steaks, baby!

Last evening, on my way home, I got on the bus at the stop right outside the Safeway on Broadway. This guy in a wheelchair got on in front of me - he looked like he might be homeless, definitely down on his luck. After he got settled and the bus started moving, he reached under the blanket on his lap and pulled out a pack of steaks. Weird, right? I figured, hey, maybe he didn't want to carry a bag, it might be awkward since he has to wheel the chair and all. But then he pulls out another pack of meat. Chicken thighs, I think. Then another. And these are no small packs of meat. These are family-sized value-packs, maybe a foot-and-a-half wide by a foot long pieces of styrofoam with plastic wrap holding the meat in.

Then, with the three family packs of meat now on his lap, he reaches into his hoodie. And pulls out a pack of ground beef. Regular size.

Three packs of beef later, he's sitting there with a total of six packs of meat, three of which are huge, I'm pretty sure none of which he's paid for, and all of which have been hidden inside his blankets or clothing.

Meanwhile, I am trying to pretend to look out the window without smiling. Cause then he's cocked his head to one side and is winking, while giving the pointing finger-gun to this girl who's sitting facing him, and he goes "Heeey!" No response. "What, it's gross?... Steaks, baby!!!"

hush hush holidays

The thing about Christmas is that until the big day, things have to be hush hush hush... But these little guys have been helping me out with a few things recently...



Now if only they'd help me pack my suitcases for my trip home for the holidays...

quilted website promo

Last month, I did some design work for a co-worker of mine, Heike Kapp. Like a lot of creative people, she has so many other talents and interests beyond her day job. One of these for Heike is quilting. She only started the craft a couple of years ago, but is already a very skilled quilter. She's also one of the kindest people you'll ever meet.

I created some business cards and postcards for her, to help promote her website, where she showcases and sells her quilts.





She had tons of great quilts to choose from for this project--everything from more traditional designs to quilts that include fabric transfers of original photographs. In the end, we decided to focus on one quilt in particular, because of the bright colours and the amazing detailing.

Be sure to check out Heike's website to see (and maybe even buy!) some of her lovely fabric art.

map schmap

One of my photos was recently selected from my flickr to be part of the fourth edition of the Schmap New York Guide.

Schmap integrates maps with photos from "real" people (ie. not necessarily travel photographers), so you can get a sneak peek of the places you might plan to visit.

My photo is of pickles and cheesecake served up at Carnegie Deli.

Mmm, pickles and cheesecake.

cubicle craft fair

I know, I know. I am not blogging anywhere near regularly. It's been over a month since I last wrote... Yeesh. Life has been busy with trips (Toronto and Boston) and visits (my brother and sister-in-law), courses (2 more courses for my 2D Design certificate down!), plus work and the usual (and unusual) things that life throws at you.

My beaded bracelets that I wrote about are still sadly unfinished as I have avoided the boring part: tieing in all the strings.

Yesterday was a crafty day though, as my workplace was holding it's second annual holiday craft fair and bake sale. Basically, some of my co-workers bring in things they've made and we set up in a group of empty cubicles for an afternoon. Cubicle craft fair... I wonder if any other offices hold these? It sounds like it could easily be turned into a particularly painful episode of The Office, but it really was fun.

The only thing I had time to make this year was 1" buttons.



Plus, I had these button sets left over from last year: I made them from those awesome little paint colour swatches. I am addicted to those things (even though I have never even painted a room).



I love my button machine. Here's the scene post-buttoning...

beware, beaders, beware

Common Dangers Faced by the Bead Loomer Today

1. Temporal Shifts
Usually preceeded by the Beader muttering, "Just one more line... Ok, I'm coming, I'll just bead more line." The next thing you know, several hours have passed.

2. Tidal Shifts
Usually preceeded by an 'urgent' event, such as a ringing phone, for which the Beader must abandon beading and race to address the situation. This will typically result in a stray limb catching the bowl of beads... .. . ... . . . ... . . .



Boy, that was fun to clean up.

beads are the new pixels

Recently I've been all about the bead loom.

A year (or two?) ago, I created designs for beaded bracelets based on old school arcade video games. But for various reasons (other projects, procrastination, work, life) I hadn't got round to making more than a couple of each. I think projects are often like books: sometimes you pick up a novel and just can't get past the first page, but then you'll pick up the same novel six months later and just devour it.

And now is the time for devouring. Suddenly, I have a small stack of Space Invaders and Pac-Man beaded bracelets. Beads are the new pixels. Or is it that beads are analog pixels? Hmm.

Here's a sneak peek:



I just have to sew in all the ends... which takes forever. Hopefully I won't take another couple of years to finish this time.

If you're a big arcade fan, check out this video of human Space Invaders. Take that, human chess!