toile de jouy

I have always loved toile de jouy patterns, but am still trying to figure out a way to incorporate a bit of it  in our house ,while still retain a modern look. Perhaps an accent pillow or something would be nice - most of the examples I see are of entire toile rooms - encompassing curtains, bed spreads and lampshades... perhaps a bit overdose inducing in that case.

collage: beware of hissing kitty

The other day, while at my mother-in-law's house, I had put down my jacket, and when I cam back to get it, the cat was curled perfectly on top of it, as if it were a nest. It doesn't matter who's cat it is, but it seems that I am a cat magnet, which is ironic, since I'm super allergic to them. It's almost as if cats can sense that I can't pet them, so they make an even greater effort to try and woo me. I think they secretly get a kick out of seeing me sniffle and sneeze and my eyes slowly puffing shut.

yay... awards

Wow.. this week has been full of surprises. Two bloggy awards I wanted to mention... I received the Honest Scrap award from AMIdesigns a few days ago.. thanks! Here are the details:

There are a few requirements and they are as follows:
· I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it
· I must list 10 honest things about myself
· I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
· I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links 
· I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Here are the 10 honest things about myself:

· I love all kinds of cheese... yum!

· One of my fave books is Where the Wild Things Are (I am totally excited about the movie!!!)

· I hate man sandals, or "mandals"... mandals and socks are even worse.

· I played the trombone in junior high (and no, I am not joking)

· I am 5' 1" (so yes, it is funny and awkward that I played the trombone at one point)

· I love walking through piles of autumn leaves

· I love to dance... but not on a serious level, more like dumb dancing

· I track my etsy sales with little pins on a map (geeky?... yes.)

· I only write with black ink pens... I have had an aversion to blue since Grade 8.

· It is my lovely husband that is the clean one in our household, I am bit of a clutterer.

And 7 worthy blogs, I'd like to pass this along to...:

· boygirlparty

· everyday sugar

· the craft begins

· winklepots and random thoughts

· belua designs

· little gray pixel

· create happiness

The second bloggy award I received is the blog friends award from LillyShayStyle... thanks! Here are the details: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

And another 8 awesome blogs, I'd like to pass this along to (and also totally worth checking out):

· Track and Field

· Stacy Winters

· Our Little Love Nest

· The Small Joys

· Lovely Design

· The Stapelia Company

· Hudsonny

· wunderbug

Happy reading everyone!

orchid watch

I have been left the duty of orchid caretaker as my parents are vacationing a month in Europe. So every few days I venture to their place and carefully and meticulously water and feed their over 100 orchid plants. I am not even exaggerating the amount of these plants they have... they are scattered around everywhere in their house, and it takes me close to two hours to go through them all. Usually by the second hour, I start wishing they just collected stamps, or anything else inanimate... heehee. Anyways, here are some pics of a few of them in bloom.

collage: little bird consoling teary girl

Ok, so just to clarify... I am not in a sad or upset mood today... so, no need to worry. Most of my collages tend to have happy moods in them, so, I figured... why not have a little change once in awhile. But all is not super sad in this one... her little birdy friend is there to console her and dry her tears away.

On a happy note, two lovely blogs have featured cabin + cub! Yay! Check out smidgebox and our little love nest... they are both so lovely! Thanks to you both. ;)

wedding bells

On Saturday, we attended my crafty friend's Sasha (Track and Field Designs) and Rob's wedding. It was a gorgeous event filled, of course, with crafty goodness and decor. Here is a pic of the lovely favors that they made - vintage mix matched china tea cup candles and silkscreened sachets filled with yummy cookies... pretty cute, huh? It was a beautiful wedding that would have fit comfortably right into the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings. Congrats to the new married couple!

fresh cut flowers

I love having fresh cut flowers in the house... especially when I get to display them in my vintage 1950s head vase. The flowers make it look like she is wearing one big crazy hat. After searching around on the internet, I found a site (headvasemuseum.com) that has an archive and history of all different kind of head vases... apparently they are quite collectible. Unfortunately, mine is missing her lovely pearl drop earrings... but I love her anyways... she looks like she knows she has an awesome hat, and couldn't give a hoot about her lost earrings.  

drum roll please...

Wow! Over 80 entries... amazing!!! To make the official draw for my first giveaway fair, all the names have been printed and were dropped into the ultra shiny trophy cup, and one name randomly drawn by my husband Roger. I am a sucker for ceremony... got to make it fun, right?

And the winner of the cute tote bag is.... Erin Keys (blog: unique women in business)! Congrats! And here is what she said she would put in the tote bag: "I would use that for many uses... carrying it to the beach or pool with towels and sunscreen, using it as a shopping bag for short grocery trips, oh I could find many many uses for this ultra cool bag!"

Thanks again to everyone who entered! With such a great response, there will be definitely another giveaway soon... so check back often!

collage: boy and owl

It's so nice and sunny today, a perfect day for some more owl-ey goodness. I love owls... can't seem to get enough of them, they always make me smile. This one seems to be calling out a message. I think it is saying, "Remember to enter my first giveaway... today is the last day!.. hoooooooooooot!"

quest for orla

The long weekend was full of day trips for us. On the holiday Monday we decided to make a run for the border and do our day trip from Vancouver to Fairhaven and Bellingham, Washington. One of the things we can never resist, is venturing to the few shops that we don't have up here in Canada.... specifically Trader Joe's. (I'm so jealous that we don't have one yet... all that organic goodness and selection!). Despite our trunk being full of yummy snacks, candy and other epicurean delights, I made my husband take me to Target so I could see if they carried the Orla Kiely line (I couldn't resist after seeing it showcased on so many blogs). Got the last two brown pear coffee mugs in the store, and I love them!

garden walk

Roger and I love to take day trips, so this past long weekend, we decided to be tourists in our own city and venture out to Minter Gardens, which is about a 90 minute drive away near the town of Chilliwack. It was nice to walk among the flowers in the beautiful sunshine... and it gave me an excuse to take pictures of all the nifty botanical displays... one of my faves being the 15 ft tall peacock statue with flowering tail. I think it would be a lot cooler if it was climbable though.... but, then again, I always get that climbing urge when I see giant animal sculptures.

collage: plotting her crafts

It is a long weekend up here in Vancouver (it's Victoria Day today), so a good day to relax and take it easy. Perhaps also a good day to sketch and start brainstorming some new crafty ideas for the upcoming months. Hmmmm.. what to make, what to make?

collage: girls and balloons

Today is my crafty friend Sasha's stagette/wedding shower, you may know her as Track and Field Designs. How very exciting! I thought this collage of friends and balloons would be perfect for today and its event, since it will be a gaggle of ladies getting together, celebrating her last days of singledom. Not sure what is in store... the only mention was that there will be no male strippers... which perhaps is a good thing, since I find them a bit creepy and funny. (I'm sure my husband is happy to read this last comment!)

Also, don't forget to enter my first giveaway, if you already haven't! The draw is on May 22nd!

my first giveaway - win a tote!

As a thanks to everyone who has been dropping by and visiting my blog, I decided it was time for my first giveaway! Hooray! 

Win this cute tote bag by posting a comment and telling me what you would carry in the bag. I'll make the random draw (perhaps from the bag itself?) next Friday, May 22nd - so be sure to check back! Also, please make sure that I have a way to contact you! (Leave your Etsy shop, blog, website or email address). And, lastly, so that everyone has a fair shot, only one entry/comment per person please. Good luck! 

garden fresh update

A little update today on our wee balcony garden. We have moved Mr. Pumpkin plant to a proper plot at mom's, so he is now living in a proper garden... so hopefully this autumn there will be a big orange gourd for us to plunge our knife into (mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!). I am debating on whether to plant another seed or two here in our apartment, and transplant those as well, in case the originals don't quite make it. Also, the tomato plant is now flowering... which is a good sign. Hopefully some bees will be by soon to do their business, since I can't wait for fresh tomatoes!

Also wanted to thank Cathie for featuring one of my collages on her lovely website cathieu.com.

collage: a boy and his fox

It was election day here in British Columbia yesterday to vote for our Premier. We had already voted early, since polling stations were open all last week, yet that didn't seem to cease the non-stop telephone canvassers and people ringing our apartment buzzer... argh! Anyways, just thought I would post this fox collage, since it reminds me of some politicians... er, and not because they are physically hot foxy, but more like sly and foxy.

new owl design

I have been making quite a few personalized woodburnings lately. New this season to accompany the other two designs I have been offering in my etsy shop, is this little owl. With seven custom colors to choose from and room for any name, it's a perfect little gift with a personalized touch.

quatchi

I stumbled upon a pile of Olympic mascot dolls the other day while shopping and thought it would make for a funny photo. (The Winter Olympics are coming to Vancouver in 2010 in case you didn't know). There are actually three mascots, but this one is my favorite - his name is Quatchi and he is a Sasquatch from the forest, and yes, he is wearing earmuffs. How can you not love a big hairy sasquatch that wears baby blue earmuffs? See a video of all three mascots here.

more love in the mail

Recently I won a giveaway on Hollyrocks' blog, and it just came in the mail the other day... hooray (thanks Holly)! A little pink glittery heart pendant that will be perfect for our little niece (she is fully into pinks and purples and of course, all of the Disney princesses). I think she will be the envy of her kindergarten class.

collage: butterfly talk

I saw my first butterfly of the season the other day. It landed on a patch of flowers and then quickly flew away. It was one of those all white ones... have yet to see a monarch, but perhaps it's too early? I think butterflies are one of the few insects where I don't freak out if it happens to land on me.

high tech ewok village

The other day we had a chance to visit the Greenheart Canopy Walkway at the UBC Botanical Garden, a 308 metre walkway of a series of suspended bridges high in the forest treetops. It was soooooo cool! As my husband Roger likes to describe it, it was like a futuristic high-tech Ewok village. You can see me in the top photo walking to the other side. It doesn't look scary, but about half way across, I began nervously laughing to myself as the bridge swayed and wobbled. Yub yub!

garden fresh

This year we decided to make use of our small balcony space and plant a garden. We planted lettuce, herbs (dill, oregano, chives and tarragon), chilli peppers, and tomatoes... oh yes, and a pumpkin. The lettuce just started sprouting, which is very exciting, and the pumpkin plant is growing like a weed. We'll be transplanting it soon into a proper garden plot at mom's house, so there won't be a miraculous orange giant haunting our balcony. There's still a bit of room left out there, so still trying to decide what else to plant. Suggestions? Will update with more pics as more things start growing!

collage: horsey sings the blues

It is Wednesday, hump day, today and the skies are grey and cloudy here. I am already longing for the weekend, since my "to do" pile seems to getting bigger not smaller... ack!... will have to make a big cup of coffee today. Thought this collage was a good match and pretty cute for the midweek... I promise I will post a more cheery one come closer to weekend! 

On a side note, wanted to thank Handbag Cave and Mystic Wynd for featuring some Cabin + Cub craft items this week! Thanks!!

bloedel floral conservatory

On the weekend, we made a venture to the Bloedel Floral Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. The triodectic dome (which I might add, totally looks like something out of a Lost episode) is full of exotic plants, tropical flowers and lots and lots of colorful birds. We tried to get a few of them to talk, with no success. I'm sure they get very sick of visitors chanting repetitive words at them every day. I wouldn't be surprised if they held full lenghty conversations at night when all the people have gone.

collage: girl and sleeping deer

The start of a new week means a new collage posting today! And something bright and cheery is always good for the Monday blahs. I think the girl in the collage is too busy smelling the flowers to notice the large deer snoring under the garden bush. Perhaps she is still dreaming of the weekend. (Look for the new piece in my shop!).

Skyride

The other night we headed up the skyride at Grouse Mountain (one of the local mountains here in Vancouver). Unfortunately, the sun was setting as we were waiting at the bottom for the tram (oops!), but we did get a fantastic view of the night skyline and the stars. It was very romantic with just the two of us... and, oh yah, the chatty skyride driver in the tram as well. Since it was quite dark and there was still a lot of snow on the trails, we were also unable to visit the wildlife reserve where there are two orphaned grizzlies as well as some wolves... sigh. We will have to come back here and visit them soon!