Bonjour Quebec!

We had an amazing time in Quebec City. The sky was this blue every single day with a little chill in the air - perfect for the miles and miles that we walked around this beautiful place.
We ate lots of delicious food, saw some great scenery and just soaked up the atmosphere. It is the 400th anniversary of Quebec City this year - so there were many special events happening. One of them was an exhibit of art from the Louvre. It was a great opportunity to see some amazing artworks - my favorite part the exhibit was portraits of artists by other artists.
The photos I've posted today are all from the old town - we stayed outside of the walls but spent a lot of our days walking around here. As you can see from the photo above - a lot of other people had the same idea. We spent alot of time in the St. Jean and St. Roch areas as well - more local and less touristy - I'll talk about those a bit tomorrow.

We got away from the crowds for a little while by taking the ferry across the river so that we could look back and see the city. (Hmm - my glasses look a bit like blublockers in this shot - does anyone remember that bad commercial?). As I mentioned - I'll do another post about QC tomorrow with some links to great places to shop - and of course - eat!

Hello from the Dark Side

Hello - I can't believe it's been so long since I last blogged! We got back from Quebec city a couple of weeks ago - which was amazing by the way (more on that later) - and it's been head down, working hard ever since! But - now trying to get back into the swing of things, and hope to post more regularly. The photo above is one of my favorites from our Quebec trip - I just like the dark moodiness of it. Anyhow - I have to finish off some work tonight, and then it's back to regularly scheduled programming with some more photos from our trip tomorrow.

Same old, same old...

Just busy, not enough hours in the day for work, making things, etsy, blogging, etc. Getting ready to go away (yay!) and already feeling the effects of the Christmas rush. Feeling a bit sporadic, like this post. This is making me laugh though. Ciao for now - hope to be back soon, maybe making a bit more sense!

Morning Walk

We took Milo for a walk in the park early this morning. If you arrive before 10 am, you can let your dog off leash in certain areas, but we normally don't get up early enough. But - we made it this morning, and Milo chased his ball in the morning dew while we had our coffee - it was a really lovely morning. And - we met a bit of a youtube celebrity - Toby the Biker Dog!



This video doesn't really show how incredibly cute Toby is - he is so tiny - 3-4 pounds, tops! I love his little doggles, and the way the wind makes his hair stand up.

Something new...

I spent this weekend working on making a new book form - and here it is! It's an organizer/jotter (I have to come up with a better name than that) with a notepad and accordion pockets inside.
I made something that I've been wanting - a place to organize my receipts (besides my bulging wallet) and take notes when I'm out and about.The notepad attaches with velcro, so it can be easily replaced when it runs out. Making a new type of book for the first time can be frustrating - it takes alot of trial and error. I think this particular book is actually version 3.0! I went from square to rounded corners, a new type of elastic...but I really enjoy making new things. It keeps my work challenging and fresh. I've got a few more ideas that I'm hoping to work on soon, and I also hope to have a few of these in my shop soon!

A little trip...

I'm very pleased to say that we are taking a little trip to Quebec city in a few weeks! Hopefully, by the time we arrive the city will look like this, with lots of beautiful fall foilage. I am so looking forward to wandering around this beautiful place, visiting museums, shopping, and eating lots of yummy food. I am a bit nervous about my horrible french skills, but I am sure we will muddle along. I can read most words (especially those related to food and drink!) but have trouble stringing them together to make sentences that others can understand. But, then again, this is all part of the fun.

But now, lots of work to do before we go, so I bid you adieu..um...I mean, au revoir. (:

Teacup No. 1

I think I've mentioned in the past my the collection of teacups my grandmother gave me, and how much I love them. I've been wanting to make some papercuts of the teacups for quite a little while, and I finally got a chance to do one. Here is a photo of my first teacup papercut, along with the original that inspired it. I'm hoping to do a few more over the next little bit and have a bit of a series of them, hence the title, Teacup No. 1.

Chest of Dreams

I was browsing through an antique shop a couple of weeks ago, and took a photo of this chest of drawers for a workmate who was looking for something similar. It wasn't exactly what she wanted - but I have decided that I love it, and want it for my very own.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood...

It's been beautiful here the last couple of days - literally not a cloud in the sky. We are coming in to fall - my favorite time of the year - so the mornings and evenings are crisp, but the days have been gloriously sunny. This is an image from my walk around the block with Milo - the city clear in the distance - if you look closely, you can even see Theodore the Tugboat.

The Ardent Sparrow

Rebecca of The Ardent Sparrow has featured me as an Etsy pick on her lovely blog! Thanks Rebecca! I am so glad she got in touch with me, because it also gave me a chance to discover her fantastic jewellery shop on Etsy, where she sells such lovely things as the "a day at the beach" earrings pictured above. All the pieces are made with beautiful stones, and have a vintage vibe. "The Ardent Sparrow" is definitely a shop to check out, and Rebecca's blog is great - and her Etsy series featuring Canadian crafters (like me!) is a wonderful resource.

Blue Daisies

Another new album - finally got everything up in etsy. Phew! I just started using firefox - I'm wondering if that's the source of all my problems with uploading photos? Anyhow, this paper is relatively new, and I really dig it. Hope you do too. (:

New Albums!

I spent the weekend completing some new photo albums - including this green/pink one - love this colour combo. I've been trying to upload them in my etsy shop, but having some technical difficulties. Maybe I'll get them in there tomorrow - it just feels good to have finished some work!

Marie Claire Paris at Home Outfitters!

I popped out at lunch to do some errands, and decided to have a quick look at my local Home Outfitters store. To my surprise, they were in the midst of setting up a display of bed linens and accessories called Marie Claire Paris. I didn't have my camera, and I couldn't find any information online, but what I saw was beautiful! I hope to get back in a couple of days when they've finished putting everything out and see the whole line. How exciting!

Most inspiring interior...

When we were buying our house, I went through a lot of interior magazines, thinking about how I wanted to decorate. There was one interior that I found really inspiring - my dream style - how I would love my house to look. It is the home of Canadian Home and County editor Erin McLaughlin, and all these images were taken from the October/November 2004 issue.

I hadn't looked at this spread for a long time, but I've been thinking lots about decorating, and dug it out to see if it still inspired me - it definitely does. I think what I like about it is the background colours are really soothing - but there are little pops of bright colour like fuschia and tiffany blue all over the place. I also love the use of old flea market pieces with a few modern bits thrown in.

It's all just so homey and lived in, lovely really. I wonder if this house has changed much since 2004? If so, I'd love to see what's been done with the place. As for me, I still feel as though I haven't achieved my decorating dreams - we just keep getting busy, and life gets in the way. I guess though, that you never feel as though things are finished. I do know one thing though - I'm going to work some tiffany blue into my house somewhere.

A Work in Progress

Our lives were turned a bit upside-down this week when we had a new roof installed. We had been planning this job for some time - everytime there was a storm, a few more old, brittle shingles would blow off the roof and I would lie in bed awake, waiting for the ceiling to fall in. Anyhow - we found someone to do the job, and they called on Friday, saying they were coming on Monday. My Nanna arrived on Sunday to mind Milo - he would have been frightened in the house alone while we were at work, listening to the workers pounding on the roof. A few days and a gazillion dollars later (well, not quite - but close) we have a new roof! The picture above is our house, when we first moved in....

...and this is how it looks now. Our house was built in the 1920s, and moved to this spot in the 1950s. The lady next door says she can remember our house coming up the street on a truck! Sometime in the '70s or '80s, the exterior was uglifed with aluminum siding, plastic shutters, plywood porch railing, and a colour scheme that can only be described as...odd. Salmon, poo brown and grey - what were they thinking?!!? Luckily, the inside remains pretty much untouched with lots of 1920s cottage charm - well, actually - not so lucky in terms of the bathroom and kitchen - but this will all change someday.

Anyhow, having the new roof really makes me want to change the color of the house. I am going back and forth between something classic and neutral, or a playful colourful palette that you might find in Lunenburg - a village on the coast where every house is painted a beautiful, bright colour. I've heard that fisherman in Nova Scotia just used to paint their houses with whatever paint was left over from painting their boats - lots of bold, bright hues. I just can't decide, so I'm putting it out there - any suggestions?

A.W.O.L.

I've gone A.W.O.L. from my blog for the last little bit, but I'm back! I took a mini holiday - visiting my Nan, staying with a friend in the country and reading that time sucking book! But, now it's back to normal - lots of work to be done - preparing for Christmas, believe it or not....

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.

Tractors and Pie

Despite the weather, our mini holiday was a success. We spent two nights in a cute little cottage overlooking this beach. It was rainy and foggy every day, but we managed to fill our time with books (I read "The Raw Shark Texts" and "Strawberry Fields" - both recommended), lots of the best pie ever at a local cafe,

and we even stumbled across an antique tractor show in a very small town on our way home. I especially like this tractor because it has a face. Now, it's back to work, but I'm hoping to have more fun times this summer. Maybe even with some sun?

Mini Holiday

I'm off to this pretty place for a couple of days for a bit of a break. See you soon!

Goals

I just finished my first "short week" at work, and "long weekend" at home. I have to say, things are going pretty well. I got a number of custom orders off to the post office, with a few more well underway, I got to clean up my house, I cooked, I made muffins twice (they were from a packet mix - but still...) - all in all, I'm just feeling lots better, and not so overwhelmed by all the demands on my time. But, that's not to say I'm just going to be sitting around - I have lots of goals that I want to accomplish. I'm hoping that writing them down here will help me achieve them, so here goes -

-write in this blog on a regular basis - saying everyday would be setting myself up for failure. Maybe every second day - even if it is only a picture or a few short words.

-make lots of books from my current product line in preparation for Christmas, as well as develop all the ideas for new books that have been floating around in my head. Ditto that for collage pieces.

-keep the house in some sort of decent order, and try to tackle some of the little maintenance jobs that have been building up. Also, continue on campaign of "pretti-fying" by hanging artwork, recovering chairs, etc.

-get up early every morning and take Milo on a long walk. It's good exercise for both of us, and it tires him out so that he has a nice long nap while I'm trying to work.

-take a bit of time to unwind, and don't feel guilty about taking some time to sit in the garden and watch the plants grow.

I'm sure that there are lots more things that I've been thinking of, but maybe this is enough. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Lyndie Dourthe

Lyndie Dourthe makes beautiful and delicate objects from paper. She lives in this gorgeous little apartment in Paris. She is chic and stylish.

I love her work. (Images from petits appartemnents a Paris - ISBN 4-07-250441-6).

Japanese Goodies

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned some cool packages coming in the post - well, here's one of them - a whole pile of Japanese goodies ordered from Etsy seller talktothewind. First up, "Handmade Bookbinding" by Yo Yamazaki (ISBN 978-4-579-20970-5). I had been looking for a Japanese book on binding for a while, and this one is great. Riyo - the proprietor of talktothewind, didn't have it in her shop, but she went out and sourced it for me - how sweet!

There are lots of great projects in here, including the wooden concertina book, pictured above. The only problem is, it's a bit more text heavy than some other Japanese craft books. It still has diagrams, but also lots of text explanation. I think I can muddle through...
Next up - Paper Paper (ISBN 978-4-579-20947-7) - a book of cute paper projects.
I am a sucker for brown paper packages tied up with string. Do you know you can't post packages like this anymore? It makes me a bit sad. Everytime I try to do something cute on a package - it gets a giant bar code slapped over it.

That hasn't stopped me from using my final talktothewind purchase though - these cute rubber stamps that I've been putting on packages willy nilly. Riyo also sent along some cute fabric samples with my order - I will definitely be a repeat customer!

Pile of Books

That pretty much describes how things have been the last few days, pile of books in my studio, pile of books in the shop and pile of books still left to make...

Little Buttercup

Taken at the off-leash park. The white bits in his fur are dandelion fluff.

Double Happiness in Canadian House and Home

One of my bird collages appears in this month's Canadian House and Home! The photo above is part of a story on the gorgeous home of Sappho Griffin, co-owner of the great local shop Henhouse where I sell my books and some artworks. She asked me to create a diptych for her bedroom, which was then photographed for the magazine. Thanks Sappho, for this amazing opportunity - it's so exciting to see my work in print!

For more on my bird collages, check out my flickr, and my etsy shop.

An unexpected source of bookbinding supplies...

When gluing up my books, I use a mixture of PVA and methyl cellulose. I usually order my methyl cellulose from Paper Source, but last night I discovered that I'm nearly out, and I went online to try and find a local source. Bookbinding supplies are pretty hard to come by here, and all the references that came up using Google search were for the use of methyl cellulose in drugs. After a tip from a pharmacy student who works in our office, I discovered that you can order methyl cellulose - and other non-pharmaceutical type compounds - direct from your local pharmacy. So, to make a long story short, tomorrow afternoon I will be picking up a 500 gram jar of methyl cellulose powder that was reasonably priced and will last me forever. As a true nerd, I am quite excited by this prospect. (:

And the winner is....

...drumroll please....Heather! Please send your address to trudi(at)doublehappiness.ca and I'll get your print out in the post. And, if the rest of you also want to send me your address, there will be a special runner-up (sur)prize coming your way in the near future.

I have another announcement to make. People who've read my blog for a little while know that I have a full-time day job, but - this week was my last full-time week for the rest of the summer! I'll be working part-time at the office, and part-time at home on double happiness stuff up until September. Woo hoo! I'm really excited about the possibility of working on some artwork, developing some new designs, and also doing some more mundane stuff - like giving the house a good clean and weeding the garden. I've been flat out with my business for the last year, and working all the time has started to take it's toll a little bit. So - I hope that there will also be a few opportunities for lazing in the sun, long lunches and sleep-ins. I also just want to say that I'm very lucky to work in an office where this type of arrangement is possible, so thanks to everyone there for making this happen.

Right now is not a lazy sleep-in day. Working on some custom orders with the sun streaming in through the window - but I see a walk up to the park with a certain little dog in my future.(: Have a great weekend everyone!

Things to do on a sunny day...

...lie in the grass wearing a red bandana.

Celebrating a Century...

...well, almost. In cricket, a century is when the batter gets 100 runs - at least I think this is what I've been told. Anyhow, I've got nearly 100 hearts on Etsy today - 99 to be exact - and I think this is enough cause for celebration! What I'd like to do is give away one of my (unframed) Hummingbird prints. All you have to do to be eligible is comment on this post. Anyone from anywhere who comments before midnight on Friday the 6th will be entered in the draw to win. I'll do the draw on Saturday and announce it on the blog.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads and comments on the blog, and anyone who has bought a piece of my work. Thanks for all your support and - good luck!

Small Business Tips from Amy Sedaris & Co.

I found this video on YouTube today. It's an ad for Office 2007, and it's probably been around for ages, but I like it. Been having a few days like this lately - where do I sign up for a team of bunnies to whip my business into shape? Sheesk, I'm trying to run a tight ship around here...