Gather!

 A few weeks ago, when I volunteered to help with This is East Van's book launch and gallery open, I crossed paths with Cariann who invited me to an event she was putting on called Gather Pop Up Shop. It's an event that boasts some really wonderful art and unique handmade goods for sale, some great creative workshops plus a daily happy hour. It began on Friday, runs through the end of Sunday and then it's gone!

The venue is at the corner of Carrall and Cordova in Vancouver, on the edge of Gastown.

There are a bunch of brightly altered bikes parked out front, so the place is hard to miss.

Pretty windows!

Love this giant lantern!

These are the pop up girls-they rode around Vancouver on those crazy coloured bikes handing out free gourmet popsicles.

This is a really cool art installation inside the venue.

I signed up for an artful city walk workshop with Gabriel Carbrera. We poked around the nooks and crannies of the neighbourhood, taking photos. Most people were using their iPhones and Instagram. Gabriel shared lots of tips and tricks about using Instagram and a variety of apps.I don't own an iPhone (sadly) so I shot with my Rebel. (Which was fine with me!)

Part way though our walk, we popped into a local restaurant, Nelson the Seagull for a bite to eat.

There were expecting us and prepared most delicious bread I've ever tasted, along with homemade preserves and lemonade served in 1/2 pint Mason jars. I was so charmed by the prairie feel of this place. It felt like home to me. I'll most certainly be stopping by again.

I took a ton of photos, but it's going to be a day or so before I have time to work with them. I'll post some when I get a chance.

Yesterday, I also won a Gather goodie bag and a free workshop for a friend and I so tomorrow I'll be taking a stitchery class. I'll tell you all about it in my next post.

A Shoppin' Good Time

This weekend my pal Penn and I went shopping for art goodies.

Here are the spoils:

7 Gypsies, which are one of my all-time favourite companies, made this incredible sheet of rubber. There are sixty four different stamps in all for a mere $15! (On sale.) That was a steal because if you do the math (which I did and I'm sure Penn did too because we both bought one) that works out to 23c per stamp. I recommend clicking on the image to read all the cool things they say. I can't wait to play with these!

And then there was the inevitable paper purchases. I freely admit I am a paper junkie. I'm hardcore about it, but I don't feel guilty because I actually use what I have. I'm not stockpiling or hoarding here-as far as I'm concerned, there's no point buying it if you're not going to enjoy it. Anyway, this one is Authentique "Blissful". I love the folk-arty feel of this one in a soft antique mustard gold.

Basic Grey, is one of my tried and true go-to companies for great papers. I love them! I got this strippy one-I think bits will find their way into some of my ROD journals. (The arc of yellow is what's on the other side-these are two-sided papers.) This line is called Out of Print and this piece is "Classifieds".

Another from the same line, called "Bits & Pieces". I am obsessed with circles. You would not believe the amount of circle paper I have.

 "Tribune". I love the layering on this one.

 "Newsflash" which reminds me of a quilting pattern I've done called "Bullseye". I have a stack of blocks, enough to make a queen sized quilt sewn. I've just never got around to piecing the top. One of these days! The blocks are all Aunt Gracies (1920's & 30's reproduction fabrics) on a white background. They are something special and piecing them in this way really makes them pop. One day I'll post pics.

 I am not a fan of Martha, but she does make some really cool Hallowe'en stuff. I decided I needed this set of paper tapes. There's a black doily pattern, black wood grain, spiders and then a roll of spider web. There's a fair bit of tape on the rolls. Fun stuff!

And lastly, I bought this package of post-it notes made by Smash. They have some really fun products and I can see myself buying more. I thought these would be fun to add to my RODs.

Speaking of RODs, I've been working on the one I started in January. It's almost ready. I will be sewing the signatures into the cover soon. I took it with us and showed Penn my progress over lunch. She gave me one of the fabrics I used in the cover for Xmas.

Right now I'm working on two Hallowe'en Petite Inspiration Boxes for a swap. I did the spring swap and had so much fun, I decided to sign up again. (You can see those boxes here, here and here.) I've been hunting and gathering bits in the last week. Today I hope to work on the boxes themselves. They have to be in the mail before the end of the month.

I'm also busy with week two of Swan Dive, which I am enjoying. Fall is turning out to be a busy time!

The Magic Mailbox: Japanese Goodness

 About two weeks ago, I was reading Kelly Kilmer's blog and she posted about her Washi tape. I've been collecting it for awhile now, after Teesha got me hooked. (Behold the power of the internet!) Keeley posted a link to her favourite source, Washimatta, so I went to have a look....and as you can see, Veni Vidi Emi-I went, I saw, I bought!

 There are some really cool postage stamps on the package.

 Waves, such a part of Japanese culture...kinda of sad given the current state of things.

 I'm going to save then all and they will find a their way into one of my ROD journals.

 Even these little stickers for the postal carrier are adorable. Smart to put this one on as spring in BC equals a fair bit of rain and believe me, I've had parcels arrive that have been dropped in puddles. (My passport in fact, which is when I learned that the leather covers which are dark blue are NOT colourfast. It was destroyed.)

 The crying, broken coffee cup! Love it!

 Karen, the proprietress of Washimatta wrapped everything so nicely, it was a treat to open it.

 When I looked at the back of the tag, she's written this little note, which is why I am posting this. If you go to Washimatta, and order tape, she is donating the proceeds to the Japanese relief effort. Karen lives in Tokyo, and even though she and her family are okay, she is reaching out and helping others.

If you're thinking you'd like some tapes for your very own, why not order now and make that money count? It's a win-win-you get some cool tapes for your art making adventures, a very cool little package like I got AND excellent customer service from Karen (it took a week and a half to get here!) and Japan gets some much needed help. (Which means you also get to have a warm glow in your heart!)

Here are the links to Karen's relief effort:

Washimatta on Etsy

Washmatta Online

And Karen's blog, if you'd like to follow her:

Washimatta Blog

 These were the tapes I bought. Gorgeous!! I am so pleased and I've assured her I will be back for more.

 Penn gave me this pencil case for Xmas-it's one of our favourite collage artists, Colin Johnson, who is now designing for Blue Q. I've been keeping my tapes in it.

 See? I think I can only fit one or two more rolls in it before I'm going to need another bag. (Good problem to have, I must say!)

 So here are the reds in my collection, so far...

 ...the pinks...

 ...the blues and a green...

 ...the browns...

 ...the blacks...which, incidentally as Penn pointed out, you can write on with a white Sakura pen.

 And lastly, a couple rolls of tissue tape, which is crazily overpriced. (It's sold by scrapbooking companies.) The Washi tape is by far the better deal. I can get three rolls of washi, with likely double the amount of tape for the same price I paid for these two rolls. Just sayin'.

Penn gave me some laminated sheets awhile back and I realized they would work to send some washi tape to a friend. The beauty of washi tape is that it's extremely forgiving. You can peel the tape up off things and reuse it. I have rescued every bit of it that's been used as packaging on parcels sent to me. Waste not, want not! It just felt wrong to throw it away. It's too pretty. If by chance it loses it's tackiness, you can just add a dab of glue stick and it's like new!

Penn sent me a link to the charming little story about how these tapes came to be. You really should read it. Here's the link.

Birthday Love

 So..to the birthday girl go the spoils! Seriously, my friends spoiled me rotten showered me with love and it's not over yet. Traditionally, my birthday lasts about a month. When my husband and I first got married, he couldn't believe how much mileage I got out of my birthday. Now he just thinks it's funny.

The fact that the celebration lasts so long mainly has to do with the fact that my nearest and dearest friends are scattered all over the place-not all of them are local and so birthday goodness comes in the mail and by phone and often everyone's so busy that plans are made for several get-togethers. I am very blessed that way. As I've said before, I have THE BEST friends in the world.

My pal Penelope sent me a gift in the mail. Inside the envelope was a sweet little card that read "I thought to myself "What would Lelainia like? Lelainia would like to choose." and attached was a gift certificate for Regional Assembly of Text, a local store. I love everything in it, so it wasn't hard to choose. I picked this set of Cavallini stamps, Vintage Office that I'd be coveting for some time. I am a sucker for office themed stuff. I love it all and the telephone is so cool. I know I will use this set ALOT!

 I also spotted this paper that was office themed and picked it up. It will find its way into an ROD. This was made in the shop-they do their own designs. You can't tell by this photo but it's a deep vintage gold paper. (The light is bad in the studio today.)

 This was another paper that was calling my name. Penn gave me some fabulous scissor fabric for Xmas, which you've seen in a previous post. I love old scissors-I've actually begun a collection. This paper will also become ROD fodder. THANK YOU Penn for such a sweet and generous gift. It so much fun shopping with gift certificates for art supplies. Very happy-making indeed!

 I picked these up in my travels yesterday too. I've seen them online and finally happened across them. They are quite wet, but as they dry, they have a 3D effect to them, in that the ink is slightly raised. Not entirely sold on them just yet, but maybe if I play with them a bit. I hate waiting for stuff to dry and I didn't know these were so juicy. What made me want them is the colours. They remind me of gelato and are supposed to be really good on black paper. Now I just need to find some black paper! You used to see pads of it everywhere. Now, not so much.

 Friends in NY sent me a birthday card (that made me cry-they said the sweetest things to me. I love them so.) and a cheque. I spent part of it on a few goodies this morning. I had to go to get a re-inker I'd ordered from a scrapbooking store and while there found some odds and ends I "needed". I love this flower shape. Kind of like a pomegranate, but don't quote me on that. Whatever it is, I like it. I bought a stamp awhile ago that is the same flower.

 And then of course, I spotted this ephemera pack and if the labelling didn't entice me, the little bits inside did. Yummy! It's from House of 3/ PinkPaisley.

Lastly, there was paper that I couldn't go home without. (I'm sharing just a small sampling-I am such a paper junkie.) This one had a fabulous selection of bits that I can fussy cut and add to my RODs. How could I resist? This line of paper is by House of Three. (Who have a very cool chair as their logo-gotta love that!) Click the link-they have a really fabulous website full of amazing art fodder.

I don't know how long they've been around, but their products are new here in BC. I'm giving them a big thumbs up! I will definitely be on the lookout for more of their stuff! (Or purchasing it online, 'cause that works too!)

 

 The next three are by a company called Simple Stories. They have some great digital freebies on their blog so be sure and check them out. I got this sheet because I loved the camera. I have plans for it!

 Same with this one-cool numbers. I love numbers and alphabets. It's ridiculous how I collect them. I have a whole drawer full, though I can honestly say that I do use them-I'm not just into the collecting.

 More fabulous little bits. I love the colours in these. 

You know, as I was shopping today, I was thinking about how 8 years ago, I was trying desperately to encourage my local scrapbooking stores to lean even just a little bit towards mixed media and no one wanted to hear it. Now when I go in, there's a tons of mixed media worthy products available. Do you know that a shop owner once told me that 7 Gypsies stuff would never sell? That's insane!

At that time, I was teaching mixed media classes freelance and occasionally I would do workshops at one of these stores. The classes always filled up. Why the owners never got on board, I'll never know. It's kinda of sad-I was ahead of the curve here in Canada (BC) and everyone thought I was nuts. I used to have 5 scrapbook stores within 10 minutes of my house. Now the closest one is 20 minutes away and the other, 1/2 hour away. All the local ones are long gone.

I don't think it's a sign of the times so much as an inability to read the market and respond to it. You have to keep a creative based business moving and growing. People who are crafty or artistic thrive on learning and growing their skills and you need to have something new to offer them. Once you build a following, you can't just keep doing the same thing over and over and expect them to keep coming back. There has to be an evolution of products and classes to keep things fresh and engaging.

In any case, I digress. The point is, I am thrilled that these delightful companies are finding their way into the store I frequent. It's wonderful to see all the cool papers and goodies they're coming out with. I came away feeling really inspired to get busy in the studio, something that's been lacking the last month and a half since I've been so sick. I can't wait to dig in and play with what I purchased today.

Oh and one last artsy thing-Penn also gifted me with these Washi tapes. If you're local, Loomis De Serres is carrying them and they're on sale at the moment for $3/roll. After the sale, they'll be $3.95 I believe. Hopefully these tapes are flying out the door so they'll stock more and continue to get new prints. Here's hopin'! (And thanks again Penn!)

The girls in my MS group gave me a gorgeous bouquet of yellow Gerberas and a card yesterday. It was very sweet of them and I have no idea how they knew that's one of my most fav flowers. (Freesia, Snapdragons and Sweet Peas are the other three. I love poppies too, but you can't pick those and bring them in the house. They are strictly outdoor flowers.)

My friend Karen gave me Water for Elephants, which I devoured in an afternoon. If you haven't read it, get thee to a library! It's so good and the author is Canadian and was born in Vancouver. I liked it so much I've already got 2 more of her novels in the to-read stack on my bedside table.

The rest of my friends who had dinner with me last weekend gifted me with cash to go towards my DSLR camera fund. It was the one thing I really wanted, so that's what they did. I haven't purchased a camera yet. I am still doing research because I want to be sure and get the one that will serve me best. The choices are endless and a bit overwhelming, but I'm in no rush. I'd rather take my time and get something that I will be happy with.

My son rushed into an upscale point and shoot just before the Olympic started and he's had major buyer's remorse. I've given it a try and while I am quite mechanically inclined and good with electronics of all kinds, I HATE his camera. It's not very user friendly and as I am setting up a shot, the lense closes and pinches my fingers every single time! It's enough to make you want to smash the heck out of it. (Which he's mentioned wanting to do as well!) It's worth it to do some research.

I hope to have it in hand by the end of April. That's my plan, so I can have the whole summer to get used to it and then in the fall I'm signing up for You Are Your Own Muse with the fabulous Vivienne McMaster. I learned so much in Wading In and I want to expand on that experience.

This birthday has been an embarrassment of riches, really. I am just so blessed by my peeps. I have the best friends in the world. I'm grateful for them every single day. They certainly know how to make a girl feel loved.

Okay, I am off to shape fresh bread dough into two pizzas for dinner tonight. There's nothing better than pizza made from scratch. MMM! Pizza and The Amazing Race. That's how I'm capping off this weekend. :)

**I'm not affiliated with any of these paper companies, but I sure wish I was!

From the Magic Mailbox

 A couple weeks ago, I posted about this amazing fabric that enchanted me so. It was printed with vintage Viewfinder reels, something that spoke deeply to me from my childhood.

I manage to track down a shop on Etsy (how I love Etsy!) that was selling it and ordered myself a delicious half yard. Then, as I do most times, I forgot all about it. That is, until this week while watching the horror of what was happening in Japan unfold and it suddenly, it dawned on me that my order was coming from a sweet woman named Frances, who lives in Tokyo.

I logged onto Etsy, not knowing what I would find when I got to her shop, but hoping that somehow I would be able to know if she was okay. I am happy to report that she and her family are fine. They have left Tokyo for now and are staying with friends in the West.

I sent her an email to let her know I was thinking about her and everyone in Japan and praying for their safety. I offered her words of encouragement and told her that the world is in awe with the exceptional grace and dignity with which the Japanese people are handling such a chaotic and frightening situations-there is no rioting or looting, everyone is being patient and helping one another as much as they can. I told her that we care and that we are sending help via the relief agencies.

And within an hour of sending that message, the fabric she had mailed out before life in Japan changed forever, arrived.  I will always think of her when I see that fabric, whatever I make from it.

The Canadian Red Cross

is accepting donations to aid the relief efforts for  

both New Zealand and Japan

You can make a donation here.

 I haven't a decent segue from that into this, so bear with me! The magic mailbox was chock full of goodies this week. Everything came at once. I'd ordered this really cool roll of tape about 3 weeks ago and I am so glad I did. It's a substantial roll and I really loved the print. I'll be using it in my RODs.

 Also, last month, Teesha had free shipping on all orders, (which is the kind of intel you get from being on her mailing list!) so my husband said I could order some goodies as my Valentine's present. (Thanks sweetie!) I've long been coveting Teesha's 4 journal book set, so those were the first things that went into my cart.

 They are so yummy! They measure just slightly larger than 1/2 fold, so they are pretty much zine size and full colour, 40 pages each. MMMM!!

 Here are the 4 books. It's the kind of thing you can pour over for hours and always see something new.

This is one of my most fav pages, for obvious reasons-DOGS!! I remember seeing this image and falling in love with it even before I really knew who Teesha was. Funny to think I loved her art long before I'd ever met her or gone to Artfest!

I also ordered a few pieces of rubber I wanted and a couple collage sheets. I debated buying her post card set and then for some crazy reason, didn't. Silly me! If you're interested in checking out her work, you can find her shop here.

Off to peruse those journal books!