currently, again :)

reading:  Anne (still!), Tess (still!), cookbooks
listening to:  Pop2K on Sirius (Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Salt N Pepa!), new Arcade Fire
covered in:  glitter from opening Christmas cards
making:  custom tees, birthday cards
cooking:  cookies, soup
loving:  social times with the best girlfriends one could ask for!
missing:  Julia, easier times
wishing for:  peace

another drive by post

Too busy to update on what I'm doing!  Renovating our old house for renters coming on July 10th, planning the renovation on our new house, work, work, working!!!

listening to: shuffle (seems to be bringing up lots of Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Matthews Band), Sirius Lithium channel (90s alternative, see above :) )
eating: swiss cheese, eggplant and spinach wraps
making: curtains, end tables, Adirondack chairs, secret presents
wearing: shorts and wedge sandals
watching: It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia, Seinfeld
reading: yard sale books, Agatha Christie, Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Looking forward to a more sane life after the 10th!

busy, busy...just not much to show for it

So, I've been going non-stop for the past few weeks.  Where are all the pictures of finished objects, you ask?  Well, there are none.  Here is why:
1.  The one big, major project is not finished, and is top secret for a special someone's (already passed) birthday.  If you think this person is you, you're wrong, because the person it's for cannot yet read.  You may still get a fabulous birthday present, just not this one.
2.  I've been working like crazy on our taxes.  Wow, could anything be more boring?  On the plus side, I'm just about ready to file now, and it would be great if I got a refund.  Not sure if that's going to happen yet, but I'm always optimistic.
3.  I've scrapbooked over 1000 photos.  Once I finished, I realized I still had lots of digital photos to print.  How many?  750.  I'll be a while.  Anyhow, I've filled 4 scrapbooks already.  How does one photograph photographs?  Okay, I'm going to try anyway.  Here are some of my favourite pages:

4.  We bought a new house!  Well, it doesn't close until March 11th, but it's as good as ours!  As the new house is MUCH smaller than our current house, I've been spending a ton of time going through stuff and giving away boxes of things (mostly clothes and craft stuff).  I'm about to go through more right now!  Don't worry, I will post numerous renovation/demolition/redesign pictures while we're fixing it up. 

Anyway, I hope that tides you over until I have more to show for myself.  Meanwhile, Maui and Jazzy say hi.

currently

listenening to: Dan Mangan, Old Man Luedecke, The Dears
eating: grilled cheese sandwiches
making: quilts, wrist warmers/tattoo covers, custom tea cozy
wearing: layers, scarves (it's COOOLD!)
watching: Dead Like Me, Nurse Jackie
reading: Your Money of Your Life, Black Beauty, jPod
missing: my girls in Ontario, my nephew

"We're not Elvis anymore. We’re not Frankie in his wild years. We’re not Tina’s glorious comeback. We’re not us, we’re not us." - Dan Mangan

"As you go around life's bends, I hope there's always a breakfast at the end." - Old Man Luedecke

Happy birthday Quinn!

So, I'm a few days late, but my wonderful nephew Quinn turned 1 on Sunday! (I did call, I'm not that bad of an aunt!)

Here are a few of my favourite pics of his first year (in no particular order):

Okay, maybe that was more than a few :)

I renovated an apartment!

So, last September (hmmm, around the last time I updated this blog, I see), Chris and I bought a tri-plex. The first couple of months were pretty uneventful, then December hit and we had some tenants move out.

No problem, I thought, we'll slap on a coat of paint and wash the floors and rent it out! Boy, was I wrong. First of all, one coat of paint became 2, then one coat on the ceiling became 2, then we replaced the sink, found a hole in the bathroom floor, replaced all the windows (meaning cleaning the floors and carpets numerous times). Not to mention the various layers of dirt and grime. I am still reeling at having scooped someone else's soapscummy hair out of the drain.

Just when we thought we were done, we decided to cut out an attic hatch out of the ceiling and blow insulation into the attic. No problem, just a little dust. Except that the it was more like soot and it gave us the Black Lung. Everything had been spotless the day before, and now we had to clean everything again, top to bottom. Well, one late night and one afternoon playing hooky from work to finish up, and the keys are handed over.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. But I would insulate the attic FIRST.

Also, it's been so long since I've used Blogger that I can't figure out how to move the pictures around. The afters are first, and the befores are second.

Beefy and Confused T-Shirt Offer (Glitter Only)!

Sorry friends who read this blog, this post isn't for you :)

Are you beefy and confused? Proudly wear it on your chest!!!


Finally, you can wear your own beefy and confused t-shirt! Everyone who sees it will wonder what it means, but only us insiders will get it.

How does it work?

1. Pick one of these American Apparel styles:

2001 Unisex Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt
2102 Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T
BB301 Poly-Cotton Short Sleeve Women's T
2001ORG Unisex Organic Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt
2102ORG Organic Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T

2. Choose a colour and find your size (note: light colours work better).

3. Choose an ink colour: brown, purple, red, black, green. Choose a placement: Top centre (as in photo), Bottom right (your right when wearing :) ).

4. PM me on Glitter with your choices before September 21st, 2009.

5. I will place an order with AA at that time.

6. Once your shirt is ready to be shipped out, I will PM you with the total to send me by PayPal.

7. Once I have received your payment, I will send your shirt out to you!

8. You can strut around town in your new shirt, knowing that Glitterers rock!

I'm aiming for an October 27th, 2009 mail out date, but if I cannot make this for any reason (i.e. the shipment from AA takes longer than usual to get to me), I'll let you know by PM when I will be sending it. I'm going away from October 29th to November 2nd, so if it's going to be after that, it would November 10th.

Prices / Sizes (all are in US Dollars):

2001/2102:
S-2XL = $10.00
3XL (2001 only) = $10.00

2001ORG/2102ORG:
S-2XL = $10.00
3XL (2001 ORG only) = $10.00

BB301:
S-XL = $10.00

Shipping:
To Canada = $3.00
To USA = $6.00
Everywhere Else = $7.00


NOTES!!!:

- I also have 2 prototypes available for $10.00 each plus shipping (as seen in the picture below). They are both XL ladies Old Navy shirts in grey with purple writing. These will be mailed RIGHT AWAY (as in Tuesday :)) to the first two people to respond requesting them.

- This offer is only available to members of Glitter! That is why you MUST send me a PM through Glitter to order. I'm only marking up the prices a TINY bit, just to make sure that I cover my taxes and shipping and conversion rates, etc. I'm keeping the prices in US dollars because I normally do business through Etsy, and I want to keep everything in the same currency.

- If you're more comfortable doing business through Etsy, let me know and I'll create a custom order for you. The reason I'm doing this through my blog and not my Etsy is that I don't want to artificially bump up my sales with this promotion. It's a Glitter special!

- If you really don't want an American Apparel shirt, let me know. I don't have a whole lot of other options where I live, but I'm happy to try to find a thrifted shirt or something similar. I also have access to Old Navy, Michaels (those horrible fitting Jerzees shirts!), and Joe Fresh Style.

- Sorry it took me so long to get moving on this! I was worried that the beef shower momentum had slowed down, but now that it has become a reality, I think we all need to celebrate it!

- Did I forget any details? I hope not! Let me know if you have any questions.

- No beef was used in the making of this post. I'm a vegetarian, that's a vegetable bouillon cube :)

new look for my Etsy(s)!

Now that I'm actually starting to put some effort into my Etsy shops, I thought it might be time for a more professional look (not including anything made in Paint). I commissioned the very talented Alex Clark of notastupidblog to make new banners and avatars, and she exceeded my expectations! Check them out!



I've updated feetup.etsy.com with pretty much everything I have in stock, and I'm in the process of getting all my clothing up on handsdownapparel.etsy.com. It takes longer than you would think to photograph everything and come up with (not so witty) descriptions! I feel like Elaine.

all that Jazz!

We got a cat! Well, it's been a couple of months, but what with the year-long hiatus, I somehow missed blogging it.
Her name is Jazz, Jazzy or Jasmine, and she's eight years old. We didn't know how either her or Maui would take it, but they seem to tolerate each other pretty well. I keep catching them on the bed together, or sharing the dog couch, so I like to pretend that they're best friends when I'm not home.

She's pretty cute :)

ahead of schedule

If you know me, you know how ridiculous the title of this post is. You may be waiting for a birthday gift, or a purse commissioned in February, or even a phone call. But, for once, I've finished two items on my to-do list WELL ahead of schedule.

This is a quilt I made for my friend Christina's baby shower AUGUST 1ST! I actually finished it LAST WEEKEND! Amazing!

I love this tree fabric, and I'm trying to think of a garment I could use it for that wouldn't look stupid :)


I also signed up for the Artist Trading Card swap at the gallery again this year. The event is AUGUST 7TH! That's almost 3 weeks away! Can you believe it! 40 ATCs ready to go!

This one is my favourite, as the grain and knots in the wood look like mountains and the sun.

Now, what are the odds that I can keep this up?