Kit and Kaboodle

The Phappers (and cake) in all their glory...

A Major Award!

This my friends is a cake....
and THIS, is the "Phapper of the Year Award".

I was the recent recipient of this highly coveted, never before bestowed trophy.
Why was I so honored, you ask?

The said Cake.
That's right, cake.
CHOCOLATE cake to be exact. (as if there's any other kind).

It was PHAP's 2nd birthday, and I made a cake for the auspicious occasion.
Well, with a room full of women and hungry young men, (and without Rae the Nutman there to indulge our sweet teeth), I was immediately propelled to instant fame and glory. As they carried me around the room on their shoulders, shouting and cheering I knew I finally had it cinched.

Artistes and chocolate are a natural, winning combination.

So though I'm a little late in posting the proof, I knew I had to immortalize the occasion, and it was now or never.

Because the "Phapper of the Year Award" is, of course, awarded every month.

Beads

I made these asymmetrical earings...same...but different.

Fabric ATC's

I made these fabric atc's to swap with the PHAP'ers.

The photo's are of my mom and her sister. I printed them on fabic in my Epson printer. There's also rubber stamps, old lace, paper...and whatever else was lying around.

Is it True...?

We all get the emails. They're usually forwards from people we know, and are heart wrenching. They cause outrage and call for sending it on to everyone in our cyber sphere. Sometimes they promise blessings if we do, or bad luck if we don't.

But what if the stories of courage and faith aren't true? Does it matter? If it builds our faith and makes us *feel* good about being a Christian, isn't that enough?

I think Truth should speak for itself. When I get these forwards, Nialle always suggests looking them up on the Snopes site, (see link) to see if they are fact or fluff.

I agree. God doesn't need lies or exaggerations to get his point across.

Art de Josh

Josh signed up for a swap and had to make 6 pendant type charms.

This is what he did, with polymer clay, inks, stamps and embossing powder, not to mention a bunch of imagination.

I helped him with the metal hardware. The pendants were too big for regular jump rings so we had to come up with something else. I bent, and he pounded some really thick copper wire, and we fooled with it a bit and we made the rings and hangers.

They look great, they're very un-frou-frou, and if he ends up getting charms that are obviously girly in return he can always pass them to Moi!

Doing really hard things over and over and over...

One step closer...it's all we can hope to accomplish each day isn't it? We know we have something really amazing to do with our lives, and Liam shows how it's done....

What kind of music do you think he'll make? How about you? I can't wait to find out!

Family

What could be better than family?

From the youngest member of our clan, to Grandad (on his birthday), to some of the girls, and Liam and Nessa , it's all good!

Wonderful.

When I met him, I was not ready to be kind to a man. He was oh, so patient, having NO idea what to do to make me happy. But the day we were driving up north so he could meet my parents for the first time, he did it. He made me love him for the good man that he is.

It was snowing sleet sideways, wet, cold, miserable. I was nervous and edgy about the coming family gathering. We stopped for...?...something I've forgotten, in a parking lot on a long street crowded with strip malls. We had been on a few dates, he had already taken me to several movies, so he knew I loved popcorn. He told me to wait in the car, which annoyed me, because he didn't tell me what he was doing. He disappeared for a while, and I waited, thinking,"why am I even bothering".
Then I saw him, inexplicably dodging through the traffic in that horrible weather, carrying something under his jacket, getting soaked and I could tell, frozen. He made it back to the car, dived into the passenger seat soaking wet, and proudly pulled from his coat a HUGE, steaming hot bag of fresh popped corn, with lots of salt and a little bit of butter, just the way I love it.

I looked at him, looked out the window at the crazy traffic whizzing along the street, knowing that he had just risked life and limb to get me something he thought would, at that moment, make me happy. I looked at that bag of popcorn, then into his eyes, and I felt cared for in a totally new way.
I just knew that this man could be trusted to be real. I was right.

I've never liked diamonds anyway.

Little Bird

Just an observation of patient and her husband on 2nd balcony; from 3rd floor at Royal Alex hospital.

Such a little woman, and birdlike. Tiny face overwhelmed by beak and bright eyes.
Wings flip out and in; little claws close and open, then scritch-scratch at feathery hair.
Tiny bones; probably hollow. Delicate and careful. Beautiful.
Aware of everything, yet self absorbed.. Tipping her thin throat up, and back, to drink a tiny drop of water. Waiting, waiting. Ready to fly away if it weren't for the bars of this earthly cage.
Alas, no song.





I carry a little handmade journal with me all the time, for those moments when I see something that just touches me. I try to have a gluestick and a pair of scissors with me too, so I can do a collage, or just stick in a label or ticket or bit of ephemra from this amazing everyday journey.

It's usually the little things that I observe that really make an impression.
The day I did this I was taking a break from sitting in my Dad's hospital room (he's home now) and I went to sit on a balcony in a common area of the hospital and just watch the drama around me. It's everywhere, especially in a hospital. I had a couple of magazines too, and someone had left a newspaper on the table beside me. Perfect for ripping and clipping...very unplanned.

I saw a couple sitting together; she was in a wheelchair, he was busy on his cell phone. It was very touching and I had to jot this down.

The Gift of Love

15 years with my Best Friend

15 years ago I lived in Castle Downs. I had a 10 year old son, a rental condo, and a little Nissan Micra car.

Daniel and I had been dating for 4 years and had survived my moving away for a new job, and moving back when I had to give it up.

We were in debt over a failed business venture. A LOT in debt.

One day, a Thursday evening, we decided to get married. Just like that.

On Saturday, April fourth, it was snowing and blizzarding. My friend Kandis came over to see me, baked a wonderful carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and decorated it with some fresh flowers. Then we went shopping for a wedding dress. (That raised some eyebrows in the stores we visited...but I found a perfect outfit! )

Fran made a bouquet of roses; cream and coral...and tied them with a beautiful silk ribbon.

Lisa lit a fire in her fireplace, put a lunch together and acted as best man.
Kandis was maid of honour.

That evening, by candlelight, and with Bette Midler singing "The Gift of Love", Nialle gave me away to Daniel. (poor Nialle; he was kind of shell shocked at the suddenness of it all!)
We went to the boardwalk to The Old Spaghetti Factory for our celebration dinner.

Because we just did it so fast and didn't have the time leading up to our wedding to sear the date into our brains, for years Daniel and I were confused over our actual anniversary date.
I thought it was the 5th; he thought it was the 2nd. (We both often wondered if it wasn't actually April Fools day!! LOL)
I found our marriage license in a box in the garage a couple years ago and we discovered we were both wrong. It was...is...April 4th.

We are celebrating our anniversary tonight, a day late, but that is rather appropriate, No?

This photo is from that summer before we got married. No wonder I was so distracted!

Bags...

I was at the Farmers Market in Old Strathcona this past Saturday with my friend Linda, and I saw the most beautiful bags. They were beautiful...delicious colours and luscious fabrics. I must admit, my heart was lusting after them, but the $70 price tag was a lot too much!

Well, Linda and I ogled them, walked away, looked at each other and said..."we could make some!"

When we got home that afternoon I made a quick trip to the local fabric store and picked up a few yards of fabric and interfacing on SALE. ( While there, I entered a draw and won a $30 gift certificate!! Yay, more bags to come!)

Back at home, I dug out a book on the subject that I purchased a year ago, put on my Pointy Hat for inspiration, and got out my sewing machine.

Before the weekend was over I had three bags of my very own! The first I made with hand painted fabric I had left over from another project. It's the smallest, but just the right size to carry some small projects to our Pointy Hat Art Posse meetings.

The second is a denim bag, lined and trimmed in a fun cotton print. I sewed lots of pockets inside, and put a snap closure in the lining.

The third is a pretty fabric with a surprising zing of colour for a lining. It's loaded with pockets, and snaps closed too. It's my favorite.

The moral here (and why not moralize?), is that if you really want something, it is very satisfying to make it instead of paying someone else to do it for you.

My father in law makes everything himself. He always says..."He has two hands; and I have two hands. If he can do it, I can do it too!"

Now I need to go back to the fabric store!

What's new around Hair....

My Dad is going through chemo, and he and my Mom have been back and forth from their home to mine a lot.
I see them every week, so I didn't see too much of a change...except that he's lost a lot of weight. Until I looked at these pictures. There is one of my Dad and I at the lake last summer; he was teaching me how to fillet fish. I've never been crazy about fishing, but last summer I discovered how much fun it is! He even taught the boys and I how to make our fish appear as large as possible in a photo
...hold it out towards the camera!

Vanessa made my Dad this crazy, Mohawk hat to wear to his appointments, or just to make him smile. His hair is falling out and he's upset about that. Considering the fact that his Dad lost all his hair as a very young man, and none of his children ever saw their father with hair at all, I was surprised. Which is insensitive of me...his hair is a symbol of the fact that he is sick, and of course it would bother him.

But the hat did make him smile, and the fact that Vanessa made it especially for him brought him happiness.

We are all looking forward to going to the lake this summer for our annual camping trip. Mom and Dad actually bought a new trailer that has a bigger, more comfortable bed. We have our trusty tent. We are trusting and believing that Dad WILL be well, and that our trip will be as sweet as ever. Now we just have to wait for this snow to melt!

Is this our girl?

My sweet little niece is famous! Well, famous in our corner of the world.

She did a photo shoot for Eveline Charles, where she is a student at the downtown campus, and she ended up on the companies posters all over Edmonton Center, and on the website here.


I almost didn't recognize her, even though I went to the site today, looking to see if she had made it to the world wide web.

She looks like she could be on the cover of Vogue...but I don't wish that on her, and I am pretty sure that is not her goal in life. This was strictly a fun photo shoot for her.

So, don't you think she takes after her aunty? Ha Ha Ha! (she's the one on the left)

Actually, she's a pretty even combo of my beautiful baby seester and her charming and handsome hubby Randy. AND, her little sister, who could also grace the cover of any magazine on the planet!

Brains and beauty...it's all in the genes, folks!

For a perfect Sunday...

Just add Liam!!

Day 12

February 12th. Officially, there are only two days left in the swap, but I have yet to receive the gifts for days 9 and 10 from Linda and Fiona, so I can stretch it out a little longer!

Today was day 12, and what treat was waiting for me. I made the boys do their morning chores, and complete their Math before I opened this gift. They've been as keen on the surprises as I have! And what a great way to motivate them. LOL We all held our breath as we s-l-o-w-l-y opened Liz's present that has come all the way from England. Oh, it's a lovely Valentine of the highest order. I am sure the Queen of Canada would approve.

Seriously, I wanted to have a "London Fog" drink to celebrate! (Do you have those in England, or in the U.S. of A.??) mmmmmm...If you've never tried one go directly to your nearest coffee shop and order one. It's Earl Grey Tea, steeped well, and topped with frothy, steamed milk and a shot of Vanilla. Yum! I want another one!

Thank you Liz! Beautiful details!

Day 11

We had a near perfect Sunday. Liam came to see us in the morning, and then everyone was home for brunch. We shared wild blueberry pancakes, rum infused cranberry and chocolate bread pudding, alder smoked bacon and a marvelous fresh fruit salad. Vanessa blended up some perfect and pretty fruity peach drinks.

We shared our afternoon with the Suresh family (some of our favorite people!) and when they went home it was knitting for Vanessa, Home and Garden TV and playing with Liam, and cat naps for all. Does it get any better?

Ah, yes, in fact it does! I got to open my exquisite Day 11 gift from Jennifer Rowland.


Oh my! Look at this little beauty...it's a little bit of lace in glass, on a silver chain. I love it! It was so fun to share with everyone here on Sunday. Thank you Jennifer, you made a special day even sweeter.

Book Binding class...The sequel

Today a group of us met at the Library to once again try our hand at creating hand made books.
It went a little quicker this time, because most of us had the basic technique down from last week. We did have two new artists, but they caught on very quickly, and enjoyed the process as much as the product. The product being beautiful, one-of-a-kind books, embellished with fibers, charms, beads and buttons; nothing to sneeze at!

After the class, most of us came back to my house for a potluck of epic proportions. (Oh the flavours!!)

The boys had stayed back at home with their favorite Genius, Daniel E, (fearless leader of B.O.G. -the monthly meeting of a Bunch Of Genius's) who tuned up our computer and led the boys in a mind boggling afternoon of Lego Mindstorm robotic wars, weaponry construction, and other decidedly inventive activities. The boys had one word they kept repeating as they told us all the brain calisthenics they had participated in...He's a GENIUS!!! (Well, isn't that what I just said?)

The artistes, meanwhile, were upstairs sipping herbal tea, listening to relaxing music, sharing heart-tales of faith and fears overcome, nibbling on nutritious and delicious food...it was a retreat from the absolute into the possible, and I am so much richer for it. I know this is what it means to be in fellowship.

It does my heart good...

to see creativity unleashed!

Levi, my youngest, decided yesterday that he wanted to do some clay charms too! He made these for me, and I absolutely LOVE them. I will have to find a special place to use them.

Day 8 Ooooooh...Aaaaaaaaah!

I love this heart form my art buddy Dawn, AKA... HRH the CEO (that'd be the Creative Eccentric One) of the Pointy Hat Art Posse. We're known collectively as the PHAP.

It's a wonderful dangly that she meant to be hung in my vehicle, but it's so NOT mini van-ish. I will save it for somewhere I can enjoy it and have it inspire me everyday.

The old crystals are a wonderful touch, adding just the right amount of sparkly.

Day 7 Magic!

Here we are at the half way mark. It's day 7 of the countdown to Valentines day, and I have another beautiful gift to show off.

I'm so excited, it's my first altered domino! It was made by Amy Huff. Wonderful art really warms up these cold February days. Thank you Amy, it's very beautiful!

It's snowing big fluffy flakes, and we have a cold east wind. I'm happy to stay inside and enjoy my art. Josh got out the polymer clay and we worked on making little charms for swaps we are signed up for on ICE.

Even Levi, who NEVER goes near a glue stick, joined the fun. It's so inspiring each day to open these small, lovingly crafted gifts from so many far away artists. It encourages us all to be more creative.

I hope you're all feeling the love in your heARTS!

Josh does it again!!

Look what that Phapboy's done now!! I LOVE this little book.

Maybe he'll tell you how he did it on his blog....check it out here, and leave him a comment if you like it. Every artist needs feedback!

Day 6 too!

This valentine traveled a LONG way, all the way from New Zealand. Don't you love her face?? Look at those eyes!



My, I am so happy to be a recipient of such an exceptional and unique piece of artwork.

Caren McNee has really blessed me. There is NO WAY I could learn to do water colour ...and believe me I really, really LOVE watercolours. I so appreciate the talent it takes. This piece has it all...watercolours, collage, amazing sketching.

Check out Caren's other work too!

Thank you Caren, you've made me SO happy!