Blog by Maple Leaf

I stumbled upon a round up of beautiful buttons, magnets and keychains in CreativeXpress­ion's store today. I wasn't really looking for anything specific, but just thought they could be an awesome and inexpensive gift that you could carry with you just in case - if your friend or co-worker had a bad day or a special occasion that you didn't know about, wouldn't it be great to give them... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts

This year I did half of my Christmas shopping online and half offline.

I needed to buy something for my mom, my brother, my cousin and her boyfriend and for my cousin’s daughter and her husband, plus a couple of girlfriends. Luckily, all grownups, though I think shopping for kids would be a lot of fun too.

I spent exactly one evening ordering things online and about 4 full days shopping at different malls... Read more

• Category:
• Holidays & Occasions

Last week we picked a few really big Halloween pumpkins at a local farm just outside the city.
Usually, I like doing my own designs for carved pumpkins. But this time I decided to do some rereplacement to find inspiration and to do something different.

There is a ton of websites on the web offering great tips and free patterns from spooky to elegant to funny, so you could get your Halloween pumpkins ready in no... Read more

• Category:
• Holidays & Occasions

I love apple picking every fall. It became a fall tradition in our family to drive an hour or two outside the city to pick up our own apples and pumpkins to celebrate the Harvest season.

Farms and orchards are full of engaging fall activities for everyone

Kids were having fun tasting apples and playing in the hay. Some of the farms even have a zoo! You can also buy fresh produce at the store, along... Read more

• Category:
• Holidays & Occasions

I wasn't a big fan of Halloween until I had my son Lucas. Dressing up babies and kids for Halloween is really a lot of fun! I can't make clothing, so I usually start looking for costumes online and then make a few trips to places, like the Party City or the Winners.

Here is me and Lucas in 2014 when he was still a baby. He is dressed as a cute puppy.

And here is Lucas with his grandma who is also not a... Read more

• Category:
• Holidays & Occasions

Recently, I had a conversation with a few friends where we discussed what makes some products popular and others not. One of the things that we all agreed on is that what we all react to the most is the unusual-looking products . For some reason, the more weird and strange product design is the more appealing it is to people. I wonder why...

One person was into knitting and the advise that was given to her is to... Read more

• Category:
• Great Finds

From man-jeggings to dresses, skirts and bizarre hats made out of wooden planks, men's fashion can be terrifyingly weird .

Below are some of the masterpieces from the Men’s Fashion week in London, in 2013.

I've never seen men look more uncomfortable or more unhappy than these three in dresses and high boots. I guess, there are not many men who could pull a look like this. :)

Seriously, for which... Read more

• Category:
• Fashion & Style

Remember an episode in 30 Rock , where Kenneth knits a bikini for his grandma? I thought that something like that only happens on TV. Well, that's until my recent visit to the hospital, where I found myself sitting next to a man who was crocheting a huge blanket out of a basket.

Wait time for the doctor we were both seeing was close to 2-3 hrs. So pretty soon, bringing your hobby, like crocheting,... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts

Ukrainian painter Sasha Putrya was painting non-stop all her life, as if she knew it will be cut short.
She lived for 11 years, 6 of which she battled leukemia, leaving to the world over 2,300 of her unique pen drawings and watercolor paintings .

Sasha didn't study painting and, due to illness, couldn't even go to high school after attending classes for 1 year, yet somehow she managed to learn so many... Read more

• Category:
• Art & Photography

Its not even a winter yet, but you can already spot babies and little kids in poofy jackets, knitted scarves and cute hats. It seems like parents can't wait to bundle up their bundle of joy.

How Warm is Too Warm? I've heard this from many parents that you should dress your kids the same way you dress yourself . So if you are putting on a hat and gloves, you should probably put those things on your kids... Read more

• Category:
• Holidays & Occasions