Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker and photos from Flickr - then post it on your blog. Go ahead and pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here and submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking and commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: Red Hot Chili Peppers. I saw these guys in concert on Saturday - BEST CONCERT EVER!!!!!! Oh it was SO good! And we had AWESOME seats: front row, *right* beside the stage (not on the floor, behind the "boards" of the arena).

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, 3. Red Hot Chili Peppers @ O2, 4. Red Hot Chili Peppers

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Sunday Seven

A few small things I'm grateful for this week:

Sunday: having Pat's help for the weekend chores

Monday: rainy day pyjama parties with some of my favourite characters

Tuesday: planning a sketchbook collaboration  

Wednesday: catching up with old friends and multiple job leads at Denis's retirement dinner

Thursday: catching up on some sleep

Friday: finishing my map for the Map Project

Saturday: AMAZING seats at an AWESOME concert - probably the BEST I've ever seen!

What are you thankful for this week?

Project 52: 17/52

Week 17 - here's my photo:

I still have over 200 photos to sort through from our waterfall walk last weekend, but this is one of my favourites. The little ledge we were standing on was a perfect spot to view Webster Falls (in Dundas).

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I'd love it if you'd participate with me in this challenge! The rules are simple - take 1 photo a week, for 52 weeks. No theme, just a photo of something that sparked your interest during the week. Feel free to use my Project 52 banner as well. Either right click on the image above & save it on your computer, or follow this link & download it from Flickr.

Once you've taken your photo, post it online somewhere & add your link in the submission box below.

My Creative Space

Last week I showed you a page inspired by Donna's (of Simply Me) Collage Monday challenge. The prompt was to use bird / feather imagery in a piece and that's what I did. But as I chose my collage elements, I had enough for 2 distinct pages - I made this one over the weekend:

I think it has to be one of my favourite collages to date. I'm so in love with how it turned out! The colours are perfect and everything worked so well together, including the quote from one of my favourite series of books. I started with the yellow patterned paper in the background, then added the birds and feather. Gesso and brown ink softened everything. I used a stencil to ink "dark" in yellow, then traced the stencil with a pen and wrote in the other words. A bit of smudging and it was perfect!

I like how I lined up this bird's branch so that it looks like he's sitting on the stump the feather is on.

I wrote the Game of Thrones quote directly onto the book page (covered in Gesso). Definitely proud of this one! What do you think?

Head on over here for more Creative Spaces.

Wordless Wednesday

Recommend: For One More Day

I finished this book nearly two weeks ago and have been wanting to tell you about it since. I've recommended Mitch Albom before - his book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is amazing - and this story is just as good. I call Albom's books "stories" because they aren't very long, nor are they very big. But poignant! Oh boy! And do they ever make you think (and feel - in a good way)!!!

This one hit especially close to home since my grandpa's death is so recent. I wasn't very close to my dad's side of the family... in fact, I'm ashamed to say, I know nearly nothing about them. And since my grandma passed away over five years ago, I feel almost as though I've lost a part of my history... you know? So the premise of this book really shook me and made me wonder - what if?

The story is about just that - what if we had one more day with a loved one who had passed away? What would you say... do... ask? Oh! But what a comfort it would be, to have just one more day...

Albom writes masterfully, his characters believable and very real. In this book, we find out how "one more day" changed the life of one individual, and, in his telling, how his story changes the life of his confidant.

It makes you realize just how precious life is. You know, in case you need to be reminded (or, actually, preferably, even if you don't!). Pick up this book next time you're at the book store or library, I highly recommend it! 

Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker and photos from Flickr - then post it on your blog. Go ahead and pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here and submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking and commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: Gerber daisy.

1. Gerber Daisy Detail, 2. Gerber Daisy, 3. Gerber Daisy, 4. Gerber Daisies

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Weekly Forecast

Well, this week was definitely better than the last few weeks have been ... but I've still been avoiding too many things. Like my job search. Honestly, I just don't want to work that badly. I know our finances desperately need me to, but I'm perfectly content staying at home, keeping house and being creative. Unfortunately, I can't do that. So job search I must... and I really need to make it higher priority!

Same goes for my yoga. I practiced for two days this week, then allowed myself to succumb to the excuses (I am SO good at coming up with excuses!). Not so this week! Summer is fast approaching and while I'll totally rock my bikini regardless, I would rather be a bit more confident that the bits I'm showing are more toned than flab. So here's what I'm planning for this week:

• JOB SEARCH! Top priority!
• get back into daily yoga by re- restarting the intermediate 21-day challenge
• go for a walk and photograph some flowering trees
• list something new in each shop, each day
• take some photos so that I can list something new each day
• finish up my Map Project and the Note Swap and send them off

I was much better with my blogging last week and plan on continuing that trend. What I didn't get to last week, I'm planning for this week:

• a book to recommend
• a collection post
• some photos from our hike to Darnley Cascade and Webster Falls in Hamilton's conservation areas
• wrapping up my Map Project and the Note Swap, starting the Chronicle Project & anticipating the Mystery Project and the Sketchbook Project (all by Art House Co-op)
• a new science post over at Science Byte

I hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday Seven

A few small things I'm grateful for this week:

Sunday: grocery shopping

Monday: dependable friends

Tuesday: a clean bedroom

Wednesday: getting bitten by the writing bug

Thursday: making Pat's favourite meal

Friday: celebrations for no reason

Saturday: hiking to see Hamilton's waterfalls

What are you thankful for this week?

Project 52

Week 16 - here's my photo:

I picked up this little potted Gerber daisy at the grocery store last week. There are already four flowers & five tiny buds, so I'm hoping it'll get enough sunlight to prosper. There wasn't much sunlight today when I took the photos, so I edited this one a bit. I wanted to accurately portray the lovely pastel shade of green, since it was a bit muted in the original. Here's the shot straight out of the camera, for those who are interested:

I also debated a long time before choosing this photo for Project 52. I couldn't decide whether I preferred this close-up, or a slightly more removed angle, like this:

In the end I chose the close-up because it feels more cheerful to me. What do you think?

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I'd love it if you'd participate with me in this challenge! The rules are simple - take 1 photo a week, for 52 weeks. No theme, just a photo of something that sparked your interest during the week. Feel free to use my Project 52 banner as well. Either right click on the image above & save it on your computer, or follow this link & download it from Flickr.

Once you've taken your photo, post it online somewhere & add your link in the submission box below.

My Creative Space

Once again I was inspired by Donna's Collage Monday & decided to make a page based on the prompt she provided: birds, feathers & soaring. I was pleasantly surprised at how completely different my page ended up from hers:
I found a cheery pastel patterned paper for the background & then pawed through my collage papers until I found a few that followed my mood. Once they were glued down, I softened everything with gesso & some washi tape. Whenever I think of peacocks, the phrase "shake your tail feathers" passes through my mind - and not softly either. The words are sung quite passionately in my head, so I thought they would be appropriate to add to my page using some stickers.
Lastly, I used some Sharpies to add the word "soar" & some doodled flowers (mimicking the doodled flowers that were on the original background patterned paper).
Head on over to Our Creative Spaces for more.

Wordless Wednesday

My New (Old) Teacup

On Sunday, I convinced Pat to take me to an antique show that I had randomly come across in the paper - I don't usually ever get the newspaper, but someone was giving them away for free at the grocery store this Saturday. Win-win!

The first thing we saw when we walked in was this display of tin ceilings by Brian Greer.

Sorry about the blurry photo, but it was the only one I took & I wanted to show it. While not antique, they do have a great vintage feel to them. I think they'd look amazing in a period house. Check out their website - there are tons of different patterns that may very well be finding their way into my sketchbooks soon!

Walking down the hall some more, the mood was set with this record player spinning some Gordon Lightfoot.

This table of old cameras caught my eye & made me want to start a collection:

Once inside the main room, I browsed through all the tables. There were a lot of toys, comic books & records. There was some glassware & tons of milk bottle (though none from the Georgian Bay Creamery like mine). I was really tempted by all the vintage papers & ephemera.

Also, I nearly died when I saw this mini sewing machine that actually works:

I recently saw one of these on a blog I follow (can't remember which one, but it was someone in Toronto). If it wasn't so expensive, I definitely would've picked it up! It's adorable!

What I did pick up was this teacup & saucer:

It caught my eye the first time I walked by the table it was on, despite being nestled next to an amazing hand-painted lunch set.

I love the branching pattern, the scalloped edges & the fluted shape. As you can sort of see above, the shape of the cup mimics the scalloped edges - that is, it isn't a smooth, round cup but a "bumpy" one. A unique shape immediately draws me to any sort of china!

But the pattern! Have you ever seen anything quite like it? A quick Etsy & Google search has me thinking that this little sucker is a little more rare than the $6 price tag initially led me to believe (though I did find one exactly the same on Etsy - except in a pale green instead of black. OH YES I WANT IT!).

Fine Bone Bell China, made in England - I couldn't find much information about this company. But looking at the pattern closely reveals that it's probably hand-painted.

Regardless of its value or rarity, this is my very first teacup (not counting my Christmas dishes). I'm sure it won't be the last either! How can I resist collecting them, especially when I already have a nice collection of teapots?

I've already used my cup once a day & I can confidently say that tea tastes much better out of a teacup than out of a mug!

Do you enjoy going to antique shows? What are the sorts of things that catch your eye?

ACEO-X (4.0): Final Submission

When I posted the ACEO-X (4.0) submissions last week, there was still one missing. The artist, Carmila Macias, has been quite sick. But create she did & she sent me her photo this weekend. This ACEO is absolutely stunning, so I just had to show you.

Just check out that amazing embroidery! The colours go so well together & I love the Egyptian feel to it.

You can see all the ACEO-X (4.0) entries here (I've updated the post to include this one too). If you participated, don't forget to leave a comment when you get your ACEO!

Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker & photos from Flickr - & then post it on your blog. Go ahead & pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here & submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking at & commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: vintage tea cup. We went to an antique show yesterday & I found a gorgeous tea cup & saucer that I couldn't resist picking up. It's actually my first one (not counting my Christmas dishes)! I'll post some pictures later today.

1. Vintage tea cups, 2. Vintage Tea Cup, 3. Vintage Tea Cup, 4. tea cups

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Weekly Forecast

Well... I certainly fell off the weekly forecast wagon & my productivity has suffered sorely. These mini lists really help to keep me on track! I've been a bit out of sorts since losing my grandfather - motivation isn't coming easily. I've been avoiding the internet, skipping yoga & procrastinating. I need to get out of my funk & back into the thick of things!

Looking on the bright side though, I've been plowing through my long list of books to read! My goal is to read 50 books this year & I'm right on track (the Harry Potters, Hunger Games & some other short books have helped a lot... I much prefer big books like Game of Thrones, but it isn't feasible to read so many of those). I also had a really intense afternoon of spring cleaning last week. There are a couple more areas in the apartment that need some sprucing up, so I'm hoping to get to that this week.

Anyway, here's what I'm planning for this week:

• JOB SEARCH! At least an hour or two each day!
• go for a walk & photograph some flowering trees
• get back into daily yoga by restarting the intermediate 21-day challenge
• spring cleaning: bedroom edition
• list something new in each shop, each day
• take some photos so that I can list something new each day
• spend some quality time with my sketchbook

I also really want to get back into daily blogging. Here are a few things I'm planning for this week:

• a peek at my new tea cup
• a book to recommend
• a collection post
• a new science post over at Science Byte

I hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday Seven

A few small things I'm grateful for this week:

Sunday: visiting family

Monday: an extra day off to travel home

Tuesday: waking up next to Pat

Wednesday: pencil crayons

Thursday: spring cleaning

Friday: nail polish requiring only a single coat

Saturday: lazy afternoons spent reading with Pat

What are you thankful for this week?

Project 52: 15/52

Week 15 - here's my photo: I painted my nails yesterday. Here are the colours if you're interested - I went with my most springy ones:From left to right:

• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pacific Blue
• Nicole by O.P.I. in One Voice
• O.P.I. in Chapel of Love
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dri (no colour name, just the #28 on top of the lid)
• Avon Nailwear Pro in Vivid Violet

The Sally Hansen polishes are amazing - one coat for full coverage vs. the 3 coats for O.P.I. (& for half the price!).

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I'd love it if you'd participate with me in this challenge! The rules are simple - take 1 photo a week, for 52 weeks. No theme, just a photo of something that sparked your interest during the week. Feel free to use my Project 52 banner as well. Either right click on the image above & save it on your computer, or follow this link & download it from Flickr.

Once you've taken your photo, post it online somewhere & add your link in the submission box below.

ACEO-X (4.0): Submissions

Another round of ACEO-X has come & gone; the surprises are in the mail, flying to their new owners. I've received photos of the submissions from all but one participant... want to see them?

The theme for ACEO-X (4.0) was spring & there is definitely a noticeable colour trend! I love seeing everyone's interpretation of this wonderful season, & I especially love to see all the different media used for these ACEOs. Which would you like to receive?

Here they are, in no particular order:

artist: Carmila Macias

I love the embroidery & Egyptian feel!

artist: Pam Gale

I love the shiny gold collage elements!

artist: Lou Back

I love the crocheted flower addition!

artist: Donna Panabaker

I love the bright colours & cute little bird!

artist: Julie Gauci (2nd shop)

Wow! I love the awesome stitching!

artist: Kara Lennox (2nd shop)

I love this gorgeous collage!

artist: Kate McCurrach (blog)

I love the felt - unusual & perfectly lovely!

artist: Kat Wauters (2nd shop)

The background flowers are amazing & really make the bird pop!

artist: Nicole Varrenti

I like the addition of the Japanese characters for Sakura, cherry blossoms!

artist: Angela Vandenbogaard (blog)

I love the bird cut out of a sheet of music!

artist: Jerise Fogel

I love how papercutting gives an amazing 3D effect!

Lastly (well, besides the missing one), here's mine:

Meet Cora, the 4th piece in my Strong Women ACEO series. You can see the entire series here. I used ink & pencil crayons. I chose the name Cora because it's Greek for "maiden" & is another name given to the goddess Persephone (particularly in the spring when she returns from her 6 months ruling Hades). I hope my partner loves her as much as I do!

Which ACEO is on its way to you? Let us know when you get it!