covering everything from nursing wear, toys, cloth diapering, car seats, organic food, baby wearing lounge, kid play area, and everything in between. My head felt like it was on a lazy Susan for the amount of time it was constantly turning in order to take it all in. 

Just before the event in August, I was chosen to be a scene reporter to document all the giveaways, speakers, gear, and swag that are associated with the weekend. It was incredibly fun and exciting to do since I was even able to meet some baby media icons like, The Honest Toddler and Jamie the Baby Guy. I had my little side kick pictured below to help cover the event as well, comfy in my trusted Baby Hawk Mei Tei. 

One of the absolute high lights of the day for me was being able to participate in the Human Milk World Record. It was amazing to see over 200 woman in one room nursing, pumping or expressing breast milk. I hope that this movement will help de-sexualize nursing in public and increase support and awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding. Big thanks to The Leaky Boob for your inspirational words after setting the Human Milk World Record!

Another aspect that I loved was meeting the men and women behind my favourite baby brands. These companies didn't send local people to cover the event, the top of the top went to talk to all the mothers and fathers about their products. Their passion was apparent and their enthusiasm catchy! I'm looking at you glittery goddesses Amy Appleton, Beth Valencia and Sue Appleton of Applecheeks Cloth Diapers!

I really can't describe how great the event was. But I can say that if you have the opportunity to attend one, I highly suggest you do. I have been wanting to try and find another do-able Mommy Con before my maternity leave is over, but alas they are all on the West Coast or in the Southern States. I do have one piece of advice though, don't go for the giveaways and swag. They are nice and an added bonus but to truly enjoy yourself, go for the community. It's like having a play date with all your best mom friends you've never met.... yet.


What's your carp?

18th Carp- Dating after Marriage and Kids

The rut.

Those of us married, those of us with kids, and those of us with any combination of the previous stated milestones know the rut that I'm talking about.

Hell, they even made a movie about it. Date Night, the hilarious comedy starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey.

When tying the knot, continuing a dating life might have seemed laughable and absurd. However, to those who have passed their honeymoon stage, it's vital to keep that dating relationship alive.

I think most couples have good intentions on trying to make quality "us" time throughout the week/ month but with everything else that comes up, "US" time seems to be the first thing that gets pushed to the back burner. For us - with a toddler, coming into his own personality and testing the waters at every turn, and a 6 month old who's not sleeping through the night - snacks on the couch, an episode of Suits and an early bed time seem to be as much as I can handle.

However, for our anniversary this year, I'm making it a point to bring dating back up the importance ladder; back into the limelight. I've created a "Date Jar" with 21 different dates of varying time and cost that will sprinkle through our life over the next 365 days.

This is how I did it.

First, I found inspiration on Pinterest. I got many ideas from here, here and here. I wrote down the ones I liked and separated them into three categories.

$- Inexpensive and requires a little planning 

$$- Moderately expensive and requires some planning 

$$$- Splurge dates and requires a lot of planning 

*planning to me means finding sitters for the appropriate amount of time and probably getting everything figured out 3 days to a week before the big date. 

Then I thought, "How can I make this better?"

Instead of buying pre-coloured jumbo Popsicle sticks, I bought the plain ones. This was so I could have as many ideas for each category as I wanted. It also meant that I had a cleaner surface to write on and that they all looked pretty uniform.

However, the paint from my paint pens absorbed too well into the Popsicle sticks creating bleeding. I like sharp clean lines so I thought I would add some co-coordinating washi tape to decorate and hide the imperfections. 

There, that looked better to me. 

Then I wrote an unique date idea on a stick with the coordinating colour. 

Next, I wanted to jazz up my mason jar with something more than hand written labels. I don't do scrap-booking however, I picked up a pre-made kit a while back at the dollar store to have on hand just in case. Low and behold, it had a lot of awesome-ness for this project. I created a lid label and a tag to hang on the mason jar explaining the gift. 

After that, all that was left was putting it all together. From start to finish, this project probably took me 2 hours to do. (Including research) I would put a list of all 21 dates I included, but every couple has different interests and live in different areas that have a variety of things that are available to do. Instead I suggest just brainstorming yourself and make choices that would best fit your individual dating style. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, I am completely in love with this list of unusual date ideas. Some of my favourites include: 

                      Go to your favourite book store and leave notes for future readers in copies of your favourite books. 

                      Try to visit as many people in one night, and turn as many things upside down in their apartment as you can, without them noticing. 

As a side note, I really hope we use this for many years to come. Because of it's simplicity, we can add new date ideas to the jar and take ones out that didn't work as planned. The whole project cost would have been about $25 if I had to buy everything new. However, the only thing I needed to get was the jumbo popsicle sticks as I already had the other materials. So this awesome anniversary present came to the big ticket price of $1.50. *Although some of the dates inside are pretty pricey so it's the most inexpensive, expensive gift ever.*

AND- if you don't feel like doing any of this yourself, let someone else do it for you with this great Etsy shop! Pre-made and ready to send. 

Hope this gives some inspiration to light your fire and refuel your own dating relationship. 

Happy Dating! 

What's your carp ? 

Product review - The Baby Shusher

     Hello all, 

I decided to not include this post as part of my 'carp'list as it is a product review and not something that I am 'seizing' in the moment. That being said, here are my thoughts regarding this product: The Baby Shusher.

Any parent of a high needs, frequent crying and overall draining baby is looking for the miracle product or fool- proof tip to get said inconsolable babe soothed. The Baby Shusher is trying to fill that void as the go to aid for tired, troubled parents....but does it work? 

After extensive trails here is my overall experience. 

I received this product over a month ago and wanted to make sure I had completely made up my mind before writing a review regarding it. To understand my point of view, you will need to know two points pertaining to our circumstances. 1) My second son is a very easy going baby. He has had a few really hard crying fits but that is all. Most of the time he is quite content to be soothed with a quick nursing or nearby soother. 2) I was given this product to review after my boy reached the 4 month milestone. The product insert stated that this machine would work best on infants when introduced as soon as possible as it is suppose to mimic the ambient sound/ decibel level of being inside the womb. 

That being said, I have to say that The Baby Shusher did not work well for us. The highlighted points above contributed to these failed attempts. Baby R is an easy baby, however we did try the product each time he seemed inconsolable to our go-to tactics. Unfortunately this seemed to just make him more angry. I believe it is because when we 'shush' our babies, we use short 'shh shh shh' sounds not a continuously long 'shhhhhhhhhhh'. Because this was unfamiliar, he seemed to get more upset by it. Every time we eventually turned the machine off to try other ways of soothing that are in our arsenal. 

I think The Baby Shusher would be more beneficial if it had more settings. I am sure we are not the only family who uses short, quick shushing sounds just like there are many who use the long version. Maybe it would be a good idea to test this out with their iTunes app before adding it to their portable machine. 

In all, I would recommend this to a friend if they had a high needs newborn. I would probably say to test out the $4 app before purchasing the stand alone machine to see if it could work. As the parent of a colicky baby, I know the benefits of shushing as a means of soothing so I can definitely see it's potential. The app seems like a great way to try it out inexpensively before committing to the $30 price tag. If your baby enjoys the sound, and is soothed by it, I definitely would recommend buying the baby shusher as to cut down radiation exposure from cell phones. 

I hope that sheds some light on this new product. As with others who do product reviews, I was given this item free of charge from the company however all the opinions stated above are my own. 

17th Carp- 10 paintings in 30 days

It all started with a mother/ daughter painting class at Micheal's. It was the first night I spent away from my newborn son and I was taking advantage of it by indulging in my creative juices. I was especially looking forward to this class as it provided a chance to spend time with my mom without kids running about. She has been an absolute angel in helping with c-section recovery, solo mommy-ing and nursing sickness that I wanted to do something for her which didn't involve any of that. 

The class was New York City at night. I always enjoy learning painting techniques from other artists as it gives a new way of coming to a piece. The result of the class was this 8 x 10 painting that I abandoned to the universe in the hopes that it will end up with a new loving owner.  Art Abandonment  is a movement in which artists around the world create pieces to leave for others to find and let those fall into love with the power and beauty of hand made artwork. 

After completing this painting, it lit a fire under me to keep this flow of creativity going. I picked up canvas after canvas and I just couldn't stop. I decided that I was going to give myself a challenge. 10 paintings in 30 days. I thought with two children two and under this could be quite a feat!

Inspired also by the new Disney movie Frozen, I also wanted to create paintings that honored some of my favourite animated movies. Princess paintings are probably not in my future as I don't think that they will become cherished characters of two boys. (Although I would definitely encourage them if this was the case. No gender stereotypes here.) I wanted a way to mourn the fact that I won't have a little girl of my own to paint these things for while creating something another little girl would love.

These paintings were prepped at the same time with similar brush strokes but in one I saw raindrops falling on a pond, and in the other I saw a raging snow storm. The dragon flies found their forever home in Ontario while the Frozen painting was won by a lovely mom in Alberta from a contest I hosted on my Instagram account.  

Quote: Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered
me anyway.This beauty was given away via
my Instagram account. 

Just from posting the progress of my creativity, I received two orders from friends (and followers) who wanted to have some of my artwork for their own. Here are the results:

Alice in Wonderland: Eat me, Drink me

Alice in Wonderland:
Tea party

Another Frozen painting with a background
more like ice 

My Little Pony meets Rainbow Bright

Monsters Inc. Quote:
Laughter is 10 times more
powerful than fear. 

One of my absolute favourites: Tangled

 Finally, I wrapped up my 10 paintings in 30 days with this tiny canvas on an easel that I found at the Dollar store. I thought it would be the perfect size to tuck away somewhere for my next Art Abandonment. I love that I have been able to sell some paintings to be able to off set the cost of giveaways and the wonderful abandonment movement I participate in. I feel truly blessed.

This little guy will be left for
someone to find in the next week. Somewhere in
Saint John, NB. 

With this in mind, I will be posting another Instagram art giveaway in the next few days! Please follow me at mlstandring to stay tuned for the details. I am so excited to share little bits of me to those who appreciate my work. If you are interested in having me paint something for you, please contact me via this blog, Instagram, or e-mail. Turn around times depend on size, subject matter, and life events. With two little ones it can be quite hectic to find time to paint, as you can imagine.

Thank you to all who have been encouraging me on this artistic journey. This includes my wonderfully supportive husband who bought me another 8 canvases to play with for Mother's Day. He knows me so well. ;) And thank you so much to my mom and convincing me to take some time away from the kids for that first class. What a thirst of creativity you inspired!



What's your carp? 

16th Carp- Baby Wearing

Hello All! 

It took another baby and another maternity leave to get me in the blogging spirit. Life as a full time teacher and full time mom made it near impossible to keep up with all the writing that I wanted to do. However, I am going to try in the future to make this a priority as I love documenting interesting things that I have found about life, love, mommyhood and everything in between! 

So baby wearing and I have gone together like bread and butter since my first son was born. Since then I have grown quite a collection of carriers and have created lists of pros and cons for each and every one that I have used. I thought that others looking to compare and contrast carriers might enjoy this information from my personal experience. Also, veterans to baby wearing may see something they haven't tried before and, from my review, try it out! So here it goes. 

The very first baby carrier I purchased was a Baby Buddha that was included with a lot of children's clothing and products locally bought off of kijiji. The entire lot cost $80 from what I remember, so scoring a $129 carrier felt like a true find!  Plus I was extremely happy that this was a Canadian made product. This 'wrap' comes in three sections that can be worn as a pouch or as an ergonomic, legs out carrier that you normally see. Because it was the only thing I had, I loved it. My son was extremely colicky and needed a lot of extra care. This let me be close to him while allowing access to my arms to do all the things moms need to do in the run of a day. In the picture to the left, my son was about 4 weeks old. I used this carrier until he was big enough to sit legs out and upright during our walks. However, I found that after awhile he was getting 'too heavy' for the wrap and I would be constantly adjusting on the relatively short/ moderate walks we were taking. Now these do come in 'sizes' and since it was purchased second hand, the lack of support might have been due to incorrect fit. Their website and instructional 'how-to's' show that this carrier can be used from newborn to toddler, so I'm assuming that if you had the right fit it could be a great carrier for you. 

Because I wanted to do long walks with my son on country roads, I needed to make sure I had something that could last hours without having to adjust straps/ buckles/ snaps or ties. I read a lot of reviews and thought I would try the Ergo next. Since Ergo themselves do not ship to Canada, I purchased mine from Ebay. A bonus to this carrier is that they offer different styles to fit your needs and climate. The one I chose was the Ergo Performance which retails for $140. For the next year this was my go to carrier. I loved the support it gave me, and my son was content to be in it for hours. The only downside is how it made my post baby body look when I back carried. I wanted to make sure everything was nice and snug, which meant for a lot of... uh.... spill over in certain areas. That being said, I still enjoyed it immensely. So much so, I was a little bit over protective about it though as I didn't want anyone to adjust my buckles. I needed something I could put on at a moments notice and although this can be adjusted easily for different body types, trying to do so with a cranky overtired baby isn't very fun.

 I truly did love my Ergo and it will always be close to my heart considering the hours I spent in it with my son. I can see the benefits for it being a family's one and only carrier. However, my boy was getting bigger. He didn't want to stay in it for long periods of time and having to store it in a diaper bag during a young toddler's 'up and down' stage was next to impossible. So I needed to branch out. Find something compact and easy to adjust to the whims of a growing boy while still allowing him to be able to have the comfort of the baby wearing relationship we have fostered since birth. 

That's when I started eyeing wraps and slings. At first these beautiful fabric carriers were scary to me. I mean, how does one even BEGIN to tie one of those securely enough to keep a baby in? But I was ready, I mean, I was a baby wearing veteran by this time so I was up for the challenge. 

This photo was taken as soon as my sling arrived. The rings
are not in the proper position but I kept the photo because
I was so excited it finally came! 

I found this beautiful sling made in Canada by a working mom in Montreal. I loved that I was able to support a like-minded mother doing something she loved while allowing her the opportunity to stay at home with her son. Smigli slings offers a wide array of fabric and ring choices for approximately $100 depending on your preferences. I decided to try a ring sling as I thought this would allow for the best, quick change-over, process for me and my son. It was fantastic! We would get compliments about it wherever we went and was able to start conversations with other families about the benefits of baby wearing. And when he didn't want to be in it any longer, it could easily be stored in his diaper bag until next time. It's never left our car since the time of purchase so that we always have a J approved carrier within grasp. Personally, I preferred wearing J on the hip with this style as it gave him a lot of visibility to the world around him which is exactly what he craved at the time. However, I have never tried this sling for long walks as he was beyond that stage when I received it. I don't think it would have served well for hikes but was excellent for trips around the mall, crowded events, or visits to the zoo. 

Now with baby number two here you would think I would have this baby wearing thing figured out and grab my go to carriers and be done with it. Oh, how you are wrong. I am a baby wearing junkie remember? There is always something new to try from my experience and Babyhawk was the next carrier on the horizon. 

I was introduced to BabyHawk Mei Tei by a friend who was able to snatch a second hand one for me to try. I was lured into their beautiful carriers by all the fantastic prints and their design but after spending retail on two carriers and having three to choose from at home, explaining the need for a forth to hubby was stretching it a bit, especially without trying it beforehand (Note from Hubby: Hubby edits blog and agrees).

The carrier I won from Babyhawk :) 

Love, in short. I love my Babyhawk. It offers the same basic ergonomic design as the Ergo, with the same support, but without the buckles and can be folded nicely for travel. It's easily used by many people in the same family as their are no straps to adjust. It is extremely customisable as you can see from their website each Babyhawk Mei Tei is hand made in the USA which makes the choices of colours and fabrics endless. It can accommodate newborn to toddler without any additional accessories whereas other carriers, like the Ergo, need to have an infant insert in order to safely carry a baby. 

Since my second son has been born, he spends most of his baby wearing hours in a Babyhawk. Once I became a fan of their facebook page, I was excited to see that they have contests in which they offer a chance to win an array of their products. I would enter any I could because although I loved the functionality of the carrier I purchased, because it was second hand, it really wasn't my style. Not that I was complaining, but I thought I might try for a new one if I was lucky enough. I was ecstatic to find out I was chosen from an open contest of over 350 applicants (I lost count) in which we were asked to describe our "wishes" for our children to win a customized carrier featuring their new print.

My newborn has been happily carried in the Ergo by his father. (He laid claim to that carrier quickly once I moved on to the sling and Babyhawk.) I wore him briefly during a grocery trip in which I didn't want to lug out a stroller in the sling, which is still faithfully in our car. It was OK but I still prefer a sling for when babes are a little bigger. And finally, my new little guy gets daily carrying love in one of my two Babyhawk carriers. Usually my French Lilac one.... because it's just so pretty! His older brother ? Well, if you can catch him, you can try and wear him but that guy is on the MOVE! In his words, you better be wearing your 'fast skates' (What a Canadian boy) in order to stand a chance. 

Finally, I'm going to be happily trying out a woven wrap after I attend MommyCon in Boston; as it is a part of the VIP swag package. Eeeeek! I think that will mean I have officially tested every 'type' of baby carrier out there so stay tuned as I will update this baby review at that time. Hopefully this long review has helped shed some light through my personal journey of baby wearing to what option might work best for you and your family. 

Happy Carrying! 

What's your carp ? 

15th Carp- Social Media

Hello. My name is Michelle, and I am a social media junkie. 

I have had this post in mind to write for many, many months. However, with going back to school and returning to the life of teaching, homework assignments and marking, unfortunately my blog was shoved to the back burner. Actually, probably the farthest burner on a fictional 18 burner stove. 

But during this time, I have been able to keep up with my other social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with enthusiasm and vigor. 

Twitter is a new found favourite since going on maternity leave. I never fully understood its purpose until then. With long nights waking at absurd times, I was able to dedicate some energy into really giving it a shot. Now I love it. I enjoy being able to get up to the minute deals from favourite companies, get insider information on giveaways, and receive chuckles from @firstworldproblems, @theonion and @thegoogleimages tweets. 

Then there is facebook, an oldie but a goodie. I've been facebooking since 2007 so this is a social media that I know well. I can follow, like, friend and post with the best of them. However, I have been catapulted into an understanding of how powerful a social networking tool this is. I have created friendships with people all over the world based on common interests. With facebook, I now participate in the Art Abandonment Project, which has artists leave artwork for other people to find, and the Diaper Fairy Project, which is a charity dedicated to giving cloth diapers to other mothers. 

Last but not least, Instagram. I absolutely adore Instagram. It combines my love of photography, traveling, social networking and media all in one wonderful little ap. I get daily photos of far off places I would like to visit and follow Instagrammers who are located in my favourite cities such as New York.  I can see new products from work at home mothers, companies from across the globe and review pictures from my go-to bloggers. Not to mention that I get to share my own existance, experiences and thoughts with anyone else who wishes to follow me or who stumble across my photos by looking through #hashtags. 

But why dedicate all this time to social media you might ask? This is the most frequent question I get from those who do not tweet, facebook, or instagram. Although I enjoy it for the above reasons, it comes down to making my mark on the cyber world. Once I am dead and gone, and those who know me have also passed, what I have uploaded and shared digitally will be the only way I can communicate who I was, what I was passionate about, and believed in to great great grand children who come after me. 

For an historian, this is not just fun but also has incredible potential for future generations. I mean, I have the ability to communicate directly and tell my story to people I will never meet. 

I have a fantasy that when we hit 2113, elementary children will be asked to do a family tree project where they have to present a relative, no longer living, to the class. I believe by then, most (if not all) of my private content and all of my public content would be easily accessible to my great, great,great grandchild. I envision he or she presenting this passionate woman who loved her family, was an artist, a dedicated teacher and who lived in New Brunswick. I, with great glee, also see them showing actual pictures that I took and quoting my thoughts and feelings to the rest of their class. 

I mean, Benjamin Franklin said it best: 

If you want to be remembered forever, either do things worth remembering or write things worth reading. 

I am doing my best to leave a mark worth remembering. 

I am Michelle, and I am addicted to social media. 

You can follow me on twitter @mlangstandring or on instagram @mlstandring 

What's your carp?