A new year...

Hoping you all had a fabulous 'ringing in' of the new year!

I spent a bit of time browsing some incredibly fabulous blogs and the general theme from most is the announcement of the blog writers 'word' for the year. I have never considered a 'word' for the year in the past but decided that I too have a 'word' :

 

Do

 

I chose the word 'do' for a few reasons. First,  I have a horrible tendency to put off 'doing' things I say that I will do. Simple things like calling friends I haven't spoken to in a long time. Or making things I bought the 'stuff' for moons ago but never start the intended project. The most heartfelt reason for chosing the word 'do' stems from an event which occurred over 10 years ago.

Pre-kids, Blair and I owned a bike, a Harley Davidson. We thoroughly loved the bike and especially the fact that the bike seemed to take us places we would never have ventured to with a car. However, once we bought our first home and found an equal joy in renovating, we had less time for the bike and decided to sell it. The first response to the 'bike for sale' ad come from a man in Vernon, BC. He met with us in North Vancouver and told us the story behind his desire to purchase a Harley. At the time we met him, I am thinking he was around 55 years old. I asked him why he wanted to buy the bike and this is the story he told us:

He had a friend whom he had been friends with since elementary school. Even though they each married and carried on with their own independent lives, they remained close friends, one of those friendships that passed the test of time and distance. This friend was apparently healthy and never had illnesses. However, one Saturday she became ill and the next day she passed away. After grieving, the man we met with decided that he would never again put off what he wanted to 'do' because he had learned, the hard and horrible way, tomorrow may not arrive. He had always wanted to own and ride a Harley and found no excuses not to. From the time of his friends death, he stopped believing in tomorrows and lived each day to the fullest.

 

I have never forgotten his story but at the same time and until just recently, I have not made the greatest effort to follow his philosophy.

 

So for this year, I am going to make a huge effort to make calls, send emails and complete projects. 

I will not save things for a 'special occasion'. 

I will invite friends over even if my house has some dust on the railings.

I will take my kids to fun places even if the weather is awful and I simply don't feel like it.

I will call my mom and dad more often, not just when I am folding laundry. 

I will entertain more often even if the window coverings  in the kitchen are not finished.

I will use that special paper for a layout because there will always be special paper. 

I will teach my daughter how to sew because I can finish my own projects when she is in school.

I will play road hockey with my son because there is Advil and Aleve in the medicine cabinet for the day after.

I will stay up later and watch a movie with my husband because some days, I will sleep in just because I really don't have to wake at 4:30 am every single morning.

I will make the best of all efforts to 'do' it and not put it off, whatever it may be, and find a myriad of excuses for why I did not.

 

So there's another first for me. I came up with a 'word' for the year. Going to count that as a 'do' or rather, did it :)

 

Wishing you a wonderful year filled with happiness and good health!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

 

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

From our family to yours, wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season!

Handmade Christmas

 I did it! Well, for the most part anyways.  In lieu of Gabry Road, I was determined to create as many handmade gifts as possible. Although I did not get around to making the actual gifts, at least I managed to create unique packaging.  For the  teachers gifts, I first tea-stained (my new obsession) natural muslin then

made drawstring bags from the fabric. Using Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas for inspiration, I created individual tags to fasten to each package. Presto and voila, another check mark off my list.

Now, what would have been a great Christmas present would have been to check the launch of Gabry Road off my list but it does not appear, at least as of today's date, that it will happen. Still hoping but looks like this goal won't get checked til the New Year.  For those following and those who have become 'fans' of Gabry Road, we so thank you for your patience.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Life is good...

I do not like snow.
I do not like snow here, there or anywhere.
If snow had a Facebook account, I would never 'like' it nor would I ever 'suggest to friends' because that would be just plain mean.
However, the kidlets are now old enough to play in the snow on their own without an 'adult' outside with them. I keep a 'quilt-in-progress' in the living room and work on it it while watching them through the window.  They get to play and I get to stay warm and cozy.
Life is good...

(ps...yes,  the candles on the table are sitting in a loaf pan. After having started a fire (yup the kind with flames and people screaming and shouting) while living in Yellowknife, I keep candles in objects which can withstand heat and where the wax won't 'accidentaly' leak over!

Hoping it's sunny wherever you are!

A Gabry Road Fan Page Prize!

                                

Are you a fan of Gabry Road yet? If not, now is a good time to become a fan.  The wonderful Tanya (owner and founder of Let's Capture Our Memories) has graciously offered a $20.00 gift certificate and you can win this by simply becoming a fan of Gabry Road on Facebook! Simply 'like' Gabry Road and leave a comment and on December 12, 2010, one lucky comment will win the gift certificate to LCOM. 

And yes, November came and went real fast. We had so hoped to launch Gabry Road in November but it looks like it will be a few more weeks. For those who are unsure of what Gabry Road is all about and to answer some of the more popular questions we have received about Gabry Road, here's what it's all about:

Gabry Road was initiated to provide Canadians with a safe, secure, reliable and comfortable place to buy and sell Canadian handmade, vintage and unique goods without having to experience the hassle of duty, currency exchange rates, tariffs and delayed shipping.  Our goal at Gabry Road is to unite Canadian buyers with independent Canadian creators and artists to discover the very best in Canadian handmade, vintage and unique goods.

So, Gabry Road is a Canadian based, online marketplace where Canadian artists, designers and crafts people can sell their creations to Canadian buyers.

How did we come up with the name? Well, we wanted to have a more personal name but at the same time, something catchy and hopefully a name people will remember. 'Gabry' is a combination of the names of our children (Gabriel and Rylee). The 'Road' part worked well with Gabry and we also wanted a 'homey' feeling with the site. Eventually, we would love to hear people saying they found their wonderful and unique goodies on Gabry Road.

And why an online marketplace for Canadian artists? The greatest benefit of having previously owned and operated an online scrapboooking supply store is that we were able to discover so many gifted and talented Canadians.  We wanted to create a venue to showcase and celebrate the Canadian artists and designers and at the same time, create an easy, stress free venue for Canadian buyers and fans of handmade goods to purchase the items.  

We so welcome any questions you have about Gabry Road. Please do send us an email or leave a comment and we will definitely answer your questions. If you create and are interested in selling your creations on Gabry Road and perhaps need a bit more info, please do contact us!

Thanks for stoppin' by and hope you all have a wonderful day!

My happy place...

While in between projects and while the studio is somewhat clean and neat, thought I'd share pics of my happy place with you.  Yes, I still have tons of stuff but remember, I did  own and operate an online scrapbooking supply store from this very same room and just like Christmas dinner, there were leftovers :) 

 Can you tell I love love love paper punches!

 I finally took the time to actually create labels for this cabinet. Up until a few months ago, I had to play hide and seek with the drawers to find what I was looking for.

It's a good thing Costco has such a great bakery and makes awesome loafs 'cause we never seem to be able to find the loaf pans when we need them :)

Thanks for stoppin' by and hope you have a great day!

Altered Bird Cages

 Found these cute little bird cages at Michael's the other day and knew they would make awesome ornaments or gifts.  They aren't very big (the largest one measures about 3 in. by 4 in.) so they wouldn't hold a huge gift but certainly a 'sweet nothing'!  So, the bird cages are made of metal and with the exception of the square 3"x3" cage, they are pre-painted.  I wasn't too fond of the original colors so I first spray painted them all white, then sprayed them with walnut ink.  After leaving them to dry for a while, I had a feeling the walnut ink would resist the paint and sure enough, I had to apply a coat of poly-urethane to seal the walnut ink. Seemed to take forever to dry but they turned out exactly how I wanted and were ready to be embellished. 

                                 

 

And for some Gabry Road news:

We have managed to hit our first glitch!

Everything was working smoothly and really still is but we have to make a few adjustments to some critical settings and it appears these adjustments could take up to two weeks!  A bit frustrating but as they say, anything good is worth the wait and once you see Gabry Road for yourself, you'll agree!

Thanks so much for stopping by!