neonfoxtongue

Re-evaluation and Rainbows

Oops - looks like I didn't blog on Monday again.  Yikes.  I don't really have any excuses either, except maybe a fun trip to the CNE and a surprisingly productive trip to Ikea (during "your kid is starting university so buy him stuff" month, no less) to get a desk for the shiny new computer we got last week.  The computer I am now using to write this post!  Yay!  The Leopard and I have been sharing his laptop for over a year now, which has been okay, but it'll be really nice to have one with all my own settings and set-up and I'm pretty sure The Leopard feels the same way.

Thoughts on how I'm going to organize my photos and documents, and on what photo editing program I'm going to use (I'm considering Picnik at the moment, but am open to suggestions) have also led me to re-evaluate what I'm doing with this blog. Specifically, my Creative Goals Monday posts, which I feel have really been stagnating lately.  The fact that I've missed two weeks is pretty telling too.  I think the idea of posting weekly creative goals was originally a good one and it did help me meet my more general goals, but the format is getting to be quite repetitive.  And I figure that if I'm getting bored with writing the posts, the people who are reading posts are probably getting bored too.  The other thing I didn't really like about the 'CG Monday' format is that the completed projects I wrote about in my Monday posts often felt like 'by the way' additions; they didn't get the attention I wanted to give to them. So I've decided to change things up a bit.  I'm going to stop posting about weekly goals, and will instead provide semi-regular updates on how I'm doing in meeting my Creative Goals for 2009.  As you can see, I've got lots of work to do on those!  I'm still going to have weekly creative goals, but I'll mostly keep those to myself or make The Leopard hold me to them (he can be as good at nagging as I can).  I still plan on posting on Mondays as much as possible, but the topics will be varied. I have an idea or two for semi-regular features that I might introduce in the future, but for now I'm happy to keep things more organic and have Friday I'm in Love as the only weekly feature.

So that's the plan for now. I'd love to hear what you, my readers, think about this change and/or about anything you like or dislike about this blog.  Please leave comments below or in any other post. Thanks! :)

I feel like I've been going through a lot of change and experiencing a lot of new beginnings lately.  Sometimes it feels a bit tumultuous, like the crazy storm we had last week.  But even storms can bring good things.  For example:

 

So I'm hopeful that things are going to settle down soon.  I wouldn't even mind if it brought a lot of colour with it.

Friday I'm in Love: Knitted Summer Wrap

Another long week.  Progress on our apartment feels really slow and the list of things to-do seems never ending.  I'm trying not to get down about it and I really hope to get more done this weekend, but I have to accept the fact that this is a long process.  A long process that will involve installing a lot of shelving.

To keep my spirits up, I'm seeking inspiration wherever I can find it.  Yesterday, I found it in moocowhandknit's Etsy shop.

 

This Summer Wrap actually makes me want to pick up some knitting needles.  Haven't felt that way in a while.  If I could figure out how to make one of these (it looks pretty easy, even for a beginner - though I have no idea how she got both ends on the ring), I think I'd do it in black. Or maybe yellow. Or teal.  The one great thing about this is that I wouldn't have to do any unpacking or organizing to get started on it.  That probably partially explains why I like it so much! :)

Creative space - ideas and inspiration

So yeah, this week's Creative Goals Monday post just didn't happen.  I don't really have an excuse either, I just couldn't get my act together blog-wise.  I apologise, but I have also decided not to feel guilty about it.  As Karyn aptly tweeted,"sometimes, you just have to not blog".

But I've still got some creative goals for this week, namely making a card and working on setting up my creative space.  I admit that I haven't made much any progress in the latter.  I've been more focused on getting the kitchen and bedroom unpacked and organised. And while there is still a bit of work to do in those rooms, they are much more functional now, so I'm ready to move onto getting my art and craft supplies unpacked and organised.

To that end, I've been looking back at some of the posts I've saved from other blogs, which had tips and photos of creative spaces that I liked.  I got some really great ideas from cheeky magpie in her post about organising supplies, particularly stamps.

Trading card holders - genius!

I also love the hanging cans that Rachel Simonsen uses in her studio.  I hoping to make something similar with upcycled cans or jars.

And lastly, I'm a big fan of the wire crate shelving in this Design*Sponge sneak peak:

 

I'm not sure I'll be able to readily find old wire shelving, but I'm going to file this idea away in case I do.

So now it's time to get started on creating my own space. I'll let you know how it goes and I promise to take a 'before' shot so we can compare it to the end product. That way, they'll be proof that whatever I do will be a marked improvement! :)

Friday I'm in Love: Norajane stamps

Whew! So glad it's the weekend. This week has seemed very hectic because we're still getting ourselves organized in our new place, which makes being organized for work a bit tougher. I'm hoping to make lots of progress  on getting our place more livable this weekend - maybe even doing a bit of gardening...er...weeding.  But tonight, I just want to chill out with The Leopard with a DVD and maybe some popcorn.

But before I do that, here are some sweet little stamps from Norajane's shop that caught my eye this week. When I saw them, I just knew they had to make it onto Friday I'm in Love.  So cute! And tiny!

 

Finch ($4)

 

Queen Anne's Lace ($3.50)

Feather ($3.50) 

Hope you have a great, relaxing weekend!

Planet Craft: Kootsac - reusable bulk food bags

Since we didn't move from our old 'home' directly to our new 'home', but rather spent a transition period travelling and living in temporary dwelling, we are pretty much starting from scratch in the sustenance department.  Filling a fridge and pantry can get expensive, so we're starting slowly.  My parents were kind enough to let me raid their pantry on the weekend.  So we're good for pasta, olive oil and, uh...instant pudding for a while.  But I predict a visit to a bulk food store fairly soon, which makes me wish I had ordered from kootsac sooner.  Behold, the reusable bulk food bag:

Made from ripstop nylon or natural silk, these bags weigh the same as plastic so they won't impact the price you pay for bulk food.  They can hold spices, beans, nuts, flour...pretty much any dry food item. They are an easy way to cut down on the use of plastic packaging and, in my opinion, are another fantastic way that handmade ingenuity can help the planet.

I'm going to order mine today.

Creative Goals Monday: Creating a Crafty Space

After another weekend of moving stuff to our new place and then trying to unpack and put away said stuff, I'm pretty convinced I don't want to move again for a while.  Luckily, I'm thinking we'll be happy in here, especially once we get things set up and organised the way we'd like.  It's probably going to be an ongoing process in that respect, but I hope we're able to get a lot of it done in the next few weeks.  One of my major goals is to have a workable and enjoyable space for me to create.  A space where all my tools and supplies have their own place and the most used ones are easily accessible.  A space to make cards, other paper crafts and paint, and a place for the great hand-me-down sewing machine from my Mom.  A space that inspires me to create.  It's going to take a lot of creative thinking to find ways to best use the space.  I've been saving images of craft and/or studio spaces for a while now, so my goal this week is to look through them for inspiration.  If any of them really appeal to me, I'll post them here. 

I'm looking forward to accomplishing this goal in the medium-term, but for the short-term, I'm going to have to make do with whatever I can - a flat surface and whatever supplies I can reach within the piles of boxes and plastic tubs.  There are still cards to be made - at least two in the next week - so I have to get cracking. 

Today, I thought I'd show you a set of cards I made last month for my friend J, who kindly let me ship some much needed (and well-priced) craft supplies to her just-outside-London address from one of my favourite suppliers in the UK, and then brought them to me when she came for a visit to Toronto.  I wanted to give her something to thank her for being my 'craft mule'.  I initially thought I'd make her a thank you card, but then I thought - why not make her a few and let her give them to whomever she wants?  So that's what I did. Three simple thank you cards. J loved the idea.  I'm thinking I might be onto something here.

 

 

Friday I'm in Love: Gardening Gloves Pattern

Aaaaand we're back!  But not exactly unpacked.  Apologies for not posting on Wednesday - I forgot how much work moving can be even after the actual moving part.  So. Many. Boxes.  And since our stuff had been in storage for more than a year and a half, it was pretty much necessary to wash every single kitchen item we had.  I'm so glad we sold/donated a bunch of stuff before moved to London.

There is still a lot to do, but we need to get a book shelf or two before we unpack our books, CDs and knick knacks.  We're really liking our new place though, especially the very large kitchen and the back patio, complete with...wait for it...a garden!!!  My very first garden!  I'm so excited!  I come from a long line of green thumbs, so I'm hopeful that I have some aptitude for growing stuff, especially stuff we can eat. There's a lot of prep work to do before that happens, so for this week's Friday I'm in Love edition, I've got a great freebie to help with said prep work - an easy pattern for gardening gloves!

I found the instructions for these easy-to-sew gloves by via Creature Comforts.  The instructions are from Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing which looks really great. If I can manage to make the gloves without too much trouble, I just might have to add the book to my wish list.

I think these gloves are great, but I also think I'm going to need another, more heavy duty pair.  The reason?  Let's just say that I have my work cut out for me:

 

Yep. That's it, in all it's glory.  Not much I can salvage either - some thyme, mint and a raspberry bush. But I'm determined to turn this patch of mostly weeds into a decent garden.  Wish me luck!

Friday I'm in...boxes

Hello faithful readers!  This is just a quick post to say (and apologize) that Friday Love won't be happening this week as I'm a bit too preoccupied with the move to our new place this weekend.  I've also decided to give myself a blog break on Monday, because the actual moving-in part is happening on that day, so there won't be a Creative Goals Monday post either.  It's a long weekend in most of Canada, so hopefully most of you will be too busy having fun to miss me.  :)

We're supposed to have our internet set up on Tuesday morning, so if we can truly count on the powers that be, I will aim to post something on Wednesday.  Until then, why don't you check out the each penny pretty creative commons Flickr group?  There is lots of stuff to love there!

 

See? :)
(photo by laffy4k)

Have a great weekend everyone!

nft made: Card for a Californian wedding

As promised, and thanks to my Mom, here are photos of the card I made for the wedding my parents are attending this weekend.  The wedding is taking place outside Malibu, California.

The wedding invitation was black and white with a teal ribbon accent, so I used similar colours for the card.  The card blank I used had an oval cut out, which made it easy to add a ribbon detail without having to worry about hiding the ends. 

I used Letraset letter transfers for the 'Love'.

I hope the happy couple likes it!

Creative Goals Monday: Cards, moving and future goals

Hello Monday - are you going to be rainy too?  This past weekend was on again, off again rain, including a couple of thunderstorms.  Pretty crappy, but the rain held off enough for me to get two runs in, as well as a walk with my parents, who came up for a visit on Sunday, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much.  I spent most of Saturday making cards too - I finished five, including the wedding card my Mom commissioned for the wedding they're attending in California next weekend.  I think it turned out pretty well and I'll post a photo soon.  I took one photo during a storm, so it's a bit dark.  My Mom is going to try to take a photo this week and e-mail it to me. Thanks in advance, Mom! :)

Next weekend, we'll be moving to our new place, so I'll be spending a good portion of the week sorting and packing. We don't have a lot to pack here, because most of our stuff is in storage, but there will still be some to do.  Because of this, I'm only setting one creative goal - I have a card to make for another occasion that will remain nameless because the recipients might be reading this post.  Once I'm done that, I'll be able to pack up my craft supplies and tools.  I can't wait to have a dedicated crafting space and have all my supplies organised and easily accessible - it's going to be so fantastic! 

And having my own crafty space means that I can really start to ramp up my creative goals.  I've been looking through the projects I've been bookmarking and saving through Google Reader over the past several months and I'm definitely ready to really get going on some once we're settled in our apartment.  So I thought I'd start showing some of these projects on my Creative Goals Monday posts.  And one of the first projects I want to try is making record bowls.

I read and saved Modern Cottage's tutorial on making them last December and in June I bought four unplayable records for $2 at the shop where The Leopard has been working for the past few weeks.  I'm looking forward to giving it a try and will report back on how it goes.

Hope you have a sunny Monday!