two more canvases...and more on the way!

I did these two canvases in the last 6 months or so - both of them as gifts. Sometimes I just get ideas in my mind and can't get them out; that's how it was with both of these! Love it when God totally inspires my artwork!!!

This one was a birthday present for my friend Alyssa. Her scrapbooking room has an eggplant purple wall, red chaise, and pink lampshades; these colors were the inspiration for the painting. I had it professionally custom framed at Micheal's and was really happy with the job they did. I created the 3D flowers by cutting paper with my big shot, then using ultra thick embossing powder and glitter on each one - super fun!

The one below was a housewarming for our dear friend in Victoria, Jenn. She ended up living in our exact suite when we left, so it was really fun to have this little present for her when she moved in!

They both use acrylic paint and Stampin Up Decor Elements. Check out more about SU GREAT decor elements vinyls here: http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryID=595

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH CRAPPY CHEAP VINYLS. I purchased a bunch of cheap pretty chandeliers at winners/homesense and was going to make some canvases with them for our new place. They're called "peel and stick" except they don't peel or stick!!! UGH! It was so so so so so annoying to try to work with these very poorly made vinyl stickers - I ended up throwing away all $20 worth - a complete waste of money, even though they were relatively inexpensive. SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE - only buy awesome Stampin Up decor elements (or very high quality like the ones from Treasury of Memories that you can custom order here: www.treasuryofmemories.com). Here's some evidence (what a mess!):

sexy new chairs

THANK YOU to Grandma and Grandpa Eagleson for giving us your old dining room set. And, THANK YOU to Auntie Heather and Uncle David for delivering it all the way to London for us! It's so cute and simple - a little Ikea treasure! But, we couldn't quite handle the pink stripes, so I refinished the upholstery. It only took me a little while, and I think the difference is significant :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

{I found this fabric with my mom during my many shopping sprees in Oregon this last spring. I didn't have a use for this fabric, but I couldn't resist it. I bought the remaining amount at Fabric Depot! I figured I would find SOME use for it when we got here...pillows, curtains, whatever...and this turned out to be the perfect use!}

And, my sexy hubby posing for some handsome carpenter shots - lol!!!!! He's so funny!

It's a HOT one!

Today when I left the house, it was overcast and drying up from the rain last night. But, the hallway of our apartment building was SO HUMID. I wasn't sure why it felt so much hotter than previous days.

Turns out it really IS way hotter than other days. Guess how hot it is here today?

Yeah, just guess!

Okay, I will tell you:

46 degrees celcius with humidity!!!!!

That's the same as 114 degrees fairenheit, for my American homies!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! I think it's probably the hottest I have EVER felt...So...Jolie doesn't get a walk today :( Too hot for us = too hot for her!

Votes, please!

Which is better?!?!?!!?! I need your opinions!!!!

Brown and blue (nothing in my house is brown - it's all black and white...but I love this pretty blue and brown pillow!)

Black and white (stickin' with the theme...looks nice I think...)

Help!

Bedrooms

Hey Everyone!

Here's some pictures of what we have done in the bedrooms. Trust me, they're only PARTIALLY finished...but that's the nice thing about a camera! I don't have to show you the messes - hahahaha!

In the master bedroom, we used small ikea dressers as nightstands/dressers. The room is super big, but we can't exactly afford a lot of furniture to fill it right now! The opposite wall is big and blank, so we'll see what happens with that...I will keep you updated! I also have my own bathroom - yippee!!! David painted cheap shelves the same color as the walls (Benjamin Moore CC500 - love love love this neutral!) and hung them up in the bathroom for all my jewelry etc. I love it!

My scrappin/guest room is all colorful and fresh - I thought I would need lots of brightness to get me through the dreaded winters here. My mom and I made the pillows - I just covered old pillows that I had around the house with funky new modern fabrics.

The big art on the wall is actually Compendium designer wrapping paper (http://www.compendium.com.au/) in big plain poster frames. It didn't fit exactly so I camouflaged the bottom strip with ribbon - I think it worked out okay. I love love love this paper - it has inspirational pictures and quotes all over it!

I made these pom poms to hang from the ceiling - Karen had all white ones of these in her wedding tent and they looked so pretty! They're really easy to make:

1) layer 8 sheets of tissue

2) accordion fold the layers

3) tie in the middle with wire and thread a thread through it (to hang)

4) cut a scallop along the ends of the tissue - you can also cut other designs!

5) open up the tissue and hang!

More to come! Gotta go "tidy!"

Body: I am Thankful for You!

{Pictures of David and I building rock formations along the highway in Ontario. It seemed to be quite a popular thing to do! We saw dozens of them, and thought we would join the movement!}

So often, as I walk around with a headache, tummy ache, and back ache, I hear myself complaining about my body (in my mind). It's too big, too small, too wide, too whatever. But, some parting words from a special person whom I recently said goodbye to in Victoria were these:

"I wish for you to live with GRATITUDE."

Let's all take a moment and list 10 things that we're grateful for in our BODIES (I wanna see some comments here people!):

1) I am thankful that my body is tall enough that I can reach the cupboards above the fridge

2) I am thankful that my body is short enough that I don't bump my head every time I go in my closet (new walk-in - thankful for that too!)

3) I am thankful that my body is relatively healthy - cancer, disease, and virus free!

4) I am thankful that I have a good, smart, whole, un-damaged brain

5) I am thankful for my cute nose - I like it! (it reminds me of my biological father)

6) I am VERY thankful that I don't have arthritis, so that I can scrapbook!

7) I am thankful for corrective lenses on my eyes, so that I can see through a camera lense :)

8) I am thankful for my slim legs...yeah, I think they're hot - lol!

9) I am thankful that I tan easily and don't sunburn too fast

10) Last but not least: I AM JUST THANKFUL TO BE ALIVE!!!!!

Trust me, this list wasn't necessarily EASY to come up with! It was much much much easier for me to think of things that I am NOT thankful for - things I want to change about my body. But, that's not the point of this exercise :) Let's hear what you've got!

How to Make Friends in three easy steps

{Me at Lake Louise...before I realized how hard it would be to make friends...so naive!}

{Can you really say NO to this face?! hahahaha}

When I was only 4 years old, I saw little Alicia Barberg playing down the street in the culd-e-sac. I wanted to play with her, and asked my mom how I could. She gave me three simple steps to making friends:

1) Go up to the person and say hello with a smile

2) Ask the person their name and tell them yours

3) Say, "Do you want to be friends?"

That's it!

Well, now I am practically all alone here in London. I need some friends. So, I tried my three-stepper (along with a little more added sophisticated "adult" conversation) today at the scrapbooking store and at the dog park. Hopefully, someone will actually email me and become my friend.

MAN! I MISS ALL OF YOU, FRIENDS! Whom have I to shop with? Whom have I to starbucks with? Whom have I to scrapbook with? Whom have I to go to the spa with? Oh, I miss you all so much!

The Chaos!

This is the chaos of our lives in our new apartment! AAK!

{pictures coming soon of the re-org!}