March Break! (Mother if you're looking avert your eyes!)

Woo hoo! We're off to visit our old home town for March break. We're so excited to see some dearly missed friends and to roam some favourite places.

It's funny but one of the things I miss is the bus. It's more than the freedom that public transit gives a gal who doesn't drive... it's the people watching, the funny stories and the few moments alone that I miss. I do not miss the smell of pee or the crazy people :)

Anywho, it's also my mum's birthday next week and I have her inchies all framed and ready to go. Here they are all bunched together...

And sitting in their pretty frame...

When I went to pick up the frame last night I could not believe the prices of some of them! Christ almighty, there were crappy fake wood plastic things for $30+ Eeesh. So I convinced the hubby to go to HomeSense and picked up this much prettier one at a reasonable price. Have I ever mentioned how much I love that store? The kiddo hates it when we start to go through the doors of that heaven. "NO! I don't want to go in there!" He knows that we lose all sense of time when we cross that threshold :)

More time to enjoy...

With the house (fairly) neat and clean, and my work caught up for the moment, I've managed to get quite a bit of nice stuff done.

I've finally finished reading a book I began months ago (Dead and Unwed) and have even made a small dent in a second. When the house is being shown I skedaddle out of the house, go for a walk and bury my head in a book. I didn't realize just how much I miss that bit of daily reading time until sort of being forced back into it. I'm glad for the push.

Today, when I returned home I noticed that the lookers were still looking at the house so I snuck over to my local crafty place. I picked up some loverly little bits of fabric for my fat fibre book and managed to make a few 'blank' pages this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to the embellishing and seeing what becomes of them. It's only just begun but I already love the look of those pages stacked together with the wee dangly bits poking out. *dreamy sigh* I hope it turns out well :)

Oh the horror!

I was working on a last minute birthday gift for the kiddo and my sewing machine (I call her Betsy) decided to have a hissy fit today. Every once in a while she decides to have a mental health day. She's very particular.

I walked away, giving her time to cool off, and made my way into the kitchen to bake the birthday boy a cake.



Banana cake filled with peanut butter and jam filling and topped with chocolate icing. Yum!

I will admit here that the icing is not homemade. I'm a bit of a terror when it comes to icing and usually do one of two things... ruin the entire batch, or only make enough to ice 3/4 of the damned cake. I saved myself some heart break this year and just bought a tub of the stuff.

The stillness lasted about a day.

I found myself with a bit of free time this afternoon and had no idea what to do with myself. I can't really work on any paper crafts... too messy. Ditto for painting, baking and most other fun stuff. I couldn't bear the craft-free period any longer, so I decided to pick through my scrappy fabric stash and sew up some pages for a fiber fat-book.

What's a fiber fat-book? I suppose it's sort of like an altered journal with fabric pages. Check out the craft-along on craftster and drool over the loveliness on the thread :)

Here's my afternoon's efforts...





As someone who had a very hard time creatively 'letting go' projects like this are awesome, they are just giant experiments that have no right or wrong. There's no need to trim every thread, those dangly bits become wonderful parts of the whole. It's more about space, colour, texture and the creative process.

That sounded FAR too artsy so I'll shut up now :)

A picture is worth a thousand words...

... too bad not all of them are true.

I have a love/hate relationship with house hunting. I sit glued to MLS pouring over each and every listed property. I ogle photos of houses that seem absolutely divine. I fall head over heels with sweet old homes that seem to need just a little love and attention.

Then we visit properties and are rudely shoved back into reality.

We've seen some pretty interesting places on our adventures in house hunting. There was the house with the pirate ship stained glass window in the living room (the port hole was a peep hole into the adjoining bedroom). The house with the three balconies you couldn't physically get to. The 8 acre property where the land was practically vertical. The lovely old house that had been hit by a car... 4 times. The place with the shirtless chubby preteen who literally had a hole cut/punched out of the wall for his closet. We've encountered the reek of cat pee, wet dog and stale cigarettes, countless dirty coffee mugs, filth, dirt, bugs, and loads of other weirdness.

I am not a clean freak by any stretch of the imagination. I hate doing dishes, I have more than one 'junk drawer' and I'd always opt for fun over cleaning if possible. My tastes are not extravagant and 'Out-dated' doesn't bother me one bit. Still, finding the right house sometimes seems like it will be an impossibility.

Christ! It kinda makes me feel sorry for the picky buggers looking for houses out there!

Trying to do nothing.

When I say that I am a 'mess maker' it really is the gods honest truth! I can't seem to do anything without making a terrible mess. I don't mind it under normal conditions but for the past few weeks I've been working like a maniac to clean this place and get it ready for sale.

It really is a lovely house. *sigh* Ah well, we'll just have to find another to gussy up.

The trick now is to try and remain perfectly still until this place sells so that I don't spoil the cleanliness.

Here we go again *sigh*

We've decided to move. Again.

It's a long story which would best be told through a dramatic mini-series so I'll save all the torrid little details and just give the gist.

As most of you know we've been facing some noise issues since our move. It has taken a lot of time and a great deal of effort but we've been assured by the office of the Minister of the Environment that they are "actively working to ensure that the City of Quinte West and CBF resolve the noise issue." Thank the gods.

While we love our new neighbours, and are pleased as can be that the noise issue will be resolved, this whole experience has left a bad taste in our mouths and we simply aren't happy here. This is not the new life we imagined for our family. Rather than wallow in misery we'll pick up, move forward, and try, try again.

I hate moving. I despise packing. I don't like picking up boxes one little bit. What I do like are the possibilities that lay ahead. There is no doubt in my mind that we went through this ordeal for a reason and that there are much better times ahead ;)

Soooo, if I'm a tad quiet over the next while you know it's because I'm busy packing, sorting, organizing or busy doing something else that isn't nearly as fun as crafting. Wish us luck!

The Power of Advertising

Today, while I would rather be making stuff, is floor day. My wood floors dull. I've been having a hard time finding anything to make them shine. I've tried Murphy's and just about every other product short of renting a buffer but still no shine. I decided to give "Rejuvenate Floor Restorer" a try. The $20 price tag had deterred me, but it was time to cave in.

The before shot...

After...

The results aren't quite as miraculous as the photos on the label but they are pretty darned good and I am happy with my purchase. Did they make our floors look brand spanking new? No. Will I be redoing my floors again with this product. You bet.

Infomercials are a favourite of our 6 year old, 'the Big D'. For over a year he's been asking for that crazy Lord's Prayer Cross. "But mum! It says it would make the perfect gift for Easter." I have had to explain to him several times that as pagan parents we are not likely to spend $40 on that.

For Christmas this year he had some money of his own to buy presents. He bought himself and his dad matching Snuggy blankets. For days leading up to Christmas he kept asking my husband "Wouldn't you like a blanket you can watch tv in, or answer the phone with ease?"

Lastly we have the Slap Chop. My kid loves this commercial. Just last night we discussed it at the dinner table.

"You know mum, if you had the Slap Chop you could cut everything up easily."

"D, did you know that product doesn't work very well? They tried it on tv and they said the food gets stuck in the blades."

"But it opens up like a butterfly!"

Thank the gods he hasn't discovered the shopping network!

Pee-wee Love

There is a new Pee-wee's Playhouse show running in LA and I wish I could call upon Jambi to fly me down to see the great Mr. Herman live and in person. It's not an exaggeration to say that Paul Reubens, the mastermind behind Pee-wee, is one of the most influential people in my life.

The Pee-wee character, the Playhouse world, the movies, were a huge part of my youth. I remember playing spin the bottle after watching the original "The Pee-wee Herman Show". I got to see "Big Top Pee-wee" on the big screen at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Perhaps most importantly, as a poor weird kid, living in a house with no phone, surrounded by abuse and alcohol, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" was a sweet and silly, candy coloured escape from my reality. Into adulthood Pee-wee continued to see me through life's difficulties including grief after loss.

Pee-wee has never failed to instill at least a small glimmer of delight, even in the darkest of circumstances. The whole Pee-wee world is like all the best and happiest things you can imagine rolled into a lovely sparkly ball of glee. It's what I've come to strive to for. Aspiring for a perfectly positive, wonderfully silly life is a pretty nice dream to have.

I'm totally tickled Paul Reubens (who is all around awesome in so many ways) is bringing Pee-wee back. I can not believe that I've never done any Pee-wee crafting! Soooo, next week I'm devoting some quality time to creating fantastical Pee-wee inspired thing-a-ma-bobs and hopefully make my own big sparkly ball of glee a little bigger in the process.

Official Website for Pee-wee's Playhouse and Pee-wee Herman

Valentine Magic

The current challenge on the craftster papercraft board is to create a Valentine Matchbox Shrine that includes a surprise. I've just finished my entry, here's a sneak peek.

It measures 1.5" x 2" x .5" (not including the dangly bits)

Inside are a few bits for love magic: love powder, cinnamon sticks, comfry root, a rose bud, a lemon verbena leaf and a secret love note.

The surprise? The love note is written in lemon juice so the message can't be read unless you hold it to a flame.

The actual note says something a little different and is safely stowed away in the shrine :)

Hurrah for mail!

The mail brought with it my latest photo purchases today.



When you're looking for photos you'll find that pretty ladies doing sweet things, detailed dresses and cute little girls will fetch higher prices. These three wee boys, the young gentleman, and two fantastic old biddies cost me a whopping $8... including shipping.

The women are truly awesome. I felt sorry for the boys because no one had bid on the poor things so I tossed my pennies in. If you decided to buy your own pics you may find that the images are a bit worn, scratched or stained but for me nothing beats saving an old ghost in the name of craftiness.

Also today... it blows me away how the goddess'/gods manage to provide me with exactly what I need. Something seemingly impossible to obtain landing directly on my doorstep. *sigh* I love that :)

Faeries and Godmothers

I've been so inspired by other people's work lately that I thought I should do my part to encourage the flow of creativity juice. Here's a few fine ladies just begging to be included in a collage, to be turned into magical Godmothers or to be donned with wings and made into Faeries.



I only ask that you refrain from being a cheeky bugger. Don't sell them or profit from them, don't include them in collage sheets/CD's, and don't take them and post them on your own site. I'm not asking for credit or even a link... I'm just asking that you use them to make something!

Bumble Bee Shrine

This is one of two projects that I've had on the go this past week. It's a wee shrine to Bumble Bee's and the colour yellow. While I do love beeswax, and I appreciate the importance of bees, I have to admit that I don't have a deep rooted fascination with them... I'm sort of scared to death when one comes anywhere near me. I also don't really care for the colour yellow. Hmmm... truth be told I'm not exactly sure what brought on the sudden desire to make a 'Bee themed' anything :)

And still more inchies!

I actually have a number of things on the go at the moment but they are all in awkward stages of creation and not very pretty just yet so I'm afraid you're stuck looking at more inchies today :)



Inches are proving to be a welcome distraction between waiting for paint to dry on one project while glue sets on another. They are also a really great way to experiment and try new techniques. After oogling the lovely waxed ATC's by AlwaysInspired I decided to try my hand at waxing some inchies. Here are some of my favourites of the bunch.

More inchies!

Oookay... I'm still making inchies :) Here are some shabby chic fabric ones I've been working on.



I basically took a length of pink scrap fabric, sewed some bits of other pink and white fabric and ribbons to it, experimented with different stitches on my sewing machine and then chopped the whole thing into 1" squares and added glitter, buttons and other wee things.

I don't often manage to make things that are sweet and homey but I do love these little bits. They are kind of what I'm like if you dig deep down inside :)

On the witchy front I've been spending the new year cleaning and clearing my home, making the way clear for good things to come.

Inchies!

What exactly is an inchie? It's a one inch square little work of art!

Although I'd never made them before inchies are something I've wanted to try for a while. What better way than to get the creativity started than by signing up for an 'inchies' swap on craftster.

I spent the other day cutting out hundreds of 1" squares and jumped right in.



While you can buy a 1" square punch, I found that cutting the wee squares by hand was a really nice process. I love things that I can focus on and not really think much about... for me it's sort of like meditation. The problem now is that I have 100's of squares waiting for me to embellish :)

Working in such a tiny space is challenging. I may try to do some decorating and doodling and chop a page into squares after the fact to see what the results are.

Let the making begin! 2010 edition.

It's 4 days into 2010 and I've been hard at work making stuff. I've started to crochet a throw (which I kinda wish I hadn't made so large) that I've made some nice progress on and I'm itching to try my hand at some inchies.

I've also managed to finish up something that has been waiting for ages to be completed. I promised a Crone doll to a fellow witchy gal quite a while back and I've finally gotten around to getting her gussied up. She's a Hoodoo Crone Doll and measures about 8.5" tall





A close up of her goodies. Mojo bags with a tooth and shell, a black heart, a bottle of magic, a bone and other bits of goodness :)