Camel Caravan Tales

Summer doings

2011-09-30T18:18:00.013-06:00

Sigh. Summer has come and gone. The days are getting shorter, and we've already experienced frost, although this past September has been spectacularly warm. I've had to finally concede and turn on my furnace since it has been 14oC indoors on a couple of occasions.

I've had two wonderful produce from my non existent garden this year- rhubarb and golden raspberries. The rhubarb, I turned into rhubarb syrup to make a drink called Foxy Lady. You basically stew your rhubarb in water and sugar then strain out the pulp. The syrup you mix with some lemon juice, and stir in club soda or sprite or seven up. I used the reserved pulp to make rhubarb cupcakes, which were tangy like lemon cake but had a funny grey colour (I had mixed rhubarb pulp with white cake mix). Next time, I tint the cake mix- lesson learnt.

The golden raspberries were such a novelty since I had never seen them before. They were pale, like bleached out raspberries and was not as tart. In fact, they reminded me of biting into little peaches...they had a nectary quality about them although were not cloyingly sweet. Apparently they don't keep too well, so they aren't something you'd find in the store. Had I not noticed some ripe rasperries on the tarmac in the back alley, I would not have known the raspberries were ripe and ready as they looked albino.

I have also been working on cards and miscellaneous ATCs for a small group swap. The stamped image is from Magenta. I went crazy with my H2O paints by Luminarte, which are basically mica based water colour paint.

I also finished a baby quilt. I am well pleased with the result as I had attempted a whirlygig pattern and they turned out lovely. I hand quilted it as well. Much easier than attempting to machine quilt, the bane of my existence. I hope the recipients will like it since I do Love how it turned out and could see making a full sized lap quilt with this pattern. My saddest thing is I could not place my custom label on the back since I had used a fleecy backing and I cannot iron on my label onto it so I left it off. Sigh.

I have also been gripped by Hexie fever. What is that, you ask? it is a nasty virulent fever that once it takes grip, gives you delusions of grandeur as you dream about feverishly creating the hexies. So, it is a more traditional form of patchwork. It is also known as English Paper Piecing or Grandmother's Flower Garden. You cut millions of millions of templates and tack or baste the material to it. Then you hand sew, (yes, hand sew) the patterns together. I started with the flower pattern and as I started sewing everything together, my dream of making a queen sized quilt dwindled down to maybe making a small cushion. I am going to aim for a lovely lap quilt size but am resigned to the idea that it may take several years of this to get to it. I will need to make hundreds of hexie flowers, not to mention the white hexies that separate the flowers.Never mind, though. It is a portable hobby and it will help me hone my patience and persistence. Hah!!

The wonderful dresses, at last.

2011-08-07T10:39:00.019-06:00

I finally found the time and had the inclination to photograph and upload the pictures from my Dressform swap. Our hostess Deb, was the most fabulous hostess ever. She really put in a lot of effort to ensure we loved our returns. More importantly, Deb had the strength to return all the fabulous dressforms to us as well. I had seen the display of the dressforms in her fantabulous Ikea curio cabinet and I honestly don't know if I would have been able to return all the lovelies. Hats off to Deb.

First off, Deb's wicked hula creation. She created this lovely hula girl, meticulously making her lei from numerous punched flowers. She also flocked the "coconut shell" bra as well as hand made her grass skirt, patiently inserting the beads at the top of the grass skirt. Deb Moon is amazingly creative and patient! When I parted the grass skirt, lets say she is anatomically correct ;) with a little cowrie shell and pearl. I laughed hysterically by this time, I had had the dress forms for months and only discovered this when I was placing the lovely dress form into a shadow box for display.

Next up is Claudia's mysterious moon goddess dress form. I love the simplicity of the dress form. The is a delicate placement of the rhinestone jewels on the hem of the skirt.
The hanging bead in the heart cutout adds to the piece as it dangles freely for the moon to gaze on.

I was lucky enough to also receive the lovely work from my friend Susan (Suji). I know it is rather macabre, the head, and the bloodied knife. But I love how it all came out. I love that the neck is bloodied. Susan pays such attention to detail and she also has a great sense of humour. The hair is great and the dyed muslin is very appropriate as it lends a soft and dusty air to the dress form. Art doesn't have to just be pretty. It can also be thought provoking and this is why I love this piece.

I also received a return from Paulette. Her work is stunning. She had done themes for her dresses and attached price tags to all of them. The dress I received was a lovely hot little number. Red happens to be my favourite colour and the dress is also glittery. I would never be brave enough to pull this dress off but I love it nevertheless. Did you notice the little glam purse that matches the dress?

On the back, there is a quote. "When in doubt, wear red". My favourite part is the lovely tramp stamp that you barely see peeking out at the base of the dress. Paulette, I love your attention to detail.

Dena is an amazing artist. Her creativity knows know bounds. When I saw her dress form, I was hoping I would be the lucky recipient of it. I love nuns and I love how she created this masterpiece. And the quote by Mother Theresa is apt and beautiful. Dena carefully layered the dress form with torn vintage print and coloured it delicately as well. I love my dress form more than you will ever know, Dena.

Lara is a good friend of Dena's. I was blown away by her work. I called it the Iron Maiden dress. All silver and black, it is dark, brooding and futuristic. And it resonates with me. Lara is a trifter and the dress form came wrapped up in a vintage doily. Lara also decorated the back of the dress form with a cool velvet sticker which continues on the theme. Her other work were just as stunning and also vastly different.

Last, and certainly not least, I received a return from Lolita Sue. Her dress is vintage and gorgeous. From the fabric ribbon rose, to the bejewelled flourishes, she shows me that brown does not equal drab. The velvet ribbon hem and the hints of green highlight the loveliness of the dress form in a way only Susie can illustrate.

I feel very lucky to be part of the dress from swap. My friends honour me with their best work and am indeed blessed.

I purchased shadow boxes and will proudly be putting my received artwork on display.

Busy beaver

2011-04-16T10:22:00.008-06:00

I was reminded gently by Nancy that I hadn't posted anything on my blog recently. Yes, I *have* been lazy. I received back the dress forms from the swap I participated in. They are super fantastic and I will try and post them on my blog. I think I was waiting for permission from the owners of the dress forms to share their work. Meanwhile, I shall post some card samples I had made for my dear friend who is getting married later this year. Since it is a fall wedding, I went with some earth tones. Specifically, I used Stampin' Up!'s Cajun craze as a base and a vanilla or ivory for the contrast. I have since changed my mind and want to use Curious metallic cryogen white, which has a very subtle shimmer as it has mica impregnated in the paper. tracking down those babies has proven harder that I thought as they are selling at 1$ a piece and I am convinced I can get them cheaper if I buy them in bulk.
Without further ado, here are the samples.

Clean and simple. The tree is from the set very Versatile (Stampin' Up!).
The bride and groom liked this card but it was more suited to the usual card size and not the long card, which is what they wanted.

I love leaves! This set is from Stampin' Up! Not sure where the set is so cannot verify the name just yet but I have hoards of leaves stamps. I really like clean and simple as well and this card embodies that.

I had to do it. I am in possession of a Stampin'Up!Owl Punch and I had to make a pair of owls although i told the bride and groom that no way was I making 240 fiddly owls (especially with the veil!!) as much as I loved them. The branch stamp is from Amuse Art Stamps.

I saw a really cute card made with this punch from Martha Stewart on the Memory Box website and thought it would make a whimsical wedding card.

I liked the sentiment but the groom wanted no sentiments. Stamp set is French Foliage (Stampin'Up!)

I really like this card. It is a bit more contemporary than the traditional card. The birds were from a Chinese set by Kodomo Design. Not sure where the set is to verify name of the set right now- the set had a stylized chinese pagoda scene typically seen on blue wedgewood china plates- very cute!!

I believe the bride and groom finally settled on a variation of this card. Silly me, I didn't take a picture of the other card. It has leaves just in the bottom left corner and the cream isn't as pronounced since I used off white instead of the poison ivory I used in this card.

So much to do, so little time....

2011-02-27T14:33:00.004-07:00

My deadline is this week. I have to alter and finish seven (yes, count them, seven) dress forms from Maya Road. Of course I left it to the last minute. Inspiration comes slow to me and as much as I want to take my time on this, time is running out. Doesn't help that I am still scrambling to hunt down my gear. Like the quilling tool I *know* I have but cannot find. I need it to finish off some frog buttons for the cheongsam outfit for one of the dress forms. And all my miniature and cutesy findings- all missing because I have waaay too much stuff and don't know exactly where they are. I just returned from having dim sum with my mum and sister and subsequently paid a visit to the parental home. Found a box of miscellanous crafty stuff I had left behind so I dragged that home. There were some Prima flowers in the box. I shall have to examine it closely to see if I can incorporate some of the flowers on the dressforms.

Well, I guess I better get back to work. No rest for the wicked :)

I must love my brother

2011-01-30T17:18:00.012-07:00

So, two years ago, my brother asked me to make him a pirate's outfit for Halloween. I am sad to say I directed him to a Halloween costume site since I didn't get round to making him a pirate shirt and the rest of the accoutrement for the costume. I did buy him an eye patch, though. And almost got a soft toy parrot as well.

He does not live in the same city as me and so we often chat via Facebook or Skype. One day, he asked me if I would make him some funky cushion covers. He directed me to this picture below. Dig Dug pillows he called them. I do not recall playing this game as a child. Space Invaders, yes. Frogger, yes. But not Dig Dug.
I spent hours trying to figure out the best way to do it. But it kinda fell to the wayside.

He came back and asked if I was going to make him Pacman pillows instead. He sent me this picture instead. The ghosts from Pacman I could identify with. So. after some hemming and hawing, it game me an excuse to increase my quilting stash.

Last weekend, I got to work, trying to figure out how to get this done. Here is evidence I was working on it.

Oy vey!! There are over 200 squares. In order to make a decent sized pillow, each square would need to be about 1 inch. That was a lot of cutting,and sewing. I was going to make him at least 3 pillows. It seems like a very painstaking thing to do.
So, because this weekend, I was snowed in (at least 10 inches of snow over 2 days), I started working on the cushion cover.

Counting squares isn't fun. That was why I gave up on cross stitch. I was too impatient. After two hours, it wasn't even half done.
Oy! Oy! Oy! Still, after over two hours, I kinda got the hang of it and persisted. I am happy to say, it is completed, The jury is still out on whether I am going to complete two more pillow covers...... I know I have a healthy masochistic streak but that seems like a whole lot of work. The orange in the completed cushion cover isn't as bright as I do not have a flash on the Blackberry I took the picture with.The orange is a lot more intense.

I was poking around someone's blog yesterday and she had done a disappearing nine patch which she deconstructed and added plain borders around. I like what she did and I think I am going to do the same with my first quilt top. I still shudder at the thought of unpicking everything but I think for the long run, I will be happier with that decision. Plus, I do think the borders will make the quilt bigger and also improve the way it looks.

Happy New Year ( two weeks late)

2011-01-15T17:29:00.007-07:00

Belated Happy 2011!

Christmas was pretty quiet for my family as we don't have little one's to celebrate with. We did have a little bit of excitement, though. My sister adopted another greyhound. It was very hard because we had only recently lost Salvador, her previous greyhound. He was such a sweetie and was so brave to endure bone cancer at such a young age.

Ella came into out lives December 22. She is only 3 years old. All black, full of dandruff and sweet as can be. Well, except for her covert peeing habit. Despite numerous attempts to take her out to pee, she hasn't gotten the concept fully and still pees inside the house. In part, it is because she is allowed to drink water all the time and she is not used to that. She is from Miami and is adjusting well to the frigid north. She runs around in doggie jammies and has an outdoor coat as well as booties. Van Gogh doesn't seem to mind her and although they don't play much together, they get along. She does seem to like cuddling, much to Van Gogh's chagrin.

I've also been working on a new quilt. It is blocks of coins and I can't wait to see it done. I love the bright colours and am slowly working on getting more coins made. I think I meed about 50 or 60 blocks. for a decent sized quilt.

Oh, yeah, did anyone notice my new blog layout? I have been a big fan of The Graphics Fairy and was poking around last night and also found that she has also crated free backgrounds so I thought, why not? New year, new look too, right?

Last year, for Christmas, I felt I needed a challenge and so I challenged my mum to a Sugee Cake Throwdown. Sorta like Bobby Flay and his throwdowns, I wanted to see if I could recreate the family sugee cake. Sugee or suji or sooji is cream of wheat or semolina (not to be confused with salmonella. The name sugee is east indian in origin. The Sugee Cake is a Eurasian specialty. Recipes are passed down and guarded jealously. Some people think it came from Sri Lanka or India but no matter what. it is a very rich cake, with loads of butter, and eggs. I used to call it the heartclogger cake as it required 22 egg yolks and 1 1/2 lb of butter.
Along with raisins, chopped almonds and also candied winter melon.

I made three attempts. The first two were just trail runs and the third was my mama's recipe. The trail runs were from miscellaneous recipes I gleaned from the web. Christmas eve, we had my dad and by brother in law taste test the cakes (was competing against mum) and I happened to win unanimously. I felt badly for mum but seeing it was my first time, I think I did well. I got my sister to freeze most of it since it is far too much a temptation, sitting around. She claimed that the cake called to her in Malay, inviting her to eat it. So, we may take some sugee cake out at Easter or maybe at our birthdays.

To end it all or not.....

2010-10-30T13:43:00.008-06:00

I have been debating if or not I would like to keep up with blogging since my posts are so inconsistent and few and far between.Creatively, I have been parched. It's not as if I am not doing anything but my papercrafting has tapered off as I explore quilting. And I discovered I am not all that good at quilting either. learning proper 1/4 inch seams are vital. I seem to have a problem with them (ie they aren't true 1/4 inch) and that seems to compound then you are doing patchwork.

I have been diligently working on a quilt using the Chinese Takeout line. Initially, I wasn't crazy about it, but after I put on a turquoise border and the lovely chocolate binding, I am in lurve with it. The backing is a salvage from some material I picked up at a fabric sale last year and it is just fishes on a cream background. It is ancient and badly needs washing, which I fully plan to do after I finish quilting. It smells a bit mothbally.

Can you see where I havn't yet finished quilting? I am quilting the white squares.

I am getting more and more attached to the quilt and maybe planning to give it to my mum so I can have it remain in my life still :)

I have also been working on a couple of Hopscotch quilts- the pattern I picked up from a quilt show earlier this fall- from the Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. It's a great pattern since it uses 12 fat quarters and a metre of fabric for the border and the binding.

Believe it or not, these are both the same pattern. Isn't it amazing how different they look just because of the fabrics chosen? I have also seen a cream variation of this quilt and it is simply gorgeous and I may attempt it sometime in the future. The green quilt has a border on it and it is essentially ready to be quilted (ie attached to some batting and a quilt backing and be actually quilted.I have been attempting handquilting since I havn't been all that successful at machine quilting. Something about stitch length and other issues I need to figure out so that the quilt doesn't pucker. Obviously, there is still much to learn.)

Well, I am off the the quilt store in search of more fabric. I need to get a matching border fabric for the bright quilt.

Staying crafty and some wildflowers

2010-06-13T09:27:00.016-06:00

I was out traipsing in the hills for work and came across some lovely wildflowers. Luckily for me, I carry a camera for work so of course I snapped these pictures.
The first was the lovely purple crocuses. I always thought they were called prairie crocuses but it is actually called a pasqueflower. I wonder if they will fare well in my garden? Am so very tempted :)

I also came across these lovely shooting stars. They look so delicate and stellar. The colours in the picture don't do it justice since in real life, it was a vibrant magenta.

This is the most recent quilt I completed. I used Moda's charm pack since I love the scrappy appearance of the quilt. It is a mixture of Miss June's Scrapbag and Portobello Market line from Moda. It turned out nicely, did it not? I am still working on quilting the lap quilt. I am sure my stitches are uneven and clumsy but from afar, it looks great :0

The backing is a pale yellow and pink polka dot material I picked up from a material sale I attended earlier this year.

The quilt below was made just before the one above. I loved the colours and so got the charm squares at another sewing event I attended in the fall. It is, of course from the Moda line, a mixture of Astor Manor, Mill House Inn and another non moda charm pack. It is larger than a lap quilt and I adore how it turned out.

Both pictures were taken out in my back yard against the white fence. I was going to try and artfully lay the quilts on the patio furniture but decided to go with the fence.

I have also been working on some miscellaneous cards but did not have the time to take pictures. Maybe I will post them next time.

Clean and simple cards

2010-05-18T21:47:00.014-06:00

In keeping with my desire to remain crafty, more cards I have been working on. This card was inspired by a card I saw in Papercrafts magazine. I just worked with what I had. The 3D flower is very popular these days. I believe Tim Holtz started this with his 12 days of Christmas tags that he does. I used tissue paper for mine.Just scalloped punched many layers and scrunched them up to give them dimension. And I am wondering if I should have looked for some more substantial tissue paper since the almost dissolved when i tried to colour them with ink after.

I started a variation of this card in black and white. It was pretty stark and I decided I wanted some colour in my card. Really rust is one of my favourites that is going to be retiring from Stampin'Up!'s colour family- ah, well, gotta clean up so they can add more colours, right? It may not be very visible, but the stamped image has some shimmer on it because I used pearlescent ink.

I guess this really isn't a clean and simple card since there was a bit of work involved. It was inspired by Andrea Walford. I watercoloured the flowers with a water pen and reinkers after embossing the flower outline with black embossing powder.

I got some cheapo stamps from Michaels ages ago with the dessert images and the sentiment "You're Sweet" from their $1.50 bin (yes, up here in Canada, the stamps really are 1.50, even if our dollar is pretty much on par with the US Dollar- no bitterness here). I used a watercolour pen and some inks to colour the donuts and cupcakes then went over time image with Glossy Accents/ Crystal Effects. I like how the markers ran a little on the donut, making the sprinkles look brighter.

The ice creams got the same treatment as the previous card and so the chocolate covering got the glossy accents treatment. That kinda warped the card a little. The white cardstock is either 120lb Papertrey ink paper or some 120lb paper I picked up at a specialty paper store in Edmonton.

I've also been working on quilt number 3. I went to a juried quilt show earlier this month and picked up some more charm packs. The show itself was a little snobby for me ( there were volunteers there wearing white gloves to make sure people don't fondle the work and I am such a tactile person, it was so painful to refrain from touching) but there were wonderful vendors there and I was so tempted to buy more but I want to use up whatever I buy and not have the problem I have with the paper collection. Hence me making cards like the devil.
I'll leave the pictures for when I complete the quilt.

Back in the saddle again.

2010-04-29T07:52:00.006-06:00

It's been ages. I have been trying to motivate myself to start making cards again. I try to get at least an hour every day, even if I don't actually make something, I will look up designs, or watch tutorials etc. My attempt at sanity anyways.

This Tim Holtz -esque tag was inspired by Artsy Kelly on SCS.

My good friend Jen just gave birth to a little girl and I made this for her.

This is inspired by a Hero Arts card I saw displayed in my lss. They did a much better job at it than I could but I was not going out to buy the Hero Arts stamp since I already have hoards of stamps.

I've been charmed!

2009-09-29T20:53:00.010-06:00

So, I've been gripped by another fever..... charm fever. I blame my friend Robin for this. She told me that there was this massive quilting store near my home. I went in and saw a quilt I *must* make. So I ordered the pattern, thinking it would tell me what the corresponding order numbers for the fabric were. A month goes by, I hear the pattern is in and find out that they don't tell you what materials are used and it's supposed to be "fun", picking out your own materials. And I also find out that the pattern uses charm squares. For those of you who are in the dark (mostly not crafty types, I suspect) charm squares are a 5 x 5 inch square block. Many textile companies put together charm packs, collections of their line so you can own bits of the whole line. Awesome concept. And apperently, they colour coordinate too.
They are a bit of a collectors item since people can't bear to cut into the pack and break it apart.

My first attempt at the quilt, I went hunting for material and got a nasty headache. Matching up materials isn't easy. Nor was it fun, either. This is my first attempt.

If I were to do it over again, I'd pick different fabric.Something not as busy and balance between large and small patterns.Yes, its not done. I kinda stalled as I discovered I don't sew straight. And during this time, I had been salivating over the various charm square packs out there. And the Creative Stitches show came to town last weekend and I went crazy buying charm squares and came up with this- my second quilt.

I've slowly been chipping away at the charm squares. I even dragged out my iron to use. Yes, you heard me, my iron. That thingy that was still brand new and in the box it came it when I bought it 9 years ago. What can I say, I don't iron upon pain of death. Until now.I might even invest in an ironing board. Yeah, that's crazytalk, I know....

No significant papercrafting for awhile. It's been on the backburner as I work my way through this charm fever. Wish me luck.

Yes, the first is not done yet. Am working on it. But the second one will match nicely since its a combination of two charm pack patterns- Astor Manor and Gypsy Rose. I got them on sale.And because of better technique, the second one will look nicer too :)

Altered puzzle pieces

2009-08-30T19:04:00.008-06:00

I felt bad, holding up this wonderful swap with my swap buddies. The wait was definitely worthwhile. Kimmie suggested this swap to use about 3 months ago. She bought the puzzle blanks and numbered them all. We picked our colour themes. Mine was marmalade and oranges. It was a vintage swap. Everyone did lovely work, did they not? My picture does not do this justice. The puzzle pieces are luminous and beautiful.

Here's a closer view of the gorgeous work done by my very talented friends.

L to R, top:
Nancy, Dena and Me

L to R, bottom:
Deb Moon, Phyllis, and Capt. Tammy

L to R, top: Jan D , Kimmie and Mrs Noofy

L to R, bottom: Loretta, Me and Lolita Sue

Isn't this fantastic? The attention to detail is amazing. Kimmie had a little rusted heart tied to the saddle fo the cowboy. Deb and a tiny little antique boot button. Mrs noofy has lovely vintage buttons as well. I am going to mount them separately as they are too lovely to place next to one another.

Pictures from the new nest

2009-08-02T22:53:00.011-06:00

The new furniture. View of the living room.

Looking out the front picture window.

The back yard from the patio. The weeping birch may be able to hold a hammock. I am going to investigate closer.

No more excuses!

2009-07-28T22:36:00.016-06:00

So, afer a long hiatus, I am back. Havn't felt like blogging as I have been rather uninspired in the art department. Am in the midst of an altered puzzle swap with some friends and Miz Muse has taken off. Part of it is my craft room is in disarray and I still have no idea where everything is and its frsutrating when you spend hours looking for one thing, only to find it won't work. I just have to muster the willpower to get off my sorry butt and organize. Something I am not so fond of. The other thing is the craft room is too dark fro crafting. there is a giant ash tree outside my window that blocks out all the light and it is so sad for me. I suppose I could light the place up but I have taken to the dining room as there is plenty of light there.

Anyways, below are some of the said puzzle pieces.

Top row: Nancy, Mrs Noofy and Lolita Sue
Bottom row:Kimmie, Beanie and Tammy
Pink Rabbit is going to Deb Moon.

I have also taken some pictures from my travels for work.

Fields of purple wildflowers in Morley. It kinda looks like bluebells or canterbury bells (campanula) but not quite. I'd love to get some seeds to have them grow wild in my garden.

Sitting on the edge of the pristine Bow River in Morley.

Abraham Lake, a manmade glacial fed lake on the highway to the Ice Fields parkway.

View from the Bighorn Reserve.

Crescent Falls in the summer.

New beginnings

2009-06-05T00:13:00.002-06:00

I finally moved into my new home. New to me, as it is still older than me but younger than my previous home. Its been a long six weeks and on Tuesday, I was playing "bingo" with the movers as they efficiently moved my stuff into my place and as I crossed off the various articles had in storage for what seemed like ages.

Let's say I have more stuff than I thought I had. And my living room here is a lot smaller than my old place so I am scrambling to find a new home for a lot of my stuff. I see lots of rearranging in the near future. I have been a little overwhelmed at all the unpacking and organizing- as those of you who know me know that I am not an organized person and I don't really care for the minutae of organising. Still, it has got to be done.

I did end up giving up the master bedroom for a den/office/art studio. My bedtoom is small and functional but the den has my large desk, a matching cabinet/buffet combo and a round table for art creation. And best of all, two giganto closets for all the stuff. And maybe I might move in a couple of tall shelves for the stamps. It does overlook the backyard, which isn't as spacious as the previous place. But I do have two lovely flowering dogwood trees and a birch tree so the view isn't so bad, except at night when I have the lovely neighbours flourescent back alley light cast an eerie glow to the leaves and branches of the trees. I want to get to my art but am forcing myself to unpack so I don't have any unopened boxes like from the previous move.

There will definitely be more art to share in the next little while. I created an ATC for my friend Susie, who is needing some "grace" in her life and I want to start an art collaboration with my friends, where I send them two stamped images and see what we can come up with using the same image but everything else our own. Another project I want to start would be "Your Inner Muse", and again, I want to involve friends I craft with and we all create what we would imagine their muse would look like based on what we know of our friends.

How to start on your Inchie Journey

2009-03-08T23:53:00.005-06:00

So, I signed up for Dena's 100 inchie in 100 days swap. 100 inchies. It may seem like a lot but it really is very managable. We got to discussing inchies and how to start making them without going blind and batty. I started putting down all my ideas and thought a post on things I've learnt on my inchie journey might help someone starting out. Yes, I am actively converting the masses....

First start with great lighting. Lots of of crafters will espouse the Ott-Lite. It is pretty pricy but supposedly gives you true colour representation. I myself, use a Sunlight lamp from Lights of America. Got this from Costco a few years ago and am pretty happy with it.

A good one inch punch is a must. I have several. There is the 1" whale of a punch from EK Success. It is pretty good. And the same company also makes 7/8" and 3/4" punches, also great for matting inchies. Marvy makes a Clever Lever Extra Jumbo punch that is a 1" punch too. It is a smidge larger than the whale punch, though. But only if you're counting.

Other companies that make 1 inch punches are Creative Memories. Martha Sterwart has some scalloped edged and stamp edged punches that can be layered onto the 1 inch square.

Some people like to mat their inchie with something sturdy, like chipboard, or cardboard, to give to more weight. You can also purchase 1 inch chipboard squares from Magenta Stamps. And I think Inchie Arts also carries these. My recent favourite is 140lb watercolour paper. I gotta thnak my fabulous friend Phyllis (Pugs) for this idea. It's sturdy and it accepts colour very well.

Precision tip scissors is also a must since you'll need to be getting in crevices when you're cutting out images. Mine is an EK Success Cutter Bee with teflon coating. An Xacto knife is also useful, along with a self healing mat as well.

Other things needed are tweezers (to pick up small embellishments, half pearls and other tiny bling), good glues like the Sakura glue pen, or Judikin's Diamond Glaze, or Stampin'Up! Crystal Effects or Ranger's Glossy Accents.

Another must are micron pens with a really fine tip, such as the Sakura Pigma Micron Pen. They come in very fine tips and normally available in artist supply stores.

Various embellies can be obtained from crafting stores, dollar stores and even second hand stores. You want them smaller, of course, than the usual so keep your eyes peeled for them. German scrap foils are also lovely.

Then all else you need are the old magazines, art catalogs, flyers, postcards and away you go. You will only be limited by your imagination. Inchies typically have a word them and also a bling item.

I'm still here.

2009-02-18T16:52:00.007-07:00

Nope, I havn't expired. I am still alive. Just busy with the big move. Whenever that happens. Well, when the house sells. It saddens me that people aren't as enamoured with the house as I was. I am very sad to leave it as I like it very much. Meanwhile, I am still living in limbo. Half my crafting stuff is in Calgary.

I did manage to get some art done for Tammy's ATC/Twinchie/Inchie swap on SCS. Here is what I submitted.

And to appease some of you, here are some beautiful pictures taken earlier this year-the top picture of Crescent Falls- a lovely gorge with some awesome falls, I am told. I only saw it in the winter and I look forward to taking a picnic lunch there in the summer. The middle one was taken on the way back from Bighorn or Kiska Waptan, which is in the Rockies. The third picture is taken just a ways away from the Rafters Six Ranch, just outside Kannanaskis. There are still some other lovely views I've yet to share- and I do look forward to doing that sometime in the future.

I know, I am sooo blessed to work in such beautiful surroundings. The only downside is the weather can be unpredictable and dangerous.

I was trolling my pictures file and noticed I have in inordinate number of dog pictures there. Next post, I shall include my favourite doggie. He is very expressive. And maybe I'll also have more art as well. (I can hope my muse will visit).

The in between world.....

2008-12-07T16:46:00.004-07:00

Liminal. Thats how I've felt the last two months. In between. On the verge. In the doorway. I had hinted to some that my life is in upheaval. An opportunity presented itself to me awhile ago decided that I would like to move back to Calgary. The time was right and although this was not a climb up the ladder move but more of a lateral move, it was a big step for me. I have enjoyed the city of Edmonton. I love the life I managed to carve out for myself here, with friends I like and a lovely home. So when I got the go ahead from the powers that be, I was happy but apprehensive since this would entail moving. So for the last month in a half, I had been frantically packing and decluttering my place to prepare it for sale. All my art stuff got packed away, save some christmas stamps and so I am desperately missing my crafting time. Things were given away, donated or sold. Furniture promised to strangers and friends.

It's been almost a month since my house went on the market. I did have some looky Lous but no nibbles. I am tired of living this way. I have been trying to keep the house in a presentable state so I have refrained from cooking (so I didn't have to clean up after). With me travelling back and forth but not really having a permanent place to call home since I am already mentally letting go of my current home, this has been hard. I have even started to look for a new place in Calgary. Every breathe I take in my current home beings me closer to goodbye and I know I will miss the spaciousness of this space. Especially given what I can afford in Calgary. I do not know how I am going to downsize. It will be a challenge. But first, may I ask you to say a little prayer for me so my place sells? I don't want to back in three months whining about the same thing.

Because of the frequent travelling, and uncertainty, I am feeling somewhat anchorless. And I miss the grounding my art affords me. So the next time you sit down to craft, whether it be a story, an inchie or some cards, or knitting, or quilting, please savour the moment for me, and for others that cannot do it for one reason or another.

Here are some pictures from my new workstation. Please don't be too envious of me since the roads to and from the mountains are sometimes treacherous and slick.The bottom one is from my desk. The top one is from out in Morley, where we were out doing some outside work. I think I am blessed to work in such beautiful surroundings.
They were taken two weeks ago. The mountains and the meadows are covered in snow now.

Comfort and Joy

2008-10-26T18:23:00.004-06:00

This post won't be about the usual Christmas saying. I have been a little distressed lately. My life has been in flux and I find myself seeking comfort in familiar foods. My comfort food is very asian. It is rice porridge or congee. In Cantonese, it is called chok or jok. I am more accustomed to calling it moey, the Hokkien dialect of Chinese. It is a very cheap meal to make- a cup of rice will likely feed the whole family since it is mostly water or stock. The rice is soaked for about an hour and if you're like me, you'll break up the grains before you boil the daylights out of it. It can be had with any kind of meat- chicken can be steamed or poached with ginger and some green onions before shredding the meat. Fish filets can be marinated with soy, sesame oil and ginger and be cooked in the porridge. Ground pork balls can be made with some chopped up tung chye (Tianjin Preserved turnip), which is very salty, and dropped into the porridge or be made into a soup to be added to the porridge. But if you do it the latter style, your rice porridge has to be thick and goopy so it can be diluted with the soup.

Condiments for rice porridge include a little bit of the following: shredded ginger, chopped green onion, white pepper, soy sauce (not China Lily, of course- but the typical real kind of soy sauce from China), fried chopped garlic and some garlic seasoned oil and thinly sliced bits of the chinese long donut called You char koay or something similar sounding.

One of my favourite rice porridge is a standard dim sum offering- Century Egg and Pork Congee. Now I cringe everytime I see Century Egg in western media. Typically, it is in the context of strange things those other people eat and it is lumped with balut (fertilized egg embryo), or dinuguan (congealed blood and meat) or bugs, bats, civet cats and bushmeat. I am sure some of you will remember episodes of Fear Factor with contestants having to chow down on century egg slurry or something unappetizing to western sensibilities.

I attibute my love for century egg to my term in my mother's belly. She had some nasty cravings, one of them being century eggs. Luckily, she didn't crave the smell of gasoline/petroleum like she did when pregnant with my brother. In asian countries, century egg is cut up and served with slices of ginger, or cooked up in my favourite porridge. Basically, it is a duck egg that is allowed to cure in a very basic solution for a few months. The chemical process solidifies the yolk into a brown gelatinous mass and converts the yolk into a creamy, yet very ammonia-y custard. Sometimes, the egg white will have some very pretty snowflake like crytals develop within the gelatinous mass and it is oh-so-pretty.

I won't lie to you- century egg truly is an acquired taste- but to me, a very comforting one.

So I made this porridge this weekend, and as I was scraping off the mud that is wrapped around the egg to preserve it, I remember taking mud off salted duck eggs and remember how much more satisfying that process is. Salted duck eggs are covered in grey clay and then rolled in black ashes so they don't stick to one another. And suddenly I am taken back across time and space and I am in my mothers kitchen and washing off the ashes and clay, bits of the clay washing down the sink as water dilutes the mess. The salted ducks egg typically has a blueish hue. We only made salted ducks egg one way- boiled and eaten with porridge. The white is typically very salty so an egg would feed at least two people, when eaten with congee.

There really isn't a point to this post, I suppose, aside from remembering and being comforted by things familiar, no matter how unfamiliar they are to others. I hope that I can still turn to my comfort foods and things that bring me joy when I need to.

Gratitude and Thanks

2008-10-18T18:04:00.002-06:00

I meant to get this post out before Canadian Thanksgiving but of course, for on reason or another, was not able to do so. I have been thinking a lot about being thankful- I have a lot to be thankful for. We all do. For all the big things like peace in our lives, for being able to enjoy the fruits of our labour. For the fact that we can see the leaves fall of the trees, or as I sit by the window and look out and watch the cold raindrops beat against the window, for the shelter that I have, the warmth that my working furnace affords me (nevermind that Iwill pay through my nose for the gas that stokes the furnace), Most of all, I am grateful for my life. No, nothing dramatic has happened to me-I didn't survive some earth-shattering moment that opened my eyes- my eyes have been open all this time- but sometimes, even when we are grateful for the good and bad things in our lives, we forget to express it- so I am doing just that.

Tammy, I am thankful for that stuffed camel you sent me, along with the Puppy chow mix. Pugs, I am grateful that you thought enough of me to send me those stamps. Sister, thanks so much for thinking to set aside those newspapers for me, even if you really wanted to throw them out two weeks ago, Mum, thanks for cooking me my favourite meal, even if you didn't tell me about it till too late. Pat, your kindness was amazing, since you don't know me, yet thought enough of me to send me that camel. Liz, thanks for inspiring me (and addicting me) with your fabulous works. Rox, what can I say- I write some of my entries to make you laugh. I was listening to the CBC program, Spark (which comes as podcasts, BTW) and they were discussing what makes blogs great. One of the things Merlin Mann said to do is to ask yourself "who is my audience" and focus your writing on one person that inspires you and write to that. So, I try.

To each and every one of you, I thank you. I am grateful.

In Bahasa Malaysia, to thank someone is to say "Terima Kasih". Literally translated, it means "Receive Love". Please receive my love

Art in the Summer

2008-08-24T21:28:00.006-06:00

I've been bad. I went out and got some more stamps. If my house were to ever catch fire, I am sure I'd die from all the fumes from my rubber stamps. I already have a plan. If I am home, I will open up the window and fling out all my stamps. Meanwhile, I am keeping a record of all my stamp acquisitions so at least I can try and claim insurance if I need to. Something tells me I am woefully underinsured since I first got my insurance. There is a cautionary tale on the news today about a home that was struck by lightning and caught fire. Even though the family had insurance, they don't think it will be enough to rebuilt the home.

So, here are some bits and bobs I've been working on. This card I had made specially for my friend Komali's daughter's birthday. The idea I got from JanTink. The colours are what my friend had picked out for the theme.

Stamps: Unfrogettable, Zoofari, A little birdie told me, Doodle wheel (all Stampin'Up!)

Paper: watercolour paper, rose red, celery (SU)

Accessories: Organdy ribbon from a ribbon share I got from Heidi at Pink Hedgehog Papercrafts

Inks: Stampin' Up! Classic Inks, StazOn black.
I punched out the squares from watercolour paper and inked the animals on then watercoloured them using my Aquapainter.

Something else I was working on is the ATC below. It's a prelude to the Tasteful Nudes ATC swap I signed up for. Like I said, I got new stamps!! One of my favourites is the Quartet of Bobbies that are from the Queen's Dresser Drawer. I picked this up from Stampdiva, along with Frida, and some nudie stamps from PaperArtsy. Below is a glimpse of what I am currently working on. Can I say I love my Tim Holtz Distress Inks? They are so beautiful and they take to paper so well. I was afraid I was going to get mud when I tried to colourwash two different colours but instead, the colours just blended nicely without mixing. I used Broken China and Shabby Shutters. The stuff on the writing pad is some songs I'd picked out for a Favourite Music swap I am going to be doing with some ladies I know. Its been fun revisiting my favourite songs to see if I want to include them in this swap.

I seem to be having a hard time uploading my quartet of bobbies. I'll try again once more. If it doesn't work, I'll just have to retake the picture another time.Grrr!

There, the bobbies finally uploaded. Phew! This was the fifth time trying. I usually don't have much problems uploading my pictures.

The nudie ladies are from one of the Vintage Nude Plates from Paper Artsy. I stamped the bobbies, then masked them before I stamped the ladies on. I used my Distress Inks, with exception of the bobbies, who got the Not Quite Navy treatment.

I've been having fun watching the traffic on my blog since I installed Feedjit. There are quite a lot of people I don't know visit- please DO say "hi", as I don't bite- unless you want me to. But we'd have to be good friends- I don't bite strangers. :)

Please, do validate me.... after all, the diva part of my name didn't come from nothing. Feedback is valued, but like Shelli (of the Shelli Gardner fame) said, I reserve the right to surround myself with positivity and good vibes on only hear the accolades :)

Blog Awards

2008-08-14T16:38:00.017-06:00

So, my friend Sue passed this award on to me.

Thanks, Susie! I would like to pass it on to three people:

Roxanne, author of Art of Practice . Roxanne is a very talented writer, who has recently taken steps towards writing full time. She is, a little bit of a philosopher as well and is a true kindred spirit, a la Anne of Green Gables.

Donelda, who has been steadily digesting Jim Krause's book, Design Basics Index and sharing the tips to better design wth us. Donelda mantains Wiggy's World of Cr afts and her enormous talent at creating cards is obvious when you visit her site.

And of course, to Irene, who inspires me artistically (and lives on the other side of the world). Irene lives in the city I was born in. She is an astounding scrapbooker, whose work is a result of layers and layers of details. She also has some marvellous techniques that she demonstrates on her blog. Her site is called Scrapperlicious.

Lastly, my friend Kimmie passed this on to me. Thanks, Kim!. I am supposed to nominate seven favourite blogs ... hmmm... I think this a ploy to get us all sucked into the vortex that is the blogosphere .......

1. Susanna Boyd's Card of the Week.com . Susanna does a review of people's blogs and does a best of blogosphere summary. Its a good place to hop to if you are lazy to blog hop.

2. JanTink's Stamps Paper Scissors. I am a big fan of Jan. She is too funny, with her chocolate devotion and her guilt about commiting rubbah -dultery.... although she seems to be straying far for Stampin' Up! lately.

3. Kristina Werner's KWernerDesignBlog . Kristina does some really nice work and she also does videos that you can watch *and* she also works for Stampin' Up!

4. Julie Ebersole's Paper Trufflez . I've always admired Julie's deceptively simple and clean looking designs and she is so funny as well.

5. Shari Caroll's blog. Shari is the designer for Hero Arts. I have loved Hero Arts as long as I remember and so they are very close to my heart.

Really, I can't think of whom else I'd like to nominate. I try not to blog hop because it just sucks waay too much time.

I do have some art that I will post soon. I have a week off so I'll do it sometime this week.

Summer Swaps

2008-07-30T19:04:00.008-06:00

So, after much struggle, I finished the swaps I had signed up for. Because I didn't have a clue what the end result was going to be, I muddled along. But the end result was worth it and I love my creation. I started with vanilla cardstock. Because I had spent and arm and a leg to buy Tim Holtz's craft sheet (basically, a silicone sheet that is 15 x 18 inches) I was determined to use it. I randomly inked my fired brick distress ink pad on the sheet along with one of the browns (not sure which). Then I spritzed with water and gently laid the cardstock in the puddles. I was really surprised with the softness of the brick red as it looks more like the colour worn lipstick. The dappling efect of the colours are so gorgeous- am definitley going to be making lots more backgrounds like these.

I had also purchased a retired set-Botanical and was anxious to use it. I overstamped in vintage photo (or was that tea ink?) the french script fromt that set and then spritzed it to get a softer look. The red poppy was stamped in Timber brown stazon (my new favourite ink, now that I've gotten over the smell of the pad) and coloured in with some cheapo coloured pencils. I also used Stampin' Up!'s marker olive, to colour the leaves.

I had gotten a Paper Artsy stamp set ( Buttons, Plate 4) and wanted to incorporate what I thought were theBronte sisters stamp in my ATC so I stamped it on a transparency and cut them out to overlay it on the main ATC.

The "pin" part of the ATC was also fun to make. Dollar store embellishments were used- they are "mini frames with brads". I learned this from my friend Robin at our last stamping get together (thanks, Robin for sharing with us this idea). I used crystal effects to hold together a "scene" I created with mini mulberry flowers. The original plan was to tat little butterflies and use them in the frame but I've misplaced my tatting shuttle and threads so I used the image from the sisters instead- colouring them in with chalks.

I backed my ATC with cereal box cardboard and I also edged them with my Zig gold pen.

So now, I was also in some inchie swaps as well and so I had leftover "sisters" from the transparencies and I cut them out carefully and layered them on my inchies. I like how it turned out.

Here are some other things I had worked on in the last little while (before my dry spell).

Garden tales

2008-07-20T20:04:00.007-06:00

Artwise, I have been at a standstill. My muse has packed up and wandered away as I struggle to create for a couple of swaps coming up. ACK!! Summer seems here to stay and I am constantly fighting with the dandelions and other greens that are taking over my garden.
My raspberries are out and am swimming in fruit. I already made a batch of jam out of desperation. I may need to freeze some of these berries and I know I still have berries from last year-help!! If you live within driving distance, do consider coming out and helping me with my dilemma as I can't keep up with the harvesting of the raspberries. Last year, I made raspberry syrup, some raspberry vodka cordial and raspberry jelly.

I have been trying to line up friends to come out and harvest these lovely beauties. There are only so many raspberries one can eat :)

Here's another picture to tempt you.... These red, luscious, organic raspberries truly are gems of nature. I seem to have a little visitor in my garden. My neighbours, who are bird freaks, tell me that we have some blue jays visiting and staying. They've gotten them trained so that my neighbours show up with peanuts and other nuts for the birds when they come out into the garden. When I was out picking the lovely raspberries you see in the pictures, I heard this loud squawking from the bushes in front of me. It was so loud, I thought it was a magpie, but it was only one of the bluejays, protesting at my presence in his patch of berries! I shooed him away, of course, he'd better learn to share :)

I've yet to attack the grass with the dandelion stick because I really want my lawn to remain organic. Especially since I found a patch of edible looking mushrooms under the golden crabapple tree. They were so edible looking, I found myself taking a bite out of the stem.I took it inside, washed it off and ate it. It was really, really good! It tasted very umami- savoury and meaty- surely something like this cannot be poisonous? So I decided to look it up and apparently, you're supposed to identify the mushroom *before* you eat it. So, I did a spore print and it had some lovely brown and salmon coloured spores, and the mushroom is white and has unattached gills and a ring on the stipe too. From some pictures, and the identification key I followed, I think it is a Trichoroma pardixx but since I am not 100% sure, I am going to wait till I take a course on mushroom identification before I proceed. Too bad, though, since that would have been a lovely meal. And they continure to taunt me as I can see their lovely white caps in the grass out the window from where my computer is located. ETA: I have to revise my identification since I've done more poking and it turns out my mushroom is Agaricus oseanus, as it also bruises yellow when damaged and I do remember the flesh turning yellow from me holding it. I'ts listed as cautionary edible, meaning that some people have had allergic reactions to it. Apparently, it has also been mistaken for the Amanita species (and likelwise) of which all species are poisonous. So perhaps I was wise to not consume it all. Just so people don't think I do very cavalier things all the time (okay so those of you who know me will realise I do anyways because of my risktaking behaviour, but that is another story for another time) I have taken several undergraduate courses in fungal physiology so I am not doing this blindly.

So, I don't think I posted a picture of what I did with my most favouritest inchies. I framed them. They are on the wall beside the computer so I get to gaze at them everyday an I love this idea so much, I am going to frame more inchies and surround this picture with more framed inchies. Those inchies are too beautiful to leave hidden in the box and sticking them in an album is just too geeky for me. The tactile inchies like my shaker ones will still be in the box, though because some of them inchies need to be fondled. It has gotten so that I can identify each and every inchie in the frame. Everyone's style is unique to them and that's what makes each inchie special.

I sure hope my muse returns soon.I need to get my stuff complete and out the door tomorrow. I also need to find my tatting shuttle and threads ... sigh..... wish me luck!

Inchie display, and some ATCs

2008-06-06T00:02:00.008-06:00

My friend Kim posted a lovely dolly a couple of days ago and inspired me to attempt an ATC dolly. So, may I present Queen Beatrix. .....She is modeled very much after our friend Queen E, but unlike Kimmie's sweet and playful dolly, our friend Beatrix is sedate and regal in her bearing, and has what appears to be giant ankles. In her defense, I should have shaded her legs so you can see that she has very slim and fetching ankles. I watercoloured the background and fingerpainted over with gesso in a poor attempt at emulating Kim's gorgeous background. The ATC was also sponged with Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Her dress is outlined with gold Zig painty and her lovely sparkly shoes are made of burnt red glimmer mist scraps (Tattered Angels) and highlighted with half pearls. Her wings are from SU Natural Beauty set.

I was also rooting though my box of inchies yesterday- for those of you who don't know. I've been carrying around all the inchies I got from my various swaps in this lunch tin picked up from the dollar store. I love running my fingers through the various inchies but I thought it was time to actually do something with them. I've had this frame for ages and it has 3 5.5X5.5 windows and I picked out some of my favourite inchies and stuck them in the windows with non-permanent glue so iIcan go back and change them from time to time. I love how they look and plan to get more of these frames for the rest of my inchies. I didn't even bother removing the background pictures in the frame.This is what it looks like:
I have also been making other ATCs. Susie (Boxermama on SCS) has been running Weekend ATC challenges and I've been taking part in them when I can. Last year, I had no interest in making ATCs at all. None whatsoever. The adage that your friends really do have a great influence on you is so true- even as adults because I can't get enough of ATCs and I am trying out things I would never have done even a year ago. It truly is the influence of those I hang around with, even virtually....

2 of Cupcakes and 2 hearts in Paris was for Susie's Altered Playing Cards theme last week.

I am on a pink and brown kick, obviously. 2 of Cupcakes has a SU stitched bkg stamped in SU close to cocoa onto a SU Rose Red watercoloured bkg. The Cupcakes are a Mike's stamp and has Liquid Applique frosting and yummy looking seed beads. 2 of hearts is gessoed and stamped with Distress Tea dye. The stamps are from Cavalini & Sons (Eiffel Tower, postoid), SU (hearts-Love matters) and Teesha Moore (birds).

The ATC below was created for Kim's Who's Who Swap on SCS. This was completed a month ago but since we're on th topic of ATCs.... Bkg is salt resist technique. I took the liberty of adding acetate wings to the little kid (me- and if you knew me growing up, you'd be ROTFL). The acetate wings were enhanced with a white Souffle pen.Yes, there is a little bead necklace on the kid. And the flowers on the dress were highlighted with Stardust clear as well.

Teeth of Lions

2008-06-01T11:12:00.005-06:00

Dandelions. Dent-de- lion.... supposedly a plant that came over from Europe. The leaves resembles the jagged teeth of lions. Supposedly very rich in vitamins and can be eaten as salad greens. The plant in itself, is useful. You can make wine with the nodding yellow heads that when dried up, turn into puffballs to spread their seed. Images of faeries hitching a ride from garden to garden on the dandelion seeds. The roots, if you dry them up and roast them, makes a good coffee substitute- very much like chicory. They are also taking over my garden. For three years, I have fought the urge to decimate them. I will dig them up- I have an organic garden. I am not crazy about poisoning them. After all, they (the dandelions) have been here long before I have. I discovered this when two years ago, I decided I was going to plant pumpkins. I dug up a patch in the back of one of the sheds, and found dandelion roots so torturous and twisted and fat as the size of my thumbs-. There they were, broken white fingers bleeding white sap amidst the dark dirt. I dug out what I could but in the back of my mind, I knew that this was futile.

I have been digging the little buggers out of my yard the last few days. I have broken two metal dandelion picks and I have giant blister in the middle of my palm from where I press the pick into the ground.I have garden bag full of dandelion plants, dug up. I am heading to the store for the dandelion bar. I cannot do this on my own. There just is simply too many dandelions for me to cope on my own.

This is the garden after the mowing:
(the dandelions are still there, the leaves and flowers are gone but the tenacious tap roots are there, waiting to sprout out new leaves to feed the beast)

I'm baack!

2008-05-18T15:04:00.006-06:00

So, lots happened since my last entry. Looks like summer is finally here. It was 29oC yesterday. If I doubted the warm weather, my garden is proof it is warm. I cut the grass last week and it is already looking long and scraggly right now. The dandelions have only just started coming up so all is not yet yellow in the Dandelion Patch.

This is a Zentangle. You start with an image and you doodle freehand and decorate it. or you can do words. Its meant as an art therapy. Very cool stuff :)

I was away for a couple of weeks. I went to Niagara Falls for a conference. It is truly a marvel of nature and everyone should visit the Falls. Preferably when it is not the height of tourist season, though! I was there just before it got crazy. I even had a view of the falls from my room- and I never ceased to marvel at the waterfalls.

I also took a week to visit some relatives living out in St Thomas. No, not in the Caribbean- the one by London, Ontario

I really missed home and was so glad to be in my own bed, on my own schedule, with my own car.

So, I've been crazy busy trying to get some art time in because its down to crunch time. Deadlines looming for some swaps I signed up eons ago. Being away for two weeks didn't help at all.

Feast your eyes on these inchies. They are for Dena's 50 inchie swap. They all had to be different. I am used to making at least 10 inchies each time I make them so this was challenging (translated, my puny, lazy brain almost overloaded at the thought of having to make 50 different inchies ). My favourites are:

the Dodo with the caption "Goin' My Way?" , the smoking nun with the caption "vices keep me human", the Inchie with Phyllis and a crown with caption "Inchie Queen", and "you too, could have this life if you wear Eddie Bauer".

Sure, I think I'm funny :) Phyllis is truly the inchie queen- she does an awesome job and I am honoured to know her. Another special mention is the"Who am I?" inchie with a burka- I had so much fun making that inchie since it would be hard to guess whom this person is.

Nickelbacks and other artsy stuff

2008-04-20T13:29:00.006-06:00

It is snowing like there is no tomorrow. Its been snowing since yesterday morning. There has to be at least 3 inches of snow to shovel. I am too warm and cosy to go out. Luckily I resisted the temptation to put away the shovel. And the sand. So I have been busy inside.... been playing with my inks and stamps. My friend Kim has got me making nickelbacks. What the heck are they, you ask? She named them in honour of us Canadians- 5 cm x 5cm squares- that a nickel so she called them nickelbacks. Going from 1 inch to 2 inches is harder than you think. I guess it reframing of how you look at things. Kimmie had sent me a wonderful asian inspired nickelback and so in return I have to send her one. All week, I had been agonizing over this as Kim is very talented and I wanted to impress her. I had picked the theme of frogs, thinking I was going to get back frogs... but it turns out I was supposed to make something with frogs. So.... two weeks ago, Telus sent out some glossy advertising for their digital media campaign- using frogs.

How perfect!! So, this is what I came up with.

The background was done on watercolour paper using the salt resist technique. I knew it existed before - seen this usually done on silk.. I inked up the paper with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Fired Brick) , then spritzed the paper to get the ink mixing and swirling. Dropped on coarse salt and let dry. Brushed off the salt, spritzed on some burnt red Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) and stamped background with words. The crowns are gold embossed and blinged with rhinestones. I will not be keeping either of them (sooo sad!!). They will be travelling to Dena and Kim this week.

I was also challenged to create something witht he theme "Spring into Green". I am not an ATC person but somehow, this one spoke to me. Again, I am so loving the salt resist technique. I tried it with Stampin'Up!'s Old Olive, reusing the salt crystals. I really like how it turned out. The old salt crystals had picked up some dye and deposited it on the paper. I also used some Stampin'Up! Rub Ons for the first time. they aren't bad at all....

I think I shall turn it into a card for Mother's Day, with green paper, some luscious chocolate chip ribbon that I've been hoarding. Thanks for the idea, Susie!

I cannot avoid going outside so off I go to shovel snow :)

Cuban rhythms

2008-04-12T09:40:00.004-06:00

Last weekend, I attended a lovely Pena(pronounced Penya, but I can't get the squiggly over the n) at the Blue Chair Cafe . It was a show for a Latin Jazz band called Bomba. Their members live in Calgary and Edmonton and when they get a chance to get together, they do in either city and have these little music sessions.

I cannot believe this is the same group Bomba I had heard about when I was living in Calgary all those years ago. I used to occasionally take drum lessons from Luis. I just went to the Bomba site and I recognized one of their guest players- Toto. Toto used to be (and I presume still is) good friends with Luis. This was at least 10 years ago. And as I was looking at the pictures, it suddenly dawned on me that the singer that was also playing the gourd and guitar was Luis that I learned to drum with. He taught us how to drum djembe, but had from time to time brought in the congas for us too. My most cherished memory of my time drumming was this sultry, hot summer evening. This was in One World's old studio, above the hydroponics shop on Centre Street , in Calgary . It was hot and stuffy there. The windows were open yet it was stifling since there was about eight of us and the room was very much akin to an oven. Luis was showing us how to play several lines. He wasn't happy with what he heard, so again and again, he showed us what we had to play and listened. This went on for what seemed like endless hours. By this time, beads of sweat were wending its way down my shoulder blades and between my breasts. The music was pounding. And hypnotic. We could barely hear the traffic outside, though as we drowned out the sounds or cars and honking trucks. At some point in time, Luis turned off the lights in the place in hopes of keeping the heat down. So, there we were, in the evening's half light, beating away our own individual drum lines as he made us repeat again and again till it became part of our selves. Or hands and our hearts took over and collectively, we sighed. The the music started tightening up and for that small window in time, we were transported to Cuba, with the gentle and hypnotic beat of the congas,the clave, his melodious singing and the thick viscous heat on that hot summer day. He used to offer conga camps in Cuba- where one could go and live as the Cubans do, and play and eat and dream with them too. I wonder if he still does that. I would go in a heartbeat.

Inchie-palooza

2008-04-01T21:05:00.006-06:00

I have been busy inchieing away at things. I was in a 100 inchie swap and finally got back my inchies. Since they aren't mine, I won't post them unless I get permission from the owners.

Meanwhile, I've been working on some Pick a Theme Inchies. So for these, you end up in groups and everyone gets to pick a theme. You make everyone else's themes but yours. In the end, you get everyone else's interpretation of your theme. Its a very exclusive kinda thing.

For this picture, the Themes were: Chillies, Queen Bee, Nancy Drew and Nursery Rhymes

The person on the chillies inchie is whom the inchie is going to. Her name is Phyllis and she is an awesome inchie artist. She has this wonderful knack for collaging and is so very humble about her work. Queen Bee was a bit of work but I am very pleased with how it turned out. I was inspired by an inchie I saw made by someone I traded with named Mrs Noofy. I used a transparency to give the bee's wings some depth. I also took a Stardust clear pen to the wings underneath the transparency. This was all sewn down with beads. There is a crown beneath the bee and it is embossed in platinum embossing powder and decorated with 3mm pearls. I tried to create the bookcover for Nancy Drew (The Whispering Statue) and with the Queen of Hearts- she was very fiddly as there were so many bitty bits to her- the tarts, and the hearts. there is Dimensional Magic/Crystal Effects/Diamond Glaze/Glossy Accents on the little hearts in the tarts. The queen was also coloured in with gel pens and she has a small bit of german scrap foil for a crown.

The next set of inchies are:

Halloween, Winter, Teapots and Cowboys.

I cut the skull freehand, stuck on googly eyes, and sponged around the skull lightly to create contrast. The orange strips have orange peel stickles on it for some bling. The winter Inchie is fairly simple. I had picked up some puffy stickers (yeah!! In the Husky store between Morinville and Slave Lake ). There is some glitter edging the snow and the sky on the inchie. the teapot was stamped with pigment ink and then covered with psychedelic embossing powder. the background was made by bleaching the cardstock. The "steam" was created with a Sakura souffle pen. The cowboy is just collaged. There is copper "rope" hanging from his shoulders. I like how he turned out.

The next set's themes are: Paris, Growing Old,

Vintage and Summer.

I really like how Paris turned out. I used a paint chip for the background- isn't that amazing? I can just envision a feature wall in that colour-gorgeous! the Eiffel tower is embossed in metallic brown on a brown background. Growing Old was a little difficult so I lucked out and found a deck of cards from the dollar store with the stopwatch with wings on them. there is crackle effects on the face of the stopwatch. Vintage was easy- found some images of the internet- antiqued it a little with Tea dye ink. the gold strips were purchased white in colour and the gold was rubbed on with acrylic paints. the "Summer" inchie is a BBQ stamp which I carefully coloured and used dimensional magic on. The silver is my Zig Painty pen.

I am really proud of my inchies. I do think my work is getting better all the time. I have been inspired by many new friends I've made, as we share ideas and techniques as we enchange these little bits of art with each other.

The Lost Art....

2008-03-30T13:49:00.004-06:00

When I was young, we used to get a TV program called "Big Blue Marble". At the end of the program, they encouraged their viewers to get a penpal from around the world to get to know your neighbour. My first penpal was an American girl called Susie O'Grady. I wonder what happened to her. She was actually the penpal of my best friend, Gina. So I eventually got my very own penpal. A Norweigian girl, called Gro Aaserod. And from then, came Lilyane from France, and Ron from Sweden. According to Wikipedia, this was a gentle form of multiculturalism, encouraging cross cultural communication.

All my life, I had had penpals. The rise of emails have significantly, taken away from the art of letterwriting. Although slow, there is this pleasure one gets from physically holding the letter in one's hand. The stamps used, the cancellation stamp, even the envelope made a difference.
Some people decorated the outside of the envelope as well. It really shouldn't be a surprise that I also collected stamps, no, not the rubberstamping kind, the postage kind. Part of acquiring the penpals was so that I could increase my collecton of foreign stamps. I used to have an Australian penpal that would regularly send me Australian coins so that I could trade it for Malaysian dollars to send to him. After the 11th package, I got tired of being his very one personal moneychanger and stopped sending the cash back to him. I remember getting a very nasty letter in the mail, accusing me of being a thief and being dishonest. I stopped accepting his mail.
My greatest pleasure (after writing the letter) was to carefully select a commemorative stamp to place in the top right corner (right over how much it cost to mail the letter). Also, mustn't forget the ubiquitous blue Air mail/ Mel Udara/ Par Avion sticker to indicate the mail should go posthaste. And last of all, don't forget to say a quick little prayer to St. Anthony to make sure the letter makes it to its destination.

So, I wondered with much sadness if penpals still existed- and much to my surprise, they do. In this instantaneous world, with breakup text messaging being the norm, and instant messenger, emails, Blackberrys and cell phones, people still have penpals. They still write letters, send and exchange bits of memorabilia and decorate envelopes. So, the internet, although has changed much of the landscape of correspondence, has allowed anachronistic white elephants like myself to connect with other like minded people and actually still exchange bits of our culture, and ourselves with people halfway across the world.

I guess I better go finish those inchies I need to get out tomorrow- the mail from Canada to the US is notoriously slow.

Mummy love

2008-03-14T10:01:00.003-06:00

My mother never ceases to amaze. I was home last weekend. I badly wanted to pick up the 182 Ringgit parcel my brother had sent me. It was filled with 3 pounds of dried anchovies and one pound of dried shrimp. Precious commodity this far away from Malaysia.

So after the usual chatter, mum lets on that she had been analyzing Moe Amery's signature. Moe Amery is the PC candidate for her riding. Huh? What do you mean, analyzing? My brother had given her a book on handwriting analysis at Christmas. At the time, she looked through the book and set it aside. I didn't think much of it since gifts for mum is a hit and miss kind of thing. One year, my brother got her John Paul II's book for Christmas and she was lukewarm to it. The thing you least expect would become her favourite gift. Apparently, some time between Christmas and last week, mum had become some sort of a handwriting celebrity amongst her friends. She had been busy analyzing her friends signatures and had apparently been quite accurate in her predictions to their personalities.

"Mum, you have to analyze my handwriting,"I said to her as I hastily scribbled a paragraph using a very fine tipped pen and a scrap of paper sitting on the table. She looks at the writing, stops to ponder and say, "you don't live in the past... see how far away from the edge of the page you are?"

"More, more, tell me more," I say to her. She was hesitant. "You can tell me whatever, mum, even the bad bits" I encourage her. I had done some handwriting analysis in my time and knew all about the loops in the o's and about dishonesty, deceit and the like.

"I need to look at it carefully and this will take time. I'll write you a letter instead" said mum and that was the end of the conversation.

The other day, I called my mum because I hadn't spoken to her for ages.

" Mum, " I said, 'You have to tell me how to make that Taucheo beef that you make."
So she proceeds to tell me how its done. But in true mum fashion, she never gives me exact measurements. You have to use stir fry beef. Tenderize the big pieces by chopping it wth the back of a knife. Marinate the beef with dark and light soy sauce. Saute garlic and onions first. Shallots if you have them. Add some taucheo (fermented brown soy beans- Yeo's brand is best) which has been roughly chopped with a knife to macerate the beans . Add beef and sliced up green jalapenos. Lots of it. Balance the flavours with some sugar. The beans are salty so be careful with the salt. Cook till done.

"Mum, what is the origin of this recipe? Is it Nyonya or Eurasian?"

" Naah," she says "It's just my own creation."

I love my mum. I am so afraid of that there where I will never be able to call her up again to ask her for recipes.

Speaking of which... I need to get that Sour Beef recipe from her.... maybe that too, is an experiment. But it was pretty tasty. I reach for the phone and dial- 1-403-293......

Hobble along

2008-03-09T23:17:00.003-06:00

Three weeks ago, I hurt myself. I tripped on the stairs as I was taking up a book I had recently bought- the irony is, of course, it was a book on Stretching- and long story short, I had twisted my knee. It was hideously painful and I was convinced I'd never EVER walk straight again. Of course, it never occured to me to stop and do the RICE thing-Rest, Ice, ?? Compress?? and Elevate. Besides, I was going to be travelling that week for work. I had worked really hard to arrange this trip and it involved contacting numerous parties and making travel arrangements to various towns, I was reluctant to cancel the trip. So there was me hobbling along, grimacing in pain at every step. A coworker felt sorry for me and so she loaned me a cane. Of course, it was not any old cane. It had a brass horse head, and had a very celtic look to it.

After getting over its looks, I actually took to the cane. I was really reluctant to use it since there is stigma attached to canes- the whole aging and getting old thing- but it provided the much needed stability that my stretched out knee needed as it healed. After a whole week with the cane, I had grown fond of it- it distingushed me from others and it provided me a crutch with which I could use to emphasize my thoughts and it would have been a fantastic weapon to boot. Alas, my friend needs the cane back so I will be parting with the horse head cane- and now I am on the hunt for another to replace it. Oh, and I've healed up quite nicely and although the knee is a little weak, I am walking as straight as I used to before the tripping incident.

Hoping for Spring

2008-03-09T22:47:00.003-06:00

I am so praying for Spring. Yesterday, a seven year old boy told me that spring comes on March 20th and I didn't believe him so he pulled out a calendar to show me. It must have been printed in the USA since we all know that spring is at least six weeks away. Still, one can hope. Everything is fast melting and this past weekend, it was warm. or so I think it was since I was in Calgary, where it was even warmer. 12oC during the day.

In honour of spring, I am posting this card:

I had originally made it for a monthly swap club I am in. But I had since found out I was a little late so I decided to opt out for this month. The challenge was to use punches on your card. I used two circle punches to make the lady bug. The spots were done using black eyelets and the feelers were done with black craft wire. My favourite part of this was the Sakura stardust pen "clear" which I used to draw the glitter line on the blades of grass. I just want to run out to Deserres to buy myself more pens so I never run out. It adds glitter to anything in such a precise way since it is in a pen.

Paper: SU shimmer, SU black, Su red, SU Old Olive

Inks: SU Old Olive and Red

Stamps: SAB-08 Lots of Thoughts

Other: Black eyelets, craft wire

How does one start again after a long silence?

2008-03-02T21:27:00.007-07:00

So, it has been months since I said anything. Winter has just about passed me by. There is still snow in the large backyard and although things are starting to thaw, it is only the beginning of March so I won't kid myself in thinking spring is here. I fool myself with forced bulbs that are almost ready to bloom but the Ides of March is still miles away.This past weekend, norhtern Alberta had a winter storm. The same time, we were blessed with watery sunshine and a clear day.
So, I have been keeping myself occupied with my inchies project. I recently joined a 100 inchie swap and so my days were spent making those addictive little buggers. I am not a collage type of person so this swap has challenged me to step outside myself to try my hand at collage. Making these inchies are like giving birth. Okay. Not literally. Figuratively. They are fruits of my imagination and so it becomes very hard to part with them. I am not one of those [people] that can pop out inchies like there's no tomorrow. I agonize and hem and haw over most of them. So it was hard for me to part with my 200 inchies (I took two spots because I wanted a wide variety of inchies to come home to me). I hear they have been sorted so they ought to make it home to me in a couple of weeks.

I have been busy this past weekend. It was a Cookfest. I promised my sister that I'd make her a week's worth of meals for her Christmas present. So I decided it was high time I got all the meals together. So yesterday, I made Chicken Curry, Beef Stew, Braised Pork with Chesnuts and Mushrooms (based on a recipe called Kau Lak, I learned from Mrs. Kiu) and Beef with Tomatoes. Today, it was another long session- I made Fish curry, Long Beans and Prawns, Yambean with Pork and Prawns , Adabi Chicken Rendang and Pork with Chinese Sausage and Tomatoes. Tomorrow, yes, I still have to make two more things- Wan Tan mee and Yam cake. I sure hope these things freeze well. I used my fancy Foodsaver I got for Christmas. Hmmmm... its almost as if she planned it all. The funny thing is, I am not even keeping any of this for me. Okay- maybe I'll keep some yam cake for me. I am heading out on the road again anyhow this week so I won't be eating any of these.

So, the pictures you see are of my babies- the top two are some inchies I had made for some swaps. The bottom two are my 200 inchies for the swap.
I am going to frame some of the inchies I get back. It will be part of my art in motion series. I would also like to pick up stained glass again. Maybe when it gets a little warmer. Here's hoping!

Adieu to Summer

2007-09-09T16:41:00.000-06:00

As much as I am denying it, summer is over. It has been over for a couple of weeks now. Here it has, anyways. It is Sunday afternoon. Really, it's early evening but in my true denying nature, I claim it is afternoon.... The leaves are starting to fall from the giant elms outside my house, shedding its lovely canopy of leaves that has given my street a cathedral feel for the past four months. Pretty soon, I will be awash in the leaves and you will hear me whine about the bags nd bags that line the back lane, waiting for pickup on refuse days.

Last night, there was a frost warning and I was out, frantically picking apples off my tree, wondering what I would do with the 40 or so organic apples I had picked. I can only eat an apple or two at the most each day. I am not a baker- last year I attempted an apple crumble but the crumble rotted in the fridge for weeks.

The inevitable coming of winer. I dread the thought of the cold. Partially because I keep my place so cold. But also because the dark is painful for me. I already miss the early morning sunrises and find it hard to rise each morning, despite heading to bed earlier and earlier each night.Coming from a place of equal sunlight and darkness, I have always been fascinated by the movement of the sun. Because I have been so cold the past few days (the heat hasn't yet kicked on since late spring and I leave my thermostat at 15oC), I stood in my mudroom window today at noon, basking in the bright sunlight and its warmth. It felt so good to feel the radiation on my skin- and so I dragged the book I had been reading out and sat on the deck in the sun. I felt like a lizard, soaking up all that energy as I rediscovered my love for reading again. I have always been a voracious reader but had fallen on dry spell. The library donation centre called up, worrying why I hadn't been feeding their coffers with the numerous fines I usually rack up because I sign out so many books at once and when I forget them, they benefit. There is this new wing they want to build, you see.... Anyways, Bryce Courtenay has a new book out called "Whitethorn" and I was thoroughly engrossed in the book. It has to be one of the most pleasurable ways to spend the afternoon, reading a good book in the afternoon warmth of an autumn day, the smell of tea eggs gently bubbling away in the kitchen.

Yes, I decided I was making tea eggs again. It's really easy, right? You boil up some eggs. When they are done, you gently crack the shell and slip them back into the boiling water, this time the water has some light and dark soy sauce, salt, a few peppercorns, a star anise and a tea bag. Turn it down low and let it simmer for as long as you can- at least an hour, longer if possible.

Stamping has been on the backburner for a awhile now, although I did have an open house yesterday.

Last minute swaps

2007-07-22T19:17:00.000-06:00

So, its down to the wire and I am finishing up my last minute swaps. I went to Innisfail yesterday to take part in a stamping get together, hosted by Robin, a friend from Innisfail. She has been putting on these getogethers for at least six months before Peggy and I did our big Edmonton Extravaganza in May this year. It was pretty amazing- there is so much raw talent there and I learned so much from just the one day. Wish I could have gone today as well- but I have so much to do before I go. Anyways, without much ado, here are some of the cards I've made.

My rolling monkey card is one of my personal favourites. The monkey is from "Zoofari", one of the new Stampin'Up! sets. I coloured them with reinkers and my Aquapainter. The background is Paisley Bkg stamped in River rock ink on sahara sand paper. the sentiment is embossed. I like the stitching but I am not font of piercing so I don't see myself repeating this for a lot of the swaps.

This cute giraffe is from the Bundles of Joy set. I coloured her in with reinkers and the aquapainter (can you say Diane discovers watercolour painting with the aquapainter?). The paper is groovy guava- I've recently discovered how much I really like this colour. It is one of the new "in" colours- ie they will only sell this colour for one year, then they retire it. The background stamp is a polka dot bkg, also a new set from Stampin' Up!. The brown is chocolate chip paper.

The next card is using the same groovy guava. I love this new combination!!The stamp is from a card kit called " Simple Delights". It has some lovely and classic stamps but I've had a hard time coming up with designs using this kit.
I broke out the new chocolate chip taffeta ribbon with this card. The taffeta ribbon is growing on me. I am going to miss the narrow choc chip grosgrain ribbon they retired. Instead, they have a wider choc chip ribbon, which I hear is the same colour as the old stuff. I had a look at the rest of the taffeta ribbon- they are very, very nice, especially the green ribbon.

Finally, I also have the giraffe, making a reprise in cameo coral colour. The sentiment is embossed . I used white pigment ink and white embossing powder to get good coverage on the words.

More stamping stuff

2007-07-15T17:12:00.000-06:00

I have been busy getting ready for Convention. Lots of things I signed up for aand now its a frantic scramble to finish off my projects. Also, I promised my friend Jen I'd make her baby announcements so-been working on those too.

Card #1 is the version I made for Jen. Its a variation on my previous elephant card. canged up the colours. Bkg cardstock is barely banana. I paired it up with old olive. Used a corn stamp to make the background and coloued in with stickles.
Elephant is gamsoled.

Card#2 is my Wow! Shaker card for convention. The stamp set is a new set from the Stampin'Up! catalogue called Punch Pals. The penguin is watercolored and embossed with Iridescent Ice EP. This was a really fiddly card- cannot see myself making lots of them for anyone. But it is a very cute card. I went punch crazy on this one- used the small and regular tag punch, as well as the word window punch and the ticket corner punch. Paper used- real red, black and whisper white cs.

Card#3 is one I made for floor swaps. I am on a masculine kick lately. I like the clean lines of this card. I used River Rock cs (yaay! It's one of the new In Colours for 07/08 and I *love* it very much). It has a slight olive underone and is a chameleon as it looks different with different colours. Since I didn't have River rock ink, I used Sahara Sand ink on it and it works- the background is stamped with flannel bkg (also Stampin'Up!, of course!). The base is chocolate chip and the giraffe is a stamp from a newish set, called Bundle of Joy. I used reinkers and an aquapainter pen to watercolour the image. It's easy peasy watercolouring.I matted the giraffe with close to cocoa and the sentiment "sweet little one" is embossed.

Card# 4 is an ATC. Hero Arts Dill which I used my watercolour wonder crayons (also Stampin'Up!)--- love this very much!!.... bkg is an unmounted stamp I got from Catslife Press (Dictionary Diamonds) which I stamped in blush blossom ink. The watercolour wonder crayons work best on solid image stamps. I took my aquapainter filled with water, ran it over the stamp and then used the individual crayons to "colour" or scribble over the moist surface of the stamp. It really gives a watercolour feel to the image.

More stamping stuff

2007-06-17T13:35:00.000-06:00

I have really been neglectful at posting my creations. Call it laziness. Call it lack of inspiration. Call it whatever you want. I am trying to motivate myself to get creating some cards as I need to design and complete them for Convention. Yesiree, it is the female version of the Star Trek Convention- it is the Dream Big Stampin'Up! Convention in Denver at the end of July. A bunch of grown women getting really excited about rubber stamps. Hey, don't knock it until you try it.

There are a lot worse things to be addicted to- like crack. Or so I tell myself. But just like crack, the purveyors of all things crafty, are always reinventing the product so its bigger and better- the goal being to SELL more of their crafty stuff. Newer is always better. I have managed to not succumb to getting a new TV but new punches, well, an addicted gal has just gotta have 'em!

Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox and post some things I worked on in the past and some new things I've done.

First off- more inchies. The butterflies are one I created some months ago. I alluded to them in my previous post. The pears, too are ancient. I punched out the pears, used some chalks to give them colour and added some dimensional magic to it to give it a gloss and shine.

finally came up with a cool idea for my asian inchies. I used some scraps I got off a friend, so it was a bonus. She had brayered the Pumpkin Patch Spectrum pad and inked them on glossy cardstock. I love the gradation of colours from the Spectrum pad. It melds so well. I inked some chinese calligraphy in bronze(SU, od course, retired) stamped the buddha head over (same set, Ancient Asia), with the word "spirit" on it. This was done using Versafine Sepia(my new favourite ink!!)

The newest card I worked on is a baby announcement card. My friend Jen just had her baby- a little girl named Avani Marley. I promised her I'd make her some announcements. I love the new animals set from Hero Arts. I am also very sad that Stampin' Up! is retiring one of the best colours they've had- Cool Caribbean. Its such a fantastic, happy blue. The base is cool caribbean. I also paired it up with "Only orange"- I inked a reverse polka dot stamp from the "Petals and Dots" set ( SU Spring Mini) and punched out circles. The orange strip in the back also has some large dots in orange (stamped using a retired corn cob from the Vegetable Garden set, but can be recreated using small bubblewrap) and although you likely cannot see it, the dots on the orange strip also has some Orange Peel Stickles glitter glue on some of the dots for added bling. Ribbon is SU black grosgrain. The elephant is gamsoled. In other words, I used grey and pink coloured pencils to shade in the colour, then went over the image with a stump and some odourless mineral spirits to blend in the colours. I am doing a variation of this card for one of the numerous swaps I am partaking in at Convention.

The Christmas Card is also another card I am working on for Convention. The sets are mostly new- Baroque Motifs, Hugs and Wishes and an oldie lace stamp from Trimtastic (All Stampin'Up!)Paper used: Always Artichoke, Soft Sky, Read Red and Black. Inks: Versamark (for embossing), Real Red, Sahara Sand and Pigment white.

Inchies Galore

2007-06-04T09:13:00.000-06:00

Some of you may be wondering what the heck are inchies..... it 's a miniature piece of art- a smaller form of an ATC (artist trading card, for those of you green to the world of papercrafting). Inchies are exactly what they sound like- it's whatever you can get onto a one inch by one inch piece of paper. Apparently its the newest craze in the UK. I stumbled upon the inchie earlier this year. I was intrigued by the thought of trying to get works of art onto such a small area. I mean, any idiot can slap on stamps and layers of paper together- but try doing it on a limited space! Also, what appealed to me was the fact I could use up all my smaller scraps on the inchie- a scrap scavengers dream! And I've always been fascinated by things that are small and cute.... so I got into this inchie swap hosted by Caroline (Aunt Sally on SCS). My submissions were: a japanese washi paper punched butterfly (with metal feelers) on a black and gold printed bkg and a punched pear that was chalked and coated in diamond glaze on a coral background. I waited and waited for my inchies to get back to me but they got lost in the mail. Talk about heartbroken! I did manage to see some of the inchies the others had made because they posted them but I didn't get to see all of them.

So, subconciously, I 'forgot' that I had signed up for round two of inchie madness. I finally checked what I had agreed to do and to my horror- I had signed up for four different kinds of inchies- stamped, black and white, asian and vintage! Arrgghh!! And they are due June 9th in the UK too! For those of you who are going "huh?". I joined a swap. I agree to make 10 inchies for each swap I join and typically, they are she same item. I send them to the swap hostess, along with lots of other people. the swap hostess collects all the swaps and trades them out. I get back 9 different inchies plus one of my own. So, I'd committed to making 40 inchies and they should have been in the mail last week!

So I got busy last night. For the stamped inchie, I stamped the edges on a fern to look like seaweeds. I also stamped a crab and coloured it using gamsol and punched it out. I diamond glazed the body of the crab, and edged the punch circle in lime green pastel chalk. On the inche, I stamped "surprise!" over the seaweed and popped the crab on a dimensional to make it pop up, I was laughing the whole time I made the inchies as this gave me a brilliant idea for a wicked cheeky card when I get my Crab and Co stamps from Stampin' Up! next week.I'll post it when I do make it.

For the vintage inchie, I am not sure I understand vintage correctly so I hope they will forgive me for it if it is wrong. I stamped the word "sacred" on it and underneath it, I stamped an image of an artichoke. I coloured the artichoke in with shimmer green radiant pearls (green fandango) and then added Tim Holtz crackle effects over that so the artichoke is aged and crackled.

For the black and white inchie, I chose to stamp in black, on white, an image of a northwest coast indian image of the sun. I am going to overlay a transparency with the word "grand father" on the image. The white image is matted in black.

I am still drawing a black for the asian inchie. I will work on it tonight. Caroline, if you are reading this, the inchies are coming!!!

The perfect summer day

2007-05-31T08:54:00.000-06:00

It was the perfect summer day yesterday. Weatherwise, it was 24oC. There was a slight breeze to cool things off. The neighbour's bunnies were lazily hopping around in their overgrown yard. Bits of dandelion fluff and poplar cotton were swirling gently about in the sunlight filtering through the crabapple trees pouring over the fence. Crabapple blossoms were flittering down from the branches, and little chicadees and red breasted robins were pecking away at real or imaginary worms in the dirt.

I had returned home from work and had decided it was time to put some plants in the ground. The earth greedily absorbed the moisture I was pouring on them, and my coral bells and forget-me-nots were perking up from this. The Veronica and delphiniums are starting to look like what they should. My blue poppy plant had survived the winter and it looks like I will have a small blue poppy this year. My tulips are almost done- the pink and white ones are open beyond their normal bounds and the only tulips that are still at their peak are the late flowering little pink ones that were planted in the shade of the deck.

As I worked the shovel into the dirt to make way for the the new plants I got, for that one infinitesimal moment in time, it is as if time slowed down, and the mosquitoes stopped biting, and the heat didn't matter, and the snow-in-the-mountain runners I had been battling for two years stopped bothering me and everything was perfect , and I almost felt contentment.

War of the dandelions

2007-05-20T18:06:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to the horror that is my so-called garden. I mowed the lawn last week and to my dismay, it had all grown back, and then some. I should really say I mowed the weeds last week as that is what it is. It was a sea of yellow. It would almost looks pretty if I didn't know what torturous roots and seedlings that have taken hold in my very own backyard. It's the revenge of the dandelions!! Now, remembering my discussion with my neighbours about making dandelion wine (hey, if life gives you dandelions, make dandelion wine!), I proceeded to dutifully collect some flower heads. I had plucked maybe about 20 flowers and had not even made a dent in my yard, when I figured that I could probably make it. At first, I was sceptical as I needed an ice cream bucket full of flowers for the wine. But when I realised I had to pluck off all the sepals and any green parts, it became clear to me this was going to be a nightmarish task. I tried, instead to see if I could eat dandelion greens-and chewed on some fresh and tender green leaves- it was nasty bitter and I promptly spat it out. So, instead, peered over the fence and the neighbours were there so I invited them to help me make dandelion wine (it's called redistribution of work) but they were not that interested. So- intead, I hauled out the lawn mower and mowed them all down. The yard looks fabulous now- only because I've cut all the dandelions down- but I am sure by next week- it will start looking jungly again out there.

In honour of the dandelion massacre, I made the card below. Okay so I havn't yet made the card. But imagine a card with the yellow of dandelions and the green of dandelion leaves. A little black sentiment and some ribbon, perhaps my favourite black gingham....

Stamping Melee

2007-04-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

So, I finally got stamping over the last little while. This card was inspired by a picture someone had taken of the picture boards from the recent Stampin'Up! cruise. I had done some square purses using my square punch. This is using the round tab punch. This is going to be for a birthday card for my friend Candace, who turns 31 (I think).

All Stampin'Up supplies unless noted.
Paper: Barely banana (or so saffron), old olive, basic black and non SU shimmery white.

Inks: Dewdrop Versafine Chalk Pastels(TeaLeaves), Versamark, Black Embossing Powder
Stamps: Happy Everything, Snow flurries

Accessories-silver cord, black and antique brads, micro hole punch, round tab punch, dimensionals.

Next card is one I completed for my monthly Swap Club. The challenge was to use a media apart from inks. I chose to watercolour. I borrowed this set from my friendPeggy about a month ago and am still sitting on it. I figured I should use it at least, to justify the loan.

Paper: Vintage violet, old olive, non SU (shhh!) shimmery white.

Inks: Versamark, Platinum EP, olive, violet, blush blossom, close to cocoa, choc chip, cranberry, black.

Stamps: Cowboy Kid

Accessories: Aquapainter, metallix pens (gold, blue and red for the star, the kerchief and muzzle on horse), antique brad, slit punch.

The next card is one I made for my sister, who is travelling for the next six weeks. I love the doggy Patch. Patch is from A Muse Art Stamps. He is stamped with Versamark and embossed with black EP. I stamped patch on the non-SU shimmery paper (yes, I love it- it has silver shimmer and I ordered lots off it off a papershare I found.) I also used my Marvy mega square scallop punch to make the black frame for Patch. Organdy polka dot ribbon is from Michaels, as is the Hearts embossed red cardstock paper.

Irony

2007-04-27T08:44:00.000-06:00

I logged on to work this morning and the default screen is our work intranet. Usually it's filled with announcements and news tidbits relevant to our place of work. So, one of my coworkers is trying to raise funds for a diabetes marathon in Spain next year. Good for her, I thought- and I clicked on it to see what she had to say. So- she needs to raise close to 6500 dollars and she is starting a fundraising campaign. This is how she is going to do it- she will sell chocolates, pies, cookies and Mundare sausages/burgers to raise the money. I commend her for what she is doing but does *anyone* not see the irony in all of this? It's like the Kidney Foundation selling salted peanuts to raise funds. I suppose one would try and raise money any way that works. But there are other non food related ways- like raffles of quilts, or other items. Or get corporate sponsors. Maybe its really not my place to say anything- however, I *am* expressing my own opinion.

What is Mundare sausages, you may ask? It's sausage from a little town East of Edmonton. It's really quite famous- and they make all kinds of processed sausages (its actually run by a Ukrainian family called Stawnichy-and its a smoked pork garlic sausage, which is quite lean comapred to similar products. It has become a Christmas tradition that I buy friends the sausage for Christmas.

The pressure's on

2007-04-26T09:28:00.000-06:00

It started with a simple comment- get on with the blogging- alright, you anonymous visitor, you- *do* at least let me know *which* naggy friend you are. I was complaining to my sister that I was feeling rantless and uninspired about blogging. I really didn't feel like I wanted to say anything. The weather has been improving significantly and everything is starting to get green here. Of course, my whole take on blogging is I must have something worthwhile to say-or else why say it at all.
So, I was hunting through my hard drive for some pictures and I stumbled upon a little piece of writing that I did. I am not a writer, but sometimes, when I am motivated or effected enough, I sit down and write.

This piece is called "Double Wok Cooking".I wrote it in April, 2004

I had just returned from Easter holidays from my mum’s. What precipitated this journal entry is the reception that I got from mum. Some background- I have always helped mum in the kitchen. From as young as I remembered- she always got me to prepare the evening meal for her. I was her sous chef extraordinaire. I chopped and pounded. I hated pounding. My eyes watered and I cried as the pungent fumes from those shallots and garlic and even chilli assaulted my eyes.” Mum, is this enough? “ I would ask- hoping that it was. Invariably, mum would say- no- just a little bit more. And I tried everything to shield myself form the fumes- I had a potcover I used as a shield- I remember its black phenolic knob- dull with years of use- the curved dome of the battered aluminium cover.
I remember the ridges on the cover, where dirt and grease from previous cooking sessions had gathered in the grooves as I insistently and reluctantly pounded away at the mixture. Sometimes I would be treated to splashes of onion juice- especially when the shallots were extra juicy. As I grew older, I used to rebel against this dreaded chore. I always harangued mum about using the blender, instead- why can’t you use your blender- its much easier, mum. The onions will dull the blade- and the plastic would absorb the flavour and the next time you want to blend something nice you’d get the flavour onions tinging whatever juice you were concocting. I remember the triumphant time I returned home from my friend Carol’s place- mum, mum- Carol’s mother uses the blender--they take the pungency out by blending salt and water at the end of the session. Can’t we try that? Mum never let up and gave in. I could not understand why she was so reluctant to use the appliances that made things so much easier.

When I moved out, I bought a little chopper to do my rempah (spice mix). No more chopping and pounding for me. Whrrrrr- whrrr-whrrrrr went the chopper and my onions and garlic and ginger- the holy trinity of Malaysian cooking- was nicely minced up finely. My cooking, although praised by all my friends, never tasted like mums. Mum’s was the holy grail- it was what we (my darling sister and I) strived for. There was a metallic taste. I’d cook something for hours to get around the metallic taste. No matter what I did- it was never the same. It irked and annoyed me to no end. I was always trying something new- and mum would always have some sort of comment for me and it would annoy me since she never tried making a new dish and there she was, offering me suggestions on something she knew nothing about. I was stubbornly relentless about her suggestions. I had all these gadgets to help me cook-and in my mind- it was never good enough- because it’s not like hers.

But then, I moved away. I really missed mum’s cooking. And this leads me back to the story. I returned home and she had cooked some Kuey Teow (pan fried broad rice noodles) for me. It was Good Friday so it was no meat day. The kuey teow was delicious. Its simplicity- the mix of flavours the salt and freshly ground pepper- it was perfect. I was amazed that my mother created this magical dish out of so little- noodles, some chilli paste, garlic, chives, egg. I asked her how she made it. In her own style, she proceeded to tell me. Mum, when she is relaying recipes, was bound to leave something out. So the next day, she showed me. By then, it was Saturday-we dragged out the lap cheong and I had picked up some shrimp and so today’s was going to be even more delicious. The kuey teow had to be nuked for 120 seconds to soften it. Then they had to be “peeled” to separate the sheets of noodles. I chopped the chives. I cut the lap cheong diagonally. I chopped the garlic. She pulled out two eggs. She was using her crappy frypan- once long ago, it was non-stick, but the Xylan or Teflon coating has since worn off.

“Mum, why don’t you use the non stick pan I got you?-Oh, I don’t want it to lose its non-stickyness.

Arrgghh!! Mum- I’ll get you a new pan…. "Don’t worry, I already started", she said. In went the garlic- it sizzled gently as she didn’t believe in turning the stove on to full/ high heat. The fear was it would heat up and explode.

“ But mum, the man always had it on high heat…” This “man” we keep referring to is the man who sold char kuey teow daily. The infamous “man” is a hawker who perfected the art of one dish and one dish alone. He would have a charcoal or a gas stove and I remember the coals being red hot and the pan sizzling. Mum didn’t budge- and in went the garlic. In went in the noodles-“wait, wait, I didn’t finish peeling it.” Mum with her asbestos fingers kept peeling the kueh teow in the pan. In went in the chilli paste. She started another pan- her little sauté pan to lightly toast/brown the lap cheong (chinese sausage). Mum, I don’t understand why you are cooking with two pans. “Couldn’t you have tossed the lap cheong first, then add the garlic- that way the flavour to the garlic?” She ignored me. In went the soy sauce and some salt, dark sauce. She was turning the noodles in the pan. She sprinkled some water in. Some sugar went in too. She deftly transferred the lap cheong to the pan and cracked an egg into the sauté pan. I was about to ask- and she explains- if you add egg to the noodles, it would drop the temperature and the egg won’t cook. And as you turn the noodles, the egg would coat the noodles and you won’t see the big chunky pieces like the “man’s”." But mum, the man adds the egg to the pan” “But the man has a better stove and control of his fire” she says. The egg was half cooked when she tossed it into the main fry pan. She carelessly broke the egg as she turned the noodles. In went the taugeh(bean sprouts) and the chives. The prawns got the same treatment as the eggs- her rationale was a drop in the temp as you add more food to the pan. Then she pulls out her batu tumbuk, her granite mortar and pestle, and gives in a few pounds. There were peppercorns in there and she carefully took some pounded pepper out and tossed it into the pan. The peppercorns, I toasted to release the aromatic fragrance, she explains. The shrimps go in last and the dish was ready. It was divine. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also sat down to write the recipe out.

When I got back home, I was determined to repeat the dish. I had everything on hand, and then some. I followed it to the “T” and much to my dismay- it did not taste like hers. There was this hollow taste in it- something was definitely missing. Arrggghhh!

I repeated it the second time- this time, I made sure I had some prawn stock- mum’s trade secret. She usually sets aside the shells of peeled prawns to make a stock. The dish tasted better- but it still was not like mums. I even tried the double wok method, cooking in two places so it would taste like hers.

I’ve thought lots about this- and the conclusion I can come to is that the missing ingredient is love. Mum, when she prepares food, demonstrates her love for us. She does everything lovingly. It really does make a difference.

During the weekend- we talked extensively about cooking. It seems that my desire to make my food taste like hers is just shadowed by her attempts to make her food tastes like her mums. She was saying that no matter how, it never tasted like her mums. And I saw the irony of this all. We were all striving for something we remember and perhaps all our food will never exactly taste like our mum’s- we are, after all, different individuals touched and affected by different circumstances. This does not diminish the love and effort we put into our cooking and the memory is always there and perhaps it’s a goal we can all aspire to.

The Waiting Game

2007-04-11T09:22:00.000-06:00

We are always waiting. Waiting for others. Waiting for a good opportunity. Waiting for the doctor. Last week, I waited in line for a new passport. I work in the same building as the passport office and had been watching the line grow and snake around the fountain and back again. Some days are worse than others. The beginning of the week is bad- so is the beginning and the end of the month, after holidays and after its been on the news.So there I was, patiently waiting in line along with everyone else, resigned to waiting.
We wait for better times, we wait for spring (have we ever been waiting- there still is snow on the ground and I spent 10 minutes this morning, scraping off the ice on my stairs so the postman doesn't slip and fall when he brings me my bills and the swaps I've been waiting for). Is it just a human thing- this waiting?

On the weekend, I was in Calgary and spent some alone time with my canine nephews and got this lovely picture of them waiting for their "parents" who had gone out for Easter dinner. They looked particularly cute, those boys. Van Gogh "Go Go" Feener is the spotchy one and Salvador "Bo Bo" Feener is the fawn coloured greyhound. They both ended up taking my brother-in-law's name so when they get into trouble, they are called by their full name, just like all us humans are when we are in the doghouse. Gogo and Sal, as I like to call them, are very different. Sal is content to wait patiently, while Gogo is very impatient and isn't shy to let you know- although that dog exhibits incredible tenacity when he wants something and will wait if he thinks there is a reward for him at the end of it (usually it's food and just for his sheer willpower, we often cave and give in to him). My father and him share a very funny relationship and Gogo has no qualms about complaining loudly through crying when dad teases him by denying him his reward.

Right now, I am waiting for a friend to give birth. I made some card samples for her in case she wants to use the idea for her baby announcements.Actually, I just love making samples even if I don't have babies to announce. This is a 4.25inch x 4.25inch card.
Paper: Old olive cs, Barely banana cs
Stamps: "sweet" from So Very ( Stampin'Up! Saleabration 2007 set), Polka dots from Stampin'Up! Petals and Paisley Set.
Inks:Celery, Versamark, white EP
Accessories:Mega scallop punch, Cuttlebug "It's a Girl" embossing set, chalks, wide olive grosgrain ribbon.

Baby announcements

2007-04-01T18:19:00.000-06:00

No, I am *not* having a baby. That would be a miracle in itself. It seems like everyone around me is pregnant and bringing forth life into this world. All except me. I have no problems with this since I can barely look after my own needs- I cannot fathom looking after a totally helpless child.
So- one of the reasons why I started this blog is one of vanity. And the desire to share my (lack of) creativity. Since you are here, you likely know who I am. I am not really advertising my blog. I am not after the masses to sing my praises( in adulation, no less)- and neither am I bribing the masses to come visit by offering blog candy (sorry Pegs, this will be a very boring blog with NO BLOG CANDY) . This is my attempt to create and help others recreate. And share my acerbic wit with those around me.

I recently joined STAMPIN'UP! as a demonstrator. I believe enough in their product to want to sell thier stuff. I have been, however, a stamper waaay before I heard of STAMPIN'UP! so I may not be as loyal to them as others. in some projects , but you will see other companies products on my blog too.

Right- back to the creativity thing- I want to share my works of art with others. Maybe it will inspire you. Maybe it will BORE YOU TO DEATH, or even worse, *indifference* or it might stir you to take action, even if it is to beg me to stop.

Enough with the blather-and getting back to my commentary on baby announcements. I made this card for a Baby Announcement Swap last month. I really like how this turned out. I don't know if I have a style per se, but I like things that move on my cards. Dangly things (no dirty thoughts now), things that swing and move, you will likely see on the cards I make.
All items are Stampin'Up! unless noted.
Paper: thyme cs, whisper white cs, black cs
Inks: Classic mustard, rust, thyme, mustard reinker for ribbon
Accessories: micro punch, horizontal slot punch, sponge daubers
Embellishments: hand dyed grosgrain ribbon, Offray microcheck black and white ribbon, hemp twine
Stamps: Wild about you, Linen
Stamp linen and flowers on thyme paper with thyme ink. Stamp lion in mustard on white piece. Using sponge daubers, ink mustard lightly around the lion. Ink lion in rust on separate piece of paper and cut out. Stick over mustard piece with dimensional to pop up the mane, staggering the mane to give it more dimension. Edge paper with mustard pad, mat with black. Punch with horizontal slit in corner, tie ribbons. Punch holes for the hanging tag and tie together with hemp twine.

2007-03-31T09:38:00.000-06:00

It is snowing here... it is SNOWING here. Whatever happened to March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb? This lion is ROARING!
The only reason why I am whining about the weather is because I am tired of winter. This past winter seemed particularly long and there was lots of snow. I suppose it is a typical Edmonton winter... but I moved here a few years ago and I thought global warming had taken root firmly here and so we didn't see the typical Edmonton winters of 3 feet high piles of snow and extended periods of -30oC weather. I remember the previous winter in November when the weather was 8-12oC, right into December. Its the kind of winter I can tolerate.

The neighbour's bunnies are seeking shelter under the picnic table. It must be fairly windy outside as the snow keeps blowing in all directions. I am gazing at those bunnies in hatred and malevolence. No, I am not a bunny hater- just that those bunnies killed my pumpkins last year.
I am not a gardener and last year, my daddy gave me some pumpkin seeds to grow in my humungous garden (another long story). I grew these pumpkins from seed- I nutured them and babied them- there were four plants. All summer, I was out weeding around them, checking up on them every evening, watering them, worrying about them when there were reports of late afternoon hail.

When I discovered I finally had pumpkins, I was pleased as punch. There were two fruits.They kept getting bigger over the summer. The first sign of something not right was when I discovered some gnaw marks on the larger pumpkin. Someone had also taken bites of some windfall apples as well. I thought it was the neighbour kid- he is approaching teenage years and is often outside in the yard. I was *not* impressed but, well, as long as I hadn't caught him in the yard, I could not do anything.

So, it was an early fall morning. I had a few minutes before I'd be late for work- so I headed out to the patch out back. To my absolute horror, it was a pumpkin massacre. Bits of pumpkin were EVERYWHERE. Both fruits (about the size of a giant cantaloupe) were strewn all over the garden. I started to cry because I was so upset. The fruits of my labour were destroyed. And I didn't know what had caused this destruction. It seemed particularly cruel to imagine he neighbour kid doing this- and it didn't *seem* right. I could not bring myself to speak to the neighbours as I was so mad. When I finally did, it seems the bunnies had dug their way under the fence and escaped into my garden. And killed my pumpkins. AARRGGGHHHH!!

I kept hoping that they would not withstand the winter. But, no, Splotch and Death are happily hopping around the neighbour's yard- frolicking with the dogs and the cat.

My first post

2007-03-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

My very own blog.....who would have thought.
I hemmm and I hawwwed.. do I actually want the responsibility of posting regularly to this bit of cyberspace? Surely, if I told no one of it, then I won't have to worry about who actually visits.

So, it is done.