Sunday Thoughts... Ummmmm

It's Sunday.

I'm supposed to have thoughts on Sunday. Today is the day that I have the time to actually sit down and write something stimulating and thought provoking. Ummmmm... well, I s'pose I could write about how wonderful it has been to finally have both sunshine AND a yard to work in at the same time... but that pretty much sums that thought up. How about the free headboard that I got this week to play with (photos of before and after when my camera is working again)... oh, wait... can't really turn that into a post without photos, can I? Hmmmm...

I am having an "I Love My Life" week, can I share? This is me remembering that it is the little things that make life worthwhile :)

This is the view from the top onto my town.

I got an unexpected call this week from my sister (who does not have kids and hence lives a completely different lifestyle- read: waking and sleeping schedule- than I do and we don't hang together nearly as often as we once did...). She took the boys and I on a hike. WITH her! My sister is the kind of person who wears yoga pants when she doesn't do yoga and calls Mountain Equipment Co-op "MEC". We know we are related because everyone says we have the same nose, and you simply cannot duplicate this nose... but aside from that... well, different cloth indeed. So when she wakes me up from a lovely sleep to tell me what a glorious day it is to hike up the side of a mountain... yeah. Not so much. BUT my number one DS asked me really nicely if we could do that hike again soon (the last time may or may not have been two years ago...) just a couple of days before, and I had said yes. I said yes because the chances of getting that phone call were so slim... perhaps they are conspiring.

Kazillions of yellow mountain lilies.

Turns out said mountain was a lovely place to be. Sis picked us up and took us by her place to make sure we had a protein shake before our ascent, then we spent a few hours in the perfect cool morning weather putting one foot in front of the other... about the time I started to feel my legs buckling, I noticed my first budding wildflower, then a wild strawberry flower, then some stunning chartreuse lichen... and all the toil melted away. The top of the rock was utterly blanketed in sunshine yellow lilies, and pink something or others... and the boys were on cloud nine... above it by the time we reached the top I think. Definitely a worthwhile day and I remember now how much I like being outdoors... sometimes I need a gentle reminder... yes, even living here in the Koots.

Kitty Empire... The Chicest in Vegan Totelage

Nelson, BC designer Erin Bruce creates the sweetest styles in vegan vinyl Messenger Bags, Purses, Wristlets and Wallets under the name Kitty Empire. She uses vinyl and re-purposed materials when she can, and comes up with the most whimsical designs and great colourways.

  
I adore the Bambi wallet but I have also witnessed other gorgeous creations of hers being toted about town that I would happily take home and I don't think I have ever seen one I don't like. She is a doll too as well as a Derby Girl (this is me bowing and swearing allegiance), and we like to support artists that have stellar personalities, right?

 I can tell you that the workmanship is excellent. I had one that I used for my laptop for the longest time, but my sister kept commenting on it so I gave it to her... I need a new colour anyway I think :) If you live locally, you can find them at one of my favourite shops in Nelson, the Global Underground.

T minus ZERO

It's SPRING!

Yesterday I went outside to see if the neighbour's dog was defecating once again in my driveway and four hours later I was still pulling dead wood out of the forest to build a "fence" around the lower bit of my yard that runs along the road. The different family members came out to take turns telling me how nuts I was and that if I thought that a four foot high wall of sticks was going to keep the four year old in check, I would need to add barbed wire. Little did D know that in fact I do intend to add a deterrent... how long do blackberries take to grow?

future garden party

 I am beyond excited to see the forest emerging from the snow, bit by bit. I really want to create useable space (for garden parties of course!) throughout the yard and while it has the potential to be beautiful and woodlandy, it is currently the unfortunate creation of too many past tenants who neglected to do anything but let the branches fall where they may. I found four year's worth of X Christmas trees, six bags of moss and yard waste buried under last year's maple leaves and the remnants of at least a few bear visits. "The Bear," which all of my neighbours have now told me about, apparently nicks the garbage in the area and holes up under the massive fir tree in the back corner of the property to indulge in old yogurt and stale bread... won't get into the nastier bits, this is a nice and happy Spring post... :) Going to have to do something about that though.

The high point of my day was finding the snowdrops peeking out from beneath the snow and leaves. Spring is truly here!

I have a few other Spring Fever thoughts. One is that I am intent on updating my wardrobe with the nicer weather. This whole concept of finding any part at all of my pre-child body is just going to have to give way to the fact that I have a crappy closet.

I just happen to have found a few happy pieces in the new Lilikoi Spring collection which fits my bill of local, eco, and GORGEOUS! I also might be a bit biased because the model she has used this time is just friggen' stunning. I may even have to do a red hair rinse and start wearing makeup again...

Another Spring thought, is that wedding season is once again upon us... so I have done some tweaking to the other blog. It used to be a NON-blog... essentially a place where I put stuff so that I had someplace to send people who were looking for info on the Celebration Quilts that I do. A recent setback in the social department left me with some time on my hands and the need to occupy my brain, so I have been diligently slogging away to rehabilitate my NON-blog into an actual blog. I can use it as a place to deposit those strange but intense needs to peruse and research that industry. Try as I might, I simply cannot get it out of my system. If you would like to give me some ideas or feedback, please do. I feel very OLD when I post wedding info because I have no idea how to include words like "adorbs" and "gorge" in my vocabulary. Nor am I able to commit to rhyming Shoesday with Tuesday. But I think I will be able to hold my own ;)

In the bridal department, there have been some very interesting ideas unfolding. Purely by accident, I was put into touch with the right people at the right time, and some VERY EXCITING things are in the works. Funny how life works like that. Sometimes you have to take something out of the equation to allow room for the new. Now, if only I could take care of that dog. Do you think capturing him and shaving him bald would teach the them a lesson? I hesitate to punish the dog for his owner's rudeness. Perhaps I will wait till the warmer weather for that...

1000 Paper Cranes

Thousand Origami Cranes (千羽鶴, Senbazuru) is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true.

 A thousand paper cranes are traditionally given as a wedding gift by the folder, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple. They can also be gifted to a new baby for long life and good luck. Hanging a Senbazuru in one's home is thought to be a powerfully lucky and benevolent charm. They are also used as a matchmaking charm for a Japanese girl when she turns 16 years old. She would make 1000 paper cranes and give them to an admired boy.

The Thousand Origami Cranes has also become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who tried to stave off her death from leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II by making one thousand origami cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed and buried them all with her. (This is only one version of the story. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum states that she did, in fact, complete the 1,000 cranes.) My son's book club finished reading this a couple of months ago and this was the catalyst for his friend Aidan to suggest the idea of making 1000 paper cranes in support of Japan's current crisis situation.

If you are local to Nelson, there are crane folding groups happening until 3:00 today at City Hall, as well as this weekend at the Community Complex, 9-12 Saturday and 10-12 noon Sunday. It would be great if you could bring paper, and if you wish, you can print instructions off on your computer or just show up and help out with what is already going on, I am sure there will be enough to go around! The cranes will be distributed around town for the next while and tiny ones are being made into pins to raise funding for Japan.

We are on our way down now... hope to see you there!

(Much of this post is taken from Wikipedia due to me running out the door! I wanted to make sure the word got out first :) )

Photo credits: Please click on the image to take you to the seller's etsy shop. The others are from the Wikipedia page!

Cartolina's LOVE for You!

Want an easy and fast but crazy fabulous way of saying Happy Valentines to all your amigos and amigas? I'm not kidding, if I had a cell (really, I have tried, we don't get along) I would be all over this app. The artwork on the Cartolina site is ALL stunning and best of all, unique.

Fiona and her husband obviously are riddled with too much talent for two people and so they must find ways to share it with you, and one of the (simplest) ways you can scoop some up is to grab this app TODAY so you too can show your circle of lovelies what good taste you have and be efficient about it too! Also, I think we can toss this into the eco category, and I am pretty strict about that... I hereby declare the Cartogram a most eco way to send a valentine to your Valentine... and to your co-workers, your mailing list of clients, your most brilliant friends and your hairdresser. You can thank me later.

Small Town Frocks

I have a new project. You know, to fill all that free time that I have... stop rolling your eyes. OK, so this isn't totally new. My good friend and I have been tossing this one back and forth for quite some time now, we just needed a bit of a kick in the pants to get started. Mostly because neither one of us are computer gurus and we REALLY were hoping those elves that exist in our heads would materialize to do the WWW stuff for us. Not going to happen. In true Kootenay style, we jumped all over the fun parts (the parts we know and understand) and like the nutbars that we are we decided to do a photo shoot before we had an outlet for the photos... but it turned out so brilliantly that we knew we had to do more.

Me doing technical type stuff...

You see, this lovely lady Lara, (that I refer to regularly,) and I met working in the bridal industry designing gowns over a decade ago. We share a deep understanding and respect for the lifestyle that we live which we see as being the core premise of couture. A wealthy life has nothing to do with "the House of" or a price tag that you need to sell a kidney to achieve, hours clocked on the red carpet or fame beyond the Kardashians. Rather the understanding that style is intimate and personal, authentic quality does not compromise and comfort is not the opposite of luxury, but rather the ultimate example of the same. Coco would tell you the same thing. I do not lie. We also firmly believe that a lighter footprint is entrenched in this way of being and is definitive of the culture we inhabit.

Lara Blackman, designer for Jayne.

Cut to Lara's ridiculously brilliant skill as a dressmaker. Whilst mulling the supreme languidness of her summer on the beach and working out a plan for where to position her future floating home on the lake, she realized that while she found enjoyment in the handwork she was doing, where her heart truly resided was with couture gowns. Having been immersed in the wilderness for the better part of ten years, her take on fashion has evolved into something exquisitely organic and she knew that what she really wanted was to be exploring the idea of gowns created from reloved and natural textiles and constructing them entirely by hand (and foot) using her antique treadle sewing machine. Her goal: to create one fabulous gown every month (12 in all) using only locally available supplies, that are to challenge her both creatively and technically.

In the workroom making
ridiculously fabulous wool wigs.

She also decided to use this opportunity to search out and liberate the massive talent that resides in the Kootenays. Creative people tend to flock together and it was inevitable perhaps that such a stellar group would end up working together. While I have known Lara for nearly fifteen years, it has been a long time since we have collaborated. I am thoroughly enjoying the co-conspirator slash stylist slash PR position. We have enlisted the help of the immensely talented Avrell Fox for make-up, hair and general fabulousness, and amazingly we have found the sweetest raw talent in a budding photographer, Louis Bockner, who has surprised us all with his insane photographic abilities. Of course, Nelson is chock full of stunningly healthy and beautiful people to model and since we don't know anyone adept with Photoshop (not that we are the type to airbrush raw beauty to begin with) we will be showcasing how gorgeous actual beauty is.

I styled the November photo shoot using some of my antique pieces. Some of the silver is c1800s.

And so Small Town Frocks has been born. The idea is to not only create the garment, but to also showcase the evolution, from inspiration to technical information to behind the scenes of photo shoots and window displays. Other talent in and around the area will be spotlighted and we may even find and/or inspire a few new gems along the way, who knows? This project is all about discovery and process (and the attainment of said floating home) and the sheer passion that is what couture is truly about. And so we begin...

Linked to http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

I've been keeping a secret. I know this goes against the rules of blogging, but I have been waiting patiently for things to come together, and although there may be still some pieces missing from the puzzle (as in future website) I am simply inspired to post these little pieces of fluffy loveliness right now. Take a gander at these...

My dear friend Lara, of Three Owls, recently moved back to Nelson after nearly a decade of life in the middle of nowhere. Literally, she used to sew up these puppies (and sheep and turtles...) on a treadle sewing machine in the middle of the woods on a mountain top!

My favourite are the buildings. I have a pretty little pink number in my pillow assortment on my sofa, complete with the sweetest little awnings and a sparkley chandelier seen through the window. I will post a photo. Her handwork has always astounded me! The rest of her managerie is made up of whichever creature strikes her fancy while at her worktable. She uses re-loved fabrics and organic wool fill to be nice to the fancy marble we live on, and works very diligently at the sense of enchantment that she believes should weave its way through our lives.

This girl has always been one of my biggest inspirations and you can learn more about her at her own newly created blog. She is just learning the ropes, both in the blogosphere and in the high tech world of electrical acoutrements (that decade also put her computer access to pretty much nil,) but her personality comes through in her writing and she always has something intelligent to say, so worth the visit.

New Year? Bring it!

OKee Schmokee... It's calendar time!

Yes folks, you know you need one and I just found out that my sweetheart of a pal Marnie has done up a few with her adorable bears plastered all over it. Truth be told, I fell in love with Marnie's first bear before her... this is technically how we met. I saw her bear on a Christmas card she had at a show and immediately wanted him. Fast forward a wee bit to visiting my friend Kelly at her studio and lo and behold, there the bear is again with his lovely mistress Marnie... who was such a doll that I simply fell for her too. My friend said "Ohhhh... you have to watch out for Marnie! One minute she is baking you cookies... and the next... she's baking you cookies!" Well, we haven't connected on the cookie front yet, but 'tis true that she is a veritable ray of sunshine and every time I see her she is inviting me to a new show or shindig and some of them I even get to go to! I happen to know that I am now the proud owner of one of these babies, it's in the mail from Santa apparently. I know exactly where it's going and I can't wait to put it there...



Get one (or three) and check out the brilliantly cool re-engineered duds here!

SIDEBAR...
Hey, did you all know that you can now get a tab for your Facebook account that showcases your etsy site? Sellers and favourites so even if you don't have a shop, you can still post for the benefit of others. I think this just may be the coolest thing Facebook has done. Almost makes up for them plastering our accounts all over the web a few weeks ago. Almost. Anyhoo, try clicking here to get that ap... I can't guarantee anything though, I have never tried to link to one of those pages before. Let me know if it works!

So speaking of Santa (yes we were,) something nice happened to me this Christmas. I finally had my computerless streak broken and am now the proud owner of a new laptop. I might even be able to figure it out before it gets thrown out the window! Wouldn't that be nice. Suffice it to say though, that I will be back to regular posting. I try to stay away, but I know I can't...

Runs with scissors...

Holy Freakin' Cow! The effort one must put out to find a few minutes on a computer in this town! (Cows are holy by the way, it is OK to say that.) My computer has, it seems, fallen into the vast nothingness that is the office of the only Mac guy in town. I sent it by way of sneaky-like-spy through a friend of a friend who he owes a favour to and it STILL has taken weeks and weeks! Not a very big favour obviously. So frustrating!

I keep seeing things during my wanderings (like this...



...and this...)

Christmas tree made from coat hangers and snow of crushed glass...

that make me want to run to the nearest USB cable and download, but it just doesn't work that way in such a town as Nelson. I have even resorted to cleaning my house to keep my mind off blogging! Did I mention the cow? The holy one? Yes, like that.

I will have to continue this the next time I can steal time on a machine. It has taken so long to download these photos and whatnot that I must now depart. Ack! So soon! I have barely written anything and I have so many things to chat about! I hope you are all out there feasting your wallets on craft faires and markets! Indie and handmade are our mantras this season (as should be every season) and I will be bringing you some lovely ideas from my deeply camoflauged Martha streak soon enough! This year I combined a bit of Domino with a dash of Martha and taught myself how to make stained glass gingerbread. YUM! Pictures soon, I promise! Let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed that I get my little metal friend back asap! Till the next time, here's to more rum in your nog!

Spark Tart

On to metal...

One of our local design divas wields a mean blowtorch, taking the current popularity of metalics to a whole new level! Maintenance welder turned furniture fabricator, Kate Tupper sheds a new light (a really freakin' hot one) on the design industry with her indoor/outdoor one of a kind pieces. From a chaise to a wingback, she uses both new and found bits and bolts to create a modern take on classic shapes for a signature piece that is as sculptural as it is functional (although you might look into a lovely cushion or two as well).

Look here at Spark Tart for more...

Like It Was Only Yesterday.

I wish I was doing this right now... 

Today is the first day waking up to the soggy grey ick. How can it be this grey out when it was so spectacularly sunny yesterday? Should we not be allowed by the grace of nature to fall gradually into the darker time of the year? So I am returning us all to last weekend's fall fair in Harrop.

As a city girl turned cosmo-hick I am always saying that I live in the middle of nowhere, but in actual fact, Nelson is quite a happening little town. The REAL middle of nowhere is out past Harrop- real country life. 

I love it. I am all about prize chickens and dressed up zuccini as long as it isn't my responsibility to keep them alive. Don't get me wrong, I adore getting my hands dirty in the garden, I'm just still learning. And bugs freak me out. 

Here are the fruits (and veggies) of somebody else's labour...

Best dressed veggie table...

The card says "I want to be a pumpkin." Any veggie

sporting a hand felted pashmina is a clear winner.

Gorgeous fall blooms.

You can't see them clearly but this plant

 is covered in bees!

Everybody havin' a good time!

Photo credit: Sarah Grieve