We Have Created A Monster!

Almost a month since my last post and you could all be forgiven for thinking I haven't been doing much at all, and you would be that far from the truth as far as my personal creativity is concerned.  Life has a habit of doing a U-turn every now and then.  Last year, our first year in Canada, we had very little work between us.  Lovely Man struggled with the bureaucracy of the College of Nurses Ontario to get his registration done, I took odd jobs and tried to make a living from my art and craft.  Now suddenly I have two jobs, working six days per week and Lovely Man is getting hospital work.  To top it all suddenly everyone wants my Aprons and they want them now!  Not that I am complaining, I am so happy people like my stuff but I was starting to get very twitchy.  I wasn't getting anything done for me.  All the fall decorations I had planned didn't happen and I haven't put paintbrush to canvas for at least 3 months.
So today I did a deal with myself.  If I got one apron finished this morning then I could have the rest of the day doing stuff for me!

I have been keenly following The Graphics Fairy, especially Brag Monday, and many others all of whom seem to be a dab hand with fabric, freezer paper and an ink jet printer!  Now I bought some freezer paper nearly three years ago and I dragged it all the way over here with me but I never got around to using it!  I suddenly realised I was actually nervous to do it in case I wrecked my printer! Ha!  So after giving myself a good talking to, along the lines of "for heavens sake the world and their Uncle have been doing this successfully get on with it", I got on with it!  And just look what I made!  I took a pumpkin print from the Graphic Fairy, I made a background in Photoshop and overlaid said pumpkin, printed it on calico and with a bit of beige wool fabric made this lovely cushion.

 

And it didn't stop there!  I also found some sheet music and these pretty birds and flowers, also courtesy of the Graphics Fairy, layered them in Photoshop, printed them and put them in very cheap (but nice) frames from Dollarama.  Total cost per picture?  Around $1.50... Suzanne  would be so proud of me!  Excuse the bad lighting it was late but I was excited to share!

Ok so now I am off to make some fabric pumpkins....Happy Thanksgiving!

Well!...Would you believe it.....

This morning Lovely Man and I were up at 8.30 - AGAIN!  And what's more we went out and did the jogging/power walking thing - AGAIN!  Well how about that?  It was distinctly chillier this morning but still pleasant and this time we didn't collapse in a heap on the bed when we got back!

We actually got a bit more done today.  A work bench was constructed for the workshop.  More pictures, in fact all the pictures, were hung.  Malcolm the moose has found his spot in the family room flanked on either side by a wood carved portrait of one of his relatives and a photograph of our local black bear!  I have made my own little art gallery on the stairway and displayed all Lovely Man's Army & Naval momentos in the family room and dining area.

The Fall is certainly well underway.  The trees at the back are turning quite golden now. The chipmunks are rarely seen, I quite miss them but they'll be back in Spring.  

Yesterday evening we had a double rainbow arched over the street.  It was the biggest, brightest rainbow I have ever seen.  It seemed so close too I felt that I could almost reach out and touch it!

 And just to round off a perfect day our neighbour, Jim, came across with some homemade cabbage rolls for us.  They were absolutely yummy, and saved me from having to cook too.  I have already searched out a recipe and will be experimenting in the very near future.  Once tried and tested I will post the recipe on here. Talking of cooking, you remember I made strawberry and raspberry jam?  Well recently I had a bash at grape jelly which was really good too.  My next project has to be Christmas Chutney though or Lovely Man will go into a sulk.