A Long Time Coming...

I haven't been very active on here or anywhere else lately. I actually have a very good excuse for the lack of time and energy to participate in my online activities... I'm pregnant! With TWINS!! After 4 long years of trying and working with some nice doctors about my particular issues getting in the way of conceiving, hubby and I finally have our blessing... times 2! I am now just over 13 weeks, and while I haven't had much morning sickness or other symptoms getting in the way of my activities, I have been going to a lot of appointments and resting as much as possible. Naps in the afternoon are a wonderful new addition to my daily routine, though they tend to run a little longer than I would like at times! My awesome husband has been helping out a great deal by doing laundry and keeping the house tidy. Well, as tidy as it can be with 2 dogs and a cat running around! I'm a little uncomfortable in general, but other than that the pregnancy is going well. It's giving me a lot to think about, a lot to plan for the future. One of the things I've been thinking about is making some changes to my blog. Originally, it was supposed to be about crafting and the things that inspire me in my art. I think I'll be adding more baby related content to the mix since that has shifted to my main priority these days! Oh, and I think my husband is more excited about us having twins than I am since he's been sharing the news with EVERYONE as of this weekend! lol He's posted pics and everything for our friends and family to see as soon as I told him he could! Since my family is all in NY, we waited a little while before telling them and decided to keep it secret from everyone else as well so no one would accidentally spill the beans. Seeing some of the reactions we got was definitely worth the wait! lol

Slowly but Surely...

I'm getting the house cleaned and organized a little bit at a time. I've also been cooking more and working on some different craft ideas. I'll have to post pictures later when the weather is better for a photo shoot. I'm sure my hubby will love going nuts with the camera with me as a model! lol Anyway, I'm finding it easier than I thought to let things go. I'm also finding that by letting things go, I'm making room for new and exciting things to come into play! My creative side is starting to emerge again with all this organizing and finding room to work on stuff again! I started a gift for my in-laws and have everything I need to complete it (I think!), I crocheted myself a cute cap and then started thinking about a few changes I could make to it which resulted in me making another one. Of course, the changes I did ended up making the second cap a little small for me, but its still really cute and I'll be posting it on Xafyre Studios. I'm still working on the blanket for my cousin's baby and also working on a crocheted bag. I was thinking about going back to work, but after speaking with a manager there, I'm not so sure the positions available to me are a good fit at this time. Besides, I still have so much more to accomplish here at home! So all in all, my life has gotten a touch busier and I'm starting to see some positive changes take place. I'm sure this means in the very near future I'll be blogging more and posting more projects! lol Only time will tell though!

It sounded like a good idea at the time...

I enjoy food. Cooking, baking, trying new recipes to satisfy my taste buds and creating different variations on family favourites are always fun... even if they don't turn out as I would expect them to! Case in point, an avacado smoothie! We all know you use avacados for guacamole and can find them diced in a chicken salad or other tasty recipe. I like avacado and have enjoyed it in lots of different foods, so when I came across a recipe for an avacado smoothie in Chatelaine (June 2011) I decided to try it. I like avacado, it can't be that bad can it? This recipe calls for 1 peeled, pitted avacado combined with 2 cups of milk, 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, and 2 tsp lime juice. You puree these ingredients in your blender until smooth and creamy. It turns out to be a nice light green colour and could be presented very nicely. It made me think of the McDonald's Shamrock Shakes that come out every year in March. I had just finished pouring my smoothie into a glass when my husband came out to the kitchen to see what I was up to. When asked what I made, he took a sniff and immediately knew it was avacado. I told him to taste it, even before I knew what it tasted like. His response?

"It's green. My mama told me never drink anything green."

"But you drink the Shamrock Shakes. Those are green."

"Oh. Do I like Shamrock Shakes? Those are mint aren't they?"

"Yes, they are. Try this."

"Uhmm, no. That's ok."

Then he waited in anticipation of my tasting it. So I grabbed up the glass and took a nice sip, scrunching up my nose and smacking my lips. This, of course, had hubby laughing and making comments about me thinking that was a good idea. Yeah, it would have been good for someone who absolutely LOVES avacado! Needless to say, that was a waste. Of course, I only made half the recipe so I only wasted one glass instead of 2. Lesson learned. I will now be sticking to having my avacado in salads and dip! lol

De-cluttering!

Physically, things have gotten better. Mentally.... well, I still haven't found my long, lost mind! Awhile ago I mentioned wanting to clean and organize my house. I've decided to take that a little further and actually start simplifying my life. I started with my closet, emptying hangers and tossing a huge pile of clothing into a pile for donation to our local Salvation Army. Anything that isn't in good condition made it to another pile to be turned into something completely different and fantastic once all is said and done. It's a project I've seen on several sites and have been wanting to do for awhile, so we'll see when I actually get around to that one! I had started to go through things piled up in our basement some time ago and realized most of the stuff collecting dust are things given to us. Not so much as gifts, but just random "I saw this and it reminded me of you so I bought it and now its yours!" kind of junk. That's all going, too. Anything that we don't use that often (with the exception of my baking and craft supplies) is getting donated. I think it will be much easier to organize things when I actually have space to put them in! I can definitely see me being much more productive once we bring the house to a more organized, clean, clutter-free state. And who knows, maybe I'll find some peace and creativity again? I already feel a little more liberated knowing there is one big truck load of things that are leaving here and heading to a new home! 

This looks promising!

Ok, maybe looks isn't quite the word I'm looking for when it concerns my back! lol I decided to suck it up and do some vigorous belly dancing moves and yoga postures to try and ease some of the discomfort I've been feeling in my back this week. Guess movement is the key, though walking too much still hurts! I've also decided to use my Pilates ball for a chair since its both comfortable and causes me to move more. I'm thinking maybe I should replace all my chairs with Pilates balls, except my dogs and cat would probably pop them because they try playing with them! Could you imagine walking into someone's home and being told to have a seat on a giant ball? lol It is so like my hubby and I to do something like that! But, I'm pretty sure our family and friends are glad we haven't gone that far yet! lol For those who don't know what the Pilates balls are, see below!

(Image from bodyzone.com)

Some days I feel like David facing Goliath!

This past week has been one helluva week for me! My back is killing me, and the cause is most likely a vertebrate (or a few) out of place at the bottom of my spine. It's an educated guess since the last time I was in this much pain, it turned out I had 3 vertebrates out of place and a chiropractor had to pretzel me back into alignment! I'm hoping it doesn't come to that again, but a week later with no relief isn't giving me much hope! So needless to say, I haven't been nearly as productive as I would like to be! The pain is battling my muse, so while I can come up with ideas for things to work on, I can't sit still long enough to work on them! Which is also why this post is going to be so short... but, its an update and there will certainly be more to follow in the coming days. So what does all this have to do with David and Goliath? Well, my list of projects (and chores) keeps growing and growing while I'm limited to what I can accomplish right now. The more I come up with, the bigger that list gets and now its GIGANTIC! But instead of a slingshot, I'm armed with a crochet hook and some yarn/thread. Hmmm.... maybe a more accurate depiction would be a cat tangled up in a ball of wool? Either way, it's a fine mess I've gotten myself into! lol

Best Laid Plans...

This month has not turned out quite as I had hoped. My muse seems to still be in PEI and I just haven't had much motivation for much of anything. I haven't been feeling that great, not much like myself, so I haven't been focusing on my arts and crafting as I had planned. But, that being said, there has been a lot going on. I've been giving some thought to the revamping of Xafyre Studios and have big plans for that at a later date. I've also been helping the hubby with his resurrection of a motorcycle (Yamaha Virago) and it has come a long way! He's worked so hard on it and it looks so much better than when he first brought it home! Granted, the majority of work has been mechanical, but my part was helping him work out colours and to copy his design from one side of the bike to the other. Now that was a challenge, but one I did succeed at! I'm also trying to reacquaint myself with the French language, re-organize the house, reacquaint myself with the spiritual, and conceive my first child. The last one is definitely a journey and one that has been a little more complicated than some would imagine. I got new glasses and have had some trouble adjusting to them since they don't seem to be fitted properly. I've been back to have them readjusted, and while better, they still need some tweaking. So I'm not sure if the headaches I've been getting are from the glasses or from the medications involved in the baby-making venture, but they have definitely been one of the main reasons I haven't been as creative and crafty as I would like to be. I'm hoping things change soon. Meanwhile, I'm going through old projects and will be posting pics of those, as well as the few new projects I've been working on sporadically. I have faith things will get better from here!

And so I've Returned...

The hubby and I went on vacation to PEI with his family. It was 2 weeks of camping and touring, which meant a lot of driving and not enough sleep! But, all in all it wasn't too bad. The trip definitely had its moments! I did go a little crazy with the picture taking though.... 4,000 pictures kind of crazy! lol So now I'm spending a lot of time going through the photos and deleting ones that didn't turn out so great (expected when you're snapping shots through dirty windows in a moving vehicle!), taking some artistic liberties with scenery shots, and doing minor touch ups on the ones that were pretty good. I've been changing my desktop background to pictures of the beaches and mountainous landscapes we saw along the way... oh, how I miss it already! So, in a few years we will be going back! I think the next trip will involve me doing my editing on the road though!

Here are a couple shots I was playing around with. I did a few minor touch ups and then adjusted the colour settings for a muted look.

Blueberry Goodness

I had some blueberries in my fridge the other morning and decided they would be perfect in muffins. But, as I started working on the batter, I felt compelled to make a few adjustments to my usual mix. I replaced half my oil with cinnamon applesauce and added a brown sugar and oat topping just before baking. They turned out great! Soooo delicious! I even snapped a photo of them before the temptation to taste overtook me! lol


I've been working on a lot of different projects and trying to take some pictures of things I've already completed but haven't gotten around to photographing. Stay tuned and you'll soon see an abundance of posts and imagery on here! Definitely will have lots more to share come July!

Around the Square

Finally a project completed and ready to post about! Hooray! I was working on a blanket for one of my cousins. His girlfriend gave birth last month and I wasn't quite finished with the project! I have way too many things going at once and need to start prioritizing things so they actually get completed on time!

Since they were expecting a boy, I used sport weight yarn in a variegated green/blue colour, light blue, and medium blue. I started off with 4 granny squares sewn together, then rounds of double crochet and single crochet mesh in varying widths. It was really a simple pattern, just time consuming when you have work, trips, and a multitude of other things going on at the same time! My grandmother said this was the best one I've done yet. I don't know if I would agree with her, but I do really like how this one turned out! I'm looking forward to hearing what she thinks of the one I'm making for another cousin! Maybe I'll post some in-progress pics of that one? I'm doing the same kind of thing but with a different pattern combination and girly colours for a much more delicate look and feel. Looks good so far!

I thought I would get a little more creative with my pictures so I set this one up with a stuffed lamb my mother-in-law gave me in a gift basket. I was playing around with the raw format in Photoshop and learning a few new tricks in the process. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get the greens to show up better in the pictures without screwing up the blues! You can sort of see the greens a little better in the close up shot, but they still don't pop like they do in the actual yarn! I may have a little more playing around to do before I can get the images to come out exactly as I would like. But then again, I could just be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing! lol




I'm going to be working on a lot of my ongoing projects over the next month, hoping to get more things accomplished despite a lack of time! Seriously, when all is said and done, I may need a vacation after the vacation! lol

One Down, Another Million To Go!

I decided I would set up an account with Zazzle to turn my art into a wide array of merchandise for sale. I've heard great things about the site and like the ability to make a sales commission as well as a referral commission. So we'll see where that takes me once I start promoting my sites. I think once I get started things will work out.

In the meantime, I was inspired to create a poster while working on the banner for my Artfire studio. I'm revamping that site and was making something a little more season inspired as I'd like to change things up to go with the current holiday or season. This is what we like to call a happy accident, and I tend to get a lot of these happening when I start playing around with my art! So I present "Lilies en Bleu" which is also available as a canvas tote bag.


I haven't decided if I'm doing more with it on Zazzle or not, but its a start. I have so many other pieces to work with that I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed right now. But, I will get it all figured out and it will be more fun making designs once I know what I'm doing! lol

Distractions

It's been a little crazy around here with my last few days of working and trying to get everything together for our camping trip. Can you really call it camping when you have running water and a nice comfy bed? Lots of cleaning, organizing, list making, and making sure we still have people available to take care of the pets and the house while we're gone. With all of this insanity, I'm going to need a vacation after our vacation! lol

I have a lot of ideas brewing, but nothing finished yet. I took some pictures and need to edit them, working on a few crochet projects, did a few rough sketches for my next few art pieces and started thinking about maybe putting some of them on t-shirts as well. Maybe mugs and other items? There are way too many project ideas in mind and not nearly enough time, supplies, or energy to work on them all! But not to worry, there will be a bit of an image overload once these things start hitting the "Finished" category! lol

Busy as a Bee!

Despite working evening/night shifts and being able to sleep in anyway, I had forgotten what it was like to really enjoy sleeping in! Well, except for the weird dreams about vampires trying to eat me! Anyway, I had a fairly productive day while still maintaining a bit of laziness. I started and finished 2 digital pieces which will be available in my studio shop soon. The first was more of a happy accident while playing around with different brushes and filters to get a background layer. The second was actually inspired by a pair of earrings I recently purchased. No pics of the earrings yet, but I will revisit this post later to show you all how I was inspired. That is, afterall, the general concept of this blog! lol But for now, here are the 2 (watermarked) pieces!

The question of the day was what to have for dinner (as it is so often in my house!) and after much deliberation, I decided to head to the store and look for inspiration. After wandering around looking up and down the aisles, I found a package of potato gnocchi. I don't think I've ever had gnocchi before, so I thought I would try it with a little Vodka sauce and served up next to a nice Caesar salad and some stuffed chicken balls. Oh! Soooo GOOD! While the meal itself isn't all that inspired since it was mostly pre-packaged, it did inspire me to try and make gnocchi from scratch! Well, maybe not anytime in the very near future, but soon! I've seen it made on one of the cooking segments from one of the many shows I watch and it doesn't seem like it would really be that difficult to make. Just maybe a little tricky to get the right texture. So we will definitely have to try that out and post all about it! Overall, not a bad day today!

Here's to New Beginnings!

I wanted to create a little hub where I can share my various interests and the results of different experiments and projects within them. I am constantly adding to my list of hobbies so there will probably be a little something for everyone here. I welcome constructive criticism, suggestions, advice, and any positive feedback. All you "Negative Nellies" need not reply because this is not a place to spread hate, prejudice, or to just be plain rude and obnoxious! With that said, on to my first creative post!

I was inspired by a post about a "One Pen, One Paper" challenge on another blog. (Sorry, I can't remember which one I was reading at the time or there would be a link here!) Now, there were rules to this challenge like there are to any challenge, but I was more interested in the concept of the art. I haven't really let things flow in my projects and thought this would be a great way to experience that and see what happens. So I grabbed a ballpoint pen and a piece of copy paper and sat down to get started. After a few minutes of just staring at the page, I doodled a little squiggly line. And then I broadened it, adding a few more squiggly lines. After 4 days of scribbling, doodling, filling in spots and taking a step back to see what was developing, I finally called it finished! There are aspects of this piece that I'm not entirely happy with, but when you work with ink, it takes on a life of its own and you can't necessarily control the output! We'll call this Free Flow #1 because I plan on doing more of these in the future!