Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Baubles!


I have a craft fair coming up at the beginning of December and with this on the brain, I have been busy making Christmas ornaments out of paper.

This is a brand new craft to me, but they were actually quite easy to get the hang of. And after I had figured it out, I was churning them out in all kinds of colour combinations. I am very pleased with the results. These baubles that I've made are so fun and whimsical- I think they look great. I can't wait to get my Christmas tree so that I can decorate it with them!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Everybody Gets a Day Like This Sometimes


My day today has been kind of ridiculous, only because my morning was so horrible- it really should be a comedy sketch so hopefully my terrible morning will give you guys a bit of a laugh.

I got up extra early this morning (6am) to do my paper route. It had frozen overnight so my vehicle was covered in ice...and it didn't start. Dead battery. So I thought about grabbing my roommates car to boost mine but of course her car was covered in ice too. I knew that if I scraped both my vehicle and hers it would take a bit of time. Plus, after doing my route I knew that mine wasn't going to start again so I opted for using my bike (my vintage Eatons bike).

So I loaded up all the papers into 3 reusable tote bags and strapped them on the back and set off. About 1/3 of the way there, the bungee cord broke and the top bag fell off. Fortunately, I managed to get the bag that fell off back on by wrapping the handles around the seat.

It was a precarious ride down the street and about halfway there the bags shifted forwards so that I could only pedal with my heels. The pedals also rubbed every time they went around. It was making a horrible scraping/ crunching noise but I couldn't stop because otherwise I was going to be late for work later! A lady at the bus stop looked at me with a bewildered look so to compensate I cheerily shouted a good morning to her- lol.

When I got to the start of my paper route 2 of the bags completely broke spewing papers all over, but at least I was there! I had to do my paper route making runs back and forth to my bike to retrieve the papers from the broken bags. Did I mention that the start of my paper route is at the bottom of a hill? (ha ha!)

I did finish the paper route and on my way back home, just to ice the cake, I got honked at by someone because I wasn't pedaling fast enough and was in their way.

The nice ending to this story is that after rushing for 40 minutes when I got home to eat, shower and get ready for work, my roommate gave me a ride to work :)

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Gorgeous Pottery... and Butter

Get a lump of clay. Get a circular plate. Slap the clay onto the plate. Whiz the thing round and round. Poke it with wet fingers and TAH-DAH!! It's a gorgeous piece of art!

Okay okay, I know it's not that easy. I tried multiple times as a teenager and sadly, I just didn't have the knack for it. I'm quite sure that I don't have the knack now that I'm older either. I'm happy enough to settle for being an appreciator of pottery. This is okay because we can't ALL be creators. The world needs its lookers too and I'm happy to be one of them. I love the shapes, colours, and all the nuances that make each pottery piece unique.

I just came back from an amazing pottery sale that showcased works by varying artists of the Pacific Rim Potters. I saw great things and I wanted to share a little with you.


This gorgeous stoneware is by Cobble Hill Pottery. They were one of the vendors and their pieces were beautiful. I'm just so drawn to the colours and the patterns of the glaze. I would be delighted to serve a delicious meal to my friends from a dish like this. Wouldn't you? It would turn regular old mac and cheese into a fancy gourmet meal!

Another artist had made wide shallow bowls and allowed glaze in water-related colours to pool in the bottom. The glaze was quite thick and had cracked when it was fired. They were inspired from the tide pools found on the coast line here on Canada's West Coast. They were absolutely gorgeous. The crackled glass effect that the glaze gave was so pretty and iridescent. Much like the pools of water you find by the ocean, you just wanted to gaze inside every one of these bowls.

There was a vendor selling butter dishes and I was very intrigued by the French butter dishes that were there. I had never seen one before (I'm still new to learning about pottery). The butter goes into the lid of the dish and sits upside down in a bit of water. The water forms a seal that keeps the container airtight. It's very clever.


French Butter Dish by glyntpottery.etsy.com

My mind is swirling with creativity after seeing all these gorgeous pieces. I'm jealous of the talents of these amazing artists but they also make me glad that I eat butter.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

My Favourite Things

Original Painting by BlueeyedduckStudios

I had a childhood crush on Julie Andrews. I wanted to be her. I wanted to sing like her and be pretty like her. It didn't really work out that way but that's okay with me.

Sure, I'm a musician but certainly not the singing type (unless you are wanting me to sing for comical entertainment). My friends laugh at me because I can never remember the words to a song. This includes the favourites on my iPod which I should really know seeing as I listen to them quite frequently. When I can't remember the words, I resort to singing the back-up lines and instrumental fills. Hey! It's an important part and I challenge anyone to sing 'Galileo-Figaro' in a squeaky manner in Bohemian Rhapsody as well as I do.

Anyhow, if you've done any shopping in the last few days, you may have noticed Christmas music playing in the stores already. I know, isn't it crazy?! Over the last few Christmases, I've also noticed that the song "My Favourite Things" from The Sound of Music (a childhood favourite obviously because of Julie Andrews) has also been somehow turned into a Christmas song. I think it's the 'snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes, brown paper packages tied up with string.." line that demotes it to a Christmas song.



Well, here are some of MY favourite things that I'd like to share with you.

1) Fireplaces- Especially wood burning ones; there's something so rustic and cozy about them.

2)Raspberries- When you bite into a strawberry but never know if it's sour or sweet. With a raspberry you always know it's sour. They are an honest fruit.

3) Cats- They will give you love in order to get what they want. I think in the real world, they call it 'customer service'.

4) Dogs- When you want someone's attention they are always willing to volunteer their help.

5) Pizza- Can always be diguised as 'healthy'.

6) Skiing- It's quite fulfilling seeing mountain scenery with 2 planks strapped to the bottom of my feet. It really is a zen feeling when it's going well.

7) Sleep- A great way to procrastinate (along with blogging?)

8) Jesus- Apparently he was a morning person which really doesn't make me too happy, but his teachings are good rules to live by, so I forgive him

9) Hiking- It's like 'stopping to smell the roses' but with altitude (not to be confused with attitude)

10) The Arts- and losing track of time in doing, making , listening to & teaching anything related to the arts. Mmm artsy fartsy.

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