Because sometimes Wednesday are awesome!

So, if you've been following the blog for a little bit you'll know how much I love the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. No seriously I feel like I'm in love with their music sometimes.

I know, but whatever!

So they released their first new single in what feels like forever, on Monday. And it's perfect. Even this lyric video they did to launch it. Only OMAM could pull this off and still be super cool. And I really need to know who this man is - he looks like Fun!

So, on this day when I send my the Midsummer fairly tale out to be looked over by the first set of eyes that aren't mine, well this song just sort of fit. (FYI my story is one of Midsummer Forest Adventures)

Happy Hump Day!

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tuning out and tuning in

So, I'm still struggling with the whole social media thing right now. The whole blogging thing. The whole life thing. I've always felt that it has to be natural, I'm not one to follow really fake or overly salesy accounts, so why would anything I put out there be? When you're not sure where you're at, that gets difficult to express.

So I just haven't been posting so much lately. I haven't been very natural in my own head of late, and that's not an easy thing to share. You just can't instagram that kind of confusing shit ;)

I've been slowly finding myself again (and yes I will eventually post about it, but it's still too personal to share) But this weekend I took some time to fully shut it all out and I guess kind of hit the reboot. Computers were down, phone was on DND and I set about doing what I really wanted to do.

You Guys, I wrote a tale.

I know I've been saying it was on the roster of to-dos.

I WROTE MY FIRST STORY. I wrote a fairy tale story. And it has Trolls in it.

And it felt really fucking awesome!

I mean I had no idea where to start, so I just started. And didn't stop. Life is pretty sweet when you know you are exactly where you're supposed to be. And when you're passionate about something it's easy, no matter how messy and complicated it may appear to be!

Stop putting off the things you are really passionate about. Life is too short.

PS. Sorry for all the potty mouth, I promise there is none of that in my story ;)

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Polar Bears Day 2

Day 2 - All about Polar Bears!

Now that you've adjusted to the fact that I'm blogging 2 days in a row, I've got some fun tips about Polar Bears I bet you didn't know. And if you DID know then you should go make yourself a big cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows of coarse, and grab the embroidery floss, because today your get a freebie embroidery pattern featuring some of my Arctic creatures. But first…

Some Polar Bear Facts

• Polar bears are the largest bears in the world - weighing from 352-680kg

• Seals are their typical prey and they would have to eat about 45 a year to survive 

• They are the Arctic's top wildlife predator

• The life span of a polar bear is 25 to 30 years

• There are approx. 20-25,000 polars bears worldwide but 60% of them live in Canada (woohoo!)

• Their status is listed as: Vulnerable :(

• Have a thick coat of insulating fur that covers up a nice layer of fat - to keep them warm in one of the planet's coldest environments

• Fur even grows on the bottom of their paws!

• While their fur is white, to help camouflage them in the snow and ice, their skin is actually black to help soak in the sun's warming rays.

• Females give birth in the winter and usually to twins (awwww!)

• They will dig a den deep into the snow drifts to help protect and insulate them from the elements

• Cubs will live with their mother for around 28 months, while she teaches them all they need to know to survive the Arctic.

Crafty Fun!

As many of you may know, I have a wee side project with my good friend Quilter Steff called Pickled Herring Design. We create really pretty quilt and embroidery patterns for all you sewing friendly folk and for today's perk I thought I would create some embroidery patterns of the Arctic creatures from this years Polar Nights collection. These patterns aren't even for sale - super exclusive for all you hard core Arctic fans. Download the pdf here

And lastly, a little video about Polar Bear senses

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Welcome to Polar Bear Week!

It's been awhile now since my Polar Nights collection launched and it was a bit hit during the Holiday show season - but it doesn't end there. Things have been quiet here for a bit too long, and you'll learn more about that next month, but for now we continue to celebrate all things Arctic - and in particular all things Polar Bear. For all you folks in Eastern North America I'm sure you're just about done with winter and the cold, but bear with me for the week. I think you'll have a great time!

What is Polar Bear Week?

The World Wildlife Foundation started Polar Bear Week as a fun and educational event to help raise awareness and funds for their Arctic Campaign, which supports the on-the-ground work from Beaufort Sea to Baffin Bay, to ensure that Arctic habitats are conserved for all the amazing ice-dependent creatures that life there.
Last years event helped raise money for all sorts of projects including new scientific breakthroughs in understanding sea-ice changes and its impact on Arctic species, engaging directly with more than a dozen local Arctic communities and developing High Arctic maps showing key areas to protect, to inform planning and development in the Arctic.

Why the Polar Bear?

Really? You have to ask that? Who doesn't love a Polar Bear? They are by far the most iconic and recognizable of Arctic animals (don't even get me started on that unicorn of the sea that no one seems to know!) And it's no wonder really as most polar bears spend their entire lives on the sea ice and have evolved to thrive there. The impacts of climate change directly affect the bears, where they live and how they eat, as summer is extended and winter ice continues to thin out, there is a real long term threat to their population.

For the week I'll be posting some fun facts, videos (not my own, I haven't met a polar bear yet) crafty downloads, just for fun downloads and if you head over to my Etsy shop, I'm donating 100% of the profits for ALL sales (yes that's all, not just the Polar Nights collection pieces) to the WWF's Arctic Home campaign AND if you spend $25 or more you'll get a FREE limited edition 8" x 10" thunderpeep polar bear print. Awesome!

If you don't need any paper goodies, you can also donate directly to the WWF campaign here and be sure to follow them as well, for even more Polar Bear Week shenanigans! You can follow them on twitter and instagram.

If you want to decorate your electronics with some polar bear awesome I made some fun wallpapers for your screens below. Feel free to download them and enjoy. Just click on any of the images below and it will pop up in a new window. Right click the image and download it onto your computer, select it as your new wallpaper and voila! you now have a super Fun image on your screen. (please note that these images are for personal use only they are not for resale)

for your phone!

wallpaper for your screen!

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Polar Bear Love

Like I need an excuse to celebrate all things Arctic, but the WWF is back with it's annual Polar Bear Week this February 23-27th and we're all on board this year! (and with the weather we've been having in Toronto it kind of seems appropriate)

So be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for all the fun facts, photos and a pretty sweet etsy shop event!

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hello

It's finally real winter here in Toronto. 

I have been distracted by snow. 

You'll have to excuse my blogging absence.

But snow always wins ;) 

(but big fun things are also in the works…)

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