inspirations

Here's a little peek at what I'm feeling super inspired by right now.

I'm all about this mish-mash of bracelets stacked high on the arm.
(both pics Refinery 29)

And I love these new interpretations of the friendship bracelet. Aren't these so cute? (photo from http://www.dores.etsy.com/)

(photo from www.forme-foryou.com)

What's inspiring you lately?

ratgirl at PROOF gallery!

something incredibly exciting has happened.

while i was at the one of a kind show in november, a lovely woman named sheila approached me about taking part in the "year of the rat" exhibition at her gallery at the distillery. i was so flattered but a tiny bit nervous...i've never done anything for a gallery before!

well, this thursday evening is the opening of the "year of the rat" show at PROOF gallery! i'm soooooo excited! i've made many rat-themed pieces of jewellery especially for this show.

here's the invite

and the info
Year of the Rat
Opening: Thursday, Feb. 7th
5:00 - 9:00pm
Proof Gallery, Distillery District
Toronto
www.proofstudiogallery.com for map of the Distillery

come take a peek if you get a chance!

2008!

happy new year, everyone! hope you all had a fantastic & relaxing holiday whether celebrations of the season were involved or not. we had a great holiday break spent with family. now it's kind of quiet around here....

what better way to start the new year than with....CAR TROUBLES! ah yes, it's an ongoing struggle around this house. no sooner do we get something fixed and something else breaks. today the car crapped out on paul as he was coming home from practicing with his band. c.a.a. towed it but the really bad news is that our faithful mechanic is away in florida for a week. he's pretty much become like family to us and i just don't trust our car to anyone else. so if the estimate to fix it is too high this will be end of the volkswagon. a bit sooner than expected.......

in happier news, i've been doing some crafting just for fun. last night i pulled out my little red suitcase full of bits & bobs and put together this necklace:

(is that little wooden bird a religious symbol? for some reason i'm thinking it might be and i'm a bit concerned about that. can someone please let me know if it is.)

and made this brooch which has been swimming around in my head for ages!

(the pink isn't as bright as it looks in the photo....)

and tonight i finally worked up the courage to hack off the sleeves to this dagg & stacey sweater which i accidentally felted when i washed it last year. the body of the sweater is fine but the sleeves felted so tight that i couldn't bend my arms in it anymore.

and here's just a picture to show you how cute the back of it is....


so here's to a happy, crafty new year for all!!

quite quiet

just peeking in to say i haven't been blogging much lately because there's just not much new or exciting to report. i'm still fighting a nasty chest infection but feeling more energetic which means i've been spending more time working in the studio. it's so funny...i often worry what will happen when i run out of ideas. but the last couple of weeks have been quite the opposite! i've got so many new ideas that i'm worrying i won't be able to get them all done in time for the show. i've also had to break down and ask paul to make me a few extra displays so i have somewhere to put the new stuff.

in other news:

* i made the yummiest roasted butternut squash & apple soup last night. it was like eating autumn in a bowl.

* i wish i had time to start a knitting project. i really want to make a cowl or the shopping tunic i posted about here.

* i've been enjoying baking cookies...made a batch of super spicy ginger & chocolate chip (so yum!) and also some (very meh) peanut butter cookies.

* i miss swimming. i can't wait to feel like myself again so i can get back to it.

* noah's hair is growing a bit shaggy and i swear he looks like a little teddy bear these days.

* only 2 more weeks left of the farmers' market. then back to (bland) grocery store produce. (sniff) besides, i'll really miss our farmer friends. they're always so nice to kim and me.

right now

i'm loving:

the amazing style of these 3 ladies over on wardrobe_remix:
bonboniaa

nemrespobjecodnedjelje

piksi_


speak to me bones and magnetic hill by land of talk, although the whole album is AMAZING!!!

pashupatina's beautiful sculptural necklaces



pretty much every painting by the black apple

this brilliant method of displaying a pez collection by one good bumblebee

and the shopping tunic from twinkle's big city knits
*****
happy thanksgiving, fellow canadians!
enjoy your long weekend...

chained to the studio

nah, not really but i have been spending a crazy amount of time in here. good thing i love what i do otherwise it would actually be work!

with october almost here, i'm starting to feel a teensy bit of panic about how much stuff i still have to make before the one of a kind show (at the end of november).

in other ratgirl news, i spent the weekend putting together a brand new order for snazzygirl and all those goodies got shipped out this afternoon. putting the order together is a breeze, it's the photographing, photoshopping, and writing of the descriptions that is kind of hard for me. luckily my honey helped me with the photographing. (thanks, paul!) xoxo

here's a tiny peek at a couple of the items that will be going up on snazzygirl very soon:



*****
edit: hey, the new stock is already up on the website!! and i also suggested that most of the old stock be put on super-duper discount and looks like that's already done that too! go check it out...

busy busy

sorry, i don't mean to be so quiet this week. it's just that my life hasn't been terribly exciting. it has pretty much revolved around sitting at my desk and working working working! i've seriously gotten so much done...i feel pretty good about it. but that feeling lasts for about 35 seconds and then i remember that it's nowhere near enough. i still have SO MUCH left to do. btw: for those new around here (hi! it's lovely to see so many new faces!!) i'm doing all this work in preparation for the one of a kind show that starts at the end of november and runs for 11 days. it's pretty intense (the prep and the show itself).

i just remembered that i sort of took that hiatus from the blog around the ooak last year. i don't think i posted a picture of my booth. let me see if i can find it on my computer.... found it!

and here's a teensy peek at what i've been doing this week. this might look like a lot of charms but it's only one batch of several that i've finished up in the last few days. i hand-draw every single charm individually. these will eventually become hairpins and earrings.

i'm waiting to take a picture of all of the charms in my little supply box when each compartment is filled up. here's a little sneak peek:

*****
i'm off to my mom's on saturday so i'm going to say "have a good weekend" now.

have a good weekend!

this is totally just a test

just testing a new way to add pictures to this here blog...

(btw: this image came from Liana Kabel's awesome etsy shop)


...getting ready to jump into the blogosphere again!