Ok… so it’s NOT friday. just thought I’d share this taste of vancouver summer anyways.

Summer at Granville Island, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

a little taste of summer here in Vancouver. the sun is out, shopping is good and it’s my day off. ahhh… i [heart] Granville Island, it’s my happy place. have a great day!

Calico Cuties, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

LOVE this mosaic thingy… Ok. One for the kitty fans. Baby Calicos like my now not-so-baby Lulu.

I wish she was that teeny again.

1. She loved Violets, 2. And she waits…, 3. Quiltlet 01, 4. Quiltlet 03, 5. 15671787796-5,  6. Red Riding Fruit, 7. 15671600398, 8. 156711062558, 9. 15671lauryn, 10. 156711062557, 11. 156711062556, 12. 15671DSCN4360, 13. 156711062555

A new fun thing for TGIF! Going to try to do this for the next little while. Fresh Friday Mosaics.
Ah…. I love me some Flickr =) Have a great weekend all !

Sorry I’ve been AWOL… I’ve been hunkering down and working on some new artwork and decided to enter the Memory Makers Masters 2008 contest.

Yep… So 5 brand new, creative and in my humble opinion, KICK ASS, layouts later, I’m starting to package it all up to go for judging. It’s been a challenge and I’m really glad I did it. 

This competition is a far more fair contest than the Making Memories Idol one I did earlier this year, which turned into a popularity contest. With this competition, it’s all based on blind judging and that, in my opinion, makes for a more competitive, honest and thoughtfully judged contest. They will judge based on the artwork submitted and not who you are in the scrapping world. I like that. I like that alot. THAT is why I entered.

Deadline is July 31 for postmark, and they will announce the winners and runner-ups in about 2-3 weeks.

The great thing now is that even if I don’t get picked [which I doubt I will], at least I’ve got some great new layouts to share with you… you’re just gonna have to wait a few weeks ;^P

So… I’m creating a few new pieces this week. They are in various stages of matte mediums drying, paint and gesso curing, varnishing… and as usual the tv is on to keep me company in the studio.

Tonight, I was watching Canadian Idol Season 5. It’s down to the final 10 and I have gotta admit, I’ve been watching this season almost from the beginning, unlike the last two before [because there’s been no one as good as Jacob Hoggard since Season 2]. This season there is one major difference. A 16 year old kid from the Dinosaur capital of the world, Drumheller Alberta.

JayDee Bixby is good looking kid [ok very cute in a 16 yr old, fresh faced, omigod if I was 16 I’d worship him kinda way] with the self-confidence and presence of a person significantly older than his years.

The thing that kills me about the kid is his voice! He sounds like vintage Elvis with a twang - you know, the Elvis in the hot, black leather outfit. The cool Elvis of the 1970s ComeBack tour. The kid has a voice full of depth and maturity well beyond his years [I think he’s channeling Elvis himself], add that to good looks and a genuinely nice, boy next door personality and this kid has got GOLD written all over him.

His favorite genre is definitely older, country-ish tunes like Laudy Laudy Miss Maudie and Conway Twitty ditties like "It’s Only Make Believe", but as the much hated Zach Werner [the Canadian Simon Cowell] put it during one of his previous critiques: "this kid is going to leave the show and make HUGE amounts of money and achieve MAJOR success in Nashville."

Tonights critiques included from Werner:  "If Michael Buble is the king of schmaltzy, retro Dean Martin tunes, then JayDee is the Michael Buble of schmaltzy, retro country."

"That was a fantastic performance," said Farley Flex [Randy equivalent]. "When we first saw
you, you were an anomoly for us but you’re no longer an anomoly, you’re
going to be one of the most famous people on the planet."

"You’re
a little awkward in your movement, but from the waist up it reminded me
as if we were seeing that next Bobby Darin," said Jake Gold, while Jaydee
nodded eagerly and beamed. "(You’re like) that 1950s pop star that had
everything going for him."

My prediction, right now, is that this kid is going all the way to the Final 2 and will win the whole thing. He is our Carrie Underwood… and with a big country music following here in Canada, particularly the BC interior and Prairies, this kid is here for the long haul - if a savvy producer in Nashville doesn’t snatch him up first.

JayDee Bixby, I generally dislike country [ok, I HATE most of it], but you kid… YOU have got my vote.
Congrats on winning Canadian Idol, too bad you gotta wait 8 weeks to get the gig officially.

Fax Machine Lounge Chair!

Who knew a fax machine could double as a lounger for a funny, furry 8 month old girl?!
Not I, but I was quickly corrected in my inability to see beyond the basic office usage of a fax machine.

I present to you **Exhibit A - Lulu and Fax Machine, in Lounging Mode**

**Exhibit B - I’m sooooooo much smarter than you, my human parental units**

I’m just SO proud =)

We had baby Lulu into the vet yesterday.

Nothing too major, but we’ve discovered she has some type of food/oral allergy. Poor wee thing had her upper lip blowing up like a balloon! Terry commented on Wednesday night that it looked like she had an overbite. Well… that little inflammation really started to enlarge and by Saturday morning, it was time to take her in.

Seems like she has a condition called Rodent Ulcer, a condition that has NOTHING to do with rodents! Weird… but years ago, people thought that when cats came home after a night of hunting in the wilds of the big city or country, and if they had a swollen upper lip, that it was caused by mice/rodents. Apparently, this allergic reaction [similar to our human allergic reactions - think Wil Smith in the movie Switch] is caused by eating something, not rodents. So now the hunt begins… To figure out what caused the Ulcer so that we can prevent it from occuring in the future and that means… food restriction… ACK NO!!!

Poor Baby… food restriction means no treats, no nice wet foods, only her boring old dry foods are available for consumption. BUT there is a little light on in the tunnel for Lulu - she gets to eat CHICKEN!

Ahhhh… there goes the oven timer. Miss Lulu’s dinner is ready and after it is suitably cooled, the little Miss will be dining on a lovely meal of shredded chicken breast. Mmmmmm… Way better than canned catfood me thinks!

Yes… I’m a woman possessed and thoroughly enjoying the creative process. I’ve just uploaded another mixed media collage to my ETSY store… Enjoy.

Comments and feedback are welcome!

Artwork: And She Waited by Christina Lazar-Schuler © 2007

I’m usually parked in front of my computer monitor, answering emails, designing products, creating digital collages, designing websites or creating a blog post! 9 times out of 10, this is how I end up having to work…

Miss Lulu LOVES to be a lap cat and usually parks herself either in my lap or Terry’s while we’re working on the computer. She likes to be cradled in my arm like a baby. It’s very cute and most definitely sweet, but can be a bit of a pain when I’m trying to do more than surf the net [typing and mousing with one hand gets a little tiresome]! Ah well, with that face how can I object?  Isn’t she a cutie pie? Just look at that smile on her face =)

Off to get some ‘real’ work done - in my air conditioned office [yay!!]

Here is another new artwork now listed on ETSY. Comments and feedback are welcome!

Have an awesome summer day. It’s gonna be a scorcher in Vancouver today - 35C/90+F. Thank goodness I have A/C in my office =P

Artwork: …and she loved Violets by Christina Lazar-Schuler © 2007