14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 13

This one is for my baby!

I love you forever
I like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be

Do you know this book?
I give it to every new mommy.It's more of a book for the parent than for the child :) Try to read it with a dry eye :)

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 12

I used the same medallion as yesterday to make this jar wrap. It looks way better in person. These are my favourite long skinny jars. They held some kind of spicy pickle. I don't like it, but my friend Meep does! (thanks Meep, and keep eating the pickles :)

I used Divine Twine to tie it on. You can get most colours of Divine twine (bakers twine) here in Toronto at The Paper Place (check out the image transfer class coming up). Online, you can buy it from the maker herself at Whisker Graphics!. Her blog is wonderful too! I really like how she shows how people are using the twine. Someone stores all of her twine in sugar shakers.....

Here is what my kitchen table is looking like today -- I've been having a card extravaganza.
I'm thinking of posting a card a day for the next month.... the theme will be spring and easter..... and it might not be all cards..... lol...... But first... 2 more Valentines. One will be for Mr. B.

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 11

Another day, another doily :)

The red polka dotted medallion is a cupcake liner -- I cut the circle out of the centre and then eased it flat. These look really great on a garland......
The love ticket is a stamp. I punched the corners out with a too-small hole punch, but it was good enough. Some times "good enough" is just fine.....
Someone asked how I attach my paper to my cards. I find that glue stick eventually loses its grip. If I'm not sewing something on I use Aleene's Tacky Glue or double sided tape (Nasco). I used tacky glue for this one :)

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 10

Not my original idea :)
I think that I saw it last year on Dani's blog -- Oh Hello Friend....
I just love those doilies, so I couldn't resist....You can find lots more doily valentines (and free printables) at the daily suze

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 9

Well, Love kind of sums it all up, doesn't it?


And I have a new rubber stamp for my business cards......


(don't you just love all of that great texture on my windowsills? It's great for photography! I'll miss it when they repaint!(hahahaha, repaint.... that's a good one... hahahaha....)

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 8

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I love doilies!

(I just love photographing my art in my classroom. This was taken after 5pm -- but there is still so much beautiful light. My windows face west -- I have 6 sets of windows -- they are about 4 feet wide and at least 7 feet long!)(I hope that I can stay in this classroom forever :)

Another Day 7 photo

I like this one better :)

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 7

I really like this card! The simplicity of it accentuates the beauty of this line from the e.e. cummings poem -- i carry your heart with me


here's the full poem (it's one of my favourite poems):

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The Rustic Cosmo Cafe

I've decided to do a little restaurant review every time I go out to eat (you'll see how infrequently I go out :).

(photo above via blog TO)

This morning we braved the slush to head our neighbourhood breakfast and lunch cafe. The Rustic Cosmo Cafe is at 1278 Queen Street West -- just west of Dufferin in Parkdale. We come here every few months for brunch and sometimes for lunch (the sandwiches are wonderful!)
Today we went for brunch.

I had scrambled eggs, sausages, toast and homefries. Just the basics :). It was all fine. And hot. That's how I like my breakfast food. Fine. No surprises. The peach-strawberry jam is made on site and is definitely worth the extra $1. (there is strawberry banana jam available too)

Mr B had the "Cowboy Breakfast" which was like mine but included some bake beans and a pancake. The pancakes are usually great, but today it wasn't quite cooked all the way through :). He's going to try the Eggs Benny next time -- he likes variety. I usually stick with the same old comfort food. Maybe this makes me a crappy restaurant reviewer, lol.

We both had Earl Grey tea. Twinings.

Our server was friendly and attentive. What really impressed me was how well she served another couple who came in. Keep in mind that this cafe is in Parkdale and I choose to live in Parkdale. Parkdale has a huge amount of high density and low rent housing. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is just down the street. There are many homeless people on the streets and a soup kitchen is just a few doors away. Anyway, a couple came in and they smelled really smokey and not so great and they looked really cold and the woman had no coat on. They asked how much a coffee was. They agreed to have one and then proceeded to drink all of the creamers at their table one by one, and then some off another table. I was impressed by the fact that the staff served them with respect because they were customers just like me. I've been in lots of other restaurants in the neighbourhood who aren't as tolerant. Maybe that's why the Rustic Cosmo has been there for so long....

Cost -- It came to approx $28 for 2 (including tax and tip).

Plus there is also interesting art on the walls and there is free wifi. There's a patio too.
And they have live music sometimes.... I wish that they had a website (please leave me a comment with a link if they do -- I couldn't find one)

Two thumbs up!

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 6

Well -- I'm starting to make cards! I made 10 today. Not sure what I'll be doing with 10 cards. I only have 2 "Valentines" (Mr B and Lauren). Well, the kids at school too, but they get spiderman and fairy princess cards.


The main heart images are foam stamps by Alisa Burke (but I'm not sure if she still sells them) and the scalloped edge stamp is a clear stamp by Jenny Doh. I stamped them with red acrylic paint. The words are stamped with Memories ink (my favourite ink). Be true is my favourite card!

I'm not sure who I would give this one to (Mr. B does find it funny though). It's for someone in a relationship, but they're not quite sure if their partner is a keeper or not. So you get the card with both options and then on Valentines Day you cross of the option that you don't want to say. Yes, it's a bit rude.

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 5

oops, this didn't post on Day 5 -- not sure why....
It's a little heart pin. It could be an ornament..... it's stuffed.

Can you see all of that snow in the background? Well, I shouldn't complain. It's only a few inches. The groundhog here didn't see his shadow on Wednesday. You're supposed to get 6 more weeks of winter if the groundhog sees his shadow. I'm not sure what you get if he doesn't. Is 6 more weeks of winter a good thing or a bad thing?

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 4

I made some needle felted hearts. They're pretty easy to make. They just look hard.

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 3

A fabric tag! I did some small scrap collage and some free motion stitching.This would look so pretty on a gift....

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 2

I still can't get a decent picture :) I need to get into my classroom which has great light!

While I like the garlands plain, I played with some today!


They look so pretty hanging. They look so pretty when someone holds them. Wouldn't it be fun to be standing and holding this when someone special comes home?

Click on the picture to see it better. The hearts are about 2" across -- the garland is about 3 feet .

14 Valentines in 14 Days - Day 1

Okay -- the problem with 14 Valentines in 14 days is that I started today -- Feb 1. What's the problem? I can't photograph them! It's too dark! Tonight I made a few garlands using some french text. I punched out a pile of hearts and then I stitched them together. I made one horizontal garland and a 3d vertical one. Here are some dark photos. Consider them "photographs with ambience".
My favourite is the garland at the top which is in my kitchen window with my pinecone garland.


If tomorrow is a "snow day" I'll be able to make my valentines and photograph them in the (semi) light. There hasn't been a snow day in Toronto since I've been a teacher, so it's not likely to happen :).

14 Valentines in 14 Days!

I saw that a few other people out in blogland were doing similar challenges. Well, I love hearts, so how hard could this be? We'll see......
Starting tomorrow I will make a Valentine each day until Valentines day. I'd make them to give to the kids at school, but they would rather have a card with a Disney princess on it or a Transformer.... hmmmm....... I have an idea......

One World One Heart 2011

(you can click on the above image to learn more about One World One Heart)

A warm welcome to my blog to all of the One World One Heart visitors! I am a kindergarten teacher and an artist by day and night! I work in "narrative mixed media collage" which really means that I use many different media to create my art -- and I like it to tell a story. I use a lot of fabric in my work -- and usually some text. I love vintage papers, fabrics and trims! My work has been published in many Stampington/Somerset Publications (see the sidebar) and also in some books. This year I have challenged myself to make 14 Valentines in 14 days (starting February 1) -- so please check back to see my Valentines over the next few weeks and let me know what you think of them!

I love visiting people around blogland -- I have over 200 blogs on my daily read list. Many of these I have discovered through One World, One Heart. I do try to visit all of the One World One Heart participants -- whether you are on the list or whether you leave a comment.

To thank you for visiting my blog, I am having a giveaway! I will be drawing names for two of my recent fabric creations.

First -- a collaged fabric pouch. It's a linen base with scraps of various fabrics on it. It's fully lined and is about 5" square and does up with a snap.


Secondly I am giving away a heart banner. I know that it's too late for Valentines day this year, but I have mine up all year round.... It's made of tea dyed cotton muslin and felt hearts.
Please leave a comment in the Comment Section of this post. This giveaway is open to all active bloggers worldwide! I will pick the winner on February 17th.

Thanks for visiting! See you soon!

Work in progress......

I've been making a lot of collages lately -- but most are for publication so I can't show them :)
This one has a lot of handwork in it -- I've developed a liking for hand sewing lately.....

cute little pouch

I was taking a little break from report cards and I thought that I'd make a new cover for my ipad. It's exactly the same as the old cover, but a bit bigger. I had to buy a holder for the ipad to made it less slippery (I needed a little lip so I bought this), but it wouldn't fit in my beautiful cover. Darn. So while I was at it, I whipped up a little pouch. I think it is SO CUTE. I'll be making more of these..... with some collages or trims on them too..... hmmmm... the possibilities..... I put a snap on this one, but I can do velcro, buttons or snaps. I can even see it a bit larger with a strap to be a purse! (this one is about 5"x5").
I get really creative around report card time. Procrastination.

Oops! The giveaway!

I have been so busy!
And , since I have 9 extra technique pages -- I'm going to give one to each person who left a comment (before January 10). I'll be contacting you all shortly :) Congratulations!

Photoshop

For the next few months (and beyond if I'm still motivated), I'm dedicating Tuesday nights to Photoshop. Right now I'm taking Marie Otero's Digital Magic 3. I'm (re)learning the basics. I keep "learning" over the years but I keep forgetting (so, obviously I haven't learned well).

One of my favourite things to do is to make a photo b&w and then bring parts of the colour back. Here are Lauren and I at her graduation.


(oh, and by the way, I'm growing my hair back out into a little bob again. I'm feeling too manly lately.....)

Mixed Minded

There is a local art Art event happening near Toronto in May. It's called "Mixed Minded" and it is being held in Kitchener from May 27-29.


The teachers are:
Claudine Hellmuth
Carmi Cimicata
Nancy Donaldson
Sandra Spagnuolo
Donna Funnell
Deb Kopeschny
Lois Sander

Care to join me?

Art Unraveled 2011 -- and a little giveaway

Art Unraveled is the best possible retreat for me. It happens in the summer when I am off work, and I get to visit my wonderful friend Maija in Phoenix!

Registration for AU begins January 10. The event is August 1-9, 2011. My registration will be in the mail on Tuesday! (you have to register early to get the classes that you want)
I am so torn when choosing classes because, inevitably, there are two classes that I want to take at the same time. Here is what I am hoping to take this year:

Tues:Briar Rose Shrine Pendant (Diana Frey) or Bottle Cap Beads (Melissa Manley) (I want the pendant, but I want to learn how to make the beads....)
Tues Evening : Dremel Applications - Thomas Ashman
Wed: Non Trad. Forms (Susan Lenart Kazmer) or Wood collage Totems (Karen Michel)(so torn between these two)
Thurs: Monoprinting on Fabric (Jane Lafazio)
Thurs Night: Addicted to Tape (Kelly Kilmer)
Fri: Sketching and Watercolour for Journals - Pinecones and Pods (Jane Lafazio)
Friday Night : Creativity Exposed (Ruth Rae)
Sat: Podheads (Lisa Renner)
Mon: A Day to Dye For (Lorri Scott)
Mon Night: Party Animal (Olivia Thomas)
This will give me a bit of jewelry, a bit of fabric and a few extra fun classes.

Here is the giveaway part :)
Every year at this time I participate in the "Art Unraveled Techniques Fatbook". I had to make lots of 4x4 pages showing a technique that I learned last year at AU. I chose Ruth's class "The Journey" and the technique that I learned was "fabric and transparency manipulation and alteration" -- I love Ruth's classes!

Anyway, I made a few extra 4x4s and would like to give some away..... So answer this question in the comments. (okay there are two questions). Do you go to art retreats? Why or why not? I go because I love taking classes, and I love seeing my bloggy friends. I see it as my vacation (mental and physical) and I save up all year to be able to afford it. Some years I can't afford it. Then I stay home :). I'll choose a few winners on January 10th!


Want to create your own mini - retreat? Seven of us have a little one in Niagara every year. We worked together with Sandy Camarda to create this book:

You can buy one on her blog! Right now there is free shipping!

My New Years Eve

We hung out with friends at my house. We listened to my fave music of 2010 - Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine, Phoenix.... It was a wonderful, relaxing evening. Do you like my fire?

Happy 2011 all!

Happy New Year!

For the past few years I have joined many blogger in choosing a "word" for the year. In 2009 I chose "meander" .... and I did meander through the year :). Last year I chose "remarkable".... although 2010 wasn't particularly remarkable...... well, I made it through the year anyway...

For 2011 I have been thinking of so many words...... but I think that my word this year will be "content" To be content with what I have and what I am :) . To "grow where I'm planted" . Well.. maybe that isn't such a good example because I will be posting tomorrow about the fabulous art retreats that I will be attending this year).

I am content in my world. That sounds wonderful doesn't it?

Skating

It hasn't been all eating and computer play during my holiday. I've been skating! See my technique, above? I'm pretty sure that I'm just setting up for a triple axel.


I'm actually pretty proud of myself. I haven't really skated in years because skates hurt my feet (bunions) so much! But last year I got some new, wider skates that fit with my orthotics inside. They felt great! I live right across the street from an arena -- and there is free skating on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Anyone care to join me?
(yes, that's Lauren beside me in the lower photo. Mr B and I and his son went for a skate in London and guess who else was there> Lauren and her dad and her sisters! So I got to skate around a bit holding hands with my baby! Thanks mom for coming to photograph the event!

Why I can't work at home

aka -- why I haven't lost weight.

Here is my day:
7 am - Get up, watch the news on tv while drinking tea.
7:30 am - Eat cereal while reading Sunday's newspaper(I'm a bit behind)
8:00 am - Have a shower
8:30 am - check my email, google reader, yada yada yada....
10:00 - OMG, it's 10:00! Well, that's snack time.... eat clementine while reading list of things to do......
10:30 - get to work on some fabric collages....
11:00 - take a break, eat some ginger bread, sip a tea... while reading google reader...
11:45 -- OMG, it's almost noon! Better have lunch....
12:30 - where was I on those fabric collages???......
1:00 - I think that it's time for more gingerbread and a tea.....
1:30 - downstairs to sew.... wait I forgot something upstairs..... get distracted, read some email.... mmm.... gingerbread...... and some more blog catching up..... wait... wasn't I in the middle of something? Oh, right, sewing...... go downstairs and then remember what I went upstairs for, but I must stop to make a tea....
3:00 - sew for a few minutes, get bored, wander upstairs and remember that there are some chips in the cupboard...... pour some chips into a bowl, pour a glass of grapefruit juice and settle in front of the computer. So that's where I am now. In front of the computer with my grapefruit juice. Chips long gone. I think that I've done about 30 minutes of work. So if you are wondering what I do all day when I'm not at work, this shows a typical day. Computer and food. I be happy.

My new favorite iPad app!

Flipboard! it makes Facebook look like a beautiful magazine! I am so hooked.....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

On the go blogging....

I'm working on blogging from my iPad!
This is a picture of Ray on the beach, edited in some app that I have called Photopad....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Christmas!

(this is my tree this year. It's about 4 feet tall and sits on top of bookshelves in the corner of my living room. It adds height to the room, and keeps the dog away from my favourite ornaments.)

Making Christmas

I've been baking and sewing and wrapping and embellishing. I'm pooped! Time for a rest! Happy Christmas Eve!

Day 12 Hello Snowman!

This adorable snowman is from Cindy.
I LOVE jar snowmen!! Actually, I think that she is a woman!

Day 11 -- Merry Merry!

Day 11 is from Jennifer. I always covet her work! She lives in Vancouver so I don't get to go to any of the craft shows that she is at. But luckily she joined our exchange this year! I love my necklace and my pin! I won't be taking them off for the next few days, I'm sure!

Day 10

Day 10's gift is from Nicolette. What a wonderful ornament! I love vintage collage.......

Secret Santa Ornament

Natalie Kalbach organized a Secret Santa Ornament Exchange.

My partner, Sherry (in Australia) has received hers so I can show you what I sent!

(there is a fabric house ornament, a cd in that doily tree package, some little maple candies, some punched aluminum stars and a heart, and a "few of my favourite things" paper pack)

And I got mine from Sandra in Austria! (I think that it was Austria -- the envelope was a bit beat up so I couldn't read any of the return address info! I don't even have Sandra's last name -- but hopefully Natalie will send it to me and Sandra's email or blog shortly so I can thank her)
She sent me some yummy goodies from Austria -- including Kinder Chocolate, some Mozart Truffles, wafers, and 2 ornaments -- a cool tree made from brown paper (looks like gingerbread with the "icing" on it) and a beautiful ornament made from strips of transparencies. I've made these before from paper, but the transparency idea is brilliant! AND my mom's Christmas theme this year is "A Noteworthy Christmas" so she is using black and white with music notes and written notes, so this will be lent to her for her tree! (um... the kinder chocolate didn't make it to the photo.... it made it to my mouth though!!



Sandra also sent me a beautiful card.... um, I haven't made cards this year... bad martha!