stalking normal.......

I am seduced by the normal - you think I jest? I am intoxicated by normal - hockey moms, blond highlights, ice tea, facebook, acronyms like LOL. it's all a sparkily twirling light show. i watch in amazement as people maneuver through this maze - everyone knowing which behavior, emotion and facial expression goes where. normal people also recognize their kind. you never feel awkward in a crowd. never without your magnetic north. sometimes i get close - let's say a conversation about cleaning windows with newsprint - then i brick up and ask if any words from the newsprint ever randomly get transferred to the glass and how cool that would be. at this point the light goes on for most people, they tilt their head, look at me with a strange mix of pity and annoyance, sigh and move on. At the farmer's market on saturday i was positioned across the aisle from an impressive display of normal. tight perm kind of normal - she was so sweet, i could have wept. it was pretty much love at first sight for me. not track lighting, vest wearing kind of love. the other kind. i spent the better part of the 3 hour tour trying not to scare the bejesus out of her. she spent the entire show crocheting a shopping bag out of beige phentex yarn. and the look on her face - mother mary could not have looked more serene. hopefully she and i will become confidants before the end of the summer - i bet she doesn't even own a freak flag.

i am partaking in two activities right now that pretty much put my mean age at 12. i can't confess, i'm not strong enough

and the dry spell continues. maybe my phentex muse will intercede, maybe i'll start lifting her work.

and and i will be posting an interview soon. real or imagined people want to talk to me

cheers,
bev

Close your eyes and think of England.......

yes, it has come to that. i seem to be in a bit of a crafting funk. it's time to take one for the team. bury my face in the pillow and do it for my resume. i'm certain you've heard them all. it has occurred to me that i may simply have nothing left to make. i haul it all out and look expectantly at the paper. where are you, you little project? maybe i suck or maybe i'm lazy. maybe i'm all dried up - a withered old paper whore. that was a bit harsh. bear with me, i can sometimes be a prayer challenge. so, at sometime today, i must do the deed - brace myself and remember the empire. I have more but I won't use them. I am known locally as THE model of restraint.




wish me luck
bev

on being a super model.....

I forget, did i mention I'm a supermodel and fabulously rich. My tiny clothes are often so loose i am forced to cinch myself in. Not everyone is aware of these little info nuggets. I suppose it's not immediately apparent when you see me. i don't like to show off. The chub, the national geographic body and 900sq ft farmhouse are a ruse. Now that you know, don't hate me.

well, I'm glad that's off my chest. I'm in the car, driving speedy quick to the capital. I think we'll go to the antique mall, costco and Fort Edmonton. We are staying over at the bff's. we'll probably spend the night talking about how pretty we are.

i'm not high or anything. I'm just listening to gaga and all that foolishness has gone to my head. yes, lady gaga. we all have our dirty little secrets. i'm talking about all you twilight readers.

should we talk about the shop. i've probably lost all the crafty readers by now. just the morbidly curious are hanging on. i had a pretty exciting saturday. I was representing at the farmer's market. i love, love, love going. people walk past the table, so serious and then when you smile and say hi. they light up like a christmas tree. Except the kids and old women, sometimes they're hard nuts to crack. They're wary, and really there's nothing wrong with that. I meet such interesting peeps. i think i lead a extremely sheltered life - people flit around the country in their slide-outs. my brain could not under any circumstances handle that much stimuli.

after the market i had ladies from away visit the shop. more creative, globe-trotting chicks. i met my mam's success quota and spent the rest of the day feeling groovy

got to run. the city awaits. i'll endeavor to post something crafty tomorrow

cheers
bev

The maternal wave of sunshine has left Miss Esteem looking for her self......

and that is all there is to say about that....except maybe, never underestimate the elderly.

sorry it has been so long. I post every day - in my head. If I could plug a internet connection directly in my brain you all would be in for some serious entertainment.

I have amazing ladies come to the shop. maybe all ladies are amazing but i think not. new ones, familiar ones.... I can't tell you how wonderful it feels. it scares the shit out of me but that is all part of my wonderland. I watch them go about the shop, amazed by their creative might. i want to be like them. inspiration in human form. thank you for coming.

and thank you for reading the blog. let me apologize for my frequent and painful misuse of the comma and my general attack on my mother tongue. a sweet lady named wendy wrote about the blog and her recent visit to the shop. holy mother, that was cool. the response to the envelope book has been lovely. I have a recipe book and a birthday book almost ready for inspection. posting projects is like handing someone a gun and asking them to shoot you. It's a leap of faith i'm very uncomfortable with. but one must grow

ending on a rather soppy note, aren't i. I will endeavor to blog more often. I certainly appreciate my daily reads and marvel at the commitment it takes to keep a blog fresh and updated.

cheers, bev

the hard and the easy.......

sometimes i miss my old home....the one by the sea. i realize that many of the things that i long for are long past but...... i miss my friend. i miss walking on the beach. i miss the sound of the water. but if i were there i would miss my new home....the one on the prairie. and i would miss the smell of the earth. the endless land and sky. our little farm.

After that depressing little intro I'm sure you're dying to go on. Let's talk about crafting. Here is one of the little mini books I have been working on. I tell you I'm quite taken with this format. I often feel a huge sense of inadequacy in terms of the scrapbook. I'm not a photo taker. My children's memories are haphazardly strewn throughout our home. I am, however, seduced by and bound to, old yellowed photos. Strangers... but so familiar to me... I can almost see their lives swirl beneath their images. I want to ask - Why do you look so pensive? Do you smell your cake burning? Does your husband beat you? Are you tired? god, it's pure crack. I also eat up old hand-written recipe books. You can just feel the pride bursting through the careful script. Thousands of budding authors just wishing to be heard. It's a hard copy blog complete with oven temps and penciled in edits.



Clearly I strayed off topic. Back to the cute little Kraft albums. This one is a photo album made with October Afternoon's Farm Fresh. Despite the previous post still one of my favorite paper providers. I work slow, sometimes painfully so but for you keener's out there this is easily a 1 day project.











Photos go on the right and a wee journal card is in the left hand pocket. The pocket could also hold extra photos or drugs(sorry). Also very sorry for the poor photos. Photoing is second only to lyrical dance in skills to be acquired soon.

cheers,
bev

the perils of modern space flight.....

Salutations my little buds. Let's not talk about where I've been - let's just say -what goes up, must come down. I wish I had some words of wisdom, warning or wonder but it is what it is. Whether seen from space or ground level - life is good.

OK, so I removed the last post. It made me sad or uncomfortable - take your pick. Sincere closed mouthed kisses to Followers 1 and 4 for noticing. On a completely different note, I'm getting quite pissy with October Afternoon. I realize with that statement I've removed myself from the running for any fab new product consultant position but speak the truth and the truth will speak. The wait for the new lines has been going on and on and on. I am so sick of looking at projects made with these absent products. Apparently every second person in the known world received a box full of freebies to "PLAY" with. By the way, that word, play, makes me a bit nauseous, for the most part we are grown-ass women - only children and small foreign speaking fairies should play. I know that the lines will be beautiful when they get here and I'll regret this little tant but Good God people I've been staring at the preview since January. This situation falls under a name we had for certain girls in high school. Those girls made my life a whole lot busier.


Well, now that's out of the way. Better out than in. Here on the other hand is a bit of Cosmo Cricket. The always speedy quick shipped, Cosmo Cricket. Material Girl has been in the shop for awhile and is quite fetching.









I'll leave you with that little bit of angry bev and a little bit of crafty bev.

cheers,
bev

the beating of my heart........

Hello my sweets. Here are my babes. I just wanted to write a wee little love note about them. This is all I know about being a mother..... Every time my children's hearts beat it is a reminder to them that they are not alone, I am there and all is well. I will not forsake them. I am forever theirs. And when my heart beats, it is their voices I hear and I am reminded that love is all there is.

cheers,
angie and amy's mom