patience made | $1 writing paper sale!

for a limited time - all writing paper in my stationery shop is 50% off! five packs are only $1! if you've been meaning to get some letter writing done, now is the perfect time to stock up. grab a pack of envelopes and create a whole set!

shop writing paper

art vs. art | rebecca wilson vs. mel robson

both rebecca wilson and mel robson play with the idea of dinner ware in their art. in rebecca's "finest paperware" series, she creates fancy picnic pieces - much classier than the classic paper plates ones finds at the super market. the irony being of course...that they look like china dishes.

mel robson uses ceramics, not paper, to create her stunning pieces. her cutlery as well is reminiscent of the kind one would admire when choosing wedding dishware. though the "imperfections" are the parts that resonate most with me!

which do you prefer and why?

rebecca wilson

mel robson

2012 fall tv premiere schedule

it's the most wonderful tiiiiime of the year! yes, christmas is great (i've already started crafting new stationery for the holidays!). but in my opinion, the most wonderful time of the year is the release of the new fall television schedule. i'm a total gomer, i know. regardless, i've made my schedule of "shows to watch." it's unlikely i'll actually be watching all these shows every week but one must take into account that 60% of the new ones won't make it. i've even made a little box to check once i've recorded the show! click for a printable pdf of this guide.

*note that this is not a comprehensive guide - it's only shows that i'm interested in watching. so for the most part it doesn't include strongly masculine, action, or horror themes (i.e. csi type shows)

what shows are you looking forward to? are they returning favourites or new ones that look promising? let's chat because i just love television!

snail mail | snowfall serigraph

i received some lovely mail pieces this week but will save images of them till next monday. in the meantime this is a piece i sent to my friend shawna. it's actually one of the prints by the artist i work for - ted harrison. i felt so wrong using it for this purpose but there were a couple pieces that were very very damaged and in my mind the options seemed to be...craft with it, or cut it up!

craft with it!

p.s. if you've been meaning to do some letter writing - there's going to be a big sale on writing paper in my shop this weekend!

destroy this journal | update two

i'm doing another update on my journal because i had the opportunity to do a couple things at work today. here's some more info: i'm helping to host the "detroy this journal" competition. you can read my post about it here, and learn more about the rules and prizes here. you can still participate - it's a two month contest and there are prizes just for playing along!!

i've started a channel on youtube for my destroy this journal videos. here's what i did today and the resulting photos are beneath!

destroy this journal | update one

if you'll remember - i'm helping to host the "detroy this journal" competition. you can read my post about it here, and learn more about the rules and prizes here. you can still participate - it's a two month contest and there are prizes just for playing along!!

i'm going to start by saying that this. is. hard. you wouldn't actually think it would be so hard to ruin something (it's always a shorter process than creating isn't it?). to start, i spent weeks making little notes in the book - just here and there, whenever i was frustrated or upset. i vented my thoughts right onto the pages. 

but then, i didn't know what to do! i'm such a perfectionist that i couldn't bear to hurt the book. 

so i nailed it to the wall for awhile while i thought about it. 

then, i ripped a bunch of pages out, printed some notes on them using the computer, and adhered them back in the book (in different spots) using scotch tape. i liked the idea that i tore apart something that was printed and bound...only to print and bind it once more! see...baby steps :)

i wanted to take it one step further that day so i took a deep breath...and tossed the journal at the wall as hard as i could! THWACK!

it ook everything i had not to try and straighten out those pages...

project life | august thirteenth to nineteenth

below are the snaps of my august thirteenth to nineteenth week in my project life binder! to learn more about project life, click here.

this week i helped ted harrison do an interview with a local newspaper - about the closing of his studio and where he is at in his life. they published it pretty much immediately so things have been even more busy at work then they were! i also clipped previous interviews from earlier this summer and slotted them in here. isn't he cute??

last weekend was the first full weekend i've had in awhile (since i was sick) but by the end i was pretty spent! after work on friday and saturday i went to two gatherings. first a surprise party for my friend melissa (that's her at the bottom of the page, and me holding her baby at the top), then a double date dinner with my best friend anne-marie.

lots of pink cause i'm feeling happier and more optimistic!

art | mustafa soydan

these are just beautiful.

i want to tell you more but mustafa soydan's about page simply says: fashion illustrator.
these fashion plates/collages/illustrations/graphic designs are simply stunning. the colours, images, and composition combine to create an energy that practically leaps out at you. enjoy!

musings | anonymity & small talk

a precusor: aha! i totally get it now. i understand why people with full time jobs...or jobs that seem to slip past regular hours do not have time for a blog. work has been so busy lately!


here's something i know about myself: i like to be anonymous. i love to move about the city i live in without running into anyone i know. i like to be who i am, and act based on my mood, not how my mother's friend's daughter's best friend expects me to act during a run in.

i have a very strange fear of small talk. i'm certainly getting better at it, but ever since i was a teen i've never known exactly how to talk about 'nothing' with strangers or acquaintances. i do awkward things where i inadvertently start to back away, say "i'll let you go now" or totally over share personal information. i know that these little conversations should stay upbeat and impersonal but i don't get why. what's the point in talking with someone if you're going to lie? when someone asks me how i am, i like to really ponder for a moment before answering: "i'm doing really great" or "not so well today thanks" or even "i'm having a terrible day but i appreciate you asking."

when i'm in the grocery line up (etc) i just want to be alone with my thoughts and wonder if i brought enough canvas totes. i don't feel like having a conversation with the person behind me just because we sort of know each other.

i think this is coming across as mean, but i don't intend to sound unfriendly! i'm just a natural homebody and so when i'm heading to a social outing i kind of have to psych myself up for it. when i'm not ...then i'm caught off guard and almost never know what to say.

but seriously - what do i say??

here's the one catch - work. when i'm at my place of employment i have absolutely no problem chatting with strangers or aquaintances. maybe because it's part of my job - and has been ever since i started working. and i can tell you exactly why - and it's the same reason that i hate talking to people i run into in the streets: because i feel like i'm holding them up. i'm convinced that they don't want to be in this conversation either. that wherever it was they were headed, it's definitely more important than listening to me natter on about the weather. i don't even want to hear myself talk about the weather! but when i'm at work i'm supposed to be there - and if people want to small talk there, that's cool because i can't leave and they can anytime they want. whew...pressure's off.

snail mail | round letters & paper planes

as i promised - these are my mail art pieces from the last week - some of my favourite ever! for this first piece, i was inspired by something i saw on goodnight little spoon a year ago, as well as this mail from an old friend! magdalyn bought me a bunch of pretty japanese style papers at the paper place in toronto so i thought it only fitting that i make her something out of them! and scroll down for my favourite mail art ever...

i made the following package for my friend holly. it's a little gift from the artist i work for. he used to live in the yukon (for twenty-five years!) so i wanted to emphasize the journey the package would take up to the canadian north. i drew a map of the pacific west coast and traced the path using washi tape planes. cute eh?

i received this little surprise from a fellow blogger named kate from our little sins. there was a beautiful pantone postcard inside this lovely heart envelope. i liked the card so much that i immediately ordered my own set of 100!

this next colourful piece is from lea, in germany. we both participated in a pen pal project on the freckled italian. lea's letter was a bit tardy but better late than never!

last but not least is the second piece of mail i received from the elevated envelope project. you can see more mail art from this project here!