Follow Me Elsewhere!!!

The apartment is torn apart, things are packed, thrown out or waiting for a place to go.
Vaccines have been given, insurance bought and things cancelled.

This is happening!

I'm going to be away from the computer for a bit, and I'm not sure where I'll be able to post things once I get there. The best way to get updates for now will be through instagram and tumblr, and so I highly suggest you follow me on those for fun updates about adventures and crafty fun in China!

Easily manageable haircut for my travels. 

We went to see Winterlude on Valentine's Day. 

Packing up a book I forgot I had.

Dad's up visiting and helping us move our stuff. Please ignore all the crap in the background. :)

Weekstagram & The Hintonburg Craft Fair

I realized that I haven't done a weekstagram post in quite a while. Whoops! More like monthstagram, amirite?? I also forgot to mention I hit my 200th post last post, how intense is that? I'm having a blast with this blog and I hope those of you who follow enjoy it too! Now on with the photos!!!

 I love palette knife paintings, especially this one I keep walking by in the mall lately.

This beautifully gnarled tree growing around a dead one while on a mini hike with the Mr last weekend. 

This weeks mani and my birthday gift from mom. Such a gorgeous ring!

An upside down shot of my table today at the Hintonburg Craft Fair, it was a pretty good day!  

I decided to change out the buttons on my coat. Just goth enough while still looking semi professional. 

Hat I made out of some scrap wool I got from work based off the pattern of my favourite hat. I think it came out pretty spot on, if I do say so myself!

The Hintonburg Craft Fair was today, and despite the first real snow of the year, it being freezing, and there being several other craft shows happening at the same time, there was an astounding turnout! There was a steady crowd the whole day, and a wonderful assortment of artists. Two delicious discoveries were these chocolate candied almonds (which I sampled but forgot to run back and buy!) from www.nut-candy-chocolate.com, delicious and gluten free (if that tickles your fancy), as well as some amazing mini cupcakes from Petite Treats. I bought a candy cane mint chocolate, chocolate with an orangey icing (I can't remember what kind it was technically but it was tasty) and a tiramisu one that the Mr claimed was also delish. Baked goods are my one weakness at a craft fair. If I don't buy anything else, I will always but a snack. 

Another fun first for this craft show worth mentioning was my use of the Square card reader, a credit card reader that plugs into the jack of your phone/tablet which allows you to accept Visa and Mastercard. The reader and app are free, and they only take a small percentage of each transaction (less than etsy/paypal do). It was a breeze and I must say not only did it make things more convenient for myself and customers, it made me feel that extra bit more professional.

If you're a vendor interested in expanding your payment options, it's definitely something to look into. The only thing I will note from my research is that the most they deposit in a month is $2002, if you go over that then they hold it for a certain amount of time. If you would be making more than that at shows with the card reader it might be a good idea to look into it further so you don't get hung up waiting for transfers. 

Craft Shows and Craft Swaps

Well, ladies and gents, I luckily enough was able to squeeze into the Hintonburg Artisan Craft Show's lineup on November 24th (Saturday) at the Hintonburg Community Centre from 10-4. I've got piles of half sewn things that I can't wait to show you all and that I will have ready come showtime.

Oooooh, what could they be!

In other news, I signed up for this years secret santa swap on craftster. I've got one thing started (part of the small) then I just have one 'medium' sized thing to make, plus extras. Always extras! I understand that not everyone wants to or can make extras for swaps, and that I may very well not get any extras, but I myself can't help but always spoil whomever I have as a partner. I'll share with you what I make, but after everything has been sent to avoid spoilers :).

Abandoned Everything

I went down and applied for another craft show yesterday, the same one that I did last year around this time. I had forgotten about it for a while so I assumed it filled up but when I emailed she said there still might be a chance so hopefully I hear back some positive news in a couple of weeks. I would love to be able to get another show in so soon after the other, and then keep it going at that speed.. :P

While we were out we did some exploring of some more abandoned places. I didn't get any good pictures of the first one but this old train bridge was really cool. All covered in graffiti, this one being my favourite. 

 I don't know who was writing this, but they will just have to accept that their clever drawing of a dinosaur within the word RAWR will be used by me from now on and there's nothing they can do about it. It's too good not to spread around.

Absolutely gorgeous colors are out now. I think now is the time to try drying out leaves for experiments.
Ever notice how making jewelry can make one sound like a mad scientist? Experiments! Buahahaha.

We also found these interesting photographs pasted around a bike trail, though most were defaced stupidly, they were also beautiful. 

This was the closest thing I've gotten to a hike in a long time, and it was wonderful.

Post craft show post & nails

So the craft fair ended up to be a very rainy day and sadly that kept many people away, but I had a great time, met a lot of wonderful people and it was definitely worth my time going there :).

I ended up having quite the collection of pieces that were piling up around here after random experiments, playing around with ideas, or having pieces I had for a while that I wanted to get rid of. I ended up putting them all in a rummage bin (far left of the table). People got some fun one of a kind stuff for really cheap (3 for $5) and I now have a lot less stuff sitting around. Everyone wins! Especially since I wasn't making money off things that no one saw and weren't listen online everywhere.

I'm hoping to get my etsy store fixed up within the week, though I did take down everything that's gone :).

Aaaaand these are my nails for the week. Getting kind of halloweeny now :). Take care everyone! 

A Curious Collective

Great news! Tamed Raven is going to be at the Curious Craft Fair (and swap!) Oct 14th. If you're in the Ottawa area, come on down and see what's going on :).

I'm going to have all my new stuff, goodies for Halloween (and maybe Christmas..) as well as a section of discounted jewelry that I want to destash. There'll be some seriously good deals not to mention everyone else at the fair that will have some great stuff I'm sure!

Grand Theft Bus

I don't go out to bars very often. Once when my brother was in town for a drink (literally just one), I got the 'Cape Breton Punch' and it was just as awesome as I had hoped it was. I don't remember all the ingredients or which bar it was as they are lining the streets in the market but.. Anyway. We (the Mr and I) went to Mavericks last year to see the creepshow, and went again the other day to see Grand Theft Bus, a wonderful band from the maritimes. It was a nice bit of that east coast feel that I don't get enough here in Ottawa, and I have a feeling at least half the people there were from somewhere out that way. Flicker State opened for them, a band from Montreal I do believe..

Grand Theft Bus

Rum and cokes, dancing, loud bass, more dancing, and me saying 'by' and 'buddy' a lot, just cause I could.

Flicker State

Now if only some more east coast bands would come out this way, instead of going from Toronto to Montreal and skipping us altogether. (I'm looking at you, Slowcoaster).

The photos courtesy of the Mr, I took a whole 2 pictures myself during the last song on my phone.. I need a good camera that works at night! 

I actually am planning on getting an SLR of some form or another (one that I would be able to share lenses with) but it's not going to be a typical camera with typical uses. There's a company online that will alter your camera for you and peel of the IR filter on the lens. It would allow me to do infra red photography that I've always been a fan of, but it would never take a normal picture after having this done. Probably not the best for product shots and point and shoot styled pictures. 

Happy Birthday Canada!

Happy belated Canada Day to everyone from here, and happy Fourth of July for all of you in the States :).

I had a wonderful Canada Day filled with bike rides in the morning, then roaming around downtown for the afternoon right into the evening seeing everything there was to see. I was amazed (and shocked) by the sheer amount of stuff going on and the amount of people!! And apparently its okay to wear only flags and body paint, judging by all the mostly naked people I saw, haha!

I had a blast, and hope everyone else did with whatever they ended up doing.

You know, just doing a backflip on a pogo. Whatev'.

It was a long, tiring but fun day, and I ended up sleeping away most of the next day recovering.

I've got a few pendants to share with you from the swap I did, but I'm going to wait until they're received before posting pictures so I don't spoil the surprise in case any of them happen to look here.

Cupcakes, Squids and Face masks

That's right, cupcakes, squids and face masks. These are the things I got the opportunity of enjoying yesterday down at the Urban Craft fair in the GCTC. It was the first time I wasn't working while it was going on and I wanted to check it out. Especially since I sent in an application for next month and I wanted to see what to expect if I can score a table (its a juried show). It was a lot tinier than I expected but everything was super nice. The Mr and I got a delicious cupcake from Auntie Loo's Treats (I felt like a hot mess trying to eat it inconspicuously, so moist and so much icing combined with a messy person is never good. I shouldn't be allowed in public).

I also ended up buying this amazing shirt from Winged Beast Outfitters (I can't resist a shirt with a squid, I'm telling you).

And lastly I got a free sample of a chocolate face mask from Purple Urchin. I have yet to buy something from that store but their products are amazing from what I've gotten to try and they smell so so good. My favourite is the mango scent and I will buy the body butter.. One day! As for the mask, I'll try it on my next day off.

I am having some issues with my own stuff though, I'm going through a love hate relationship with my resin. I mix it, pour it, and half of it sets properly and the other half doesn't, and there's no reason why with the amount that I'm stirring it. It's perfect. It's OCD perfect, and measured just right. I don't know why, but some of it is still sticky 3 days later. So sticky, in fact, that I cannot use sandpaper to take the top layer off (the grit of the sandpaper sticks in the resin). So all my puzzle piece pendants, and all my eggs are probably going in the trash and I have no idea why, along with one of my spoons. I have a new way I've decided to make the eggs, cause lets face it, I need to make these eggs (much less of a chance of this happening again, but still.. what a waste!) but those puzzle pieces were the bomb! Super glitterly, plus the one I pictured the other day is so badass. I might keep that one still, and hope for the best. Maybe its the moisture in the air, or the fact that some pieces have several layers of resin.. I really don't know.

Aaannnnnd because this is the cutest thing I've seen all day... Enjoy!

Ottawa Comiccon

From etsy.

Guess who just found out Ottawa is having their first comiccon this year? This chick.

Guess who's tempted to send in a table application despite their price (albeit for 2 days), and the lack of ability to accept debit/credit? Yeah, that's the only thing holding me back right now. I will probably attend regardless if its in a booth or just going (a weekend pass is only $35) and I could be a big nerd with a bunch of other big nerds. :).

Are any of you going to attend? If so, are you going to dress up?? Info, tickets and all that jazz are available on their website.

ABC Party costume from Uni. ("Anthing But Clothes")

Ice Sculptures & New Purse Pattern

We went down to see the ice sculptures in down town Ottawa today. They were pretty impressive and I tried to only take a few pictures of the best things to share with you :P.

Colored wolf sculptures inspired by thermal imagery. By far my favourite thing I saw that day.

OCTOPUS!

Also, Craft 6 or 50 down! I made myself a new purse. And I love love love the pattern so much that I'm going to make a few more for my store. (The base pattern that is, they'll all be decorated differently). I first was going to use another fabric for the ruffles but I couldn't be bothered cutting and hemming and all that, and I already had a huge strip of fabric already cut and hemmed that I saved for like, a year to use as ruffles on something, so I went with that instead. It was my first time making them and I think they turned out pretty good. I didn't have enough fabric to cover the whole front though so that's why only half is done, hahah. I like how it looks though!

Its also fully lined and has 3 pockets, one for girly stuff (hand lotion, spare eyeliner, etc), one thats currently holding business cards, and one that was meant for my camera but it seems I've put an ipod and a little notebook in there to keep the clutter down on the inside of my purse.

Lastly, I've been holding onto this little thing for months. Its some kind of bike part that the Mr didn't need that figured I'd want to keep. He was right. Its cool looking, has a good weight, and is quite shiny. Only problem is trying to decide what to do with it. Any ideas? Ideas I've had include: a locket, filling the centre with epoxy, macramé..

It's all chrome-y and shiny, and 3" wide. What to use it for...

Skating and a Jewelry Stand

This morning the Mr and I went skating down on the Rideau Canal (AKA the worlds biggest skating rink). I haven't been skating in about 8 years! It was a bit difficult (especially on ill fitting rented skates) but it came back fast enough and was quite fun. :).

Mid-skate we stopped for beavertails (the store was set up on the ice). For those non-Canadian readers, its a ginormous pastry  (like, the size of my keyboard) with nummy toppings. Cinnamon and sugar, or maple butter (which is what I got) or nutella and bananas, garlic butter and cheese... Mmmmm.

~

I also finally got to hang up my jewelry holder today. (47 of 50 crafts remaining).

Using that large frame I picked up the other week at Value Village, I added a print on top of the damask background that was already in it. I then painted a whole bunch of mini clothes pins silver and glued them to the glass around the print. They work great! For the tinier things (rings and pendants) I can use the top row (and actually put them in the clothespins), the necklaces just get hung over top along the sides and across the bottom. I'm stoked that I don't have to leave my jewelry in a messy pile on the dresser anymore.

 

'Single Again' by Angelina Wrona. A few years ago I bought 4 of her prints. 2 ended up as Christmas presents, and 2 for myself. This is the first time I've gotten to properly hang one up. Her work is just amazing. 

I accidentally put the background in a little crooked, but you can't notice the small gap in the corner in real life. 

I'm tired after skating but I'm also feeling very inspired, so I think I will have a short nap then mix up some epoxy and see what comes of it. Until next time!