30.6.13

isavirtue | on bloglovin'

the time has come! the time has come! it is the dawn on a new era. and that new era does not apparently, involve google reader.

so follow me on bloglovin'!


29.6.13

patience made | kraft colour

i'm so excited to release my latest line of stationery - kraft colour. i've always dabbled in kraft - a few stickers here, a couple journals there - but now that my usual bulk paper supplier has a couple variations of these rustic speckled tones, i'm able to do so much more! i've included a number of pieces below and will be adding more online here later today.










27.6.13

creators | old faithful shop

a few weeks ago, a friend recommended i look at "old faithful shop" online. i did, and was subsequently very impressed with their focus on quirky, solid and simple products. 

the following week, i chanced upon the shop in real life (in vancouver, bc). oh boy, was it incredible! the store is so perfectly curated i just about died on the spot. wood shelving and beams make a lasting impression and nothing is over stocked or crammed into tiny spaces. each product has room to breathe.

yes, you have to use your inagination for some items, but others, like bread shaped cutting boards, lavender laundry soap and canvas totes would make charming gifts (i know i'm marking this twine and scissors duo below as a holiday gift for a book binder friend!)

plus they carry kinfolk, which is perhaps the best magazine of all time, next to frankie.








26.6.13

art | dalila dalleas bouzar

dalila dalleas bouzar's artwork is rooted in illustration, but in the past decade painting has become the medium of choice. the artwork is inspired by photography and cinema, and the over arching themes include violence, and a release from it.




24.6.13

away

oh hello! i am away for a few days...you'll find me in the pacific rim, running through the surf and frolicking etc.

19.6.13

creator | isavirtue on instagram

follow me on instagram. because if i do say so...i've got some great images! i don't post very many pics of myself or my family and friends - so you won't see a whole bunch of photos of people you don't know. i snap shots of things i create and artistic things that i see. it's a feed that'll leave you feeling inspired ;)



art | ingrid van der zalm

every once in awhile i see artwork and i fall head over heels in love for completely inexplicable reasons. the colours, the composition and the shapes all come together to make me feel something. my throat gets a little tight, my mouth a little speechless, and all i can think is "i want it" or "i want to share it."

ingrid van der zalm is one of those artists to have this kind of effect on me. the string-like textures, the symmetry and the way these pieces ate reminiscent of maps just makes my heart beat a little faster.
and the colours! oh the colours!!













18.6.13

musings | juggling

this morning i woke up, and the first thing i did was create a giant to do list for the day (actually the first thing i did was take out my mouthguard...but you get the point). i don't have to go to work today but boy do i have to work!

the other day i was running somewhere to return something to a friend and i thought "boy, i'm glad i remembered to do this otherwise i would really let this person down!" but then it occurred to me how easily i could have forgotten this task. and all of a sudden i had this overwhelming fear. fear that i'm juggling too many balls (tasks, projects, jobs, what-have-you) and that if i slack for just a small moment...i could end up forgetting something important. this fear is slightly crippling at times!

lately i've actually found myself putting things off. not responding to emails as quickly as i should, or avoiding projects that i know need to be done right now. on sunday i'm going away on a mini vacation so i'm going to smarten up before then and use this time to get things done. and then maybe in a couple months when this whole festival is over...i'll learn to take it easy...not take on so much...etc...etc...etc.

17.6.13

snail mail | marriage advice

i don't know if i've mentioned this before but for the past couple months i've been sending little notes with marriage advice to my friend who is getting married on august tenth at one point it occurred to me that with only two years of marriage under my belt...maybe i should get some inout from others as well! so that's what i've been doing.

i also sent a pretty little washi tape raindrop letter to my friend in edmonton. can you believe we've been writing letters to each other for almost twenty years??




15.6.13

happy fathers' day

hi dad,



you're a wonderful papa bear. for the past couple months i've been writing down random memories. you know when someone does something and you get that deja vu feeling because it reminds you of something in your childhood? those are the kinds of things i am referring to. so here are the strange things i apparently associate with you...i don't know why most of them have to do with food.

cutting our baked potatoes into x's on the top and then pinching it open with your fingers. this is my favourite memory of you. it made me think you were so strong and not scared of anything cause those tators were piping hot!

cracking a box of mac caramels down on the table. when i tried to do it, it broke into three awkward pieces. when you did it, it somehow broke into about 20 perfect bite-sized portions.

in the theme of food and breaking things, you always broke a popsicle into two pops by hitting it on the corner of a wall. this was hard for me too, but luckily you were there to take care of it.

driving home from the cottage and stopping at the convenience store in coldwater. you always got tahiti treat (which i don't think they make anymore?) and you never let us drink any. i'm not sure why i didn't just pick tahiti treat too, but it seemed to me like "dad's thing."

on a hot summer's day you would always get a klondike bar. we got popsicles because they were like, forty cents. but you were the dad so you got the two dollar treat and we were always so jealous! when i was older, one time i thought, "i'm an adult now, i can have a klondike bar too!" so i did...but as it turns out, i don't even like them.

at the cottage we would come in from playing and see the adults having a good time and laughing with drinks. i always wanted to a part of that so i came over to you and asked for a drink of your coke (diet pepsi). you said yes and then when i drank it i realized it was rum and coke (pepsi). it was disgusting to me. but you did this to me like twenty times and every time i fell for it!

you always picked me up from work when i was a teenager. you also told me that i stunk but i can't blame you because i worked at a&w.

driving the boat around and around again in circles before finally turning into the bay where our cottage was. if someone asked me "were you scared for your life while your father was driving the boat around and around in circles?", i would say "yes." but then if they asked "really?", i would say "no, not really."

13.6.13

patience made | bridal shower diy projects

well here it is...the post i've been waiting...to post! for the past month i've been planning my friend anne-marie's bridal shower. you can see my paper cut invitations here, which were quite well received. now that the shower has occured, i can share with you all of the lovely details that went into the day. anne-marie's mother did the cooking (so much food!) but i covered baking and decor. i'll include a little tidbit below each image with details about how to make the same item. this is going to be picture heavy!

goody bags:

triangular bipyramids. i saw this idea on mr. printable's blog and although these little guys can be used for absolutely anything, i chose to put little candies inside after stamping the strips of paper. you can close them with glue (or nothing) but i used a bit of washi tape. i also made this necklace later.

these are beige versions of the single stationery sets in my shop.



at the create curate blogger event we were given a bar of saltspring soap. i liked it so much i bought some more bars and cut them into ten pieces each, and then wrapped it in stamped kraft paper.

 i included a little orchid sticker cause they are so pretty!

i used a friend's die cut machine to press out little paper buttons. so cute!

the finished goody bags, all lined up and ready to go! the yellow polka dot bags are from whisker graphics.


decor:

i made these pinwheel accordions by slicing 8.5x11 sheets of papers in various formations and then folded them consistently by half inches. i glued two or three of them together but had to hold it for a while after the final glue because they have a tendency to spring right up! the doilies were the perfect feminine accent.

i looked at these hanging tissue paper pom poms online from various sellers. i knew that i wanted them in the centre of the room but i was pressed for time and if you want a lot of them...the cost adds up! then i realized that i could just make them myself! and boy was it easy. i used this martha stewart tutorial.


i was inspired by this oh happy day birthday surprise idea and thought it would work well as a "wall of well wishes." read the little card to see how it worked!

my dessert table with the bunting i made at create curate.

i made pretty little cupcake  holders. totally pointless but they sure look nice! and of course, the...croquembouche. which doesn't look as good as my inspiration ...but it was still a hit. i used timbits, toothpicks and a styrofoam cone. the ribbons were the perfect finishing touch. oh, you don't know what timbits are? then you mustn't be canadian!

this pink ombre cake was my pride and joy. i mixed the food colouring into the deepest pink level first. that ensured that i could go lighter and lighter with each level. i'm so pleased with how this turned out, though i don't know if it tasted any good! check out this pic of the food dye being mixed in!





above are photos of the beautiful flowers and the final decor in the room. cheers!

12.6.13

creators | create curate

on may 29th, i attended a blogger meet up in victoria. that may not sound very exciting to all those from new york and chicago and california. but here in victoria, we bloggers are not as predominant...or least if we are we haven't yet figured out how to connect.

so in come tan. tan from squirrelly minds attended alt summit earlier this year and came home packed with inspiration and motivation. she and reb from the life nostalgic hand picked victorian bloggers for an evening of "create curate" (best name ever).

there was some tasty treats including these beautiful macarons from bon macaron

we were given goody bags full of amazing tid bits including a gift certificate from gala fabrics, stationery from the regional assembly of text and soap from saltspring soapworks (which inspired one of my bridal shower ideas so i went there for more!)

we all made various forms of party bunting with a selection of materials from the makehouse tickle trunk.






i got to meet some wonderful women, all of whom can be found below: