My Current Stash

Russian Dolls

Retro Pink Flowers

Red and Black funk

Mini rainbows in navy (see a Charming Handbag made with this fabric here)

Sushi
Pink background with brown swirls (will post a better pic later - this shot does not do this pattern justice)

Dripping dots - brown background with pink and silver dots (see a great little tote made with this fabric here)

Buttons

Pink dots on green (see a little bits bag made with this fabric here)

Oh so orange (see a little bits bag made with this fabric here)

Batik design (see a Fab Clutch made from this fabric here)

Black leaves (for a pic truer to the fabric's colour and to see a hobo style bag made with this fabric click here)

Tiny stars (see a little bits bag made with this fabric here)

Dark brown background with blue swirls

Soft blue with white design (see a little bits bag made with this fabric here)

Spilled Yellow (see a Fab Clutch lined with this fabric here)

Tiny pink flower

Samsquanch

Sam who? Samsquanch.

Have I piqued your interest? Check out my husbands blog to find out what the heck a Samsquanch is and to learn a bit about his two greatest loves: electronic music & mountain biking. He has even posted links to some of his freaking awesome tracks here near the end of the post. Not only is my husband smart, funny, handsome and athletic, he has some serious talent in the music department.

Oh and his first post caught the attention of the editor of a newspaper up in Georgian Bay; since then he has written an article based on the post and it's going to be published! Very cool!

14 Million Dollars!!

My brother-in-law Paul participated in an amazing fundraiser this past weekend: The Ride to Conquer Cancer. Participants rode 200 km (124.27 miles for my friends from the USA) on their bicycles in just two days!

Although tired and sore from his journey Paul crossed the finish line with an ear to ear smile plastered on his face. Seeing him and hundreds of other participants (2850 in total) cross that line was really an amazing feeling. It might sound cheesy but there was a real feeling of hope in the air. Although there were many seasoned cyclists taking part in the ride the majority of the participants were average Joes: people of all shapes, sizes and ages. Unbelievable... 200 km!

This was the first year the fundraiser took place and a jaw dropping total of 14 million dollars was raised for The Princess Margaret - one of the 5 leading cancer research hospitals in the world - the money will go directly to the highest cancer research priorities! 14 MILLION DOLLARS!! That just blows my mind.

Kudos to you Paul! I am in awe of you and your accomplishment, congratulations!

Happy Father's Day!!

My dad is the best dad on earth. Seriously.

I love him more than words could ever express. He is a wonderful one-of-a-kind man who I am proud to call not only my father but my friend.

I love you dad!! Happy Father's Day!!

Flashback Friday

Sticking with the rules of Flashback Fridays, this is a shot of me pre-1985. I figured it was appropriate to post a pic of me looking as if I'm celebrating something special in honour of my recent graduation. A noise maker and mickey mouse ears?! That's a celebration get-up if I've ever seen one.

Keep 'em comin'

The positive thinking and prayers have paid off for one on the long list I posted a few days back. The test results are in for the 'important person' I mentioned and all is good! What a relief!

The little 8 year old men still need your positive thoughts. B goes in for surgery this Monday to remove the mass on his brain and H is still in intensive care. Things with H are very serious and it is hard to say how things will turn out but there is a thread of hope and we are all holding on to it, keep those prayers coming.

I did it!

I am officially a university graduate! It was an absolutely fabulous day. This picture pretty much sums it up:

A big thanks to my cheering squad!

YAY!!

Theme Thursday: Wildlife

A few years ago this creepy crawler was attached to our bbq. He was definitely one of the biggest spiders I've seen in the 'wild' here in Ontario. That's a playing card I'm holding up behind him and his web, it gives you an idea of the size of the little beast. Ick.

Check out some other takes on the Wildlife theme over at Stacy's blog.

Just call me Ella Fudd

Fabulous photo found here.

pparently Jeremy isn't a very effective scarecrow.

Monday morning I sleepily wandered into the kitchen, opened the curtains and glanced in the direction of my lovely garden; I was jolted awake by what I saw. A very fat (probably pregnant) rabbit was plopped smack dab in the middle of my lettuce chomping away. Needless to say, I was not impressed.

The poor bugger was terrified when I whipped the door open; he proceeded to run back and forth bashing himself off the bird fencing (it's plastic and no he wasn't hurt) until he finally managed to rip one of the bamboo sticks right out of the ground. Silly rabbit.

The nasty little creature entered Jeremy's home by chewing a hole in the plastic fencing - the fencing that took me a ridiculously long time to set up - I wasn't pleased. Jeremy has been fired, he is no longer acting as security, he's just a pretty (creepy) face amongst the veggies.

Thankfully I caught Peter R. when I did, he must have just broken in because there was barely any damage to my plants. My garden now resembles a high security prison, the rabbits won't be getting in and Jeremy won't be getting out. Why didn't I use chicken wire and wooden spikes to begin with? It took an eighth of the time the bird fencing took to set up and is much more secure.

Lesson learned, I know now to skip the bird netting and go for the chicken wire next year... that's assuming Peter (rabbit) doesn't find away past the new security measures.

This is... my favourite travel memory.

My husband and I were married in Mexico on February 1st 2007. We were wed next to the ocean on an absolutely perfect day surrounded by 39 amazing people: some family by blood, others family by choice, all friends.

Rather than spend just one day celebrating our marriage we took three weeks to do so. We started off by spending one week in Mexico where our wedding took place.

One of the pics from our pre-wedding shoot courtesy of Tammara & Grant from Tamms Photos.
This was taken at a beach near Tulum. There were fewer people on the beach that day than I could count on one hand. Amazing!

Then we headed to Jamaica where we spent two weeks at Sandals Whitehouse aka heaven on earth. Those were the best three weeks EVER; not once since then have I wished we had done things any differently. Three weeks of absolute bliss was the perfect way to begin our married life together.

Theme Thursday: Time

A Moment Frozen in Time... Square

I snapped this photo a year ago while visiting NYC with a group of 100+ teenagers. One of the perks of working in a high school: amazing field trips. I look forward to returning to NYC one day, I love it there!

Check out some amazing photos and other takes on this weeks theme over at Stacy's wonderful blog.

It's Not Fair!

I used one of my least favourite complaints more times today than I would like to count. Here I go again: it’s not fair.

In the last couple weeks I’ve heard more negative news than good, I’ve been handed one nasty bit of info after the other. The bad news can stop flowing anytime now.

My cousin’s little boy goes for surgery on June 16^th to remove a mass on his brain that was discovered a couple weeks ago. Thankfully the mass is in a ‘good place’ and the doctors are being very positive, they expect a full recovery and are hopeful that the surgery will put an end to the terrible seizures the wee man has been dealing with for the past few months. Scary stuff.

My feline nephew (Joanne & Paul’s kitty) Aristotle was diagnosed with cancer last week. The poor cat has an aggressive tumor on the side of his face and things are not looking good. Anyone who has an animal of their own knows how awful it is to see your pet in pain; I feel terrible for Joanne, Paul and the boys.

Waiting for major test results for a very important person in our world and although positive thinking is taking place the not knowing part stinks, we’re human and can’t help but worry.

I found out today that a little 8 year old boy I know, the son of my colleague, aspirated on Friday evening and was air lifted to a nearby children’s hospital. He has been in intensive care since Friday and has been heavily sedated since then. I don’t know any more details but I do know that he and his family could use some prayers sent their way.
 Update: Apparently there is light at the end of the tunnel, it has been determined that the doctors' worst fears have cleared. They are going to begin to slowly bring the little guy out of sedation, well wishes for full recovery would be helpful.

UPDATE June 4th:  Unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse with the little man mentioned above. Please send extra prayers his way. 

Finally, the most recent piece I was delivered this evening that just threw me over the edge: my good friend’s mother passed away on Saturday. Amber my heart aches for you sweetie.

I’m not posting this for pity or with the hope of upsetting you but I would love some of your positive thoughts. Whether you prefer to pray or simply to send positive energy to others when they need a lift I ask you to please send some in my direction, I promise to dole it out to all the people surrounding me who need it.

Sometimes life really isn’t fair and this is one of those 'times' for far too many of the people I care about.

Sewing the Day Away

I found this super cute fabric about a month ago at Fabric Land. I eyed the pink ribbon immediately when looking for trims but wasted another hour digging around wanting to be sure I chose the right accent. I really need to learn to trust my gut.


I haven't sat at my machine in a couple weeks, it felt good to get back into the groove.
This was my first attempt at a purse of my own design and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

It's a good size for an every day purse and I like the shape but and I'm going to make a few minor changes: add a magnetic snap, shrink the pocket size and place the pocket on the back side of the interior of the bag rather than the front.

Ta da! Now I've got the itch again so you'll be seeing more soon.

This is...

This is my pet. She probably would not be impressed if she knew I was referring to her as anything other than a princess so let's keep the pet reference between us.

EC was rescued from a trailer park the mean streets of Detroit by Mike nine or ten years ago. Pure white with startling green eyes, she loves to cuddle and is easy to get along with so long as you live by her rules i.e do not, under any circumstances, touch her insanely long toe hair. It took some time for her to get used to having to share her dad but eventually she realized I wasn't going away and stopped peeing on my things. This cat has personality!

Flashback Friday Saturday

Better late than never right?

This photograph from my first Easter (1978) has always made me laugh. Check out the huge grin on my brother's face. My parents always went a little overboard to make sure special occasions were extra special for us. I'm bragging, not complaining!

That's me on the left, the head poking out of the mound of chocolate and stuffies. I'm sure I thoroughly enjoyed the 20 pounds of chocolate that the Easter bunny brought for me this particular year. Too funny! No doubt that's why John looks so happy; one of perk of having a baby sister: double the chocolate!

Theme Thursday: Flowering

I've been visiting Stacy's blog The Land of K.A. regularly for quite some time now, although I often leave comments for her and take full advantage of her awesome photography tips, I have yet to take part in her meme Theme Thursdays. That's about to change.

Stacy chose Flowering for the theme this week. Here's one of those 8 kazillion pics I snapped this past weekend. Can you name this bush? I tried googling it but had no luck.

Another shot from my front garden:

I prefer the cropped version. This might end up on the wall in the pink red room... it's still a blank slate and that needs to change very soon.

Be sure to check out Stacy's blog for more Flowering pics.

Gingham Skies

I'm finally taking time to play with my camera. This was a bit of an oops shot I snagged while testing out the built in colour filters on my Canon. Big fluffy clouds in a crisp blue sky were screaming to be photographed... the screen door ended up lending a hand by adding some fantastic texture.

Of course I ran it through Photoshop to defog - thank you Stacy, such a simple step that makes a world of difference for even the best SOOC shots - and I played with the contrast a little but that was it. I like it: blue, gingham and clouds are three things that make me smile, mix them together and you've got one happy girl on your hands.

Totally Worth a Sunburn

"Once the deck is done..." has been the intro to many conversations in the last few years. I have a zillion and one plans for our yard "once the deck is done."

A vegetable garden has been the one consistent plan I've mentioned over and over again. While visiting my parents last week I admired the new garden dad and Neve planted together, admired and complained about not having my own. I'm sure this was the 13 billionth time my dad has heard talk of my future garden, he stopped me in the midst of my whining and asked why I was waiting for the deck to be done, why didn't I just go ahead and plant the garden. My concern was where to put it, what if I dug up the grass and then decided "once the deck was done" that I had dug in the wrong place. My dad, being the kind man he is, managed to not roll his eyes at me when he suggested that if that ends up being the case we could simply purchase a few strips of sod to cover the bare spot. Duh, why didn't I think of that?

A brilliantly simple solution like the one suggested by my dad was all I needed to hear. Saturday I hit the garden centre, chatted with the pros, dug up a little plot in our yard - my father warned Mike today that it's "the perfect size to hide a husband" when he came by to check out the finished product - edged it, filled it with the recommended fertilizing soil and compost and sat back to admire my work. Yesterday I earned a hideous sunburn while planting and arranging bird fencing to keep out the rabbits. A pina colada was the celebratory drink when I finally made it to this point:

Of course our home isn't our home without a bit of WHAT THE? so the garden needed a little bit of strange to spice it up. Hence the handsome devil sitting in the middle of the plants.

I dug out the head that has been hiding in the garage for the last four years and stuck it in the middle, we've named him Jeremy (I do have a cousin named Jeremy but the head has no relation to him besides belonging to me). I made him (the head, not my cousin) a few years ago alongside my student when a fabulous art teacher offered to teach her to sculpt during her spare. Please do not judge the teacher's fabulousness based on my sculpting ability (or lack of). He's a wee bit creepy so maybe he'll act as a scarecrow. Don't worry, he has no teeth so he can't eat the veggies.

It's just a tiny garden but it's a start and I'm thrilled with it.

I'll be keeping track of what works and what doesn't here, so yes you can point and laugh or if you're not interested in my veggie tales (veggie tales... get it? insert laugh track here) feel free to skip any posts that you see labeled Jeremy.

I know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for the big reveal.... I'm growing (or trying to grow) tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce and peas.

Our yard has been unbelievably bare up until this point. Now it's beginning to feel cozy and inviting.

Mike and I ooohed and ahhed over it last night after we rearranged things. It might not look like much but it looks a zillion times better than it did last year. After work today I sprawled out on that swing with a pillow and a book for an hour and a half. Bliss!

This is...

This is something I got but still haven't used... until today.

Isn't it sweet?! This lovely little hut was a gift from our friend Tanya. What you might not be able to tell from this pic is that it is actually a garden stake. The hut has been stashed in the garage for the last year... or has it been two? I think Tanya actually gave it to us the summer before we were wed. I wasn't hiding it away because I didn't like it, just the opposite actually, I was paranoid that it would be broken if I stuck it in the front garden and our backyard has not been the most inviting environment so I didn't want to waste it out there where nobody would enjoy it.

Yippee! Our yard had a makeover this weekend, I'll be posting more about that tomorrow, so when I was thinking about what to photograph for this is... today I figured the little hut was the perfect item! Thanks flossy p for coming up with a theme that reminded me of something I had hidden away waiting for the perfect moment to be revealed! The timing for this weeks theme couldn't have been any better.

My "It" Things Designer Contest

Have you been to the website MyItThings.com? Take a moment to check it out, it's a pretty cool site. Basically it's a social shopping network, there are some decent writers (bloggers) and loads of unique items for home, entertainment, tech, fashion and body being posted by the sites users. You can create your own page where you share your thoughts on bits you have and love or those you don't but want.

There are contests featured on the site too, mostly writing contests where any user who opens a free writers account can submit an entry, but design contests are featured as well. The prizes are pretty impressive, check out some of the past contests here.

EterKnity has recently entered the It Designer Contest. They chose five of their fabulous pieces for the contest, please take a minute to vote for their designs, your vote could be the one that helps them win an amazing opportunity to see their designs on the runway in a NYC fashion show.

Here's how to vote:

STEP A. Create an account on MyItThings.com

STEP B. Visit the contest main page and click on your favorite design items.

STEP C. Once you are on the individual (EterKnity) design page you will be able to rate it by clicking on one of the 5 stars located below the design name (1 star being the lowest rating).

The final score for each designer will be calculated from the combination of the total number of people voted, number of designs and the stars scored (i.e. each additional scored star will add 1 point to the total score).

Although wishing them luck and crossing your fingers and toes for them is appreciated it would be so much better if you would take the time to vote! Thanks everyone!

Flashback Friday

This is one of my favourite old photos. I'm guessing it was taken in 1978, maybe 1979. From left to right: my Great-Grandma Jessie aka Grams to my mom, my beautiful mom Lois, my crazy yet lovable Grandma Evelyn, I'm the little ghost sitting on my mom's lap and that's my big brother John next to me with the huge grin on his little face. Four generations of fabulousness baby!

A Rose With No Thorns

Another long weekend bites the dust. Not surprisingly the Victoria day weekend was damp and cold for the most part, it never fails. A nasty cold caught me off guard last week so I wasn't too upset when typical May 2-4 weekend weather rolled in on Saturday, being lazy didn't mean missing out on sunshine and gelato. Thankfully I had some lovely visitors to keep me from slipping into depths of sicko self-pity.

Cara came home from Van with her beautiful baby girl Rosie to surprise her mom for mother's day with a 10 day visit, and what a fabulous surprise it was. Lucky me also benefited from this perfect gift, I had finally accepted the fact that I would not see my new niece-by-love-not-blood again until August, then Cara emailed to say she was coming home. Yippee!

The little beauty is growing quickly, she is a solid little nut with the most adorable leg rolls.

A few things I noticed this visit: Rosie is holding her head up easily now but still struggling a little to control her body, she's generous with her smiles (each made me melt a little more than the last), much like her mommy she is a bit of a grump and needs some "me-time" when she wakes up, she loves watching tv (a new discovery that mommy wasn't too thrilled to unearth), she looks a lot like her daddy, still smells like a new baby (when will she lose that smell? are babies like new cars? is it a gradual thing or does it happen all of a sudden?) and she is a very social little being. Considering she isn't used to being passed from person to person she handled being mauled very well. Yes, I will admit I was one of the maulers. No, I did not put the hat on her little bean but I did snag the opportunity to snap a picture of her and it's one of my favorites from this visit.

My niece neve was thrilled to meet little Rosie and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was okay with me holding the baby as long as Neve could hold her too. When I asked what she thought of holding a real baby she replied "Whoa, she's heavy... and wiggly too."

Thanks for the wonderful visit Cara & Rosie! I miss you both already and can't wait to see both of you, and Herwig too, this summer.

A Star is Born

Woo hoo! I've finally figured out how to easily apply the interfacing and I've got the zipper down. I'm no longer using the Bend-the-Rules pattern, I've pieced together tips from various tutorials to find what works best for me and I'm please with the result.

So Sweet

These pictures certainly aren't great, it's time I make a light box I think... maybe tomorrow.

I've finally managed to add a wristlet the right way and I'm pleased with the result.

What do you think of the rhinestone decal? Personally I like it, super easy to apply and quite cute. I'm going to use this guy for a couple weeks to see how well it holds up - my concern is how long the rhinestones will stay put for.

Thoughts?

Laughing Quadruplets

If you need a laugh and haven't seen this video take a minute to watch it. These little peanuts are super cute and have contagious giggles.

Eye Spy

Vintage Fabric - Ladies
Originally uploaded by my-name-is-annie

Whip Up posted a link to a neat blog called True Up where a vintage fabric is posted each day. I instantly fell for this one here, I thought of my friend Cara immediately. See the two ladies at the top? One with long purple hair and one with short blue hair... That's what we looked like 10 years ago, the little marks next to their eyes look just like the stickers we wore in just about the same spot and were rarely seen without. Too funny.

Take Care Tantalizing Tuesday

Tantalizing Tuesday is retiring. Don't fret, pull yourself up off of the ground and wipe away your tears. I'll continue to post recipes every now and then that I believe you cannot live without but trying to come up with a weekly treat to share has become a chore so I'm saying enough is enough and kiboshing the whole thang.

I think I might hop on the Flashback Friday bandwagon and start posting pre-1985 pics on - you guessed it you clever person you - Fridays! I love looking at old pics and this will give me an excuse to create digital images of the old snapshots we have floating around.

Adios Tantalizing Tuesdays!

Prick!

While trying to stuff a needle through a pile of fabric the other day I thought to myself,"OW! Someone really should invent something to make this a less painful experience." I'm not kidding, I actually had that thought. Duh.


Apparently that's what thimbles are for.

I would have felt pretty silly after reading this post on thimbles over at the Purl Bee, but the article whispered that I was not alone in my ignorance of thimbles, at one point in time the author also thought that they were worn on the thumb and were meant for avoiding the sharp end of the needle. Gee whiz looks like someone thought of finger protection while sewing long before I did. Looks like I'm going to be thimble shopping in the near future...

Zip It

Not only does Etsy feature a kazillion beautiful handcrafted items but there are loads of fabulous supply sellers there too! How perfect is this for me? I can now kill two cravings with one bite: shop on Etsy and feed my addiction of sewing supplies.

I stumbled upon a super shop that has the cutest freaking name ever and awesomely cute bits and pieces for fab prices. Check out Kung Fu Cowgirl's shop seriously, don't you love that name? and tell me there's not one single item there that makes you squeal due to the cuteness factor.

I can't wait to work in an elementary school again so I can revert to my rave days and wear wonderfully silly things without looking like I am one of the kids. Working in a high school means dressing up or being mistaken for a student (yes it has happened on more than one occasion). Once I'm back with the little boys and girls I can accent my grown-up gear with lovely earrings like the ones pictured below and totally get away with it.


Back to the point of my post. Kung Fu Cowgirl rocks. I purchased a pile of zippers from the shop last week, 15 zippers (pink, white and blue) for $10 shipping included! I can't buy zippers that cheap from Lens Mill even. Needless to say I was stoked when I found this deal and I was even happier when the packaged arrived from the USA within 7 business days and contained some unexpected extras. I'm a thrifty gal and love when I'm thrown some extra bits without warning.

Check out the pig magnet, too cute! I was eyeing it in the shop and stopped myself from purchasing it because I was trying to behave myself and only purchase things I needed. Behind the magnet are some teeny tiny very sweet stickers and those who know me know that I love stickers!

Big thanks to Kung Fu Cowgirl for the fabulous goods!

This is...

a mosaic of things that make me think of my amazing Mom.

1. Sky Walker, 2. Fleur de Lis #4, 3. The Grand Damme, 4. Day 239, 5. Decorate, 6. Colorful tea cups, 7. Felty (decapitated) Sloth, 8. Young Lilac, 9. snow robin, 10. Untitled, 11. Shell pick 'n' mix, lightly arranged, 12. NZ097

Happy Mother's Day to the Mommi!

Thanks Three Buttons for sharing the mosaic making link.

Better Late Than Never

So this is a crazy ridiculously late Happy Birthday wish to my dad!! I did not forget his birthday but I did forget to post on his special day back on April 12th, for no reason other than the fact that I'm a bonehead... and he was sunning himself in North Carolina on the actual day so maybe secretly I was angry and punishing him. Bad dad. Here I am a month later saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most magnificent man in my world. I love you dad!

A cute shot of the best parents on the face of the earth with their hot fudge brownie sundae birthday treats. The candles were cacti plopped on top of melting ice cream, quite funny to see in real time.

Unfortunately this is the only shot from the birthday pah-tay. I wish I could post a video of now three years old Neve in Mike's lap, little arms wrapped around his neck, gazing into his eyes saying in a hushed voice, "I love you Tickle Monster." Too cute.

Flashback Friday - Kickin It Old Skool

Three Buttons suggested we post a pic of ourselves pre-1985 so here I am in 1982 at just four years old. This was snapped in the backyard of the house I lived in until I was seven (or was it eight?). I have loads of fond memories from that yard, that house, that neighborhood *sigh*

This is...

the pair of shoes I would sleep in if I could... and I do.

I love the look of heels and wish I could wear them and love wearing them but OW. I much prefer my bare toes and grass is the best accessory.

Thanks Hip Hop & Banana Bread for this week's "This is..." theme.