hello everyone,

it's the end of a busy week and I'm tired! - I think the heat makes me more tired than usual - I don't think I would survive living in parts of the world that are hot year round. I took this photo of lliam last week while he and piper were hanging out typing in the window. we set-up a little table with chairs and lliam called it his office and they would take turns dictating to each other while the other would type - did I tell you that lliam refers to the printing press and typewriter as a funny computer. I like having jars in the studio - sometimes it's helpful to have a container that is transparent - an important thing when there are times you spend more time looking.

I hope your week went well and that you have time to rest on the weekend.

I will take some time aside this weekend for little cat naps....promise ;)

thanks for visiting - bye for now! xxa

yesterday while waiting for ink to dry - I experimented with some older print images and came up with this pomegranate tea towel. I really like the bold and brightness of how it turned out. I will have them online soon - I only made a few to have in the brick and mortar shop. the progress on the attic space is coming along nicely - I will take photos today and will post them soon. I think on the weekend we can move our bedroom, I feel like my whole house needs a really good scrub - the floors are covered with drywall dust and also sticky from spilled juice - both ll and p refuses to use sippy cups and p actually never took to a bottle, which means giving them drinks is very challenging.

new natural dye bags - the mini and the day bag - I am adding them slowly (I have a few more) to the etsy shop. just so you know these dye patterns are completely one of a kind and cannot be repeated. I hope you like them and that some of you are enjoying the heat of this summer. it's been three years without air conditioning and I'm giving in and getting it installed soon. I hope your week is going well :)

more west elm pop-up shop photos on anabela's blog

sorry for the mess-up with the coupon code - I didn't realize that it needed to be alphanumeric. I'm glad it still worked out for those of you who bought things. thanks so much for your support, it's greatly appreciated.

the stairs was put in a few days ago - john has a few things to do to the floors before we move in - I can't wait! - and some photos of the pieces I worked on for the washi show. I was in a hurry to frame them and didn't get a chance to photograph them without the glass - so much glare. more images on what's happening in the shop by margie from her quick visit a few days ago.

I will be spending my morning visiting a painter for the studio visit feature for b.a.h. issue 03

see you tomorrow xxa

hello everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend - thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment on the giveaway post - I love doing the giveaways, but I am always sad that I can only give it to one lucky person - so if your on our mailing list - you got a special coupon code to be used only today. I hope it shows my appreciation for your support.

the winner of the 1000 posts giveaway is k - congratulations! please email me your shipping address

when I do a craft show I always like to get a little something - a sweet little salt cellar by Cameron of off cut studio - such beautiful quality - I love the little spoon it comes with.

this week for me is tying up loose ends and organizing myself for the next craft show in the lovely town of Muskoka.

enjoy the start to your week friends! xxa

thanks to everyone who came to visit the west elm pop-up shop - even with the heavy down pour - the people from west elm are super friendly and helped with my set-up and some of the lovely PR ladies ran out to get me change when I was low (how awesome are they!) it was a nice casual atmosphere with very kind customers. I saw anabela with her camera so I will show you more pics soon. please excuse the phone photos.

I took a few hours off yesterday afternoon to go to lliam's school where there was a big bbq, rides and games with all proceeds going to the school. both of them had a great time and it was filled with kids and I was constantly checking to make sure I had mine with me. it was sweet to see lliam mobbed by the little girls in his class - he's a bit shy like his dad.

if your in the neighbourhood please come by and visit and say hi at the WEST ELM pop-up shop tomorrow from 1-6pm. please also join in and leave a comment for the giveaway.

enjoy your weekend friends! xxa

hi everyone, I am back on facebook - you can link to it from the sidebar. I will be adding different content - as well the blog is linked to it - so please follow me there from your facebook account.

I wanted to celebrate 1000 posts with a giveaway. this triangle tote bag is one of my popular ones and I think you will enjoy using it. it's has quickly been my favourite bag. you will have till sunday June 5th at 10pm EST to leave a comment. thanks again for visiting me - I appreciate everyone's support and kindness!

here's to hoping I can keep this up for another 1000 posts. xxa

p.s. as another thank you - if you are signed up for our newsletter I will be notifying you of a sale next week.

the images above are modular stencil fonts (numbers) designed by Le Corbusier - they are approx. 2 x 1.5 in. - john also has the letters which he currently can't locate. I plan to do some graphite drawings using these and layering them. I love the quality of the zinc and the little angle part to make it easier to lift - plus I also like the nice little holder it comes with.

p.s. today marks 1000 posts - come back tomorrow for a giveaway!

Holly Wheatcroft our next featured artist.

hi everyone,

welcome back - I enjoyed puttering away in my studio all weekend - if you havn't noticed I'm a bit of a workaholic (I'm okay with that). I started something new to organize myself - on my wall I have a master list of all the things that need to be done - it's a bit daunting so I broke up my day and started listing things that needed to be done in bite size pieces - and I guess the point of a list is that feeling of accomplishment and the joy of scratching it off your list. It's been working and I think it's also helped my productivity. this saturday is the pop - up show at west elm so I will be a busy little bee trying to make work for the show. I know it seems like I am always working, making, sewing...well it's only me here doing all the textile goods - john is in charge of the wood products and he will occasionally help with letterpress printing and cutting of fabric, but he's pretty busy too. a lot of the time the work I make is for our online shops, wholesale and for the brick and mortar shop - so when there's an extra thing - it requires an extra little push. I remember walking down queen street and seeing all the boxes outside of shops during recycling day and thinking geez, must be nice to just call up a supplier and order goods for your shop. my goal this year is too keep the brick and mortar stocked and to not pilferage it during busy times.

the images above is some loot I got at the yard sale on friday. a sweet little loom still in the box made in holland and not used for $2 some interesting embroidered fabric (not pictured a big spool of cotton string for $1 and a large embroidery hoop also for $1) - I tried not to go too crazy like past times, if you've been to this sale it's hard to not leave with a gigantic bag filled to the rim. my lil' p loves dressing up and she's pretty creative for instance using her 6 mth sleeper as a jacket. she cracks me up.

enjoy your week friends! - hoping there will be lots of sunshine for the ontario peeps. xxa