a wee bit of me wednesday

{one}

if you won a trip to Disneyland/world, who would you take with you?

my daughter

{two}

when was the last time you listened to a CD?

yesterday -- the Folkfest CD for school (I teach folk dance with my teacher friend D) (please stop laughing all of you people who KNOW that I have no coordination)

{three}

what spice/seasoning is your favorite?

salt...... and cinnamon (not together)

{four}

if you were in a band, what kind of music would you play?

Rockabilly! For sure!

{five}

if you could have personally witnessed one historical event, which one would it be?

ummm, the "reign" of Anne Boleyn

{six}

if you could go back to school, what would you study?

I already did that

{seven}

if you could go to one sporting event, all expenses paid, which one would you see?

An Olympic rowing event.... with the Lovely Miss L racing !!!

{eight}

do you drive an automatic or a manual?

my bicycle is pretty much manual :)

{nine}

are you comfortable speaking in front of people?

only if they are under age 6

{ten}

have you ever experienced an earthquake?

no thank you

A wee bit of me Wednesday

{one} what was your first job?

delivering newspapers

{two} have you ever seen a stand up comedian?no, I'm not really a comedy fan

{three} when was the last time you played mini golf?ummmm, can't remember. Twenty years ago?

{four} what was the last picture you took?kids painting with cars at school

{five} burnt food: yes or no?no… yuck.
{six} if you have a pocket full of change, what do you do with it?I would never have change in my pocket. It's in my wallet.

{seven} can you touch your tongue to your nose?nope
{eight} do you scrapbook?

nope, too scary (each page is a big commitment)

{nine} do you buy lottery tickets?

nope (but I plan to win 27 million some day)

{ten} do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?behind it -- I HATE having my picture taken

Nanopod

Tosca Teran 0f Nanopod Studios -- where I took my jewelry classes last year (here in Toronto) was a featured artist on Handmade Portraits on Etsy last week!

Check out her amazing bio-video here:



Click here for her etsy shop!

ipad cover

I made this one for Heather. I figure if she doesn't use it for her ipad -- it can be used as a journal pouch, or a strap could be added and it could be a purse. Multi purpose -- I love it!


The image is by DJ Pettitt -- I'm not sure if she still sells them in her etsy shop or not.... it's empty now.

Spring!

I saw snowdrops yesterday. Spring is really here! The sun has been shining for days -- but it's still freezing and there is still some snow on my front garden (where I piled it when shoveling the walk. I'll be out soon cleaning off the fallen leaves and mulch. Maybe next weekend.

March Break is over. My basement isn't finished yet -- but at least I have some clear space to work/play. This is some work in progress -- postcards for ihanna's postcard swap. Someone gave me a bunch of craft paints and I'm trying to use them up. They're kind of dried out, but I'm managing to get some colour out of them! Very springlike. I'll likely stamp some interesting quotations on them -- but maybe no collage? or maybe some gesso to tone them down a bit... We'll see... The 2 at the back (collaged) will get some stitching on them and then they'll be finished!
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An Artful Journey

This year I'm participating in a book Round Robin -- I haven't done one in a few years, so I though that it was high time that I did.


These are the pages that I did for Janis -- her theme was The County Fair. For me, the Fair was all about the rides. And maybe the food, a bit. As an adult I like the quilts too. When I was young I entered flower arrangements into the competitions too. (can you say 'geeky"?) My mom was a big part of the Horticultural Society and the Garden Club, so I was being a little mini-mom. Sometimes I even won ribbons! (it really seemed a big deal at the time. However, I realize now that I was one of the only kids who entered the kids competition, so of course I would win. It didn't even cross my mind then)

Mixed Tape

Well, I figured out how to hook my ipod up to my newly set up stereo. But I'd rather play the mixed tape that was still inside the tape deck :)

Here's the playlist from "Martha's Faves, 1995"
Stay - Lisa Loeb
Down By The Water- PJ Harvey
Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente (whatever happened to her???)
Spin the Bottle - Juliana Hatfield
Divine Hammer - Breeders
Miss World - Hole
Superstar - Sonic Youth
Hurting Each Other - Johnette Napolitano
Close to You - Cranberries
Linger - Cranberries
Dreams - Cranberries
Claire - Rheostatics
One More Colour - Rheostatics
Luka - Lemonheads
Laid - James
(on the other side is the soundtrack from Twin Peaks)

You know what I don't like about tapes?waiting for them to rewind to the beginning if you don't want to play the other side. Are we spoiled, or what?
For your viewing pleasure, here I am around that era:

I'm much more wrinkly now and my hair is a bit, ummmm, lighter.......

Still in the basement, cleaning. It's not picture worthy yet. Not even close.

A wee bit of me wednesdays

{one} scruffy or clean shaven?Are you talking me, or him? lol. Clean. Scruffy is too scratchy

{two} what’s your favorite sundae topping?Cherry pie filling. But really, I eat them once every 10 years

{three} do you own slippers?Yep, but I usually wear trainers with orthotics in the house.

{four} did you ever have a tree house?Yes! My dad built them.

{five} how you do relieve stress?sleep

{six} what’s your favorite dr. seuss book?Go Dog Go (Do you like my hat?)

{seven} have you ever taken dance classes?Yes, sadly. Ballet and jazz. Let's just say I'm not a natural.

{eight} which do you use more: the thesaurus or the dictionary?the thesaurus
{nine} what’s your favorite form of exercise?swimming
{ten} what’s the longest you’ve ever waited in line?Many hours at the passport office.

Studio makeover

This is going to take me FOREVER.
Here's what I went down to this morning:
I am so lucky to have such a big space to work in. I have separate spots for sewing and paper crafts. There is a kitchen sink (double sinks) and a counter with an exhaust fan. I have a huge cutting table. But it's all under an avalanche of stuff. I have my recycling box and a garbage bag in hand. I've rolled up my sleeves..... and I'm sitting down to a cup of tea......

Okay, first up -- setting up my stereo. It's been packed in a box since I moved in 3 years ago. It only took me about 1/2 hour to unpack it and set it up. I'm playing a tape (yes, I have a great tape deck -- I can still make mixed tapes, lol). The tape playing now? Twin Peaks Soundtrack :) ANd when I unpacked the 3 cartons, what did I find? All of my missing bath towels! And a vintage down filled duvet. Hmph, that's where they went.

Now I'm going down to tackle the desk area. Wish me luck!

Going down the wheat free road

My daughter, the Lovely Miss L, has bullied me into guilted me into pestered me into convinced me to try to go wheat free. That means no cereal (well, actually, she grudgingly agreed that Corn Flakes aren't wheat), no bread, no pasta, no cakes, cookies, cupcakes, pies -- and what about my favourite Raspberry Wheat Ale?

We've decided to eat what we have in the cupboards, but not to buy any more. We'll see if I can do it. (oh, I'm talking the "royal WE" here. Mr. B isn't convinced yet)

Apparently, she tells me, the wheat (gluten) is destroying my gut. Miss L eats "Paleo". She eats no grains at all. No legumes. No dairy. No refined sugar. What does she eat, you might ask? Organic meats, eggs, fish, and lots of veggies. Occasional fruit. NO potatoes though, and right now she isn't eating any nightshade plants (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers). I worry about her calcium levels, but at least she isn't filling herself up with junk food, right? She wants me to follow her down the Paleo path, but I'm starting with wheat.

I'm off now to make some yummy strawberry crepes. Thought I'd end this wheat era in style.

I love hedgehogs!

So I crocheted one!

In week 3 of my Learn to Crochet class we made little mice. I'm not a big fan of mice (especially in little traps in my kitchen) . So I made a hedgehog. Well, actually I made a mouse, then pulled it apart and then made a hedgehog. Too cute. She is sitting in my back garden in the thyme. I took the photo today -- it is a lovely day! The snow is pretty much gone here -- just piles of icyness on the front garden where we piled the snow from the walks. My mom lives 2 hours down the highway -- they have a few feet of snow there! Their roadside piles are up to my shoulder! Just one more reason that I love living in Toronto :)
I'm on Spring Break right now -- no school this week. Today's job was to clean the basement, But the weather is so beautiful, that I'm spring cleaning upstairs in the sunlight instead. And likely to go for a walk. Hmmm.. I'm supposed to paint my bedroom door..... maybe....

Bizzy Bs 2nd hand stamp sale

That's were I was, lined up at 9:45 this morning! I got some Stampington magazines to cut up (oh, horror!), a few books to keep and give away, some punches (I should have bought more.... oh well), a letter stencil set and I bought lots of stamps. They were all pretty good prices. (Ludgera -- lots here were from you!) I also bought a Sizzix oval tag die set that will go in my new toy -- My Big Shot (bought new last week). I'm really into punching shapes right now -- they kind of go with the kind of scrappy journal layering that I'm doing right now.


I'm off now to my studio to make some room for the new acquisitions.....

Oh The Places We've Been!

I've joined an art book Round Robin for the year! I haven't done one in a few years -- I'm really looking forward to it.
This is the cover of my book. I made it (and the inner pages) "Remains of the Day" style (Mary Ann Moss' online class). Take the class. Go on, take it!


This is my spread. I've been to Phoenix :) I asked each person to journal/art journal/ scrapbook a spread about a favourite place that they have been. It could be a favourite bookstore in their hometown, an airport, a country. On the right side of the spread I've made a pocket. I have a whole bunch of tags to put in there when the book comes home. I couldn't bear to lose them, so I couldn't take that leap of faith to put them in to travel across the USA.....


I can't wait to travel again to Phoenix this summer. I wish I was there right now. I really need some warmth.....