Presents...

I got these two craft books for my birthday, one from Gord and one from Bek & Jesse - thanks guys! They'll keep me busy for a while!

Being creative in small ways

I signed up for this last night - very exciting! I figure it's just the thing to get me producing small creative stuff, and thinking creatively, rather than feeling like I have to take on a huge project and then feeling so daunted I don't do anything about it. Creativity IS the small stuff which is part of everyday life. Creativity is one's perspective. So yeah, here's to changing my perspective and undertaking some smaller, funner projects.


I guess this is an example where the creative process was fun - a cardboard castle for my daughter, complete with drawbridge (Piper's inscription: Keep Out, Bad Ones!) and horse, and probably other characters to come. I didn't feel like this needed to be perfect - that always makes it more enjoyable. I was pretty set on painting it grey, cos, you know, that's what colour castles are. But Piper was determined that it should be pink, so pink it is. Just let go, Bec, let go, and see what cool stuff happens! I love the end result - a pink princessy castle. What a joy painting is - I had forgotten. I also love how the horse turned out, kind of wobbly looking, and with a patchy painting job (courtesy of Piper), both of which mean it is totally unique. I so often follow patterns these days, that it was a lovely reminder of what I/we can create just out of a single thought.

Photography Fun

Snapped these after a walk around the neighbourhood in minus thirty something weather - rugging up is a novelty, for me!

Finally done!

This is the hoodie for our friend Ellen that I was working on for ages (since the end of August, actually!). I was working on it right up until the day before we left the country (December fifth), which, now that I think about it, isn't that bad, for me - just over three months! I'm not a fast knitter. Or maybe I just read too many blogs and don't spend enough time MAKING! It was so last-minute that I finished it at our friends' house. Ellen was watching me sew on the last few clips (the buttons are just for show), and asked who it was for. I said, actually, it's for you! She was pleased about that, which was gratifying. =)

Ellen agreed to pose with it on (also wearing a skirt I made a year or two ago for her...)

...and with the hood on too. Looks warm enough to me. I made a size six-ish, even though she's only four. Can't have her growing out of it too soon, although then her little sister could wear it... Anyway, blah blah, just wanted to document here that: I FINISHED THIS PROJECT!!!!!

Feels good to finally post here again. I am slowly getting on my feet here in Steinbach (Manitoba, Canada). I kind of measure that in terms of how much craft stuff I have! I actually bought a sewing maching, my fist ever, and am looking forward to doing some small sewing/patchwork projects. (Until now I've always borrowed my Mum's.) We hit Michael's, the Spotlight equivalent, and Chapers, the Borders equivalent, yesterday. Bought a few cool books, one on two-colour quilts (the desire to make a red and white quilted bedspread has hit with a vengeance, even though the scale of such a project is scary). Also found Denise Schmidt's Quilt-It kit for ten bucks. Even found Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', which is a totally delectable recipe book - I am in love with it - can't wait to cook some stuff. Bought this gorgeous story for a friend - such a beautiful story, with exquisite illustrations. Made me weepy!

I have also been gathering ideas from various magazines: Blueprint, Canadian House and Home, Canadian Living, and Martha Stewart Living. I've taken to cutting out whatever catches my eye and pasting them into a scrapbook, so I can begin to have a clearer sense of my own aesthetic. I had a conversation with my husband a few days ago about my creativity and my compulsive desire to give gifts to people, during which he made the radical suggestion that I spend this whole year just making things for myself. Wow! Unheard of, for me! I've pretty much decided I will try this, within reason, and after having finished the gifts I have on the go, and not including making cards for friends and family, which I really want to do, given I am far away from them at the moment! Already this idea changed the way I approach creating anything, in really good ways. No doubt I'll wax eloquent about the experience in future posts.

I have been making stuff, in amongst reading and gathering ideas and mulling over creativity: cards with vintage maps and various scrapbook supplies, and two things for my parents - vaguely timed for their 30th wedding anniversary, although I'm late already. Will post about those gifts later. I have ideas for painting flowers pots, and a feature canvas (red and white). I am soooo on a red kick at the moment! Am hoping that I can pull off Moonstitches' gorgeous zakka style owl hanging with thrifted fabrics.

Anyway, that's enough raving on for now! I will post soon about my lovely parcel from Sew, Mama, Sew and the thrift-shop bargains I've been finding. And hey, maybe even more stuff I've been making too! Catchya...

Things I like!

For those of you who were asking, or wondering about Christmas/birthday presents for me, here's a taste of things I like! Hardly prescriptive, though!

1. leyla necklace 2. PataPri teatowel 3. annacote maple notecards 4. marymarsh ponytail holders

Drink Me Alice - handcrafted vintage art resin jewellery (I like the squirrel!)

Hanging Tree of Life

I love the Bad Cat necklace, although it's kind of grim!

Lined coiled ring

Frankie magazine

Amazon WishList

Vintage tins, tea cups and platters (esp. with an orange accent)

Poppies for Grace Writing Set

Music: Whitley, Death Cab for Cutie, Angus & Julia Stone, bluegrass or latin in general, Missy Higgins, Xavier Rudd and heaps more

Themes/things in general that I look out for: matryoska/babuska dolls, squirrels, birds (esp. silhouettes of birds), vintage/retro stuff... and heaps more that I can't think of right now!

We leave for Canada on the 5th of December, and all our stuff goes into storage this Friday, so that's why I haven't posted for a while, and won't post for a while again, I don't think! I'm finding I constantly have to let go of my desire to make gifts for people, because I simply don't have time. I'm thinking I might make belated gifts during the Canadian winter.

I signed up for Nikkishell's swap a month or so ago, not realising that the timing would be particularly tricky! I have, however, managed to pull together eight postcards to swap. Posted them today - glad to get it out of my head! I had one idea, and one evening to pull it all together. They just had to work, and I apologised to the person who got my first one - the first pancake, if you will!
Anyway, I'll post again from Canada. Best wishes to you all. Hey, can you recommend any good Canadian craft blogs you've come across? Cheers....

More sewing (when I should be knitting!)

I whipped this up the other night, after having made a long list of all the people I'd like to make Christmas presents for. I know it's totally unrealistic, even moreso because I only have four weeks to work with, before we leave for Canada. But I just thought, maybe this bag that I'd seen in blogland, just maybe it might whip up quickly (seeing as it was posted on the whipup site -haha!) and it would be a useful gift...

Here it is, posing on the washing line with my bright nappies! (Well, mine cos I washed them, but Jasper's the one who wears them - just wanted to clarify that!) I used that ubiquitous apple fabric from Spotlight - not sure it's cut out to be a bag (pretty punny!), seems like it might work better as an apron, but anyway, this was just a prototype, to see how the pattern came together.

Came together okay, but as for creating a mass of gifts, I'm not so sure. I think I'll make some, but not the thirty that I originally planned, in my addled list-making state! I might just have to let go of the lovely idea of presenting ALL my gorgeous friends with handmade gifts... hmmm...