Embrace Life

Blog Friendships & A Hop Winner!

Do you remember my Celebrating Blog Friendships hop of last Saturday? I participated with a number of ladies I've met through the Shimelle Blogging for Scrapbookers course I took about a year ago. The blog hop was expertly orchestrated by Jo and Lizzie, kudos to those brilliant ladies for dealing with the logistics and prizes. Thank YOU for visiting.

As for the results, I have to say WOW your kind words are so appreciated and linking up to your favourite blog friends has expanded my Google Reader - again!

In order to win this:

I asked for each of you to leave a comment on the blog and include a link to your favourite blog friend in order for BOTH of you to win the framed art above. I have to say, you ladies not only write, but also read some EXCELLENT blogs. I don't want all that goodness to get lost so here are all of your lovely words and links:

1. Jo Sowerby :: only one? now that's hard but i will chose abi cos she's my youngest and nearest geographical blogfriend ........... http://creatingpaperdreams.blogspot.com/
2. Melissa :: My favorite blog friend is Sue who blogs at http://suealthouse.blogspot.com/ because I always get inspiration from her blog and she encouraged me to continue blogging.
3. NancyD :: Your blog is so beautiful!! It's a pleasure to look at. My favorite bloggy friend (it's hard to pick one!) is Rachel. She showed up on my blog and was so honest and personable that I couldn't resist her. Her blog is: http://stop-drop-roll-rachel.blogspot.com/
4. Sian :: I'm so pleased to have discovered you :) and I'm enjoying your posts so very much. It's a pleasure to visit - and for that reason I'd like to cheat slightly and nominate your good self as my newest favourite discovery! Here's to many more years of blogging x
5. Amy :: Lee, I am so glad you left a comment on my blog way back when, otherwise I would have been too chicken to comment on yours - yes, it is sad, but I'm too shy sometimes. It has been a pleasure to visit your blog with all of the wonderful and inspiring stories and scrap pages you continually share. I can't say I have favourites - that is like asking a mother who her favourite child is ... however, I know Jacky was signed up for this hop and had to withdraw due to ill health ... she deserves some sunshine I think - here's her link http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/
6. Lizzie :: But, but, but... I can't only choose ONE! That wouldn't be Fair! I have several favourite blog friends... If I only choose one, I'll be leaving the others out! Ok then, how about The Linar Studio? I love coming here! (now that's a cop-out, but what can I do? The others all know who they are... and you can find them listed on my blog, so that's where you need to go now!) Love your blog, Lee and so glad to have met you! Thanks for joining our Blog Party - it wouldn't have been the same without you. :-)
7. Furrypig :: Thanks so much for your great post I have too many great blog friends to pick one, there is K, Mel, Oona, Jo, Kate, Amy, Jacky, Sian, etc etc I love them all!!! AND others too! xxx
8. Gayle (The Scrappy Tree) :: I really can't just choose one! Oh dear! :D Loving the citrus pics here btw :) Gayle xx
9. Monika Wright :: So thrilled to see The Scrappy Jedi on the blog hop list, Lee. She has the coolest roundups on Friday, has an Etsy shop with good stuff (!), just shared a detailed tour of her scrap space to include her thoughts behind her organizing madness and is a talented scrapper! Just a fun place to be! You, my new friend, are a joy to read and so inspirational in your art!
10. Crystal :: I visit you often but have never posted before. One of my very special blog friends is Linds (http://lindslangdon.blogspot.com), who live in the UK. I found her via a link long ago and we have become the kind of friends that phone each other and can hardly wait for the day when we can meet in person. She is funny, thoughtful, creative, a frequent writer and always makes me think. She really is a sunny spot in my days. Thanks for asking - and for sharing :)
11. Jennifer Grace :: Ooh, it's hard to choose a favourite. There's a few I could pick, but I'm gonna go for Sian, because not only does she blog fantastic stories and crafts, she also finds the time to comment on almost all my posts, and the posts of many other blogs too. I think she might be super woman. She is, at least, a super-lovely woman! http://www.fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/ Great thought-provoking question. Love how you created the letter too. xx
12. Mel :: What a lovely post, so interesting to read about your 'blogging journey' :-) And what a super prize! Like everyone else it is difficult to choose just one blogfriend, but I think I'd have to say Amy (www.overatourplace.blogspot.com) for the reasons given in my own post. An email from her always makes me smile and brings me sunshine :-)
13. Lesley :: I'd like to nominate Mel of I speak Melsh - and one of your blog hop contributors. She was one of the first people to comment on my blog and her blog is so fun
14. Karen :: I love your blog, Lee, and spend way too much time following your links around the internet! Thanks for the inspiration.
15. Kai :: Super cute frame! Some of my favorite bloggy friends were listed on my post for today's hop. So glad to have hopped by... :)
16. melissa :: your posts always inspire me so much, thank you for that!
17. Amanda Rhodes :: I love the shadow box frame! My favorite bloggy friend is http://noteablescraps.blogspot.com/ because I actually know her personally and she comments the most on my blog here lately! We attend the same church and I teach her youngest every Sunday in Sunday School! She loves to digiscrap and I paper scrap.
18. cate :: I love the bloggy world Shimelle introduced us all to! I think my favourite bloggy friend would be Deb of http://paperturtle.blogspot.com - she has the sort of crafty relationship with her daughter that I want with my kids!
19. amy :: Such a lovely post! I am a new subscriber here....looking forward to reading more! This hop has provided many new blogs for me to visit! I joined Shimelle's class late so it's great to meet so many of you! My favorite bloggy friend is Sally at www.dareyousayit.blogspot.com. I see her in person and on the web and she is such a wonderful support to my life!
20. Xnomads :: You have a way with words, Lee! I love your blog and will continue to visit. Thanks for coming by to mine today and leaving your kind words. I will do my best to post more as I'd really like to, but to plan my days better so that I have the time... it will happen! : )
21. Sharyn Carlson :: Oh you are too sweet, Lee! Thank you for your kind words. My best blog friend is also my best friend: http://bobnlindseyschmidt.blogspot.com/.
22. jillconyers :: What a great idea for a blog hop. Off to visit a few links while I have time.
23. S :: What a spectacular unique way to give away your goodies, but I'd never be able to pick just one blog friend; I believe in circles of friends (wink)!
24. Lou :: Mine is a kiwi friend in london: http://scrapadventure.wordpress.com/ love this blog hop and hope to continue visiting!
25. Lisa :: Great to see your blog on this blog hop. I've been popping in from time to time since we were in LOAD together - love your style, love the blog, love your scrapping. So many blog friends it's difficult to chose just one but if I had to, then it would need to be my sister - alifetimeofchances.blogspot.com - we started scrapping on the same day back in Jan 06 and have supported each other through this wonderful creative journey ever since. We don't live in the same country any more and therefore, blogging is a wonderful way to keep up the connection and sharing.

I have to say I've gone to visit every one of your favourites and I am more thrilled than ever to be a part of this blogging community. What a lovely group we have :) I am always appreciative of your words and your visits! I'm now very happy to get this entry posted so I can respond individually to all of your warmth and kindness.

No more delay, as promised, the prize goes to:

  JENNIFER
Congratulations to both you and Sian.

When you get a chance, send along your mailing addresses to me at linarstudio.lc at gmail dot com and I'll get your prizes right out to you :)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for some more "friendship" goodness!

*8 Things: Challenges for October

There is always something to do, isn't there?

Now that I've fully participated in the Celes-lead Live a Better Life Challenge, I feel more confident and refreshed. In that month I've managed to accept some stuff, toss some stuff and got the kids off to a pretty smooth start to their school year, it's now time for me to focus on home. I know I've been kvetching about the state of our abode for a while - the sheer volume of stuff threatens to overwhelm. I realize it is a function of big space and many children, but it's daunting and relentless.

Now that the holiday and entertaining season is upon us, I'd like my home tidy and organized enough that when I take out the seasonal decorations it LOOKS like an effort was made to decorate. I don't want it to look like an extention of the clutter of hockey gear, laundry and backpacks.

Another challenge to the rescue. Not only that, but there is really more than one ... there are EIGHT!

Last month, through a very typical blog journey, I stumbled upon the most wonderful blog and the very first post I read was a 31 Day Challenge for October. Not only is she offering a 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest (hello! me, waving, this is for ME!) she has teamed up with seven friends who are offering 31 Day Challenges of their own:

:: 31 Days to Stress-Free Entertaining from Sandy at The Reluctant Entertainer
:: 31 Days to a Better Photo from Darcy at Life With My 3 Boybarians
:: 31 Days to More with Less from Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: 31 Days of Autumn Bliss from Melissa at The Inspired Room
:: 31 Days of Living Simply from Emily at Remodeling This Life
:: 31 Days to an Inspired Table from Kendra at My First Kitchen
:: 31 Days of Grace from Emily at Chatting at the Sky

THERE AREN'T ENOUGH DAYS to take in all of this goodness. But I'm going to give it my best shot.

Studio Tidy-Up

This summer has been HOT. By HOT I mean unbearably muggy and still. Taking into consideration the humidity (the humidex) we have often reached somewhere in the mid-40s, celcius more than a few times. Translated, that would be 110F+ for my American friends. My thick Canadian blood is not prepared to deal with the heat. That combined with my being pre-menopausal and overweight, it added to my discomfort. I realize it must really be hot when my skinny-minny friends were complaining, too :)

Last week, my plan to walk every day was put on hold. More because of the massive blister on my foot than the weather, but it added to my excuse.

What was I to do?

The coolest place in my house is the basement which left me three choices: the laundry room (ugh, enough laundry already!), the playroom (not really my place) and my studio. I walked into the studio and was assaulted by the MESS, the utter mountains of paint and paper and scraps and photos and, and, and. Not one surface was left untouched. What was I to do? I couldn't make any more mess. So, I cleaned it up instead.

I realized mid-way through that I didn't' take a before photo, but you get the idea. Think: DISASTER area, or what your teenagers room looks like on a regular basis. But worse.

I've been asked to take some nice photos of my creative space in the next month or so and the timing couldn't be better. After a lot of hard work, I am now at what I would consider to be the starting point:

This is my usual view since a lot of my time is spent on the computer. I love reading blogs and mind-expanding sites. I can get lost reading blog after blog after blog! From this viewpoint I can hear the television since I don't often watch it, I'm watching my Mac instead; I can also see my "vision board" with all kinds of photos, elements and visual fodder for upcoming projects. I always find it hard to believe that my "desk" is my very first dining table from my first apartment!

I create standing up and love this kitchen counter unit I got at IKEA a couple of years ago. This side of things tends to be for "wet" projects. The albums sitting there are a throw back to my Creative Memories days and I'm waiting to give them to my friend Lorraine for her daughter. The best part of the view is the massive poster size photo of my dad and my sisters taken in Central Park during one of our many family trips to NYC - I am 99.9% sure it was taken Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (mid-October) and my bet, looking at the shoes, is it was 1976. I love that photo and am so happy my dad didn't toss it out when moving his office, but gave it to me.

A lot of carpet because the lights just don't translate well in photos! Do you see all the stuff I have? It's INSANE. And I use it. In this tidy-up I managed to purge a ton. Clearly I kept a ton, too. This side of my worktable is just a table. I make all of my layouts here, on this side. Don't ask me why. It just is :)

 

Stuff from another view. Crazy!

I am so insanely fortunate to have such space to dedicate to my passion for album making and other creative ventures. I really have to be more efficient and judicious with my choices and project plans.

[I'm thinking of selling off some of the stuff I don't need. I have a TON. Seriously, a remarkable amount of anciently retired Creative Memories stuff to purge. I was in retail for years and I ran my CM business the only why I knew how. In retrospect --- BAD idea, but you do what you know, you know? If anyone would be interested in an on-line "sale" let me know in the comments and I'll get it organized.]

So, like I said at the outset, I'm now at my starting point - design-wise and project-wise.

I've identified where I need more light, pillows, tables and a need for general visual de-cluttering. A nice rug would be nice, too. I've also found a bunch of things I love that I haven't used because they were either too beautiful to use, or as is often the case, too hard to find so deemed (mistakenly) too precious waste. Crazy.

I now have plans to use them. Not just in my head ... I wrote them down. So now they have a 50% chance of actually getting done :)

First things first, I need to make this room, my sanctuary studio, not only inspiring but productive and user-friendly.

What are the ideas you've implemented in your space that make you more productive? Do you have a can't-live-without element or two? Please share!

Weekend DIY Projects

Do you have weekend projects? Those things around the house that you know need to be done and can only be accomplished on Saturday and Sunday?

We have enough weekend projects throughout the house to last us a couple of years!

After reading this BRILLIANT article over at Centsational Girl, I grabbed my camera* and made a visual list of all the things that need doing outside our house. I might have to turn these into weekday projects with our summer weekends filled with rugby for Claire; football and hockey tournaments for Cole; singing for Chloe and 3on3 hockey for Caden. That and upcoming brunches and parties already in the works! Oh, and my step-sister Andrea and her family are moving into town, that will be a wonderful distraction. I figure if I can get myself to bed by 9PM and up by 5AM I can manage my work, socializing and then the projects. Who knows, I may just get everything completed by like ... October?

In no particular order:

Our front door is spectacular. It is solid wood ... I don't know what kind, but it's heavy and thick. I'm going to sand it all down since it is beyond "distressed", sand it down and stain it with a rich mahogany weather guard. 

 

See that ugly metal box with the wires? Well, it's hard to miss! When we moved into the house we thought the doorbell just had to be fixed - it turns out, the wires weren't attached to anything. We installed a new doorbell, but wer're stuck with this ugly box. I really want to find something to cover it. Ugly, eh? Link me to something pretty! Please?

The pots are still empty, so is the built-in planter with the holly. I'm thinking white impatiens or begonias with some nice trailing ivy. I've never planted before the May long weekend, but maybe I can this year?

I think our pine tree is dying. It is three storeys high and the top 8'-10' is bare. Must call someone who knows better than I!

In the winter we have small little bobcat type machines that clear the snow. Not that we had much this year! But each season on the curve it takes out half the stones. We are leaving them loose, since that way it's easier - and less expensive to fix each Spring. This has been the third year and I don't think the machine operators are improving!

Oops, got a little distracted by the sunrise!

When we had the 25' of forsythias removed last year (we still have at least 10' worth, which is still 8' too much!) it revealed two maple saplings and a gaping hole into Ben's back yard. I think I'm going to run out and get some cedars so he doesn't have to see our purple lawn :)

And, the super huge, must-be-done project:

We've got the materials and chosen the new stain. We just have to strip and re-stain. Just. I'm thinking I need to buy some more scrapers and applicators, buy a couple of cases of beer and get some help over here! Or, bribe my boys and girls with root beer? 

More pots! These are just out the kitchen door, so they'll be filled with basil, chives and parsley.

There is, of course, a bagillion other things on the go inside. I didn't show any of the Outside Louis Projects since it's my job to "prettify" and his is not. Really not. I don't know what it is he's doing, but his area of the outside is the garage zone and I don't actually fix it, though I do nag. A lot.

Wish me luck! What do you have on the go?

*All photos taken on Thursday morning. Good thing because it is POURING today. Yet another thing that will put off project completion!

Covet This

I don't often want for much, but when I do, it's a doozie!

Isn't she beautiful?

 

I have no idea where I'd put her, but I'm sure I could figure something out if it became a reality! Just click on the photo for the details :) And, if YOU manage to get one, let me know so I can enjoy her vicariously through you.

My Spirit Lifter

I really enjoy blogs with a good questions. Those which engage readers to be more than casual observers, or lurkers, but actively involved with the blog writer. Questions, I've found, do that. And give aways, too :)

I was on my usual reader tour this morning and visited Gina Solinsky's Rich Inner Life and discovered this (must have) book and a link to a question and a give away.

What is your favorite one-of-a-kind item you have purchased?  It may be something you bought at an art fair years ago, or something you ordered from etsy last month.  I'd love to hear what makes your heart sing!

This was my response:

For my 25th birthday we went to a gorgeous trendy Italian restaurant with beautiful art on the walls. I love restaurants that support local artists and I purchased my first watercolour. It is vibrant, huge and has hung in every home for the last 20 years. It is my most prized piece, not for it's material value but how it lifts my spirit every time I see it!

Here it is:

It has often been in our kitchen or family room, it is now in the hallway outside the master bedroom. I'm guaranteed at least two views every day. I love how vibrant it is. Even on my worst days it makes me smile when I see it.

Do you have a favourite piece you have purchased? You can let me know here, but know that I have no prize to offer, or you have until Sunday to enter, so head on over to enter at Rich Inner Life.

SOOC Saturday: Christmas Tree

Earlier in the week we put up the Christmas Tree. By "we" I mean Claire and Cole, who are out of school, assembled it (too many allergies in our house for a real tree) and brought up all the decorations. Chloe and Caden put on the decorations once they got home from school.

So, my SOOC for this Saturday is this:

 



 

A simple activity which turned into an all-day process the kids loved. They are so fun to watch together. I'm happy to have relinquished my roll as holiday-decorator and enjoy watching them discover new things, try new things and negotiate with each other where things go and why. Nothing, well almost nothing, is where I'd put it, but they're all happy and that's what counts, right?