Eliza the Mouse by Christie Jones Ray

This is Eliza the Mouse in her wee bed. It was all handmade by her creator, Christie Jones Ray.
You can learn all about Eliza and Christie HERE.

Nothing Like the Scent of a Freshly Printed Book!

 Uppercase magazine has done it again.  I recently received the latest volume of the Uppercase Encyclopedia of Inspiration:  Print/Maker.  Fresh off the press and full of wonderful images and profiles of print makers from all over.  You can read more about it here.

 Previous to this volume, there are three others.  Each chock full of inspiration and information too.

Check out the web site for more info on these as well as Uppercase Magazine:for the creative and curious.  Every issue full to the brim of wonderful articles for, well, the creative and curious. A beautiful magazine of wonderful quality.  Canadian made too!  It's wonderful!

Kiwi Gardens, Art In The Garden 2017

 We used to go every year before Marty started his job away from here but now that he is home again, it was time to spend a lovely day in the Perth area at "Art in the Garden" at Kiwi Gardens.
The weather held and besides a few sprinkles, there were no thunder storms while we were out.  It did eventually become very hot and muggy but we were done by the point too.

 There seemed to be a good crowd of people and it was nice to see returning artists as well as new ones.  the white lilacs were on their way out but still very fragrant.

                                           And installation of glass among the rocks.

 Large red cocoons? on a bench. you never know what you will happen across while wandering around.

                                   I love these peonies! They look like big fried eggs.

                                       Spiderwort. I like the blue and the yellowish leaves.

           Nope, this isn't some strange overexposure. The leaves really are green and white.

                                                Glass rods among the flowers

                            Here are Joshua and Emma taking pics of those glass rods.

                                    A Celtic knot along the path.

                                      I am not sure what this is but the colour was amazing.

 There were various sized pots with succulents in them. This one was stunning!

 I brought home this papier mache piece, "Free As A Bird."  A little boy on a hummingbird.

Reminds me of "The Little Prince."  It has been finished so it can be outside but it is going into my studio.
There was live music, wonderful food provided by the BrookValley School and lots of fabulous art. If you can, it is worth the trip to check out season 22, in 2018.

A Little Maude Lewis Love

 It was almost twenty years ago that we all traveled to visit family in Nova Scotia.  We went to Upper Clements Park, I think it was, my memory could be all wrong, but anyway, there was an exhibit of Maude Lewis art and a copy of her little house.  I eventually got this wee scale model of her home made from clay.

I also got these books about her life and work.
Yesterday Aaron and I attended a presentation of the new film Maudie.  I am pretty sure we were the youngest people in the audience, but it was 2 PM on a Friday afternoon, after all.  We enjoyed the film very much.  It is nice to see some focus on the life of a special artist like Maude Lewis.  If you are able, it is worthwhile seeing the film.

New Etsy Shop In The House

 I would like to introduce you to the work of my cousin.  She lives in Nova Scotia and is a most creative creature.  I was fortunate enough to see some of her work and she now has her very own Etsy shop, LindiLuvCrafts.
Above is her wonderful Captain Hook with his smart outfit and head of clay.

 Or, how about "Froggy Go A'Courting?"  This hand painted cloth fellow is ready to take you out on a special date. I love his little shoes.

 Her Pippi Longstocking brings a smile to your face. Look at her sweet hand stitched monkey, Mr. Nilsson.

This little fellow is mine. She has created a whole population of little "comfort dolls," diminutive little characters. You can see more of her work HERE.

After National Craft Month

 I received a lovely email from Marietta Greg, Marketing Director at (and daughter of) Patience Brewster.  She asked if I would create a post about my craft/creativity and why it is important to me.
Check out the link above to see the wonderful unique, whimsical work of Patience. It always makes you smile.
I think everyone is creative. Some of us have a harder time suppressing it (not that you should!) and it is a big part of all they do.
My home is my canvas. Life is what gets in the way of spending the time I would like to being "creative,"  however I am able to fulfil my creative needs while cooking, baking, letter writing, taking pictures, blogging and so on.   While folding laundry or shovelling snow, cooking a meal and cleaning up afterwards my mind is free to create and craft in my mind, over and over again.

When I do get into the studio I am well primed to make something as I have been thinking about it for a while at the point.  I love to play with paper, making cards and creating collage pieces, favouring antique ephemera and watercolour paint as well as pen and ink.

Crafting/creating is both relaxing and exciting at the same time. It is fun to see things come together on paper or whatever surface I am working on, all the while making something tangible from my imagination.  I need to create, it is part of who I am as a person. No matter what is going on in my daily life, my imagination is always piecing things together, creating new pieces in my mind.

 When not able to "craft" I am more a curator gathering little groups of things together that I may have found over many years but seem to go well together. The elements above span decades of finds but found a home together under a large bell jar. It makes me smile every time I walk by. It reminds me of my time spent at the cottage and visits to the East Coast.

 Organising the studio is also a favourite pastime, keeping all those vintage finds sorted and stored while easy to find when needed. I like to decorate the plain wood boxes of drawers that store things. This box hold vintage paper dolls.

Found objects and altered elements, in this case the front of an antique "Patent Washable" doll head finds itself the centre of a flower, the petals made from old glass watch crystal envelopes, cut on the diagonal all tucked into a shadow box.

I listened to an interview recently with a friend of mine who also happens to be an award winning author. On her web site she has ten tips for teen writers. Tip number one is "write what you love." This applies to all those who love to create. Create what you love! Whether it is knitting, quilting, writing, collage, rubber stamping, assemblage;  whatever it is that gives you pleasure and joy, do it. Not for anyone but for yourself. When it is a true passion, that will speak to those who view your work.  March may have been National Craft Month, but creativity is an everyday thing, all year through.

Thank you, Marietta, for stopping by my blog! It was a pleasure to meet you!

A Little Cozy Gift

 It's chilly outside and the snow is gently falling, covering the ground in a white blanket.

I received these cute little hats in the mail the other day, from a friend who made them.  They make me smile.

                                                                 Egg cozies!

Christmas In the Kitchen Ornament Swap

 Erica of Golden Egg Vintage announced an ornament swap. I was privileged to be her swap partner.
Erica has a fun blog and a keen eye for a good find!

                                          Her box arrived filled to the brim with goodies!

 Her two ornaments were adorable and are perfect additions to my kitchen tree. Her tag is ornament- worthy too and hangs alongside the tin heart sweet gingerbread house.

 She added lots of sweet extras: a tiny Santa mug, and matching tea towel, a favourite recipe, some handmade pipecleaner candy canes, a peppermint sucker, and hot cocoa. Not shown is a fun vintage Pillsbury recipe booklet.

                                     A baggy full of really neat Christmas labels and clip art.  To top it all off she had made a really neat dried orange and cinnamon stick ornament. It hangs perfectly on my pot rack in the kitchen.  Thank you so very much Erica. It was all wonderful!!

Singer Sewing Machine Re-Do - Complete

 The boys brought Marty's finished piece into the house on Sunday afternoon. It is supposed to be in the entryway at the other house but he wanted me to enjoy it for a while first. So, it will abide here for the time being. It fits perfectly, next to the front door, in the kitchen.

                I have a small stash of old hardware and I chose this for the drawer pull.

            Another shot of the great spalted maple top.  Loving that grain and colouring! It's wonderful to see my vision come to life.

Catching Up With Old Friends

 Facebook is a great way to keep up with friends who are far away and when Melodie Papp posted she was taking part in a nearby venue's Christmas Craft show we just had to drop by to say hello.  We haven't seen each other in many years, since she and my own children were "knee-high to a..."

Now she's all grown up and creating fun and whimsical cards and other artwork.  Her pieces have a truly Canadian flair to them.  You can see more of her work in her Etsy Shoppe, The Art Of Melodious.

Country Living Fair- Catskill's Cats

 After our tour of the Thomas Cole home we drove through Catskill to get to the place we were going to eat for lunch (mediocre, so not worth mentioning.)  It was a beautiful day and I took a picture of this church on main street.

 Our drive through town was full of colourful surprises in the form of artist decorated cats. I had Marty park so I could get out and take pictures.  They ran on for blocks.
Here is a "Super" cat.

                                                     This cat has a lovely mosaic design.

                                                      I'm sure this took a long time to do!

                                                                  A "Lion" of a cat.

                                                                A cat with a cat theme.

                                                  This cat is in front of the local theatre.

                                 This feline armour got a first place ribbon.  Pretty cool!

                                                                 A real "Catskill" cat.

                                                          Alice in Wonderland on a cat.

                                A salute to the Marx Brothers and all the golden oldies of comedy.

                                      Groucho!  After our little tour here, we hit the long road home.