I’m here to infuse your world with bold colours, wild design, and glitzy sparkle! If you are looking for handmade, textured, one-of-a-kind accessories and home decor created from upcycled natural fabrics, you’re in the right place. I make each item myself, and every detail is intended to delight your eye and brighten your life.

If you are looking for information about me beyond handmaking, scroll down past the “I Exhibit” section. Otherwise, read on…

I’ve always been drawn to the performance and visual arts. I spent a few years involved in creative movement stage productions and classes. Fibre and textiles and the hand skills that go along with them have been with me since childhood. I also love playing with paper, paint, coloured pencils, and markers. You can get more of a sense of my story here, here, and here (this last one will open in a new tab). As well, my blog will contain more stories as time goes on. Sign up for my newsletter to receive these future stories and more! But suffice it to say, I LOVE bringing colourful creations into existence, so that you can remember that the world is still beautiful.

I’ve lived in several places, but spent the majority of my growing up years in Maine. I met my now-husband during what was supposed to be just a three-month stay in Ontario. Canada became my new home, and in 1996 we settled in Nova Scotia to be near the ocean. I homeschooled my two now-young-adult children and exercised creative thinking while acquiring skills in teaching and frugality. I guess you could say I live a handmade life! For more about my work, keep scrolling. For questions about how I can help you, contact me!

I Exhibit:

• 2022 November and December: Featured on Halifax Bloggers’ Local Wishlist here and here
• 2021 November 5, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and November 6, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Nova Scotia Art & Craft Sale, Waverley Legion, Waverley NS
• 2021 November and December: Featured on Halifax Bloggers’ Local Wishlist
• 2017 September 23, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and September 24, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Windfall Fine Art & Handcraft Market, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish NS
• 2017 November 3, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and November 4, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., NS Art & Craft Sale, Waverley Legion, Waverley NS
• 2015 May 2, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Nova Scotia Association of Garden Clubs, Waverley NS
• 2015 May 30, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Apple Blossom Craft Show, New Minas, NS
• 2015 October 24, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Northeast Kings Education Centre, Canning NS,
• 2015 November 13, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; November 14, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; November 15, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.,  NS Art & Craft Sale, Waverley Legion, Waverley NS
• 2015 November 29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wintergreen Craft & Gift Fair, Halifax NS
• 2015 December 5, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Seasonal Open House & Artisan Gift Bazaar, NS
• 2014 May 24, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fall River Area Business Association Business Expo, NS
• 2014 September 26-28, Handmade Art & Craft Fair, Waverley/Fall River NS
• 2014 November 14-15, Handmade Art & Craft Fair, Waverley/Fall River NS
• 2014 November 28-30, Dalplex Christmas Craft Market, Halifax NS
• 2014 December 13, Seasonal Open House & Artisan Gift Bazaar, Fall River NS
• 2013 March, Truro Expo, Truro NS
• 2013 April, HRM Artisan Moms Craft Show, Cole Harbour NS
• 2013 October 19, 18th Annual Horton Harvest Craft Fair, Horton High School, Greenwich NS
• 2013 October 26-27, HRM Artisan Autumn Fair, Cole Harbour Place, Cole Harbour NS
• 2013 November 15-16, 2nd Annual Handmade Arts & Crafts Show & Sale, Waverley NS
• 2013 November 17, Christmas in November, Best Western Glengarry, Truro NS
• 2013 November 24, East Coast Momma Collective Holiday Fair, Halifax NS
• 2013 December 8, Christmas Crafter Fair, Best Western Glengarry, Truro NS
• 2012 October, Bedford United Church Craft Fair, Bedford NS
• 2012 November, Jo’s Christmas Craft Fair, Findlay Community Centre, Dartmouth NS
• 2012 December, Oxford School Craft Fair, Halifax NS
• 2011 November, Jo’s Christmas Craft Fair, Findlay Community Centre, Dartmouth NS
• 2011 December, Vineyard Church Craft Fair, Sackville NS
• 2010 November, Jo’s Christmas Craft Fair, Findlay Community Centre, Dartmouth NS

I Tutor:

Using multisensory approaches, I teach foundational English skills of reading, spelling, grammar, and composition. Students learn letters and letter combinations (both called phonograms) that visually represent each sound of speech. They learn the phonogram sounds and the patterns that show how the phonograms are to be sounded out. Using paper and pencil (or Zoom whiteboard and writing tool), students analyze many words for their sounds and rules. Students then learn how to apply this information to their reading and spelling practice. For composition, students use time-proven methods of narration, copywork, and dictation; combined with interesting reading material in science, history, and literature. If you are local to me and would like more information, please contact me. In addition to tutoring local students, I am a contract tutor with Well-Trained Mind Academy.

I Write:

• Blog
• Blog posts from former website
• Telling God’s Story Year 4 Activity Book: The Story of God’s People Continues, Student Guide & Activity Pages
• The Story of the World Vol. 3: Early Modern Times, Revised Edition Activity Book
• The Story of the World Vol. 4: The Modern Age, Revised Edition Activity Book

I Read:

• Epic of Gilgamesh
• Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
• Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
• Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie
• Ozma of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• The Emerald City of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• The Patchwork Girl of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• The Road to Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• Tik-Tok of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
• Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
• The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan
• A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
• Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll
• The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi
• The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, by Roald Dahl
• A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
• A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
• Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
• The Double, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass
• A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
• Finding Freedom:  A Cook’s Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch, by Erin French
• Diary of a Madman, by Nikolai Gogol
• The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, by Victor Hugo
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs
• The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller
• Why We Can’t Wait, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Anna and the King of Siam, by Margaret Landon
• To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Live Coal in the Sea, by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Severed Wasp, by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L’Engle
• A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
• And Both Were Young, by Madeleine L’Engle
• Camilla Dickinson, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Irrational Season, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Moon By Night, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Small Rain, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Young Unicorns, by Madeleine L’Engle
• Troubling a Star, by Madeleine L’Engle
• Two-Part Invention:  The Story of a Marriage, by Madeleine L’Engle
• Walking on Water:  Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L’Engle
• Prince Caspian, by C. S. Lewis
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C. S. Lewis
• The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
• Wintering:  The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, by Katherine May
• The Crucible, by Arthur Miller
• The House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne
• Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne
• Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody
• Beloved, by Toni Morrison
• Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell
• Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
• Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell
• Keep the Aspidistra Flying, by George Orwell
• Apology of Socrates, by Plato
• The Bells, by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe
• My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok
• The Gift of Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok
• The History of Mary Prince, by Mary Prince
• Crash:  A Mother, a Son, and the Journey from Grief to Gratitude, by Carolyn Roy-Borstein
• Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
• Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
• Frankenstein:  The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
• Antigone, by Sophocles
• Oedipus at Colonus, by Sophocles
• Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
• Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Dracula, by Bram Stoker
• Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift
• Let the Circle Be Unbroken, by Mildred D. Taylor
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
• Song of the Trees, by Mildred D. Taylor
• The Road to Memphis, by Mildred D. Taylor
• The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom
• Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
• The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy
• Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers
• The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells
• The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H. G. Wells
• War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells
• Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White
• Stuart Little, by E. B. White
• The Trumpet of the Swan, by E. B. White
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
• By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams
• A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf