well folks, the verdict is in… i LOVE my ikea expedit storage solution! it totally rocks. yep. i said it. it rocks. hard. and you know what, that is wicked!

here are some snapperoos of the completed unit. notice the mini-books and binder album… the tiny and large cards… proof positive that yes! i still do create scrappy and rubberstamp goodness =)

oh… don`t hate my ledger book pic. i know i shouldn`t have that many BIG ledgers, but what`s a girl to do when she is obsessed with old paperÉ yep. buy more stuff!

i started the massive undertaking of reorganizing and sort my inventory from the home studio and our store on monday. can i just say OHMIGOD i have a lot of rubber!!

i visited ikea and bought a new storage cabinet to go with the fixture we brought home from the store and assembled it on monday night before the ‘big dig’ [as i like to call my re-org] began. it looks fabulous! it holds lots of inventory in clear bins and pristine white/silver ikea boxes plus it has great display potential with space for small art projects, mini-books and cards. love that!

i will be taking some pics of the ‘big dig’ results soon so you can see the massive improvement. i did forget to take pics of the before though… but just imagine 20 boxes of inventory, haphazardly placed store fixtures, cluttered studio table and boxes of giclee prints and mixed media artwork… not to mention the boxes of rubberstamps i had at home BEFORE i brought home MORE inventory!! wowsers!

so… here is a tease for the studio/warehouse sale. so far i have collected in 9 FACS boxes the following:

• 2 boxes of magazines - somerset, legacy, creating keepsakes, papertrends, scrapbook trends, cloth paper scissors, old and ends, and a few handmade altered art zines [these will be sold as a set]
• 2 boxes of art and craft books including books on painting techniques and faux finishes, book binding and journal making, altered books, knitting, interior design and paper crafting
• 1 box FILLED with UM rubberstamp sheets and general overstock. we’re talking discontinued christmas stamps for 65% off the regular retail price. yep… i’m blowing these suckers OUT. each quarter sheet will be $4, each half sheet will be $6 and full sheets for $12. crazy i know, but i gotta make room for new stamps!!
• 1 box of UM singles [and more to come] that will be put into grab bags for $10-15 each.
• 1 box of chipboard embellishments and other ’stuff’ for your artwork
• 1 box of odd and end embellishments, fabric, and ’stuff’

there will also be a bunch of my paper arts artwork from class samples for sale too. most of them are framed in cool 8×8 ikea frames and will sell starting at $15 each. all are signed and value for the frames alone is $9. so you will be getting some of my original artwork for cheap cheap =)

lots more to be done… will hopefully get some pics shot tomorrow evening of the new storage/display unit. i have BIG plans for this space and it’s really nice to see it starting to come together.

have a good day people =)

ADELE ‘Cold Shoulder’

adele is one of my new music obsessions. she’s from the BRIT school where all the amazing new UK girl musicians are coming from. the talent coming out of BRIT is truly impressive, you must check them out. enjoy…

a typical morning breakfast with the lulu. too cute and waaaaaaaay too spoiled!

to all my fellow canucks… have a wonderful canada day!

hey gang…

just a quick post to let you know things are improving everyday. I’m moving better. my ‘bullet holes’ are healing nicely [i’ll barely have any scars!] and now that we’ve addressed my ongoing stomach-acid problem with a heavy duty acid-blocker for a few weeks [felt like i was still having baaaaaaad gall bladder attacks up until today] things are looking up.

i still get exhausted from doing even little things like walking around too much, going up and down stairs too fast, breathing… i do know that i am feeling much better than last friday [surgery day] and my strength will improve with time.

thank you for all the caring emails and well-wishes. it’s so nice to know that people care. love to you all!

hey gang. i’m up and moving around. slowly and very very carefully. but i’m moving.

surgery went well on friday and everyday there is less pain. i have 4 - 1/2″ holes in my tummy and my bellybutton hurts like heck [that’s where the camera went!] but i’m healing well and getting around.

just wanted to let my concerned friends that the surgery went well and that i’m on the mend. that’s it for the computer for me today. sitting for more than 15 minutes at a time is pretty uncomfortable. i’ll update again in a few days.

thanks for all the well-wishes! C

hitting the sack early tonight as my surgery is scheduled for 8am and i have to be in hospital by 6:30am. yuck. thank you for all your well wishes…

t will post tomorrow night or saturday about how i’m doing. for now… peace out! catch you in a few days.

i saw my surgeon today and we bonded over hockey - go figure LOL!

we talked at length about the problem, went over the current state of my health and what he figured the situation dictated and sure enough, he agreed that a speedy removal of my stone-filled gallbladder was a ‘must do’. and quickly. 

also… in light of the fact that t and i had plans for other ‘procedures’ this month, my surgeon is expediting my surgery date and i’m going in on friday june 20 to have my gallbladder removed! ack! it’s a little sooner than i was psychologically ready for, but i’m super relieved to be getting it dealt with this quickly.

so… from june 20 until july 2 i’m going to be a bit spotty on the posting since i’m not sure how quickly my recovery will go. i’m expecting about a 7-10 day recovery time based on the fact that the doc is doing laparscopic surgery and i’m only going to have two smallish incisions [about 1-2″ each]. organs will be adjusting to their new locations [since now the gallbladder will be gone lol!]. there is a less than 3% chance the doctor will be ‘unzipping’ me for the surgery so i should be recovered fairly soon. and back to eating a more normal diet quicker than anticipated. yay!!! i may be able to enjoy butter chicken again before the summer is done.

so that is the update my friends… i’ll post again very soon.

aquarium anemone

Originally uploaded by studiowerx

love these pics from the vancouver aquarium!

i took them over the weekend while attending my favorite niece’s birthday party. how cool was it to get a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of a vancouver tourist attraction? pretty darn cool i have to say.

thank you to joyce and percy for allowing us to attend, since we missed the weekend before with family obligations. it was really special hanging out with you and kids [yep, all 16 of em!] for the afternoon. we had a ball!

the photos were shot using my canon 50mm f/1.8 fixed lens. a cheapie $80 lens worth every single penny. the low lighting conditions and constant movement of the fish [damn you fish!] necessitated the use of this lens, and i gotta say i’m thrilled i have it in my arsenal. so much so that i’m investing in a wide-angle, fast, fixed f/1.8 sigma lens. those of you out there in photo-land know what i mean by fast… you just can’t beat a low-lighting shot without flash! atmosphere and ambiance that is truly amazing… magical even.

for more jellyfish, anemone and dolphin pics, please visit my flickr site.

now this is ambiance… look at that lighting. pure magic!