9.26.2013

Ten things

 that make me really happy

1.sitting around a campfire
2. long rambling chats with good friends
3. sleeping in past 6am
4.the sound of giggles
5. unexpected mail
6. any kind of mail that isn't a bill and has foreign stamps on it!
7. when someone I know gets one of my cards, and it wasn't from me
8. hugs (this one surprised me, but it's quite true!)
9. being completely consumed in creativity
10. the quiet of a snow falling & that crunchy sound of walking in really cold frozen snow 

and this picture!









what are the things that make you happy?



9.22.2013

Weekend Rap

The Heat is on! It's only 2 months until the One of a Kind Show and I'm feeling the crunch.

This weekend was part work, but also part hangout time, as I'm realizing these moments are going to be harder and harder to come by in the next 2 months. Gulp!

Bright and early on a VERY rainy Saturday, I was up and headed downtown to my friend Steff's house for a bit of crafty fun, and brainstorming. Steff is an amazing quilter and her mission was to help me make myself a new everyday bag. I'm a pretty tragic seamstress.... but she's a very patient teacher so we're a good match. I learned to cut properly, even fold my fabric properly, and I even got to freestyle on my applique's. It was all kinds of FUN. The result was a super cute little tote





































Not a bad job eh? I was especially impressed with that freestylin' birdy (the one with the houses was my second attempt, big improvement from the first bird and it was a ton of fun to do!)

The rest of my weekend was spent trying to finalize the Holiday collection and to start building my OOAK booth. I'm really upping the game with my booth. It's tough with cards, it seems all the displays are way too similar, so I want to do something really different and really special. I'm pretty handy at building... we'll have to see how it goes. I'm in the process of building a 3D model to help figure it out, you know I'll share pics of that crafty project!

Now, for your post-weekend dance party. It's been 25 years since we first heard Canadian Rapper Maestro Fresh Wes. Wow, does that make me feel OLD. I remember that coming out. Back then, mainstream rap was nothing like it is today. Let Your Backbone slide was pretty fun (I hadn't even heard of grunge at this point) So, this past Saturday Mr. Fresh was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame. I can only hope thunderpeep has a solid 25 year (and more) career, so I tip my hat to you Maestro and everyone else. Get up and dance!


PS. If you're reading this Monday morning before 11:30am, you still have time to make it down to the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto for the Etsy panel "The Digital Future is People Powered".... a panel of great women discussing the need for personal connections in social media (oh and I'm one of those panelists :) You can find the details here

9.16.2013

I spent the weekend in the park

This past weekend was one of my favourite outdoor events of the year. No, I take that back. It IS my favourite. I live in the East end of Toronto, just off the Danforth (remember the Taste of Danforth madness?) and a bit farther east from my place is East Lynn Park. Home to the East Lynn Farmers Market, which I learned is put on by the very same folks who put on the Danforth East Arts Fair.

Outdoor shows have always made me uneasy. Rain and dampness are the arch nemesis of paper goods (and I don't really like them either) But DEAF, in the 5 years it's been running, has always been blessed with good weather. Have I said how much I love this show already? Anyhow, this year was my second year participating, I had some great expectations, but I was also looking forward to hanging out with some of my crafty buddies and getting some facetime with my giggling customers. It was a long summer of creating and packaging and plotting, not enough socializing. 

it's amazing what you can fit into a Mazda3 - into a 10x10 tent - what treats you can hide behind your display!





This weekend was well worth the wait. Eastenders are extremely engaged shoppers. They're always interested in you and your story, the story behind the products. That's golden for a creator. You know whatever it is you are selling is going on to a good home. And they have the sense of humour to hang in the thunderpeep tent (although listening to a mom explain the new Marriage card to her 10 year old son was a bit awkward, until she just said "one day you'll have a wife and understand" - loved them!)

hello baby goodbye sleep card is in the show now! Catnip ball is available at Lynn's Lids shop

Saturday was gorgeous and sunny (although a bit chilly in the shade of my tent) and tons of locals came out to play in the park and browse all the awesome vendors. it was a perfect day in the East End. Sunday was a bit more overcast, but it was still warm and a surprising number of dogs in the park. It was a fun break from all the cute babies the day before. The East End is really family oriented, not a surprise then that the new Hello Baby card (in Lavendar) was the big seller of the weekend. Do I know my Eastenders or what?!

high fives for this best t-shirt of the weekend! Goodies from Heart's Haven & LureArts Pottery!



I didn't get a chance to do a whole lot of shopping unfortunately. I did wander a bit when the moment arose, and ordered myself a new iphone case (custom made too) from the super fun Dolalee and picked up a felted catnip ball for the critters upstairs, from my booth neighbour Lynn's Lids.

Now the focus is all on the Holiday rush and One of a Kind Show. I'm also starting a newsletter (shocking I know) I wanted to do an actual mailout one, but no one wants to give me their address. Weird, right? If you want in on the email version you can email me your email address and I'll add you in, first one is due out beginning of November. If you want me to mail you a physical copy... I'm still game ;)

How was your weekend?

Now, it's Monday you know. So I'm obliged to provide a soundtrack to your day. There's no particular theme, I wish I could have gotten some video of one of the musicians playing in the park this weekend. But that didn't happen so you get some Smashing Pumpkins since they are currently playing at Casa Peeps at the moment! Happy Monday peeps :)



To note.... I just discovered that one of my friends has one of those fun little video cameras that are so popular these days. Perhaps so silly thunderpeep videos to come?

9.13.2013

Happy Friday the 13th!

Tomorrow is a big day. And Sunday too. It's finally here. The official kick-off of the craft show season. Well the second show season of the year.


The Danforth East Arts Fair is a great big arts party in the park (East Lynn Park that is). I LOVE this show, who can't enjoy spending 2 days outside in the park, meeting other incredible artists and getting to interact with so many fun loving paper lovers. And the East End is home to some amazingly supportive peeps. Last year was my first time as a vendor and I was blown away by how involved the shoppers were. People didn't just stroll past your booth. They came in, they asked questions, they were curious... and they laughed. Boy did they laugh. I can't wait for all the giggling over the new products this year. They make me feel happy that I took the leap to pursue my little stationery company.

If you're in Toronto hopefully you'll make the trek to visit, and make sure to stop by and see all the new products and maybe, just maybe, I'll have some of those famous PB+Chocolate cookies with me ;)

And not to forget my Blog Challenge duties.... I leave you with this awesome portrait I got done a few years ago by an amazing artist in Calgary (todays challenge was a self-portrait, this counts - right?) AND it's Friday the 13th so extra bonus points!


9.11.2013

life's big moments

Blog September Challenge for today: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

This one is so easy. 


boxes everywhere! all boxes were numbered, with a list of everything packed in each box:) I'm so efficient



In March of 2011 I packed up my life in Vancouver and moved my ass back to Toronto (yeah 16 years earlier I took the train across the country and settled in Vancouver ). I left a job that was pretty much my dream job (due to the fact that no one reads newspaper or magazines anymore - not just because I felt like it), a great group of friends (who will always be my friends), and those mountains. Oh.... those mountains. I won't sugar coat it. It was hard. Really hard. It still is hard. There still isn't a week that goes by that I don't miss Vancouver. Not to knock Toronto, but I'm an outdoorsy lady. I live for forest adventures. But the opportunity came up to make a change, something I knew I needed to do. And I may not have a dream job anymore, but I'm creating my own new dream job in thunderpeep. And it's all mine. It's evolved so much in the past 2 years, so much more than I could have anticipated. And I've met some amazing new friends that have helped me grow as a person and find my Toronto self. I don't have regrets... but I know I'll make it back to the beautiful West Coast eventually. Just not tomorrow.

the last days in my sunny Vancouver apartment. I had a view of those mountains. I miss that apartment...


Have you made any big changes or big moves in your life?




9.09.2013

I'm a what? and I listen to what?

For today's blog challenge I was instructed to take the Jung personality test and share the results.

I'm a big fan of these kinds of things. I always read my yearly horoscope from Georgia Nicholls and then put it away to read on New Years Eve to see if it all came true - so far none of the foreign romance that she keeps promising :( Come on Georgia!

Bu this test, was pretty spot on. Scary. Not sure how answering what seems like random questions can say anything about me, or am I just reading into it? Either way, here's what random questions say about me.

(FYI this is the test I took - if you decide to take the 10 minutes to fill it in, feel free to share your results)

Hello, I'm a INTJ.
I'm an idea person, anything is possible (even trolls)
I'm a doer
I'm not very good at social situations (you said what?)
I'm extremely private (even though I am learning to share some things with you now)
I rarely share my deep dark feelings. It's way more fun to share the crazy stuff!
I sweat the details (oh nothing drives me more nuts than a vague message - please don't send me one) some may say I over-think. I prefer the positive spin on it ;)
The point that made me laugh out loud was that INTJ's hate small talk. That is totally me!

There are many more points, and this post could go one forever, but even I started to get bored reading it (guess this is the one time I can bypass the details ;) If you would like to know more you can read it all here.

Oh yeah, and since it's Monday, I can't forget the fun musical contribution. And this one is golden. At first I was confused, then it was just pure awesome. My friends this is the Paul Anka doing {the} Nirvana (you see now why confusion is your first response... but just watch and enjoy)


9.06.2013

I ain't afraid of no ghosts...


I don't even really believe in them. But that's a whole other story. Today's challenge is to tell you about a time I was afraid. 

Now, I watch a lot of scary movies. It's not uncommon for me to be freaked out. But a couple of months ago I had one of the most terrifying nightmares ever. The kind where you wake up in a pool of sweat and just can't shake the horror off of you to get back to sleep. Some of you are going to laugh about it, some of you are going to get it. 

This is how I feel about having babies....

Friendship Rule #11: when your friend can no longer drink, you must drink her portions!

No seriously, I have no ticking clock, no maternal instincts... no urge to add to the world's population. That's for everyone else to take care of. 

I this horrifying nightmare I was extremely pregnant. Not the glowing with life kind, the waddling, bloated and uncomfortable kind. And woman all around me were going into painful labour. It was horrifying. Seriously. Freaky. Shit. I woke up and still had that feeling that I was carrying around a 20lb baby in my belly. Honestly, this was before the Celiac diagnosis so I probably just ate too much gluten laden food and was bloated. I will never forget that feeling though. Even that morning at Le Day Job my coworker and I were laughing about it. I could still feel that horrible belly and the fear of hearing these women popping out human beings.

I'm sure the miracle of life isn't so nightmarish, but I will still leave it for those of you who are up for the challenge. I clearly am not - and seriously I'm ok with that ;)

Happy Friday - and what do you think of the new card? was a bit hit before it even hit the shop :)

9.05.2013

free advice


Today's September blog challenge was to pass on a great piece of advice or super useful tidbit of information you've learned and always remembered.

So, here it is.



Happy Thursday little peeps... tomorrow is FRIDAY :)




9.04.2013

imagine 3 months off

I wish I was writing to tell you that I was taking off to do whatever my heart desired for 3 months. But I'm only pretending. It's todays Blog Challenge. 

If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do?

This one is so easy. Because I've been planning it for years. Well taking 6 months or even a year off to go live over in Finland/Norway/Iceland and absorb myself into the Nordic/Scandinavian culture and design. Take some classes at the Design schools, browse the outdoor markets (or indoor if it's wonderful winter) learn how to make my own butter. And Trolls. I want to go on my own Troll Hunting adventure in the woods of Norway. Come on.... who WOULDN'T want to do that?


I'm sort of taking this trip for my 40th birthday (still haven't determined how long the trip will actually be) so who knows... maybe it will be sooner than I think!


the beautiful countryside of Iceland

Where would YOU go with 3 months off?





9.02.2013

something new and something late!

Ok, so it's Labour Day weekend here in Canada. Long weekends are my sanity balancing weekends. I get loads of work done, and I get extra time to just chill and hang out with fun friends. This weekend had plenty of each. And I still have today :)

I'm 2 weeks away from the official launch of show season (which is weird now because I only have 3 shows scheduled) and also setting the whole new card collection off into the world for all to enjoy and send to their unsuspecting loved ones! First up is getting some of the new cards into my Arts Market stall (done) and into the etsy shop (um starting to do that one now). For you blog readers... in celebration of the new collection I'm offering FREE shipping on the entire shop - new cards and the oldies. use the code "BLOGGERWHO" at checkout (only until Sun, Sept 8th though). AwEsOmE!

We'll start the introductions with the brand spanking new cards (although one or two of those birthday cards are re-designs, but don't tell them ;)

 

And because you know it's Monday and this post HAS to have something musical....

I adored making mixed tapes when I was young - heck even mixed cd's!



The new collection should all be up in the shop by Wednesday evening. There are more invites and gift tags that need to get posted... so keep checking back!

It's a Holiday Monday, that's my excuse for the late post ;) I have to end this post with some tunes and this one is one of the funniest videos I have seen in a long while. I put some of my friends to work on Friday packaging Christmas cards and in return they played this for me. I keep going back to watch it... it's golden, I can't wait to go pop some tags ;)


Happy Monday Peeps!

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