Easy Winter Craft Ideas: DIY Mason Jar Snow Globes

A handmade mason jar snow globe sitting on a tree slice.

Oh mason jars, will your versatility ever end? Years ago while searching for winter craft ideas I saw a project similar to this on Pinterest and knew I had to make my own version one day. I mean, miniature trees inside a jar? Kind of precious, right? Plus – you know I have to point out – that if you reuse old jars from things like homemade jam, pickles, etc, paired with foraged twigs, then what you have is an eco-friendly Christmas craft!

So, if you’re on the lookout for winter art and craft activities – here’s what you’ll need to make your own mason jar “snow” globe.

How to Tape Out Your New Home’s Floor Plan + Our House in the Trees Update

A concrete floor with green painter's tape and an orange measuring tape with the words "how to tape out your new home's floor plan." Click to visit post.

Something I have been looking forward to doing since I started designing Our House in the Trees was the day when we could tape out a simple floor plan and explore how it felt in full scale. After having spent hours upon hours adjusting, aligning, deleting, nudging, massaging and just plain old staring blankly at our plans, you better believe I know every nook and cranny intimately. But I also know from my time spent working at an architect’s office that what you see on paper and what you see in real life can be very different, which is why laying out a floor plan – in full size – is so important.

Outdoor Home Staging Tips + Our House in the Trees Update

When it comes to selling, your outdoor spaces need to be just as beautiful as your indoor spaces. Here are a few home staging tips focusing on the yard.

Whoa guys. The possibility of us building Our House in the Trees next year is actually pretty high. Like already picked out our appliances high. Not that there isn’t a chance it won’t work out because, hello, construction be crazy. But I am allowing myself to feel slightly excited. Not that I’ll end up brokenhearted if it doesn’t happen. I love our current house and staying here another year or two certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world. But we have been planning to build and move to the land for six years now. We’ve kind of reached the “if we’re going to do this, then let’s do it already” point.

Which is why Devin and I are preparing our current home for sale even though we likely won’t list for another six months or so. Because we’re the kind of people that like to be ready. Although I’m thinking selling the home you’ve lived in for ten years and building a new house is somewhat akin to having a new baby. You’re never quite ready and when it happens you are both filled with extreme joy and deep, deep terror. But maybe that’s just me being melodramatic.

Eco-Friendly Lighting and Accessories

Nowadays, you can find eco-friendly lighting fixtures that are made of recycled materials, as well cool accessories like LED Edison bulbs.

Lighting is one of my favourite aspects of home design and decor. Even before I had a home to decorate, I would always end up in the lighting aisle every time I went to a big box store. Like a bug to a flame – or to a wrought-iron chandelier, the lights just called to me.

I’ve also always been really sensitive to lighting levels and associate certain lights with certain tasks only. I’m constantly going around the house at night turning specific lights on and off depending on what I’m doing and how I’m feeling and have even found myself adjusting lights while in the homes of others because it’s too bright/not bright enough/a certain light is really getting under my skin. (As an aside, I recently found out that being ultra sensitive to light is a characteristic of a highly sensitive person – which is actually a thing and I very much am one.)

Eco-Friendly Building Material Magnesium Oxide Board

Magnesium oxide board is an eco-friendly drywall alternative made with naturally-occurring materials using an environmentally friendly process.

Aside from Of Houses and Trees, I also write content for a few other architecturally-minded blogs. One subject I’ve written quite a bit about lately is the building material magnesium oxide board (MgO board). If you’ve never heard of it, it’s essentially an eco-friendly drywall alternative. And, of course, as soon as I see the phrase “eco-friendly alternative” I get all giddy and start geeking out. It looks like we’re going to build our Real Life Home next spring. (Fingers crossed!) And I absolutely want to use as many green materials as possible. Not only are environmentally friendly materials good for the planet, but they’re also good for you and your family as they tend to release little to no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into your home nor other narsty chemicals. (Did you know synthetic drywall contains formaldehyde? Yuck.)

Poetry Artwork with text from The Lorax

Love literature as much as you love making creative things? Then this poetry art project - featuring a poem using text from The Lorax - is for you!

If you love literature as much as you love making creative things for you home then this poetry art project will tickle you pink green. (This is a blog about green living after all!) When I was in university I took a few poetry courses as part of my combined English and creative writing honours degree. One of the assignments – called erasure poetry – really stuck with me and I thought it would be a cool way to create some simple DIY artwork for my newly arranged shelf library.

This project actually combines two different poetry techniques – erasure and cut-up, which may seem similar but have an important distinction.

5 of Canada’s Most Sustainable Buildings

5 of Canada’s Most Sustainable Buildings

Happy 150th birthday Canada! To celebrate our country’s milestone, I’ve put together a list of a few of its most eco-friendly buildings. As far as green countries go, Canada certainly isn’t at the top of the list. But with our government’s shifting priorities and increased public awareness about the impact of unsustainable choices, architects are now designing buildings with the environment in mind.

Interestingly, the current trend in sustainable building isn’t designing structures filled with fancy green technology. Instead it’s about creating smart buildings that don’t need all the bells and whistles. A building’s orientation, amount and quality of windows, square footage and types of materials are all current focuses in sustainable building. So here is a sampling of some of the greenest buildings in Canada. May they be an inspiration to us all!

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