This last couple of weeks has been quite hectic. I've gone through the frenzy of organizing my studio - which, I might add, took way toooooo long. I must say though that it is really nice to have it organized. I still have more to do but I can actually find things fairly easy now and can put them back where they belong as well, so that's a good thing. I guess that means that I've finally found some kind of system that actually makes sense to me!?! One can only hope!

I have all kinds of work to do for the store as well. The gentleman I work with has branched out into corporate gift packs so he's asked me to design some occasion specific cards for him. This is a wonderful opportunity for me so I really hope I can come up with something suitable for him and his clients.

I also managed to finish my chunky book pages for the 5th Anniversary Chunky book project on CC Swaps. I sent it off last Thursday via Purolater. It cost me an absolute fortune so I sure hope it gets there before the deadline otherwise I will be choked. The gal at the post office said 2 business day delivery - I'll believe that when I see it ! I've been holding my breath ever since it left.

I put a lot of work into my page and learned a very valuable lesson. I should have put more thought into the initial design. I'm sure I ended up doing my page the hard way - way more time and effort spent than was necessary. Unfortunately, I tend to have to do things the hard way first and then I learn how to do it better and more efficiently. Having said that, I'm very pleased with the finished product - I only hope it compares favourably with the other pages.

Artwise very little has been accomplished. In order to force myself to do more and have a little bit more fun, I signed up for several swaps. I'm participating in the 5th Anniversary Chunky book over on CC Swaps so that's a short deadline. I joined some ATC and card swaps and I'm also trying to find time to do a weekly 30 Minute Collage. Add to that the need to come up with stock and samples for the store, so it's a bit of a challenge. Can you say busy?!?

These are just a few of the ATCs I've made recently. It felt good to get at least some art accomplished!

Work is still very hectic to say the least. Getting back into the swing of things is always hard especially with the way things are at work. Still a big mess that seems to grow each day. The PRIME audit was not good and now management is scrambling to try to plug the holes in the dike. Several positions are vacant but no one has been hired. I've heard about the "wiz kids" who have been hired part-time but so far haven't seen any of them. Hopefully the staff meeting we're having tomorrow afternoon will address some of our concerns. I guess one can only hope.

Well, we're back home again after spending a fabulous 5 weeks away. We spent 2 1/2 days on the road to travel down - with a stop at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, of course. We spent the full month of February in Palm Springs and then took 4 days to come home - just had to stop at Seven Feathers on the way home too. That stop was nice though as we had a few days just to ourselves after the crowd for the month.

The weather was fabulous - most days it was at least 75, some days hotter than that. We played lots of golf, enjoyed way tooooo many adult bevvies and just totally relaxed and kicked back. We were in bed most nights by 9 pm and got a full 8 plus hours of sleep and then we were right back at it the next day. Lying around the pool is my idea of heaven and I must say I was able to do lots of that this time.

My golf game was much better than last year - I can actually see that my game is improving so that is a definite bonus. Husband had a lot of fun with his brother and the other fellow that joined us and the third couple, whom I had never met before, were super nice, just a joy to have around.

It's a little tough getting back into the swing of things - I guess I'm still in holiday mode! I've worked 2 days already - the first one was kind of a write off as I really wasn't very productive. I had to get caught up on all the gossip and visit with everyone but I guess that's to be expected after being away that long. Day 2 was better, got more work done and did less visiting. My 2 night shifts will be even more productive so I'll be back to normal by next block.

Oh, how I keep wishing I'll win the lottery so I can spend more time in PS. One can only dream!

Husband and I are off to Palm Springs first thing in the morning tomorrow morning. The plan is to be on the road by 530 am so we get across the border before the lineups start. We will be spending the first night in Canyonville at the Seven Feathers Casino, then on to Buttonwillow (just outside Bakersfield) for night 2 and then on into Palm Springs on Thursday morning. We can't pickup the keys to the house til after 2 pm so this should work out well.

We're being joined down there by the BIL and SIL and another couple who are friends of the guys. Should be a good time by all. We'll be party central in CA and my daughter will be party central in Pitt Meadows. Sounds like a plan. So......will be away from the blog til March 5th. Will miss all you guys. It's a hard thing to deal with....pool and margaritas or cold wet weather? Hmmmmm........I'm going to miss the cold wet weather!

This is my second 30 Minute Collage. I'm very pleased with it and it was a lot of fun to do. I'm really enjoying doing these little projects; they are so quick to complete.

I used Aquarelle watercolour crayons and did a splatter technique on the notebook. The brush bristles would become saturated with whatever colour I was using so when that happened, I just dabbed the colour off on the paper and re-wet the brush. Once I had all the colour I wanted on the paper, I went back with a wet brush and stippled and spread the colour and/or added to it. I am really happy with the mottled result.

Once the paper was dry, I overstamped it and then added some butterfly stickers and some expoxy stickers from my sticker supply. I have so much stuff in my stash and it's fun to finally be able to use it instead of hoarding it. This could become addictive!

I finally figured out how to load the image into the post so here's my first 30 Minute Collage.

I'm very pleased with the way the colours came together with the image. Since I'm a rank novice at this I decided to just pick a colour scheme and go with that, rather than choosing a specific theme. It was fun to approach it that way and to just go where the colours took me.

Someone on one of the lists I'm on, made the comment that there was no "right" or "wrong " way to do art. She made the point, which had never occurred to me, that art is whatever the artist says it is. That really struck a chord with me! So, here's my art. I hope you enjoy it.

It's just 1 more week - well actually not quite 9 days - til we leave for Palm Springs. I've been busy trying to get everything finished up. Why does everything take 2 or 3 times as long as I figure it should???? Maybe because I keep finding these amazing blogs with fabulous art and I'm spending time doing that instead of what I should be doing??

I've been surfing some fabulous sites and seen some wonderful art work in journals, tags, ATCs and all kinds of art pieces. I particularly like Patty D's artwork(from Tuscan Rose and River Bend Ranch fame). I keep going back to her site to view her 30 Minute Collages. I've also discovered so many other artists' blogs and the work is unbelievable. These artists truly inspired me!

I've been threatening to start an art journal but just never seem to get around to it. Well this afternoon I finally did it! I created my first 30 Minute Collage! I am sooooo excited and I actually did it in a journal I started last year but never kept up. I decided to continue with that journal, rather than starting "fresh", in a brand new journal, as I normally would have done. As I'm very much an "all or nothing" type gal, this is yet another first for me! It's a really big change for me so maybe I'm turning over a new leaf?

I'm going to follow Patty's example and pledge to create some 30 Minute Collages. I won't be able to create a collage a day. I work shiftwork and long days so there are blocks of a time when I really am not motivated, nor do I have the energy or concentration to do art. But I will pledge to create at least one 30 minute collage every week. I will not be working on this plan until I come back from PS at the beginning of March but I pledge to do it faithfully from the first of March til the end of the year. If I work to this plan, I will have a minimum of 40 collages done by the end of the year. Now, that's exciting and if I can do it, it will be so cool!!

I'm soooooo excited about this, that I'm even considering taking a few supplies away on holiday with me. But on the other hand, I feel like I'm just setting myself up for failure. That seems kind of pointless as I know the vacation environment is not conducive to doing my "art thing" when our holiday is going to be party central.

The weather here on the Coast is unbelievably cold. I have no idea what the temperature is but it feels like it is well below zero. Totally not our typical weather.

We are off to Palm Springs for our annual vacation in just 16 days. I can hardly wait. I'm just hoping that this cold front moves on very soon because it is also affecting the weather in Palm Springs. Can you believe it was only 15 there today? BRRRRR.

I have been squirreling away my change and odd bills for several months now so I have a good little chunk of seed money for my gambling. Now the trick is to be able to give enough to the gambling gods to keep them happy but keep enough to be able to gamble for awhile and, of course, win.

I have a lenthy list of tasks to complete before I go and of course not enough time to get them all done. So what else is new??

The New Year is in full swing ! The weather here on the coast has turned a little ugly; the January monsoons have arrived again so it's cold and damp and miserable. Probably a lot more miserable if you were living on the streets. Funny, don't know why but I find myself thinking about the street people a lot lately. It's got to be very tough out there!

On a cheerier note, I'm counting the days - 26 to be exact - until we go on our annual Palm Springs vacation. Last year we were by ourselves for 2 weeks and the brother-in-law and his wife joined us for 2 weeks. This year, they are coming for the full month. A third couple, whom I have never met but whom husband and brother-in-law know, will be joining us for about 3 weeks. Same house, just a couple of weeks earlier this year. Iwould have preferred to go for the month of March but the conscensus was for February so that's when we go. I can understand that the others want to go earlier as January and February in Ottawa can be quite hateful - cold weather, blizzards - who wouldn't rather be in Palm Springs? Let's just hope the weather cooperates for us.....I'll pray to the weather gods!

The new year is here already. Lots to be grateful for:
- good health
- the love and support of family and friends
- a roof over my head and lots of food on the table
- a hobby I enjoy and money enough to be able to indulge it
- a reasonably good job - sometimes this is more a curse than a blessing!

Life is good!

I've managed to survive the month of December although some parts of it were tough. It's such a busy time - so much to do and everything just seems to pile up. One misstep and holey, moley you are big time behind the 8 ball.

I was successful in getting my product into the store although he would probably like to have more of it. However, I made a pledge to myself (after I had my TIA) that I would try to achieve more balance in my life. I find I tend to be waaaay out there sometimes - kind of an "all or nothing" kind of gal - and that is not always a good thing! So while I've made some successful life changes I know there's still lots of room for improvement.

Which brings me to my New Year resolutions. I want to become more organized than I am right now. I want to declutter and rid myself of the stuff that I'm not using; it's just taking up space and making my mind and my environment untidy so it has got to go!! I want to manage my time better and I want to be more focussed. Not asking for much now am I?

I must say, though, that I've already done some minor decluttering. It's not much but it is a step in the right direction. As I am a total makeup queen, I have soooo many cosmetics and nail polishes.....and I don't even wear nail polish that much. Anyway, I went through my cosmetics and nail polish and actually chucked some of it. That's not such a big thing for most people but it's huge for me!! I also started going through my closet and pulling out stuff I'm not wearing/ don't like/doesn't fit anymore/ stuff that isn't to my taste anymore... well you get the picture. I've been taking about 10 minutes a day and sorting. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in that little time! Appears there may be some hope for me after all.

I've been experimenting with a new technique and I'm very pleased with the results. I've altered several plain, glass ornaments. These make up very quickly and I'm having a lot of fun playing!

I participated in my first big craft sale this past weekend. I was so excited and had such high hopes. What a total waste the weekend was! I'm not so upset about not making money, I guess I'm more choked that I put so much time and effort into making new cards and it was a wasted effort. Needless to say I won't be doing that again.

I did receive some positve feedback and I tested a new product - little heart ornaments - and this was very well received. I'm hoping that the shop I work with will carry them for me. Guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

My Dad is a veteran. He, along with his older brother, my Uncle Vic, served in France, Holland and I think in Germany. My dad was born in 1925; he lied about his age and joined when he was 15; he was 20 years old when the war ended in 1945. Dad never talked about the war much. He hated war movies - my mother loved them and didn't figure she had gotten her money's worth unless she had a good cry. Dad would always get mad because he said the German army was always portrayed as being stupid. Clearly he knew better - he'd always say they were tough, battle hardened fighting men. He'd say too bad the enemy wasn't as stupid as the films made them out be - the war would have ended a lot sooner had that been the case!

Funny the things you remember. Growing up we never had lamb - Dad said he hated it and wouldn't allow it in the house. I never tasted lamb until I was in my 40's. Turns out, dad had had more than his fill of lamb when he was in England. He always said that the lamb he ate was mutton and that the animal had been slaughtered only moments before it would have expired from natural causes anyway - old, tough and fat - ooooooh, now doesn't that sound appetizing?

My dad celebrated his 8Oth birthday in 2004. My younger (and only) brother had his medals mounted and framed for him. My dad's funny about things like that so my brother gave them to him in private. I know dad, he would have been very gruff but would have gotten all choked up about it. He just celebrated his 82nd birthday in March. My brother always says "the old man's slowing down" - well, of course he is, he's 82 years old! He's old, bent and crusty but we love that old man more than you can imagine.

I am so enormously proud of my dad. Recently he took my 28 year old daughter on a tour of the new War Museum in Ottawa. A moment in time that can never be replaced! Vets get in free, so Dad brought his original discharge papers with him to prove he was a Vet. My daughter got a huge kick out of that. She said they were all creased and worn but he proudly pulled them out to show the lady. She was astounded at this. She couldn't believe, nor could my daughter, what a wealth of knowledge my dad had to share with her. It was a wonderful, special time for my daughter and something she will remember and treasure for the rest of her life.


On Remembrance Day - the 11th day of the 11th month, at the 11th hour - at the moment of silence, I'll be thinking of and eternally grateful to my dad. I'll also be thinking about all the other men and women who served and are now serving, fighting and dying, all over the world. Please kieep them in your thoughts and prayers.

We Canadians will be celebrating Remembrance Day on November 11th. As I get older, I realize what a special day it is and should be for all of us.

I guess the fact that this year we have Canadians fighting and dying, almost daily, in Afghanistan really brings it home to me. I'm not sure how I feel about the war but I can say this - I am so enormously proud of and grateful to our fighting men and women.

I always wear the poppy but this year I feel so very different about it. I wear it with so much pride - it's almost like it's some kind of badge. It reminds me that the freedom I enjoy does not come free.

I finally made it through the mad week - getting ready for an open house is always hectic for me so I can only imagine what it must be like for the shopkeeper. But, I guess all the hard work pays off because Ron said he had his best Open House so far in the Maple Ridge store. I'm so glad for him - he's such a nice man and an absolute joy to work with.

Now I'm into another phase - trying to get ready for the craft fair at the end of the month. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that it's successful for me but I'm feeling a little scattered - much like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

The weather here on the coast has been absolutely spectacular but unfortunately, the cold, wet weather has finally arrived. A friend and I made a trip down to Granville Island on October 20th. I hadn't been there in almost 20 years and since I was looking for something to do, it seemed like a good idea. It was one of the last days of sunshine for us and the view was outstanding so I took a few pictures with my little digital camera. They are wonderful, even if I do say so myself. Enjoy!

It's weird - I would never had thought it was 2 weeks already since I posted to my blog. Lord, how time flies!!

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. I've spent the last several days making cards for the Open house at one of the stores. I had taken the time off so I could get prepared without getting stressed. So ask me if that worked for me. Well, not so much! As usual I ended up behind the eight ball. I only had to pull a half-nighter instead of an all-nighter. Big surprise that. Anyway, I got everything done and still managed to keep my mind so all is well.

I had a really nice thing happen to me on Sunday. I had been out all day Saturday so hadn't really spent much time on the computer. I came down on Sunday to a message from an organizer from a prestigious craft show in the area. She had seen my cards in the shop and loved them. She was contacting me to invite me to participate in the upcoming event at the end of November. Bear in mind that this "invitation" does requiree the purchase of a table, for a hefty price, but it is an invitatioon, nonetheless. This event is juried so it is considered to be a serious event with a requirement of good quality art. I provided her with a website where she could view more of my greeting cards. She has since contacted me a second time that she feels my work is something they want at their event and that they would love to have me there.

My first reaction was to decline the invite and then I gave my head a very quick shake. This is a very classy event and the exposure will be wonderful for me so I'd have to have rocks in my head to decline the invitation. It's an excellent opportunity to get my name out there and hopefully I'll make some new contacts. After all it is all about networking and this should be a perfect opportunity to do that! So it looks like I will be sending my cheque in as soon as I get the paperwork. Now that I've committed to the event, I have a ton of work to do to prepare for it.

A friend is helping me design some new business cards and I have to think about packaging and how I will display my cards. Expected attendance for this event is 2500 to 3000 people over 2 days so I have to come up with some new designs and try to figure out how many cards, journals and gift tags to take with me. Also I need to decide about signage.

I must admit I am so very flattered and tickled pink to have this opportunity. Busy, busy , busy!!!

It was a beautiful day on the coast yesterday and today. I managed to get out for what may very well be my last round of golf. The day was gorgeous, the company was wonderful and I came in with a good score. What more could a girl want?

I haven't posted lately as I've been busy getting my stock ready for the annual open house at the gift shop. The shopkeeper likes to have all his Christmas stuff in stock for the OH so people can pre-shop. He has about 1000 invites sent out to it really is a worthwhile exercise.

I've also been having computer issues. My CD writer stopped writing for some stupid reason. I personally think it has something to do with the automatic updates from MS but could be wrong. My program is old and I think one of the updates wiped out one of my files. Either that or the file was corrupt. In any case, I can read and listen to a cd, but I cannot write to a cd. UGH!! I've tried everything I can think of, including downloading drivers and re-installing and none of that works so your guess is a good as mine. I visited the computer shop and the techie says he doesn't know what is wrong with it as the things I've done should have corrected the problem. Anyway, appears my computer will be going in for a checkup sometime in the next couple of weeks. I can't take it in until I finish all my work for the OH so it will be a few weeks yet.....this is definitely going to pick me Big time!