The Mayberry Sparrow

DIY Travel Tape Tutorial

2012-02-24T13:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I posted a tutorial on my personal blog for making craft tape out of vintage maps-but since it was on my personal blog I thought i'd share it here as well so that no one would be left out!
If you're curious or want to make some of your own, you can find the tutorial here

Happy crafting!

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The Struggle

2011-08-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

A glimpse of my life lately, from my perspective.

I've been a hesitant blogger, and a reluctant "site" owner these last few months.

I love blogging, and writing, and keeping my business up to date. I think the problem is though, that it's been all under one roof. -That, and I'll admit, I have been insanely busy, with various life happenings.

I've been slow to post about life's events and daily interests because they aren't really "business" related, and this is supposed to be my *business* site.

However, I've also been slow to post about my artwork and business life, because I feel like I'm "spamming" the people who are here to read about crafting, recipes, canning, homeschooling and daily ramblings. (I know that you folks are out there!)

So I've come to the conclusion that I need another home for my true "blog". So much has been happening that I'd love to share, and so much is going to be happening soon (baby on the way!) but I just don't know if this should be the place for that.

This site, The Mayberry Sparrow, is going to continue to be my business site. I'll be posting new artwork, gallery event dates and related topics here, with the occasional link to my new blog, in case anyone should want to take a peek at that.

If you want to read more about the other side of things, outside the realm of illustration and rubber stamps, you can wander on over to my new blog, The Mayberry Home Journal.

Hope to see you there!

On My Desk

2011-06-17T15:09:00.000-04:00

Due to this week's postal strike, I've had to put both of my shops on vacation until the situation is resolved. (Which we've been told will be soon, thank goodness!)

The only bright side to this, is that I have a wee bit more play time. Here's some of today's *play*.

I've been playing with florals a little too much lately, can you tell?

Royal Wedding Printables

2011-04-28T12:37:00.000-04:00

Unlike some enthusiasts, we won't be waking at 3 am tomorrow to watch the big event, however we ARE recording it so that we can watch it on Saturday while we have "high tea".

Just for this event, I've made up some little flags and buntings to add a little Royal flare to our party.

Feel free to print some off for your own celebrations!

Just click to enlarge, and print, or right click save etc. You know the drill!

Then cut, glue, staple...whatever method of ensuring permanency suits your fancy.

Flags...

Buntings

Have a marvey celebration, daahlings!

A sneak peek at some new spring prints...

2011-04-27T21:41:00.001-04:00

We've had nothing but rain here for the last few weeks...which has left a lot of time for painting, and dreaming about spring!

I feel like these poor little birds are playing the waiting game..."hurry up tree, grow some leaves!"

Was missing my southern family members when I painted this.

Fiona needed a brother...so I finally gave her one.

The Kansas Wheatfield-where everything always smells of warm sunshine and fresh red dirt.

All will be made into prints shortly!

I've also got some new originals listed here:)

Back

2011-04-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

I just noticed in this picture that only one of my office doors had "frost" on the windows..I still haven't finished that!!

And, I should clarify, that's a TOY gun leaning against the cabinet...haha.

I apologize-I've been AWOL for the last while. A lot has been happening around here! Illness, house/bedroom re-arranging/renovating (does it ever end?)

It all started on Chinese new year.

We celebrate this holiday most years, sometimes with a little more enthusiasm than others. (We have several families of Chinese friends that introduced us to the festivities a long time ago, and we fell in love with Chinese cuisine.)

Often, for us, the holiday just means making dumplings, chicken, buying 12 different kinds of vinegar and having family over.

This year though, the boys really wanted to go all out. I don't blame them-after all, February is a really boring month, and little extra flair couldn't hurt.

So I let them thoroughly decorate our dining room (which kept them busy all day!) while I prepared food for dinner.

That day, I also woke up with the urge to pickle just about everything in the house. I had just run out of my favorite spicy pickled green beans that aren't even available in Canadian stores. I was gung-ho to make my own. (I know, this has nothing to do with Chinese new year. Don't ask me why...)

I pickled the green beans, which turned out really well. But I figured, while I was at it, sterilizing jars and such, I may as well make some other things.
I found a recipe for Moroccan pickled oranges, and made those too. And then I started in on the garlic. I already had huge trays of peeled garlic cloves that I had just bought at the Vietnamese grocery store. ( which, by the way, is the cheapest way to buy garlic, in case you're wondering!)

I found myself at the end of the day with more pickled fruits and vegetables than I knew what to do with! I ended up handing out the little jars as party favours. (I know. Not very Chinese!)

Long story short, it wasn't until my head hit the pillow that night with a combination of happiness and exhaustion, that I began to wonder....
Why on earth did I choose an already busy day to get out the canning equipment, and pickle fresh vegetables, in February?? Why was it so necessary that the pickling happen that day?

Sure enough...in two days, I had my answer.

Little did I know that I wouldn't be eating anything but tiny pieces of toast chased by shots of earl grey tea for the next three months.

The nausea is getting better now, I can actually eat again. I still have some major food aversions though.

Guess the last foods on earth I'd want to eat right now?! My all time favorite- Chinese (or anything Asian for that matter...) Go figure.

p.s. I almost posted this on April Fools...but I decided that was just kinda mean.

Nobody Likes a Bragger...

2011-01-29T15:15:00.001-05:00

But I just can't help it.

Look what I found this week, right here in a shop on my beloved Ottawa Street!

(I knew moving to this street could be dangerous...)

I frequently stop by at Granny's Attic Treasures just to see what wonderful
new find she has in her store.

I think it's safe to say that we've furnished a third of our house from antique stores on our street, and mostly from this shop alone. She carries all sorts of used furniture, some antique, some just well loved. And everything is so reasonably priced!

This is the table set that I have been literally dreaming about since I was a kid- I've always loved the era, and wanted a retro turquoise and red kitchen, it just feels
so cheery and warm!

Needless to say, my heart skipped a beat or two when I saw this table set. Our breakfast nook table was on the fritz, and I was already on the lookout for some new chairs, ours were falling apart on a regular basis. Also, the table legs had to be tightened on a daily basis. As much as I love Ikea, their furniture just doesn't hold up like the old stuff did.

This new (old) table set is so much more sturdy than the ikea one, no wiggling! (and twice as comfy:)

All we need now is a jukebox!

Synesthesia, Dill Pickles & Potato Salad

2011-01-26T02:34:00.001-05:00

I am a synesthete-but until a few years ago I didn't know that not everyone saw, thought, heard and tasted things the same way I did.

What I've gathered from recent discussions with friends, family and even some fellow synesthetes online, is that if you are a synesthete, you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. If you are not, you'll ask what tree I recently fell from and how many branches I might have bumped my head on, on the way down.

I'm participating in a study right now-a British research team is conducting a study on synesthesia, and the different types. I have several types, some are complete, some are incomplete. I'll explain more of that a bit later...

My first realization of synesthesia was when Mark, ( my then fiance, now husband, yay!) had a conversation that went something like this: (I don't remember why I even asked...)

Corrie: Mark, how do YOU picture time?

Mark: huh?

Corrie: Like, in your head, what is your image of time?

Mark: I don't know what you're talking about.

Corrie: Well, when you're planning something-or remembering something, or just looking at a year at a time, or two, or all of history, or into the future, how do you picture it?

Mark: Silence.

Corrie: Mark?

Mark: I don't know what you mean. If I want "picture" time (he even did the Dr. Evil quotation twitch with his fingers) I'll look at a calendar.

Corrie: I don't mean picture a calendar. I mean, how do YOU see it, without the Calendar?

Mark: I don't.

Corrie: How do you function? How do you plan? how do you file away your day?

Mark: I think you're crazy.

You get the idea...this went on and on. This prompted me to do a little bit of Internet research-just to see what other supposed craziness might be housed in my brain.
oh boy.

Corrie: Um..Mark?

Mark: Yeah?

Corrie: you don't by any chance..um..know what pink tastes like do you?

Mark: what??

Corrie: Or what it sounds like?

Mark: what do you mean??

Corrie: or personify numbers/letters and associate colours with them? Or hear colours and tastes sounds? or assign colours to people you know?

Mark: No! I have NO idea what you're on about. Do YOU??

Corrie: um...well...yes. Yes I do.

Mark: you NERD! (I'm still convinced that he means this in the most endearing way. I mean, after all...he did still marry me, despite my quirks-And knowing fully well that we might make even quirkier synesthete babies!)

This led to me immediately calling my parents, sisters, best friends etc. I was absolutely shocked that my mother hadn't a clue what I was talking about. How could she not know?? I called my sister, Lindi.

"oh, yeah. I do that. What? it's a 'thing'?" (we've since compared how we picture time-totally different, I'm just comforted that I'm not the only one.)

We then together confronted Dad, and my other sister.
Dad knew. He KNEW! He pictures time-and personifies some numbers...

Then my youngest sister, Elise-she associates people with colours, and pictures time too.

Dad once asked my sisters and I what colour he was, and immediately, as if rehearsed, all three of us in unison said "brown". Weird. (we assured him that brown was pretty, not poopy.)

Basically-I hear certain noises or musical notes/chords, I'll see certain colours. No, I know that they aren't actually there-but it's very real. I don't know any other way to explain it than that.

Numbers and letters all have colours (almost. I have a few numbers without colours.)
Some numbers and letters have a personality. I remember doing this more when I was a kid than I do now.
Now, If anything, I get numbers and letters mixed up because often, they share the same colour.
For example, 3, F and R, they're all a pinkish colour. When I see any of these, I often mistakenly put down another pink character.
This does me NO favors when it comes to math, writing out addresses or reading out loud. (reading to myself I'm absolutely fine. Reading out loud though can be challenging from time to time.-Especially when certain words have their own colours....I won't get into that.)

Certain smells trigger certain feelings, sometimes a sharp pain in my side, or the bottom of my foot. Certain colours trigger tastes. (Purple can taste really bad-not at all like grapes!)

And of course, last but certainly not least, the whole picture of time. This is so complex that I'm not entirely sure that i could illustrate it-although I think I'm going to try, just for fun. Because of this image of time I have (it's not really an image, it's a 3 dimensional, intricate, moving system) I have a very good long term memory-and can remember being extremely young.

Synesthesia can be hereditary, but doesn't have to be. Zeke and Reuben each show a few signs, although I don't want to ask about it too much. It can be really overwhelming once you're made aware of how you're thinking.

Mark and Mom still don't understand the whole "picturing time" thing, we've all tried to explain it several times.
However, not too long ago, my Mom walked up to my sisters and I when we were discussing this, again at a family function and said

"I remembered something! When I was a kid, there were two girls in my class. They were sisters. And I don't know why, but one WAS dill pickles, and the other one WAS potato salad. No doubt about it."

Maybe it's a little more hereditary than we thought;)

What I'm Reading: The Creative License

2011-01-24T12:48:00.002-05:00

I don't remember who it was that told me that I should check out "the Creative License" by Danny Gregory, but when I remember who that person was, I'll be sure to thank them!

While it's not very often that I struggle to find a creative spark (which this book is supposed to help with-if you struggle with inspiration, read it!) I do sometimes have a difficult time validating my time spent drawing, painting, even cooking!

Even if it's work that I sell, or dinner that needs made anyway, and even if it's time I'm spending with my children as we do these activities (something that I strive to do- involve them in meal preparation, or create along side of me while I'm working in my own illustrations), I'll find myself saying "you should be doing laundry", or "you don't really need to be zesting lemons for this dish. Save time, skip it".

I feel a twinge of guilt when I take time to do mundane things in a creative way. Why does making an extra effort to make things look nicer trigger guilt? Is it the slight amount of extra time that it takes? Or the the fact that I get enjoyment out of my job, and things that are usually ordinary, and often boring tasks?

I was raised in a creative household-these feelings certainly don't stem from my upbringing. My mother nurtured creativity like a very gentle gardener, with encouragement and little expectation or pressure- something for which I'll always be thankful.

I also remind myself that God himself enjoys creation-and that we're created in his image. It makes so much sense that we would achieve such glorious satisfaction in time spent doodling, shaping wet clay, or even making dinner look a little more colourful than it absolutely needs to be. We were carefully designed by our Father to find joy and admiration of Creation.

In reading this book, the introduction alone had more to say about the artist within than any other (non-biblical) book I've read before, and I thought I'd share a couple paragraphs that I found to hit home.

"Our bodies are always turning one thing into another, transforming food, air and water into movement, sweat, offspring, gas. (Even when your body is dead, you will still be creative as you start to nourish the soil, beetles, carrion birds and fill the earth with methane.)

If you try to suppress that urge, you will starve, your bowels will become impacted, your joints will freeze, you will die.

And similarly, when you suppress the creative urge in your mind, you become cramped, constipated, hopeless and slowly you die.

All that creative energy an inextricable part of you, will be diverted into self torture, and you will create doubt and anxiety and hostility and stress and paranoia and anger and resentment.

In the end, you will see you can't really suppress your creative urge. As Jeff Goldblum says in Jurassic park, Nature will find a way"

"When we continue to deny who we truly are and suppress our ability to create, we become crippled and shut down. Our minds grow narrower as we shut out anything unexpected that doesn't fit with how we've told ourselves the world truly is.

We speed through life, wanting to get on to the next thing, unable to take pleasure in the moment."

"Ironically, our society tends to portray artists as dreamers. But those who suppress their creativity are actually the ones living in a dream. An artist is someone who sees and feels reality very intensely. Creativity doesn't mean must making things up out of thin air. It means seeing and feeling the world so vividly that you can put together connections and patterns that help to explain reality. It means you see the beauty in the world rather than trying to hide from it."-Danny Gregory, A Creative License.

If you struggle as I sometimes do, or are just looking for something to spark some inspiration, definitely take a look at this book. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, as artistically talented as Da Vinci himself or completely without artistic skill of any sort, this book is worth reading. It will cause you to explore yourself within, and challenge you to live your life more fully.

This book is available HERE:)

It's Friday, I'm in Love

2011-01-21T12:07:00.002-05:00

An interesting observation...

I've been on etsy almost 5 years-and have not even once created a treasury, and I've been thinking, it's about time.

So today I created this. Hope it brings you feelings of sweaty palms and a racing heart.

-in that good sort of way, of course-

On another, not so pretty note, this morning I regretfully stumbled upon this sweet bit of nauseousness.

Regretsy is one of those places that I thoroughly enjoy- but I think I would die if one of my little creations should find a home there.

However, this time, it's not an Etsy seller that has fallen victim to a public flogging, it's Anthropologie.

Don't worry. I couldn't believe it either until I saw it listed there with my own tortured eyes.

I usually pay more attention to their "housewares" than anything else, but I was under the assumption that Anthropologie had a *little* more class than plastic dinosaurs that have been hot-glued to a dollar store silk flower arrangement.

but maybe that's just me?

This is a sad sad sad day in Anthropologie love land.

Since Sliced Bread

2011-01-19T15:53:00.006-05:00

These headphone hats from etsy shop escaodesign are the greatest.

Just sayin'.

Faux Bois Valentines-A DIY Rubber Stamp Carving Tutorial

2011-01-18T14:06:00.003-05:00

I thought it was about time that I posted a rubber stamp tutorial. This design might look like a tricky stamp to carve, but it's actually super easy. The beautiful thing about wood grain, is that there are no "rules"- So if you go off track, no one will ever know!

Aside from some blank rubber block (which I've just realized that

I've forgotten in my list-durrr), you'll need a few tools.

1. Ink pad. (any ink pad will do!)

2.Scissors. This is just for cutting your heart out in the end. (ok, I just re-read that. Not YOUR heart. You will cut out a PAPER heart.) I'll bet you never thought valenetines could be so violent;)

3.A bone folder. If you don't have one, the back of a spoon or the

handle of a butter knife will do.

4. A 4b (or softer) pencil. I didn't use a 4b, I used a 2b, and see

how light my lines are? They should be darker! Seeing as I've done this a few times, I didn't bother using my 4b.(My 4B may or may not have been holding up my hair at the time...)

5. Xacto knife, or utility knife. Xacto does have a lot more precision though, so anything long that comes to a fine tip will be okay.

6. A small V tip Carver-I use a speedball size 1. You can use larger, but keep in mind, the smaller the tip, the smaller the lines will be.

7. Clip Art. (which will be at the bottom of this post.)

8.Chip board or card stock-your call! (or any other surface you feel

like printing;)

Step 1. Print off clip art to your preferred size. Mine is

about 2.5"x3" .

Go over the lines with your freshly sharpened 4b pencil.

2. Once all the lines are covered in pencil, turn the artwork

over, face down onto your carving block. You can position it however

you like, just make sure that the artwork isn't hanging over the edge.

Gently rub the back of your artwork with the edge of the bone folder, until you've rubbed the entire heart onto the block. (This will feel a lot like putting on a temporary tattoo;)

You can lift the edges slightly now and then to see if it's transferred completely. If it has, remove the paper. If it hasn't, continue to rub the back until it's completely transferred. Be careful to hold it down with one hand while transferring, as it can slide around and cause double lines.

3. Now that your design is transferred, use your xacto and cut your design from your carving block. Not exactly on the outside line, just roughly, to remove it from the rest of your block.

4. Now that the heart is separated from the rest of the block and easier to handle, you can carefully cut around the shape of the heart. If you really want to, you could do this at the very end-I always do it before hand though, because I find it easier to maneuver while carving this way.

5. This is the fun part! Now you get to take your carver and carefully cut each pencilled line. Gently push the blade away from you, keeping the tip of the blade almost parallel with the surface of the carving block. Keep in mind, the deeper you cut, the wider your lines will be.

If you wanted to, you could make a reverse image, and remove all the empty space for a completely different look. (That would be a bit trickier.) But If you're up for a challenge, have at it!

6. This step is optional. I chose to remove the middle square from my heart, and leave the space empty. If you don't want to do this, that's a-ok. It will just mean that in the end, this part will be inked, rather than blank.

You could use a larger tip for this too, and cut deeper, if you want fewer lines to show up in the end. I rather like the added texture though, it adds an extra "hand carved" feel to the print in the end, so I continued to use my small tip for this.

7. Now you get to use your stamp! I find that with stamps this large, it's easier to do things a little backwards.

Rather than pressing the stamp onto the pad, press the stamp pad on to the stamp. This way you can see if it's thoroughly inked, if the ink is even, and you don't get near as much ink on your fingers;)

8. Stamp your hearts out onto your card stock. As you stamp, be sure to press all over the back of your stamp, to get a completely transferred image.

That's one of the beauties of hand carved stamps; you can selectively press different areas of the stamp at a time.

If you didn't want the middle hollowed out square to show up at all, you wouldn't have to press there.

Last but not least, cut your hearts out and voila! I punched a hole in mine and strung some sweet bakers twine through them and used them as tags. You could play cupid though, if you wanted to, and hand them out to your truly best-est buddies.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me through my stamp shop, where I'll soon be carrying stamp carving supplies!

Enjoy!

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-01-17T17:21:00.002-05:00

My "twin" sister and I with some "yarn bombing" at James Street North Art Crawl.

(we aren't twins-in fact, we don't think we look alike at all. But People say we do, and unfortunately

we accidentally wear the same thing on many occasions. On this evening, I think we both looked like gnomes!)

Much to my merriment, I've been granted the "Stylish Blogger Award" by Laura, of BlueTerracotta. Thanks Laura!

So, I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself, and then present fifteen wonderful blogs with the Stylish Blogger Award.

So let's see...

1. My absolute favorite tea is Earl Grey. I like it hot, or iced, unsweetened.

2. I have a collection of dead bees, moths and butterflies that I've collected from various places. (window sills etc). I use them to refer to when illustrating insects.

3. I never know what to say when people ask me where I'm from. In Kansas, they say I sound "Canadian". Yet here, I'm told I sound like a hillbilly. I can live with both. (however, I wasn't born in Kansas OR in Canada, I was born in Illinois.)

4. I can barely break a sweat (even after running for miles...) It's a curse. This means that I get extremely high fevers when ill.

5. I'd rather have 10 more babies naturally, than to ever have to have a cavity drilled again. I kid you not, Novocaine has no effect on me what so ever.

6. I love growing and canning my own vegetables, and getting soil under my fingernails.

7. I'm related to Buffalo Bill Cody. (He was my great somethin' or other.) yeehaw!

So, here are 15 blogs that I think rock-to which I will now pass this award:

MissedConnections

TheBeeHouseHives

LetterWritersAlliance

PosieGetsCozy

MennoniteGirlsCanCook

OurLittleLoveNest

Added For Felicity: (see comments)

My Great Grandpa, Lyman Cody(about age 2) at Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show

I love his long curls, and his smart little outfit!

My son Reuben has a striking resemblance, especially when he was this age.

Argh, Be My Matey!

2011-01-12T16:38:00.007-05:00

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for old calling cards.

Long before business cards, people would carry a calling card, to let a friend know that they stopped by. To read more about them, see here.

Calling cards are what inspired me to create this size of valentine. I have a few of my great grandfather's old cards that he received as a child from school friends-not just for valentines day but for other occasions as well.

They're beautifully printed and embossed in gold and silver, often professionally printed with the senders name. These cards are simply all together classy!

I was really surprised to hear my grandmother explain that even children had their own cards for special occasions. How glorious!

I started making a few for my boys, and they absolutely loved leaving these special little
messages for people.

While these are much more silly and childish than the ones my great grandfather,

"Master Freddy Mayberry" received, they're sure to be fun for both the sender and the recipient!

Petey Pirate Valentines - in my print shop.
Also, some sweet little birds for the slightly less obnoxious at heart.

Both designs are created from my hand carved stamps. Rather than hand stamping each
card (as I've done in previous years) I've had the images scanned, and turned them over to
a professional printer. The colours are beautifully vivid-and this way I won't suffer from carpel tunnel syndrome from hand stamping each one;)

Yarn Bombing

2011-01-12T14:16:00.001-05:00

Hamilton is a weird place. We're a town known for a history in the steel industry, the Hamilton Tiger Cats (cfl team) and notoriously known for our steaming man hole covers. (really.) Our newest development is becoming fastest growing arts community in Canada. YAY!

We do have our share of setbacks, mostly political-you can bet that if anything good or successful is going to happen in Hamilton, the politicians won't have a hand in it. It will be purely spontaneous, and almost by accident. Our city councilors will and do manage to mess up even the easiest tasks and planning... I won't go into that right now though, as that would take hours.

Luckily, one thing Hamiltonians are really good at is spontaneity. We've got a few quirks here and there that are fun, but also rather odd. Like our dancing guy.
I've had the privilege of seeing this guy dance around Hamilton more than once. This guy has moves!
There's rumor that he won't dance in the same spot more than once, so I'm glad someone finally has taken a video.

We also have a dancing "Cowboy". (by Cowboy, I mean a cowboy hat and boots, but much to our disgust this also involves a white leisure suit and a nasty big 'ol belt buckle. *shiver*) He sings, and shuffles around town, and will occasionally ask a passer-by for some coin so that he can buy his favorite kind of cheese. Thankfully, no one has that on video-that I know of.

Our newest curiosity is "yarn bombing". Now I know that our city isn't the first to experience this-I've heard about it elsewhere. But I'm really glad to see this kind of happiness around my city.

I keep seeing these little surprises popping up all over the place. I don't know who's responsible, but it's fantastic. And especially when it was over Christmas! What could be more festive than a tree wearing a sweater?

Photos courtesy of the sweethearts of the White Elephant . (the most fun little shop in downtown Hamilton.)

I'm constantly on the lookout now-I can't wait to see what other little nutty tricks our city has up it's sleeves!

St. Lucia Day

2010-12-13T15:38:00.002-05:00

In spirit of St. Lucia day, I've chosen some of my most favorite scandinavian style items to feature!

Last but not least, My own dalarna horsie! I've used him on a lot of Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper!! He looks extra handsome on felt;)

(an old pic my mom had of me doing the st. Lucia day routine-obviously we never took it very seriously as I think that it was the advent wreath that we used, and I was still in my work uniform...)

Christmas - Santa Lucia Sweden

2010-12-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

For those of you who were wondering... "what the heck?" Why does
Corrabelle have a picture with candles on her head?

Mrs. Wilson's Brood

2010-12-09T16:35:00.000-05:00

Just sharing a new original watercolor that I've listed in my shop- based on the tragedy of Mrs. Wilson.

Mrs. Wilson, you see, was our finch (or rather my sister's) who had such a compulsive need to lay eggs, yet none of them ever hatched.

However, she didn't seem to notice. She would simply carry on and building her nest.
She and Mr. Wilson** would sit on their eggs, day and night, in hope that one might hatch. However, if an egg proved to be taking too long for their liking, it was tossed out of the nest and into the food dish.

**may Mr. Wilson rest in peace-we will discuss his suicide at a later date. It's much too soon to talk about it.
Mrs. Wilson is now happily settled in at a retirement home though, where she may meet another Mr. Wilson.

A side note: If any of you ever does have a finch who is a maniac egg layer, do not remove the eggs from the cage and leave them in a dish on the dining room table for observation. They so closely resemble cadbury mini-eggs and can be easily mistaken by an innocent (and later very disgusted) passer-by. Please don't risk it. I speak from experience.

2010-12-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Hanukkah from us to you!

Watercolor winter wonderland

2010-12-01T00:43:00.000-05:00

A quick post only to share a few recent designs for my Christmas cards being sold at

AllSorts Gallery.

White backgrounds weren't actually an intentional theme, which is kind of funny because I normally don't leave such empty spaces. I find it refreshing though:)

Retro Ornament Rubber Stamp Giveaway

2010-11-09T18:57:00.000-05:00

The draw has been made for the winner

of last week's Giveaway!!

And the winner is....

.................................

......................................

Congrats! I'll be sending you an email shortly for your mailing address!

Check out Terrell's sweet site here

Click your heels..

2010-11-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get my etsy art/print shop open again since being on vacation and I've been working on some new originals. So far though the gallery has been getting them all because it's a busy time of year and they're selling fast, but I'm hoping to have a few for my etsy shop soon too.

Today I was missing Kansas a little so I painted this one. It's pretty tiny, only 4.5cm X 4.5cm, I blew it up slightly so that you could actually see it.
This will be in the gallery on Monday, along with a couple more. I'll be sure to have some prints made for my shop though, and some new originals!

Snowy Watercolours- A Simple Tutorial and a Memoir

2010-11-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

It's getting awfully chilly around here, and although I haven't seen it myself yet, there are reports of the four letter word. SNOW!

I woke up to a thick layer of frost across our garden and felt that dreaded confirmation that winter is indeed on it's way. Autumn is my favorite season, and unfortunately it always feels so short, especially here in Ontario. If I had my way, I'd still be raking and rolling in leaves in December.

I remember back in southern Illinois when I was little, we went Christmas carolling just the night after we filled our ditches with freshly raked leaves and set them ablaze. Of course, we rolled around in them all afternoon before they were lit. (oh how i love that smell!) And being small, of course, It was easy to bury myself from head to toe.

And then we moved to Canada, to a townhouse with one pathetic freshly planted little maple tree.

My sister and I would wait anxiously for those spindly little leaves to finally drop. We'd make a little pile and attempt to jump in them, but who were we kidding?

If we had actually allowed ourselves to fall freely into this poor excuse of a pile, we would have broken our necks!

And to make matters worse, we usually didn't get a chance to make the pile before the condo maintenance men would come around with leaf blowers and blow what little hope we had right out into the street. (I hate leaf blowers, by the way. They're loud, and pointless! A vacuum would make more sense!)

It wasn't all bad though. We were opening a church that had a lot of property, and a lot of trees. We'd spend many weekends there while my parents were fixing up the building, and we had a lot of opportunity to make use of the leaves there.

A bit later, we'd move into a house with a massive yard that had a huge maple, and plant even more. Autumn was never boring!

And one thing that Ontario did have that we'd never seen before was more snow than we knew what to do with. We would spend entire afternoons hollowing out the piles that the snow plows had left in our front yard, making forts, caves and tunnels.

For the record, (in case you were wondering,) I recently walked by the old town house, around this time last year. That itty bitty maple now towers over the house, and then some, and has more than it's fair share of leaves. I hope there are children living there and loving that tree.

********************************************************************************

I was just going to post a fun little beginner watercolor tutorial in theme with today's snow, but it turned into a story. So we'll call this part 2!

This is a fun little beginner lesson with masking fluid. It's pretty fast, and doesn't require a lot of skill-making it fun to do with children too!

LE COURS D'INSTRUCTION

(the tutorial. I think?)

You will need:

I promise that i didn't steal this tray from Ikea. My friend Pleuntje gave it to me as a gift because she knows I'm obsessed with the place.

I can't guarantee though that she didn't steal it. (However, I'm fairly certain that she bought it, as ikea was selling them for a little while;)

A pencil

An Eraser

Paper

something thick weighted, preferably watercolor paper. I have done this with Bristol board though a couple of times back in an art class. It ends up looking a little different because it doesn't hold the paint the same, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if that's all you had;)

Paint brushes

some that you like, and some that are junky, that you don't mind possibly ruining. Dollar store ones will do! Even a Popsicle stick could work, with some determination and a bit of patience.

Masking Fluid

This is available at most art stores, and I've even seen it at Michael's, Joannes, and hobby lobby. So it isn't super hard to come by. Look for it with the watercolor paints.

Watercolor paints

even the cheap stuff will do for this project-of course quality watercolor paints are more rewarding. If you're doing this with kids, use the cheap stuff.

An old Toothbrush for "splattering" (optional.)

The first step is to draw out your large snowflakes. (There's no rule that you have to do snowflakes. If you want, do something else that's white. Like sheep, or stars!!)

I don't have a picture of my snowflakes at this point because I'm a bad teacher.

But basically, I drew out 4 snowflakes across the paper.

If you wanted you could make paper snowflakes with scissors, and then trace those-and the little detailed cut outs in the centre as well!

Next, take the masking fluid. It smells like dead fish, I know. But it's worth it.

This is where you want to use brushes that you DO NOT CARE ABOUT. Masking fluid is weird stuff, it's a liquid rubber. It is possible to get the brushes clean later by using warm water and soap, but I wouldn't go using any kolinsky sable brushes with this stuff.

Fill in every space that you want to remain white (so, all the "snow") Be sure to leave small detail in your snow flakes blank if you want the watercolor background to show through later. Don't worry about the blue of the masking fluid, we'll remove it eventually.

Make sure that everything is covered with the masking fluid. You may have to look over it and spot touch anything that didn't get coated. It won't be perfectly even, some spots will be thicker. It doesn't really matter, so long as it's covered.

Now, if you like, you can use an old stiff bristled tooth brush to make some extra tiny white sprays around the snowflakes. Just dip the bristles into the masking fluid, and run you thumb quickly over the bristles, over the paper. Of course, you could do this manually with a tiny brush, if you're really bored.

Now for the fun part!

Completely coat your paper in whatever colours you like. (Yes, you can use your nice brushes now.)

Experiment with different shades, and blend away. You can make it as dark as you like, or light if you prefer. You don't have to be careful at all to "color in the lines" as the masking fluid is doing all the work for you. You can paint right over it if you like.

Once you're finished, do whatever touch ups you like, a second coat, some different colors, anything. But then let it dry completely. I know, it's hard to be patient, but you really don't want to do the next step until it's fully dry, or it will ruin your work, and your life.

(no, not really, Just your work. AND it will make you sad. I don't want you to be sad!)

l e t i t d r y !

Ok, now that it's dry, this is the really really fun part. Remember when you were little and your great aunt had peely wall paper that you were just dying to pick at? Now you have the opportunity to make up for lost time.

With your finger (not your fingernail, but your actual finger) start rubbing the edges of the masking fluid. (you can use an eraser too, if you like.)

It will start to roll back and ball up into stringy little rolls of rubbery fun.

Once you have a decent little edge pulled back, you can start to peel it off.

Peel off the rubber from all your snowflakes.

Next, get out an eraser, and begin to erase the little spray dots that you made with the tooth brush. You could do these all with your finger if you're a real glutton for punishment.

Also, now you can erase any pencil lines that might have been hiding under the masking fluid.

If there are any white spots that you didn't intend to be left white, you could touch them up now with a bit more paint.

And now you're finished! This would make a cute Christmas card, don't you think?

Christmas Baubles Giveaway

2010-11-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

I have some new retro ornament rubber stamps in my shop, and thought it would be fun to give away a set! There are no conditions for this giveaway-no need to follow my blog or "like" my facebook fan page-but feel free to do either if you wish.

The only rules are: One entry per person, and entries must be made from humans only. No pets posting on behalf of their masters. (hehe.)

Open internationally.

Contest will close at 11:59pm on Monday November 8th. The winner's name will be drawn at random and announced on Tuesday November 9th.

To enter, simply comment. Good luck!

An Autumn Gathering

2010-10-30T16:48:00.000-04:00

I went for a walk a few days ago with the boys to collect different leaves, and other tidbits and morsels that nature dishes out this time of year.

It started with acorns. There aren't a lot of oak trees in Hamilton, so I was giving the boys each a nickel for each complete acorn that they could find. I like having little dishes of the outdoors to sketch from.

But then we travelled down to Missouri a couple of weeks ago and hit the acorn jackpot. I had to stop handing out nickles eventually. (but yes, our acorn collection is plentiful;) Now they're on the hunt for berries, moss, fungus, leaves etc.

We arranged the colorful little pieces on a plate and it almost looked delicious enough to eat. (especially with the quail egg shells! We always have these on hand anyway, as Reuben and my niece are allergic to chicken eggs, these are their alternative. And really, they are so much cuter!)

We had a little watercolour party, inspired by our plate of goodies. The boys are still working on theirs, and are looking for even more to add to it.

I made a little nest out of the goodies, and can't wait to make some more. The colours were so inspiring!

This print is now available in my shop

Sketchbook Project

2010-10-29T00:57:00.000-04:00

I promise that I meant to mention this earlier. In case anyone is interested, there are only two days left to sign up for
the sketchbook project.

I ordered mine a little late, so I'll have a lot of sketching to do between now and January!

For my theme/topic, I picked "I'm a Scavenger". (oooh, so true) You should see the assortment of leaves, twigs, feathers, moss and fungus that I collected on today's walk...(actually, you WILL see them in some upcoming artwork!)

If anyone feels like participating, sign up soon!

I'll be posting pics of mine as I go. I'd love to see yours!

They're Back! Soda Can ornaments

2010-10-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

People Magazine's Order when they featured my stars in 2008 in People Español and with Sabrina Soto on HGTV

It's that time of year again! The time where I get a craving for shiny metal paper cuts and force my friends and family to pack on a few pounds by drinking absurd amounts of these addictive beverages, so that I may keep the cans and make all sorts of sparkling beauties.

Ok..I kid, I kid. I'm actually really fortunate to live right next to Poco Loco, a fantastic Tex-Mex restaurant who's sweet owners allow me to raid their recycling bin on a weekly basis.

I have, however, gotten Mark to try different beers, based on the beauty of the cans. (Which is no worse than when he gets me to drink beer or pop based on the bottle so that he can make these... ) Let's just say as suckers for pretty packaging, we've tried some fairly putrid beverages, all for that shiny pink can or classy looking bottle with a painted label! Luckily, we've found a few that we do like as well!

These will be available in my shop until the 1st of December. I don't trust Canada Post's shipping past that point.

"Well Poopsie, Ya got em".

2010-08-24T16:28:00.000-04:00

Grandma & Poppie, 5 years ago at a "ho down" ;)

We're back from visiting family back home (Kansas) and starting to get back into the swing of things. I'm finally caught up on orders, now for the custom requests. (I received over 160 different requests for stamps while I was away.) Yikes. I have some work ahead of me!

We on a rather unplanned, last minute trip because my Grandma isn't doing very well.
She's had dementia now for quite a few years, but it's gotten really bad, really fast, and I wanted to see her again while she still remembers who I am.

Talking to Grandma has always taken a bit of training and guesswork, for quite a few years, because she talks in so much slang and abbreviations that you have to guess at what she's saying.

For example, years ago, she'd ask me to get something from the pantry. (in their mud room.) I'd ask where it was.
"just reach round' the corner and on that dodad. There ya be!" Little things like that. And these got even worse as her dementia has gotten worse.

She did remember me to some degree, but couldn't remember more recent things, like who my children were, or how many I even have. She'd ask me every 10 minutes if if any of the kids in the room were mine. How old were they? Were they boys or girls?

I'd say "I have two boys, Grandma, they're right over there, the bouncy blond ones."
"oh, well I like that, that's just dandy", she'd say. "Now tell me, ya got me any more?"
"no Grandma, just the two".
"hm. Well that just won't do. I just, you know.."
(she'd make a lot of hand movements at this point trying to find her words)
"i like a lot of em'. Cause ya know, when somethin' happens, well poopsie, ya got em' ."

(Translation: If something should happen anyone in your family, you have a lot of other people to lean on. Now that she's older and is facing this really scary condition, she still has her eight children. If something should happen to one of her children, they still have other brothers and sisters to lean on.)

Then she pat my leg and said "well, hm. Yup!" and it was gone.
This was one of many short little conversations we had.

Another was about my skirt. She didn't like my skirt one bit. Well, she did. But the problem was, she thought it was an apron, and she thought it was odd that I was wearing it out of the house. (which I actually have done a few times, but that's besides the point.)

I had just arrived and she came slowly towards me and took off my sunglasses, and slowly realised who I was. She then pulled me over to two chairs and sat me in one, directly facing her, as though she were going to interview me. And that's exactly what she did.
First she said, pointing to my eyes, and then hers "you and me both, ya know?" (we both have blue eyes.) Then she slapped her leg and said "garsh darnit". She had lost her words again, and looked around helplessly, wringing her hands together.

Then she started tugging on my skirt and said "now tell me 'bout this. Why d'ya 'spose this happened? Is this somethin' the girls go for up there?" (I was surprised that she remembered that I'm in Canada now, actually.)
I said "oh, I don't know grandma. It's just a skirt. I guess it's a little colorful. I made it.."
She put her finger on her chin and raised an eyebrow and said
"well, my mother, she used to...you know".
"Momo had a lot of aprons, didn't she?"
"yeah! all kinds. you know. I was just too hot, liked to be outside." (translation: She would have rather been outside on her tractor than inside, wearing an apron and cooking. Although, she did do a lot of that as well. Most of her favorite stories to tell are about when she and her cousin, "Arlie" were out on the tractor.)
"but this", she said, grabbing the edge of my skirt again, "so indoorsie. Not for church". (we weren't at church..but I didn't say anything about that!)

Then she looked at my nose ring (the tiniest stud ever, I swear!) and told me that I had a "boogie" and needed to "go get that fixed." Then she motioned to my Grandpa, pretended to use a cattle tagging gun in my nose, and laughed. He had a little chuckle over that too.

Poor Grandpa, I can't imagine how this would be for him. This was a good day too.
She has days where she's much more miserable, and won't take her medication, or wear her air cast (she has a badly sprained ankle and hobbles everywhere, but won't wear her air cast long enough to let it heal.)

She also thinks that doctors, medicine and air conditioning are the devil.
If we ever talk about medicine, vitamins, chiropractors or massage therapy in her presence, she starts humming this and making "jazz hands" and says "yeah, hokey pokey".
Translation: "it's hogwash. I never needed anything other than sunshine and pond water."

(which is also hogwash, Medicine really could have helped her, had she been on it a long time ago when she first started showing signs of dementia, but she would refuse to go to a doctor.)
She's also diabetic, so add that into the mix and Grandpa has a lot to deal with. Thank goodness one of my aunts is able to be there a lot with her, and help out, give him a little bit of relief.

I feel so bad that I can't be there more, I'm just so far away. Visiting always leaves me feeling a little easier in one sense, since I finally got to see everyone, but homesick too.

I just miss them all so much.

What My Kids Did while at Church Camp...

2010-07-06T12:55:00.000-04:00

An empty cabin, 5 boys, a creepy puppet, a porta potty and a video camera.
What a bunch of goofballs!

And the Weeeeeener is...

2010-06-24T12:13:00.000-04:00

So clearly my mind is completely messed up, and when I said I'd reveal the winner "tomorrow" what I really meant was "the day I believed to be Wednesday"..which is actually Thursday. Sorry girls.

So, without further hooplah...

the winner is...

drum roll...

Girl Industries!!

Thanks so much to all who participated, twas fun! We shall do this again in July:)

Quit Your Day Job! (ok, you twisted my arm..)

2010-06-21T17:31:00.000-04:00

Just a little happy shout, I was featured on Etsy's Storque Spotlight for the "quit your day job" series.

You can read it here!

Also, don't forget to enter below for the giveaway! You have exactly 2.5 hours until the "ballot box" closes!

Oh Deerie Me, a Giveaway!

2010-06-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

Just because I can, I'm giving away one of these sweet little Deary Dears, to one lucky reader!

This Giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

(does it bother anyone else that this is now commonly spelled "Giveaway" instead of "Give Away"?)

How it works:

For one Entry, Post a comment under this blog entry.
For Two Entries, Comment and "Follow" me.
For Three Entries, Comment, and Post a link to this Giveaway on your own blog!

(for those of you who already follow, yes, you already qualify as followers:)

This draw will take place at 8 pm on Monday,

June 21st.

Ready...

Set....

Go!

Chandelier Tutorial

2010-06-13T01:07:00.000-04:00

I'm in the process (if I can call it that, it's been a long while) of re-organizing my studio space.

When we moved in to this house last autumn, I was so relieved to finally have some space dedicated to storing supplies and office space that I just sort of shoved everything in my approximate 12x9 room and closed the door.

It has a door.

This means that my work is no longer invading our living space, which is a huge welcome. I still smile about my door on a daily basis.

I realised though, I need a different sort of storage system. I need to take advantage of the ceiling height and free up more floor space. Currently, I'm using a myriad of vintage dining room furniture, a retro high back hutch, an old dining room table etc. *kinda-sorta* my style, sure, but not at all practical at all for storing art supplies.

I've been looking online at all sorts of beautifully decorated studios that seem to have all the storage and organization answers, but they often cost a fortune to actually build.

Beyond the antique style "built in" shelves with bead board trim that I dream about daily (usually as I'm grumbling about tripping over something that doesn't NEED to be stored in a box on the floor), I think about the decor of my future space.

While a chandelier wouldn't really be contributing to the general function of the room, I've wanted one for a while. Where else, after all, am I going to hang something this feminine in my male-infested home?

And, I have pretty decent lighting already. I'm a fan of my Ikea halogen track lights. They're practical, energy efficient, and they don't give me a headache.

But a Chandelier...

I found this tutorial today while perusing one of my favorite sites, Brassy Apple, and thought I would share. I thought this was a fantastic way to glam up a reading corner, or hang over my printing table!

It puts off no light, which is fantastic. I don't really need it too! And last but not least, no wiring for the Mister!

I'm going to see if I can find the supplies to make this. I'll post a pic when I'm finished:) Now I just have to decide which color I want!

Pretty Maids All in a Row... a Flower Tutorial

2010-06-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

We used these watercolor flowers for our wedding, just to have some extras to decorate our tables and the window sills in the old barn where we held our reception.

Not only are they super easy, they're also really cheap to make! We only had to buy real flowers for bouquets. ( but you could use these for bouquets, really, if you wanted to!)

In bunches, they look like they were taken right out of one of Monet's paintings!

Grab your bridesmaids, and have a flower making party!

Materials:

Circular Coffee filters (3-6 per flower, the more filters, the fuller the flower)

Scissors

Staples/Stapler

Florist Tape

Florist Wire/Stems

Tubed watercolor paints or Food coloring

Spray Bottle

Clothes Line and Clothes Pins

Fold the filters in half and flatten out the "waves".

Cut Petals out of the wavy part, down to the flat bottom. You can cut a little deeper down if you like

but just be sure that you leave some form of a base.

If you cut the petals sort of long and skinny with pointy ends, they end up looking more like peonies.

If you cut them more curvy with a slight point, they end up looking more like a tea-cup rose!

Play around with it, there really isn't a right or wrong way. It just depends on the look you are going for.

You can cut a stack of 3 at a time no problem. I've done 6 which was a little tricky, but doable.

Separate the layers, and pull the centres down into a point, and gently fold the petals up.

You can use the end of a pencil or a chopstick to do this if you want but it's really pretty simple. You don't need it to be a perfect uniform shape.

Take the first bunched up layer, and place it into the centre of the second layer. Again, fold up the petals of the second layer. Make sure that you're pinching both layers from the bottom.

Repeat, until you have as many layers as you like and the flowers are as full as you want them to be.

I sort of take the layers apart several times, turn them around etc to get the shape I want. (If I have time to be choosy!)

This step is one that I added after making a lot of these flowers and having a hard time relying florist's tape alone to hold them together. After adding the staple, they hold together so much better, both while coloring them and while using them to decorate.

Holding the bottom of the flower and pinching all layers, staple the layers together. Make sure the staple is vertical, in the direction that a natural stem would be. If it's horizontal you'll run into some problems later when we go to put them on the stems. Also be sure that you get the staple through each layer.

You can either color your flowers now (before putting the stems on) or after. I've done it both ways, and both ways work. If you want to color them first, the directions are below.

To add the stems, take the bottom of the flower and line up the staple with the stem. You'll want about an inch of stem in the flower itself.

Pinch the base of the flower around the stem. You will need to *ever-so-slightly* fold the entire flower around the wire as you do this. Once it's taped it will fall back to it's original shape.

Tape the flower by folding it around so that it just overlaps itself. Go around several times before moving down the stem. Make sure to go down the stem about an inch to be sure it's secure.

To colour your flowers, you'll need the spray bottle, and liquid watercolour paints.

This is doable with food coloring, although the color isn't quite as rich, unless you're

doing a darker color like red.

For the pink ones, I used a mixture of permanent rose and cadmium Red. For the yellow flowers I used yellow ochre and cadmium yellow, with a touch of burnt umber.

If you want, play around with colors first on paper (scraps of the coffee filters would work!) and see what you get.

Once you get your colors mixed the way you like them, add them to the bottom of your spray bottle, and dilute them with water. (You'll need about 1 cup of water for 60 flowers...so easy does it. No need to go overboard.)

Test your spray paint on some scraps and see if you need to add more paint to the water. If you like, add a touch of scent or essential oil to the paint if you want scented flowers.

Put on an old t-shirt for this part. You're bound to get a little bit of paint on yourself with this part.

Take your flowers and your spray paint outside. (make sure it's not going to rain, as you'll need some time for these to dry. They dry really quickly in the sun.)

Hold your flower an arms length away and spray the flower from the centre, working your way out. Some of the paint will cause the petals to stick together a bit. Just separate them with your fingers and be sure to get the paint right down to the centre of the flower.

If you've already put on the stems, just fold the stems over the clothesline and let them hang upside down.

If you haven't put the stems on, Just pin them by the base (on the staple) so that they're facing down.

The reason you want them facing down, is because the paint will run to the edges of the paper, making them look all that more real once they're dried. It's really noticeable in the darker colors like pink and red. (see the pink flower below?)

They only take about an hour to dry on a sunny day. Make sure they're completely dry before putting the stems on, if you haven't already.

Voila! Pretty, Affordable, and they never wilt! Either save them for later use, or send them home with you guests:)

New Beginnings

2010-05-20T12:25:00.000-04:00

I'm back, and now a Mrs!

I'm SO sorry that I dropped off of the face of the planet over the last month! Who knew wedding planning could be so time consuming?! Combine that with work, kids, my youngest sister getting married in June, we were busy people.

So far, I only have a few pictures from the wedding. Once I have more, I'll post them, along with some really fun DIY projects that we did to make our wedding fun!

Our cake was made by one of my bestest friends, the wonderful and talented Jocelyn of Sugarbelle

Reuben and Zeke painted a nasty old tacky gold picture frame for us. I bought it at a church garage sale for a buck, with the intention of giving it a face lift.

I was so impressed with how neatly they painted it too. Not bad for a 6 and 7 year old!

We used this for our seating chart. Notice that there aren't any numbers? We did

antique/vintage modes of transportation instead.

More to come soon, thanks to our three fantastic Photographers,

R. Irvine, Karen Schliewinsky and Simone Upham.

Some New Spring Prints

2010-03-17T14:22:00.000-04:00

I always find spring so exciting and refreshing, which always inspires some new artwork.

While we still have massive black piles of dirt caked snow gracing the sides of our streets and corners of our parking lots (so so gross), the kids are already running around the back yards in t-shirts.

Sign of life is finally returning. A welcome warm relief after months of cold and darkness!

A few days ago we were able to finally enjoy our new back yard. While the kids were digging in mud like two happy pigs, I sat on the back porch and cranked out some new and rather bright watercolor paintings/illustrations.

I've just listed them here in my shop

It was a nice break from the wedding planning. (Which has actually been SO much fun by the way. I had just spent the weekend finishing up invitations and mailing them out though, so I did need a break!)

I'll post some wedding preparation photos soon...including a really gorgeous paper flower tutorial:)

February Comfort Food

2010-02-19T00:35:00.000-05:00

I always make this for the boys in the winter, or on rainy spring days. Something about it tastes like home, and beats the winter blues.

And Reuben, who normally won't touch an onion with a ten foot pole, loves it.

It certainly isn't the dieter's special, I don't even want to know what the calorie content is!

I make this with as many different kinds of onions as I can find. Red, yellow, green, even scallions and leeks!

Dressed up French Onion

4 lbs of onions (any kinds)

1.5 litres chicken stock

6 cloves crushed garlic

1.5 cups of goats milk yogurt

(plain regular yogurt will work if you can't get goatsmilk yogurt)

4 tbsp butter

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea Salt

Fresh Thyme

Toppings

Day old stale bread or croutons

cheese curds

worchesterchire sauce

black pepper

Chop the onions up fairly small, it might make you cry a little, but it's worth it.

Crush or finely chop the garlic and mix it in with the onions in the pan. Add the butter and olive oil, and saute the onions over med-low heat for about an hour.

You really want to be sure to cook it slowly, so that they're nice and tender.

If you cook it on low enough heat, you won't have to stir them very often.

After they melt into a nice sweet oniony puddle, slowly add chicken stock. You can add a lot if you want a thin soup, or less if you want a thicker soup. Turn the heat up a bit and add the thyme, and let it stew for a bit. Sometimes I crush the thyme a bit before adding it to bring out the flavour.

Now stir in the yogurt until there are no lumps. The soup will look a little more creamy now.

Preheat your oven broiler, and while it's heating up, toast your bread in the toaster.

Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls. Put the toast on top of the soup, so that part of it is touching the soup but the top stays crispy. (I have bowls that are the perfect for keeping the toast slightly above the soup, because they're just small enough to hold it by the four corners of the toast.)

Sprinkle cheese or cheese curds on top of the toast, add pepper, and worchestershire sauce.

Place the bowls on a cookie sheet, and put them under the broiler until the cheese has melted. (a few minutes is about all it usually takes.)

Take the bowls out and set them on plates and serve. Be careful because the bowls will still be hot!

I serve it with lots of fresh veggies on the side. Reuben likes to add some blue cheese dressing,

Zeke likes his with a little bit of mustard.

And of course, any soup goes great with strong brewed iced black tea;)

Enjoy!

Welcome, Judah!

2010-02-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

Judah Morris Eric Cowan

My sister, Lindi, just had her baby yesterday morning, weighing

7 lbs and 4 oz, and is 19.5" long.

For a really long time I thought she was having a girl. I was sure of it. But a few weeks ago I started thinking that it was a boy. I don't know why...but I just had a feeling.

He's extra pink,VERY fuzzy, round and squeaky!

He's got the most pathetic little wimper and startles quite easily. Really, he just does not like to be bothered.

I tried looking at his little feet (which are massive by the way, as are his hands!) and it completely freaked him out when I messed with his little blanket.

He doesn't look a thing like his sister, (it's funny, he actually looks like Reuben) and he smells absolutely heavenly.

Eva is in love. She tried to tickle her little brother, (she says "tee-ko tee-ko tee-ko!") but realized quickly that new born brothers do not like to be tickled!

I think i'm going to have to do a watercolor sign for his bedroom:) I'm trying to think of something cute to go with his name. I think of Lions when I hear the name Judah.

I'm pretty sure though that he's going to get "Jude" most of the time, as several of us have already started singing "hey Jude" as soon as we heard the name!

Limoncello (and the flu)

2010-02-15T15:38:00.000-05:00

(Zeke is ill, so I let him bring his cozy chair into the kitchen to hang out with me, so that he wasn't all alone in the living room.)

I'm a total Limoncello fanatic, but not a fan of the cost, and I like to be able to control the sweetness. The commercially available variety is super sweet, a little too sugary for me. I also like to be able to use organic lemons, free of pesticides etc.

I'm making up a fresh batch that will be ready just in time for my little sister's hen party in April. (the longer you let this stuff sit and brew, the better. 40 days or more is best!)

I make mine with 20 organic lemons and a 750ml bottle of vodka. (With 20 lemons, you really could use a whole litre of vodka.)
First you wash your lemons and pat them dry. Then peel the yellow zest with a carrot peeler. It's good to get a little bit of the pith (the white part) but not too much or it will make your batch bitter.

You could discard the rest of the lemons...but that would just be silly. Make some lemonade, or freeze the juice for later use.

Pack the peels into a sterelized (I had to use two because my big jar broke!) and pour the vodka over the peels. Pack the peels down in the jar so that they're completely submerged. Close the lid and voila. Let it sit in a cool dark place for 40 days, and stir it occasionally or shake it up.

The color of the vodka will start to brighten, and the peels will start to fade.
You can switch the peels at 20 days if you want to make it really strong.

After 40 days, you need to make a sugar and water syrup over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let it get too hot, or you'll have hard candy.

Let the syrup cool to room temperature. Pour the lemon infused vodka into a separate large bottle, pitcher, or pan, (doesn't matter, so long as it's large.) Strain out the peels completely, so that all you have is liquid.
If you used a zester to peel your lemon, you'll need cheese cloth to do this. If you used a carrot peeler or a knife though, it's pretty easy just to pick them out. Just be sure to squeeze the peels to get all the vodka out. They'll be pretty plump with juice at this point.

Once you have the vodka strained, slowly add a bit of the syrup to the pitcher and stir.
It's up to you how sweet you make this. (You actually don't have to sweeten it at all if you don't want to. You could just leave it as it is, and use it straight from the jar).

I don't like to make it super sweet, because I don't drink it straight. I usually serve it in club soda with a tiny bit of lemon juice. Or even in some sprite.

Bottle in wine bottles, canning jars, whatever you like, and refrigerate or freeze. I usually freeze some and refrigerate the rest. (I don't always refrigerate it, sometimes it just sits in the pantry. It's just a lot better cold!)

Serve it over ice with some club soda and a dash of fresh squeezed lemon juice, or in your favorite cola.

Nothing is better on a hot summer evening!

Even Zeke likes it!

Just kidding. He's just having broth;)

Panettone Fables

2010-02-12T14:34:00.000-05:00

A leftover dried out Christmas Panettone was set outside to feed the hungry birds. It was winter, and the birds were scarce, and starving.

The yard was full of big, fat, well fed fluffy squirrels, but hardly any birds. What few, sad little birds did have the courage to come around, were scared away by the abundance of alley cats and squirrels.

When the bread was set out, of course, a beady eyed fluffy tailed rodent was the first to have a sample. He sat outside the house window and snacked away, not even caring that a human was a few feet from him, loudly sorting the recycling.

But then some birds started to gather above on a power line.

They waited until there were quite a few of them, and then in one fell swoop...

Attacked!

The sad little squirrel managed to grab a chunk and run to the nearby garage roof top....

but alas, they got that too.

And this is all that they left for poor mister squirrel.

The moral of the story is that there is power in numbers...

especially when dessert is involved.

the end.

Doppelganger

2010-02-03T17:27:00.000-05:00

Facebook has some crazy application going around that selects who your closest celebrity look-alike is. Apparently, Amanda Seyfried and I share 86% of the same features.

I don't see it, but heck, i'm flattered.

(by the way, this took up way too much time out of my day, so if you're going to go give it a try, don't say that I didn't warn you!)

A Successful Trip to the VV Boutique

2010-02-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

We have a chain of thrift stores around here called Value Village. I'm not sure if it's just a Canadian thing, or if American folks have this shop too.
Anyway, it's similar to salvation army, only often a lot more expensive. (Sometimes they have some pretty abused items marked up to some pretty steep prices. Coats with rips and missing zippers over $20 because it's brand name etc...) so we've dubbed it the "VV Boutique".

This weekend we had some stuff to donate,(remember the nasty "dusty rose" mini blinds from our new living room?) So of course I couldn't help ducking in just to see what they might have.

One thing about the VV boutique, is that while they overprice what most would call garbage, they often don't know when they have a treasure right in front of them.

Here are my Lucky Vintage Finds!

Set of 4 sweet rosie tea cups/sandwich plates: $3.99

Two Large Diner Serving Platters: $2.99 each

Massive Juicer: .99cents!!

Four cocktail napkins: 99 cents

Two Table Cloths (one is so soft I plan on using it like a giant tea towel/apron: $1.99 each.

And last, but not least, A little sister for Gladys!

Gladys is my pink "piggie" bank, who rules my kitchen from her special little shelf. When I first saw her, I thought she was a cookie jar, but alas, she had a slot in the top. I bought her anyway. I had to. She was judging me. See her judging stare?

Mark has even made up a judging little owl sound that we're sure she makes to herself when we do not live up to her expectations.

Now they can judge us together.Will we be able to handle it??

Oh, the shame and humility!

I'm not yet sure what we're going to name Gladys's new sister yet...any ideas?

Hope for Haiti

2010-01-14T12:25:00.000-05:00

I don't know anyone who was in Haiti when this disaster struck, but I have friends who cannot locate their loved ones living there, and my heart goes out to them.

Many etsy sellers have begun a fundraiser for Haiti.

If you'd like to participate, you can either set up your own listing, or purchase a listing that is designated for Haiti Relief.

I've designated this bookplate. All proceeds from this stamp will go towards World Vision's Haiti Relief.

If you'd like to see other items designated to helping haiti, just type "Haiti" into etsy's search bar.

Please continue to pray for this devistated country.

The Holidays in a Flash!

2010-01-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning. The boys in their new bathrobes showing off their christmas booty! Santa brought zeke a new guitar, and Reuben, a Rock Tumbler. (it's knocking around right now in the basement. Did you know that those things have to tumble for several weeks??)

I feel as though the last month has completely evaporated. We've done so much around here that it's been a complete blur! Christmas, NewYears, birthday parties, house renovations...(we finally got that disgusting carpeting out of here!!)

It came out easily, but the underpadding was a total mess. Little sticky green bits everywhere, we had to use putty knife and vegetable oil to remove it.

Unfortunately, while SOME us were busy working (ahem..) a UFC match broke out.

Reuben won the first match with a "full nelson" (whatever the heck that means) and Mark won the second match with an "arm bar". Zeke finally got annoyed with their lack of participation in working on the floor, and decided to go play ref.

Half a gallon of vegetable oil and two really sore backs later, we finally finished in time for the floor to be all sparkley for our new years eve bash.We were horrid parents and allowed our children to stay up until midnight, and ring in the new year by running up and down the sidewalk with sparklers.

They'll live.

Now that this is all over, we get to dive into wedding plans! Exciting, but yikes, it's only 4 months away!!

*DEEP BREATH*

I'd better get crackin;)

Giveaway!

2009-12-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

Christina, of Akane Designs has interviewed me about my work, and is running a feature of my shop on her wonderful blog.

I'm giving away a fancy li'l Stand Mixer Rubber stamp to the lucky winner of her draw.

If you'd like to enter for a chance to win, leave a comment under the interview. She also has a few more special instructions if you'd like to enter the draw more than once.

Hope you're all up to your necks in merriment and mistletoe, and preparations for Christmas day!

In case i'm unable to post until after the festivities, Merry Christmas to all!

Some Carols, for you

2009-12-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

Every year during the Christmas season, my sisters and our very bestest friends (three other sisters, and a few others) get together for our wee night of christmas fun. It usually results in singing, (drawing and singing are probably our favorite combined hobbies) and by the end of the evening, it gets sillier and sillier.

We start out calm, and sing a few traditionals...then we end up botching every other christmas song we can think of.

No real picture here, just sound. (and that addictive laugher at the end of the last one, is Laura. I love Laura's laugh. It's a laugh that makes your heart happy;)

Enjoy!

Gloria

Rudolph

Ring Christmas bells

God Jul...or Glaedelig Jul, Tomato, ToMAto

2009-12-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

I absolutely adore the simplicity of Scandinavian art & decor.

I find this surprising, because I, an artist, am very eclectic, and scatterbrained. Maybe that's why I like the style- it keeps me grounded.

Maybe it's because i have a second home at Ikea...

And maybe, it's because I'm actually Danish/Swedish. (Somehow though I doubt that has anything to do with it. My dad's family landed 4 generations ago, most of the "old country" ways have probably rubbed off by now!)

We do follow a few of the traditions as a family, such as Lucia Night. Because I was the oldest, while growing up it was always my role to wear the candles. (and usually only long enough to take a picture!)

We also made hundreds of the paper heart ornaments, which we were ironically taught to make by a cantonese girl.

Most of our Scandinavian traditions end with Christmas and a few recipes. (Because our family is such a mixed bag of backgrounds, we have a lot of traditions to squeeze in. Just wait, you'll see...Hanukkah is coming up soon!)

While I'm not sure I could decorate my entire house in Scandinavian style (I just don't have that kind of self control!) -I really admire a good Scandinavian Christmas.

I found these lovely items on Etsy (of course,) and thought I would share.

Enjoy!

1. Strawberriesandcream 2. heiDesign 3. Madgemdesigns

4. Pingvina 5. RoddyandGinger 6. Syko

3 PM

2009-12-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

Our house, from our back yard, at 3 pm this afternoon.

It's way too dark outside for 3 pm. I don't like it.

And it it's going to get this dark out this early, there may as well be some pretty, soft-lit glistening snow. Where are you snow?

Just sayin'.

(ps. Obviously we didn't like the carpeting around here either, seeing as now it's tied up out back and ready to go to the dump. Take THAT, ugly carpeting!!)

Advent

2009-12-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

I have a huge stash of vintage maps sitting around (because I'm a paper junkie) and for years I've been meaning to use them for something fun.

I wanted to make an advent calendar for the boys, and originally I was thinking of sewing a bunting with pockets, or something similar.

The problem is, we've just moved, and I honestly don't know where my sewing machine IS. (I have a vague idea, but even if I could dig it out, where is my fabric? And my scissors? and needles...too much to think about!)

Then I remembered my maps, conveniently tucked away here in my still very unorganized studio. (This will soon be tackled...it's driving me absolutely batty!)

Using a pile of boxes as a table for my paper cutter, I managed to quickly slice up some 6x6 inch squares.

I then folded them into this really simple origami pattern:

Rather than folding the tops down, I left them up, (to hide the surprise) and sealed the bottom "wing" looking flaps with a tiny sticker. (Normally these stay shut when the top flaps are folded down, so I had to improvise.) Seeing as I needed something to write the numbers on, this worked out well.

I then attached them to a piece of bakers twine with masking tape, and hung them on our living room door.

Next year I think I'll hang them a touch higher or seal the tops shut, as I now know that they can see everything in them!

Bubby is 7

2009-11-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

That's right, I had twins for 15 days. But it's all come to an end now that the Bubbs has turned 7.(SEVEN!! that's, like, a real kid!)

Not a baby anymore, losing all his teeth, doesn't need my help anymore making his breakfast, takes a shower by himself, goes to the "men's" room at McDonalds...Yikes! When did this all happen?

Happy Birthday Reuben!!

I smell Christmas...

2009-11-27T14:50:00.000-05:00

I hope that you all had a glorious Thanksgiving holiday! Because we're in Canada, we already had our Thanksgiving back in October. (when it actually still looked like autumn around here...)

I can't help but feel a little need to still celebrate the American dated one as well, so we opted for some turkey soup with cranberry sauce on toast. Yummy!

I don't know why, but this year I'm so excited for the Christmas season. Some years I dread it, because I know that it will fly by and I'll have only accomplished a few of my projects out of the many that I'd hoped to complete. That, and I'm not a big winter junkie.

I like snow...for a little while. Like, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing day. Outside of those three days, I can't stand the stuff.

But alas, this IS Ontario, so I'd best learn to live with it.

(we're not in Kansas anymore Toto!!)

This year is different though. I'm eager! Maybe it's because we have a new house that will be fun to decorate, maybe it's because we actually have a fireplace to "hang our stockings with care"...

This year I'm not stressed, and I don't care if I get everything done that Martha Stewart lays out for me in this month's issue.

There will be tree decorating, hot chocolate, popcorn, "Christmas vacation" and "Muppet's Christmas carol", Bing Crosby, Glogg, Dad and his stinky pickled herring, silly crowns from Christmas crackers, the boys in their Jammies for days on end, and my feller to cuddle up with.

There will be gathering of friends and

family,

love

and warmth.

And that's all I ever really wanted anyway.

Let the festivities begin!!

A Family Portrait

2009-11-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

I'm always pulled to the photo bins at the antique stores. These are where I find portraits that I connect with like the closest, oldest dear friends. I even recognize myself in these forgotten, cloudy images.

I want to hug them, sit on their back porch, hold their child while they tell me about their day, borrow a cup of sugar, swap recipes.

Sometimes, I think I was born into the entirely wrong Era.

The music, the fashion, the customs, the recipes, the decor, I'm drawn more to my grandparents' teenage years than my own.

When I found this I immediately recognized my sister, our two best friends and I.

1938. L-R, Lindi, Laura, Me, And Jocelyn

I wish I had been there to see when women wouldn't dare leave the house without their gloves,

when men would blow their noses into handkerchiefs, and little girls always went to church in crinolines.

I envy their beautifully starched colorful hats, aprons, and that their hard work and hospitality and entertaining was seen as an art, not a chore.

Gardening, canning, sewing, cooking were skills that were common, and not something that anyone would choose to do without.

Motherhood was an admired career, and recognized as such.

The title "stay at home mom" was redundant.

Simple things were treasured. Children had fewer toys, but truly loved the ones they had.

They could play outside all day and parents wouldn't have to worry about their safety.

Families spent more time together, without being interrupted by television and impossibly busy schedules.

People knew their neighbors and local shop keepers by name.

They wrote letters and kept in touch with friends and family for years without seeing each other, or the aid of current technology.

My paternal grandparents, early 40's, taken while my grandfather was on leave from the Navy. Weren't they a classy lookin' couple?

After looking at all these and thinking about it all, I can't help but want to scoop up my boys and curl up with them for a good book. Have my sisters over for tea and bake with them.

Take a long walk with my feller, hand in hand, rather than watching the next episode of *who cares what*.

Slow life down, simplify, and breathe.

Look how far you've come!

2009-11-18T18:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Zeke! You're 6 now, and just as cute as the day you were born. (And just as firey!..I knew you were trouble when you were born with that little red Mohawk!)
I can't believe how big you've gotten, and so quickly! It seems like just yesterday you were tiny and round with that wonderful newborn smell. I'm so blessed to be your mama.

A Pretty Nifty Field Trip

2009-11-06T10:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, after receiving a call from my Mom, I woke up the boys a little earlier than necessary.

I told them to get dressed in their self-dubbed "handsome clothes" and that we were going out

to see someone very special.

They scrambled to find their matching shirts and sweaters, (and of COURSE, neckties) and were ready in a flash.

"Can you tell us where we're going now? Pretty please?"

As hard as it was to answer with a straight face (because it seemed so surreal) I said

"we're going to see the Prince of England".

They laughed....and laughed some more. They didn't believe me.

Zeke asked "can I bring my cap-gun?"

"no."

Reuben started singing "The Phony King of England" from Robin Hood, at the top of his lungs.

They really didn't believe me!

I had to explain to them that there really IS a Prince of England, (and that he wasn't horrible Prince John from Robin Hood) and that we really were going to go see him!

After a short history lesson, and a brief discussion on what's appropriate (or not appropriate) to sing while waiting to see his Royal Majesty, we were off to Dundurn Castle.

Of Course, Eva was in her prim and proper as well. First the Band Played.

and played...and played some more.

Zeke really liked the piccolo player. Reuben was confused as to what the role of the Major was, seeing as there was also a conductor.

We killed a lot of time, talking about each and every instrument.

Reuben wanted to know "why on earth the trombone player would be emptying her spit valve right in front of everyone, especially when the prince could walk out at any moment".

(I guess at this point he realised that the Prince kinda was a big deal, now that he knew that he was real and all...;)

And then...

First they waved to us from the balcony. (They came to Hamilton to tour Dundurn castle, because

it was built and owned by Lady Camilla's great great great Grandfather, Sir Allen MacNab.)

Greeting us commoners.

My mom was holding Zeke at this point. "Zeke!" she said, "do you see the Prince?"

"who, that guy with the grey hair?"

(I think that they were expecting more of a "Disney" variety of Prince.)

Lindi was able to get really close...

Notice that Prince Charles is wearing both the British AND Canadian Remembrance Day Poppy.

And Eva even got to "speak" with the Duchess of Cornwall herself.

"what a cute flat little hat you have" she said, in her luxuriously thick Brrrrritish accent, patting Eva's head.

"and what smart little gloves! I like your little gloves!"

The boys were a little short for the crowd, but they were such good sports. On their best behavior, and waited patiently.

I held them up for a good portion of the time, and my dad took turns with them on his shoulders.

Even though they didn't get super close, they did get to see the Prince, with their own eyes, which was, in Reuben's words,

"magnificent."

Cheerio;)

Home Sweet Home

2009-10-21T00:34:00.000-04:00

Well I've ducked out for the last few days, despite the chaos going on with the triple rip-off shop keeper. Life has bigger things going on for us right now.

This weekend we moved into our new house! Only about a block away, so the move was pretty quick. (OK, maybe not to the guys hauling the furniture) but the trips were fast...even though there were many, back and forth!

Now I have some serious work cut out for me. LOTS of unpacking to do, there is still some other stuff at the old house to collect...and last but certainly not least, the decor in this house has GOT to go. I'm not complaining though, I'll love ripping down the horrid wallpaper and painting everything. (Remember that burgundy, forest green and dusty rose phase? It still exists in this house, quite strongly...)

Other than the gaggy decor, the house really does have a lot of character! Lots of old woodwork and fixtures etc.

We did however turn on the old electric fireplace and decided that we would not ever do that again.

The smell, the sparks...my life flashing before my eyes...Ok, it wasn't that bad. But I really don't think it's safe.

The main floor washroom though is probably more dangerous than the fireplace.

I was sure I was going to have a seizure when I walked in for the first time! (no, those are not my "beauty" products...these were from the MLS listings. I think the woman who lived here before me may have had some pretty big hair;)

My family has been drawing straws over who gets to take the first rip off of that wallpaper.

It will have to wait though, because we're doing the kitchen first. We discovered that the "back splash" is actually textured wallpaper...(these people had a real thing for wallpaper!)

We're going to get paint later this week, I think I'm leaning towards a light buttery yellow. Very farmhouse, cottagey. (amongst myself, my mom and my sisters, "cottagey" is indeed a word.)

Notice that busy green trim around the top? It goes through most of the house. I can't wait to pull it down. Oh, and the carpeting and the living room. I'm counting down the days until we yank that out too! (hardwood underneath, is being covered up by what USED to be shag carpet, 20 years ago. eek!)

Now that I've thoroughly picked apart the house, (and there is so much more ...but it would be a novel) I will say, I LOVE this house. The layout is perfect, the rooms are big, I have a really decent sized studio space (with a DOOR!) our yard is awesome, and the character of this house will shine through soon.

I can't wait to make it ours. Bit by bit it will become our home sweet home.

An Update...

2009-10-16T00:07:00.000-04:00

Well someone who isn't the brightest crayon in the box decided to open a THIRD shop. That's right folks, a third shop full of other artists work. Again, she's selling nothing but "originals". (FYI scammers like this one have been known to print out these pieces on inkjet watercolor paper, and play with the inks with a bit of water, to make them APPEAR as though they are hand painted.)

Look carefully at the shop announcement, profile...oh, and that cherry blossom tree right smack in the front of the store. Look familiar? That's because we saw that one yesterday, at her first shop, which is now closed.

So head on down to regs123 for a quick bargain, before she packs up shop, again!

Feature Shop!

2009-10-14T16:07:00.000-04:00

So I was perusing etsy, and found a shop called "WatercolorsBlooming" FULL of beautiful artwork. Artwork that was whimsical, enchanting, fantastic, and....familiar.

Quite familiar actually. Funny, they're even selling MY artwork.

Go take a looksy. They just might be selling yours too!!

I think it's pretty funny that they're selling my artwork as an "original". Any poor soul who gets this will realise it's a print!

Anyway, thought I'd warn other artists that there's a crook out there with a shop full of art that isn't theirs.

happy shopping;)

++++++++++++++++++++++

A little update. It's been brought to my attention by the lovely etsy peeps that she has another shop HERE. Same sorta thing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Another Update! I recieved an email from Miss waterblossoms herself:

"I am so so sorry. My friend had a print of this painting and I loved it and painted it to sell in my etsy shop. I will remove it immediately :( I had no idea it was an etsy seller. ".

I wonder why she has so many of the same "originals".

OH..wait. There's more.

"I have an art degree from Hawaii and I am actually an artist. I painted this painting from your print. I can mail you the actual painting if you'd like so you can see it is not a print. I do not sell any prints in my art shop."

Tiny

2009-10-01T03:24:00.001-04:00

When Zeke was really little, he used to act all pathetic and puny if he couldn't do something right, or just didn't FEEL like doing something right.

I used to jokingly patronize him with a silly little song I made up to get him giggling again.

It was never the same song twice, it was basically a little rhyme about the task at hand.

However, it always started with "Are you feeling tiny and small, and littlest of all?" (he was VERY good at being "tiny".)

Once in a while, he'd even go put on his little striped hospital pjs and walk around and whine, in a slightly disturbing little zombie walk, a slow dragging of feet with his arms hanging helpless in front of him. For he knew that while he was in the hospital (juvenile arthritis) he was never short on sympathy and extra attention.

He was so little that I really didn't bother to tell him to knock it off. (And let's face it, he is naturally a very dramatic child!) Instead, I'd sort of play along and eventually he'd see that he was really being pretty silly;)

These little skits usually ended up with him wrapped up in a big blanket, arms and legs swaddled in a very defenseless fashion, and me pretending he was my "tiny baby" again, while I kissed his cheeks until he'd laugh so hard he'd cry.

Well a couple of days ago he put on the "tiny" act again, only for a few seconds. I started with the "are you feeling tiny and small and littlest of all?" song. He just rolled his eyes and giggled.

It made me want to write down one of the little poems though. (which of course needs an illustration. duh.)

Here's this evening's silly little doodle. I really should be packing (we're moving in two weeks!...more about that later!)

I had to take a little break though and doodle this out while it was on my mind. You know how it is with us doodlers. We can't help ourselves.

Pepperminty Goodness

2009-08-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know about my autumn special!
From Now, Aug 29th, Through October 12th, For every dollar you spend in my shop, you will receive a free foot of bakers twine. Fun fun!

dum dum de dum....

2009-08-16T10:14:00.000-04:00

Big news! A few weeks ago (yes, I know, I haven't posted in a while but life has been such a whirlwind...) Mark proposed!

Apparently he had some plans up his sleeve for a little while, and managed to keep it secret.
I'm even more impressed that he told my sister, and that SHE was able to keep it a secret. (sorry Lindi, I know how you get when you're excited about something!)

Of course, being the wonderful guy he is, he had everything planned out, and even managed to remain calm and collected even though I kept throwing a wrench into the "schedule"! (little did I know that he had my family in on it. )

To make a long story short (because if I told the entire thing, it really WOULD be a long story), he got my sister to call me and ask if she could take the boys to her house for a movie, which left me thinking, "yay, an evening alone with Mark!"

He took me out for dinner to a little Vietnamese place that we really like. Afterwards, he took me to the park where we went for a walk on our first date. It's a gorgeous park, and overlooks all of Hamilton. (the view isn't ideal, we were looking out at the "beautiful" steel mills on the water.haha)

We were looking out over a kids' soccer game, and Mark was standing behind me rubbing my neck. (it's always sore from the way I have to carve my stamps).

It started to rain a little, so I thought we should probably head back. The rain lately hasn't been "little". When it rains, it pours, and pours, and hails, and then pours some more!
So it was safe to say that we needed to back to the car. Mark said "before we do though, I have a

surprise for you..."

I turned around, and he was down on one knee, with a little box that was sparkling, and said "will you marry me?"
Of course I said yes (or screamed it?)

I had about a minute to admire the ring before we had to run to the car! Then we sat in the car for a bit, all excited, me asking him how he had planned this all etc, and how long he'd had the ring...and then he said "we have to go to your sisters house now, because your family is all there waiting for us".

He had gone there before hand to show them the ring, before he picked me up for dinner:)

What we've been up to lately...

2009-07-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

Life has been busy lately, but fun. Must be summer!

It's Football season in this household. (Don't worry, mark doesn't always look this angry. His new helmet squishes up his forehead!)

Zeke playing with the Band at camp. (he was pretty certain that he was the star of this show!)
Reuben's Snail, "speedy".
A coffee can full of salamanders that the boys caught at the pond. I'm a mean mommy and wouldn't let them take any home.

Some of the froggies the boys caught. They and their friends had a "marriage" ceremony for most of them in pairs, and then again, mean mommy made them put them back.

This is Sam. He was married to Ella. Ha, get it? Sam n' Ella? Witty Children.

Zeke, with Ella.

Reuben and Speedy

Summer grubs. These four spent the whole week either in the trees or at the pond.

I need

to talk to Reuben

about being GENTLE!!!!!

Zeke and Charlie. Not our dog, but his friends. He wants one now. Not going to happen anytime soon.

These two are inseparable

And very busy with their frog catching "business". (only costs a quarter!)

What could be more fun than a MASSIVE tarp covered in water and baby oil? Zeke's tummy was pretty raw from the slip and slide and he was mad that I made him go on his bum after a while instead. He said "the scratchies are worth it".

Today's Excitement

2009-06-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't really think this would be that exciting, but to little boys, I quickly found out, an old baby bath tub full of soapy water is nothing but pure fun.

It started with us hauling up a high chair from the basement. The church camp needs one, and I have one that folds down really small, so I thought I'd send it up. It's covered in cobwebs though, so it needed scrubbed. So we unfolded it in the backyard and I let the boys scrub it with brushes until it sparkled.

Tucked in the back of it though was a whole bag of baby bibs. So i pulled those out and thought I'd quickly hand wash them and send them off to whoever needs them.

As soon as I set the pan of water down though, they were practically on top of me asking for a turn. I surrendered my job to the minions and let them have at it.

They FOUGHT over who got to do more bibs. Who got to hang more bibs, who got to spot scrub more bibs...I couldn't believe that they were fighting over laundry.

I told them they could wash them as many times as they wanted to and that seemed to solve the problem. They were at it for more than two hours...Those bibs couldn't get any cleaner!

(yes, my grass needs mowed, horribly. But there's milkweed mixed in, you see, and Reuben won't let me cut it, because he wants to see some monarch butterflies this summer. Smart cookie. Maybe I'll mow around it;)

2009-06-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

This here is a crazy little boy. I'm sure you can tell by the picture, he doesn't walk like an ordinary human, he vibrates.
This buzzed little human constantly surprises me though with little tricks up his sleeves. While he's pretty nutty, he also has some very serious musical and artistic skills. Actually, he's a poet, and we didn't know it.

He will sit and play piano for 4 hours straight if I let him. Or guitar. He doesn't care, so long as he's singing and holding an instrument.

Sometimes while he sings, I'll record what he sings. I'll write down the lyricss, because they're just so sweet. Lately they've been getting really good too. (i'll have to record it one day with the actual tune)

He wrote a song of praise this week. I thought I'd post it for Sunday:)

Untitled, by Zeke

You have my heart, And I cant see you.; You're invisible.
But you see me. You see all of me. You know me

Be the tale of my heart lord,

be the tale of my heart.

Be the beat of my heart lord,

Be the beat of my heart.

I'm glad you know me, you know all of me.

Welcome, Baby Jack

2009-06-12T14:56:00.000-04:00

I have a new nephew! A touch preemie, so he's a perfect little bowling ball.

He Arrived early tuesday morning, a few weeks early, but is doing super well, and will go home

today! Yay Jack!!

I made him this little sign for his room. A jack rabbit seemed appropriate:)

2009-06-11T23:54:00.000-04:00

Hilariously Funny Note Card from WryAndGinger

Today the etsy forums were in uproar. I do participate, but rarely do I get too involved in heated discussions. I just pass the thread and move on.
Today's annoyance though was just too insulting to just ignore.

A poor sad woman who I think MIGHT be chained to her desk decided to write this article. I'm not sure if it was an attention grab, or if she really is just this bitter.

She repeatedly bashes stay at home moms, and apparently thinks that we're dreaming the impossible, by thinking that maybe our pitiful creations might bring us enough income to justify our being home with our children.

She believes that we (the pathetic housewives and stay at home moms of North America) are being naively mislead by "etsy" in thinking that we'll ever be able to "quit our day jobs" and has pity for my poor primitive lifestyle.

I have many things I would just LOVE to say to this chick who writes from her "real" job, but many of those things have already been said in the angry comments below her incredibly foolish article.

So I'll just say this.

Sara Mosle, tomorrow morning, while you're scrambling to get your breakfast (double espresso perhaps?) and fighting traffic get to your "real" job on time,
I'll be asleep.

I'll probably wake up around 9, cuddle and read story books with my boys until 10, and then go to work. In my Pajamas.

Poor me.

HAPPY ST. CHICKENS DAY!!

2009-06-09T11:23:00.001-04:00

Today is St Chicken's day!

(as I blogged about back in February)

So in honour of the holiday, I've picked out some fancy shmancy chicken themed fun!

Hot Chicken Wing Soap Set at LoveLeeSoaps, $5

(OK, these look too much like the real thing, I'm afraid showering would make me crave wings!)

Fun on the Farm Tile Coaster , RobotCandy, $6

Plush Chicken Doll by AbsolutelySmall, $20

RozArt, Rooster 24 x 30 Inch Original Oil Painting $150

Everyone have a splendid St. Chicken's Day!

Rainy Day Fun

2009-06-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

A few days ago it poured rain. I don't know what it is about rainy days that makes me giddy.

Maybe that I get to stay in and get cozy with the boys? I always have such a strong desire to sit and draw on days like these.

Zeke pulls his little chair up next to mine and we sit at the art table, making wonderful messes. (Reuben is usually UNDER the table, either "broadcasting' from his make believe radio station, or building a fort and taking prisoners...did I mention he has a fantastic imagination?)

I was trying to think of some neat alternatives to traditional place cards, for a wedding or shower, to put in my shop.

I'm not entirely sure that I hit the nail on the head here, as these are a little detailed for place cards, but were fun none the less.

I made a basic variegated wash on watercolor paper, in several color tones, and then cut the pieces out. After they were cut out, I did the detailing on the wings and tail, eyes beak etc, and then stuck them all together.

Now I'm not entirely too sure what to do with these. I could sell them as "embellishments" (why do I shudder when I say that word?) or giant gift tags, or actually sell these as place cards. Maybe they're actually more of a favor... any ideas?

Either way, I really enjoyed making them! I want to make more in other colors. I just have to decide what they are first!