Craftzilla Conquers the World

A Memorable Mother's Day

2013-05-13T00:17:00.000-04:00

This year, we really tried to have a memorable Mother's Day for my mom, since the loss her mom (aka my grandma) was so new. We thought of me going home to surprise her, but let's face it, I've been home a lot lately! So my sister and I hatched the plan of my sister Sarah driving my mom up to visit me in Guelph, since she's never been to visit me here yet. So Mom and Sarah hopped in the car on Saturday night, and arrived just in time to eat some delicious buttertarts, drink tea and sample some turducken from our earlier guest that day (more on that later) before heading to their hotel to sleep.

They showed up bright and early on Mother's day morning, where I had tasty pancakes waiting for them to fuel our day of shopping at the new Target and Len's Mill for fabric. After shopping was accomplished, we picked Zen up and headed to high tea at the Boathouse. We gave each us fancy tea names like Penelope, Pritchard and Condalezza and sipped our tea with outstretched pinkies and exaggerated English accents while we discussed hilarious topics. Overall, it was a day to remember and possibly the start of a new yearly tradition!

Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome moms out there!

♥ Craftzilla

Have You Met....everythingok

2013-05-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Have you met my lovely friend Sami, who has an awesome Etsy shop called everythingOK?
If you haven't met her yet, you definitely should! She's just ventured into the world of 'creative unemployment,' and is reaching for her dreams of being employed in a creative field, hopefully in television! This girl doesn't need anymore training to be creative though: she's a photographer, maker of fibre-y things and illustrator. I thought I'd share some of my favourite things from the everythingok Etsy shop with you today, since hey, creative types also like to eat and stuff.

Sami LOVES her some Doctor Who, which shows in things like an adorable Tardis mug cozy above, and here amazing illustrations of the doctors and their companions like this one of the Ninth doctor and Rose (my desire to re-watch the Ninth Doctor series is growing...)

Her photography and descriptions are amazing- I love this holding hands print

The description she gave is probably also the cutest thing ever and makes me wish for more warm summer days and holding hands walks:

Somewhere in Manhattan (or possibly Brooklyn) holdin' hands down the road. It's much safer to walk down the street holding someone's hand, and in some cases, it makes your heart do backflips.

The colours in this photo, "a crack in the universe" are so amazing! I wonder where this crack leads...

The below picture is actually from the art show she had where I met her in person and we chatted about the evils of university professors telling students not to take notes over downloading Powerpoints later.

Make sure you visit Sami over on Twitter, on her website or on her blog too for more photos, nerdery and some really thoughtful posts.

♥ Craftzilla

Dealing With Loss and Finding the Good Moments

2013-05-08T22:16:00.002-04:00

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It was a bit of a hard weekend -- I got a call on Thursday that my grandma was being moved back to palliative care from the nursing home, and she ended up passing away on Saturday morning. It was good that the whole family were together, and that I decided to take Friday off instead of waiting until Saturday to go up to Peterborough.

There were good moments of the weekend along with the bad:

...going to garage sales with my dad and finding a sweet ice cream maker
...calling relatives to tell them the news
...going out for a patio lunch of pizza, beer and ice cream right after it happened, and raising a toast to my grandma
...making arrangements at the funeral home
...sharing memories and stories
...eating hot dogs and chips out on my parent's deck and enjoying the sun
...taking back those three pairs of pants that will never be worn, with the excuse of "the size was wrong" since my mom didn't want to freak out the pre-teen girl on cash.
...laughing over my grandma's thriftiness in not wearing the pants, of dying before her rent went up at the nursing home as well as partway through the month so she still got her old age security check
...writing my first obituary..luckily my sister helped.
.. finding photos that I didn't know existed of my Grandma, from Legion events --that's her in the middle, looking very much like a president or fighter pilot in her spiffy Legion blazer, right?

What's next:
...celebration of life in a few weeks at the Legion
...visiting the memorial gardens as a family
...trying to stay positive

♥ Craftzilla

Making Memories: New Sewing Machine

2013-05-02T08:02:00.000-04:00

Source: favim.com via Gillian on Pinterest

I've talked a lot lately about my grandma being ill, and part of that has resulted in the sale of her house and liquidation of some of her assets. Not to get into too many details here, but this ended up meaning that some money came my way, and I was stuck for awhile trying to decide what to do with it. There's the obvious action of paying off some bills, but I wanted to have something that I could hold, something that I could use to make me thing of her every time I used it.

Maybe I have a bad memory, maybe I need something to hold, like the locket of hers I've put on every time I miss her or feel upset that she's sick. Maybe I just like the idea of something tangible to remind me of her every time I use it. Maybe I'm just one of those people who don't like getting money even as gifts, and always want to DO something with it. Or maybe I just needed an excuse to buy a new sewing machine since mine is older than me and barely chugging along anymore.

So that's what I did - meet my new co-creator, Bernina 330:

I'm hoping to master more than the art of threading this fancy machine (I literally had to watch a video to even do that much, which made me feel pretty technically challenged) in the weeks to come, and do some creative sewing. Best of all, every time I thread it, I know I'll be thinking of good memories of my grandma, which will make sewing an even happier occasion than it usually is.

♥ Craftzilla

Bits and Pieces

2013-04-10T23:35:00.001-04:00

My mind is in bits and pieces lately, so my post might as well be too:

The picture above is one I took from my grandma's house of my grandma and grandpa on their wedding day. If I remember correctly, this was in the mid-1950s, and the wedding took place in Ireland. My grandma looks so pretty!

Moving all the things out of grandma's house and garden when I was there the other weekend was a lot of work! Old ladies own a lot of concrete garden pagodas and Buddhas that all weigh hundreds of pounds. We found some awesome photos, memories, and keepsakes though, some of which I hope to share with you soon. I added to my Bulgarian embroidery and embroidered fabric collection, as well as my so-tacky-but-I-love-it jewelry collection.

One term of school is over, and another has started already! I like the accelerated semester for summer, since it means I actually get two months off of school, but my brain is sort of in need of a vacation. Luckily after this term, I only have one class left, so the end of school and getting to put a fancy BSW after my name are coming up quickly.

Only a few weeks until one of the events I've been helping with a bit, Ignite Guelph, is coming up on April 23rd. I'm excited to see how it all comes together.

Someone really needs to bring over some wine and help me gather all the 8000 documents I need to do my taxes.

I bought three pairs of pants online, and THEY ALL FIT PERFECTLY. I'm hoping they don't disintegrate into thin air like leprechaun gold the next time I wear them.

Speaking of pants, I also tried on these awesome yoga jeans from Second Demin Co. at my friend's store, Grey Rock, and I loved them. Also, I'm now a member of the Sisterhood of Fab Behinds, so here's the evidence below. Or I may be peeing into a corner, according to my Dad, who is the classiest of all dads.

I watched this epic movie tonight and I don't regret it even one bit. Hilarious.

I own some washi tape now! Got an amazing deal for 8 rolls on Pick Your Plum awhile back, and now just have to decide what crafty things I might get up to with it. Send any washi tape crafts my way!

I'm working on a secret blog project that I'll share soon, as well as a fun custom order for a friend that I want to share when they're done, but don't think the internet needs a photo of me wearing one of these things. Suspense!

And with that brain dump complete, it's off to bed with me!

♥ Craftzilla

Memories, and Moving On

2013-03-28T19:53:00.000-04:00

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You know the thing about holidays that seem to have lots of chocolate around in stores, like Easter? I will buy lots and I will eat it, and likely be sick of chocolate before the holiday even gets here.

However, hopefully I'll work it all off this weekend since I'm going home to help my parents sort through my grandma's house before the new owners move in.

Wow, that's even sad to write :(

Grandma is still hanging in there and actually moved out of palliative care about a month ago. She moved into one of those assisted living kind of places, which are high on independence, still have 24 hour care, but are super costly. So unfortunately, her house had to be sold. Luckily it sold in record time, and over the asking price, so she will be comfortable and cared for.

But it's that same sense of impending loss that came over me when my parents sold my childhood home. All those memories, from the years our family lived in the house next to my grandmas will be gone, in a way, because the spaces will be filled up with all the memories and laughter and tears of other people. Other families will eat dinner together, and other kids will build snowmen in the front yard and draw on the sidewalks with chalk until their grandma gets upset at their mom for letting us draw there (what else are you supposed to do with chalk, really?)

You know how it is - another touchstone of your life isn't there where you left it anymore, and things have aged and fallen apart quicker than you could have guessed they would. And it's hard to take in, hard to participate in their destruction, but sometimes it's the only option.

The reality is that I'll probably never live in Peterborough again, my sister has her own house, and my grandma can't live on her own there anymore. Tenants are more of a hassle than it's worth for my parents, and hopefully the people who bought the place will make it a home and enjoy living there.

For me, I've got a spot set out in my dream apartment (or really, the next place we move) for one of the pieces of furniture that my grandfather made, to remember the times we spent there at this house before it was done. I chose the table and chairs - good, strong chairs, that look nice but are really hard to sit on, especially when you're occupied in a long lasting game of Monopoly or a Sunday dinner with a dessert to linger over. I want to be in that new apartment that has space for this memory of how my Grandma's house used to look and the time I spent there, because I'm sure by the time I get there tomorrow, most of it will already be boxed up and packed away. And not to accidentally quote Dawson's Creek or anything, but I don't want to wait for my memories to be over/ fade before I can sit down on these super hard chairs in my own place, and remember.

Not to be a total downer, there should be at least some fun this weekend - my sister is dragging me and another friend of ours to see her husband's band play tomorrow night, so hopefully I can stay awake past 10pm and have a big girl drink or two. I also haven't visited Grandma at her new digs, so looking forward to that and hoping she's up to it, as she had a bit of a fall the other day.

At any rate, I should stop eating chocolate and go pack for my trip now.

Happy Easter friends! Hope you are spending it with as many loved ones as you can :)

♥ Craftzilla

March Photo a Day -Day 1-8

2013-03-21T22:00:00.003-04:00

I think the craziness of my month must be reflected in the fact that I'm just posting this first set of photos now, and it's already three weeks into March! It's been a month of lots of papers to write for school (have you ever reflected on group work for 16 pages? I have, and it wasn't pretty!), sessions for school, overtime and trips to Toronto for all the jobs, and to top it all off, I've been capital SICK off and on for weeks. March has me a bit down for sure, and I'm having a hard time crawling out of my winter funk. Amusingly, tonight I was at a class for my placement where we were talking about my old friend self care, including taking some time for yourself and doing things you love. So I figured I'd take a few minutes and share this first batch of photos with you from my March Photo a Day project, and let you know that I haven't fallen off a cliff or anything :)

Day 1 - "L is for...." Love! Look at these sleeping guys cozying up-- who couldn't love that?
Day 2- "I made this": I sure did! Zentron the robot (clock + Rubix cube+ Wine pourers=robot love), Love string art and a similar yet legally distinct knitted Hello Kitty

Day 3- Key - I found this old diary key and love charm in my stash of jewelery

Day 4- Luck - Nothing luckier than my trusty charm bracelet that I got for my 16th birthday ! I like to keep it real with charms like my bottle of gin, and the car charm given to me by my mom, aka, "the only car I will ever buy you"

Day 5: Under - This is the lamp in our hallway...I think it's sort of retro and fun
Day 6 - Chair - Speaking of retro and fun, a friend gave me this chair and I love it's 800 layers of paint and classic lines.

Day 7- Fear - I fear that now that I have a donut pan that I will never stop making all the donuts. Recipe here.
Day 8 - Favourite- Jesse is definitely my favourite, even when he gives me sad eyes until I throw this freaking toy for him for hours on end.

So there you have it. Now that my sickness is nearing the end (hopefully, I can't cough anymore!) I will hopefully be more in touch :)

♥ Craftzilla

March Photo a Day

2013-03-01T21:41:00.001-05:00

Now that I have a shiny new phone that can take more than one picture without chugging along, I'm going to try to do another Photo a Day challenge. In case you'd like to join in, I'm using the prompts from the Fat Mum slim site. I'll be sharing my progress here weekly, and aiming for daily on Twitter using the hashtag #FMSphotoaday.

♥ Craftzilla

Paying the Consequences

2013-02-28T22:26:00.001-05:00

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I haven't really been taking very good care of myself in awhile, and the cracks are starting to show. I'm paying the consequences for taking on too much, lacking balance in my life and not taking enough time for rest.

Over the weekend, I couldn't sit down without falling asleep on the couch, in bed or even on the bus. But I'd convinced myself that I was feeling well rested enough to go to Brownies on Monday, and since we were having a yoga instructor come in to teach some yoga to the kids, I thought it would be an easy night.

You know how you get ideas in your head of what your skills are and you stick to them in your brain, even when it's been awhile since you've actually done them? I have an idea of myself in my head where I'm pretty good at yoga -- I've practiced off and on for years, and generally think of myself as fairly capable and strong.

But let me tell you, I'm ashamed to say that this yoga practice for 7 and 8 year old kids totally kicked my butt.

Let me put this into context for you so you realize exactly how pathetic this is. We spent the first bit of the practice just doing some forward bends, breathing and acting like lions (yeah, this is a yoga thing) and all the girls were giggling and doing somersaults at the novelty of being on mats and doing yoga. Then we did about 3 balancing poses and a few sun salutations for a total of about half an hour of yoga.

I used to take pretty advanced classes, and was even almost getting good at the plank at one point...and at this point, it's all gone. I was shaky, inflexible and needing a better stretch to do any of the poses. And it was a bit of a wake up call.

You don't stay good at things if you don't work hard at them. You can't expect progress if you haven't had the time to dedicate to improving. You can't expect stellar results or to maintain previous gains if you can't make time to take care of yourself.

And how am I paying for this lesson? Even before I got home, I was getting a tickle in my throat.
I woke up the next morning with a sore throat, feeling like I'd been put through the wringer. Were the sore muscles body aches from fever or just from the yoga practice that kicked my butt? It was hard to tell. But regardless, I was laid up at home for a few days, as my body's need for rest won out over the desire to push myself further than I could go.

What have I learned? That I'm not invincible. That I'm not a goddess of yoga by default. That I probably need to sleep sometime, because I'm only human. That I probably need to practice yoga a little more often.

♥ Craftzilla

Taking Time for Myself

2013-02-25T12:48:00.002-05:00

Source: Uploaded by user via Gillian on Pinterest

I finally followed some of my own advice related to self care, and took some time for myself this past week. Given everything that's been going on with my family, work and school, I have definitely been feeling very over-worked, over-tired and under-happy. Just taking a little bit of time to connect with people and do a few things I love has made all the difference, and has made me better able to focus on all of the things have to do.

Here's how I took care of myself this week:

I got my hair cut
I got it cut super short and I'm loving it so far. I hadn't gotten a hair cut in about 8 months, just from feeling too busy and taking an hour to get pampered a little bit was very energizing. Pictures to come soon!

I took a day where I did absolutely nothing for work or school.
What is Family Day for but to spend time with family? It was also the first chance the boy and I had time to spend together for Valentines or our anniversary, so we cuddled up, watched the Princess Bride on TV and ate a giant plate of s'mores. Heavenly.

I went out to dinner with the boy
It was our four year anniversary this past week, and although we didn't go anywhere too fancy (Wendy's) and it was a bit of a late night for me given an early morning wake up the next day, it was totally worth it to go out somewhere in public and get a chance to talk and connect. Isn't it funny how you can live with someone and see them every day, but sometimes you can go awhile without getting to really talk? We both definitely need to take more time to spend together talking, and not just at moments of crisis or extreme upset.

Took time for gratitude.
My grandma is doing a lot better in the last few weeks. They're actually moving her out of palliative care and into a nursing home. I've been taking time to give thanks that she will get at least a few more months of life, in a more comfortable place than in the hospital. The prognosis for her cancer hasn't changed, but there is more positivity for her quality of life, which I am very grateful for.

I took some time for friends.
While I was waiting to get my haircut, I stopped by my beloved yarn store to see some of my awesome knitting friends. It had been months and months since I'd stopped in to have a tea and a chat. I didn't even have any knitting with me, but it was still great to catch up!

I took some time for crafting.
I started a makeover on some lamps I got for $20 off Kijiji. So far I've recovered one of the shades and I'm pleased with the results. Once I finish covering the second shade and paint the bases of the lamps, I'll be ready to share the transformation!

I went on a dog walk with friends
I took a few hours yesterday to go on a dog walk with two fellow dog owner friends. The pups romped and played and had a great time, and so did we! I hadn't really realized how few longer dog walks I've gone on this winter due to lack of time, icy conditions around my place and annoying things, like plantar fasciitis in one of the arches of my feet which has been making walking anywhere sort of painful. The walk was good for both me and the pup though -- he was actually tired out for once and had adorable naps on the couch.

So, the next time any of you hear me say that I don't have time for anything fun, please remind me of this post and the benefit that taking even just an hour or two doing something fun can have on your outlook on life!

♥ Craftzilla

Be my Crafty Valentine

2013-02-14T12:43:00.002-05:00

When the amazing and crafty Mel from Needle and Nest posted a version of that status that has been making its way around the internet, promising crafty goodness to the first 5 commenters, I knew my time to comment had finally come!

So here's me holding up my end of the bargain:

The first 5 people to comment on this post will earn the dubious (amazing? once in a lifetime?) honour of becoming "my crafty valentine" and can expect a handmade gift from me showing up in their mailbox sometime this year!

What you need to do:
- Leave me a comment below with your name and email address
- Post a similar offer on your blog, Facebook or Twitter (if you're not overly crafty, the gift doesn't have to be handmade -- I'll leave that up to you)
- Wait for crafty things to arrive in your mailbox!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

♥ Craftzilla

Cancer Sucks: Keeping the Important Things in Sight

2013-02-11T01:11:00.002-05:00

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I'm definitely at a point of negativity and sadness at the moment. Everything seems unusually hard, and I can't quite reconcile all the everyday things I have to do with wanting to be in Peterborough and spending time with my grandma, since there is definitely not much of it left. Cancer sucks. I've been back to visit the last three weekends out of four, and though I'm glad I was there, school just isn't taking care of itself while I'm gone, the house isn't cleaning itself and I just can't turn off my emotions. There are a lot of tears happening these days, and none of this has been very conducive to blogging much either. But since blogging is one of my outlets for working through things, I have been wanting to share a bit about where I'm at.

I'm wishing that I knew everything about my grandma and her side of the family, hoping that I'm able to ask any important questions before it's too late and wishing that I'd been able to be around for visits more before she got really sick. I mean, it's been a long three years of her having cancer, and I definitely could have been around more than I was. I know she doesn't fault me for it - school and work and living further away are valid reasons, but all I know if that I feel like I could have done more. Being back as much as I have this month, and spending time with other family members reminiscing about old times has been very eye opening. I've heard a lot of family stories I'd never heard before, about my grandma and her brother growing up in Toronto, of my great- grandma's family and past, of my mom's experiences growing up and managed to laugh in the midst of the sadness.

There are some other positive aspects to her illness as well, at least for me. When Nannie was first diagnosed with cancer, her illness was an impetus for me to make a lot of changes in my life three years ago. Within a month of the diagnosis I'd decided to move from Toronto to Guelph, to see what would happen with a boy, to quit a job I was tired of, to and apply to go back to school in a field I was more interested in. Cancer has its positive effects too, I guess, in making you realize how limited our time really is, and how we can get stuck where we are, and sometimes need a push to get moving towards change. That the mortality of ourselves and those around us can remind us how we can't always put things off until later, since our time might end up running out before we get around to it.

Someone posted this article from the Guardian earlier, and since I've read it, it's all I can think about. A nurse working in palliative care asked her patients what their biggest regret was, and wrote a book about the top five regrets of her dying patients. No one regretted not spending more time working or studying or watching television or cleaning. Everyone regretted working too much, not spending time with friends, not having the courage to live the life they wanted to or express the emotions they wanted to express. They regretted holding themselves back from experiencing happiness and being complicit in being unhappy and unfulfilled in their lives.

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I guess I'm wondering how much I'm doing all of these things to myself right now, if I'm making all the time I can to be happy and do the things that matter in the midst of the large amount of work and schoolwork that I'm currently in the middle of. I'm wondering how to grab more of those moments of happiness, of what I can change in the short term to get more of those moments in my life. I don't want to have more of these regrets weighing me down. I want to connect with people and have them know me in return. I want to have time for those who are important to me and change the habits I've built up around myself that are taking away from my happiness. I want to make the most of the time I have left with my Nannie, and keep my family closer than I have.

I'd love for there to be an easy way to do all of this, but I guess I'll have to settle for asking for some help when I need it, and letting things go for now that aren't as important or pressing in the bigger scheme of things. And that will have to be enough, because it will be the best I can do.

♥ Craftzilla

New About Me page on My Etsy shop

2013-02-08T13:13:00.003-05:00

Benefits of the snow day today: productivity from my couch! So far I've completed one of my bucket list goals done--specifically to finish the About Me page for my Etsy shop. I always seem to have a bit of trouble talking about my overall vision for my shop, but it's definitely a useful exercise to help decide where I want to go next!

Have a look and let me know what you think!

♥ Craftzilla

Friday Fancies: 2/1/2013

2013-02-01T11:33:00.001-05:00

A new month definitely means some new favourite things to share with you! I can't believe January is over already!

The above video is amazing --it showcases an amazing interactive design installation in Montreal called 21 Balançoires (21 Swings) from design collective, Daily Tous les Jours. Swinging on the swings creates musical notes, and the more people who swing cooperatively, the more the music can change. This totally speaks to memories of swinging on the swings as a kid, of trying to reach the top of the sky and of never wanting to come back down.

This Ramona Flowers cosplay is pretty fun. I might need to re-watch Scott Pilgrim vs. the World now.

I love this idea of having an outdoor tea party and taking time to just listen from Maya made.

I love this tutorial for hand made buttons made from clay! (thanks Kate!)

This kind of bag is my favourite kind of gigantic purse - and I love the Amy butler prints!

Nothing says Valentines Day like a pillow covered with hearts -- great tutorial from Allisa at Quiltish.

Happy Friday friends!

♥ Craftzilla

January Cure: Week 3 Progress

2013-01-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on the daily challenges for the Apartment Therapy January Cure! Check out my other posts with progress here!

Before I get into my specific progress for this week, I thought I'd share a few photos from the challenge so far, particularly how tidy and adorable my kitchen is at the moment. I decluttered the counters, cleaned the fridge, arranged some knick-knacks and hung some pictures and mirrors, and it's like a whole different space that I'm loving spending time in lately.

You can also see the awesome Christmas gift from my parents peeking out - a cherry red KitchenAid stand mixer :) I want to make all the things in it, though have only made a few batches of cookies so far. These little owls are also guarding my stove (and the salt and pepper!)

Day 9 : Create a Landing Strip

I'm still thinking about the best way to deal with all the clutter near my front door. Coats, shoes, keys always missing --it's a real problem. I'm hoping I can find something useful to keep some of that clutter organized, that maybe even uses some of the inspiration from my Entryway inspirations post last week.

Day 10: Work on your Goal Project

I spent a night going through many random tote bags of yarn and clearing out the space under my desk. I had a lot of yarn in that tiny space, and a lot of projects on the go! I think I may have even found enough of the needles I'd misplaced to actually finish some of my erstwhile knitting projects. However I've got miles (of yarn) to go before I ~~sleep~~ finish my organizing process. I won't share a picture yet, because the progress isn't super visible yet, but I'm getting there!

Day 11: Try a Media Fast

To be honest, I've had bits and pieces of this lately, but with doing an online class this semester and work/ placement, I have little time to not be online. Travelling to visit my family and just sitting on a bus for awhile was pretty great, but it was nothing compared to having media-free time in my comfy apartment. One of these days it will happen!

Day 12: Declutter Books and Media

I could declutter forever and still never make a big enough dent to fit all my books on my bookshelf. I did cast a critical eye on the bookshelf for books that I've never read or that I can easily get for free on my e-reader, and a few ended up in my outbox.

Day 13: Flowers and Bedroom

Although I was away on this weekend, I actually did a huge clean-out of my bedroom on the first weekend of the challenge which is still holding up. I moved boxes, I reorganized the whole closet, I hung some more pictures, I put the dog's bed out in a comfier spot and we can actually walk through the room. It's definitely starting to feel like a more inviting space! I'll definitely share a few photos of how things are shaping up in here soon.

♥ Craftzilla

Tales from a Bad Week

2013-01-27T04:43:00.001-05:00

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All I have in me is negativity. This has been a bad week emotionally and physically and just overall for me. Nothing seems to have gone right this week and I can't shake that feeling of wanting to hibernate in my house and just not come out for two or three months. I have really tried harder to keep a positive spin on things in this space, but I think there are also times where expressing a little negativity is needed to get past it.

Bad things of the week:

Getting stranded out of town after my placement was over Friday night for an extra 3 or 4 hours due to the bus boarding on another platform and not being told. I ended up getting home at 10:30pm (keeping in mind I left home around 8am) instead of 7pm. I also didn't have any money to get dinner, and things are definitely worse without food.
Losing my newly knitted hat on a stopover at the Greyhound station in Toronto last Sunday! I know I just dropped this hat somewhere in the station, and since I checked with lost and found, someone clearly scooped it up for themselves. Knit wear thieves are the worst. I've started casting on a new one though which will hopefully be even more awesome than the first.
Being away all last weekend and getting home on Sunday at 11:30pm really put a damper on my preparedness for the week. I could use many naps.
The heat has been turned off at work way too many times this week. Space heaters and Russian hats were my saviour.
I have a weird assignment due on Monday that I just can't wrap my head around no matter how much I've been staring at it.
Most of all, seeing how sick my grandma has gotten just since Christmas on my weekend at home was a bit jarring. Her cancer is at the point where she's no longer getting any treatments and home care is being set up. The weekend itself was pleasant enough, hanging out knitting and chatting with Nannie, but not being able to be there regularly (my parents and grandma are a 3 to 4 hour trip away) is making me a bit upset and feeling helpless.

Good things:

Lunch with a friend
Bought many groceries and dog food today--feeling all stocked up
I conquered dishes mountain and the kitchen is pretty clean.
Knitting mittens is great fun!
I got some awesome new knitting needles
A few surprises for a special someone arrived in the mail -excited for the time to give them
Puppy cuddles
Naps under my new (to me) granny square afghan
Watching shows with the boy
Skating and hot chocolate with the Brownies
Hugs

Here's hoping for more good things than bad things next week. I think I've earned some good week karma!

♥ Craftzilla

Valentines Day Cards : Cute Animals Edition

2013-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Do you remember how much fun Valentines Day was when you were a kid? When you got to eat cupcakes in class, make mailboxes for your cards out of pink and red construction paper, and spend hours picking out the perfect set of Valentines cards to give to your whole class? I don't send a lot of Valentines these days, other than to my ~~sweetie~~ the boy, but I do love Valentines cards! Personally I have a weakness for punny, nerdy cards starring adorable animals, so here are a few of my favourites in case you're still in need of a card for a special someone!

Source: theloyalarmydaily.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: wherethewildingsare.blog.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: kikicomin.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: jessilepsy.tumblr.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: ca.etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

♥ Craftzilla

My Not So Bucket List

2013-01-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

source

Following in the footsteps of my not so completed 30 before 30 list and in the footsteps of my awesome friend Dan, I decided to start my own "Not so Bucket list" where I list some of my dreams, goals and things I'd like to do. I'll be updating this page as I go, including updating it with links to any posts I do about progress, and put in some estimated dates I'd like to get things done. I think that seeing it all in black and white can be really inspiring for me, especially on those days where life feels boring and grey and you need some ideas of how to make things a bit more exciting or to remember the dreams you've had in happier times.

So far, I've broken things down into a few important categories and will definitely be posting about this and adding more items as I think of them. Here's the starting point for my list, which also lives on my Not so Bucket List page.

Business

1. Create a business plan
2. Register my business
3. Sell 50 items in my Etsy shop

4. Create a knitting pattern for the shop
5. Create a sewing pattern for the shop
6. Create a cross stitch pattern for the shop

7. Have 100 items listed in the shop

Travel

1. Get a passport
2. Go somewhere (more later)

Finances

1. Pay off my credit card balance
2. Pay off my student loan
3. Save up for a new couch

Personal

1. Get my Drivers license- G1 and G2
2. Finish my Bachelor of Social Work degree
3. Read 10 more books in 2013 from the BBC Big Reads List (progress here)

Have a look at my goals so far, and let me know what you think! If you've made a similar list, definitely leave me a link in the comments, since I need some more inspiration!

♥ Craftzilla

Beaded Necklace Giveaway from The Treasure Chest

2013-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today I've got an interview and a giveaway with the lovely Maria of The Treasure Chest, a local Etsy shop, who's giving away the lovely beaded necklace (below) and sharing her reflections on her business in 2012, and her future business goals for 2013!

What do you think was your greatest accomplishment with your business in 2012?

In 2012 I attended lots of shows and I realized that beaded jewellery is such a saturated craft. You can find beads and jewellery findings everywhere. It can get to the point that that you get tired just of looking at them. It made me think that it was time to focus on a niche and create something with a unique touch. I decided to focus on bead embroidery, a technique I love and that allows me to go beyond just jewelry It was a big new step but I am glad I made it.

What are your goals or vision for your business for 2013?

I am done with craft shows. I haven't had good experiences with them this year and am going to focus on my online shop.

What new skill did you learn last year that you want to keep improving on this year?

Bead embroidery is such a versatile technique, it is like painting-- you can play with colours and shapes and use a variety of materials and little vintage treasures as embellishments. I am going to explore it further and perfect it.

What advice would you give to anyone who was just starting a crafty business?

My advice is learn from your mistakes and never give up. Have the courage to take new steps and change direction. Never stop improving yourself, there is always something new to try, and above all, be creative!

And now, for the giveaway!

Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below. If you can't wait until the end of the giveaway to see if you won, you can get your own necklace now in her Etsy Shop.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS--Check out the Valentines Heart Pins giveaway post to see if you're a winner - I ended up picking two lucky winners instead of one. Thanks to everyone for entering--I loved reading about your best Valentines Day memories.

♥ Craftzilla

DIY Jewelry Display

2013-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been the world's worst editor of photos it seems, as I just found a bunch of photos from the summer that I haven't shared at all on the blog. Among them were these photos for this fun DIY jewelry display that I made to show off some of my knitted pins.

Here's what you'll need:

An old frame with a removable back and glass
Some card stock, cardboard or an old file folder
A piece of cotton batting
Glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors

What I did:

I removed the back and the glass from the frame. This frame ended up working really well for this project, since the back attached to the frame with two screws.
Trace the inside of the frame onto the card stock/ cardboard or file folder and cut it out with scissors.
Cut out your batting and fabric a bit larger than your cardboard shape. Lay the fabric wrong side up on a flat surface, then add the batting and the cardboard piece. (see image below)

Wrap the fabric and batting around the cardboard and secure with your glue gun.
Trim the excess fabric and put the back back onto your frame

Voila, you have an awesome jewelry display!

If you end up making one of these displays, I'd love to see how yours turned out!

♥ Craftzilla

Thoughts on Not Getting Ahead of Myself

2013-01-17T22:21:00.001-05:00

I'm always that person who wants to get to the end of things. Who doesn't mind working hard to get there, but if there's something to be done to speed up the process, I'd rather do it and suffer a lack of sleep in the short term to just get finished.

I'd rather have ten projects on the go than one project to focus on most days, to keep myself interested and occupied. Otherwise I can get bored. I can have trouble focusing. I can tend towards procrastinating.

I don't take it well when there isn't a way to speed up things, or when the powering through process lasts longer than I'd like. School is dragging on, work is dragging on, and I'm at that point where I'm just looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, which realistically probably won't arrive until December at the earliest.

I guess part of it is that I feel like I need to be finished school in order to have actually accomplished anything. I get stuck on the idea that the only way to get ahead is to decide to do something, do it and finish it. I forget about the importance of the process, and the fact that it's a feat that I got started on this path at all. Second degrees and career changes are not in the cards for everyone, and goodness knows, it's been hard going for me at many, many points.

So I'm going to take a step back, relax and remember these words from Mark Twain: "The secret to getting ahead is getting started" and realize that I've already come further than I thought I had.

The secret for me seems to be to reflect on some of my progress every once in awhile, and remember how far I've come.

Any tips for not getting discouraged when you're working towards a large goal?

♥ Craftzilla

source

Entryway Inspiration

2013-01-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Source: decorhacks.com via Gillian on Pinterest

I'm still working on the January Cure challenges, and the challenge from yesterday was related to having a more organized entry way. Our current entry is so small, and is on two levels (coat storage at the bottom, landing part way up). So far I haven't had a lot of brilliant ideas to organize this space other than stacking some milk crates to hold shoes and hats/mitts, so I had a look on Pinterest today for some inspiration for small hallway spaces that keep all those things like shoes, keys and coats accessible and organized.

Source: marthastewart.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: manolohome.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Gillian on Pinterest

Any tips or links you'd like to share with me would be much appreciated!

♥ Craftzilla

Valentines Day Pins Giveaway

2013-01-15T08:19:00.004-05:00

I haven't had a giveaway in awhile, since I missed the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day in December, so I decided to give away a set of these cute felt heart pins from my shop so that you're all in the mood for love by the time Valentines Day rolls around!

Enter below using the Rafflecopter and good luck! I'm really looking forward to hearing your best Valentines Day memories :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

January Cure: Week 2 Progress

2013-01-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been following along with the January Cure on the Apartment Therapy blog this month, in order to help me get my space in shape for the new year. Check out my progress so far here:

Day 4: Getting a New Perspective

Day 4's post, is about getting a fresh perspective on your space. I picked my living room and sat on the floor to try to change up my perspective a bit.

Thoughts: My perspective was mostly that when we first moved in, there was a feeling of more openness in the living room that hasn't been there in awhile due to all the stuff in the room. Sitting on the floor also showed me how bare the walls are. It's definitely time to get some more pictures up on the walls!

Day 5: Tackle a Project

The challenge for Day 5 is to pick a project from my giant list of projects that I'll actually get done this month. The project I've picked is to de-clutter and organize my crafting/ desk area, which includes my desk and the bookcase of supplies next to it. Here's my shameful before picture:

My basic goals for this project are to sort through my supplies, organize the stuff that's in the mountain of bags underneath the desk and make the space more fun, inspirational and functional.

Day 6: Choose a Piece of Art to Frame

I'm ahead of the game on the challenge to frame some art, as I recently framed a few prints I won in a giveaway from the After Nine Five shop and am thinking of the perfect spot to hang them up in my apartment.

Day 7: Plan a Party

The next challenge is to plan a party for the week of Feb 1st to 3rd. I've had very few people over to this apartment due to the lack of space and disorganization. As I clean more and more though, I'm excited to have some people over! For my challenge, I'm hoping to have our neighbours over for a visit, since they were kind enough to invite us over to their place last week for some pizza and drinks. I'm making up some little invites to drop in their mailboxes once we figure out exactly which date will work best.

Day 8: Kitchen Cleaning and Cooking a Good Meal

This weekend's challenge was to clean and de-clutter the whole kitchen as well as cook a tasty meal. I got most of this done, including conquering my towering dishes mountain, organizing all the cabinets and shelves in the kitchen and hanging a few pictures. I still have a few more things to do (clean the fridge, wash the floor and find a home for a box of random china I found while cleaning) but overall I LOVE how tidy and clean everything is at the moment, and I hope to keep it that way! I'll share some pictures in the next few days.

In terms of tasty food, on Saturday night we made some tasty sweet potato and sausage chili (this is basically the recipe, but we use more sausages) and had Zen's sister over for a tasty meal. She brought us some banana bread she'd baked, which we ate heated up with some ice cream on top for dessert. It was the tastiest meal I've had in a while.

Overall, a very successful week! I'm starting to feel proud of all the organizing I've accomplished and a bit more at home in my apartment, instead of just stressed out from all the disorder. The pictures I've put up on the walls so far are really cheering me up and keeping the January blahs at bay!

♥ Craftzilla

Lately...Knits, Crafty Stuff and Getting Back into the Swing of Things

2013-01-12T17:03:00.003-05:00

Lately I :

...got this fun package full of knitting patterns from my mom. I'd picked out some I'd wanted to copy but ran out of time to do so during my last visit. I'm excited to get knitting some new mittens!

... am getting back into the swing of things after being off for a few weeks..trying to wrap my head around all the things I have to do for my placement, school and work in the coming months. I think I need about 800 different lists to keep track of it all.

...was back at Brownies for my first meeting! I got asked who's mom I was about four times and received one hug from one kid who decided that would warm me up (it sure was cold in the gym!) Ate popcorn and watched some of Diary of a Wimpy Kid with the kids- super fun!

...finished up some new knits for sale at a local shop (hat modeled by Beth, one of the owners)

....worked on a picnic bag carrier to go along a custom picnic blanket order in my shop. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out!

.... sold my first set of these cute pin sets in my shop - there are some more available if you need a cute heart pin for Valentines Day.

... started sitting on a cultural board for the city. I went to my first meeting this week, and am hoping to be involved in some cool things this year (and have a reason for attending all the cultural events I already do)

...have been feeling a bit sad - my grandma's at that point of her battle with cancer where it's winning. In case you had forgotten, cancer sucks. I'm hoping to get up there for a visit very soon to see her.

...could use a new robot foot. I think I've done something to a tendon or something in my foot, and walking has been a bit ouchy. I ordered some new shoes and am trying to rest up, stretch and wear some comfy shoes, so hopefully it starts feeling better soon.

What have you been up to lately? I'd love to catch up!

♥ Craftzilla