auxpetitsoiseaux...the shop!

What have I done???
I feel dizzy...my dinner is spinning in my belly!
I just opened an Etsy shop!!!

I know that yesterday I said that I would not sell my crafts on Internet but I totally blame the acorns! Yes, those colorful little balls of wool convinced me ;) They wanted to jump in a plane, see the world, meet new people and have a glass of wine...oops, that's just me ;)

I have a few details to think about (packaging, price, shipping, etc.) but next week...where is that glass of wine again???...felt acorns will be looking for new adventures!

Wish me luck my friends!!!

Hey sailor!

For the past few days I have been dreaming of going to the beach. Walking slowly with my husband, smelling the ocean breeze, feeling the wind in my hair...screaming at my dog to stop eating "sea junk". Dreaming is nice because there is not a single decent sea side in Montreal. I also have a confession to make. The reason I have nautical fantasies is probably because lately I have been talking a lot about lobsters. On the 28th, I will be responsible for the genocide of almost 2000 poor little (not that little actually!) losbters at a fancy dinner party that I organized at work. This event is also the reason why I didn't do much crafts, answered much e-mails or commented on much posts! In exactly one week, things will be back to normal. In the mean time: green or white napkins, strawberries or raspberries sauce, organic coffee or not?

Silver whale hoop earrings by imogeneANDannie
Beach stone buttons by madeforfun
Sail Away Childrens Tote by BungleBearDesigns
Silver Gull Bird by flyingstartoys
The Sail boat from Marseille by lapomme
Inky octopus t-shirt by boygirlparty

It's evolution baby!

Exactly 5 months ago, my fingers flowed over a keyboard and wrote a paragraph, an introduction. That little text was only an experiment. I just wanted to see how it would feel like to write a blog post. However, it seems that on a subconscious level I wanted more than just a simple test. Oh my God, I published the post! What's wrong with me? I don't really know how to knit, to use a sewing machine and I don't even like to cook!

I still don't like to cook but I now enjoy the clickety-clack sounds of my knitting needles and the neat stitches made by my sewing machine. When I look back at the past months, I realized that blogging changed me more than I ever believed it would. Slowly, I became more aware of a new world of creativity. I still like the same things (such as squirrels and bunnies...how can I not like squirrels and bunnies?) but now they are in soft linen or in thick wool, with a more modern design, surrounded by simplicity and with a slightly edgier look. Blogging made me realize that there is more to creativity than just the obvious.

To show my new "transition", I selected some items that I probably wouldn't have enjoyed 5 months ago but that now inspire and fascinate me immensely. It's evolution baby!

Sand by Reyaveltman

Le Lapin by TillyBloom
Being you is the key by Paperiaarre
Dixon the windsee by Onegirl

Otto conejo by Essimar

Linen fabric -- Forest by Namolio
Ishmaels Whale - Indian Calico by Flyingstartoys
Knitty, knitty by Ashleyg

The arwards go to...the badger!

Two contestants were present at an award ceremony: a small bunny made out of recycled wool and a rather unusual badger. Both were anxious to learn the winner’s name. Two categories: “You Make Me Smile Award” and “Blogging with a Purpose Award”. Everybody believed that the bunny would win. Lets face it, the bunny had everything: cute, fuzzy and eco-friendly. The badger, on the other hand was a little sarcastic, slightly self-centered, often solitary and aggressive in the morning. They both held their breath. The presenter cleared his throat. And both awards go to… the badger!

Thank you Erin (Girl with Curlz), Jade (Chik Austin) and Ulla (Lille-Ursus) for giving me those awards. It seems that even grumpy badgers (a nickname that my husband gave me a while ago) can get recognition. My little blog is such a blessing for me and that “community” is beyond my expectations. Thank you again. Now it’s my turn to nominate 5 blogs that make me smile and have a purpose because they are such an inspiration: Chickpea Sewing Studio, Linaloo, Little Red Caboose, Orange Flower and Senorita Puri.

And for those who care about the other contestant. Well, he went to an after-ceremony party and drank all night long ;) If you want to make your own bunny, take a look here.

Uncheerful little women

A Little Papercut

My Folk Lover

Squirrel on a String

The black apple

The girl with the six button red coat who hated skiing

Hide n Seek

I could write that this morning, when my husband told me that there was yet another storm, I slowly pulled the blankets over my head wishing that I was across the country where the cherry trees are already in bloom. I could also write that going outside wearing wide leg trouser jeans was a bad idea because the wind pushed a multitude of cold tiny ice pellets into my pants and, at a certain point, it almost reached my underwear. Instead, I will write…well, mostly show…the work of three wonderful illustrators discovered on Etsy (where else?). Since I have no background what so ever in art, I decided to call it “cute darkness”. That style is, I must admit, not for everybody but I see such beauty in those uncheerful little women.

Being a little uncheerful myself, I decided to sneek into the nicest room of my office building which sadly enough is the bathroom on the 8th floor. While the receptionist probably believed that I had a serious digestive issue, I took my camera with me and had a little unplanned photo shoot that depicts my new jacket! Can you see the "french pout"on my face? What a day!

Note: I got my jacket at RW & Co (Canadian store).

6 months + 10 years

Today is our 6 month wedding anniversary but we previously dated for 10 years. We are high school sweethearts. On a sunny afternoon, in what used to be an old jam factory with a tiny garden, we got married surrounded by our family and our closest friends. It was an “urban garden party”, with cupcakes and lemonade, hors d’oeuvres and organic wine. A violin and a cello were playing lovely music and 45 little potted plants (our favors) were decorating the room. It was simple yet elegant.

To celebrate our “we are still together after 6 months” anniversary, my husband got me one of Ella’s beautiful dolls. It’s actually a substitute for our “tree of life” which is now in rehab at my mom’s house. The tree (aka giant potted plant) was suppose to represent our growing relationship as husband and wife. People were also invited to write their wishes on little cards and tied them with ribbons to its branches. To make a long story short, after only one month, the tree was in pretty bad shape. In conclusion, you don’t need to have a green thumb to have an happy marriage…and a doll is very low maintenance!

The doodle report

I'm the kind of gal who likes to "feel" a book before buying it. I want to touch the texture of the paper, see the finish on the pictures, look at the font design and when nobody is looking I might also smell it...especially vintage books. That is probably why I'm really insecure about getting books online, especially those beautiful Japanese craft books. I'm also a little cheap! I don't like to spend money on something that I might not enjoy. However, last week, with no other option, I ordered Doodle-Stitching and I really don't regret it. This book is full of very cute ideas that can easily be done by people like me...beginners. It has a "stitch library" and the explanations are very simple. I highly recommend this book for its projects but also because the paper is soft but not too delicate, the pictures have a nice mat finish that is not aggressive to look at and the fonts used are "girly" but with moderation. And the smell...well...it smells new which is a good thing since I paid full price!

That’s bloody expensive

I dreamt that I was happily walking the streets of London with a bag full of Cath Kidston items. Meters of fabrics, flowery tableware, polka dots tins and flirty skirts were all part of it. As soon as a Cath Kidston catalogue arrives at my door I always look at it with great envy. I tell myself: “If you ever go to London, you will visit that store and buy some nice goodies”. Happy me! We are going to London this summer!!! I might have carefully looked at every single item in the catalogue but I never really bothered to calculate the price with the exchange rate. My little hand, holding my calculator, was slightly shaking when I saw that the “cowboy skirt” (that would look so nice with a little red tank top and some delicate sandals) actually costs 150$ cdn. I must admit that I’m slightly disapointed but it’s not the end of the world. London certainly has a lot of very nice stores where I can spend my money at a more resonnable price. Does it?!?

Santa loves crafts, photography and travels

I guess that I have been a good girl in 2007 because Santa was very generous with me this year. When you are a kid, there is a positive correlation between happiness and the amount of presents that you get at Christmas. When you grow out of that phase you start to feel uncomfortable when you receive expensive or numerous gifts. Then start the “Oh my God, that was not necessary”, “You should not have spend that much money” and the “Are you out of your mind, that is way to much”. I guess the best thing to do is to suck it up and bring back the kid in you! There is nothing better at Christmas than seeing the look of joy in my family's eyes when I open my presents and get ectatic when I get...lets see... a ton of books, a camera, a 300$ gift certificate to buy a plane ticket, etc!

I also got a “sentimental” present. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my grand-mother and a vintage squirrel pattern. My mom read the post and was touched by my attachment to her mother, a women that I never met but that I admire immensely. In 1974, my grand-mother made a beautiful quilt that my family kept. The quilt got very beat up over time but, as a souvenir, my mom took a square from the quilt that was still intact, framed it and gave it to me on Christmas day. It was then my turn to be touched by what my mother did...she tightened the bonds between three generations of women: my grand-mother, herself and I.

Let it snow….no, please, it has to stop!

For many people, canadian winters rhyme with loads of snow, cold weather, slippery ice and polar bears. For me, everyting is accurate except for the last part...sorry no polar bears in Montreal or, as a matter of fact, in most regions of Canada. Over the past two weeks, 100 centimeters of beautiful white snow has fallen on Montreal. I have been dreaming of a real white Christmas for many years but I think that I got more than what I asked for. Who knows, maybe a confused polar bear will find his way to my neighbourhood and stop by for a hot cholocate!

Beautiful prints inspired by the arctic world from Etsy:

Kristiana Parn

be creative everyday....especially Thursdays!

Because squirrels are cool

I have been living in Montreal for almost 7 years. For the first part of my life, I was a resident of a little village of less than 500 inhabitants where deers, raccoons, foxes, groundhogs, and sometimes mooses were visiting our property. I left those country critters for pigeons, seagulls and…squirrels. I like squirrels. I don’t think that they are rats with fuzzy tails and that their only purpuse is to rip open garbage bags (even though I occasionnaly see an evil looking one working his way into a big bag full of stuff you don’t want to see on the sidewalk)! Squirrels amuse me. Especially at this time of year when they are fat...ready for winter. Those city critters are a little reminder that nature is everywhere. Even on a busy street, between a tiny patch of grass and a beatup tree.

Pretty squirrelly items from Etsy:

Squirrel Tea by groundwork
Print of an original painting (colored pencil and watercolor)

Squirrel in Tree/Tree in Squirrel Scarf by caitiesellers
Double weave scarf made out of super-fine, super soft alpaca

Squirrel pull toy by matsutake
Made out of a very fine grade papier mache

Grey Squirrel Tags by dappledesign
Part of a set of a dozen metal rimmed hang tags

Small vintage fabric bag by littleblackrabbit
Bag is made from fabric dated 1974 called "Pooks Hill"

Squirrel necklace by imogeneANDannie
Hand pierced from an etched sterling silver oval

Already thinking about the holidays!

I have always been facinated with everything scandinavian: the design, the culture, the traditions, the language, the landscape and the fact that they always look good! Last summer, my husband and I went on a two weeks vacation to Sweden. We were not disappointed! I believe that scandinavia is just the right balance between contemporary and traditional, urban and country, individuality and family.

Since I’m already in the spirit of the holidays, thanks to the ornament swap, I’m slowly planning to add a little bit of scandinavia Christmas to my apartment. Beeswax candles in abundance, nature inspired decorations, simple country-inspired tree, red-and-white fabric and knitted stockings.

I also think that I will try to get a little tree like that to hang the ornaments that I will get in the swap!