Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Piling up

My studio where visitors visit is usually fairly disaster free but the work is piling up.


I'm showing my work at the gallery at Impresario Artisan Market in Cobourg this December and I'm happy to report that all of the work I've been doing seems to be coming together.

I'm even having a little opening reception which is very fancy indeed! Music, nibbles, faeries and quality holiday shopping on December 7th from 5pm to 7pm (37 King Street West, Cobourg, Ontario).  If you happen to be in the area, don't be shy! Come on out and have a peek. Even if you don't think you're an arty farty sort of person, the shop is amazing and you won't regret a visit :)

Fair warning, you'll be sick to death of hearing about this show because I'll be pushing it like crazy over the next two weeks!

Anywho, here's one of the new mixed media/collage pieces that will be included...


which matches nicely with this other piece I showed off a short while back...


I'm really rather thrilled to be combining my love of craft and art, and proving that the two can most certainly get along :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Cluckers, Eggs and Pixie Houses


Ok, first things first. Think these little pixie houses are super cute? Go over to Alpha Stamps immediately and learn how to make your own! I've put together a little 'how to' for this fun and easy project, perfect for gram-ma's and kidlets to make together (or crafters on the run).

P.S. The Gnomes & Birds Collage Sheet I used on this project is one of my faves. So stinkin' adorable!

Now, on to the chicken news...

We've had our hens (or 'the girls' as Mr. Pixie calls them) for around 3 years. Over the past year they have decided that it is time to retire from all this laying business and have been quite stingy with the eggs. Whittled down to one egg a day with Christmas baking looming?!?! Panic! So the mister brought these girls home last night.


These lovely ladies belonged to the Thai vineyard workers. They are leaving to do seasonal work elsewhere and so we greedily happily took them in. They seem to have settled quickly too because this morning 6 warm beautiful brown eggs were waiting in the nesting boxes.


There are very few things that can compare with holding a warm fresh laid egg in your hands. These are a wee bit smaller than our other girls were providing us with... but I think we'll manage :P

Finally, here are a few answers to the questions we are most commonly asked about our chickens.

Don't you need a rooster for eggs?
Nope. You need a rooster for fertilized eggs that will produce chicks. For plain old eating eggs, hens are all that are required.

How long do chickens lay eggs?
Most hens produce well for two years then their production begins to decline. Our hens each provided us with an egg every day for two years, then a little less over the past year, until finally we were only getting one egg a day from the whole bunch of them.

What do you feed them?
We buy chicken feed purchased at a farm supply shop. We also give our chickens treats like vegetable scraps and, their favourite, grapes. They will eat almost anything including bugs, mice and (if desperate) their own eggs!

What do you do with them in the winter?
Our hens live in a hen house for the winter. It is not heated (think of the birds you see in the winter months who do not have people caring for them) but inside there is loads of hay and they keep each other warm. They do come outside and sit in the snow. We toss a mix called 'scratch' in with them for them to... well... scratch and peck at.

How long do chickens live?
That depends. Some chickens can live up to 15 or 20 years! Chickens can (and do) get sick and are a tasty snacks for things like coyotes and foxes.  Being a chicken can be dangerous!

We keep the birds we raise for food for just 7-8 weeks. That may seem cruelly short but their breed, after that short period of time, have gone from being cute fluffy chicks to big white eating machines. They live in a pen that is moved daily so that they have access to fresh grass to scratch and peck at, but prefer to sit next to the feeder and eat. Their breed habits make them susceptible to certain health problems so it is important to 'harvest' them at the appropriate time.

What do you do with the hens that don't lay anymore?
Our hens that have decided it's time to 'retire' become soup chickens. They can be eaten but they do not provide as much meat and are generally tough and a bit stringy.

Don't you feel bad about eating them?
Our family eats meat and we appreciate that it comes from a living thing. Knowing that the food on our plate has had access to fresh grass, straw, clean water is important to us. While enclosed to protect them from predators, we like to know that the animal that gave it's life for our sustenance has had space to scratch and a place to roll in the dust. We do not feel badly about eating them but we do respect that they have given their life to provide us with food.


Monday, November 18, 2013

Roly Poly Snowmen

I use a product called 'Creative Paperclay' quite a bit in my work. It's gorgeous stuff. Light weight, air dries, can be sanded or carved when dry, takes paint like a charm, magnificent for detailing... but pretty pricey for an old cheapskate like myself.

I've been trying to come up with a recipe for my own version for the body/bulk of larger pieces to reduce costs. The first batch I made was really heavy and, although touch as nails, not the smooth light material I was looking for. Below is my second attempt.


An improvement over my first batch, this dried lightweight and was fairly smooth. In the end my biggest issue with this batch was that it was too papery when dried and not quite smooth enough for my needs. BUT I did manage to make these fellow with it...


Roly Poly Snowmen! I used the commercial product for the noses and lips and my homemade concoction for the rest. They're fairly big, standing at around 9 inches, so using my own mix cut costs significantly. And yes, I did knit those little scarves, but I am TERRIBLE at knitting so it's not much of a feat :P

ALSO, I know that my American friends are looking forward to Thanksgiving. If you're lucky enough to be entertained (rather than entertaining) why not take a bottle of something nice as a hostess gift and gussy it up? This 'thank you' tag was created using products from Alpha Stamps November 2013 Kit - Fall Foliage


The Miniature Pine Cones are adorable!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Spring is in the air?

It's warmed up. No frost in sight this morning. And here I was getting giddy for snowfall! Geesh!

Anywho, the warmth seems fitting with Graphic 45 revealing my little Secret Garden project today.


Whenever I visit the craft shop I always make a stop at the bargain bin to pour over the broken wares. Those beat up and mangled pieces call to me. Damaged, dinged, and discounted they beg me to save them. And I do. I grab them all! And while my husband shakes his head, my mind races with possibilities. 


This pretty little garden, overflowing with Petaloo flowers, snails and moss, began life as a 37¢ broken box, odd chess piece and little wooden candlestick. A bit of paint to the base materials, add some darling Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers, Petaloo flowers to finish it off… “Ta Da!” a sweet and sentimental treasure created from a forgotten box at the bottom of the bargain bin. 

Hop over to the Graphic 45 blog for more photos (and a stunning dreamcatcher made by Miranda Edney) AND here's the full supply list if you'd like to create your own bit of spring...

Olde Curiosity Shoppe > Butterfly Specifics       
Assorted Petaloo flowers
Tiny white paper roses
Small wooden box
White chess pawn
Stringed pearl trim
Cotton lace
Snail shells
Moss
Ivory acrylic paint

Good Morning: Just like that....


I am asked, often, where I get my inspiration from. Truly it comes from everywhere, everything and everyone. Buttons, music, messes, old folks, young kiddies... but mostly from the riding lawn mower.

Today, for example, I saw this little piece of birch bark curling away from this fallen trunk and thought 'Surly this how faerie books are made!' Which leads to the thought 'I wonder if there are words already scribed on that strange paper? Maybe they peel away as they are completed?" and on and on it goes. Those thoughts bump around in my head. They become forgotten. They are remembered again. Then one day I'll get around to making something that kind-of-sort-a had to do with stories on birch bark.

P.S. To the ladies taking a stroll down Bullis road at 8:30 am, if you happen to be reading this, I pinky swear I was taking this photo and not crouching to pee near the trees this morning.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Scrappy little things

Finished up this piece this morning. It's a bit different than the other pieces I've been working on but I'm sort of smitten with the scrappy little frames made up of the tiny bits of Graphic 45 papers that were nudging to be used. 


I've used this particular girl in another piece a couple of years ago and am starting to feel a bit sorry for her brother who gets omitted from the pieces. Perhaps he needs his own scrappy playground.

For far too long the bird feeders at Pixie Hill have been empty. This weekend I stocked up on seed and filled all of the feeders around this old place. Today the birds finally took notice and swarmed the joint!

Crows, chickadees, woodpeckers and about a dozen blue jays were all fluttering about and enjoying their meal this morning. It's quite a thing to see several different birds feed at the same feeder at the same time.


If you don't have blue jays where you live, they are pretty rough and tumble birds. They are quite beautiful but have an awful song voice. I swear, sometimes they sound like a kid with a broken whistle!


Before long the squirrels came out and I remembered why the feeders were empty to begin with. I don't mind them taking SOME food but the little buggers eat EVERYTHING from every feeder and chase away the feathered things.

I suppose you can't blame them. If someone left free food out for me I just might gobble it all up too!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Fetch me some clover

I've just completed this piece. Mixed media on 12" x 24" canvas. Quite big for me. I love the intamcy of small pieces but the impact of the larger scale is growing on me.


I'm really enjoying mixing up my mediums. Papercrafting, painting, collage... all smashed together! Sort of a banana split of art.

The four leaf clovers on the piece are real. I have a knack for finding them and have a whole collection of them in an old tobacco container.

On the bottom edge of the canvas, out of view, is a line I cut from a children's book which reads "Fetch me some young clover leaves" I was going to put it beneath the leaping hare but it didn't quite look right so I hid it.

Chances are no one else will notice it, but we will know it's there :)

Lest We Forget

Today is Remembrance Day.




That fellow on the left is my husbands grandfather. On the top right is my own granddad. Both men served and survived.


This is my great-granddad. He survived service too but was not unscathed. He lost the ends of both of his feet to frostbite. He was also stabbed with a bayonet while pretending to be dead as opposing forces checked bodies for survivors in the trench he was laying in.

A few years ago I attended a Remembrance Day service and the veteran who spoke said something that deeply affected me: the grief and remembrance demonstrated on this day should extend to ALL who have served and ALL who have suffered in the name of war. Today is not a glorification of war, but rather a reminder of the consequences of it.

And so today I'll remember the past (heaven help us all if we ever forget) but I'll hope for the future too.

Lest We Forget

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Snowballs and cottages

My house is starting to look like Santa's workshop. I don't mind one little bit but the dog is annoyed. He's a bit neurotic and doesn't like things to be placed in places he likes to lay. Sitting on the floor, watching the telly while painting toadstools drives him batty. He sits in front of me and gives me the stink eye until I give him a scratch behind the ear.

 


Despite all of the belly rubbing and ear scratching, I have managed to get quite a bit done. A small batch of cheeky snowballs are complete with lots on the way. I've put a listing up in the etsy shop for those who would like to pre-order a set of 4. $65 for a set of 4 handmade 3" ornaments. Single balls will be listed (after pre-orders have been filled) at $19.50 each.


I've also made a batch of bottled Christmas Magic and a set of these adorable Snowy Cottages. New faerie specimens, thimble gardens and little fairy landscapes are in the works too.


I know some people don't like to think about the holidays until such-and-such a date, but as a maker I'm already feeling a little like the white rabbit and checking my watch. The holiday spirit stirring already and I'm sure that by December I'll actually turn into a proper Christmas elf.

Good Morning: Light and leaves


The weather has been funny here. Cool and frosty, then warm, then wet, then cloudy, then sunny! As someone who has quite enough trouble dressing in the morning, I'd appreciate a bit of consistency so that I don't end up wearing shorts during a hail storm (hey, with my style sense it could happen).

This morning there was a damp chill in the air, but it was bright and sunny. It's miraculous what a little sunlight can do. I rambled over to the vegetable garden, which has finished bearing save the brussles sprouts and beets. There are a few things fighting against the chill. Our parsley is spreading and looks rather lush... which is funny because we haven't had much luck with it. The lambs ear is looking lovely and velvety too. Mossy patches still abound and have benefitted from the recent damp.


I think I'd rather be one of those 'weedy things' than a delicate flower. To survive and thrive after the chill, and witness the changing of the winds.

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

More works in progress

Every so often I am surrounded by half finished projects, waiting for everything to come together. Now is one of those times. There are boxes and stacks and piles of things waiting to be completed. Honestly, sometimes I think that if I were to choose a superpower I would have to select the amazing ability to make things dry faster.

Anywho, I've been working on some more large canvas'. Here are two that are 'in progress'.



These measure around 12" x 24" and there will likely be four of them when all is said and done. They combine paper collage and acrylic painting on canvas.

I'm also working on LOADS of little bits for this weekend's Christmas Bazaar at the Applefest Lodge in Brighton. I'll be there this Saturday from 10 till 2 if you'd like to pop in and say 'hello'.


Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Easy Place Settings with Graphic 45

We've already celebrated Thanksgiving in the Great White North but the 'thankful' madness is still on the way for my friends south of the border. In fact, there's a SLEW of celebrations coming our way! Why not put on some fancy pants and gussy up your table settings?


This elegant trio was created with Graphic 45's French Country to gussy up my table for a fancy dinner party celebration. All of the pieces were simple to create and could easily be adapted using any of the collections to match your table.


I'm a big, big fan of white napkins and plates. Starting with that white canvas makes it so easy to adorn and decorate your table with whatever colour palette you want to play with.


Hop over the the Graphic 45 blog today and you'll find a tutorial for all of these pieces as well as other beautiful fall decor ideas :)

Supplies:
Graphic 45 papers
Antique finish cardstock (or bond paper)
May Arts 3/8 Inch Satin Reversible Ribbon w/ Stitched Edge Green/Olive
Petaloo Flowers in tea-stained green
Glue
Napkins
Flameless candle

Friday, November 01, 2013

Wild Little Things

I've been working on some photos recently. They're an homage to the tale of the Cottingley Faeries. Other than a bit of adjustment to colour, contrast and that sort of thing, there is no funny business. The images were shot just as they appear. I'm still editing and shooting but I'm hoping to have some prints of the Wild Little Things available very soon.







Good Morning: Wind


It used to be that I thought wind was invigorating. To stand against it and feel it pushing back. To have mother nature arrange my hair. In my mind, it was wild and free.

When you live with old creaking trees nearby it becomes something altogether different. It's fierce and forceful. It can be like an army of invisible hooligans. They knock over chairs and toss things across the lawn. Sometimes they even knock over trees and vandalize the property.

I've always found those windy days where the clouds rush past in fast-forward a little unsettling. They rush past, blow the treetops like brooms against the sky. Sometimes they shake up the way for change and sometimes change is good... even if it makes us feel uneasy.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Hallowe'en


Just a quick note today, to extend warm wishes for a Happy Hallowe'en to you all.

Today I will be cleaning and cooking, preparing a feast before the trick-or-treating this evening. Each year we have a meal at the 'the good table' and set an extra place for any spirits who may want to partake with us. It is a time to remember those who have passed.

Tonight I will sip some wine and reflect on the passing year. I will resolve to remove the negative obstacles on my path and look toward creating a brighter future.

Before bed I will lay the cards and toss stones, and meditate on their meanings, accepting the guidance they provide.

Somewhere in there I'll also make brownies... because I am certain my kidlet will hoard his candy stash from his dear old mum and dad. I don't blame him one bit. ;)

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Cheeky Snowballs and Holiday Schedule 2013


The first batch of snowballs of the season are completed! Woo hoo! Yay! Hip hip hooray!


While the regular sized snowballs dry on my mantle, these little mini fellows are already gussied up. I'm sure my house will look like a blizzard has struck by weeks end with all that snowy glittery goodness messing the place up :)

For those interested in my holiday selling schedule: 

The ONLY craft show I am doing this season is at Applefest Lodge in Brighton on November 9th. It's a teeny weeny show with only a handful of vendors but I'll be there with bells on and lots of nice things in tow.

I have an exhibit at Impresartio Artisan Market in Cobourg for the month of December. I ALWAYS have work available here and I love that shop with all my heart (and Rebecca is the bees knees.) Not sure when the 'opening' will be but I'll post when a date is firmed up.

The studio will be open a handful of days in December. Want to come and poke around for holiday gifts at the studio? Excellent. As soon as my schedule is sorted I will post a list of 'open door' days. These will likely be mid-December.

Finally, I WILL be reserving items specifically for the etsy shop. I will post on the blog and on the facebook page when the listings are live.

Smoochy boochies lovely people!


Friday, October 25, 2013

Good Morning: Wishes and chills


It's another chilly morning here. I do like chilly frosty mornings. I'll take them over sweaty, stinkin' hot boilers any day. The dog is MUCH happier too. It's the husky in him... poor thing is miserable in the heat of summer. We're both feeling rather perky today.


The frost is starting to form in earnest now and it's beautiful. Everything is edged and embellished in cold glitter.


Even our BBQ is pretty. Just look at that landscape of ice.


Thank goodness for the abundance of inspiration for the winter projects that I'm working on.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Pleased toadstools

I am smitten!


I've made harvested a big batch of these funny toadstools. They are rather pleased with themselves. I'd be pleased with myself too if I were a red spotted toadstool.



My camera and the weather are not cooperating today, but once I can grab a few good snapshots there will be a couple of these listed in the etsy shop (however most will be heading over to Impresario Artisan Market for sale at some point this weekend).

ETA: HERE are the listings that will be available for the time being. There is one large and one small toadstool listed.

And one last picture for good measure :)


Morning Inspiration: Frost


It's getting nippy. The past few mornings have see a bit of frost on the ground, but I do believe today takes the cake with beautiful little shards of ice covering everything in the shade. It's quite beautiful. That lovely frosty coating and then the sun reflecting off of tiny bits of ice. Some people would say it glistens like diamonds... but I prefer glitter ;).

Getting these shots was an interesting process because as the sun quickly rose and the air warmed those little bits of ice melted... and fast! You could see the melting right before your eyes. Fascinating and sort of sad at the same time. All that hard work Jack Frost put into placing that ice just-so and 'poof!' it's gone.


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Sweet Sentiments and Spooky Peek-a-boo tag

Graphic 45 is revealing MORE gorgeousness on their blog today. It's day 8 of their sneak peek at their brand new collection "Sweet Sentiments". Being a big fan of butterflies, flowers and vintage images, I can't wait to get my hands on it!


There are a ton of great projects and eyecandy on the blog today so hop over there!

One of the projects mentioned on the blog (and actually rather spooky, and not sweet at all) is my peek-a-boo tag.


Heck, there's even a viddy tute to go along with it!


And the supply list:
Graphic 45 Staples:
Regular Tag Album
Petaloo Flowers and leaves
May Arts Ribbons
Gina’s Design Small Fence and Gate Set