wishy washy

It looked like it was going to be a white Christmas, but alas... it is quickly melting away... Mr. Snowy is already getting all wishy-washy. Fingers crossed there will be snow again soon! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!  :)

little snowshoes

Ok, not sure where the time went... weeks just flew on by! We had a little snow a couple of days... it came and then it went... and I think it is supposed to come again? We don't actually get enough snow here in the city to snowshoe... we have to head to the mountains in order to do that (hmmm.... although, now that I just said that, watch it snow tons here tomorrow!) I just made a pin of some little snowshoes as a custom order... take a look!

little wood pieces

It is that time of year again when I start ramping up production for upcoming holiday shows, etsy orders and wholesale orders. So needless to say, our house turns into a bit of a workshop. Here are a fresh cut batch of soon-to-be earrings waiting to be sorted and assembled. Lately, Jasper has taken an interest in helping me sort my “little wood pieces”, as he calls them. I guess it is never to early to start crafting.... although I think if it were up to him the wood pieces would be  robots, dinosaurs and ninjas.

popping up in Toronto

Exciting news on the retail front to share today. If you happen to be in Toronto, come and check out the Brika Pop Up shop happening at the flagship Hudson's Bay (HBC) store on Queen Street. Yes, that's right... you will be able to find Cabin + Cub cufflinks at North America's oldest department store! The pop up shop will be there until December 31st... read more about the shop here.

costume clad

I know, I know, it is already November, but I did promise to post photos of the costume-clad wee ones... so better late than never. This year Jasper wanted to be a robot, so the hubby and I fashioned one out of a car windshield reflector and loads of duct tape. Baby Cedar inherited Jasper's hand me down costume (Max from Where the Wild Things Are)... and as you can see in the pic, he was pretty cosy wearing it.

happy halloween

A little pic of our pumpkin creations carved earlier this week. Will post pictures of the kids' costumes soon too (just need to get them all dressed and posed together). Have a Happy Halloween!

an apple a day...

It is a perfect crisp autumn day in Vancouver... the kind of day where you can still where just a sweater and not have to hide it under a coat. And what better way to celebrate today... how about some fresh apple? This is one of my new harvest inspired wood brooch and earring designs. Happy Monday! :)

pumpkin patch kids

After a bit of a hiatus from the blog, I am finally starting back up again. My last post in June was of our new addition to the family (thanks everyone for all the sweet well wishes!)... and then things got kind of busy... 2 kids, working freelance and keeping the online shop open was proving to be a little time consuming. I figured trying to add blogging into the mix would have resulted in a lot of non-sensical posts, so better to wait. Fast forward to October and it feels like time just flew by. Cedar is now almost 5 months old, and his older brother Jasper is a little over 3 yrs. Ok, so bear with me and my typos (and perhaps some rough postings.... they may still occur), as I try to get back into the blogosphere (ugh, I hate that word, did I really just use that?).

the stork came!

Very exciting news! Our new baby boy arrived healthy and happy on May 22nd at 4:34 pm. Meet baby Cedar! Hooray! I hope to post more as soon as we settle in and get used to the night owl schedule... so apologies for any spelling and bad grammar at the moment, I am running on little sleep...haha.

garden time

So it is that time of year again... time to rid the balcony of last year's sad and dead plant remnants and bring in the new! So the dilemma for this upcoming summer... what to plant that is going to be easy and ideally death proof. Baby is on the way (yes, only 2 weeks to go!) and I am pretty sure the garden is going to be slightly neglected at times... so I was in search of some easy plants. Result? A big box of succulents (which I have been told spread like wildfire and are hard to kill), some mint (not pictured, but I also hear, they are like weeds)... and some tomatoes (this one I hope will make it). I am hoping any update pics of these plants later in the coming months will still look green and not yellow or brown!

custom links

On occasion, I get requests for custom work. And with wedding season right around the corner, more people are wanting to get custom items for their special day. So a little show-and-tell today. Here are a pair of custom bamboo cufflinks with an adirondack chair design recently done for a wedding party. :)

etsy pop-up at west elm

Some exciting event news for the month of May. My little shop, along with 17 other Vancouver Etsy shops have been chosen (by Jan of Poppytalk) to be part of the Etsy Pop-Up shop at West Elm!

Join us on Saturday, May 25th from 1pm - 6pm at the West Elm store and West Elm Market (next door) in Vancouver. 

RSVP at facebook.com/westelm/events

And for those of you wondering, “but aren't you due to have a baby around then?”... the answer is yes. So if you do happen to make it to the event, it will be my lovely sister who will be filling in for me that day. So no worries, no woman going into labour at the event. :)

For a full list of vendors and more show info, check out the Poppytalk post here as well as the West Elm blog post here.

oh, show fun

Just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my booth at Got Craft over the weekend! This past week has been a bit crazy, I realized baby-brained me didn't even post the show announcement.... ack! (and when I say baby-brained, I truly mean it... the count down is now 4 weeks until baby arrives). Check out some more cool shots of the show on Poppytalk here. I'll be taking a break from shows until the coming holiday season, since, well... it will be baby time, of course. :)

a little swag

I am preparing for the upcoming Got Craft show... so production mode here is buzzing. Each show always has the coveted free swag bag for the first 50 people through the doors... and they are chock full of goodies from all the vendors at the show. They are so popular in fact, line ups are early... as in there is already a huuuuuuge line at 8am in the morning when all the vendors arrive to set up for the show (the show doesn't even start until 10!)

Anyhoo, what to make for this year's Cabin + Cub swag? Here is a sneak peek! Ta-da.... some little 1-inch laser cut bamboo pins. A nice little way to say “Hi”. Swing by the show and try to score one.

99 luftballoons

Ok, so I don't think there are actually 99 here? (I didn't have the patience to count), but nevertheless... it was a pretty fun sculpture that we saw on our trip to Science World. And how can you not think of that darn 80s song when you see this. Hmm.... now I have that darn song in my head, and it will probably replay all day.

coasting along, kind of

After having to return Jasper's xmas present - a wooden push scooter - since there was a factory recall on it (boo-hiss), we decided to go for a metal push bike this time around. Check him out on his first ride.... which is less gliding at the moment and more like little baby penguin steps. Woohoo!

little blossoms

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! The sun was shining up here in Vancouver, and I actually wore a t-shirt (yes, you read that right) for the first time this year... it was that nice! And best of all, the trees on our street are blooming left, right and centre.... so just thought I would share some cheery pics to kick start the week. Happy Monday!

boutique chic

These past months have been very exciting on the retail front... boutiques here and there have been picking up some of my line.

I just got this cute picture from one of my newest stockists, Boutique Jérôme in Montreal... and I am in love with the display! Love, love, love the raw wood (are you really that surprised?).

Here is a complete list of my awesome stockists... visit them and support independent local business if they are near you!

Atlas Decor · Mcminnville, Oregon
Boutique Jérôme · Montreal

• Boutique Le Local · Gatineau
• Chicwinds · Vancouver
• Dandelion Emporium · Vancouver
• Design Exchange Gift Shop · Toronto
• Dots & Loops · Halifax
• East End Dry Goods · Vancouver
• Localo Living · New Westminster
• Meadow Gifts + Apparel · Vancouver
• Paper Ya · Vancouver
• Porridge Papers · Lincoln, Nebraska
• Room6 · North Vancouver
• Scout · Toronto
• Spruce Collective · Abbotsford
• Tara Davis Studio Boutique · Nelson
• Tara Davis Studio Boutique · Winnipeg
• The Arthur · Toronto

patiently waiting

One of my favourite pics of Jasper this month... patiently waiting on a little bench as mommy shops in the department store. (Although, I think he was actually quite content sitting here quietly since it had a good view of the off-loading escalator, not because he enjoys retail therapy).

sad sad plants

Yes, you read that sign in the photo correctly... “Sad Plants.” And yes, the plants for sale under the sign were looking mighty sad indeed... they looked on the brink of death to me, but maybe someone with a super green thumb might be able to bring them back (that is not me, btw). Maybe “Sad Plants” means something else in the garden world? An acronym perhaps? Latin name? Or maybe they just are really depressed?

more to top it off

Last week, I posted some new wedding cake topper designs I have been working on. Here are a couple more designs to add to the mix. The first one is for the deer-ly beloved couple (yes, I am a total nerd for using that pun, but it had to be done), and the second one comes as a set of five trees with heart branches. Check them out in the Etsy shop here. Happy Monday!

spring it on

Some spring blooms spotted outside our home. I think I can officially transition from winter coat to spring jacket now! Yay!... wait... maybe I shouldn't have just written that, in case I curse it, and a big snow storm decides to come...

kitchen revamp

So the day had finally come... when we said goodbye to our old nasty kitchen counters and sink and brought in the new... hooray!    The bowed warped laminate counter accompanied by very 90s white (well, what once was white) sink was starting to draw a lot of profanities on my part whenever I stepped into the room. So we finally decided to take the plunge put in silestone tops and a brand new modern sink.

I have already caught myself several times now just standing in the kitchen and polishing the counter with a soft cloth as if it were a new car.... breathing in that new kitchen smell.

Next part to tackle is the backsplash. As you can see in the photos, they are looking mighty absent at the moment.

new cake toppers!

For a little while, it seemed like all our friends and family were getting married right, left, and centre. I think one of the busiest summers for us (besides when we had Jasper, of course) was the summer a few years ago when we went to four different weddings.

So, ok, putting it out there to my other non-married friends and family in relationships (you know who you are)... I need a new wave of weddings to go to soon. Hee hee. Hmmm... maybe I should start thinking about wedding crashing... 

Anyways, just in time for this upcoming wedding season... a new line of bamboo cake toppers! Here are three of my new designs... elephants (for the event to never forget), squirrels (for the couples who are nuts for each other), and birds (lovebirds, of course). Check them out in my Etsy shop here.

yummy in my tummy

Ok, so you’re thinking... another food related post? Well, yes... I am preggers after all, so food is a very popular theme for me lately. Our latest culinary excursion? Meat & Bread on Cambie for the porchetta sandwich, grilled cheese, and the special of the day lamb sandwich.   Oh yes, I should mention that this was a meal for the hubby, little Jasper and I (and technically baby-to come as well)... so I didn't actually eat all three sandwiches... although it wouldn't have been a problem, they were that yummy!

little shopper

Shopping is always a lot more fun when you have a little helper. I think the funniest part is finding all the random things that get snuck and hidden in the cart as the trip through the aisles progresses... hmm, I don't remember putting 3 boxes of cookies in the cart?

showtime synergy

Ok, so these don't actually twinkle. And yes, that was a very 80's reference there in the post title (from the very awesome yet cheesy cartoon Jem, if you didn't get the reference). But just thought these little cuties needed a title with some flair. These are my new laser cut bamboo star earrings... ta-da! Now here in my Etsy shop. Now if I can just get them to summon holographic imagery on demand like in that cartoon.....

kitchen stadium

“Oh yummy”, you are thinking, “... who made all this food, it looks so scrumptious?” Eh-hem, eh -hem.... oh, yes all the food you see in the shots was made by Roger and I during our 4 hour hands-on cooking class for couples at the Dirty Apron Cooking School.

On the menu:
· goat cheese apricot cake with grilled pear and prosciutto salad
· whole roasted cornish game hen with grainy mustard sauce accompanied with truffle & thyme risotto
· a trio of desserts (a Grand Marnier creme brûlée, a chocolate soufflé, and chocolate dipped strawberries

Not too shabby for two foodies/amateur chefs who watch the food network religiously. We were initially a bit nervous coming to the class (I kept having visions of Gordon Ramsay yelling at me while stirring bad risotto - don't get too excited, he wasn't actually at the class), but alas, all turned out well... the soufflé did not drop, the risotto delectable... and Roger and I did not have any marital spats during the entire course... hooray! Cooking course success!

pin display

I love doing craft fairs, and every year I try and find a new way to display items on the table, so that my table doesn’t look all jumbled and crowded. So how to display my little bamboo tie pins? Ta-da!... a wooden display box... aka, a fake typesetter drawer. I found these little wooden shadow boxes with compartments at the local dollar store and thought I would make a fake typesetter drawer (since odds of finding one at a vintage shop were low). The big box is made of 4 smaller boxes glued side by side. The empty squares are filled with batting and cut-to-size pieces of felt placed on top. Hooray for dollar store finds!

what a zoo

“What did you see on your trip to the zoo, Jasper?” asked grandma. Jasper's response: “Giraffes... and a monkey with a purple bum.”

On our latest trip to Portland, we ventured to the Oregon Zoo. So fun! Highlights for us included the lions, tigers, giraffes, orangutan (it was huuuuge!!!), sun bear and baby elephant... oh yes and of course the monkey with the purple bum (sorry for the lack of picture, you will just need to imagine). It was really cold that day, but I think we all enjoyed the animal adventures. :)

PDX breakfast and coffee

It's already been a week since our trip to Oregon, and I am missing it already. Some more pics to share with you today. The top one is one of my faves... Jasper patiently waiting for breakfast at the Doug Fir Lounge.   And of course you can't travel to Portland without having some amazing coffee stops... the bottom two are from Coava Coffee. As you can tell by the empty cup, it was really yummy.

i see the sign

I am such a sucker for old signage... maybe because old signs are harder to find here in Vancouver (hmmm... or maybe I am watching too much American Pickers on TV). I find myself snapping way too many pics of old signs (and street art) when we travel. We were in lovely Portland (one of my favourite cities!) this past long weekend, and that has ended up being the majority of our travel photos. Now if I can just find a cool old sign that would fit in our condo...

big bird

Whenever I see an oversized sculpture, I always feel compelled to take a picture. I guess a lot of people do, which would explain why many tourist attractions include a “World's Largest _______ (insert object here)”. Well, I'm sure this isn't the world's largest bird sculpture, but I had to snap the pic nonetheless. To give a sense of scale, you can see little Jasper standing near it's feet. Chirp chirp!

chocolate craving

A bit of a coffee break at Revolver over the weekend... oh yes, with the accompaniment of a chocolate croissant.  So yes, that did hit the craving spot... although the longer I stare at this picture, I am wishing I bought a few more to take home.

new year with a new surprise

Happy New Year! It has been quite a busy and crazy holiday season. I am finally sitting down to post a little update.... and with some exciting news too. Meet the new addition... soon to make an appearance this coming May. You can see the arm waving above the head there... either that or this baby is protesting something... or maybe it is fist pumping (oh, I hope not).