New work in Bronze!

 

A little while back I started thinking about new ways to work when Chickpea arrives, since I won't be taking an official mat leave like last time.  And since I remember pretty clearly the ZERO extra time I had I wanted to think of ways to work that were a little less labor intensive.

I LOVED casting when we did it at school.  

Like, a lot.  

And it's something that I can do I am hoping once we've settled into New Baby Life a little bit that won't kill me or anyone around me.

I carved up these waxes and sent them off to be cast in Vancouver.  Unfortunately there isn't anyone doing commercial casting on the island (at least that I could find) so shipping them to the mainland is my current option.

But the designs are all hand carved by me,  and all of the clean up is done by me, AND some lovely person is casting them by hand.

I am really excited to be able to offer BRONZE as a new material as well.

The colour is gorgeous, these rings are nice and weighty, and they feel good on the hand.

I have two more ring samples on my bench to clean up, probably after the holidays, and some earrings too.

But I am excited, and I hope you are too!

I will post some into the shops in the new year, and get this new series rolling out to stores as well.

xo

Getting ready for Christmas around here, and a DIY

 

We were planning on getting a living tree for Christmas this year, so that we could keep it for a couple of years, and then plant it.

But it turns out that the smallest ones we looked at were $50 and then my mom offered us their old tree for FREE it kind of just worked out that we snagged the free tree.

Their old tree is an artificial 7.5 foot some kind of coniferous looking beast, which in their place totally works, but in our apartment would loom.  Menacingly.

So I just set up the top half and it worked great!

We are working on the No Touching of the ornaments with Sonny.

He really wants to touch them all.  All the time.

We're working on it.

And something else, totally unrelated to the holidays, is this bed railing that I built for his toddler bed.

He's got a convertable crib/bed from ikea and about 4 months ago I think, we decided it was time for him to loose the railing and be able to climb out on his own.

I think it was the getting up at 5 am yelling at us to let him out so he could play that got us thinking about it.

But we couldn't order the ikea railing, that was a beautiful $15 whole dollars online due to warehouse something or others, and I wasn't in a position to drive over for an item less than $20.

That would be crazy.

So I checked out a couple DIYs that I saw on pinterest and made this!

 The felt furniture pads keep the railing from damaging the bedframe, and also help snug the brackets up to make it more secure.

 It's great because it just slides right on, and he can climb out on his own in the morning.

And then in the morning we just slide it under his bed.

We tried the pool noodle wrapped in a towel for a while, but it took up a lot of his sleeping real estate, so this is a better option for him.  

Plus he's a roller.

Before we sorted this out he rolled out of bed a few times.  Never woke up, but would have FLIPPED OUT if he woke up on the floor.

Plus the first night he rolled out, I am not even sure how he managed it, but he got himself rolled out of the bed, turned around and pressed up against the heater.

In, like, an hour.

No roll outs with this baby!

I got everything from the Home Depot, spent maybe $30, and once my father in law helped me cut the corners off the board it took a whopping 20 minutes to put together.

Now I have plans to build shelves for the bathroom!

Heck yeah I do!

Chickpeas and big bothers

This Turkey is going to be a big brother.
!!!
We're halfway to Kiddo number two, we had our ultrasound today and we got to see Chickpea for the first time, and their scan profiles look eerily similar.

Which is pretty fantastic since This Guy is a dream.

We're not going to find out the gender this time.  We've been calling 'it' Chickpea since the stage that they were the size of one and it's pretty much stuck.  Our US tech this afternoon knows 100% what it is, and I was going to let her report it and ask our midwives to not tell us, but I know that Geoff is keen to experience the big birth reveal and on impulse just before we left, I went back and asked her to not report it.  So she's the only one who will know until the Spring when Lil Chickpea makes their debut.

It's kind of killing me, because I want to know SO BAD, and I have a feeling, but I am not spilling the beans and I am going to wait it out like a Mature Adult.

Ugh!

I'll start posting Bump Pictures once I start taking them.  I have one already, but it's terrible!
Actually I might just post all terrible pics as a Thing I Do.

It's my style!
xox

Their due dates are two days apart.  My fingers are crossed that they don't have the same birthday when all is said and done.

This might need to happen soon

If you follow me on Pinterest, you will have noticed that lately I am pinning a LOT of pictures of short hair.

Like, a lot a lot.

I have a history of getting a big chop every ten years or so, and it's been longer than that now, that I have had long hair.

I really like my hair long, but all through the Fall and Winter I wear scarves and high collars, and let me tell you, the rat's nest that develops after about an hour if I leave my hair down is pretty impressive.  So much so that I am actually ripping hair out in order to comb it through.

This year, this is really getting to me.
SO!
I am thinking about short hair more and more.
Like daily.

These are my favorite shots of short hair right now.
The Pixie cuts are probably shorter than I will go, at least at first, but I LOVE them!
(Plus ten years ago I didn't wear glasses everyday AND I had free time in the mornings to actually DO stuff to it.  Now, not so much)

*All of these pictures can be found in my Short Hair board, with accompanying links*

 I think I'm getting closer to being ready.
There is a lot going on over in these here parts right now though so I need to be REALLY sure before I make any drastic changes, in order to avoid the teenager style freak out if if am not totally sure.
Because that's a possibility.  Haircuts have made me cry before.
Yes, as an adult.

Maybe in the Spring?  Get through the holidays and Geoff's degree first?

Christmas WishList

I am going to preface this post by just saying that I am doing this because it's FUN.

This is in no way a "Hey you need to buy me this stuff" post.

Just so we're clear.

Ahem, Dear Santa,

I have been a good Girl this year, really I have!  You should keep an eye on my Kid too, he's pretty spectacular.

But let's just focus on me for a moment, shall we?

This is my wishlist, in no particular order...

Exhibit A:
Forlife Coffee Press

I will be using this gorgeous creature to make tea, likely several times a day, since we are all Tea People around here.  I have a couple Forlife products already and they are all in high rotation.  Their tea strainers are incredibly fine and hardy and this green colour is kind of killing me right now. I would also be super stoked with a White one.
(We had a glass Bodum a few years ago that we had taken up to the lake, and we accidentally smashed it into a million tiny pieces one Spring morning trying to surprise a mouse out of the kitchen.  Which is Impossible by the way.  You can't surprise a mouse anywhere.  Those buggers are fast.)

Exhibit B:
Bario Neal "Val" Ring

I have Pinned this ring and stared at it for ages.
It's totally affordable, completely beautiful and I just love it.
I am trying to decide if I would wear it on my ring finger (size 5.5) or on my middle finger (size 6) but I am torn.  Perhaps Santa, I will leave that in your hands.

Exhibit C:
"Made By Hand" by Lena Corwin

I have been a fan of Lena Corwin for some time now, and I am a HUGE advocate for making things with your own hands.  I am excited to check out this book.

Exhibit D:
Leuchtturm1917 "dotted" Notebooks

I discovered these incredible Notebooks a few years ago and I can't use anything else for a sketchbook EVER AGAIN.  I'm not even joking, I've tried.  They are available in a variety of colours, of which you pick Santa I do not care, but the thing that I DO care about, that I really LOVE about these notebooks is that there are several different ways in which the pages are lined.  And it's the DOTTED pages that are hard to find around here and they are may absolute favorite.
(You can find them at Bolen Books here in town, although they haven't had them while renovating so I am really hoping that they get some new ones in before Christmas.)
This is a gift that I would LITERALLY use every single day.

Exhibit E:
Etsy Gift card.
I feel like this is pretty self explanatory here Santa. 
Mama wants to shop Etsy.

You can just email it to me!

Exhibit F:
Cash for Tattoos.
Yep, that's what I said.  I can't justify spending any money myself on new ink right now, but the hankering is starting to settle in and I am itching for new ink!  I want to finish my back and I have a couple of sweet sentimental tattoos that I would like to get in the next year or so, so I am starting the Fund!

Exhibit G:
Dremel Hand Tool

Yeah, Mama loves tools.
I have been getting back into wax carving for Casting lately and one of these sexy little numbers would will round out my kit nicely.  Then I wouldn't have to be at my bench to work, I could set myself up at the kitchen table and work after Sonny goes to bed.  This is nice for me, because I am REALLY digging setting up the ipad with old Bones episodes on Netflix and working away.  I'll carve a ring while "watching" up to three episodes in a row!

Such good fun!
Any hardware store should have one of these Santa, if the Elves still have a hard time with electronics.*

Exhibit H:
Cordless Hand Drill

Yep, another tool.  I have been mooching Papere's rad Red drill anytime I have a project in the house and I think that it might be time for me to have one of my own.  I don't know what the Make of his is, it's red, I think there is a "V" in the name somewhere... this is super helpful I know.  But you have magical powers so I'm going to let you figure this out.
It comes in it's own own red case, has two rechargable battery packs and a kit of different bits.
Oh it's just a dream.

Exhibit I:
A weekend off.
I have a toddler and a husband who is kicking his Honour's Dregree's Ass and I want to get the F out of Dodge for a night or two and know that they are both being taken care of and fed and whatnot, and I don't want to ask Geoff to set aside any school time so I can do it.
So if you can send an elf or two my way, and maybe see fit to dropping a little spending money into the pot (I would consider a trip to the mainland with a girlfriend as TOTALLY acceptable) I would make sure that I enjoyed every second of it.
For real.

Exhibit J:
This one is a bit tricky because it's kind of vague.
But I'll just put the word out and let you ponder it.

I have some incredibly talented friends, and I covet their wares.
Toy & Ming makes incredible clothes, her current line has a denim dress that is KILLING me and I covet so bad.
BlackbirdStudio makes insanely beautiful ceramics and I always want more of her mugs.
(I will admit that I have a bit of a Mug Problem, but now is not the time to reign that in.)
Floating Gold Iceberg is a consistent winner.
BonspielCreation makes these leather mittens that I don't need but really WANT.  Perfect for long walks with the stroller!

So, I don't know, can you just come and shop the Holiday Markets with me?  I can point everything out and try stuff on and you can see just how rad it all is.
(there is a list of them on the left)

I am going to pause here because I feel like I am getting a bit gluttonous.
But there you have it Santa, a list of loves from little ol' me.



*When we were kids, whenever we asked Mom and Dad to pass on our lists to Santa, if there was a Video game or any electronic toy on the list the story was that Elves Don't Do Electronics.
We have never questioned this logic.

CRAFT CARTEL

Tomorrow night, my dear friends, is the first night of what will become a fantastic annual holiday event!
The vendor list is incredible, the venue is going to be GORGEOUS, and there will be music and food and I intend to get ridiculous by the end of Friday night.

As only I can.
Which means eating far too many chocolate covered almonds and laughing loudly and inappropriately  at everyone's jokes.

Also, as if it alone isn't enough, every vendor has contributed handmade items for SWAG BAGS, and the first 50 people through the door each day gets one!

I've been working my little fingers to the bone building inventory for this show, and I have completely revamped my booth set up so if nothing else, come and take a look at the new display!

It's going to be good people.

Custom Wave Wedding Bands

This summer, some lovely friends of ours approached me to make their wedding bands.  

They had an idea of what they wanted; three colours of gold, a representation of fluidity and water, and something that would be comfortable to wear everyday.

We sat down together and these wave rings are the result.

 These pictures aren't The Best I'll grant you.  But due to a back ordered white gold I was finishing these the weekend before they got married!
So quick shots were taken before I met them to deliver the goods, and all was well.

So Much, More than anything, Forever

This kid.  Oh my god this kid.
This kid who is vivacious, charming, sensitive and hilarious.

He kills me every day with some look or phrase or sweet snuggle and everyday I fall in love.

All over again.  Because holy shit, do I love this kid.

I would eat him alive if I could.
I. Would. Eat. Him. Alive!

He's starting to lose his sweet baby smell, so that there are times now when I snatch him up and squeeze him and breath him in, I get something new and frankly sometimes pretty gross (he has started refusing to let us wash his hair. It's become a Thing.)  Plus he's a little kid and is often getting into things.

Case in point; the other day we were at the playground and he got very excited when he found some poop.
"DAD!  Check it OUT!"

"What is it Buddy?"

"Just some dog poop"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!!"  (this was both of us hollering this one)

"Just a little touch!" and he does, just one finger, into the poop (UGH!) and off he races, screaming his laughter behind him while we chase him through the grass.

But it's still lingers, that sweet baby smell (NOT the poop thank goodness) so that this afternoon I let him climb up on my lap when I was working on the computer and we opened up youtube so he would sit still watching Buzz Lightyear or Spiderman or whatever the heck it was, and I could squeeze him and breath it all in.

(photo by the incomparable Stephanie Rae)

Star blossoms in real life

It's interesting the things that I notice now because Sonny needs to look at EVERYTHING with incredible curiosity and intensity.

He noticed these little blossoms on our front path and I am sure I never would have if he didn't ask me what they were.

And then I would have missed them! 

Star blossoms?  Seriously Ms. Nature?

You've got some style Missy!

Stellar rings

I am going to start making these again.
I love mine SO MUCH and I have spoken to a few people lately who have purchased them from me over the years and they love theirs too.  So it only seems fair.

Photo by the lovely and talented Amanda LaLiberte.

Coming back after the last post.

Coming back to this space after writing the last post was much harder than I anticipated it would be.

And I thought it would be hard.

But every time I came here, and saw the photos of him, I couldn't do it.

There was something too final and too sad about it and I flinched every time.  So I said "tomorrow", and then I said it again.

I said it a lot actually.

But in all that time, I was working, spending time working with my hands and not letting my head get too involved and it was something that I needed to do I think.

To bring me back to a place where I understood that the Goodbyes had been said, but that he was never really going to leave us.  

So I took some pictures, and made more with my hands and felt a change coming that I think has been in the air for a while.

Nothing too drastic, just a shift in perspective and clearer understanding of where I want to take this business of mine, and of taking steps to learn how to do this better.
Because if you have been reading this ridiculous blog for very long, you will have noticed that I am a bit of a wanderer when it comes to content.
I like things that are silly.

I like things that are light.  And easy.

But this summer has not been easy.  And it has not been light.  And it has led me to a place where I am finally seeing this Thing that I Do, this handmade life I am making for myself and my family, in a new way.

A way that, I hope, will create a path to living the life that I want.
Not just the life I am given.

I expect that I will come back to silly.  Probably sooner than I would like to think I will.
(Let's be honest, I am still ME after all)

But I am clearing some clutter from this space.  From my life too.
(you should see my closet, I am paring down in all nooks and crannies.)

I read something that stuck with me recently.

Identify the Essential.  Eliminate the rest.
(I found it while browsing here)

I have taken it to heart.  And I am working very hard to make the life that I want.  For myself and my family.

If I haven't already lost you, I hope that you consider sticking around and seeing what we get up to.
xox

Farewell to an old friend

We said goodbye to Norman a month ago.

It's been so hard, adjusting to this new normal, without him.

But it was time.  He had been declining for a while and we knew it was coming.

But it's still hard to let go of him.

 

Rest easy old friend.

There is no one else like you.

Toddler Tuesday :: LawnMower OutsideBackyard Right Now

His demands are simple.
Lawn Mower, Outside BackYard, Right Now.

He will do this every. single. day. if we let him.

And why not I say.

Snail Party

Yeah, we're posting about snails right now.

We get loads of them out after a rain and our path becomes a gauntlet of Very Careful Steps.

Or a crunchy one if we're not paying attention. 
(upsetting for me, but I know that the gardener is quite pleased to have less of them to deal with)

My Sister's Engagment Ring

Sterling silver band.
Yellow gold setting.
Insanely beautiful grey diamond.
Lot's of love.

xox