No sweat

The last week went by in a blur... Been working away and eating massive meals lately!  I have been feeling as if I've been in a bit of sweat shop at times and have been grateful for the friends that have volunteered to lend a helping hand and to keep me company.  I fear I have taken on a task that is a bit over my head.  I have been hired to make many, many necklaces for a company. I have come to realize that this work is slightly outside of my realm and is going to be an enormous undertaking in very little time. I wasn't really going to talk about it here on the blog, as it is not for my own line, but for someone else. However, as it is all-consuming right now, I can't seem to help myself from discussing it! I've posted pictures here or there of materials gathered and I'll probably share some tidbits of work in progress, but I will likely not share the final product.  Let's just say there will be a lot of tubing and spray paint involved...  Wish me luck!  I like a good challenge!

At the same time, I have been keeping busy with MoonRox related work and getting ready for the Fall/Winter Collection.

Anyhow, here are some random photos taken lately.

Keeping office work fun with glitter pens and washi tape.

Spotted this rug that looks like it is made of lots of lots of men's ties chopped up.

My new iPhone cases arrived in the mail.

I always love a huge pile of pasta.

Had some treats.

Visited Kid Icarus to pick up Father's Day cards last week.

Feasted on lobster.

Caught some live music and somehow came home with a bag of candy like a kid on Hallowe'en.

Indulged in some quality dive bar chicken wings.

Gorged on delectable Polish delights.

Was treated to see Roger Waters' The Wall.  Serious show.

Enjoyed the gorgeous weather and made sure to work outside as much as possible.

And tried to keep cool in the heat wave we had.  

This is always one of my favourite times of the year... Love Summer!  Super long days and warm evenings make me happy!

My computer is misbehaving and this post has taken me far longer than intended with lots of waiting time for pics to load, so I'm off now!  A large pot of tea and a late night of work await me!  Goodnight and hope you had a nice weekend!

Family Day weekend

Hi there,

Hope you had a nice Family Day long weekend!  I know I should have been working on this holiday (that I am still not used to in the middle of the Winter)... I know not every province was off today, so phone calls should have been made and e-mails should have been sent, earrings should have been finished, but it was too nice a day to be huddled inside.  I'll get right on it in the morning!  Here are some snap shots from the past few days.

Queen West at sunset.

Colourful Le Creuset kitchenware at Good Egg.

Super yummy breaky with good company at the Bellevue.  Subbed out the egg.  I don't eat egg, unless hiding in a pastry or cake or pierogi and no longer resembling an egg of any sort!

Spent hours re-arranging my studio space.  Still lots to do but made huge strides and feel an enormous weight lifted already.

Shades of orange.

Crafty time with Japanese masking tape.

A pomelo.  

Homemade spaghetti and GIANT meatballs after a day of toddling around shopping.

Had a great weekend!  Lots of time to relax, lots of time with friends and some quality family time with the Sis, W., and Aunt L.  All weekend, small mundane things were reminding me of family no longer with us.  Making little flags reminded me of my paternal Grandfather.  He was so precise and loved making things with his hands but he was an efficient and practical man.  I remember when I first started my business he made me tons of little paper bags using colourful wrapping paper, each one carefully cut and glued.  Then, the act of peeling a pomelo slowly and deliberately reminded my of my maternal Grandfather.  My own hands began to resemble his as I patiently peeled the layers away to expose the delicious fruit.  Also, all this Jeremy Lin excitement would have thrilled him.  He was the hugest sports fan and basketball was near the top of the list.  I like that reminders of these oldies are everywhere!  Missing them, and my Grandmothers too on this Family Day.

Hooray!

My Sis and W. got engaged a few weeks ago! We had a celebratory/Easter dinner.

Today is Sister's birthday! Wishing her a very happy one!

Cake from Dufflet.

Dollarama treasures

I went in for padded envelopes and came out with these gems. That place is dangerous for buying things you really don't need, but you can come up with any half-baked justification as it's only a dollar or two! Got this cute tape dispenser, perfect for a single roll of Japanese masking tape. I'll use this at the One of a Kind Show to seal packages of jewellery!

Sweet little paper clips, ideal for clipping together MoonRox line sheets.

Nice coil-bound note books, just in time to replace my existing one on its last few pages... Lovely for jotting down custom orders and other tidbits.

And who doesn't need napkins imprinted with C-notes?

So pretty!

Uh oh... might need to feed the Japanese masking tape addiction with these lovelies...

Oh my, Omiyage!

I have been enjoying taping all sorts of things with my Japanese masking tape. I've wrapped packages, made cards, taped things for no good reason... why not!?
Omiyage is a Canadian-based online shop that showcases all sorts of "simply charming things from Japan." They've got lots of tape,

the cutest notebooks,

origami paper of all sorts,

the sweetest fabric options, and lots more.

Here is a link to their shop.

Now I am in a crafty creative mood! It rained and rained here over the weekend. Looks like today will be another grey one. Good for hunkering down and being productive! Happy Monday!

Dinner under the trees

Last night I caught up with my dear friend E. at our usual dinner spot, Terroni on Queen. I love these warm evenings that have nary a hint of chill in the air. Perfect evenings for dining al fresco!

E. and I met back in the day when she joined our school in Grade 13. We bonded over lots of 18 year old laughter and maybe a wee bit of shopping and a few cheeseburgers. Our birthdays are one day apart, E. being one day older than me, and so we went out for a belated celebration.

We both made cards using Japanese masking tape! (These are cuter without smudges over E.'s name!) She gave me a super cute mani kit to complement my new polishes! How thoughtful! Looking forward to meeting up again soon!

Colours and textures

It's still grey out, but I snapped a few shots around my work space despite the low light! Here's some cheerful colour and texture.