Today's Magic

Awhile back, I made and sent a journal for my friend DJ whom I met through MMCA. She had a broken leg and I thought getting something fun in the mail might cheer her up. Today, in my Magic Mailbox, was a gift from DJ-this beautiful mixed media book. (My apologies about the colours or lack thereof-it's overcast today and with the light being an issue, the photos are not doing justice to the real thing!) It's absolutely gorgeous and I was just in awe as I was paging through it. Dj painted in it and everything. I especially love that the girl in it has green eyes and reddish hair like me!! I also love the quotes she put in the book-I have a thing for quotes. The pages are all scraps and bits of paper and the whole thing is kind of wonky-no perfectly cut pages!! That gives it so much character and life. DJ left some of the pages blank so I can add my own art and writings to it. It's perfectly delicious and I am so grateful for this sweet and thoughtful gift. It's not even my birthday yet and here I am being showered with pressies!

If you would like to see more of DJ's inspiring work, please visit her website. (I promise her photographs of her work at 1000 times better than mine!) DJ is also teaching at Artfiberfest in late June. I am so excited because I am taking her Artfolio class AND I will finally get to meet her in person. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Love ya DJ and thank you for blessing my day. This book is a real treasure. xox

Edit: DJ has some far better photos of the book she made for me on her website. Click here to see them. (Pictures 5, 12 & 13 on the page.)

15 Days Left!!

Just a reminder folks that the premier isssue of the Portals zine (in which yours truely is the Featured Artist!) is due out in 15 days!! Portals is the work of heART of friends, artists and partners Heather Simpson-Bluhm of HannahGrey.com and Joleen Thiessen of LoveJoleen.com

Each issue will include inspirational articles, tutorials, features and art in addition to extra bits you may use for creating your own art.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

Online Classes!

Kristi of Designedly Kristi is once again offering online classes. You can learn some wonderful new techniques to use in your own art, without even having to leave home! Her classes will be offered four times a year, two classes at a time.

The first term of 2006 will begin March 1st. You can take the popular Bodacious Backgrounda class as well as the Printmaking Techniques for the Home Studio class. Click here to sign up and see a complete class listing.

Go! Have fun! Tell Kristi I sent ya!

The Magical Mailbox

I have decided that my mailbox is a magical one. Just about every week there is some form of art and friendship in it. Yesterday I got TWO parcel pick up notices so I went down to the PO this morning to see what had come.

One box had my sweet friend Tracy Roos' return address on it. Inside was an early birthday pressie for me. Tracy and I share a birthday, but it's not till next month. (The day after Spring!) She made me the prettiest pair of earrings. It's serendipidy-just yesterday I was thinking that it was kinda sad that I didn't own a single pair of handmade artsy earrings and presto! here they are!! I am *so* pleased and can't wait to wear them! She also made a beautiful ATC. It's gorgeous and is going on the shelf next to my computer so I can look at it all the time. Thank you dear Tracy for thinking of me and making special gifts for me. xo

See the yellow critter? Last year I sent Tracy's daughter Kimber a whole box full of sewing notions and fabric because...well I have a son and he's not into sewing (god forbid!) but Kimber had just received a new sewing machine and was learning to sew and making monster dolls. Being a quilter, I knew I had more fabric than I would ever use so I bundled a bunch up and sent it to her. (I also know how much fun it is to get a surprise in the mail.) Anyway the little yellow critter is the work of Miss Kimber and I love it. Kid art is fantastic and fun and I am thrilled to have this cool gift from her. It will keep Cynjon's green eyed monster company here at casa del chaos. I love the look on her face-she looks totally surprised-kinda how I looked when I opened the box and saw her! THANKS KIMBER-YOU ROCK!

And what was in box #2? It was Stacie Rife's calendar for the RR we are doing on MMCA. It's HUGE! I was so surprised it really was as big as the box it arrived in. It's also phoenominal. I am only peson #2 to work in it and I am floored with the work already in it. The bar has been set high let me tell you!

Ahh mail love-'tis bliss!

Postal Delights!

On Tuesday I received a parcel pick up notice. When I went down to collect my parcel yesterday, I had no idea who had sent what. Once I had the box in hand, I realized it was my returns for the Art Erratica Danglies Swap!

The first heart is from Melissa Mc Cobb Hubble and is this rich, gorgeous combination of velvet and fabric, beads and sequins. Utterly delighful!

The second comes from Lisa. I love how she used a variety of materials. It's delicious!

The third is from Tuatha. The copper work is beautiful.

Enchy made the Polymer clay shrine. I really love the colours and the dangly part is wonderful.

The anatomically correct heart is the work of Jane Wynn. I remember seeing her post pic of her work awhile back and I had *SO* hoped to find one in my mail box. I am delighted to have one in my posession!! What you can't tell from this photo is that when you hold the heart up to the light, the light shines through like stained glass.

Everyone's work is so beatiful and impressive and I am so pleased with everything I received. Now the trick is to find a special place to hang them all.

*If you liked Melissa's heart and would like one for your very own, she has them for sale! Here is her shop.*

Gifty 3

So at the end of January, I joined this swap called Gifty. Leslie matches bloggers together and you send your partner a parcel with gifts of about no more than $10. I mailed mine out to my partner and then aside from wiating anxiously to see if she posted that she got it (it's still in transit somewhere on it's way to Australia) I forgot all about the fact that I would also be receiving something.

This parcel arrived today from Australia! In it was some handmade cards my partner Leslie (not Gifty Leslie, but Oobie Leslie) made, a beautiful leather pouch in which to keep my special pens (also made by Leslie! The leather smells so good!) some cool pencils, some teeny clothespegs, and in the white cotton pouch some glass wire wrapped hearts, some paper scraps for collage and these beautiful shells. The shells are just fascinating. See how one makes a spiral? See the wonderful strips on the conical ones? And the little white ones are remarkable-look at the star shapes on them! They are like teeny masterpieces and I just love them! I need to figure out how I can add them to a piece of jewellery so I can enjoy them forever.

Interestingly, Leslie used to live right here in Vancouver! Maybe that's why Gifty Leslie matched us up. Leslie has recently moved toAustralia and launched a new business-Oobie, You have to go check out her blog and see the sweet things she makes.

Leslie, thank you for the thoughtful and beautiful gifts. You really made my day. I hope when your parcel arrives you find it equally delightful. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

*Tomorrow's post: The heart ornies that also came in the mail today from the Art Erratica Valentine's Danglies Swap. Don't miss it!! Get your eyecandy fix!!

Coiling Away!

As you can see I have been giving my new Rubicoiler a good work out. I love being able to put together what I want, when I want!! I have a "thing" for little books and I fear this will lead to me making them endlessly now. LOL!

I can't wait to see what others have made for their trades for Artfest. A friend online showed me a photo of all her trades (that she received) lying on her bed last year and I was stunned by how many she had-there had to have been at least 100 different things. I don't know that I will come home with that many, but it will be fun to trade and then haul the booty back to the house we are staying in and open them one by one. It will be like my birthday all over again!! (My birthday is a week before Artfest!)

It's been a rough couple of weeks with Celine losing her sister Barbara, Stacie losing her sweet dog Bailey and my upstairs neighbours about to lose their 24 year old son to a brain tumour. It's amazing how other people's losses and grief will stir up your own. So I have been lying low and just making art to cope- my own version of "art therapy". For me it's just a way to be in the moment and to just let things go and if nothing else, it's good to keep my hands busy.

On with the books!

A Bevy of Books!

So for the last few days I have been working on my trades for Artfest. Apparently the trades are a big deal and I am kinda excited about it. I have been making all kinds of things to swap with people.

Over the weekend, I came up with the idea to make these teeny little notebooks. I thought they would come in handy for people to jot down addresses, emails, that kind of thing. It was also a good way to break in my new Rubicoil machine!

Yesterday I went over to my friend Penn's gorgeous new house (which is almost finished being built-just the small details left to complete) and showed her all my trade stuff. She was oohing and aahing so I guess that means I did okay! :)

The funny thing is that while I have prearranged to swap with friends I know who are coming, I have no idea how many other people will want to trade with me, so I keep right on making things. It's okay if I come home with some-no biggie. I have been toying with the idea of perhaps selling some of these things on my website, but haven't made up my mind yet one way or the other.

Only 37 more sleeps to go!!

Blog Etiquette 101

I hate making a post like this, but I really feel I have to. It's something that needs to be said.

My friend Stacie lost her sweet dog Bailey this week. Bailey was her heart and soul and I know she is hurting deeply about it. She shared this on her blog and people posted to offer her some comfort, as well they should. That's what good friends do, especially in our close knit community of mixed media artist. In the midst of all the love and support people were offering came someone who seemed to think that Stacie sharing her loss was a slap in the face to another friend who lost her sister on the same day. This person who came along not only berated Stacie for her post, but also hid behind a fake email address.

It really sickens me that someone out there would use Stacie's blog to kick her when she's down. It's just plain mean. Anyone who knows Stacie, knows that she is very sweet and soft hearted. The loss of her dog was very significant to her and she is hurting. That's all any of us needs to know. It's not for anyone to judge and it certainly isn't appropriate for anyone to deliberately hurt her by trying to make her feel like she did something wrong. She didn't, plain and simple.

Our blogs are a place to share whatever we choose to share. If for some reason what people write offends you, don't read. It's that simple. I feel very sorry for the person who did this. It shows not only a lack of good judgement, but also a lack of compassion. As I have said once before, when in doubt, be kind.

New Toy, New Friend, New Journal.

So yesterday my Rubicoil arrived and I had a project waiting in the wings. Myself and 4 friends are going to Artfest together and sharing a house. For ages I was trying to figure out if anyone else was going to be sharing the house along with us and just had no luck. Finally I checked with Teesha and it turns out, one more person will be staying in 6W with us. Her name is Deb and she is super nice. I emailed her because I thought it would be great to get to know her before we all converge at Ft. Worden-after all, we would all much rather come into a house filled with friends than have that awkward moment of meeting as total strangers.

Anyway, I emailed Deb and it turns out she is a true kindred spirit and I know we are all going to get along just fine. In fact, I am positive our house will be the one filled with laughter and hijinks. (That's just the kind of gals we are!)

Back in November, my group of gal pals got together and we all made journals to take with us to Artfest to record our trip in. These are wonderful journals with pockets and tags and all kinds of neat stuff in them and each one is specific to the person who made it. After chatting back and forth with Deb, I decided to make her a journal so she can join in the fun with us. So...that is Deb's journal and it goes into the mail to her in California this week so she can start jotting things down in it! I am *so* looking forward to meeting her and a number of other dear friends I have known online for quite some time but never met in person. It's going to be a fantastic time. I am also excited about spending time with the friends I am traveling with. They are a lovely bunch and I adore them all.

Only 38 more sleeps!!

New Toy!!

For ages now I have wanted a Rubicoil machine. Really, it's a glorified hole punch, but it allows you to add a coil binding to any book you are making. My friend Penn has one and it's what we use to bind all our collaborative books. (Aka chunky books.) I really like this binding method-it looks good and it's pretty easy to do.

Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and ordered one and it should be in my hot little hands by then end of the day! YAY!! I have several projects I need to bind and having a machine of my own is going to be great! (Can you tell I am simply gleeful about adding another "toy" to my collection?!?)

With love for Celine in Memory of Barbara

"And when you hear a song
Or see a bird I loved,
Please do not let the thought of me be sad
for I am loving you
Just as I always have.
You were so good to me!

There are so many things
I wanted still to do,
So many things
I wanted to say to you.
Remember that I did not fear. . .
It was just leaving you
That was so hard to face.

We cannot see beyond
But this I know: I loved you so. . .
'twas heaven here with you."

~ Isla Paschal Richardson

Playing

The current issue of Somerset Studio had a brief article on making "Tinnies". I liked the look of them and thought I would play around at making one. My friend Mo had a whole pile of house paint she was happy to share with me in soft pinks, butter yellows and lime green. (All the colours that were popular in the 20's and 30's.)

Anyway, feeling a bit under the weather today, I decided to just fiddle around and this is what I came up with. The brass tag is a real dog tag and the dog is from a Monopoly game. The rick-rack also came from Mo-she had a whole pile of delicious colours in her stash that she picked up from garage sales. I am going to have to start checking more of them out! I love the old colours!

I think I will use this Tinnie to store my charcoal and pastel pencils in. Fun!

Portals Zine Update!!

For all of you patiently waiting for more information on the premier issue of the Portals Zine, the wait is over! Click here to find out all about it!!

YAY!!

Valentines!!

The other day I came home to a big box on my front doorstep. It was from my pal Deb. A box from Deb is always a good thing! She sent me all kinds of fun goodies to art with and this adorable primitive folk art angel by Dan Di Paolo. The funny thing is that years ago I clipped an article about Dan's work because I loved his stuff. His work in wood is very similar to my style of work in textiles, which was why I was drawn to it. Deb had no idea, but as usual, she flawlessly had me pegged. One brain Deb, one brain!!

Thank you dear friend for spoiling me and totally making my day. xo

At Long Last

Friday!! The Olympics are here! The Olympics are here!! WOOHOO!!! And to mark this wonderful occasion, I am making an authentic Italian dinner tonight!! In addition to all the goodies we bought last weekend for our Opening Ceremonies dinner, I managed to get some gelato nearby two days ago-chocolate hazelnut-MMM!! The only thing I didn't manage to find was the Italian sodas for some reason, but we can do without. No biggie.

The opening ceremonies are running starting at 1 p.m. today in real time, but I promised I would be good and not watch them till they repete at 7 p.m. so we can watch as a family. We are even timing dinner so we can eat and watch at the same time. I am so excited!!

If you want to visit the official Torino Olympic site, click here.

For Olympic themed screen savers click here.

You will find Olympic wallpaper here.

Waching a sport but just don't get it? Click here to get an animated crash course in the finer points of a particular discipline.

And of course, the site I rely on for all my Olympic information, the good old CBC can be found here!

Let the games begin!!

Call and Answer

Joleen asked: Who are your top 3 favorite modern-day artists?
Ansel Adams
Bill Reid
The Shakers

Farrell emailed and asked: What are your favourite top ten songs?

*Get Out The Map-Indigo Girls
*Tuesday Morning-Melissa Etheridge
*Breathe-Melissa Etheridge
*Life Uncommon-Jewel
*Good Mother-Jann Arden
*Summer, Highland Falls-Billy Joel
*Into the Mystic-Van Morrison
*Brickhouse-The Commodores
*Sweet Suburban Sky-Paddy Casey
*Crabbuckit-K-Os

'Cause all the Cool Kids Are Doin' It!

The latest incarnation of a meme is this:

Ask me questions and I will answer them in my next post.

Ready? Set? Go!

Exciting Announcement!!

Portal n. (pôrtl) 1. A doorway, entrance, or gate, especially one that is large and imposing. 2. An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge. 3. A website considered as an entry point to other websites, often by being or providing access to a search engine.

Next month, in about the middle of March, a new zine is coming out. It's the joint venture of the ladies who are Love Joleen and Hannah Grey. The theme of the first issue is Portals, but that is also the name of the Zine. Future issues will feature themes on beads and dolls so there will be lots to read, learn and inspire!

Why am I telling you all this? Well about a month ago, I received an email from Joleen asking me if I would be interested in being the Featured Artist of their premier issue! I recently completed my interview and have sent off images of my artwork to be included in the publication. Now all that's left to do is watch and wait!

If you are interested in checking out Portals, please visit either Hannah Grey or Love Joleen for more information. I am sure they will be posting purchasing details soon. If you would like to submit artwork for consideration, please contact Joleen for more details.

Happy reading everyone!

*Edit:
A quick word from Joleen:
Thanks for posting about this!! :) We really appreciate your help in getting the word out. We're so excited to be featuring you.

Everyone: You can find information regarding the zine here:
http://joleensartisticendeavors.blogspot.com/2006/01/portals.html

All article and theme ideas/contributions for future issues would be greatly appreciated. We are still looking for portals artwork if you'd like to contribute! Thanks!

Countdown to the Olympics!

I took this picture while down on Commercial Drive in Vancouver today. I just thought the graphics were kind of vintage and interesting.

The reason I was down on "The Drive" is because Friday, February 10th is the opening ceremonies of the Torino Olympics. Anyone who knows me well knows everything in my life stops for the Olympics. I love the Olympics. It doesn't matter to me whether they are the summer or winter version. I don't care, although the winter version has more events I adore. Anyway, seeing as Torino will be hosting, I decided that it would be fun to serve an autentic Italian dinner. (I was inspired by my friend Kristi.) Where better to shop for ingredients, than in "little Italy" which is essentially Commercial Drive?

So what are we having? Well we went to The First Raveoli Shop and bought...raveoli! We got three cheese and cheddar and garlic. We also got some mildly spicy Italian sausage, some huge green olives, a box of mocha ice wafer style cookies and a lemon cake. There was this beautiful bakery down the street where we bought two loaves of cheese and roasted garlic bread. We didn't manage to find a store selling a case of Italian sodas or a gelato place that was open, but there are a couple of Italian delis and a gelato place close to home where I think I can find some. I also plan to make pickled asperagus wrapped in prochutto (Don't even ask me if I spelled that right!) as an appetizer.

While down on The Drive, I also came across a cool store called Terra Del Sol. They had a ton of Dias de los Muertos and Frieda stuff in the window and I want to go back when they are open. (The owners are away on business right now.)

Vancouver is such a great city. I love that people come here from all over the world and enrich our country with their culture, food, music, art and traditions. It makes things so much more interesting when you can learn how other people live. I didn't grow up here so I had never walked Commercial Drive before. It was really interesting and the people were very friendly and helpful.

Anyway, I am now really looking forward to our dinner Friday night! Italian dinner and the Olympics-it doesn't get any better than that!!

Guilty Pleasures

Sarah of Rustic Designs has left the challenge for us to list 5 of our guilty pleasures. Here are mine:

1. Reality shows: Starting Over, Survivor, The Amazing Race, American Idol. I watch all of them faithfully. (EEK!) The Amazing Race is an interesting way to see the world and Phil is just adorable. American Idol is just too darn funny. Who tells these people they can sing?!

2. Starbuck's Chai Lattes. At $6 a pop, my husband would have a COW if he knew I was addicted. (Although his Tim Horton's habit is pretty fierce. He goes almost daily while I only go about once every 2 weeks.) What are they putting in these beverages to get us hooked? Crack?

3. Blogging. (Are you really all that surprised?) I love being able to read what my artsy pals are up to and see all the eyecandy. I have a huge list I scroll through twice daily. I enjoy writing here too! I can't tell you how many people have looked at me strangely when they hear I blog or ask me what the heck that is and why people would do it. It seems weird to me that they don't know!

4. Monster Truck Shows. When we first got together, my husband was really surprised to find out that I love these events. I get a kick out of demolition derbies and motocross racing. I have no idea why-it's not really a Canadian past time, but when this kind of thing comes to town I buy tickets. I have even bumped into some people I know while at the event and they are always shocked to see me there. Once my husband told a co-worker that we were going and the guy made a comment about him dragging me along. He was baffled when my husband told him that I was the one who bought the tickets! One of the funniest things I ever saw at the Monster Truck show was skidoo racing on dirt-sparks were flying everywhere!

5. Disco Music. Don't ask me why-I just love it. The older I get, the more I enjoy it. In fact when I was about 10, I took disco dance lessons. (Isn't that totally geeky?! Well if John Travolta ever comes knocking, I can do the Hustle with full confidence!) The Bee Gees, ABBA, Boney M...I love it all! Brickhouse is my favourite-you can't listen to that song without getting your boogie on!

So what are your guilty pleasures? Do tell!

Surfing the Web

Sometimes when I am feeling kinda blue (or bored!), I cheer myself up by going cyber shopping. I don't really buy anything-I just find things I would love to own if I had tons of money to just sprinkle around. I look and I dream and sometimes if I desperately have to have it, it goes on my to-buy list.

Here's tonights shoppings:

This is something I would love to have. I love that it says "Faith" and the colours are beautiful.

I recently treated myself to the number from this set, but I would like these.

And this would be a dream bag to haul my art around in. Look at those colours!!

These are just delicious! It would be a toss up whether to use them or frame them though!

Now wasn't that fun?!