Accordion Workshop Debrief

I had lots of fun teaching a mini accordion workshop at Love, Me Boutique last week. In fact, I had so much fun that I forgot to take photos - darn! But, this is the settee that a couple of the attendees sat on, and we all crowded around a slightly larger table. There were only 4 students in the class, but it was a good number for teaching my first time. Everyone did really well with making the book, I was very impressed! If you are in the Halifax area and get a chance to do a class here, I would encourage it - it's a just a wonderful relaxed atmosphere and there are lots of neat classes coming up.

Mini Break in T.Dot

We had a great weekend in Toronto. It was freezing cold (like -30, with windchill), but we had a lot of fun.

We stayed at Le Germain, which is a lovely boutique hotel in a central location. On Friday night when I arrived in after an afternoon of shopping on Queen Street West (and Queen Street West West), there was a personal note welcoming us to the hotel, and these lovely goodies displayed on a slate tile. Very nice.



On Saturday, we went to the newly redesigned AGO. I really enjoyed it, especially the "Gallery Italia" - a vast glass atrium with huge fir beams. I loved the use of wood throughout the space - very modern, but very Canadian all at the same time.
There was a repetitive serpentine theme running through the galleries as well. The collection was also amazing. The redesign was prompted by the donation of the Thomson Collection - most notably many works by the Group of Seven - and I also liked the European Collections.

No trip would be complete without eating, and we had a lovely meal at Lil' Baci. Great pizza, in a relaxed atmosphere. The dessert was also great - the torta della nonna is highly recommended. For an added thrill - we passed DeGrassi street in the cab on the way to the restaurant. (:

Although we had fun, it's great to be back home in our little house, with our little dog. I have the week off of work, and I'm planning to organize my studio, and get loads done - including catching up on my blogging. As they would say at Lil' Baci - "Ciao for now." Actually, they would probably not say that - but I would!

Toronto

We are heading off on a spur of the moment trip to Toronto this weekend! Martin has to go up for work, so we decided to stay there an extra couple of nights and soak up some big city life. Although it's going to be freezing cold up there, I'm just looking forward to a change of scene, eating at some nice restaurants, checking out the new AGO and of course - shopping. This pretty much sums up how I want to spend my weekend, and we are staying at Hotel Le Germain - woot! They are having rooftop maple syrup taffy with fondue on Friday night - warm blankets provided. I'm there!

Mini Accordion Class

I will be teaching a mini accordion class at love,me boutique on Thursday, January 29th from 5:30 - 7:00. The cost of the class is $12, and includes the materials to create a cute little accordion book, as pictured above. Since it's so close to Valentine's Day, I'm planning a bit of a theme with lots of reds and pinks, and I'll also bring along some rubber stamps so that the books can be personalized. I think it will be a lot of fun, so if you're in Halifax, please come along. Just contact love, me to register. Hope to see you there!

More Organizers in Shop

I've just uploaded a few new organizers to my etsy shop. Photography is a bit frustrating in the winter - on the days that I'm working, it's impossible to take photos because it's dark when I get home. So - my updates will have to be confined to Thursdays, Fridays and weekends.

Speaking of photography, I've been reading the shop makeover series on the Storque, and have followed their advice and undertaken a bit of a mini makeover. The jist of the article I was reading said that you should not put the photo of your whole item first, but rather a detail shot. I guess it's a bit more intriguing, and people will click through to find out more. Also - it may be a bit more "treasury friendly." So, I've switched up my photos, and we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Sookie Stackhouse Novels

I have just about finished the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels by Charlaine Harris, and I am really enjoying it. I like the True Blood series too (which airs on HBO, and is based on the novels), and it was great to see Anna Paquin win the Golden Globe last night. After reading the book, I think she really captures Sookie's character - at first, she might seem sweet and bubbleheaded, but she's very sharp and intuitive. Have a look above and see what I mean.

Cute Things Falling Asleep

The name of this blog says it all. I recommend "Sleepy Puppy 2." Enjoy!

Web Stats on Etsy

This might be old news, but I thought I'd share anyhow - Etsy now provides web stat tracking through Google Analytics! I just stumbled on a link in my Etsy user sidebar that said "web analytics." If you click on this, it will give you the instructions for setting up analytics for your shop. This is really great, because it's been a bit of a weakness with Etsy - not knowing how people were finding your shop. Now, I will be able to track how people are finding me on Etsy, and if I do any advertising, I will be able to see how many people click through. Very exciting.

Happy New Year

Apologies for my extended absence. I just got into the slothy groove of the holidays, and it's been hard to get back into my normal routine. My university was closed for two weeks, and Monday was my first day back at work- so I am slowly getting back to normal. The holidays were great - lots of food, family and fun. And of course, lots of lovely gifts.

Martin and I always make sure that there are books under the tree, because we love to just sit around and read over the holidays. I did really well this year, with lots of gorgeous "coffee table" type tomes - Shaker Design - Out of this World, Handmade Nation, Bazaar Style (I had been eyeing this one for quite a while), Happy Gloves ,(to feed my new obsession with making little creatures. And then - I got a gift voucher for Amazon as well - so I bought heaps more books - a boxed set of the Sookie Stackhouse books (the series "True Blood" is based on these - I think they will be a really fun read), What it is by Lynda Barry (looks really inspirational), Sock and Glove, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (which I've heard nothing but good things about). So, I'm happy to say that my reading needs are taken care of for the next little while. (:

Something that wasn't under the tree, but has dramatically changed my life for the better is my new Mukka Express (video above). Perhaps my intro is a bit over the top, but I do love it! It makes espresso on the stovetop, and heats and foams the milk at the same time. Revolutionary! I have had small electric espresso machines before, and find them a pain in the bottom - it takes forever to make a coffee and the pressure is not enough to get the coffee nice and strong - but this is perfect. It makes a creamy coffee reminiscent to the cafes of Sydney (which I love). But, this could also have something to do with the tin of Illy that I treated myself to. (:

Best get back to work - but I have to tell you about one more new love - the blog Garance Dore. A French fashion illustrator combines her work with Paris street fashion shots - gorgeous! She publishes the blog in both English and French. I love the big warm boots in the post above - as she says in her French version "pas des Uggs."

Now - off to work - happy new year to all!

A Very Monkey Christmas

A couple of weeks ago, I took a sock monkey making class at Love, Me that was taught by the lovely Lesley of Hello Pineapples. It was a great morning, filled with sewing, tea and cookies, and I think that I have myself an addictive new hobby! I love the fact that the monkeys are really quick to make and are so cute - even with my (very) limited sewing skills. I am spending Christmas at my grandmothers with lots of family, and we all exchange small gifts - so I thought that sock monkeys would be perfect. So, without further adieu, I introduce:
Delores Jr. - this is the first one I made, and I'm giving it to my mom, whose name is Delores.
Cappuchino - for my cousin, who runs a coffee shop where they roast their own beans - yum!
Harley - for my mom's friend who is spending Christmas with us. She rides a motorcycle, and Harley is one tough biker dude. Hee, hee. His "muscle shirt" is also made out of a sock.

Whether or not your Christmas involves monkeys, I hope it is a very happy one! Now, I'm off with a million things to do before noon time - like wrap up all these monkeys - but I'll leave you with one more monkey related Christmas tidbit - enjoy!

New Things in Shop!

I've finally finished a little shop update. I've got some of my organizers in there - I know it's a bit late for Christmas, but this is the kind of thing that you can use to keep up with your resolutions in the New Year.


I've also got a print of the teacup papercut I completed a few months back. I'm really pleased with how this print turned out - the colours are really vibrant.

I will probably be taking a short break from making things from now, to the New Year. I've got to finish preparing for Christmas, and we've got a few things to work on around the house (more on that later). I've also got a mountain of receipts to enter into my accounting program for tax time. But - the shop will remain open with the items that I currently have for sale. Right now, I'm looking forward to the New Year, and developing more new products to sell in the shop!

Popped up on the Grid

My husband Martin (aka Mr. Trudi) has started his very own blog! It's called popped up on the grid in reference to his favorite spy movies and novels - eg - "Jason Bourne has popped up on the grid in Tokyo." I think it's a fitting name, because he's posting about things that have popped up on the radar whilst doing research for his job as account planner for an advertising agency. He's got some interesting things on there - I really like his recent post about the horses of Sable Island. Above is a photo of Martin popping up on the grid in his hometown of Sydney.

Christmas Canvas

My shop update is taking a bit longer than anticipated, so I thought I'd share this cool idea with you in the meantime - a glittering Christmas canvas that appeared in Blueprint (RIP) a while back. You basically just take a stretched canvas, paint it, punch holes and insert fairy lights. I think it's really sweet, not just for Christmas, but all year round.

And, speaking of great magazines that have gone by the wayside, Wish has just published it's last issue. I really liked that magazine - it had a great combination of shopping, food, fashion and decor - I guess it was a bit like the Canadian Blueprint. Apparently, they will be keeping up the website and continuing on with popular feature the 20 minute supper club. Sigh - the only upside is that I will not spend quite as much on magazines each month.

Me, on sfgirlbybay!

I was just scrolling through my bloglines and got the nicest surprise - Victoria from sfgirlbybay featured my cherry blossom album in a round-up of this month's Poppytalk Handmade! It was really lovely to see my work on one of my favorite blogs - thanks Victoria!

I've been working away like a busy little bee on getting some more items ready for the market today - I'm hoping to do an update either this evening, or tomorrow morning. So, back to it!

Visit me at Poppytalk Handmade

I've got a table this month at the Poppytalk Handmade Holiday Madness and Boxing Day market - hope that you can drop by soon! I've got lots of albums at my virtual table, and hope to have a few more surprises as the month goes on...

Getting Dressed

Dog Walking Day by doublehappiness

Before I started working from home, I used to fantasize about working in my PJs all day and not getting dressed. Now that I have been working at home I few days a week, I realize that getting dressed is really important. If I wear my PJs, I tend to have a lazy attitude - things get done a lot slower - but, I find that if I get dressed, I can get down to business faster. I also feel better about myself when I've put a bit of effort into my appearance - I'm not talking about getting dressed to the nines - but just fixing my hair and putting on something that I would not be embarassed to go to the grocery store in. The outfit I created on Polyvore (above) would be a perfect day at home outfit for me - working in my studio, with trips to the post office and walking the dog thrown in. The rubber boots are necessary in our Nova Scotia weather - but they are Kate Spade rubber boots - not too shabby. For details on all the other bits, follow the link.

What do you think - is getting dressed important when working from home?

Decorating Fever

I've got a case of decorating fever right now. We bought our house about 5 years ago, had a flurry of decorating when we first moved in, and then things have been pretty much static since. We got a quote on remodeling our (horrible) bathroom over the weekend and are moving forward with that - but that won't be until the spring. Right now, I'm focusing on smaller changes like fabric, artwork and wallpaper to try and make our main living space look better.

This brings me to wallpaper - I've decided to do a wallpaper feature wall around our non-working fireplace. I didn't realize how many amazing wallpapers are out there - I'm trying to choose from about a zillion. Right now, I'm loving the Daydream Wallpaper by Julia Rothman. It costs a bit more than I was planning to pay, but I'd just need one roll, and it's really like a work of art I'll look at every day - right? Sigh - still can't decide...talk to me tomorrow, and I will have changed my mind again!

Cute Acorn Lamp

One of the advantages (?) of working from home is being able to watch daytime tv. As I sat in front of my laptop loading up photo albums to etsy, I managed to catch Martha, and she and one of the crafters on her staff made these cute acorn lamps. They are a balloon, covered with paper maiche and then topped with a utility lampshade that's been covered in felt. This photo doesn't do them justice - they just look so sweet lit up. The level of detail was great too - the cords are covered in felt and have little oak leaves hanging off. You could also do all kinds of designs, not just acorns - maybe beehives, flowers...on the show they suggested clowns, but I think that's just downright creepy.

Albums in the Shop!

I've spent all morning tweaking photos and uploading items in my etsy shop, but it's finally done! The shop is chock full of photo albums - just in time for Christmas. And, it's literally just in time, because the Canada Post deadline for International shipping is today, and for Canadian shipping is December the 12th. So, get them before it's too late!

The (Craft) Show Must Go On!

Sorry for my absence over the last little bit - just recovering from the craft show! I had a really good show this year - lots of great customers and fellow vendors. Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a chance to visit and shop. I was on my own most of the time, and when Martin did pop by to give me a break, it seemed to get busy. If I did get time to shop, I would have loved to buy a painting from Lynn Rotin (especially the "Broken English series) or anything from the brilliant Sleeping Forest Studios.

Unfortunately, my photos all turned out crap, but the booth was pretty much the same as last year, with the addition of "the Lady" - above. I made some paper and resin necklaces and displayed them by hanging off her skirt. They were really popular, as were my pocket organizers - I have none left!

Perhaps the most interesting thing that happened was we had a major snowstorm hit us Friday night, leaving over 30 cm of snow on Saturday morning. The drifts were well past my knees in places! The road was completely impassible - especially since we don't have snow tires on our car. This photo was taken after some of the snow was cleared away - it was actually worse than that. The craft show wasn't closing down though, so I broke out my parka, long johns and boots, and hiked down to the ferry. On a nice day, this walk would take about 15 minutes, but on this particular day, it was a harrowing walk down an icy road which took at least half an hour. It was a beautiful sunny morning though, and I made it to the craft fair in time - after another half hour walk once I reached the other side of the harbour. It was a quiet day at the show, but Friday and Sunday were so busy that things turned out just fine.

Now - back to normal life - as normal as it gets anyhow. I'm taking lots of photos of my work to do a big etsy shop update over the next couple of days. I just want to finish off by saying thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth and offered their support!