Staycation (Craft Week!)

 

(from The Repurposed Library)

I booked the week off. For no reason whatsoever.

It's great. It's really just the greatest.

Except that I'm sick. I spent Day #1 pouting and eating soup and watching back-to-back episodes of so-bad-it's-good TV (err, Drop Dead Diva. Any fans?). But yesterday, Day #2, I said eff you bubonic-devil-cold, eff you. I DID sleep in a little, but was far more productive.

The purpose of this week was inteneded to be productivity + relaxation. I can't quite manage the latter. Unless it's forced upon me by, say, being sick. Well, there you have it. Success?

Anyway, I'm trying to prep for the holidays, Etsy-wise and just maybe get my Dudley & Bea goods into at least one retail shop before Christimas. It's not that the interest isn't there. Really, I've has wholesale requests from shops in Toronto, Florida, Austin, and even Australia. It's my readiness. I'm not ready. During my previous crafty venture, I rushed things. I didn't nail down my methods or patterns or even a cohesive style. This time, I'm doing it right, dammit! So that's what this week is about: getting closer to "right".

Also, this week is about: hot yoga, brunches with mat-leave moms & night-shift friends, finally getting my passport updated, blogging like crazy, cleaning out the basement, painting the washroom, painting (as in canvases! as in art! as in omigosh I'm using my big expensive art school education for once!), finishing the art wall in our bedroom, and crafting while devouring season 3 of The United States of Tara. All while Alex is at work. I might also book a facial or a massage or a pedi. There should be something a little lavish in this mix, yeah?

Since much of my Staycay (or as I've been calling it: Craft Week) will be spent DIY-ing, here are some images that have inspired me:

So we bought some old maps at a flea market in Kingston this summer (that's Alex thumbing through the box)...

I've framed a vintage Pacific Ocean Floor map and I'm contemplating these for the rest:

On the same antique adventure, we snagged some burlap coffee bags and they'd be pretty awesome as a makeshift bulletin board:

All of this is part of one big masterpiece: the yet-untouched accent wall in our bedroom. It's been sadly empty for so long, but I've been working on Alex to recreate something like the below. He's in.

I'm also painting. "Starving Artist" is one of my many alter-egos. I put enough money and time and blood and sleep loss into becoming the illustrator that I never actually became. It's nice to get a little pay-off occasionally. Even though I was never really cut out for starvation. 

I'm painting jellyfish. Too much Blue Planet, I guess. Or Saturday-morning Spongebob. Too much TV.

I'm still fussing with the water. I'm no longer fully confident wielding a brush.

This inspired me:

My equally craft-loving friend Cathie bought me this book (The Repurposed Library)  for my birthday. A book-cum-lampshade project is calling my name. If painting in the living room has taught me one thing, it's this: the place is a bloody cave. DIY lamp to the rescue! How does once craft project always spawn six more!?

I'd like to say that's it, but I've managed to fill my to-do list with an impossible number of projects for just one short week. During half of which I've been sick. 

Stay tuned for the craftermath....

Hop, Skip and a Fall.

I STILL can't tell you my news. Especially since potential-news item #1 fell through (another possible TV crafting gig). Some day. Number two is a bit more likely. Say...90%. But still.

 [ this is me, unusually quiet. yep, OK, a bit smug, too. sorry, lip = zipped. ]

I've been fairly productive this week, despite Alex's attempts to thwart any activity that does not involve him + coffee. But even he has taken his time "off" more seriously lately. He has a lot of idle time between gigs/shooting/touring these days and has taken to a little man-work around the house. Of course, since we're skating the line between "OK" and "dead-broke-and-homeless", he's being pretty crafty about coming up with "found object" renos. Our neighbour left behind a bunch of wood when she moved and Alex has been using it to fix up our "garage" (the space that previously would NOT have held a car, and now would maybe fit a Mini), and to add a little privacy to our back deck:

 [ Julie is our little orphan while her "mom" is in Uganda. Really, she's more like a cat. ]

[ He also found old paint in our basement and decided to paint another red wall in the kitchen. ]

[ Dudley did not understand the concept of "wet paint". If our dog has a pinkish hue to him next time you see him, this is why. ]

And, he hung the "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" poster that he bought me for my birthday. I looooove it so, so much. It's actually an expression of mine: "I'm so attack-of-the-50-foot-woman in these heels." Sometimes I really do feel quite gigantic. In heels I am easily 6'1". OK, yeah, a far cry from 50 feet, but whatevs.

I've been buzzing across the city working on blogTO gigs, too. Bars and chocolateries and fashion boutiques! Lots of new posts should be up soon! 

I'm also finally getting work done on my little pet business. I've created a simple splash-page website, a Twitter account, and a Flickr gallery. I still need to get a ton of new items up in the shop, but I do have a whole weekend to myself, so productivity will definitely increase exponentially.

Also, I had some good news that canceled out some bad news yesterday. I found out that due to an address error (caused by my accountant), I have been missing notices that I owe the government a lot of money. Because I've been missing them, the interest has been incurring. Anyway, I was SUPER bummed, because the money that I would have spent on a laptop (necessary for my maybe-new-job) was now getting gulped up by the tax man. Then: as Alex puts it, "the Universe provides". And it did. Well, maybe one little star in the universe. Joey stopped by to indefinitely lend me her old Powerbook, which is in perfectly fine condition for my purposes. *whew* Saved! I just had to replace the power cord. But $40 is definitely better than $1000. Thanks, lady!

What else, what else? Oh, have I mentioned how much I love-love Fall and all of its fashion wonder?? I will try to forget that I don't actually have a fall wardrobe budget and will be crafty about retooling my current fall wardrobe with some nips and tucks here and there. 

[ Ahhh, tights! Yay! (photo via styletips101.com) ]

Oops, I'm so not being great about Sweet Thing updates, am I? Not much is really happening now, except more chat about the next single/video. Which (sorry) I can't divulge. But, if you do live in Vancouver, you can catch them this Saturday at a FREE show. They're playing for a Joe Fresh store opening party (w/ Divine Brown, Mariana's Trench and Stereos!) Gah, fashion and Sweet Thing? I want to BE there!! Obvs, I'm holding down the fort here, though.  *pout*

Speaking of Joe, I wantsies:

(This is for Alex's benefit - he gets a Joe shopping spree prior to the show, and I am hoping I get a little "present" from it. Hint, hint. Pretty please!!)

I'll close this by sharing a link to another Gelaskins mention (on mashable.com) featuring none other than yours truly + mister. This wedding photo is honestly famous now, I think:

Ta-ta!

xo,

Your Yoko

p.s. I am thankful for my lovely Thanksgiving dinners (x2) and all of the amazing company: Owen, Johnny, Shemeena, Vivek, Sheila, Jess, Katherine, Billy, Tracy, and of course, Alex!