paper and pine

I was sad to hear when Montreal's Atelier Woodenapples was closing recently. With one end comes a new beginning... shop owner Amy Johnson has co-founded a new online shop! Paper and Pine features the work of small craft businesses from around the world (including yours truly). There is a great selection of accessories, housewares and stationary items, as well as many charming gifty ideas for Valentine's Day. Everything here is so darn cute!

collection: stamps

When my parents moved to Canada in 1975, the house that they were moving into was previously occupied by a divorcing couple. My mom had found an entire stamp collection thrown in the garbage by the ex-wife occupant (one of the many discarded remnants that had belonged to the absent ex). It sat in the closet for years, and since she didn't know what to do with it, the collection is now in my hands. In the past ten years, I have been adding stamps to the collection here and there. I really have no knowledge of stamps whatsoever, but they are all so pretty... I'm not sure what to do with them... perhaps frame them?

collage: girl and raindrops

A grey and rainy day today in Vancouver. I guess I shouldn't complain too much since it has been pure sunshine this past week... which is very rare in the winters here. I am just dreading the walk to work though... it's never very pleasant in the rain. I think I need to invest in a pink polka dotted rain cape to make the walk better.

woodburning spotted

This week, I spotted one of my little birdy woodburnings on Ali Edward's design blog. I am so happy to be included in her new baby's room. The room is so cute and cozy with its orange, white, and yellow palette and features a mix of vintage and new pieces, as well as some other etsy finds. See more pictures of the beautiful room here.

collage: girl and bird

I hate having writer's block... I think I will call it blogging block today. If I had a picture for how I feel, it would be this collage... the only difference would be is that I would add a computer with a blank screen in front of her. 

proximidade award

I received this from both gretchenmist and tmcphoto... thanks! Its is very sweet. I usually am very bad at being tagged, but in this case it gives me a chance to share some of my favorite blogs/bloggers (hard to only pick 8!): everybody likes sandwiches, something's hiding in here,  Last Legs, lab partners, sooooound..., sugarloop, Track and Field, turtle bunny love design.

Proximidade is described as follows: 'This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! 'This blog award should be sent to your favorite eight bloggers and they, in turn should forward to eight of their favorites. 

year of the ox

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone and have a Tip-Top Tet! (My family celebrates both). This year is the year of the ox (buffalo). Hope everyone enjoys a year of happiness, luck, love and prosperity!

otters at the aquarium

Yesterday, Roger and I visited the Vancouver Aquarium for the afternoon. We love watching the beluga whales, dolphins and seals, along with the many tanks of fish. I was a little sad to find out that one of the otters that was there the last time we had visited had passed away in September. The otter (Nyac) was made famous since she was always holding hands with one of the other otters (Milo). If you haven't seen the YouTube video of it yet, watch it here... it is the cutest thing.

collage: birds at the circus

Yes, I managed to sneak more birds into this new collage... but this time they are at the circus! Last year, Roger and I went to the opening night of Cirque du Soleil's Corteo here in Vancouver. I was a little nervous at first, since the entire story line revolved around the life of a clown... and I usually hate clowns. Thankfully they weren't the creepy Shriners/Barnum & Bailey-type clowns, so all was ok... nervous panic attack avoided. I must say, it was amazing to see the Cirque in person, a must see if you ever get the chance.

fog days

There has been an odd blanket of low lying fog floating around Vancouver for the past week now... in the distance you can even hear the fog horn in the mornings. I am not sure who took this photo, but it has been floating around everyone's e.mail boxes here the past few days. The picture is of downtown Vancouver as viewed from one of the local North Shore mountains... all you can see are tips of the tallest buildings drowning in the foggy landscape. Must have been amazing to see in person!

collage: black cat + bird

It was so hard to get out of bed today... it's one of those days. I have so much work ahead of me today, and am dragging my feet a little. I wish it was Friday! Sometimes I wish I could sleep in late, like a cat, and just spend my day lazying on the window sill watching the world go by... meow.

lost

This is one of my TV guilty pleasures, although I will admit that I have fallen on and off the Lost bandwagon now numerous times. Some of the odd plot lines and dull moments were starting to take their toll (I think I got flash back/flash forward whiplash). Perhaps the one year break was good for me after all... through the magic of a DVD marathon, we recently decided to jump back on the wagon and catch up on the last season in time for the season premiere tonight. Can't wait! Oh... and who might you ask is my fave character? Sawyer!

inauguration day

How exciting for everyone in the U.S. today... it's Inauguration Day for new President Obama. There is a lot of buzz and chatter in the media and amongst everyone up here in Canada as well... and I have heard that there are parties going on here and there as well. I think I will watch it on TV today!

blast from the past

I was cleaning my bookshelf the other day and came across a book full of collages I had done when I was a teen. For an entire year, armed with scissors and a glue stick, I had created collage after collage out of my old stacks of magazines (Sassy magazine ruled!) and scraps and bits from here and there. The result was 194 different collages chock full of 90s pop culture, teen angst and oddities. Looking at it now, I see it as a visual diary of the time. I'm not sure what to do with the book now... perhaps I will keep posting a few collages from it every once and awhile.

mmm... cupcakes

Today is the last day of our two week cleanse, so I thought I would blog about one of my favorite things, which also happens to be one of my biggest cravings right now – a good cupcake. Cupcakes by Heather and Lori make the best cupcakes here in Vancouver. Each cupcake flavor has its own unique and cute name as well... "sweet 16", "caramella", "24 carrot" ... my favorite is "mint condition" (a chocolate cupcake with mint butter cream topped with mini chocolate chips). Just thinking about one right now is making me drool!

color magazine

I'm so proud o f him!....my husband Roger's artwork is featured on the cover of the new issue of Color Magazine, a skateboard magazine based out of Vancouver. He has been working on a series of art prints, made by stamping paper with his collection of baseplates he has accumulated over the past 20 years. (For those of you asking "what is a baseplate?" – it's the rectangular metal part of the skateboard's trucks that gets bolted onto the bottom of the skateboard deck). The stamps illustrate the impact skateboarding has had on his life as well as his literal impact on a skateboard. You can check out more of his work here on his website: www.crookedwalker.com.

collage: girl and balloons

Yesterday night we went and got our medical shots for our upcoming trip to Vietnam. Luckily they were able to condense three separate shots into only two. As a kid, I remember they would give you a balloon, sticker or lollipop once the shot was over. Despite the sore arm, I was glad to at least still get my lollipop as a parting gift. Too bad I won't be able to eat it while I'm still on my cleanse!

collage: girl and bird gathering lemons

It has been a little over a week since my husband and I started our cleanse. To counteract our holiday indulgences, we have cut out caffeine, alcohol, red meat, sugar, dairy and wheat from our diets for two weeks. It has been a bit rough, especially when I see a bacon cheeseburger commercial on TV (I never craved one before the cleanse... go figure!). I do feel a lot better though, and am getting more creative at cooking healthy alternatives! This collage reminds me that I should break out our juicer and maybe squeeze some fresh juice!

custom woodburned panels

Some more woodburnings today! I thought I'd do some show-and-tell of some of the custom work that I do. I have made a few for some of our friend's wee ones and have started offering them for sale at a few of the local shops, as well as on my etsy shop. There are two designs that I offer - squirrel sitting on a tree stump as well as little birdy sitting on a log. I can hand burn almost any name (as long as it can fit on the panel, I can burn it!) and there is a palette of colors that one can choose for the sides. Perfect to hang in any child's room (or child-at-heart).

collage: brown bird

From my living room, I can always see little birds landing on the large magnolia tree outside our window. I like watching them bounce around from branch to branch.. they always look very busy and energetic. I wonder if as many birds like to people watch as people like to bird watch. It would be interesting to know what these little birds think when they see people staring at them.

a tad foggy

We hit the local slopes of Mount Seymour again yesterday for some snowboarding and were greeted with dense fog. Since there were no visual cues around, it was hard to tell how fast we were going or which way to go. This is a photo we took while we were on the chair-lift – we could only see as far as the set of people in front of us. At times, it felt like we were all traveling through a big void. Since it was pretty surreal and disorientating, we didn't actually stay very long... hopefully, the coming weekend will be better.

best game ever!

I am upping my geek factor and admitting that I am completely addicted to the Rock Band 2 game that I got in my Christmas stocking this year. And might I add, not only did I get the game, but I also got a pair of red Vic Firth drumsticks (hmmm... I guess you can figure out which is my favorite instrument to play). I think I scare my husband sometimes as I drum away and scream with glee whenever I unlock a new song. Maybe one day when we don't live in an apartment building, Santa will bring a drum kit. 

burn baby burn

Since I decided to work from home these past couple of days to catch up on some rest and fend off the cold that was going around, I figured it would be a good time to delve into some more woodburning. Already have a few orders to fill, so am busy making batches of woodburned bird panels to ship out this weekend. Once all the burning is done, then it's on to painting the sides of each one. See some of my woodburned panels for sale here.

collage: girl and birds

I have been feeling blah the last couple of days... I hope I am not coming down with a cold or anything. I have been sleeping in and taking naps with warm fluffy blankets. I am blaming the gloomy weather and grey skies. Perhaps I am still in denial that the holidays are over!

dandelion emporium

Some of my products recently got picked up by a cute little shop in our Mount Pleasant neighborhood. New to the Main Street area in Vancouver, Dandelion Emporium carries a great selection of books, stationary, housewares, and accessories. Its one of those shops where you walk in with the intention of buying a gift for someone else, but then can easily leave with a bag of goodies that are mainly gifted to yourself. Oooh... the temptations of shopping!

collage: boy + rain cloud

It has switched from snow to rain again. Just when I was getting used to all the snowfall the rain comes and turns it all to slush. And apparently its supposed to change back again to snow at the end of this week. Perhaps its global warming, but the weather here in Vancouver is starting to freak me out... it's as if the clouds here can't seem to make up their minds and are pulling tricks on everyone.

hitting the slopes

Yesterday was my first day this season on the local slopes! I have been itching to use my Mount Seymour seasons pass for the past two weeks, but it seemed the holiday frenzy kept filling up my schedule. We decided to head up super bright and early for the day and were well rewarded with deep soft powdery snow. We got some pretty good fresh runs in... I even had to dig myself out of some deep spots a few times, there was that much snow... definitely burnt off some holiday calories there! 

collage: craft dream

Usually near the end of each year, while I am working the art & craft fair circuit, I start thinking of more ideas for new products and designs. Of course when the ideas come, its possibly the worst time for me to actually try and start something new, especially during the busy holiday season. So now that it is the new year, I'm excited to start revisiting my crafty thoughts and working on some new things. This collage is for any other craftster out there who is madly jotting down their ideas and imagining all the crafty possibilities for 2009!

happy new year!

Just a quick post today to share some birdie holiday greetings....Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful night yesterday and is enjoying their holiday today. :)