Walking Home

Happy Thursday, everyone!

For this #ThrowbackThursday, I found some old photos from March 2003 – which I can’t even believe were taken more than a decade ago! Dressed up in my school uniform, along with a puffy navy blue jacket … I spent most of my walks home from high school with my good friends, Kate-Lynn and Lisa.

It doesn’t seem that long ago these photos were snapped. But looking back, I’m really glad to have these memories – no matter how bad my hair looked.

Oh, and Kate-Lynn … sorry my hand photobombed you guys.

old school-2-2 old school-4 old school-5

DIY Valentine’s Lace Paper Lantern Jars

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “Do It Yourself” post, but with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to do a craft!

If you’re looking for simple, yet elegant table pieces for your Valentine’s dinner, try making Valentine’s Lace Paper Lantern Jars. If you’re on a budget, you can do this project – based on two lantern jars – for $4 dollars.

The process is really simple – I found it in “Celebration: A year of British festivities for families and friends” by Pippa Middleton.

Materials: Ribbon, glass jars, lace, glue, and scissors

1. Find different-sized glass jars and lace (you can use paper doilies, an old table cloth, or unwanted fabrics). 2. Cut the lace to find around the jar, and use fabric glue to piece it together. 3. Tie the ribbon around the neck of the jar. 4. Create a separate bow, using the same ribbon, and glue it on for a cute addition.

Lace Paper Lantern Jar Lace Paper Lantern Jars Lace Paper Lantern Jars

Great White North

What a dumping of snow! Southern Ontario got hammered today. The Greater Toronto Area alone has received 15-20 centimetres of the white stuff – and we got off lucky. But I must say, I love it.

It’s been years since I’ve seen this much snow (it was at least five inches above my ankles) – probably since I was in grade school. But instead of staying indoors all day, I decided to ask my mom to join me outside – in this winter wonderland – to shoot some fun photos! It took about an hour of snapping, but I think our “session” was successful. Thanks, Mom!

snow-storm-ajax (1 of 1)-2 snow-storm-ajax (2 of 2) snow-storm-ajax (1 of 1)-4 snow-storm-ajax (1 of 1)-3 snow-storm-ajax (1 of 2)

But what about the rest of the country? Seeing as many of the bloggers who stop by this site are not from the Great White North,  I wanted to compile images that depict our country’s winters using images I found by other independent artists at Saatchi Art.

This first image is shot by Indonesia photographer Kris Ham. During his travels, he was able to capture a photo of some skiers across the park at Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec.

Saatchi Kris Ham

Artist S J Emberton was able to get a great candid shot of the empty, snow-covered and desolate Keats Street in Saskatchewan.

Saatchi S J Emberton

And I’ll leave you with something a bit more local. North Bay’s shot the slick road conditions in a series she titles Spring Drive.”

Saatchi Carissa MacIntosh

If you have any weather-related photos/posts, link them below! I’d love to check out what spells Old Man Winter cast on the rest of you.

Paper by FiftyThree

Oh, how I love to draw! Recently, I’ve taken an interest in “Paper” by FiftyThree. The application works on iPads and iPhones, I believe. But unfortunately, not on the Android platform yet.

Now, I was a bit skeptical when I was first introduced to the app. I am much more conventional – real paper and pencils seem much more sensible. But once I tried it, I must say, I really enjoyed it.

In the matter of a few days, I doodled a few things; a few things I wanted to share. I don’t know if you’ll be able to pick them out, but below includes Alice and Wonderland, Sailor Moon and Big Bang Theory cartoons. I also sketched an image of a rubber ducky, inspired by Paul Brandt’s version of “Convoy.”

Have you been using it? What do YOU think? Feel free to share your artwork in the comments section.

Paper Paper-2 Paper-4 Paper-3 Paper-8 Paper-5

Distillery District Engagement Fun

It’s been quite a while since my last post. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and new year. To kick off 2014, I would like to share some Distillery District Engagement photos.

Over the holidays, I had a chance to reconnect with an old friend (who has been a part of my life since grade 2), now living in the UK. Lisa recently got engaged to her British boyfriend (apparently, I can’t get over the accent!), and the pair came to Canada for the holidays to celebrate in the frigid, well-below seasonal temperatures.

While they were here, I had the chance to snap some photos in Toronto. And what fun we had trying to keep warm! The weather was so cold, it caused my battery to die several times. Did I mention it’s really hard to shoot in mittens?

Nevertheless, we had great fun. Finished up in true Canadian style, with some Tim Hortons’ warm drinks and a couple of timbits.

distillery district engagement toronto distillery district engagement toronto distillery district engagement toronto toronto distillery district engagement