Morning…

I’ve be working on a series of original, mixed media collages that will be available this week through my seldom used [but I plan on changing that!] ETSY store.

The artworks are all based on gorgeous, fashion ephemera culled from my stash of 80s and 90s fashion magazines, with restricted colour palettes and utilize acid-free art papers, stamping and inks with vintage ledger papers and more.

The first of about 12 pieces coming this week is now up in the store… Comments about the artwork are most welcome. Thanks for looking.

Artwork: Red Riding Fruit by Christina Lazar-Schuler © 2007

I’ve been stitching and embroidering for days this week and my fingertips/fingernails are a mess. They are achy and sore… but it’s all worth it, because I’m teaching in North Carolina next year at the INSPIRED ™ workshop series!

Yep… One of the rockstars of scrapbooking, the hilarious and very creative Donna Downey has asked me, little Canadian ole’ me, to teach at a HUGE event in Charlotte North Carolina next year. I’m super excited and a little overwhelmed all at the same time =) ’cause when I say HUGE event, I mean HUGE! Up 480 people could be attending and that’s a lot of people LOL.

It’s quite an honor to be asked to teach at a Donna Downey event. The event will be really cool with a large mixed media/scrappy spin on the classes [in a much larger vein than my local ARTistry event] and the deliberate intention of mixing it up with more traditional scrapbook artists is something I’m all over. The event  INSPIRED(tm) will be held in April 2008. Here is a link to the site with all the details.

I’ll be teaching the textile/fabric component of the event and have been working up samples and trying out a few new ideas over the last week. My fingers are aching from the extra hours put into the class samples, but I love how they’ve turned out. Donna will be sneak peeking them on her blog over the next few weeks, so stop by her blog to check it out! I’ll post more information and some sample images once I get the go ahead from Donna.

I’ve taught classes locally and in Eastern Canada [Toronto specifically - hey my peeps in the Bolton/Kleinburg hood!] for years, even a couple of stints in Oregon and truth be told, I love teaching. I love the ‘ah ha!’ moment students get during the class; I love the look of excitement at the POTENTIAL of what I’ve taught them and I really enjoy seeing HOW students can take what I teach them, and make it their own. I totally get why people teach. I could do it all the time, and truly enjoy doing it when I get the chance.

Create your own Simpsons personality!

Here is my own Springfield  identity after messing about with the very cool, new Simpsons movie website. Aren’t I a fun looking Springfielder?

To visit and play around on the site go to: http://www.simpsonsmovie.com 

Endless hours of useless, timesucking fun on this site. Enjoy!

This is how I spent my Canada Day… with the goofballs Terry and I call friends and family.

Nothing like a foamy Pirate Hat and foamy fun glasses to bring out the ARGH! in everyone LOL! The photo in this post are one of my best girls Ali [aka Miss Ali, Alison and PuddinPop] and her dad and our longtime friend Percy. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree does it? Both have a great sense of humor and with these faces, looking remarkably like father/daughter.

I have been lucky enough to know Ali and Lauryn’s [A’s big sister] mom Joyce for a very very long time. 32+ years in fact… from waaaaaaaaaaaay back in Grade 1. Joyce and I went through elementary and highschool together, and have remained good friends throughout the years. It’s through that friendship that I met Percy, a truly sarcastic, hilarious, call a spade a spade kinda guy; and their children Lauryn and Ali. We all get along great and we love hangin’ out with them.

Over the years, we’ve gotten to watch J and P’s two wonderful girls grow up and turn into the coolest kids ever. Lauryn [8 - geez! when did that happen?] and Ali [good lord! 5 already?!?] have wonderful senses of humor, are loving and truly fun girls - we like to spoil them and love them as if they were our own. Terry and I like to think that we’re their favorite ‘aunt and uncle’… afterall, who else but Uncle Terry would let Lauryn and Ali paint his face with waxy, vile, awful children’s make-up OR polish his manly nails with frost blue nail polish. If we’re not their favorites, it’s cool… they are still OUR favorite girls!!

Holidays like Canada Day is a time to take a second and just stop. Enjoy your time with the kids, enjoy your friends and take a breath. Yeah we get busy, yeah we forget to call… but at the end of the day,
I KNOW Joyce and Percy are there when/if we need them and we hope they know that we’re
there too, for them or the girls.

So… my American friends, on Independance Day grab your families and squeeze really hard. Hug ‘em til it hurts. It’s these days and events that create great memories for years to come and can help sustain friendship and family ties for years to come. Don’t miss a second.