On this episode of Mugs & Jugs, we are chatting about all the fabulous newborn toys we found for the 0-6 age group. If you’re putting together a baby registry or buying for someone who is expecting, you might want to consider one of these items. We’re each sharing our top 3 picks for a complete must-have list.

After moving up from the city to the country, getting pregnant with our first country baby and welcoming Harlow into the Fournier Farmhouse, it seemed only natural that we celebrate her first birthday with a farm party.

Although it was hard to accept the fact that she was actually turning one, it did help that we celebrated before her actual birthday, because then I could still live in denial and pretend that we were just planning a fun party.

I am a huge sucker for tiny party details (you know, those little things that no one else notices but take a long time to make?), and I am really happy with how everything came together for this theme. So, I decided it warranted a blog post all of it’s own!

When I first got pregnant, I wasn’t looking forward to mat leave. I was nervous about leaving work and being out of touch with the industry. Now, I couldn’t imagine anything less than having a full year with my constantly changing daughter.

I’ll be honest, I have been meal planning for a while now because it’s what works best for our family (and our budget). But what I haven’t done before 2017 is actually stick to the weekly plan all the time. Most days, we would have something planned, but come time to make dinner, Will and I would look at each other and pray that the other one would offer to make dinner. If no one took it on, some days we would just end up with mac & cheese.

As we all know, January is traditionally a time of reflection and goal setting, but this year instead of making specific resolutions, my family has decided to choose one word to focus on for the year. This was inspired by Ali Edwards One Little Word scrapbooking course and has evolved into something that we do as a family, rather than just personally. It gives us a more general idea of what we want to focus on for the year, and is something we see reflected in all aspects of our life.

Last year, I went a little crazy at the dollar store and bought some cheap wreaths that I just didn’t love enough to put up again this year. They looked cheap and I wanted something a little more special for Harlow’s first Christmas (i.e. something that would look great in photos).

Being new parents, we understand that babies get a lot of great stuff from friends and family, and don’t necessarily need a ton for Christmas. So when we decided to do a Secret Santa gift exchange for the babies in our baby group (comprised of five other couples that we met through prenatal yoga), we knew we wanted to make something more ‘out of the box’ for whomever we drew.

Like any new mom, I am in awe each and every day watching this beautiful little girl grow and change. It’s so exciting to see her learning new things, responding to us with smiles, and becoming more aware of the world around her.

I appreciate birth stories aren’t for everyone, and I didn’t originally plan on sharing mine with you here, but as I started writing one for my scrapbook, I thought it would be fun to post and share for those interested. It’s a long story, but a good one since it ends with the birth of our beautiful little girl.

Getting ready for mat leave was (and still is) a weird concept for me. For someone who has worked non-stop since turning 14, sometimes even three or four jobs at a time, the idea of taking a year off seems like a bizarre concept. What the heck am I going to do with all this time?

Since starting the nursery renovation process at 18 weeks, Will and I have been busy getting things ready for baby Fournier’s arrival. We have been refinishing furniture, sewing all the things, painting mustard accents, gold foiling printables for our frames, along with many other countless DIY projects.

Since this is something I’ve struggled with for some time, I figured there must be others out there who have struggled with the same things at one point or another, so I thought I would share my 3 simple recommendations:

In this episode, you will meet the 5 women behind the microphone and discover our personal reasons for participating in this new endeavour. I apologize in advance for our loud laughing. Apparently when you get five women together with some Thai food and wine, loud laughing is inevitable.

If you’re like me, you might hoard creative ideas on your Pinterest board, but not actually get around to making anything or expressing your creativity on a regular basis.

If so, here are some intentional ways to be more creative this year:

Since moving up to the country, we’ve been busy getting settled into our new home and routine.

To start off – since I am sure you’re wondering – the commute has been going well! It also helps that the winter has been super mild, making the drive to the GO bus and train station easy and enjoyable. We’ve settled into a nice schedule and things couldn’t be better!

Last year, I posted a gift guide for the crafter on your Christmas list. This year, I am switching things up and posting a round-up of all the awesome gift guides from around the web for last-minute gifts for all the loved ones on your list.

Here are the best of the best when it comes to gift ideas for the holidays:

Looking for something easy, affordable and beautiful to make for the loved ones on your list, but don’t know where to start? It doesn’t matter if you’re not able to sew, knit, or paint, CreativeBug.com has the best instructional videos to make any awesome project seem easy for any skill level – even newbies.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Fournier Farm House! Between decorating the house, a busy season at work and having less daylight, I’ve found myself reading a little less this month. Perhaps the train has been lulling me to sleep more often than I thought! Or maybe this time of year has me wanting to spend more family time with Will and Oliver.

Sometimes starting a Project Life album is the easiest part; it’s the maintaining and keeping up with it that can be the most challenging. In this post, I will share the tricks I use to make maintaining and keeping up with my Project Life album easy.

This past month and a half just flew by, along with a lot of my books! Still no library card, although I will try my best to get there this weekend if possible!

I’m excited to share this recipe with you so that you too can enjoy these yummy and easy cinnamon buns with your family and friends. It’s not a last minute recipe, but definitely worth the wait! Make these tonight and let them rise for the best Sunday treat to kick off November tomorrow!

Starting a Project Life album can be exciting and so much easier than you think. In this post, I will explore the things you need to get started and the tips and tricks I’ve learned for starting out. I’ve created this mini series to help those interested in Project Life learn more and perhaps start a book of their own.

Since posting my experience at Crop and Create and my intentions to use Project Life to document our first year of marriage, I have received a number of questions from friends and readers on what Project Life is and how to start. I’ve created this mini series to help those interested in Project Life learn more and perhaps start a book of their own.

I promise I’ve been reading more books than just scrapbooks and adult colouring books this month!

We just recently got our new ID cards in the mail with the new address on it, but still haven’t had a chance to make it to the library. No worries though, with the new book exchange I initiated at work (totally not for selfish reasons at all…) and a bag of books my mom dropped off, I have had more than enough to read.

Whether you’re a graphic designer, scrapbooker, artist, crafter or musician, I believe it is important to immerse yourself in your art to improve and grow within your medium. In my opinion, part of this essential immersion process is becoming a member of a creative community either of your making or by participation in an existing one.

I had forgotten how awesome library cards are.

Being back at the Florida condo, it’s just part of the routine to visit the local library on a regular basis during our stays. It shocked me to realize that back home, I don’t even have a Toronto library card, and I’ve been living there for 3 years!

Preserving memories is something everyone does, whether it’s by posting and sharing on social media, storytelling, or in a more obvious way – by creating memory books. No way is more right or effective than the other, and finding the way that’s right for you and your story is just a means of trying new things and discovering what works best for you and your story.

Every day when I leave from work, Will reminds me to have a #productive day. As embarrassing as it is to admit that we actually say the word “hashtag,” it really is a wonderful way to send me off to work, as it reminds me to be on the ball and make the most of my time in the office.

Aside from all the planning jitters, engagement really is unlike any other time in your life. It’s right before you are forever tied to your soul mate, sometimes before children have made an appearance and at the time in your life when you can’t help but flash your ring at any chance you get – or at least that’s the way I experienced it.

Since getting my Cameo Silhouette machine last year, I’ve become obsessed with all the projects you can do in minutes with ease! Lately, I have fallen in love with chalkboard vinyl and have been using it everywhere.

Yes you read that correctly! My super talented husband and I put our heads together to come up with the best DIY bridal shower present for my sister that we could think of and this was it!

Since I just finished watching the last episode of Gilmore Girls this week, I’ve found myself with more time to peruse the pages of the World Wide Web, 

Today is a very happy day! It’s the day my 2015 Monthly and Daily six month planner arrived in the mail!

Last week, I celebrated my 24th birthday. It was my champagne birthday (turned 24 on the 24th) and although it’s not a big milestone like a 30th would be, it was still a reminder that the years seem to be passing by quicker with every year. Since there’s only less than one year left until I am a quarter of the century, I thought it would be a good time to make a bucket list of the top 25 things I want to do before I turn 25.

I first started thinking about writing this two nights before the wedding as I was nose deep in sewing a stuffed goose, putting together the seating chart, creating the vow books, and the many other projects I was scrambling to finish. I decided against it, mostly because I had no time, but mainly because I needed to wait and see if it was all worth it.

With only a couple more weeks to go until the wedding, it’s hard not to be excited about going away on our honeymoon! Will and I planned our trip about 8 months ago, and the hardest part about the whole thing was just deciding where to go. 

The countdown is officially on! I can’t even begin to express how excited Will and I are about the new little addition to our family, and I am so excited to introduce you to him here on Sweet Green Studios.

Will and I are in love with the new Stockyards shopping plaza in Toronto. Although some stores are still under construction, it’s a great one-stop-shop located conveniently within the city limits.

If you’ve ever had a long conversation with me, chances are the topic of my craft room has come up! I am absolutely in love with how this room has turned out, and although it becomes a dumping ground for wedding crafts and storage at times, it is the one place where organization is key.

As we inch closer to the wedding, our planning focus has shifted from the bigger items (venue, date, dress) to the smaller details. Now that we are making decisions on decor, one of my main deciding factors on what to DYI for the wedding is whether I will be able to use the items both at our reception and afterwards.

Since moving to Toronto almost two years ago, I haven’t been able to buy scrapbook supplies in the city. There weren’t any local Michaels stores and I found that boutique art stores had huge markups with a small selection. I stopeed looking for new stores until I found...

Don’t get me wrong, I love Canada and am a very proud Canadian, but there is no country that loves their crafts as much as America does – and if you love crafting and scrapbooking, I love you!

What a productive week! As you may have noticed, we had a lot of changes around here. I am so thrilled to have made the change from Polkadot Pirates to Sweet Green Studios and can’t wait to see where this goes.

This topic has been on my mind for quite some time now, especially with my upcoming nuptials. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that in just over 3 months, I will be changing who I’ve always been. Growing up with the name Sarah, I was never the only one at school, work or dance. I have always been Sarah Folk or Sarah F.

May is always a busy time. In my family there are birthdays galore, followed by Mother’s Day, and then even more birthdays. Added on to all of the festivities is the fact that this month, Will and I are entering the 3 month countdown to our wedding, which means some serious crunch time activities are happening! 

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate those special women in our lives that clothed us, fed us and loved us through thick and thin, for years and years, to make us into the people we are today. Mothers have the hardest job, and growing up with a single mom, I can appreciate all the crazy things moms have to deal with.

The interesting thing about 100 days is how quickly they pass. When I signed up for this challenge, 100 days seemed like forever. But here we are at day 35, and I am still excited to be capturing great moments every day. This weekend was super busy with National Scrapbook Day, the MS Walk, and a surprise bridal shower that was thrown for me by my wonderful Auntie Karen. 

To celebrate what might be the best made-up day in the world, I have made an exciting addition to my craft room. Can you guess what it is?

It’s National Scrapbook day on Saturday, and coincidentally I have been getting a lot of questions from my friends and family about starting their first scrapbooks.

And it wasn’t exactly what I had imagined.

On Friday afternoon, after a week of flexing at work to make up for the extra hours away from the office, Will and I packed ourselves into our (new) car and headed over to the Creativ Festival at the International Convention Centre in Mississauga.

Short work weeks really are a catch 22; it’s great that we get to enjoy a long weekend, but it means we have less time to get more things done. Luckily for me, after a short but productive week (thanks to my awesome to do list and some scrapbooking time at work), Will and I headed east to Ottawa.

Every day I struggle with motivation. I am the kind of person who gets something in my head and needs to completely finish it before I can resume any normal activity. This is probably why I experience my creativity in bursts every couple weeks.

Okay, so I have kind of gotten a little carried away with my newest project and haven’t had much time for blogging (or really much of anything else for that matter). But here I am, and I am proud to announce that I have been successful in keeping up with my crafty resolutions of 2014.

It’s been a while since I have had time to post on here, but with a new year comes… well, new resolutions that I (really) hope to keep. They say the best way of fulfilling your resolutions is to tell other people about them, so that you have someone to keep you accountable, so this is exactly what this post is about.

So now that we have sent out our Save The Dates, I can post about how Will and I made them our own. We ordered cards from Wedding Paper Divas, a section of ShutterFly. I had used them earlier this year to make a book for my grandma and was really pleased with the print quality.

It has been a while since I have had a nice day of scrapbooking, but with Will’s friend Alex in town and the house to myself, yesterday was the perfect day for crafting.

So it has officially been just over 3 weeks since Will proposed, and it feels like I have exchanged my scrapbooking time for wedding preparation time. This past weekend I finally found some time to sit down and work on a page for my travel scrapbook.

This past week, I went to Chapters looking for some ideas to start my own Bridal Binder. With my Starbucks in hand and a pile of inspirational bridal books, Will and I went to work researching all the things I should have in my binder.

What a week! I am officially on Phase 2 of my intense workout/meal plan (Yay! I made it past Phase 1!) and haven’t had time to write a post in a week! Where has the time gone?

This week, I would like to share with you a great blog that combines the efforts of a number of talented crafters and scrapbookers. This blog is WriteClickScrapbook.com and is quickly becoming one of my go-to stops for inspiration and layout suggestions.

Often times I find myself doing pages for other people; whether its my mom, my cousin or the dude sitting on the street corner, it seems like I am always finishing scrapbooks for everyone buy myself.

I am always perusing pinterest and other scrapbook blogs for page inspiration. This week, I came across a great post called Welcome, August on WriteClickScrapbook.com. Since I have been working on our Florida scrapbook lately, I was excited to see so many summer page layouts.

If you’ve never heard of Ali Edwards, you are definitely the one missing out. Ali is a scrapbooking and crafting guru who also happens to have a great blog that I highly suggest you check out at aliedwards.com. I specifically love her Project Life pages that she has been posting. 

In this post, I will outline some ideas for re-doing pages. Now, normally, I would never suggest going back and re-doing a page, since scrapbooks not only tell the story of the pages, but also represents who you were at the time they were created. That being said, I do believe that there are some cases where re-do’s are acceptable (mostly because I am a perfectionist and I want to LOVE every page).

Here’s a page from our travel book.

Do you ever want to make a scrapbook page for an important family memory or hobby, but don’t have any pictures or keepsakes to go with it? Happens to me all the time. 

Whenever I am starting a page, I usually take my pictures and play around with the placement before I find something that fits. When I was creating these pages, I wanted to try something different, and so I started by cropping them into circles before placing them on the page.

Welcome to Polkadot Pirates (now Sweet Green Studios)! I am really glad you stopped by. I started this blog as a creative outlet, for an easier way to share my crafts with family and friends, and to connect with other crafty folks!