Monday, February 27, 2006

The Photos...





Hmmm...not sure what happened, but here are a few photos from the B&B...

A Wonderful Weekend

My weekend was the best I have had in a long time. You know those weekends that just make you feel like you've fallen into another time zone? It's not that they last forever, really, nor that they are perfect every moment, but more like they flow so perfectly that it feels like you've entered another reality...it feels surreal.

That was my weekend. It started out rather bad actually. I get really neurotic about having the house clean before we go away. My mother is like this. I ALWAYS swore I wouldn't be. I used to remember thinking "Who cares? We aren't going to be here to see how messy it is!" But of course I now see her wisdom. It isn't the leaving of the messy home, it's the returning to. Not only do you get a rude wake up call by having to leave the soft, dreamy world of sleeping in, people cooking your food for you, housekeeping cleaning up after you and experiencing fun and renewing activities, but THEN you have to shock your system even further by a return to a dreary, dirty and smelly house. Ok, in reality I wouldn't say my house is any of those things on a normal basis, but it still felt good to return to a home that was in order and smelled nice. Anway, this is a rather long-winded way of saying that I was very snappish and irritated in the morning before we left because I was rushing from one cleaning chore to another and my very patient husband finally asked me if I was planning to spend the entire weekend in this mood. Well, that in itself was irritating...but I could see that he had a point. I took a hot shower while he finished up my cleaning "To Do" list, and felt much, much better.

Anyway, back to the weekend fun...we had a lovely room with a sunken jacuzzi bathtub (I smuggled in candles to heighten the romance factor!), that was filled with gorgeous paintings. The entire inn was absolutely lovely. I loved the brightly painted walls, the artwork, the feel of it...incredible! We took the subway to the Museum of Fine Arts. It was wonderful! We didn't realize but Montreal was having it's own "Nuit Lumiere" or Light Night and a lot of museums and other cultural events were open all night long. We heard a beautiful Russian tenor accompanied by a violinist and pianist and then later an incredible, magical Russian violinist no older than me! It was a night to remember.

Sunday we feasted on a luscious breakfast of waffles with lemon creme, pastries, hot eggs (and bacon for my carnivore hubby!), fresh fruit, cappucino, fresh squeezed orange juice and more. You'd think we wouldn't have eaten the rest of the day, but we did manage to nibble a few glazed donuts at Krispie Kreme(!) which is unheard of in these northern-most parts. Of course, we spent some time hiking around IKEA which helped us work up an appetite! I bought my first "real" piece of artwork (though it's not REALLY real because I got it at Ikea, but it looks real!). This will start our collection, which I'm hoping will grow over the years with paintings and more from REAL artists whom I can meet or at least get acquainted with online. I love hearing about what inspired artistic and getting to know them, even if it's only through a short bio.

Well, I must get to my To Do list tonight! I've been adding things to it all day but haven't started checking anything off yet! I'm posting some pictures of the B&B and the lovely artwork by Benoit A. Cote (he's the owner's brother). His website is www.benoitacote.com

Bon Nuit!

Friday, February 24, 2006

New Crafty



Oh, I nearly forgot, here's a couple of pictures of my newest venture: Art Squared. These fun little 4"x4" squares are the perfect size! They're not too small (like ATC's can sometimes be) and not too large (like a full sized canvas) they're just right!

Also, Jenny, I fogot to answer your question about the "Cherish" book...it's a mini photo album which will also fit ATC's...for anyone interested it's listed on Ebay as we speak. I think if you do a search under chicchickbiz it should come up~let me know if you want more details if that search idea doesn't work!

Nighty night!

A nice weekend ahead...


Oh, I'm so happy it's Friday. I really struggled to stay "on task" at work today. I work in a research office at a large university. The work isn't really what I am meant to do, but there are definitely benefits. Today I've been feeling rather sorry for myself though, wishing I was home cranking out artsy-craftsy projects and feeling rather pathetic as I worked my way through boring contracts and tedious spreadsheets. This was not helped by the fact that I watched some taped episodes of Crafters Coast to Coast and Carol Duvall this morning on the treadmill (this is instead of caffeine first thing). Though inspiring, I felt rather dismal about going to my grey workplace for another day on the treadmill of my career.

Oh, enough about that! I must say I'm in a bit of a funk, but I don't want to spread that negative energy around!

Let's see...happy thoughts, happy thoughts...oh! Our anniversary was lovely. My husband bought me the prettiest pink rose; but not regular old pink, it's like pink with dark pink edging all over the petals. Very nice. I'll try to post a shot of it. AND we are going away for a lovely romantic weekend in Montreal to a really pretty B&B...very colorful and lots of breathtaking artwork. At least, that's how it looks on the website. I'll try to get photos of that too.

I'm feeling very creative this week...I can't wait to finish an altered/mixed media purse I've been working on. I just need some spiffy handles...

Wednesday, February 22, 2006



Oooh, I have no self-restraint! I just had to post a couple pictures of the items I made tonight. I'm out of control...can't stop...creating...things...must resist...husband hasn't seen me in...many hours...

Tee hee hee...I'm addicted, it's true. I can't wait to start on my next collage purse~perhaps tomorrow night?

Oh dear! I almost forgot it is my 4th wedding anniversary tomorrow...perhaps I will be doing something other than sewing tomorrow evening?!

~Oh Happy Day~



What a great day~it started out wonderfully because I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off...I LOVE when that happens! I was ready a little early and had a couple of minutes to enjoy the beautiful lighting and took these pretty pictures outside. I love my digital camera!

Then, to add to the excitement of my day, I sold a purse on Etsy and an ATC on Ebay...all in the same day! I don't think my day could have been any better...I even got in some time tonight to make a few more things for Ebay. I'll post the pictures in my next post. There is a wonderful community of women on Mary Janes Farm that you might want to check out; www.maryjanesfarm.com. I've really been enjoying my visits to the message boards there, and already feel a connection with some of the women. It feeds my vintage soul!


Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Smiling Ear-To-Ear...

Well, how excited was I today to come home and read not one but TWO posts from my new blogging friends! Thank you so much for your posts, I'm still grinning so hard my cheeks are slightly sore! It's so exciting to know that someone is "out there" and reading...very exciting! And all the nice compliments too~wow, what a great day!

I thought I would share a little more information about my shop. This is something I've dreamed of doing for quite a while. I opened officially last spring, and getting ready for opening day was incredibly exciting! I fluffed and primped and plumped pillows, straightened signs, painted and embellished like a crazed woman until it was time to open the door. I had maybe two guests that first day, but I was so completely thrilled! It has been so much fun to meet all the people who have come to visit me in person and who've purchased from me online. I have the shop open seasonally, May through August or September and I'm open on Saturdays, as I work full-time out of town at a university. I also sell online at both Etsy and Ebay. I tried a couple of craft shows last fall, and enjoyed those also.

I just love creating things! I love having an idea and then seeing it come to life with paper, glue, paint, scissors, my sewing machine, anything in my art room.

For a long time I thought that creating things for a living was too...Selfish. I thought I was meant to work with the poor and the "underdogs" and spend my life helping others. Well, I tried that. I worked in human services for several years and found it was not what I was made for. It's like after trying for years to squash myself into a human services mold (and getting my degree in psychology), I came to realize that what I need to do is be true to myself. To use the gifts God gave me, not try to force myself to do something that I'm not passionate about, or happy doing. It's still hard to believe that creating pretty things could really be part or maybe all of what I'm meant to do. It's hard to believe that anything that could bring me so much pleasure could be what I SHOULD be doing. I'm still mulling it over, I'm at the beginning of this journey, and there are many obstacles ahead of me, I'm sure. Still, it's wonderful to know that it's a possibility. That maybe my path will really go in that direction.

There is still a lot to think about, a lot of work ahead of me. I'm taking part-time college courses in art to learn the basics, as I've never had any formal training in art....good grief! I've rambled on long enough! I'm like a fountain when it comes to this part of my life, I just can't seem to keep it all inside!

I'm off to begin dinner...Long live the arts!

Monday, February 20, 2006


What a day! I've fallen into the bad habit of lethargy. Yesterday was one of those yucky days where I had so many things I wanted to do, cleaning projects, home decorating ideas and artsy craftsy projects to begin, but I ended up doing nothing at all! I was s0 frustrated with myself. I love weekends and my time at home is so incredibly special to me that I was doubly irritated with myself for wasting time with my inertia. Today, however, was a different story! This afternoon it was like I had been hit by a bolt of decorating/decluttering lightening!

It all started when I asked my darling husband to help me move our computer desk to another wall in the living room. It looked so much better and less cluttery that I went on to push furniture from room to room. I swapped out a couple of book cases which in turn forced me to cull my book collection (I had NO idea I had so many!). I threw out a half-dead Boston fern from two summers ago (it was still hard to say goodbye!) sorted a beautiful set of pink china into a couple of boxes for one of my darling sisters, emptied my "candle cupboard" and rearranged what was left in a new area. It feels great in here...though I'm so tired I couldn't quite finish in the dining room. I'll have to make time tomorrow morning to put my record player and records in some new locale.

I feel free! I feel uncluttered and cleaned out! I feel....happy that I took the time to do this. I have so much more I want to do, but for now it's nice to have gotten this far. I'm attaching a couple of the craft projects that I did manage to accomplish this weekend....


Thursday, February 16, 2006




Do you ever spend so much time daydreaming about something that when it comes time to actually do it, it feels like you already have? When I'm commuting to work or taking my lunch break or walking from place to place I sometimes play out in my mind everything I want to do when I get home; start this art project, put together this home decorating idea, try matching this new top with another pair of trousers to see what comes together.

Today was one of those days. I started a new ATC before leaving for work in the morning, and by lunchtime (in my mind) I had already put all the finishing touches on it! I rearranged my kitchen in my mind and was surprised to come home and see that everything was untouched, even (unfortunately) the dishes in the sink!

Oh well, there is always time for dishes, but in my house (most of the time) creating takes precedence.Here are a few pictures from my house to yours...I love pink and red! And this isn't even decorating just for Valentine's day!

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Hurrah~It worked!!!




Here are some various pictures of my shop from last season. It's open May-September so I'm already busy buying up frilly new items for this coming spring. I can't wait to re-open!

Say Cheese!

Ok, I think it's time to attempt to post some pictures on this page! I have been visiting some really lovely blogs, my two favorites being:

Oh, they are so wonderful! If my blog ever looks half as beautiful as either of these, I will be utterly and totally satisfied.

Hmmmm....it has crossed my mind that I may be all alone here at chicchickbiz? Well, perhaps some lovely pictures will coax vintage and art loving friends to join me here!

Monday, February 13, 2006

Almost Valentine's....

Wow, tomorrow is Valentine's Day...already! The cynical side of me is jeering and laughing at all the marketing and most espeically at those dumb diamond commercials on TV, but the sweet side of me thinks all this lovey-dovey stuff is sort of...well, sweet! Especially the abundance of chocolate in pretty pink and red boxes.

I am kicking myself (gently) now that I didn't do any marketing at all this season for my purses or my other hand made items. I did post some new things on Etsy http://chicchickbiz.etsy.com but other than that I didn't do much at all. I had big ideas about making a pretty Valentine's display at the local shop Sweet Nothing's who has a few of my purses for sale, but did I follow through? Sadly, the answer is no.

Well, spring is just around the corner, I will have to make up for my laziness with lavish spring decorations and warm weather embellishments.

I'm off to fend off other consumers on my lunch break, for what is left of the Valentine's gifts for procrastinators like myself~wish me luck!