I n s t e a d

Korea

2010-08-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Cycling along the Han river.

Yaaaaayyy!!

2008-06-19T07:02:00.001-07:00

Imagine my delight when I woke up to find I have been featured on Start Dust Creations' blog today. Thank you Jenn!
Her etsy shop can be found here and do visit her blog here.

Current favourites

2008-06-18T08:12:00.001-07:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
instead

Who wouldn't..

2008-06-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

...love a scamp that draws like this.

We had an Unexpected Visitor..

2008-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

.. to our porch this weekend. I don't quite know how he found his way in and I skipped passed him armed with a broom to lean open the door to the backyard to let him find his way out.

Meanwhile our other porch residents looked on with a great deal of interest.

Lullaby Lamb

2008-05-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

I discovered Becky's store Lullaby Lambs on the fora over at etsy and fell into immediate love with her knit and crochet caps. Below is my interview with her. You can visit her etsy store here to see more of her awesome things.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, what inspires you and what kind of things do you mull over when you make things?
I am a SAHM to 3 kiddos (13, 5 and 3 ~ we never got child spacing!) and have been married for 20 years (yes, to the same great guy!). I grew up on a 54 acre farm in Eastern Oregon and was an Exchange Student to Denmark (where everyone knits, at the bus stop, on the bus, at the train station, on the train, etc.) in both places, I learned to how to pass the time through an interest (that later became a passion)in knitting and crocheting.

How did LullabyLamb come to be? Where/how did it start? How did you develop your collection?
LullabyLamb came to be after the birth of our last child, when I really had begun to design my own patterns and create my own style, around the Fall of 2004. I develop my collections by watching the trends and colors that are "hot" each season and through the beauty of my children and inspiration of Mother Nature (for flowers and many of my color combinations).

How do you market your product on and off etsy?
For marketing, I try to stay active on my own website (www.lullabylammb.com), and listing regularly on etsy and ebay. Participating on etsy forums and through the many groups I am a member of on ebay, I am able to get my name out just by answering different topics or participating on a thread that I am passionate about.

The photos in your shop are awesome. Do you take them yourself?
For my amazing photographs, I have to thank multiple sources. I have taken a small handful and gotten very lucky shots with some! For the remainder, my sister is a photographer and she also sells on etsy (lconeill) and has an amazing blog www.lconeill.smugmug.com where you can learn more about her (she is an amazing person, bring tissues if you read!). I am blessed to have her as my photographer. I have also used and still continue to use many talented free/term models through ebay, I love working with the Petite Cover Girls (PCG is the search term on ebay for them). They are fabulous models and moms that I am honored to work with on a revolving basis!

Thank you Becky!

Gardening and related musings

2008-05-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ahmik and I are quite taken with our ongoing project. This spring we signed up for half a plot at our community organic gardens and planted various vegetable seedlings. I have been devouring all the organic gardening books our local library owns and there is something to delight us at every visit. Imagine how overcome with delight we were when we found these.

This experience is teaching both of us about living things and the precarious balance of the world around us. There is something so basic and satisfying about growing organic. The soil and natural world around become so much a part of the process rather than something you fight against. Happy gardening.

In Progress

2008-05-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ahmik and I were presented with these by our neighbour at the organic garden co-operative where we have just started growing things. The gardens deserve a separate post, but I couldn't resist painting these.

So here they are, not quite finished and wafting onion-iness all over our kitchen.

What could be better...

2008-05-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

... than a blustery summer's day for an afternoon of kiteflying.

On with painting

2008-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

A sneak peak at two new paintings that have been in the works. They will be in the shop update later today.

And all that pertains

2008-04-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well here I am, a year after stumbling upon some of what are still my favourite blogs. I am writing my first blogpost amidst my own disbelief. So here is to new beginnings, saving good thoughts and good things, finishing projects and exploring the world around.
And very quietly, hello world.