Long overdue Weekend Rap

I do love fall. The warm sun and cool breezes. All the colours of the changing leaves. Knowing that winter is right around the corner. The insanity of prepping for the Holiday rush (ok, that last one might not be one of my favourite things!)

What I don't love is the head cold that hits, without fail, every September. All 3 years I've been back in Toronto I've gotten knocked back on my ass for days with snot and coughs and drowsiness. This one was exceptionally bad because I had so much work that had to get done, so I had 2 down days then had to work through the rest of the cold. That's life as a grown up :)

So, with that, I've been a bit absent online, so lot's to catch up on.

The Holiday line is starting to pop up in the shop. I'll do a post on that later this week, to introduce you to all the goodies. Some are still being finished up (yikes, where did all that time I had go?) Prep for One of a Kind continues, although I'm still not firm on my display. It's so tough. I did acquire an AWeSOME new (vintage) drawing table, that is helping with the creativity. Seriously, it's a sweet setup.... check it out

yes, that IS my love seat as a drawing chair. It works unbelievably well!

Holiday prep is well under way, but as I'm learning you always have to be a step ahead, the Midsummer idea board is already and up and filling up. Um, yeah. Plans for the launch at next spring's One of a Kind show are starting to form. So many ideas. My head is all full of good fun. And this spring I'm officially in a grown up booth. I have LOADS of space to fill with stationery goodness. Excitement (and nerves) I'm also working on a new photoshoot for the cards. Stepping it up a notch, have to stay ahead of the pack! Oh yeah, and there's that book with Trolls in it.

It's a wonder I have any time to sleep!

Speaking of sleep.... those 2 glorious days I got to spend in bed in being all snotty and coughy, I watched a lot of movies and TV. And when I'm sick I tend to go for old favourites, as I know I may doze off and don't want to miss out on any important details. On that list was one of my favourite TV shows that went bye bye WAY too soon... Being Human (the UK version not that crappy sappy US version) I love British TV for loads of reasons, but one of those reasons is the awesome soundtrack they provide. At least Being Human did. So, during one episode in season 2 they played one of my favourite Cure songs.... Lullaby. Suited the moment too, all dark and creepy. I was inspired to pull out all my Cure songs, I'd forgotten how much fun they are!

With that said, here's your Monday musical offering. Maybe not the most upbeat one I've provided, but after being dragged down into a week of sleepless nights I thought this particular one would be well suited!

Happy Monday Peeps... hopefully this doesn't give you any nightmares, but it is almost Halloween so get used to the creepy ;)

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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?

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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

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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?

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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!

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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?

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