Last Day to Sign up for the September Giveaway!

Tomorrow's the draw for my September giveaway!

Each month I have a giveaway, and anybody that signs up to enter the draw on the actual post, as well as all of the blogs' "followers" are entered to win! This month's giveaway is this book: "Simple Gifts 50 Little Luxuries to Craft, Sew, Cook & Knit", by Jennifer Worick. P.S. You can sign up on this post if you wanted to enter!

Here's some preview photo's from inside:


My personal favourite: "Salted Caramels"......not that I can eat them with my braces......one more year (or so)!

Here's my daughter goofing around while waiting for her brother to finish his soccer practice. She's more into being in the garage, monkeying around with dad than her brother is!

I just received this artdoll in the mail today from my September swap partner. She's just darling in person, and is the first Halloween decoration up this year!

Tomorrow a new swap theme will be announced for the "FantasticFlat_Paperdolls" group. Think "Autumn" and "Wings".....

Ivory Vintage Market

Just found out that I got into a great show in October called "Ivory Vintage Market"!

"Ivory Vintage Market is a vintage-inspired and handmade market featuring local mompreneurs and woman entrepreneurs whose products or services have eco-friendly, fair trade or vintage (20+ years old) qualities!"
Where: Ocean Park Hall, 1577 128th Street, South Surrey
When: October 16th, 2010
Time: 9am-4pm

3 Day Encaustic Workshop

Since I have October "off", I'm able to have a little fun time for myself, and am thrilled to be taking a 3 day workshop with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch.

I have to admit, this video scares me a little bit........

I'm not sure how filled up the class is, but if you're near Vancouver, and are interested, The Upstart Crow (in Ladner) is hosting this workshop.

Farmers Market Recap

My laaaaaast Summer Farmers Market was yesterday! The tent can be put away for another year.....no time for rest though. Those Winter fairs are just around the corner!

I discovered the BEST preserves EVER yesterday at the market from "Wild Westcoast Rainforest Products". This Wild Blackberry Pepper Jelly is absolutely amazing. Seriously. I've never had preserves as good as hers! The Blackberry Rose Jelly was pretty delicious too!....and get this - her last name is "Canning"!....and her dentist's last name is "Smiley"!

I bought some fresh cheese at the market too, and enjoyed them on some crunchy crackers.

These Earthgirl soaps are also pretty great!

I meant to buy some of these coffee soaps, but I got too busy to drop by.

Purebread - "Unique handmade breads"......I don't even have words to describe their baked goods. If you see them at the market, you have to buy something....anything from them! You'll know what I mean!

This time of year is the best for farm veggies. All the stalls are bursting with fresh and colourful fruits and veggies. You should see the garlic....and smell the basil.....and the tomatoes.....

The markets run until October 23rd....if you live near a market, be sure to drop by!

Also - mark your calendars! The Vancouver Farmers Markets - HOLIDAY market will be on Saturday (only) - December 11
10am - 6pm, at the Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive. I plan on doing most of my Christmas shopping at this market!

Bottle Cap Pins in String Magazine

I forgot to mention that my bottle cap pins are in this month's issue of String Magazine! I like to wear mine in multiples too.....but maybe 3 to 5 at a time!

The Last Days of Summer

Whew! I've been away from the blog for a little while - it's been a whirlwind around here. The first weeks of school have been an adjustment for all - a happy one (for all) too! This year I have 3 mornings a week without kids!

Here's a photo from the Kitsilano Farmers Market yesterday. We had a forecast of a 98% chance of rain.....ALL DAY, but magically the clouds parted, and even a little bit of sun poked through the clouds - we were so, so lucky!

I've had many requests for earrings over the past year, and every week I promise that "I'll get right on them"...and another week passes without the earrings. Finally I focused and made some earrings! The tags that they're on are stained with coffee and vanilla (they smelled really, really good!). Notice the broken plate necklaces? They're another pretty, re-purposed addition to the table.

Right now the local farms are bursting with beautiful fruit and veggies. Oh the apples!....and peaches, and potatoes, and squash, and corn.......

Here's a fall selection of cuff links.


These are made on glass tiles.

Remember all those button stacks? I turned most of them into hair pins, and some of the bigger stacks are being turned into brooches. These look GREAT in your hair!

Now I'm working on some custom orders, and some rings, and some other types of earrings. I rarely wear earrings myself....although I have enough piercings for many pairs! September's artdolls need to be started too! "Witch's Hats" here I come!

Buttons Buttons Buttons!

I have thousands of buttons! The other night I dumped a few hundred onto my kitchen table and had tons of fun making little colourful stacks of buttons. I can't decide if I'm going to turn them into hair pins, or fridge magnets.







Here's the paper artdoll I made for my online trading group "fantastic flat paperdolls". The swap theme for this gal was "50's/60's". September's theme is "Black Pointy Hat" - fun!