LP Vintage

Travel Journal: St Augustine Florida

2012-01-31T11:41:00.001-05:00

So here’s the cover of my travel journal. My apologies for the glare
in the photographs, Next time, I will find another location to shoot rather than right under the attic skylight.
My travel companions joked about renting a red convertible. The car rental place didn’t have any available and I’m not sure if we would have actually rented one if they had. On Cynthia’s birthday, we came outside and voila! there was a red convertible parked right in front of our house. It was like a wink from the Universe.

Despite discussing how we intended to do Slow Travel days, our list of things to do each day managed to keep growing. We crammed in a lot of sightseeing, eating and shopping.
On Cynthia’s birthday, she talked us into getting an Old-
Timey photograph done (the photograph in the upper left). I chose to get in touch with my inner cowgirl and had fun wearing that cowboy hat and waving that handgun around. Diane and Cynthia hammed it up as saloon girls. The photographer made the shoot so much fun and obviously enjoyed her job.

The house we rented was spacious and nicely decorated with a mix of modern and traditional touches – in the page on the right, above.
I like the shot above of Diane and Cynthia. It was a night shot with the lights giving their heads golden halos . On the right is a wine display from the local grocery store. (No we didn’t buy either the Cheap Red or the Cheap White Wine.)

The pages above feature photographs and postcards from some of the historical houses within walking distance of our rental.
The layouts above highlight receipts and cards from a day of shopping in a pretty area that featured antique stores and boutiques.

Below – pages showing postcards and photographs taken at Flagler College. I printed the photos on my little Pogo printer. Such a handy tool to use when travelling.

A very pretty church below with beautiful blue walls and ceilings.
Ruby Tuesday – yum!

I had a lot of fun laying out the pages above. I could use that stripey tape on everything! The playing cards are from a reproduction set from the 1800’s.

Above – some beach shots; sand, wind and waves!

This is one of my favourite layouts. The colours and the numeric tape from Cavellini just make me happy!

There are many more pages in the journal, but you get the idea – we had a great time!

Recent Journal

2012-01-30T15:55:00.001-05:00

I loved this journal from Little Beach Designs so much that I had to make a similar one for myself. It isn’t that close in design but it has the mood I was after and I am happy with the way it turned out. Here are a couple of shots of the inside pages. I had some old ledger pages
that I used. They are very brittle but I don’t plan to use the book for journaling, I just like to look at it.
I want to make more like this to use up some of the neat vintage papers I have collected on my trips to antique markets. But my next post will be a more modern journal featuring my recent trip to St Augustine, Florida.

A Blessed New Year to All!

2011-12-31T12:43:00.004-05:00

A quick post to wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year
and
sharing a photograph here from my recent trip to
St Augustine, Florida.
xxo

More About My SoulCollage® Cards

2011-11-03T17:35:00.001-05:00

In a recent post, I mentioned that I had started making a deck of SoulCollage® cards. I’m showing some of the cards I’ve made here. The process is easy, fun and fascinating.

I made these cards in an intuitive way without giving thought to what the content might mean. I just went with what pleased me to put together.
The next step is for me to ‘read’ the cards, a process which I haven’t done yet but which I’m looking forward to.

I was even inspired to make a fabric pouch to hold my cards. For me to dig out my sewing machine proves how much I value these cards because as much as I like the idea of sewing, it just isn’t something I enjoy doing.

The only projects I will undertake to sew are things where measuring, cutting, straight stitched lines and perfection don’t matter all that much! If I make a mistake, I just keep going.

This site has a good explanation of what SoulCollage® is, if you would like to learn more. If you already do SoulCollage®, I’d love to hear from you.

A Walk in the Autumn Sunshine

2011-11-01T12:51:00.001-05:00

Well, it was sunny when I started out. Then the dark clouds took over the sky.But I walked and took some photographs regardless because I just didn’t feel like going to the gym and getting on the treadmill.

Instead of walking to the park, I drove. I shot this photograph through the windshield of my car.

This friendly kitty cat greeted me when I parked the car at the park entrance.

I like the way the autumn leafs left on the trees are mirrored in the water.

Herea are some feathery stalks blowing in the breeze.

I’m happy that I decided to skip the gym and walk instead. And I have some photographs to show for it.

Hobbies and travel …

2011-10-24T19:24:00.001-05:00

One of the hobbies from a few years ago that I had put aside is family history research. Recently, a distant cousin came out of the woodwork and filled in a branch of our family tree that was blank. It is very satisfying to connect with new family members.

Another hobby of mine is photography. I’ve been studying up lately on how to make the leap from automatic to manual shooting with my point and shoot camera.

Lately, I’m using heavy plastic bags to hold my files instead of manila folders. I like being able to see what is inside. The font on the files is 1942 Typewriter – love it.

See the heading in the photo that says Florida? That’s a huge hint that I’m making a trip there in November. This trip will be one year to the day that I went on my European trip last year to the German Christmas Markets. More about the trip as it nears!

Time to Catch Up !

2011-10-13T15:57:00.001-05:00

FOR TODAY
Above is a photograph I am sharing. It’s a photograph I shot in Vancouver when I visited there a couple of years ago.

Outside my window...
another beautiful Fall day with streams of golden sunlight and crispy leaves swirling all around.

I am thinking...
of how much I enjoy this season of changing colours and tart Fall apples from the Farmer’s Market.

I am thankful...
for this template from The Simple Woman’s Day Book that is making it easier for me to give you an update on what is going on with me recently.

In the kitchen...
bubbling bowls of homemade chicken rice soup for dinner.

I am wearing...
a rust coloured cotton shirt and jeans.

I am creating.
..SoulCollage cards that I discovered here.

I am going...
to make tons of these cards!

I am wondering..
.where this will lead me.

I am reading...
a book about Japan – the name escapes me.

I am hoping...
to blog on a more regular basis!

I am looking forward to...
making more SoulCollage cards this evening.

I am hearing
.electric drills and hammering as they build a deck on the house next door.

Around the house...
I am revamping books shelves, letting some books go and reshelving titles into groups by subject.

I am pondering...
whether to sign up for an online photography class.

One of my favorite things...you guessed it - SoulCollage cards.

A few plans for the rest of the week: gettting my hair cut and finalizing what I’ll wear to the wedding we’re going to next weekend.

I’ve got some SoulCollage cards to show you soon!

Oh dear …

2011-06-28T10:33:00.001-05:00

How is it possible that I have too much stuff here in my craft room?
Can you see my able assistant flaked out on the chair? if he wasn’t so cute, I’d give him the boot; I could pile a lot of stuff on that chair if it wasn’t occupied :)

I’m not seriously complaining; I do love my stashes and thrilled that I have my own space to let it all hang out. But I do want to tidy it up.

One more view of the chaos: There is good news – I’m working on two different journals! Have a peek:
One is a visual journal of random events in my life and the other is a Yoga journal from a chakra workshop I am in. They are both coming along nicely.

It’s time for my yoga class then back to face the mess!
Cheers!

Chicago, Chicago

2011-06-13T20:26:00.001-05:00

Remember that song? .. I made my first trip to Chicago last weekend with 3 of my girlfriends. We all loved the city! We had heard so much about the views, architecture, great food, building styles, music and parks. Everything lived up to our expectations and there were no disappointments.

We flew with Porter Airlines which flies from Toronto Island. It’s a much smaller airport than Toronto’s main airport. Look at these cute uniforms worn by the airline personnel.

Love the hat and scarf.
Somehow we were the first ones to board the plane! Here we are all looking as pleased as punch!

Here are some of my favourite building shots:

Such a mix of eras and styles. But it all works somehow, I guess that’s good city planning.

We all loved Millenium Park – the theme colour in the nature garden was purple.

The historic hotels on the Magnificient Mile had us oohing and aahing. Here is Ann perched on a seat in an elevator in one of the hotels! Seeing a little couch in an elevator was a first for me.

We missed out on having afternoon tea at The Drake hotel because they were booked up but we’ve got it on our list for next time we visit Chicago.

The Tea Room featured a harp player seated beside a glorious spray of flowers – just beautiful.

Of course, I took hundreds of photos but will try to refrain from posting them all!

Downtown Saturday Night

2011-05-23T19:04:00.001-05:00

We don’t go to downtown Toronto for dinner often but we found ourselves at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto a couple of weekends ago. When we made our way back to the parking lot, the CN Tower rising up directly in front of us with the bright moon competing for attention to the left.

Here’s another view -

We had a fun evening and enjoyed the view – the dinner was good too! Here’s what we had for dessert: Roasted peach melba martini, angel food sponge, vanilla ice cream, raspberry splash – yum!

Another Vintage Clothing Show

2011-04-11T18:20:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, i made my way to the Gadsden’s Vintage Clothing Show which was held in the Wychwood Barnes in Toronto, a new venue for the show.
The above two photographs were taken in Adeline of Whitby’s booth. I always enjoy her oh-so-feminine mix of clothing and lace items.
I can’t resist a show display especially when the shoes are displayed in a vintage suitcase.
These vibrant button bracelets are handmade by Joanna Syrokomla.
Her colour combinations and button assortments are just lovely.
The bracelets can be found through Ian Drummond of Ian Drummond Collection.
Part of the fun of the show, is people watching and admiring how gorgeous the vintage items look when worn.

From my perspective, the show was a success in the new location. It was my first visit to the Wychwood Barns and I hope to return soon for other shows.

Collecting Cat Parts

2011-04-09T07:53:00.001-05:00

This week I came across this photograph from this photographer on Etsy – instant love:

Don’t you just want to pet those fuzzy paws? I found them on The Paris Apartment.

My friend, Cynthia, has a few posts on Cynful Musings about the four kittens in her care.

Here’s another post from Cynthia – you gotta watch the Engineer’s Guide to Cats video she posted – it’s worth it.
We already have two cats, I’m trying to resist adding a third one to the mix!

Cruise Travel Journal

2011-04-08T15:50:00.001-05:00

As promised, I’m showing pages from my recently completed cruise journal. I made daily notes on the ship but didn’t do up the layouts until I got back home. It’s probably more work to do it this way, but it works for me. Next trip though, I’ll probably try a different method.

--- enjoy!

Paper Bag Gift Bags

2011-04-08T15:26:00.001-05:00

In the current issue of Somerset Life (at the top of my list of favourite magazines), I fell in love with the Paper Bag Gift Bags by Roben-Marie Smith.

I just had to make a couple. Instead of using them for gift bags, I made one a perfect size to hold my little Moleskin notebook and the other is big enough to hold class notes 8 1/2 by 11 inches. I love them.

Look at the mess I made in the process -

It’s pretty much tidied up now though – I want to do some rubber stamping next.

- Edited by LP -

I wasn’t happy with the smaller bag so I revamped it and added a button – now I love it!

Love this Cafe with French Pastries

2011-03-29T20:20:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago I went down to Queen Street West to pick up some rubber stamp supplies, I got there before the store opened and had time to catch a coffee at the cafe across the street.

I had to resist all of these yummies!

Look at these lovely macarons in beautiful rainbow shades.

And from the business card below you can see that they are doing a fundraiser for Japan with the macarons.

On another food note that isn’t as pretty as the macarons – here is a picture of some cabbage that I steamed up the other night - doesn’t it look like someone signed it – what, designer cabbage?

Back soon with some Travel Journal pages from our recent cruise.

Vintage Clothing Show

2011-03-29T19:33:00.001-05:00

Every year I attend this show held in Toronto at the C.N.I.B. building and I’m never disappointed with the rich treasures on display. I managed to return this year with one book and a few yards of lace.

Here are a couple of shots from the show:

This display was from Love in the Afternoon. Lots of vintage fashions and accessories. I always love the pretty button and lace cards.
Last Tango always has a nice selection of vintage jewellery, buttons and fashion related treasures. I got a great book from this booth both this year and last.
There were so many lovely things to look at, I wish I could go back again but I’ll have to wait for next year’s show - sigh, sigh.

In the meantime, maybe I’ll make up some button cards of my own.

Caribbean Cruise

2011-02-19T12:14:00.001-05:00

Today, I’m sharing some photographs from the cruise we took just before Valentine’s Day. I think I mentioned that it was our first cruise and we would love to go on another but I don’t think we will become cruise-aholics like some of the people we met up with. But then again, maybe we will. It really is like Summer Camp for adults – better than kids’ camps because you get to choose your activities plus you get to have alcohol – hehe!

There were a number of iguanas on the pier when we disembarked in St Thomas. This is a handsome example of one of them.

Yes, the water was really that colour – don’t you feel warmer just looking at it? The temperature outside today is minus 15 C, so I’m having a long look to warm myself up.

As you can imagine, I took hundred of photos so it’s hard to choose which ones to post. I’ve tried to include ones that show the gorgeous colours of the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

View from one of the old forts in San Juan.

We laugh when we see this photo. A nice gentleman offered to take our picture together; we weren’t expecting that the photo would be so off-centred and that our legs would be cut off. We’re happy to have the photograph though!

The weather throughout the week was perfect. A bit too hot for us to stay in the sun for very long but we were always able to find shade to cool ourselves off.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2011-02-14T22:36:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple of Valentine Cards that I made on board the Caribbean Princess!

The materials and colours in the cards are quite different that what I have in my own stash but I didn’t care; I was just so happy that a crafts class was being offered!

The cruise was a first for Bruce and I.which took us to many ports including St Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, St Lucia and Bridgetown in Barbados. It was a great way to get a taste of the islands.

I have more photographs to share in my next post!

… project 52 …week 3

2011-01-26T09:31:00.001-05:00

Here is what I was doing yesterday. Sherrie’s video this week was so inspiring! I took copies of photographs from my recent trip and followed her directions to paste and paint them onto watercolour paper and ….voila!

I am happy with this – for a non- artist like me, it almost makes me feel quite artsy!

The project information is here and good news - it’s all FREE ---- OOPS – sorry, i got this mixed up – the classes are not free but they are a very good deal – one class a week for 52 weeks for only $30!

A Couple More Journal Pages

2011-01-25T19:33:00.001-05:00

This was my first train trip on my own. I recorded my observations of the ride under the ticket holder on the top of the page.

My little room in Paris that I had all to myself. it was so cozy and warm.

I learned a lot about my scrapbooking style from doing this journal. I have dubbed myself The Slap-Happy Scrapper because I don’t measure anything, preferring to cut or tear, eyeball and glue!

Travel Journal

2011-01-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

It took a couple of weeks but I am happy to say that I finished the travel journal of my trip to the German Christmas Markets (not to mention my visits to Paris, Bruges, Maastricht and Utrecht). Here are some of my pages.

Wishes for a Happy New Year

2011-01-02T13:10:00.002-05:00

This photograph is a happy accident that occurred at one of the
German Christmas Markets. It was a very c-o-l-d night when
I shot this; my hands were frozen and I couldn't stop shuddering.

Sincere wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Shoe Styles

2010-12-30T11:59:00.001-05:00

When I saw these shoes on the Metro in Paris, it got me noticing men’s shoe styles everywhere I went. The photo is a bit blurry, but I had to pretend I was just browsing through the photographs on my camera when I took the shot.

Don’t you find the blue shoelaces fascinating? I was even more mesmerized when the wearer turned and I got a peek at his socks- they were the same shade of electric blue as the laces!

Here’s a very spiffy pair in a shoestore -

I couldn’t see anything wrong with these ones besides the missing laces but they were discarded on a Paris street!!

These are from a Centraal Museum display in Utrecht, NL.

A display of women’s shoes at the Paris Flea Market I attended. Love the giant one.

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been …

2010-12-30T11:34:00.001-05:00

Well, I didn’t go to London, but I did go to The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany! It was a complete surprise when my friend invited me to join her on her trip to visit her sister in Holland. They planned to tour by car into Germany to attend some of the German Christmas Markets.

Encouraged by my family to take advantage of the opportunity, I booked my flight and began to pack my bags. And to research the places I had to visit while based in The Netherlands.

Paris, to which I’ve been longing to return, since my first visit there in 2006, was first on my list. Also, Bruges or Brugge, in Belgium.

I did get to both Paris and Bruges and many other cities as well. Here are some photo highlights of my trip. I still pinch myself when I look at the photographs I took; I just feel so lucky to have taken this trip.

Leuven, Belgium - above

Downtown Maastricht, The Netherlands

Train Station, Liege, Belgium

Paris …. sigh

I have hundreds more photographs, that I will post on Flickr or Picasa. Watch for my next post where I will be showing Men’s Shoes of Paris.

Christmas Greetings

2010-12-24T17:19:00.004-05:00

I shot this photograph in Germany in early

December. It isn't too often I get to see reindeer strolling down the
street!
May your holidays be joyful!

Recent Vintage Finds

2010-10-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

At last week’s Antique Sale, I scored some bag lots of buttons and lace. They were all a very good price but I had to do a fair bit of washing, sorting and picking through before I could reap the rewards of my finds. Here are some photos I took after I got everything cleaned up.

I’m looking forward to using these finds in my fabric collages!

Annual Visit to The Primitive Heart

2010-10-03T19:36:00.001-05:00

On Friday, after leaving Greensville, we made our way to St George to visit The Primitive Heart store for a fix of prim decorating. Here are some shots from our visit.

We had a nice chat with Christine, the shop owner, and, of course, we enjoyed seeing all the Fall goodies on display.

Shoe Love

2010-10-02T13:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my friend Joy and I went to the Lace Ladies Antique Show in Greensville. As we stood in the line to enter the show, I was distracted by the sight of these fascinating shoes worn by a lady in front of me.
Once inside the show, I overheard someone admiring the shoes and asking about the designer. I had to join the conversation and got up the nerve to ask permission to take a photo. The owner of the shoes gladly posed for the following shot. Aren’t they just the cutest? They’re designed by a Canadian, John Fluevog.

Around Town

2010-08-26T12:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I had an errand uptown
(to me, Bloor Street, North of Yonge Street, here in Toronto, is ‘Uptown’),
so I got off the subway at Yonge and St Clair
and walked south to Bloor Street.
At one point, I had a Paris flashback!

Doesn’t that wrought iron gate look like one from the streets of Paris? And the beautiful plants and brightly painted doorways below? Apologies for the slightly blurry photos, they were taken with my cell phone.

When I got to Bloor Street, I made a detour over to Yorkville
and went into the Anthropologie store – nice!

I got this book which I love and a membership card
which they put in the little cloth bag-the card and bag were free.
They are going to send me a catalog every month – love that!

I haven’t even had a chance to look through this book yet but from what a saw, it’s a book that makes your head spin with new ideas on how to use and display your stuff!!

Pretty Homes & Cottages

2010-08-25T20:40:00.001-05:00

I could have taken dozens more photos of cottages but I resisted –
there’s always next year

Storm Clouds

2010-08-25T20:29:00.001-05:00

One morning during our week away,
the forecast called for rain but we weren’t expecting such a dramatic storm front of clouds rolling toward us from over the lake.

In this next one, I like the silhouette of the lighthouse against the deep blues of the clouds. When the storm had passed and all was calm we walked to the small pond for a local music night and I snapped this shot of the pretty swan. I couldn’t resist playing with it in FotoSketcher using the Watercolor option.

There are so many historical houses and cottages in the town of Southampton. I’ll share some photos with you in my next post.

A Week Away

2010-08-25T20:04:00.001-05:00

We rented an apartment unit for a week on Lake Huron in one of our favourite towns. Our unit was on the water with a fantastic view of the beach and lake from our front window and deck. The view faced West so each night we were treated to a glorious sunset. Here are some examples.

Large Button Cuff Bracelet

2010-08-10T12:26:00.001-05:00

I started sewing some black and gold buttons from my stash
onto a wide elastic band and realized I would never wear a
bracelet this wide and flashy. So I’ll be taking it apart and
doing up a narrower one, once I get some thinner elastic.

-- Just wanted to let you know I haven’t been totally idle these past few weeks when I haven’t been posting. -

A Pretty Dragonfly

2010-08-10T12:17:00.001-05:00

Look at this very pretty and very huge dragonfly (I think it’s a
dragonfly, someone please correct me if I’m wrong).

He was resting on my car window one day. I was really grateful he didn’t get inside the car and surprise me while I was
driving!

Couldn’t resist this book

2010-08-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

Each page of this book is pretty to look at.
The patterns included are nicely photographed and
not overly complicated. Each project has
references to the novel or novels that inspired it.

And I don’t know if the price was mislabeled
- less than $16 Canadian at my local Chapters store-
I just ran to the cash and paid.

So what’s a tippet, you’re asking? It’s a
long scarf-type thing worn around the neck.
Even if I never make any projects from this book,
I’m glad I bought it.

Mosaic Monday - Studio Mosaic

2010-06-21T07:39:00.005-05:00

I saw on Bailiwick Studio, this morning, a Studio

Mosaic done with extra photos from the bloggers party on Saturday.

It looked like a fun idea so I did a mosaic too, actually, I did the two that you see above!
You can see more mosaics by visiting Little Red House.

And for a tour of Bailiwick's Studio click here - just gorgeous!

Where Bloggers Create 2010

2010-06-18T18:37:00.001-05:00

The party has begun!

My craft space is in our attic which has a dormer on the right side where you come up the stairs.

You’re greeted by this friendly one-armed sock monkey that I found one day in my local thrift store. I didn’t even notice that she (yes, she’s a girl and her name is Penny) only had one arm when I rescued her from the store. The hanging is a project I had to abandon - when I rug hook, I get tendonitis.

When you get to the top of the steps, and turn to the left, you’ll see one of my bulletin boards – and yes, it is on the floor, partly to cover up the side of the little chest of drawers and partly because there’s no wall to hang it up on.

View looking to your left from the top of the stairs:

You can see that my biggest challenge in this space is the extreme slope of the ceiling. I can’t have any tall bookshelves or storage units.

And the view of my work table.Below are some close-ups of things on the table and views of button and fabric bits in jars.

I like to use glass so I can see what I have or else I forget
what I’ve got and I go buy more!

Here is ~~kitty cat~~ my assistant, wondering when I’m going to stop taking pictures and pay some attention to him.

He’s hoping I’ll come over and pat his tummy.
He never gives up.

Some books and magazines:

Below is the room looking from the right when you come up the stairs.

Below – my little Paris corner -

I hope you enjoyed your little tour of my space and my stashes of stuff! I’ve had fun showing and telling! Thank you for visiting!

I have to whip this place into shape!

2010-06-12T09:45:00.001-05:00

Here is the current state of my attic crafting space:

Next Saturday, My Desert Cottage is hosting Where Bloggers Create and I am committed to showing my space!

I know it’s a week away but I want to have photographs ready to load up so I don’t have the thought of them nagging at me all week.

Plus and I want to get some journaling and collage stuff done and that will mean making a mess of a different kind. I need to sort and scrap the fodder from my trip.

On Monday night I have my first yoga class (I can feel my joints creaking already). On Tuesday, I’m catching up with my journaling friends, Diane and Cynthia, and on Thursday I’m hosting the knitting group which means more tidying up on the first floor. Hopefully, it will be good weather and we can knit out on the deck until dark.

Now you know where I’ll be for the next few hours.

Return to Barcelona and Home

2010-06-04T19:26:00.001-05:00

Some shots from our final night in Barcelona.

A pretty restaurant display where we had dinner.

Window shopping.

A final stroll through La Rambla then back to our

hotel.

Day Trip to Banyuls sur Mer

2010-06-04T18:56:00.006-05:00

Another daytrip from Collioure - a trip to Banyuls sur Mer where

we walked up and down the streets, toured one of the many
wineries and browsed some of the shops. Here is a collage of our day there.

Day Trip to Perpignan

2010-06-04T18:44:00.004-05:00

We took a 4o minute train ride from Collioure to Perpignan to check out the sites there.
From high up in the Palais des Rois de Majorque, we got a good overview of the city with
the snow-covered mountain in the background.
We strolled through the shops in the downtown core and I snapped a few colourful shots before boarding our return train to Collioure.

Collioure, France , the prettiest town

2010-06-04T18:27:00.001-05:00

It was love at first sight with this town where we stayed for our second week.

It had everything – the Mediterranean, art galleries, cafes overlooking the beach, great shops, gelati ice cream in fresh flavours displayed in appetizing heaps, museums, an old church and chateau plus lovely buildings with shutters painted in rainbow hues.

Even the laundry was colourful and pretty.

Wouldn’t you love to rent this place? It was right in the town centre within a 5 minute walk of all the sights and shops.

More Barcelona

2010-06-04T15:12:00.001-05:00

We got on one of the tourist buses and drove

through the city. It’s a great way to get an

overview of the area with commentary.

We hopped off at Parc Guell and toured through the park.

The mosaics were beautiful. Above is the famous salamander

and below is a small section of the long bench which surrounds

a huge area of the park.

Parc Guell also has a small house in the park which Gaudi lived in at one stage. The house has now been converted into a museum and contains interesting furniture also designed by Gaudi.

Here are some photos from the interior and exterior of the house.

From here, we went back downtown to Gaudi’s La Pedrera de Caixa Catalunya building which again housed another apartment. Some beautiful room displays and incredible examples of Art Nouveau style.

I made the mistake of going up onto the roof of the building. I got totally disoriented with the undulating stairways and uneven walls.I stayed there long enough just to snap a couple of photos.

This was a long day and we covered a lot of ground !

Day 2 in Barcelona

2010-06-02T19:34:00.003-05:00

Here is a photo collage from our second busy day.

We covered La Rambla on foot
plus the food market,
a couple of churches
and a number of side streets.
Two friends
had tickets to a four hour opera in the evening.
Those of us who weren't
sure we could survive such a long haul,
opted to stay back
and we did a walking
tour around the Sagrida Familia,
a 15 minute walk from our apartment.

Day One Barcelona

2010-05-31T20:43:00.001-05:00

We were overjoyed to find out that despite internet reports about the Barcelona airport being closed due to volcanic ash, our flight left Toronto on time and landed in Barcelona without a hitch.

I was convinced that I would be going to Toronto’s airport and then returning home because of the closure, so just before leaving my house, I threw some packed items out of my suitcase and put everything into a smaller sized one. That was a mistake I

regretted for the whole trip; it meant I didn’t have my little POGO printer and I couldn’t buy anything bigger than a postcard because of my already crammed suitcase! (However, in the end, I did manage to squeeze in a few purchases.)

The first thing we did after finding our apartment and dropping off our luggage was to go for a walk to get an overview of our neighbourhood. We were happy to find many cafes and shops close by. The Arc de Triomf was one of the first landmarks we saw.

The photo above and below are in the Pg Lluis Companys. My friends and I were amazed by the size and detail of this monument.

We were struck by the metalwork and iron on the buildings everywhere we looked.

After our walk we found an outdoor cafe and had some

refreshments and tapas. We weren’t disappointed with our first taste of tapas. While enjoying them, I got this shot of the pooch at the next table.

We needed milk and yogurt for our apartment so we stopped

at a small Marche where I had to take this photo of the

wine display. Loved the heart shaped label!

Yes, we did purchase a bottle of wine to toast our safe arrival!

And that capped off our first day in Barcelona.

I’m Back!

2010-05-28T19:18:00.001-05:00

I took almost 1,300 photos in two weeks!

These baskets/bags are from a little shop in Banyuls sur Mer,

France, a pretty little town on the Mediterranean.

When I returned, I had almost 1,900 unread

blog posts on my blogroll!

I’m still sorting through my photos trying to decide which ones

to print up. I made written notes each day so I would

remember the details. In a day or two,

I’ll post more photos from beautiful Barcelona and

lovely Collioure, France.

I'm off !!

2010-05-08T06:59:00.005-05:00

Today is the day I leave for Spain! One week in Barcelona

then by train to the Perpignan
area of France for another week. (I didn't take the photo here, I got
it via a friend of Bruce's - thank you).

Hard to imagine that I will be taking this same route
tomorrow. Our plan is to hop on the red tourist
bus first thing to get an overview of the city.

I have packed my journals and journaling tools so I can make up
pages on the spot.That's the plan, we'll see if I get side-tracked from it.
I will definitely make daily notes, otherwise each day blends into
the next and the week becomes a blur.

My four friends and I plan to promote the local economy
of each area we're visiting by drinking our share of vino tinto.
And those two words are the extent of my Spanish vocabulary!

I promise to share photos when I return!

Nostalgic Musings Online Journal Class

2010-04-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

I’ve been a long-time admirer of Hope’s journals so when she launched her online journal classes, I just had to sign up. Here are

my first efforts.

One of the things I love about Hope’s journals is her hand-

lettering. I have a lot of practice to do before I will be happy

with mine.

One of our cat’s, Inky, is getting older and crankier

than ever so I thought I would make him feel good by

honouring him with a spread in my journal.

It’s so interesting how the pages developed a life of their own in the process.

The class guidelines helped me to focus

on what to include but the pages took on a life of their own.

For instance, Hope suggested we use doilies on the page

somewhere, but Inky didn’t want anything to do with doilies

so I had to find the little fish bones instead and he is happy

about that.

The Cutest Shortbread Button Cookies

2010-03-31T11:54:00.001-05:00

You know how I love buttons!

I’m happy to have permission from Nikole, of Forty Sixth at Grace,

to share her tutorial and recipe link
for these adorable

button shortbreads. They would make a cute
addition to an Easter cookie plate!

Anne Boleyn Collage

2010-03-30T09:50:00.001-05:00

Here is another fabric collage
I finished last week.
It’s a gift I gave to a good friend of mine
who is a big fan of The Tudors.

She loved it and was so appreciative!

My Altered Camera Case

2010-03-27T12:10:00.001-05:00

I didn’t like the look or feel
of my camera case,
so I took some

leftover fabric from a recent
project and glued it
plus some grosgrain
ribbon onto the sides
and front of the case. To cover up the
lime-green lining that
showed out around the
zipper at the top, I glued some brown seam binding and …
voila!

Now I’m happy with how
it feels and
it’s so much prettier!

Queen Victoria Collage

2010-03-25T09:33:00.001-05:00

Catching up here and showing you a fabric collage I made recently and gave as a gift. I find it hard to part with items I make and would only consider giving such a gift to a friend who I believe will

appreciate and treasure such an offering.

It’s a bit like writing a story or poem and sharing it with others; You have to trust that the person receiving your creative gift will respect your vulnerability and will have the grace and good manners to acknowledge your efforts even if the article isn’t their ‘thing’.

Vintage Calling Cards

2010-02-20T14:35:00.001-05:00

Almost a year ago, I bought a bundle of vintage calling cards at one of my local antique shows. They aren’t in the greatest condition and some are missing their die-cut decoration, but I still

think they’re lovely to look at.

Remains of the Day Signature 2

2010-02-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

A landmark day – this is my second post of the day and I made a video of my second signature!

A couple of notes. I forgot to turn the TV volume down so you will hear mumblings from the Oprah show in the background.

My pages are not sewn in yet so they move around a bit. I will probably re-arrange them before the sewing in

. Here we go:

Remains of the Day Signature 2 from Lorraine Peltier on Vimeo.

Remains of the Day Signature

2010-02-18T11:43:00.001-05:00

Finally getting around to photographing one of the signatures from my Remains of the Day Journal.

The process of assembling and auditioning the elements, adding, deleting, constantly assessing the balance and flow between the rounds of sewing is a journey in itself – a fun one.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2010-02-14T10:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

White Wednesday

2010-01-27T16:40:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a knitted white cotton sweater at my local thrift store. I thought I would wear it but my daughter informed me that it was shapeless and looked like a guy’s sweater.

So I started unravelling it and rolled it into balls and now I’m knitting it up into yet another scarf.

Today, I photographed it up to post for a White Wednesday contribution. –hosted by Faded Charm

I am so thrilled – a bunch of lovely white cotton for less than $10.00!

Cabinet Card Ladies

2010-01-23T19:50:00.001-05:00

I found these lades at the Sunday Antique Market last week. Sure wish I knew who they were and their history. If you happen to have any insight into their possible stories (real or imagined) please leave a comment.

Here’s a charming couple that I couldn’t resist bringing home. Feel free to download either of these photos and use in your artwork or whatever.

Getting ready to go ….

2010-01-14T13:01:00.001-05:00

My first Remains of the Day journal cover here took on a life of its own and became much more elegant than was my original intent. So for my second one, I went for a primitive, casual style shown here.

I revised the first one a bit from the original because it had a kind of Marie Antoinette era about it and reminded me of France. It’s on the left in the photo below.

Have you figured out that this year I’ll be making a trip to Spain and to France?

Am I excited?

Just a bit ;-) !

My friends and I will be leaving in May for a week in Barcelona followed by a train trip into the south of France. I’m starting now to nail down the details which is almost as much fun as making the trip!

If any of you readers have been to any place that is a must-see near Barcelona or in the southwest area of France, please leave a comment or email me. I would love to hear your suggestions for accommodation, dining, flea markets etc.

And now I really have to begin on the inside pages of the journals!

Remains of the Day Journal Cover

2010-01-05T13:42:00.003-05:00

It's only January 5th and I've already learned some new techniques and finished two items! This is a journal cover I just completed after seeing Pam's Journal in progress here. My cover is much lacier than I was aiming for, partly because I had to keep adding bits to cover the mistakes I was making.

I had my cover wrong side up which meant the bottom edge of my lace was on the top and my inside pocket ended up upside down! But luckily, this guerilla style sewing is very forgiving and you can hide a lot of mishaps by adding things on top. And whenever I'm in doubt about when a project is 'done', my motto is to add some buttons and call it quits.

The Remains of the Day class is here, in case you want to join in on the fun. Mary Ann Moss the class creator is vacationing in Mexico until January 16th so you might have to wait until she returns to join the class.

I made it sound like this journal project was completed but I've only done the cover so far. Now comes the fun of making and assembling the inside pages. Wish me luck!

So happy with this!

2010-01-02T09:58:00.007-05:00

Here is my first creation after joining KC Willis Collage Camp that I posted about a few days ago. I love how it came out, however, after seeing it in this photograph, I'm going to make a couple of adjustments. For a non-artist like me, it feels great to put together something that makes me this happy.

-------------------------
PostScript - January 7
I did a bit of tweaking and am happy with the changes.

KC Willis Fans

2009-12-29T07:59:00.004-05:00

I am a BIG fan of KC Willis. Above is an example of her work.

She has online workshops where she teaches the basics of her techniques and inspires you to new creative heights. www.collagecamp.ning.com.

After Collage Camp there's Mixed Media Mania where you take what you learned at Collage Camp and in these workshops she teaches Altars and Shrines, Altered Books and Works on Paper. Fun stuff. www.mixedmediamania.ning.com.

And for those of you already making art and wanting to know how you take it to the next level and get yourself a regional or national audience, next week starts the super exciting Marketing Mindset. www.marketingmindset.ning.com. Check out the Main Page and take advantage of the Intro Price which will only last until January 8th.

And if video workshops aren't your thing...how about KC Willis Live!. You can take a multi-day class with her in her very sweet Victorian studio house in Longmont, Colorado. Check out the details at www.studioretreats.ning.com.
This is on my List of Things I Must Do.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T16:33:00.005-05:00

I made the little doll dress ornaments. What a lot of fun I had playing with the bits of ribbon, lace, glitter and glue.
Best wishes for Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year!

Mates for Casey's Bathing Beauties

2009-12-17T10:35:00.004-05:00

I've had this photograph for years - came across it in an album of photos from an auction. Just for fun, I couldn't resist scanning it in after seeing Casey's bathing beauties here (scroll down a bit to see the bathing suit pictures). Do you think they're a match?

Imagine

2009-12-10T18:56:00.004-05:00

I'm participating in Lisa's Imagine - Creative Writing Thursdays. After looking at this lovely photo, she said to write whatever came to mind. so here goes:

Look at those curls! They used to be called ringlets and maybe they still are but you don't see them anymore except in old photographs or movies. I can remember when the first curling irons came out, I was about 10 years old and my parents engaged the teenage daughters of a friend to babysit my younger sister and I for the evening.

The teenage girls loved my long, thick hair that had a bit of a natural wave. They saw the potential for wonderful, tumbling ringlets. Their new curling iron took a very long time to heat up but finally it was hot enough to start the process. After much discussion and trial and error about exactly how to hold the iron and how many curls to make and how long to keep the hot iron in my hair so that the ringets would hold, their efforts were successful and I emerged with a few of the coveted curls.

I don't remember how they turned out exactly but I did enjoy being the center of attention with the two girls. However, my mother was less than happy with my new hairdo. Instead of gasping in admiration, she was furious!

Her belief was that if you had some natural curl in your hair, tampering with nature via a hot iron or a permanent (perm was we call them now) would destroy the natural curl and make your hair straight!

There, that's what this picture reminded me of. It was fun to bring a distant memory into the present. Thanks, Lisa for the opportunity.

Let's talk about storage ...

2009-12-10T16:38:00.008-05:00

I know everyone is talking about Christmas and decorating and I'm out of sync but I have to talk about storage.

I keep bringing more vintage finds and craft supplies into my attic crafting space and it's a challenge to find space to store them partly because of the very low slanted walls. I can only fit 2-tiered book shelves and low cupboards along sides of the room.

But have a look at all of these storage boxes, cabinets and suitcases:

And guess what' inside them all?

NOTHING, they're empty! Because I'm afraid I'll forget what is inside them if I fill them up. Labels? That's sounds simple enough but I like to have things out in the open and easier to grab. I don't want to have to move piles of boxes or suitcases to get at my stuff.
... feel free to make suggestions if you think of a solution.

I Did It! My First Journal Page

2009-11-05T16:20:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Teesha Moore and her fabulous videos, I finally started a Journal! Here is my first page - not quite finished and not quite perfect but I'm happy with how it's coming along.

I learned so much in the process of finding images and playing with them on this page. Fear and fun = exciting!

Now that I see the page near completion, I see how much of 'me' is showing up - my shyness for one thing - look how my subject is peeking out from behind those roses.
I can't wait to do some more pages.

A Few Attic Photos

2009-10-20T09:21:00.003-05:00

As promised, I'm sharing a few attic photos. I can't seem to get the entire

space tidied up at the same time so I'm just posting the areas that for the moment aren't
buried in 'stuff'.

Simple Woman's Daybook for October 15th, 2009

2009-10-15T09:56:00.010-05:00

FOR TODAY October 15, 2009

Outside my attic window... the trees swaying in the wind on this chilly Autumn day.

I am thinking ... how lucky I am to have this room to myself!

I am thankful for ... my cozy, warm house.

From the kitchen ... looking forward to homemade squash soup for lunch.

I am wearing... jeans, turtleneck sweater and vest - my cold weather 'uniform'.

I am creating ... a tidy room so I can take some pictures to show you.

I am going ... to my knitting group tonight. We will chat, munch on yummy snacks, have a glass of wine and maybe even do some knitting!

I am reading ... a good book, with romance and intrigue. Sorry,I can't remember the name or author right now.

I am hoping... I can take some photos of my crafting space once it's all tidied up.

I am hearing... my clock ticking which means it's quiet in the house which I love.

Around the house... my daughter is working on her computer and dh is making a cup of tea.

One of my favorite things... is being able to putter with no errands to take me away from home.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I'll go to the Farmer's Market tomorrow to buy some fresh vegetable, fall apples and cut flowers. On the weekend, I want to go to the Antique Market.

The dog photo is the picture I am sharing...it was taken on our summer vacation. This 'blues dog' belonged to a street musician who was performing in a town we visited.

Thank you to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

A Couple of New Button Things and a New Header!

2009-10-09T12:41:00.006-05:00

Look at this cute yard sale find - a little burlap tote that was already covered in buttons - how cute is that.
And here is my latest cross-stitch project - The Button Tree from The Drawn Thread. Fast to stitch and fun to play with the button arrangement for it.

I love my new header - FREE from The Background Fairy - Thank you, Karen!

Behold my Button Bracelets!

2009-07-29T07:32:00.004-05:00

Behold the first button bracelet that I made ! I wear it everyday and get a lot of compliments on it.

Here are two black bracelets that I made next - in the botton one I used black glass beads for the accent; the top bracelet has plastic buttons.

This next one is gorgeous! I didn't make it - my friend, Dianne did. She has a blog set up ready to go and will start posting soon (right, Dianne?). When she does I'll let you know. I can't wait to see what she shares with us! Look at those colours! This one is a lot of fun to wear too.

Vintage Button Bouquets

2009-07-02T08:49:00.006-05:00

I was so inspired by Susan of T-Cozy's recent blog post with her wonderful button bouquets that I just had to get out my stash of buttons and make some bouquets for myself!
It was so much fun to dump out all my little button jars, boxes and suitcases and pick through them all, sorting and trying different combinations.
DH wasn't that impressed by the mess on the dining room table and on the coffee table and sofa so I tidied everything back up as quickly as I could and I'm happy with the results.
I still love the pearlies the best, I think.
And I have to say a few words about photography; I have the greatest respect for Susan's photographs. I totally lost patience with photographing these images. They wouldn't behave and all stay in focus or the image came out way too dark and the button composition was unruly etc. Pretty please, Susan, do a posting re 'Photo Tips'.
Check out Susan's photographs here and enjoy her lovely bouquets and studio.

Why am I ironing my pajamas ??

2009-06-08T10:19:00.004-05:00

Those who know me know that I heat up my iron about three times a year and it's usually to press a white blouse or a tablecloth that is going to be used for a holiday dinner. There was one exception; a couple of months ago, I found myself ironing a pile of vintage handkerchiefs on a snowy winter morning. No idea what struck me but I just had a crazy, er, I mean unusual, urge to iron. Hasn't happened before, or since.

But ironing my pajamas wasn't an urge, it was a decision I made because I know I won't be able to sleep in London, England if I'm wearing wrinkled pj's ! Right, we're off to London for 8 days, 7 night. Can't go across the pond carting wrinkled pj's, that's for sure.

We have a list a mile long of places we 'must see' and do. The list grows every day and every time I speak to anyone who has visited or lived there. The owner of my local bookstore just laughed when I told him we were going for a week. That's when I started to get stressed. But wait, holidays are supposed to be fun and relaxing... I'm going to have to consciously decide that I'll see and do as much as possible in our week AND we'll fit in time for a relaxing teas and a pint in a cozy neighbourhood pub. After all, we can go back another time, right?

Some of my "musts": V&A, Tate Gallery, Harrod's, Cath Kidston's, The Button Queen, Kensington Gardens, Portobello Market for the vintage things etc.

One day, we're taking a bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. I know that day is going to be a whirlwind. Bath is our last stop and the place I am most looking forward to. Have to see the Jane Austen Center!

I just added a Marks and Spencer visit to my list this morning because Alison of Brocante Home mentioned it in her June 8th post. We used to have some 'Sparkies' (here, in Canada our nickname for them was "Marks and Sparks") but, sadly, they've all closed now.

Have you been and what was your fave thing about London? Do you have any "must see's" for me to add, especially where to find vintage items including ephemera?

A visit with 'the girls'

2009-05-12T10:42:00.003-05:00

A photo collage of my visit to The Primitive Heart store in St. George, Ontario last Friday with my friend, Joy. When we arrived, the owner of the store, Christine was outdoors with her 'girls', Henny Penny, Miss Mabel, Florence and Trixie.

Before going into the shop to browse all the goodies, we watched the girls make their way around the yard and I followed them as they clucked their way through the carpet of forget-me-nots. Such a pretty setting!

Bonne Maman

2009-04-10T12:06:00.007-05:00

A few nights ago, I was sorting through magazine clippings to add to my 3-ring-binder when I came across this article from the British Christmas issue of Country Living magazine. (No, don't panic, it is Easter and I'm just mentioning Christmas in passing - Happy Easter to all).

I was mesmerized by the photographs of the different ways readers had used the empty Bonne Maman jars for storage. Here are some of the clipping photographs.
I was wishing I was in England or France so I could enjoy some Bonne Maman preserves and start my own collection of cute jars. We went out for dinner the next day and browsed through the nearby supermarket on our way home. Quelle surprise! There was a display of Bonne Maman jams right before my eyes!
The Fig Jam jumped into my cart and came home with me. Tres delicieux! Now I need to go back and buy more flavours to get my collection going.

... more Kitchen Photos

2009-03-20T14:00:00.003-05:00

Just a couple more photos to share ...

Kitchen - Before & After

2009-03-18T09:03:00.005-05:00

Finally, after 2 or 3 years of dithering (and being encouraged and prodded along by a friend - thanks, Andrew!) we chose a granite countertop to replace the ceramic tile counters that were in the kitchen when we moved in over 20 years ago. The update feels fresh and we like the look - hope you do too!
There are only a couple of AFTER photos because we weren't happy with any of the pictures that we took. It sure makes me appreciate photo-stylists who do magazine layouts! I'll take another batch of photos later this week.

The Charm House - What I Collect

2009-03-16T13:43:00.007-05:00

Today, I'm posting one of my collections to join The Charm House's party. I buy and sell vintage items and have sold a number of thimbles over the years but couldn't bring myself to part with these ones. Look at that cute little one!

Another view of the thimbles for you here.

My Daybook - February 25th

2009-02-25T09:01:00.006-05:00

I am participating in Peggy's Simple Woman's Daybook today.

~For Today~
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Outside My Window...
the sun is shining and the sky is bright blue

I am thinking...
that I don't blog often enough

I am thankful for...
morning coffee with cream

From the kitchen...
Wednesday~Hot Beef Sandwiches with gravy, mashed potatoes and green peas
Thursday~No cooking, I'll be at work all day.

I am wearing...
flannel nightgown and housecoat and wool socks - charming!

I am creating...
"inchies" at Bizzy B stamping class tonight!

I am reading...
That Summer in Sicily - M. de Blasi

I am hoping...
to sift through and let go of surplus kitchen stuff

I am hearing...
the old pendulum clock ticking

Around the house...
are a few loads of laundry to finish and a kitchen floor to mop.

One of my favorite things...
petting my cat - I have two but only one of them lets me pet him. Well, the other one might let me for a minute, but there's a chance he'll decide he's had enough and without warning, he'll bite and scratch.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
Really looking forward to my class tonight!

Here is a picture that I am sharing...

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T16:36:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm very pleased to have finally made something in my new attic space! This top Valentine tag is the one I made for my daughter. She loves the colour pink!

This bottom tag, I made for my son - it was the first one I made and I tried to make it look less pink and girl-y by adding the music notes. I mailed it off to the west coast earlier this week and am hoping it arrived in time for today.

These are some of my first efforts at making tags and I hope my layouts improve as I get more experience. It's new to me to be designing as I go along with no idea how things will turn out. the process is fun even though a bit nerve-wracking!

Can any of you experienced creative readers tell me if it's normal to be afraid of creating a dud?

The Lost Button

2009-01-10T07:36:00.009-05:00

Ten years ago, I cross-stitched and assembled this sewing case. A friend of mine had stitched the same case and she found a beautiful silver-coloured button with a floral shape to finish hers off.

She had an extra floral button so she gave it to me to use on my sewing case.

By the time I stitched and got the case put together, I had forgotten about the special button so I used the one you see in the photograph.

When I showed her the case a few months later, she asked me why I hadn't used the button she gave me.

I've been looking for that button in my stash of stuff ever since she asked me about it over 9 years ago!

A couple of weeks ago, it came to me that I had sewn the button onto the button vest that I had made that you can see in this photograph.
I thought it was hilarious that the button had been right under my eyes all that time and for a few days, I had in the back of my mind that I would share this story with you.

When I got around to photographing the vest I realized that I hadn't used the button on the vest after all!

I'm still trying to figure out if I had a dream that the button was on the vest. I could see it there so clearly in my mind's eye.

But the button is still missing. I'm not giving up, it's got to be here somewhere.

Late-ish Happy New Year!

2009-01-10T07:31:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year - I know it's late-ish but I picked up this really cute New Year's Postcard at The Sunday Market last weekend and just had to share it. Isn't it cute?

Sunrise on the Lake

2008-12-13T10:52:00.004-05:00

I had to photograph the sun rising up over the water this morning. One picture was taken from the porch; I just opened the door and took a shot, the other was through the window in our living room.
A building developer recently bought the property across the street from us and has proposed two different structures (one was a massive single family home as close to the water as possible, the other a seven-townhouse development four-storeys high) that would obliterate our view of the lake but, good news so far, because of opposition from the community and our local elected city councillor, both applications have been withdrawn. Hooray for that. Now it's a waiting game to see what the developer comes up with next.

For now though, a deep breath and a prayer of thanks for the view.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle ... puff, puff, puff

2008-11-25T11:21:00.006-05:00

I'm finally switching all my craft supply stashes - cross-stitch, rughooking, stamping, scrapbooking, dollmaking etc - from the basement to the attic. Three flights of stairs with a bag or basket loaded with pens, papers etc. With each trip, I debate if I really want to do this. I think it will be worth it once it's done, the attic is so much brighter and I'm hoping I'll be more inspired to actually make more things.

You can see the challenge of the attic is that it's very narrow and the sides are not tall enough for tall bookshelves so where am I going to put my books and magazines?

This morning I came across this blog. The blog owner is moving her studio space as well. Hers has a much more romantic flair than mine. Check it out - enjoy!

There, I've had my little tea break and now back to work. More pictures will follow as I get more done.

... coming out of blogging lethargy for Button Week

2008-11-18T09:52:00.008-05:00

I found out from Dawn of The Feathered Nest that it's International Button Week as declared by
Abbie of Button Floozies. Just what I needed to bring me out of my great, long blogging lapse! Dawn wrote an ode to buttons that you'll see on her blog when you visit there.

Some picture of buttons from my stash:

My favourite quote about buttons -

"A button asks little more than to be held, admired and worn close to the heart. "
I first saw this in Victoria Magazine a few years ago.

Friday's Outing with Friends - Afternoon

2008-05-11T09:17:00.016-05:00

As if we hadn't had enough eye candy in the morning, we paid a visit to Christine at The Primitive Heart in St George in the afternoon. Above is a view from inside the shop looking out the burlap covered window. Love how the outline of the star shows through. Hmm, I should have bought one of those stars to put in my window. So many possibilities.

Here's another view - above - inside the shop - we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. Quite a change from the morning with the elegant and mostly white linens, but we love it all! We're just not sure how to marry the two styles in our homes.

And then we went outside again and I had to take some photos the shopowner's home.

Maybe we can talk her into serving lemonade or wine on her back porch, we wanted so badly to take a seat in those comfy chairs.
This little twiggy fence surrounds Christine's side garden.

We had our fill of elegant and primitive all in one day and arrived home worn out but happy in the late afternoon.

Friday's Outing with Friends - Morning

2008-05-11T07:11:00.003-05:00

We were off to the semi-annual Vintage Linen and Lace sale in Greensville. After missing our turnoff and circling back, we made it right on time for the opening of the show. What a feast for the eyes; in every direction, we saw antique lace, buttons, pincushions and other sewing tools,clothing and jewellery. The four of us fanned out in all directions, oohing and ahhing over all the goodies. Isn't this a great display piece - I love her face and that hat. We all admired this plastic handbag with a matching scarf although none of us bought it. After circling around we all met up in the foyer for coffee - I'm the only one who caved in to the baked goods, I just couldn't resist a little butter tart which was as scrumptious as it looked.

Refreshed by our coffee, we went in for a last look around. Not sure if that was a good idea, because we all succumbed to treasures that we had missed or resisted the first time around. I bought a handmade over-the-shoulder hemp purse, Joy got lovely linens for her kitchen and dining room plus a pincushion, Lynne bought a vintage sterling charm bracelet as well as a rhinestone pin and Jacqui got a unique button card and pretty fabric to sew a child's dress.

After leaving the sale, we continued driving to St George where we had lunch at the local pub. We all resisted the Ultimate Fried Cheese appetizer and went with the House Burger with Sweet Potato Fries - yum.

STuCk on BuTtoNs

2008-05-05T14:49:00.004-05:00

Judy, from The Spice Cupboard, kindly informed me that these big-eyed buttons are probably

"underwear" buttons. I was able to find a picture of some in one of my button reference books and a couple were painted with the little faces like the one above that I have in my own collection. Sooo cute!

I had to have the little primitive clock (on the right) that Judy has on her blog - hope she doesn't mind that I had to have one for my blog too.

I went through a huge song and dance in the last couple of weeks about how I 'needed' a new camera and lens with a better macro feature because the camera I have (point and shoot) wasn't good enough. Some of the photos were coming out blurry when I used the macro setting. It turns out that I was probably not getting close enough or, in some cases, not keeping the camera steady enough with not enought light. The above picture was taken with my little Canon Powershot 570 and I'm happy with how close I was able to get - whew, I just saved about $400!

Ahhh, that feels better.

2008-04-23T05:45:00.002-05:00

Bruce and I took a van load of stuff from the garage off to our closest auctioneer yesterday.

It had taken me about 5 days to sort through everything in the garage - oops, I mean my third of the garage where I store stock that I buy and sell at Flea Markets. The other areas of the garage are filled with bicycles and mopeds and garden stuff. No, I didn't take these suitcases to the auction; I have a hard time parting with suitcases. (I can copy and paste this phrase into just about every post "I have a hard time parting with ...")

But it feels good to get at least one area of the garage under control. Next on my list is pricing up some recent finds for the Sunday Market at St Lawrence this weekend.

Buttons from Estate Sale

2008-04-20T13:33:00.003-05:00

I bought a small glass jar of buttons from an Estate Sale on Friday. I debated on buying the jar but these buttons with big eyes were staring out at me and I was afraid no one would buy them and they would be sent to button heaven or something. I think people sometimes paint hair and mouths on these and they look like little dolls. I have a couple of painted ones somewhere, I will have to sift through my stash and see if I can find them. I think these are used when sewing on coat buttons to give stability to the button. They go on on the wrong side of the fabric with the 'real' button on the right side. Does anyone know if this is their correct use? It's in my button books somewhere. And do they have a proper name? I'm calling them Ghosties because they look haunting.

I was glad I bought the jar because when I dumped them out at home I found there were a lot of pearlies mixed in. For some reason, I love mother-of -pearl buttons. I have a very hard time parting with small ones and some of the larger ones too.

And look at these cute ones with the holes that are very close together. I have a soft spot for these ones. There's something so cute about them. Does anyone out there feel this way about buttons or is it just me?

Fun with Finn and Picnik.com

2008-04-12T07:22:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Lisa's recent blog post, I found Picnik and I had fun playing with this picture of Finn which was taken by our daughter, Jacqui.

By the way, Finn has three different names, one favoured by each member of our household. I call him Finn, Bruce calls him Babboo and Jacqui calls him Baby. Actually, come to think of it, our black cat probably has a fourth name for him but I don't think it would be publishable!

Let me know how you like Picnik, I would love to see any picture you create.

Around the House

2008-04-12T07:04:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple more scrabook pages that I made at Scrapblog.com. Pages are very easy to make and more photo editing features and layouts are often being added. Check it out if you haven't already tried it.

Here's another page - very cheery!

I found another free online photo editing site, and I'm off to try it out now - will let you know how I like it.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

2008-03-23T08:47:00.003-05:00

This is apparently our earliest Easter in the last 100 years. We still have huge mounds of snow on our streets and in our back yard! But there are many signs that Spring is nigh; the sun is shining brightly and melting more snow every day, the birds are singing around the bird feeder on our deck. Once the snow is gone, I'm sure we'll see some flowers peeping up through the earth -- maybe I'm rushing things but it was a very long winter. It is still March after all and I just heard that more snow is expected this week. Maybe the storm will miss us.

Enjoy your Easter!

Organizing Recipes into Binders

2008-02-16T08:43:00.005-05:00

I was inspired by a recent post by Manuela at The Feathered Nest about making up recipe binders. And since I couldn't go out because I had a very bad head cold, I decided to drag out the recipes that I had copied and torn out of magazines over the past few years. I didn't have any pretty wallpaper like Manuela's so I decided to scan in some of the old handwritten recipes I had collected to insert into the binder covers. Here is an example of one of them. I even found a recipe that my mother had written out before she had her stroke and loss the use of her right arm. That one is a keeper for sure.

For the inside of the binder, I pretty much organized the recipes in the same way as Manuela. I found some sites that cater to files and organization in case some of you want to order pretty organizers. See Jane Work has many types of files and folders in lots of pretty patterns and styles. At Personal Recipe Cards you can order index cards for recipes and other types of cards for keeping track of all kinds of information. I would love to see pictures of your recipe binders and hear how you file your recipes!

Just in time for Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T16:00:00.004-05:00

Perfect timing, my packet of winnings came arrived today from The Paris Apartment.
Thank you again, Claudia!

Guess who loves it all besides me?

--- I wasn't happy with my pictures of my recipe binders. Going to reshoot and try again tomorrow.

... more snow

2008-02-12T16:11:00.000-05:00

I meant to add some photos of my recently organized recipe binders complete with scanned covers from my old recipe collection but my batteries needed charging so I have to wait to take the pictures. In the meantime, here's our snowy yard. And as I write this, the wind is raging and more snow is swirling down.

Not another collection ...

2008-02-05T08:13:00.000-05:00

How does this happen? First I bought a little blank book at Pottery Barn to carry in my purse for when I need to make a little note or jot down a phone number - never mind that I have a Palm digital thing to make notes - then I saw another notebook that I liked at Winners. I love what that one says on the cover 'She had not yet decided whether to use her power for good or evil'. It was a toss up between one that said 'Somebody was going to have to set a bad example' and this one; they both just made me smile. Anyway, that made two blank booklets, then I found the third, the nice blue one at a newsstand where I was looking to add to my magazine collection ...
The pretty journal in the background is just lovely - too nice to write in and I probably will just keep it to look at and sigh periodically. So now I have a collection of notebooks. Is this how collections happen with you too? ... Next time, maybe I'll show you my pens. Not that they're special, it's just that there are bunches of them in every room in our house.

I won, I won!!

2008-01-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to announce that I won the giveaway sponsored by The Paris Apartment. I've been reading Claudia's blog for a few months now and enjoy her style immensely. Here's a picture of the goodies I won. I'm thrilled and will be wearing a big smile today when I do my errands and grocery shopping.

Getting there ...

2008-01-19T18:41:00.001-05:00

I've been doing some sorting and organizing every day and it's looking and feeling a lot better in here. (After photo above, Before photo is below). I moved the toys that were adding too much clutter and distraction to the other shelf where the magazines were in my previous post. They look better there - see below.

Most of these toys (below) belonged to my husband when he was a child. A couple of newer items have been added in.

I found two Ikea shelves with the small drawers by the curbside one day so I've been filling the drawers with some of my ribbons, vintage seam binding and other small items.

Big Mess! Help!

2008-01-09T10:10:00.001-05:00

This is my basement 'craftroom/studio'. Well, it would be those things if I ever made anything! I just seem to accumulate the stuff and have intentions on simmer all the time but nothing much gets accomplished except more stuff piles up. So I went down to take stock of what needs to be done and got so discouraged because I don't know where to start and there doesn't seem to be enough room to sort things out so I started looking through magazines which is therapeutic - really it is.
I can usually get a grip on sorting and organizing but this time I'm flummoxed - I think that's the word I want, it isn't in my dictionary. Any ideas on how to sort and tidy (besides throwing the stuff out, that's not gonna happen :-)