Tuesday, December 25, 2007

happy holidays!



It is Christmas evening. Gifts have been exchanged. Toys and games have been played. Phone calls to wish family well have been made. Turkey has been prepared and eaten. And to top it off, snow has fallen.

What a wonderful treat it was to see snow flakes fall on Christmas day. I can't remember the last time it snowed on Christmas.

What a lovely, quiet day the three of us have spent together. Memories have been made.


Sunday, December 23, 2007

early Christmas presents

Today we three Mays delivered nine early Christmas presents in the form of blood donations. It was Wesley's first time and he came through the experience unscathed. While we were having our juice and cookies post-donation, one of the volunteers told us we were giving presents to three people each. It felt good to know that we could be making a difference to someone's life...especially at this time of year.

If you give blood on a regular basis, way to go. If you have given before but haven't in a while, please consider getting out to a clinic over the holiday season to help out. And if you have never given, please think seriously about checking out the Canadian Blood Services website and seeing if there is a clinic coming up in your area.

If you don't live in Canada, please consider making a donation through the blood services programs in your country.

Wishing you and yours a very wonderful holiday season.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

sale!

Shari Beaubien is selling several lots of art supplies and goodies via ebay. For more details, click here.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

oh, the weather outside is frightful...

This is what our weekend looked like during the first snowfall of the season. Glad it decided to do it over the weekend so we could just hunker down and appreciate the beauty.




check out the size of the snowflakes

It's raining now, so don't know what things will look like in the AM. I am just hoping it doesn't freeze overnight.

Monday, November 19, 2007

studioWERX blog







Check out my latest contribution to the street team blog.




lisa's christmas countdown

Lisa Vollrath is offering another one of her fabio countdowns with load of free goodies starting Dec 1. Can't wait!!

Click here and check it out for yourselves.

Monday, November 12, 2007

suminagashi marbling


Suminagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she) means literally "ink floating".

This is the style of marbling I learned last weekend in a workshop taught by Candac Thayer-Coe. It was the first class at Nancy and April's new home. It was a great class.

The process is done by floating ink onto a surface of water by coating oriental brushes with the ink and then dipping the tips onto the surface of the water.



laying the paper onto the inks

lifting the paper off the water


...and onto the board for rinsing


The best thing about the class was sharing it with some of my special art friends...you know who you are!


This was a very zen-like experience, even in a group setting. I am looking forward to trying it again.






Sunday, October 28, 2007

art & soul...finally...

It's taken me a while to get back in the swing of things since returning from Portland. I think it's a combination of wanting to spend time with the family after being away, the post-art retreat funk and now a bunch of other life stuff that just muddles things up.

I had a wonderful time at A&S...classes were great.
Took classes with Lesley Riley, Beryl Taylor and Traci Bautista.

Janice is the perfect travelling companion...and the best part was no hassle crossing the border this time! Woo hoo!

Janice and I took the MAX into downtown Portland. We went to Powell's Books. That place rocks!! I thought it was very strange that downtown Portland should be so quiet on a Saturday morning, so much different than Vancouver (BC). We puttered around. Looked in shops, grabbed a Starbucks and took the train back out to the hotel. We also got the shuttle to visit Alberta Street. Wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be but there were a few cool shops and great murals. Reminded me of Commercial Street (for you local folks). Here are a couple pics.


Got to catch up with friends. Especially grateful for being able to spend some catch-up time with Shari! Met some new friends from Minny...great to hang with you Laura and Jacque! April and Nanc...always a treat!

Drive back home was very smooth. We made it back to Bellingham in four hours, did a bit of last minute shopping and then headed back over the border.

Fun time.


Thursday, October 04, 2007

october 3 - happy birthday, pygmy!!

To my little sister...happy 40th!! Love ya!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

dance

I was commissioned to make a journal for a special young dancer I know. This year Devon has entered into a combined school and dance program.

The hope is, is that she will use this book to journal about her experiences along the way.
















This is one of my favorite dance photos of Devon, which I included in her book.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

anniversary - vegas edition

Stephen and I recently returned from five fun filled nights in one of our favorite places...Vegas! This year we treated ourselves to a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. It was our first time in Arizona...even if it was only for half an hour. The flight was 45 mins in each direction and we flew over the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade. The scenery was incredible! Sure glad we flew first thing in the morning because even with air conditioning in the 'copter it was still hot.

After the so-so summer we have had here in BC, it was a real treat to bask in some of that 100+ degree heat. And nothing says Nevada like wandering around at 10 o'clock at night when the temp is still in the 90's!

This year we saw Monty Python's Spamalot (what a riot) and Cirque's O (one of our favorites).

What a way to finish off celebrating this special anniversary with my sweetie. Love you, Stephen!!

Here are some pics.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

'being deliberate in a modern world'


Mwaa ha ha...she is mine!! I was at Christina's this evening for a little get together with the local gals of the studioWERX [street team], Brig and Gen. While there I had a chance to check out Christina's collages up close and personal. If you think they look good via the computer, you should see them in person!! OMG! As soon as I saw 'being deliberate..." I knew she had to come home with me. My Lazar-Schuler collection has just doubled in size and I couldn't be happier.



Photo used with permission.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

collages by christina

Photo used with permission.


Nummy! Nummy! Nummy! Christina Lazar-Schuler has created the most incredible eye candy! Check out her etsy shop for the latest in a series of fabio collages!! I have already purchased one and am seriously considering starting a collection. The only problem is trying to decide which one! They are truly scrumptious!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

paper bag book

I wanted to wait until this gift was received by my fabio sis-in-law (we are both additions to the family) before posting about this little project idea write up I did for the studioWERX [street team] blog. I love how easy it is to put together something quite special from simple paper lunch bags and a few basic scrapbook supplies, embellishments and pictures.







Thursday, August 16, 2007

studioWERX assignment - poppets

Our DT assignment for this month was to create a summer themed mini album using LazarWERX Poppet papers and rubber stamps, Maya Road chipboard album and embellishments, along with PaperWERX Scribble & Scratch rub ons. A few of my faces are from a 1958 Ladies Home Journal and others are from family pictures of a wonderful former boss who graciously shared them. Thanks Robin! (BTW...the little boy in the tent...that's Robin).


To see what the rest of the gang did with the products, wander over to the studioWERX [street team] blog over the next few days.

happy 25th, lovie!!

7 August 1982
Stephen and I get married on one of the hottest days of the summer.

7 August 2007

We
celebrated this special anniversary in Port Townsend, WA. We stayed at The James House (in the bridal suite). Its beautiful Victorian features, panoramic view from the balcony, and a very special bottle of champagne added the perfect touches to a lovely couple of days.




"Stephen, thank you for choosing to share your life with me. You are my very best friend and I love you with all of my heart [faad-kk]." ~ Deb


Sunday, August 05, 2007

vancouver pride parade

What a great way to spend the day! The parade was so much fun. The colours were so vibrant and some of the costumes were unbelievable. My favorite was the glitter queen. Check out her hair [last pic]!



Happy Pride, everyone!