A Seussian House

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Once upon a time, way back when I had the idea that when I became successful and independently wealthy I would build a custom dream home for myself. And not just any dream home for me. OH NO, the status quo just won't do, I had the idea that if I built a place it would be all crazy and wacky, just like a house Ted Geisel would be proud to call home. It would have stairs and doors all off-kilter like the classic Cat in the Hat or Whoville style.

Alas, that dream has not quite come to fruition yet as I am still waiting for my millions to roll in but at least now I can easily find fitting furniture and modern art to outfit my imaginary abode. (Clicking the images will take you to their source for credit.)

Dust cabinet

ballvase

twistedvessel

circles painting

small tiles

red poppy

So much fun to see the artistes of the world making a vision into a virtual reality!
Are there any secret dreams that you have been working on that might inspire someone else as well? Please share!

Thinking of Travels

Friday, May 30, 2008

Not many of you will know this but once upon a time I was quite athletic. (Yes, I know Dad, it’s hard to tell these days!) I even went to see a match at the World Cup of Rugby one year in Wales. It was a great game but needless to say Wales beat Japan by quite a margin.

My parents just got back from a month long tour of the UK and it got me reminiscing about travelling to see the Rugby World cup in Wales in 1999. What a fun time we had but I was sure glad that my Dad did all the planning for it.

If I were to do it again I would definitely be making use of this Worldwide Sports Travel website as it seems to address all the needs of the sports minded traveler. I you are thinking of traveling at all and sports are your game, you must check them out. Looks like a great service and next time I travel I will be looking further into it myself.

Tuesday Free-for All

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Do you blog on Blogger?
Well then today is your LUCKY DAY!

If you are using a standard template on Blogger and you want to change that then you have happened upon the right blog indeed.

I have been working on customizing themes for Blogger/Blogspot and I am giving away two of them to the first two qualified people who comment here.

Free skins include the following services:

  • Custom header image
  • Custom background image installation (hosted by your image host like Flickr or Photobucket)
  • 3 Custom sidebar headers (ie: Links, Friends, Misc.)
  • Matching Favicon and installation
The only thing that I ask in return is that you add my badge to your blog for as long as you use the custom template or any part of it. I would also use your blog as an example in my portfolio (which means more traffic for YOU so it's a "Win-Win" so to speak!)

I think this is a very fair arrangement and you get the super bonus of your very own personalized blog.
**Disclaimer; this is a free giveaway service. Be aware that I will need temporary access to your blogger account to implement the changes.

I have met so many fabulous folks on the internet. I just want to give back to such a supportive community and I think this is a great way to do it.

What do you all think?

One for the Kitty

Saturday, May 24, 2008

I have been missing some visuals in the blog as of late so I am going for some gratuitous kitty-love. I was reminded by a fellow blogger recently of how much readers just love to see furry friends on a blog so here is my take on it.




We don't actually have a cat so I give homage to my mother's most lovable feline friend, Willy. Despite what you may have read on another blog, Willy is THE MOST SWEETEST thing you could ever meet. I say sweetest thing because although technically Willy is a cat, he has no idea that he is of the felis catus persuasion. He is an indoor cat and rightly so because I think all the cat instinct has been bred right out of him. In fact he acts more like a lapdog than a cat but I don't think anyone is complaining.


R.I.P. Georgio.
Georgio was a lovely Main Coone cat that my brother had for a few years. This is a drawing I did of him last summer. I did the drawing from a photo because I never had the pleasure of meeting Georgio in person. Sadly he had to be put down recently due to cancer of the liver. He will be missed I am sure. He did leave quite a legacy behind as he was a retired stud cat and there are many of his not-so-little offspring running around the GTA.

Incidentally, did you know that onions and garlic are toxic to cats? I had no idea! Read more about it here.

5 things Nobody Needs to see On a Blog

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Lately there have been a few issues that have been bothering me as I am seeing more and more blogs out there in the Big Bad Blogosphere. It seems there are so many blogs, good and not so good that I read but there are a few little features that some of them incorporate for whatever reason and some of these features have no business being on a blog.

I am a designer at heart so I am always thinking of how people interact with each other through this fine medium we have at our disposal. I amazes me what some programmer geeks come up with thinking "How great will this be?..." when the cruel reality is entirely different, entirely UNcool to see on a site.

Now there may be a time and a place for each of these features somewhere on the net but as a general rule, I do not like to see these on a blog as there is simply no need and in some cases they actually hinder the reader (hint; this is bad!)

Here they are;

Flashing, rolling text or banner ads.
When reading a blog these are particularly distracting to the eye. How can I read the content when something is flashing to get my attention?

Visible counters.
While probably the least offensive, they don't need to be on a blog unless you are in the top 50 or so list of blogs. Does anyone really need to advertise that they have only had a hundred and 5 visitors over the last 3 years of blogging?

Music.
Tunes that play automatically are fun but not everyone has the same taste in music. Call me Canadian but I don't like to offend potential readership with my country music so why am I subject to someone else's eighties hair band fetish?

Snaps. (shown above)
These are my biggest pet peeve. These are little pop-up windows that show up when you scroll over an outgoing link. Completely UNnecessary. They take up half of my small laptop screen and sometimes even freezes it up. Not everyone has the latest technology for optimum viewing so why ruin what little surfing time they might have?

Outgoing link pop stats.
Hybrid of stat counter and snaps, this feature is not really that bad but who needs to know they are just like all the other folks who have visited the site?

Have any thoughts to add? Maybe there is something irking that I have missed so chime in!

Some Green Eye Candy

Tuesday, May 20, 2008


Some more bunnies, this time from the Flickr Drawing Green pool.
Top Left; Pattern Bunny by Merwing.
Bottom Left; Miss Bunny ACEO by Noosedkitty.
Right; Heart Veg by Pomegranates.

Gotta love Flickr!

Cuteness at Etsy

Thursday, May 15, 2008



Super cutesy little bunnies. I have bunnies on the brain lately because of an issue we have with feral bunnies in my town. They are sooooooo cute but there are soooooo many of them. What to do?

Some Etsy Alchemy Rant

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Yes it's true, I went on about the new and presumably improved Alchemy feature that was reintroduced not long ago on Etsy. And it is also true that the honeymoon stage for the feature was unfortunately short lived as I had predicted.

I have actually been holding in this rant for a while as I check Alchemy daily to see if my some miracle of miracles there might be some sanity mysteriously infused into posters. Alas, each day I am further disappointed at those who use the feature with their ridiculous lists of wants and needs.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very good and reasonable requests which offer more than fair compensation but those are few and far between. My (completely estimated and by no means scientific) guess would be that about 80% of the requests are underpriced in the "ideal price" offered by the posters. So With 20% of the reasonable bids left over and we all have our niche areas of expertise, artisans are left with some slim pickin's to bid on.

Seriously, just go on over there and read the laughable offers that are masquerading as requests on Alchemy. You'll see what I mean. It's hard to say which area gets the worst of it but my guess is probably custom jewellery orders and graphic design. Most of the jewellery (and the sewn goods gets a rough go too) are offered at near or lower than materials would cost the artist.

For graphic design it is quite appalling. $5 for business cards? Can you see the bird flipping you through the screen because you offered that insult to anyone? Oh, and you want it just so....yeah, keep that list coming.

What really gets me is the comments that people feel compelled to put up, as if they know their offers are appallingly low. "I can get it in a store similar for less so give me your best bid please" (Puhleeeeease!) Or the blatant "I saw what I want HERE (insert link) but I don't want to pay that much so I have the cajones to post this request on Etsy."

If you can find it elsewhere for less then why would you feel the need to bring your bid to the Etsy community? Can people be that oblivious to what it means to get something handmade by an artist? (Nevermind, the question is painfully answered on Alchemy every day.)

Yeah, it's REAL. A real underbid three ring circus over there.

End of rant.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, May 11, 2008


To All the Mommies out there, a very quick and dirty graphic tulip for you.

Enjoy your special day!

Tonight Is the Big Night!

Friday, May 09, 2008


It's Barnival Night already. I got lots of coffee cozies and tissue pockets done for the event as well as some nice market bags. I am not taking my clothing as the space does not work with a rack for clothes, just a table. The tables provided are round too so this should be interesting. Maybe I'll sell out? Who knows... Darn if I could only find my camera to take some pics of the event tonight but it seems to have up and disappeared on me.

Mother's Day Giveaway Round-Up

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

OKAY, I had big ideas for hosting a giveaway for Mother's Day myself but time has done it's usual Houdini act and escaped me again on this event. Instead I give you a nice round-up of Mommy focused giveaway's hosted by some other magnificent places in the blogosphere.

Really, I think this list is probably a better gift for readers because the potential to win is so high so get to it.
Check out the links, enter the contests and WIN, WIN, WIN!

The Mommy Daddy blog is having an awesome giveaway, and they are celebrating being new parents too!

5 Minutes for Mom is having an equally awesome giveaway with no less than 7 different prizes, so the odds to win BIG are BIG!

Hip Mama's Place is also getting in on the freebie fun over here.

A Bookworm's Diary is also giving out some goods with so many ways to get your name in you are bound to win something. (Mention my blog on your entry and I get EXTRA entries! SWEEEET!)

Another blog round-up of daily contests can be found over at All About Kimberly with some high stakes sweepstakes. (*Mostly for US residents so read the fine print and be sure to qualify!)

And last but not least, Melinda Zook has a cool geek gadget up for grabs over here. ***This one closes tonight at midnight so, quick, like lightning zip on over and enter! To get your attention I will add her uber-fab badge to this post. (Yes, I love a good visual aid!)

Melinda Zook

Another Cakewalk Event!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

And this time I have a table to sell my wares!!! If you click on the image you will see the line up and the crafters who are selling at the event. It is next Friday and I am getting all geared up for the big day. It should be lots of fun! The last event was great and this one is in a different venue but promises to be equally entertaining.

If you are in the Kelowna area, come by and check it out!

Thursday

Thursday, May 01, 2008

A few days ago I was so generously bestowed with a BLOG Award from the lovely ingénue behind Paper Elixir. You can read all about the rogue indie-award at her blog that is a very interesting mix of work and play and doggie love. (Her two Corgies are the cutest!)

I was told that there was no obligation with this award but since I would like to pay forward some bloggy-love I will now send off the award to five other very deserving candidates in the blogosphere. There are plenty of bigger blogs that I read that are also full of inspiration and would be deserving of an award but they already have their share of limelight so I am awarding some smaller blogs as they offer their own charms.

My picks are;

  • Every Little Thing -Long time fave of mine, packed with useful tidbits
  • Auburn & Ivory- Newer blog but excellent photos and design related info
  • A La Mode Stuff- Great finds
  • Pulp Sushi - Great info AND eye candy with a bonus of Etsy stat-watch ongoing
  • Jelly Beans Art - Angie’s lovely blog is very fun and full of colour and her DIY blogskin inspired me to try my hand at doing my own skins for Blogger.

Special Mention goes out to:

Please visit and comment. Comments make a blogger's day, if you did not know that already!
This particular award originates from a blog that is in Spanish (I think) and consequently I have not much info on it and it did not come with any image.

ArteAward



****Update: Here is the new Arte Blog Award Badge that I made up to go along with this award. Click on the badge to see the post and get the code if you have been awarded by an adoring fan!