This week ...

These Library Cards are such a cute idea! Make yours here. So we took Babycakes, Finney (short for officially Christened name, Finnigan), to the vet yesterday to be neutered and picked him up in the evening. We were prepared for a lethargic, sore and disoriented cat. Wrong! He came home, devoured some food without chewing, drank lots of water then wanted to play - and jump - and run - and fetch! He was making us tired! We were beginning to think the Vet had forgotten to perform the surgery. In the end (no pun intended!) we were relieved and happy that he was so perky and not holding any grudges.

I did take some photos of the snow on our back deck. Fresh, fluffy snow is just so pretty. And I had some fun playing with the picture in my photo editor.

Ephemera Too!

Aren't these the prettiest lamps?
Barbara Griffin, shop owner





I made it down to the Sunday Market on Sunday and snapped some photos to share with you. I mentioned in my last post that I get to mind the shop for Barbara sometime. Between sales, I get to putter around and just feast my eyes on all the goodies. You can get into serious trouble in this store, no matter what you collect. Look at the stacks of textiles and that's only some of it. Barbara's store is called Ephemera Too and is located in the North Building of the St Lawrence Market at the corner of Front Street and Jarvis in Toronto. She shares the store space with Kelly Stapleton who also has an amazing selection of kitchen collectibles, clothing, handbags etc. I'll post some pictures of her shop in a few days. In the meantime, here's the link to Barbara's eBay store.

Meet Barbara and Rosie

My friend, Barbara, sent me a picture of her cat, Rosie, and I had to share it with you. Rosie lives with Barbara amidst vintage fabrics and other amazing goodies. Before Barbara takes her quilts, chenilles, aprons, bark cloth into her shop, she launders and irons everything using an old-fashioned iron; she wears out an iron a year! Her shop is overflowing with eye candy to delight every romantic soul. I get to mind her shop occasionally when she is doing other antique shows and I always have a fun day. I'm going down to her shop this weekend to take some pictures that I'll share with you on Monday. In the meantime, you can see some of her current eBay offerings here.

Happy Valentine's Day

Finally, I got some cards made up - hooray for me! My craft room is proving to be quite functional after all that reorganizing. This vintage cupid image is one of my favourites.
Since my trip to Paris last year, I can't get enough of the Eiffel, and here it is reflected in my cards. The vintage French stamps depict a graceful woman. They may be from the '50's and were issued in a number of colours and price points.
Back to my crafting desk to play with more stamps and papers! Enjoy your day!

Babycakes

Here he is - our new kitten - so soft and cute.

Today we're trying out the name Babycakes. Yesterday, we tried Simba. I liked it but my daughter didn't. My husband likes the name Simon but that doesn't do it for me.

Babycakes is a bit camera shy and sleepy here.
He wouldn't keep his eyes open.

My hearts and flowers ... and a surprise to follow.

I'm getting ready for Valentine's Day and decided to bring my collection of stone hearts inside. I used to have more than 3 but maybe they've migrated further into the garden and are under the snow.

I picked up a lovely orchid this week too and am enjoying it very much. My neighbour laughs at my un-green thumb so I sure hope I can keep this unsuspecting orchid alive for a long while.

I have one more treasure to show you but I have to get the photograph from my daughter's computer - will post it later. Here's a hint for now - it has 4 paws and a fluffy tail. In the meantime, please enjoy the orchids.

Some pics from my Collections

I love these metal souvenir pincushions. They satisfy my desire for shoes and for old sewing items. I also like to collect things made of metal because there's less chance that I'll break them. I bought a bunch of glass slippers once at an auction but didn't keep them. I just didn't get the same pleasure from looking at them.

And here are some of my thimbles. I'm so happy to have figured out the macro setting on my camera. Now, I can get in close with these little items.

And here are some of my lacey bits that I've collected over the past few years. I buy and sell
vintage items at shows and fairs but I just can't part with some of these pretty pieces.

Show me your craft rooms ...

I have a new respect for all of you bloggers who take and upload those gorgeous pictures of your homes and creative projects! I'm showing some of mine here but am not that happy with how they look. Anyone with helpful picture taking tips, please share them with me.

I finally carved out a little crafting niche for myself in our very small basement family room and the first picture shows my sewing machine drawers full of assorted supplies. I love using old containers in new ways.

Here's a picture of my bulletin board. The things I love about this board are:
1. I got it free from my neighbour's trash.
2. It's an extra large size so I can load it up with lots of stuff.
Can you see the magazine clipping of that craft room? While that was my inspiration to get going on my own work area although the reality looks nothing like that one.

Just in case you're wondering why a good old Canadian has a U.S. flag pinned up, it's because I'm in love with the U.S. flag! I promise to put up a Canadian flag soon but I find ours a bit of a bore. But that doesn't mean I don't love my country!

Do you have pics of your craft areas/studios? Please
post a link, I would love to see them. I'll post more of mine as it progresses.