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...