Reflections on 2018

December 31, 2018 by Kelsey Fast

In the above collage I have what Instagram deems as my top nine posts of 2018. I think they are pretty good, and they hold a lot of memories, but I wanted to do a fuller reflection on my year and share a few other photos that might not have got as much attention based on Instagram’s algorithm, but were very special to me.

I read my 2017 reflections over again before starting to write this one, and was again struck by how busy December is. I had so many ideas and plans that will have to be put off for another time, but I’m really happy with what we were able to accomplish this year.

We had a lot of little trips throughout the year, and we were so happy to be able to take a flight to visit family in Manitoba. There were so many firsts in Little Forager’s second year, and we enjoyed soaking up every minute of them - especially his first real experiences with the ocean, and his first airplane trip!

This year was the first full year the A Forager’s Home Shop was open for business, and it was really nice to have that outlet for my creativity. I really enjoy making things for others, and I have been so blown away by your support in this endeavour! I look forward to what the coming year brings!

In addition to my regular topics, I also took more of a focus on eco-friendly home decor and/or organization on a budget on the blog. There are not a lot of gardening and foraging topics to cover in my area in the winter, so last year I shared how I redid my bedroom spending only $10. I also was able to feature a few of my products in there including the now out of stock autumn forage wreath, and the golden pinecone garland (still in stock and available in gold or silver via the link to the right).

I was able to make so many beautiful wreaths for the shop this year! Some of them were absolutely one of a kind, and will not be made again, others I will probably recreate like the sagebrush wreath and twig wreaths below. The Autumn Forage Wreath (pictured above in my bedroom), and the Summer Forage Wreath (pictured below, second from the right) were made from what was available at the time, and while I might make something like them again, I won’t be able to exactly recreate them. You can shop the current wreath collection by clicking here.

I was also able to work on lots of items from recycled fabric this year, and that gave me a lot of joy. I get my fabric scraps from various groups that are doing really worthy work. Some of them come from a few of the ladies that are a part of my Church’s “Sewing for Dignity” group that makes clothing, baby blankets, and feminine hygiene packs for underprivileged communities. Some also come from my Grandma who is a part of her Church’s used clothing ministry and helps sort out what is quality, and what is unusable from the various donations they get. Previously all of these bits would have just become garbage, so I am happy to give them life as useful, beautiful objects.

I also got a chance to be a vendor at the inaugural season of the Dallas Barnhartvale Farmers’ Market this summer. It was a really great opportunity to meet a lot of local people, and the support from my community was incredible. I’d be absolutely happy to do it over again next season!

This year also involved a lot of winter! It snowed straight through until April, so we made great use of our snowshoes, and skates. Kamloops is very beautiful in the snow! This year Little Forager also began what might be an undying love of skating and hockey. He’s now a diehard Blazer’s fan, and loves watching the Canucks on TV. This Christmas he got his own pair of tiny skates and is hard at work learning how to stay up by himself on them.

This year - unbeknownst to me - was my last season with my garden. I have so loved working on that project, and feeding my family with my own two hands. Balcony gardening is my future, and I am looking forward to the challenges and learning experiences that will bring. Even without the space I am used to, I will still be keeping the “grow” category of topics alive here on the blog.

2018 also featured a lot of recipes! I enjoyed writing the “meals from the pantry” series, and might pick that up again this winter if there is interest, and I also love creating and sharing the recipes I make from foraged ingredients. This is “A Forager’s Home”, after all!

If you have been reading this blog for the past little while you’ll know we recently had to move house. I was hoping to do some sort of “holiday home tour” this month and show off how we set up our new place, but our crazy schedule got the best of us, and all I have to show you are these few photos below.

We spent Christmas with my side of the family in my parents’ new place. This was the first year they had enough room for a full Christmas tree, and I have to say it made it feel a lot more like Christmastime knowing that my parents had their tree set up!

This photo of Little Forager sleeping in the glow of the Christmas tree is possibly a candidate for my absolute favourite photo of the year.

I’ve saved our biggest news of the year for last - although we’ve already shared it quite a bit so you might already know. This year we were so thrilled to find out that our little family would be growing by one in Spring of 2019! We are expecting a little girl to join us, and we couldn’t be more excited!

2018 was a complicated year, but filled to the brim with good things, and we can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for us! How was your year? I’d love to hear how things were for you in the comments.

DIY Magnetic Spice Rack

November 27, 2018 by Kelsey Fast in Make

If you’ve been following along with this blog for a while, you’ll know we moved recently. Our new place has a lot more built in storage, but it is overall quite a bit smaller than our last place, so we’re having to be a bit creative with how we store things. The kitchen is especially challenging in that there is quite a bit of storage, but a lot of it is hard to access (think massive corner cupboards with no lazy Susans, and really small openings). This really made it difficult to figure out where to store all my small spice jars.

I had a few of the magnetic spice jars Ikea used to sell a while back, and my initial idea was to buy a whole bunch more, but it looks like they are out of stock. I know you can buy these elsewhere, but they aren’t that cheap, and usually come with a little magnetic stand to put on your counter which I don’t need since I’m planning on using a side of my fridge that is otherwise empty. They are also fairly expensive if you need as many of them as I will.

It occurred to me that I might be able to use some of my fairly extensive mason jar supply and make my own to go with the three large ones I already had. I had even purchased magnets for another project that was never realized that would work perfectly for this, so I’ve barely spent anything. Even if I do need to buy a few more jars my plan is to keep an eye out at thrift stores. If I need to buy some more mason jars, they will be the 125 ml size (1/4 pint for my American friends). That seems to work well in terms of weight for the magnets, and size to contain my spices.

Supplies you’ll need:

The picture above shows the supplies you’ll need. I do know there are better, stronger magnets available, but this is what I had around. With this type of ceramic magnet you’ll need two magnets per 125 ml jar.

125 ml Mason Jars
Ceramic Magnets
Gorilla Glue
Chalk marker (to write the names of the spices on the jars)

To prepare the lids:

To keep things sturdy, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the back of your gorilla glue to attach the mason jar lid to the ring. After that glue the magnets to the top of the lid and leave to cure overnight. You don’t need a lot of glue, so go easy on it. You don’t want any overflowing onto your counters and that kind of thing so use a bit less than you think you’ll need.

Allow the glue to cure:

Leave the jars to cure for 24 hours, or for as long as the instructions on your glue say. I’ve been stacking them like the photo above with the empty jar on top to sort of keep a bit of pressure on things as they dry. It will probably suggest you clamp whatever you are glueing, but I don't have a clamp, and haven’t found it to be necessary with these so far.

Putting your jars into use:

To keep track of what is what use a chalk marker and write on the bottom of the jar what is inside. This is easily wiped off if you end up changing what you’re storing in each jar.

I think a major bonus of using this system, is that my local Bulk Barn allows us to bring our own refillable containers to their store instead of using those little plastic baggies to take ingredients home in. In this case I can just wash the container, and put the empty ones in a tote bag to take with me next time I need spices! When it comes to washing the jars, the dishwasher will be completely fine, but for the lids with their magnets I suggest lightly hand washing them. I’m not sure they’d hold up in the dishwasher.

Let me know if you give this a try! I’d love to see what you come up with in the comments!

Product Spotlight: Handwoven Area Rugs

May 21, 2018 by Kelsey Fast in Make

I am so happy to share my most recent addition to my shop - handwoven area rugs! These are the perfect size if you want something unique to greet guests as they enter your home, or to brighten up your kitchen. These are made from recycled fibres from fabric that would have otherwise been thrown in the garbage, and are completely machine washable (lay flat to dry).

It is so lovely to have something beautiful come from garbage. this rug in the photos here was mostly made from t-shirts. My grandmother helps run a used clothing service at her church, and they are often given things that no one would want to wear again. Previously they would just toss them, but now I have a steady supply of perfectly usable fabric to make these rugs and nothing is wasted.

I plan to make these rugs in different sizes in the future, so if you have an idea for something you'd like that isn't exactly this contact me and we'll see if your dream can become a reality.

To support my blogging endeavours, this post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission if you make a purchase. Every product linked here is one I have used personally and would recommend based on my experience.