OH HAPPY DAY!

I hope everyone had a great Canada day! Mine was spent with my lovely boyfriend =]. He taught me how to drive a standard car, let me watch an episode of Cupcake Wars (that he lovingly recorded for me on his TV!), took me to a Stampeders football game (row 10!), and then went to nosehill park to see fireworks! All in all, it was a very memorable day.


Goodbye June, Hello July!
* The weather has finally started to take a turn for the better...hopefully no more rain this summer!...and I have spent many mornings out on the deck..with a yummy summer salad.. scrapbooking, reading and knitting!

What could be any better! I also started my new job at the church doing day camps. Kids don't start coming till the 18th and so we are doing lots of prep. My sister and I spent 3 hours wrapping string around popsicle sticks! The summer is just getting started =]

WELCOME ROYALS!

*Seeing the welcoming ceremony for Will and Kate on the News made me miss London so much!
I had so many flashbacks as to when I was there =] I also spent the afternoon recapping on their wedding. I cannot wait to look back and say to my children that I witnessed this 'day in History'. It is also great that they are on Canadian soil!

Summer Fun, Here We Come!!

My To-Do list

So far I have 60 things to accomplish!

WISH ME LUCK

Belated First Day of Summer!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER EVERYONE!

In order to get me excited for my first summer spent in Cow Town for the past 4 years I have decided to not let myself waste this summer...get wrapped up in work...or get stressed! For this to happen, I have created an exciting Summer 'To-Do' List filled with activities for memories to be created =]. I am so excited to start checking the boxes! My goal is to look back on this summer and say that it was the best one yet!

Tea Parties

Whenever I see teacups I am reminded of the days where I would raid my mother's makeup bag for lipstick (it was off limits EXCEPT for tea parties!), put on my dress up pearls, pull out the long gloves, and wear my best dress in order to attend an annual tea party with my sister,mom and sometimes grandma.
This made drawing teacups even more meaningful! And now I have a great memory to add to my room =]

Sparkles from the ceiling

I have always been captivated by chandeliers and looking through my Cali pictures I noticed I captured a few pictures of some!

In the future I want to have one but I know they can be quite expensive! Therefore, I will make one =]
There are some pretty easy DIY chandeliers out there...just a matter of attempting this challenge.
Here are a few ideas:

My Favorite! All you need are strands of pearls,
string, hot glue, and a wire coat hanger =]

Perfect for a little girls room! All you need
are paper/foam butterflies, fishing string, ribbon, and a wreath
of some sort (or just use a wire coathanger again).

I would put this outside on a deck or sitting area.
All you need a tealight candles, mini jars,chains,circular
cooling rack, and string.

Cupcakes Galore!

So I am happy to say that my baking collection has GROWN a lot during the past week!
I have introduced....
-Silicone reuseable cupcake cups!
-a can of 'spraypaint' icing
-colorful/patterned cupcake cups
-book of 150 cupcake ideas
-Cake decorating triangle (diff. ridges on each side to make a neat design
in the icing on the side of a cake)
-more piping bags & cuplers
- Neat cake wires to hang ornaments from

and lots more!

You may not share in the excitment that I have but it has motivated me to get some
baking done! Thankfully I have an amazing boyfriend who late me bake for 3 hours at his place
(he even did the dishes!). I got some cupcakes ready for tomorrow night's vancouver vs. Boston
hockey game...having some people come over to watch!

A great Sunday Afternoon =]

Of course you HAVE to watch 'Cupcake Wars'
while baking! =]

My 'Work' Space

First batch: Lemon!

then comes the chocolate!

3 hours later..they are ready for game day!

Such a sweetheart =]

Also, I baked some cupcakes for easter that have been my favorite so far!

Great family dinner (minus nathan)

(now minus dad!)

We also celebrated my beautiful mother's birthday!
Both Ashley and I baked her something =]

completion!

All I need to do is go in with black and
line/shade areas!

After the finishing touches!

Big debut beside my other art pieces!

dollar store find

STEP ONE
Find a cookie jar (or any other solid color jar!).
Got this for $2 from the dollar store =]

STEP TWO
Pick a pattern of your choice and lightly
draw it on with a pencil. I chose a damask
pattern (to go with my bedding!)...you can
barely see my sketch

STEP THREE
Fill in!! I started with permanent marker
and then went over it with acrylic paint.

STEP FOUR
Marvel at your wonderful,easy, and
cheap creation!

awaken from slumber!

        I have finally found some time for myself! And since my room hasn't had a recent painting added to it I decided to fix that! I fell in love with these flowers....how simple they look but yet whimsical with all the popping colors! I am slowly working on it and will post the finishing masterpiece soon! =]

The Verdict is in...

WOW! So life has decided to pick up a few notches which leaves me with no time to blog!

I started a job at the Country Hills Golf Club a month ago and am loving it! It does involve early mornings (5 am) but being outside at that time is soo peaceful and gorgeous =]. You see a whole new side to Calgary! By the time I get home (some days its 10:45, others its 2:15) I sleep for a few hours than catch up on chores and duties around the house. I barely have time to even check emails! I will be doing this till June 28th when I start day camps at Foothills Alliance church.

Anyways, I got something VERY important in the mail today....MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER FOR INTERIOR DESIGN! I was getting quite worried because I was told I would find out within the last 2 weeks and so I figured I didn't get in. Boy, was I wrong! I still can't believe it =P. I have been wanting this since I was 13! and Competing against 117 other applicants from across Canada,I was in for a ride! God has shown me his grace throughout this whole experience. I have leaned on Him so much and he has pulled me through. Also, I have a HUGE support system behind me and it makes me confident to head into my future at full force knowing that I have help along the way. Thank you all soo much for your support,patience, and encouragment =]

Also, I have been starting art lessons with one of the greatest artists I know, Jim Watt! I go to his place every Saturday and indulge in inspiring ideas and great technique! I have regretted not taking art classes for so long so I decided to do something about that! =P Hopefully this will also help me for the upcoming school year. Right now we are learning perspectives!

Hope everything is going great and you are rejoicing in the 'lack of rain' these days!

Inspiration!

So while in California I decided to spend a day in Solana at all the interior design stores! I was amazed and managed to get some inspiring photos. I honestly could come back here for a week to invest in visiting art museums and collecting items for my future place in the antique shops (I am already dreaming about it! =] ). I love the artsy atmospheres and all the entrepreneurs exhibiting their unique work. Has excited me about my future and all the directions I can take =].

Anyways! Here are a few of my favorite pics out of my large collection (I think later on I will blog about each specifically....) :

My mom and I fell IN LOVE with these porcelain
Artichokes. This would look perfect in the centre of a
dining room table with some tall candlesticks! =]

I always find myself being drawn to chandeliers. They
aren't always a practical light source but the architecture
and divine nature always are worth it =p. I would put this
in my craft room!!

Love these colors. I would probably add a more vibrant
blue as the accent pillow but this would look great
in a bedroom

Love these colors as well. Why am I always attracted to
neutrals and greys!? =P You can have so much fun with them

The royal feel is totally in right now (possibly due to the
royal wedding? haha). Bathroom set up? I think so!

A pop of color is always perfect =] Keeps the eyes
moving and captivated

I want this on my dresser in my room !

A beachy feel was the main theme in a lot of the stores.
Too bad it snows half the year in Canada! I would do this in a guest
bedroom or bathroom...to give them a resort like feel.

I am going to attempt this when I get home! It looks like
its made out of colored/printed planks of wood..I am just going
to use strips of old fabric =]

The shapes of these plates are amazing! I love the
spin on a typically round plate.

once again, beach theme! Love the color combos
of aqua blue and pink

So elegant! I love the damask pattern and this ties in
to it perfectly

wow this is a treasure! haha I would put this in a kids room
(once I have kids of course!). A great antique

great cookie holder!?

Lately I have been thinking about the daring 'all white' move.
It looks so clasy and clean! I probably won't end up doing
it in a room but carrying it over to frames or other accessories
would be my cup of tea =]