slippery new year

Technically, Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tết aren't until February 3rd, but our family decided to have our little celebration this past weekend. And since Jasper is 1/4 Chinese and 1/4 Vietnamese, we figured it appropriate if he dressed up for the occasion... here he is in his Chinese outfit (top) and his Vietnamese outfit (bottom). Silky outfits, I have learned, are very tricky for having a baby pose in for photos, especailly when grandma's couch and cushions are equally satiny! Happy New Year!

hot chocolate day

Oh, it is one of those grey-ish days today... actually, it has felt like one of those grey-ish weeks this whole week. (I need some sunshine!) My solution? Hot chocolate... and in a very large mug. I'm sure there is an official "Hot Chocolate Day" already on the calendar somewhere out there, and if there is, I would like to propose it be changed to Hot Chocolate Week! Ok, now back to sipping my chocolate-y goodness.

collage: in tangles

A new collage to share today... this one is called In Tangles. Thank goodness none of our lamps at home have a cord this long. I think our home is pretty tangle free... oh wait... there is still the hairdryer from time to time, oh yes and the seasonal Christmas lights, oh and then there is the rice cooker... uh, ok... I take the "tangle free" claim back.

winter stop

It snowed here yesterday morning, but as fast as it was here, it was all gone by the afternoon. So instead of the standard snowscape to share with you today... I thought I would share some public art blanketed in light snow (this installation is part of the Vancouver Biennale). It reminds me that we should all just stop and enjoy the fleeting moments of the snowfall.

seeing red

Sorting all my stamps (see my previous blog post about them here, if you missed it) has taken a bit longer than anticipated, but, alas... the sorting is finally done! Now it is time to arrange them and mount them onto some white archival paper... hmmm... which I anticipate might take even longer. Here is a snap of some of the red series so far... these are ones waiting to be mounted on the paper... tedious? Yes. But, hopefully the framed end result is going to look really good.

sale! sale! sale!

I am a sucker for sales, so I decided this would be a great time to have one. Come and check it out... I am having a big sale in the etsy shop! 25 - 50% off on all 2011 calendars, notebooks and select art panels. Sale will be on until Valentine's Day... so act fast, since there are limited quantities of some items. Happy Monday!

and we have a winner!

Today is the draw for my January giveaway! Thanks to everyone who entered... there were over 90 entries! With my little helper Jasper doing the random draw today (I quickly picked the winning one out of his mouth after he chose a bunch) the winner of the desk calendar is:

Lisa of lisaroyhandbags (blog: http://lisaroyblog.blogspot.com/)! Congratulations! And what was her New Year's resolution?:

"Last year I made a resolution to quit my day job and focus on what I love most and since I did quit last January, I've never looked back. I'm less stressed, more present in the moment and happier (which makes my guy happier too)"

Since that giveaway was so much fun, I will definitely be having one again next month... so don't worry if you didn't win this time. Hooray for giveaways!

night owl

A bit of show-and-tell today... I got this little guy from my sister... isn't he cute? His little eyes light up and glow when you put a candle in it... they are almost hypnotizing.... oh dear, now I am getting very sleepy... zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

ps. don't forget to enter my giveaway... today is the last day!

stampin around

Quite awhile ago (almost two years to be exact), I blogged about my stamp collection (which mainly comprises of an album my mom found in the garbage in a house she was moving into back in 1975). I am finally taking the initiative to do something with them!! Since many of the stamps are quite pretty and quite old (most of them are from 1930s - 60s), I have decided to frame them. So to be a bit more ambitious, I decided to to group them by color... so for now, I will be sorting, sorting and... well... sorting... there is a lot of them... I might be sorting for awhile. I'll update you with more photos, once I get to the layout stage (which, fingers crossed, will be within the month, and not another two years).

ps. don't forget to enter my January giveaway here!

january giveaway - win a 2011 desk calendar!

It has been a long time since the last giveaway... so to kick off this new year, one of my desk calendars is up for grabs (I am waving my Vanna White hands around the calendar now, just to make it that much more enticing).

Enter to win by posting a comment telling me one of your New Year's resolutions, or even better yet, one of your past resolutions that was a success, or perhaps one that was totally broken. Are you promising to build a larger craft empire (mwahahaha), did you promise to watch less TV and never looked back (in which case, you didn't get that Vanna White reference I made earlier), or did you vow to lose 10 lbs and find yourself downing some fried chicken (uh, i've done that one... but it was a small piece). Post your comment and you could be the winner!

A random draw will be made next Wednesday (January 12th), so check back to see if you win! Please remember to include some sort of contact info (etsy shop, blog, website, or e.mail address) and please only one entry per person. Good luck!

happy new year!

Happy 2011! A part of me is still clinging to the idea of the holidays... all the yummy treats, socializing and time off work, but a part of me is also soooooo ready to jump into the new year too. So here it is, my first post of the year... oh, the pressure!.... I was contemplating on listing my New Year's resolutions here, but I am a bit superstitious that doing so will jinx them (yes, I am weird like that)... so instead, you get to enjoy a lovely pic of pretty purple berries instead. Oh, but sharing one resolution, won't hurt.... so here it is: I am bring back my monthly giveaways!!! They sort of went to the wayside after little baby made his appearance, but I am bring them back!!! (Check out the new giveaway coming up this Wednesday!)