Twilight

I am hooked on a series of books written for teenage girls. I discovered "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer last week, and have since read three 400 page volumes about the romance between a mortal girl and a vampire. The final book in the series, "Breaking Dawn" comes out next week. I am so glad I discovered these now, as the wait between books would have been agonizing! They are the perfect beach read, and I'm so looking forward to the movie that's coming out in December. From the movie stills, I really like the casting - I can understand why the main character, Bella, would fall for the vampire Edward - phwoar! So, now you know why I haven't written a blog post in ages. Now, I'm off to try and do some age appropriate activities, but it's going to be difficult.

love, me

My books and cards are now available at love, me boutique - right here in Halifax. It's a gorgeous shop - owner Chara Kingston stocks only handmade products by Canadian designers, and I am very happy to be among them. The next time I go in, I will take along my camera - the styling of the shop is so sweet - it's set up just like an apartment - very homey and welcoming. And, of course, I managed to buy something there - some cute little lucky cat pins by Cathy Peng. It took all my will not to embark on a shopping spree! If you are ever visiting Halifax, make sure to check out love, me.

Les Indiennes

I found out about Les Indiennes via Follow Studio, and I just had to share. It's a company that makes Indian inspired hand blocked textiles, papers and objects for the home. There are even the cutest felt slippers! You can also order a stiched catalogue/inspiration book for a mere 10 dollars! Just beautiful...

Amazing Blog - The Year in Pictures

I'm just about to remedy the fact that I do not have an amazing blog called "The Year in Pictures" on my sidebar. James Danziger features photos and videos on the blog from around the world that have captured his attention - a recent favorite of mine is this arial of tulip fields in Holland - beautiful!

Something Special

As part of the Poppytalk Handmade Market, Jan is giving a peek inside the home or studio of each vendor to find "something special." Today, there is a visual tour of my studio, and some images of my work - thanks Jan! The series is really great - I also love the post about Cathy Nichols and her amazing artwork techniques - be sure to check it out.

Feist on Sesame Street

This is just fantastic. I especially like the line "chickens just back from the shore."

Lucky

Today, I feel lucky to have such fantastic customers. Since the blurb in Canadian Living, I have been contacted by many people who are planning weddings, or buying wedding gifts for their friends and families, and looking for a special album or guestbook. It's been a pleasure working with everyone to bring their ideas into reality - for the album above, my customer requested something unique and special. So, I put a large pewter label holder on the front of the album...

and created some pockets inside the album to hold mementos. The best thing though, is that I've been contacted by a number of customers after they've received their albums, letting me know how happy they are, or sharing with me the reaction when they've given the album as a gift. I can't explain how lovely that is - I just have to say that I feel so lucky.

Land & Sea

Land & Sea in Calgary is now a stockist of my books. It's a beautiful shop, with loads of unique gift items, and I'm happy to say that I'm now among them! If you're in the area, do stop by.

The Shop Around the Corner...

I recently received an email from April at nurtured - turns out she has been running an amazing online shop with products for parents and children in her house - just around the corner from me! Not only does nurtured sell amazing products, but they offer support and workshops for new parents - not something you find in a big box store! April and her cute little ones dropped around for a visit last week, and brought these sweet felt goodies from Lillybean that I had admired on the nurtured website. We had a very nice visit, and I look forward to catching up again sometime soon. It's nice to know that there's a fellow entrepreneur just around the corner...

You + Me...

...are good like PB & J. This is the sweet little painting that I recently ordered from the Etsy shop of Heather Smith Jones. It is fantastic - much better than my photo. I love the handwriting and the colours. Heather sent it to me with a lovely note, and the packaging was just great (I don't have a photo of this, because I was too busy excitedly ripping in to it). I am so looking forward to framing and hanging this one. (:

Double Happiness @ Poppytalk Handmade

Poppytalk Handmade "Home Sweet Home" market is now open! Stop by and see my table, as well as those of other amazing arts and craftsters.

A Good Day

Today has been a good day. It's been one of those rare ones, when everything seems to go right, and you get more accomplished than you had planned. I got up, baked muffins, took the dog for a walk, made some good progress on custom book orders - and I couldn't resist cutting one of the giant peonies that are currently blooming in the garden to bring inside and enjoy.

While I am mentioning good things, I'd also like to announce that I will be participating in this month's Poppytalk Handmade Market, which begins on July 7th. The theme is "Home Sweeet Home" and my market stall will be stocked with a selection of books, albums and prints. I'm planning to have new stock as the month goes on, so please visit often. Thanks to Jan of Poppytalk for including me - I'm so looking forward to it!

An American Kath & Kim?

Just found out this morning that one of my favorite Aussie shows "Kath & Kim" is being adapted for American TV, starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. While I'll be tuning in to check it out, I'm a bit dubious. The original show is about a mother and daughter living in the suburbs of Melbourne, who are...lets just say dysfunctional. One of the ongoing jokes in the show is that the 30-something daughter, Kim, thinks she's really hot stuff and dresses in very young clothing. Selma Blair really is hot stuff, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. I just don't think either of them look daggy enough. Anyhow, check out some clips of the original show on You Tube, then check out the new version and see what you think. That's what I'm going to do...

Rob Kalin of Etsy on Adweek

I think that Rob Kalin - from Etsy - has some interesting things to say about marketing and advertising in this video. The thing that really resounded with me is the idea that as long as you are good at what you do, and offer great customer service - the rest will follow. But, watch the video because it shows the Etsy offices and they have this really cool big owl. Thanks to Lyndsay for the heads up on this one!

The Girl Effect

This is an amazing and empowering video. If it inspires you to donate, you can do so via the Global Giving site. I have also been thinking about making a donation to Kiva for a while now, and this has definitely made my mind up.