TERRIBLE traveling!

It's not the my trip this last weekend to Oregon wasn't great - it was! As I said in my Mexico album: It's just the TRAVELING part of traveling that I don't like...let me explain...

When I moved to Canada I remember complaining that it was a long drive; but the more I made the 5-6 hour drive from Surrey to Portland, the easier it got. I felt like I could hop in my car anytime I got really home sick and needed to see my friends and fam.

I don't think the trip from Victoria to Portland will get easier. Here's how this last weekend went...

Thursday morning I left my home at 5 am to catch the 6:15 ferry. I took a nap (although we're not allowed to stay in our cars on the Coho ferry)...until the SCREAMING children woke me up. I slept through their laughing, running, and yelling...but not the shrieking screams of little ones...no offense, but couldn't their parents have just kept them from the screaming??? I didn't drive off the boat until 8 am. Then, the long windy 1o1 hwy to Olympia took me another 3 hours...THREE HOURS. I didn't finally arrive in Portland until 1 pm...yup, I'd been traveling for 8 hours...ugh.

Then, on the way home I thought it would be easier. I thought I knew what to expect. So, the ridiculous number of stops for road construction on that windy 101 didn't get to me quite as badly. I was okay...until I arrived at the ferry terminal. I got there an hour and a half early for the 5:15 pm ferry. Early enough, you would think. Only, I was still too late. It was full and I had to sit in Port Angeles for 5 hours! FIVE HOURS. Fortunately, at least, there WAS a 9:30 pm ferry that I could catch. So, I took a nap on the ferry again...until the DRUMMING natives woke me up. I could sleep through music, singing, laughing, talking...but SERIOUSLY. DRUMMING?!?! Yes, this native guy just took out his drum and thought it was perfectly okay to just play it...really. Now, I have native blood and I love that kind of sound...but NOT at 10 pm in a public place without any concern for people (I wasn't the only one) napping...I mean...really. So, although I began my trip at 10 am sharp, I didn't arrive home until midnight. Yes, 14 hours...UGH.

As you can tell by my tone, I didn't take any pictures. Let's just say I wasn't inspired.

My PlayPlace

As you know, we recently moved to Victoria on Vancouver Island...super fun, super beautiful, super nice here! And, my scrap-room is no exception! David was sweet enough to put up our plate rack that was used in our previous kitchen; I converted it into a PAPER rack - gotta love it! I suggest that if you'd also like to do this in your studio, buy this Ikea piece second hand on craigslist...much cheaper than how we did it ;)

I hope some of you are able to come and design, paint, stamp, and scrap with me in my PlayPlace sometime soon! This fall there will be a crop here on the island...will keep you all posted! You would even get to sleep in the PlayPlace as it doubles as the guestroom :)

TFL!!!

Craft Fair Madness

Who would think that a simple CRAFT fair would be such a big deal? Well, I guess if there's a way to make things crazy and complicated, I'll find it! My WONDERFUL sister booked a table for me for the Providence St. Vincent Hospital craft fair - come see me at the Portland, Oregon hospital on Friday, July 18 from 9-4!!! Here's a sneak peak of what I've made...

Hundreds of Cards

Coasters

Journals

Magnets

AND SO MUCH MORE...

I wouldn't normally call myself the "crafty" type...I'm more the "artsy" type I like to say! But, I've found a fun way to use my art in little gift wrapped ways...OH, and I am going to try to sell some of my paintings! I've done three pieces and I am super happy with them :)

Off to Oregon I go tomorrow (gotta be at the ferry terminal at 5 in the morning - aaaahhh!)

My Independance Day Project

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! Finally! A day to PLAY and do something fun! Of course, home decorating is high on my list. Our new suite needs lots of organizing, something I'm almost always in the mood for.

This is an easy make-it-yourself home project that I came up with. You know all those beautiful decorative balls on the market? You know how expensive they are?! Too much $ for us! So, we went to wal-mart, found these styrofoam balls on clearance for about $3 for the whole bunch :) Then, we paper-mached them (yup, we got our fingers dirty!) Then, I painted them to match the room and bring together all the colors in my scheme. Lastly, I stamped them with swirlys and scriptys and dottys...CUTE!

Originally, our balls were gold, red, and green to bring together the colors of our living room. But, in our new place, I wanted to do a more neutral scheme with black and white. Yesterday, it only took me a few minutes (okay, so about an hour!) to repaint our balls to coordinate with our new b&w theme :) YAY! Love versatile, easy-to-match-my-love-for-change projects!

Oh, and one more easy-to-make-cheap hint: my new black and white damask pillows? They're actually made of pretty place mats! I bought the place mats (at the Bay) for only $7 each. Then, I tore the seam of one side, stuffed it with my old pillow, and machine sewed it shut! VOILA! (You can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw another pillow at a little boutique in downtown Victoria that looked almost IDENTICAL to mine for $145!!! I know!!!)

Balls before:

Balls after:

Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

A TON has happened in the last month: After David's graduation, our trip to Hawaii was a needed refreshment. It gave us strength to make our big move to Victoria! Then, we left our worldly possessions on the island and went back to the mainland. There, we lived with family and friends for the rest of the month as I finished up my employment. After all the moving around and hustle and bustle, we're finally enjoying resting in this gorgeous weather over here in our new home.

I have soooooooooooooooooo many pictures to share with you, but I thought - why not scrap them first, then show you the stories?! So, that's what I'll be doing over the next number of summer weeks: scrappin' away and sharing all the adventures we've experienced during this very very busy time in our lives.

As for today - we're going to go downtown to the parliament building and enjoy the Canada Day celebrations! Living in the BC capital sure makes us feel more patriotic :)