scraps

When I'm in the midst of hardcore craft show preparation, my apartment gets littered with piles and piles of fabric scraps and thread. Aren't they pretty?

I find that upcoming shows give me the added push that I need to really get motivated and you know - develop an entirely new product line.

Like I need that kind of stress in my life.

I've been adding some new things to the shop, like some fetching new tea towels:

Those puppies are printed on an absolutely beautiful and heavy-duty natural linen/cotton blend. Love it.

I have to attend two vernissages (I don't know, can I pluralize that in French?) this weekend, PLUS finish up things for the upcoming Tarts n' Crafts sale in Ottawa, so time to recede back into my fabric piles. I'm fairly certain I'll emerge with even more stuff to show!

Poppytalk Giveaway!

To celebrate Earth Day's 40th Anniversary and their "Green Pop" eco-themed market Poppytalk Handmade (of which I'm a member, wink wink, nudge nudge) is offering a giveaway on their blog!

The details, via Poppytalk:

We're offering up a $150 gift certificate at Poppytalk Handmade (from something in the current Green Pop Market) to the lucky winner who comments in this post's comments box (and offers a tip on being good to the Earth and visits our market telling us their favourite piece). One entry per person, and a bonus entry if you tweet about this giveaway (adding @poppytalk to the tweet along with a link to the tweet in the comments).

The $150 gift certificate must be used before the end of our current market, May 7th, 2010. Choose one thing, or many as long as it adds up to $150 (total). You can leave a comment at this post anytime from now until next Wednesday (April 28/10) at 12pm noon. We will pick a winner and announce Thursday (April 29th)! Good luck and thanks for visiting our artists at our eco-themed market.

You should probably enter. And then go and frolick in the sunshine. Happy Earth Day!

if I had a hundred dollars

Spring arrived early this year, and I'm already back on the bike and loving every second of it. It's just so easy hop on my bike and cruise around, running errands - it's such a lovely way to travel. I miss it so much when winter hits, and I deem it officially too cold to bike, although I did make it to December this year.

It's just so convenient that sometimes I forget that if I go somewhere on my bike, I have to also return that way. Perfect example: this afternoon, while on a fabric run, I ended up having to balance 10+ meters of fabric on the frame of my bike as I rode home. I made it, but it wasn't what I would call fun. Actually, the words annoying and awkward come to mind.

I desperately need to get a basket for my bike, and oh wow, if I had $100 to spend freely right now, these beauties would be mine:



I'll be jealous, but you can buy them here.

yuka yamaguchi

Images courtesy Yuka Yamaguchi, via Plastique Monkey.

I'm a huge fan of Yuka Yamaguchi's art, and can't believe that it's taken me this long to post about it.

She hails from Saskatoon, which is where I discovered her, and probably part of the reason why I find her work so fascinating.

This has got me thinking that I know very little about what contemporary art is currently being produced in Saskatchewan, and I'm kind of curious. I think I'm going to place myself on a mission this summer to find new artists who hail from the prairies.

Who's your favorite prairie artist?

hey baby, let's leave vegas (and possibly never return)

Fake grass at the Wynn Casino.

Believe it or not, I actually did make it back from Vegas, wallet and morals mainly intact.

The weather was beautiful, the wedding was an adventure, and it was incredibly wonderful to see my family.

Vegas, on the other hand, lacked a bit of the kitsch charm that I was expecting. The main attraction seemed to be cruising the strip with a giant (and I do mean GIANT, as in whale-bone sized) alcoholic bevvy of your choice, bumping into the hoards of other people doing the same thing. Or, you could always shop in one of the many, many malls at your disposal.

Maybe I'm just too old for this crap, but J and I seriously locked ourselves in the hotel room one night and watched TLC. It was just that overwhelming.

We did manage to escape to Freemont Street one night, and that was pretty great. The rest - meh. I could take or leave it.

At the least, it was definitely an experience. And we found a $20.00 poker chip under the bed!

Talk about luck.