Fred&Toots

True Loves: Beatrix Potter

The way Beatrix Potter brought such character to so many little animals is truly magical!!
(My Mother-in-law won the 'Squirrel Nutkin' figurine in a school competition and she  passed it on to me!!!)

'Peter Rabbit' and 'The Tale of Two Bad Mice' are the most popular in this household. 

There are many times when Miss Z and Mr. C could be mistaken for two mice the way they whirl through this house turning everything in sight upside down!

 

(Potter is in the air - I was just looking at Little Birds Handmade, check out her adorable Beatrix Potter inspired items!)

Damaged Goods

I finally finishd the Jess Hutch Robot I was working on. 

He was a special request from the mysterious M (a.k.a. Marsha or you know who) who had spotted it over at CRAFT.  I was able to borrow the pattern from Gwen (whose Mum had the foresight to purchase a booklet as a gift for Gwen!!).  So it all turned out pretty good but my intarsia needs some work.  The special delivery took place over a legendary combo at the White Spot and as I handed it over I noticed a stitch that just wasn't right.  With the tine of my fork I attempted to smooth out some stitches when out popped a loose end.  No problem.  I just got out my trusty swiss army knife and snipped it out of the way.  I'm still not quite sure how I managed it but 'Pogo' the robot ended up with a hole in his centre!!!  He's undergoing surgery at the moment.  I will never attempt to smooth out my knitting again with a fork.  I will take a good second look before I go in with the scissors.  I will never hand over a gift that I am less than happy with.  Lucky for me, M has known me for 25 years so I'm not totally mortified...'Pogo' will be just fine.

Speaking of damaged goods, check out what Miss Z found on a recent walk.  The top of a figurine.

Such a mystery!  She looks like a Hummel???  The closest thing I found as to what type of figurine she's from was this.  This poor little head now rests on Miss Z's shelf but someone is not amused...

 

Still Here!

It seems these days that whenever I find time to get on the computer I'm checking & writing emails or surfing through itunes and youtube. Email, fine. Itunes, pretty quick. Youtube, I get totally lost in it linking from one video to the next. On my old computer I never bothered with youtube because the movies would always cut short. I didn't know what I was missing (and it was probably better that way). Anyways, please excuse me for being very behind the times when it comes to youtube but here are a few of my favourites to date:

- finally watched the hug video (worth another look) It only takes 'juan'!
- Came across this one via pixiegenne (the kids think I've totally lost my mind as I run through the house singing "keep the monkeys away from my hands").
- This one cracks me up as well - the kid in the background, hilarious! (warning: the song will drive you nuts!)
- thanks to m for suggesting these ones (coming in very handy for my new dance routine)

and because I really must include some kind of photo for interest sake I give you Mizz Z and myself trying out the Mac photobooth.

Happy Friday!

I'm Not Weird - well, maybe just a little...

I've been tagged by MYD to list 6 weird things about me. So let's see. Weird. Me? This is harder than I expected. Here we go:

1. I had braces in highschool for 3 years. I had to have them on top and bottom to keep everything aligned while the tooth that was growing out of the roof of my mouth was gradually pulled into place. I've only met one other person who had this and we share the same birthday.

2. I love to dance. I took belly dancing last year and it was great fun but I prefer working on my modern dance routines in the comfort of my own home. Music from the 70's or 80's will do nicely.

3. I hang on to bizarre things. When the family dog, Molly, lost one of her puppy teeth, I kept it (she was the second family dog I had growing up). I think I still have the collar from our first family dog, Simone. I've got all sorts of keys to things. One key in particular is for the basement door of the house I grew up in.

4. When I was 9, my parents bought the house my Dad and his 4 siblings grew up in. My grandparents built the house in the 1940's. In my bedroom, my Dad had carved his initials on the wall when he was a kid. One of my uncles had carved, "I hate mom", on the wall.

5. I went to the same Elementary school that my grandparents, my Dad and his siblings went to.

6. It has just taken me over an hour to write this. I devoured a vanilla7up and chocolate ice cream float (fiirst time I'd tried that combo - we're out of vanilla ice cream) and watched a weird movie while making the list.

I tag whoever would like to share a bit of their wacky side.

True Loves Wednesday: Tropical Sun!

I'm a wimp when it comes to weather. I'm so done with this snow and ice stuff. I can handle it for awhile but enough is enough. Give me some tropical heat! I do enjoy that first snowfall and skiing is fine but I'd take a walk on the beach and a soak in the ocean anyday! Just as I was signing on to typepad I saw something fall out of the corner of my eye. My bird bath basin just cracked in half and looks like it's in at least 3 pieces on the ground! Blame it on the weather. Well, there was another snowfall warning the other day so I went out and bought a snow shovel, an extra sled, some salt and scrapers for the car. Things I should've owned years ago but better late than never. Now that I am the proud owner of such things looks like the weather is warming up. Bring on the heat 'cause baby, it's cold outside! There was a fake palm tree on sale last year at the local supermarket. 80$. J.T. said 'no' so I held back, it wasn't like I could hide it. I thought it might help me get through the winter months. Get one of those special lights for people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (me) and pair it with the palm tree and voila! Then again, no. There's nothing like the real thing.

The above picture is from a trip to the Dominican Replublic. It was before my daughter was born. My son was almost 2 (he's 5 now). We found a lovely secluded beach away from our resort. It had wonderful snorkeling. The water was crystal clear! Heaven!

True Loves Wednesday: making stuff

Ever since I can remember I've always loved making stuff. Everything I look at I'm thinking, 'what can I make with that?'. When I'm making something I don't get that twitch in my eye I normally seem to have and my head feels clear. One day I'll have that dream studio, for now, clear off the kitchen counter, here I come.

On the go:

This guy is just about ready for his new home, arms needed.

Thinking about making some egg cozies. A hard boiled egg is one of Miss Z's favourite meals so how cute would one of these be to keep it warm for her?

These ones are very vintage, from J.T.'s Gramma:

and then these ones found via Stylehive.

And more on the speedball rubber stamps:
The Small Object for mucho inspiration & things to buy.
and a how-to here.

Off to ski on this snowy day (pulling the kids out of school!). The wind has died down and things are feeling pretty peaceful at the moment. Feels like a nice night to get cozy and make something.

Rather Unsettling

I'm feeling on edge. The weather around here is freaking me out. More power outages in the area which thankfully missed us today. On the way to pick my son up from school it was sunny & rainy. Minutes after the 3 o'clock bell a big gust of wind came along and all the lights in the school went out. On the way home we foolishly cut through the park so Mr. C could burn off some more energy by tearing around on his scooter. Then the wind really picked up and the trees surrounding the park started dancing wildly. TIME TO GO! I hollered. The temperature changes and weather changes throughout the day are drastic...well, close to. It's hard to tell just what the weather is going to do next. I can remember one Vancouver wind storm in particular which was almost 20 years ago. This season we've had at least 3! My parents who reside in Toronto tell me how warm it is there. My mom has been opening the patio door to cool the house down. The weather all around the world is becoming very unpredictable. I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth yet but it's on the top of my list. It's about global warming. It's about making changes NOW in how we treat our planet. The things that are happening around here are nothing to what's going on around the world but they're a wake up call to say the least.
now my lights are flickering...back tomorrow...
one more thing...take a look around here too.

What's up?

Not much going on around here. A couple power outages this weekend (about 26hrs. in total) which spurred me to clean out my fridge...

and on a crafty note, the kids are working on some 'thank you' cards for all the goodies they received this holiday season...

On a recent trip to the local art store I saw this speedball rubber stuff for making prints. The kids drew a picture for their cards and I transferred it to the rubber and carved away and voila. For Miss Z's card we rolled out just some black tempura paint and stamped away. Cam's picture stamp was just the perfect size for a stamp pad we had on hand.

Swap

I just signed up for my first swap! Well, actually, I just signed my kids up for their first swap. I'm very excited! Sign-up ends today. Visit mommycoddle for more details.

True Loves: Sisters!

I'm the eldest of three girls. Growing up I always told my parents that they should of stopped at one. Now in my mid-thirties I'm so glad my parents didn't stop with me. I don't know what I'd do without my sisters! I thoroughly enjoy their company and find them both truly inspirational. Definitely true love!

This picture was taken when I was 24 (11 years ago). That's me on the left. Annie, on the right, would of been 22 and Emma would have been 17! We had this photo taken for a present for our parent's 25th wedding anniversary. We each put on a floral dress and headed down to Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth park with our photographer friend. I remember the tourists taking pictures of us as we dangled barefoot from the trees. We had a lot of fun posing but the above picture was definitely my favourite of the bunch.