Holiday shows - already!

I'm a bad blogger. I feel better now that that's out of the way.

Some fresh sushi platters...

You can find these, my other jewellery lines and my greeting cards at my upcoming craft shows! Here's my line-up for this holiday season:

Friday November 19: 11am to 9pm
Saturday November 20: 10am to 5pm
Art Etc. Exhibition and Sale
50, Westminster Ave S., at Avon Road, Montreal West
(Bus 90, 123, 105 from metro Vendome; bus 162 from metro Villa-Maria)

Thursday November 25: 4pm to 9pm
Friday November 26: noon to 9pm
Saturday November 27: 10am to 5pm
Sunday November 28: 11am to 5pm
Make It Edmonton!
Alberta Aviation Museum, 11410 Kingsway Avenue, Edmonton AB

Sunday November 28: 1 to 4pm
Craft & Bake Sale
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre of Montreal, 8155 rue Rousselot, Montreal
(Bus 193 from metro Jarry, or bus 45 north from Fabre - 15 minute walk from either metro)
*I will be in Edmonton at this time, but my husband, Jean-François, and my good friend, Yukari, will be at this show to get you whatever you need (^_^) As with all events at the JCCCM, you'll find LOTS of great eats too!

Saturday December 11: 11am to 6pm
Sunday December 12: 11am to 6pm
Holiday Bazaar presented by Old Skool Crafts
Eglise St-Michel, 105 St-Viateur W., corner St-Urbain, Montreal

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Can't forget about my kitties, it IS Friday after all! So for Friday Cat Blogging, here's my Chibi (aka Cheeb, la Chibette, Chicken Sally, Cheechee, Chili con chibi) having a snooze. Look at that face.

I tell ya', if I did not have my two cats, I would be a cranky, nasty, smelly (Chibi grooms me), crafty person with crazy high blood pressure. Well, cranki-ER and nasti-ER, my smelliness would stay about the same since I would then resort to grooming myself. Anyway, they can make me smile even on a horribly stressful day.

OK, to the studio. Now.

Um, NOW.

Sort of back... kind of... well anyway... meow.

It felt good to say what I did yesterday, kind of cleansing. You leave stuff in your head and body too long and it starts to fester and ferment. Next thing you know, you start to stink and soon begins the metamorphosis into a block of tofu... Hmmm, not where I meant to go.

Back to yesterday's post, thanks for reading it and taking it off my shoulders, so to speak. If I start using the word "universe" in future posts, I hereby give you permission to slap me.

I'm leaving this afternoon for Toronto, so I likely won't be blogging for a few days. I'm going to the One of a Kind Show, kind of scouting it out to see what kind of sellers are there...

So it will be Thursday Cat Blogging this time around:

Chibi has a new spot, perched on the back of the sofa on this folded blanket. Not an option for her without the blanket as she is very particular about the textures beneath her. On the bed, for instance, she will avoid walking on the sheets - odd, quirky maybe, but I like to call it higher intelligence :)

Sheesh, are the holidays over yet???

So maybe I'm not as cranky as my Chibi looks in this photo, but I sure am glad Christmas is over. Hmmm, that didn't do much to prove I'm not a scrooge. Chibi cracks me up - she is the most expressive cat I've ever met, unlike Ebi the Botox Boy. NO, he hasn't had any botox injections, but his face is truly motionless not unlike... well, you get my drift.

I AM looking forward to New Year's Day and the year ahead! How's that for optimistic?!

Rusty Plum this weekend! (plus a ring and a cat)

Folks, we are down to the last two weeks before Christmas. Once again, I've done diddlysquat towards the holidays - it's been that way for the past 5 years since I'm prepping, making and selling pretty much right up to Christmas. I WILL get my act together for 2010!

Back to the present, the Rusty Plum is back at St Michael's Church, corner of St-Urbain and St-Viateur. Come and finish off your gift shopping and have some pierogi for lunch (or snack)! I'm looking forward to the Polish prune doughnuts - looooove 'em! Click on the poster for all the details :)

I didn't write about the last couple shows I did, did I? The one on November 29th at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre was amazingly successful for me - I was kind of in shock at how much I sold. I need more shows like that!!! Well, I think the universe must have known what awaited me in TMR the following week-end (which was last week-end). P-I-T-I-F-U-L. Oy. It's all good though - live and learn. And I met some wonderful new sellers :)

And... I did buy a lovely ring from the wonderfully talented Cristina Fragapane, the Traveling Artisan. She makes the most beautiful pieces from silver and stone, just amazing. Mine has a blue topaz, a little brighter than my birthstone which is aquamarine. You can click the pic to see it better, and yes, yes, I need to put cream on my monkey paws a little more regularly.

Cristina will also be at the Rusty Plum, on December 19th and 20th, so check her out too!

My Friday cat ...
It's the Ebster. Jean-François (hubby) bought me an espresso maker a couple weeks ago (yahoo!) and it arrived in a perfect box for Ebi. He sat in there for a good half hour; I'm sure big boy (aka "le Gros") was enjoying the feeling of fitting in a box, such a wee tiny kitty... Funny little man-cat.

ok, back to work now...

Framed leaf collages... (oh yeah, Friday cat blogging!)

How in the world did the year pass by so quickly? The older I get the faster the years go. Oy.

I have a show on Sunday afternoon - a shortie, from 1pm to 4pm, but sales have been brisk in the past. I hope that tradition carries on this year! I'm making some of my leaf collages for this show, although I stopped making them for other shows; I am trying to use up some of my frames, which take up much needed storage space!

I gather leaves in the fall, dry and press them, and then carefully sew them onto paper. I've learned which leaves just crumble and which are more hearty to being punctured. They are then incorporated into little ensembles or single images, with Japanese papers of varying textures.

Some of the maple varieties here in Montreal have been infested with a type of fungus the past couple years, that results in icky black "tar spots" - even framing cannot help those poor leaves! I do like some of the leaves with little spots and imperfections though - makes for interesting images and contrasts...

Voilà! Here's a finished one. I'll try to take more photos of the other ones I complete for Sunday.

My poor neglected cats... Well, THEY're not neglected, but since I haven't been blogging, Friday Cat Blogging kinda went down the toilet. Sorry about that. Here are some shots I took last month, of the world's most beautiful calico kitty, my Chibi. (yes, the backdoor window is rather scuzzy)

Look at that face.

And here is a cat haiku that my sis-in-law's friend sent to me, among many others - thanks Leanne!

This describes Chibi perfectly:

You must scratch me there!
Yes, above my tail!
Behold,elevator butt.

She's a shoe lover and a cat lover...

This girl likes to shop. But since this girl hasn't had any to spare in the last couple years, she hasn't done any major shopping. And that's totally ok.

Enough with the third person thing. The girl is me. And although I like nice things, they are nice things often only to me, but that's ok too. I am definitely a shoe person, so when I come into a bit of cash - like having a couple of good summer craft shows - I start researching and tracking down the shoes I must have.

The clogs that I wanted are from a Spanish company called El Naturalista, and are pretty difficult to find here in Montreal. Ever since I saw a friend's boots made by the same company a few years back, I got a little obsessed, looking for them on the internet and hoping that somewhere they'd go on sale. Just a couple weeks ago I found a store in NDG (Notre-Dame de Grace) that had a few left, at 50% off! So across the city I schlepped and got these babies in the most lovely shade of apple green. Very happy, and they even match my mug (^_^).

A week goes by and I'm happily wearing my clogs and I realize they comfortably accommodate all my foot problems... so I should call the store and see what else they have in my size. Isn't that what anyone would do?

After finding out they have another pair in the same style, but with closed backs and in a neutral brown, I schlepped back out there yesterday, yaaay! And I'm now all set for fall. Look at my happy wide feet.

And... it's Friday, so it's a Cat Day.

Still on the topic of shopping - and yes, this fits in with the cats! - I saw this top while on av. Mont-Royal the other day and it's now in my closet. The version I got is sort of a taupey-grey, I love it! This company, Yumi, makes some really neat tunics and dresses/tops; a lot of it is pretty frilly, but there's some quirky kinda odd/kitschy looking stuff like this that I think is really neat.

I'll stop with the brand endorsements now.

Now for the REAL cat; this is Gyoza, my cousin Judy's cat (photo below by another cousin, Kathy). He slapped me on the face last week-end because I tried to pick him up (and he didn't want me to). Just like that - no claws, but paf, a paw across the cheek. That's what I get for getting too fresh. He's a very good cat, Judy claims, even though he hissed at a couple people while we were visiting. I know he has every right to be testy with so many strangers in his territory, but we were just chuckling at Judy who kept saying, "He's not usually like this..."

But WHAT a cutie!

New stuff in my shop... and a Friday cat!

Been taking some new photos of stuff for my Etsy shop. I love this cast iron teapot that my sister Nancy gave to me many years ago. However, it is a bit of a drippy pourer, so using it as a prop or background for my jewellery seems to work. What do you think? Still working on the white balance as you can see - same pot, different tone in different pics. Good texture though, don't you think?

Night blossom earrings

Sushi platter necklace and maki earring combo

I'll be listing these Hawai'i earrings shortly...

Square sushi platter necklace

Morning blossoms earrings

And it IS Friday, so I have to blog a little about a cat...

Embarrassingly, I cannot remember this cat's name; I'll have to ask my friend Michio to remind me - she is the sweetest wee little thing and is 16 years old! Isn't she in great shape? Have I ever met a cat I didn't like? (* her name is Minette - how could I forget that?)

I'm really proud to say that I got the cat-loving (and animal-loving) gene from my lovely mom, who would have turned 83 years old today. We went to the cemetary which made me happy and I only cried a little. Happy Birthday Mom!

Six days and counting... oh, and it's Friday!

I leave for Vancouver in six days. Oy.

My niece Sarah worked for me yesterday and did lots of packaging and assembling. I think she may have nightmares about those purple split ring pliers you see below.

Above are some earrings, onigiri charms and that other box is filled with the little taiko charms you see below.
So much more to do. Every hour counts at this point. Productivity. Efficiency. Multi-tasking. Coffee. Lots of coffee. I think my teeth are turning yellow.

Friday cat blog bit... July 1st was Ebi's 10th birthday. We had a little party for him, which was just an excuse to get together and eat. I love this picture - Ebi looks like a cartoon character; click on it and you'll see what I mean. Just so you know, this is THE ugliest cake I've ever made.

Hmmm, it WAS kind of an excuse to get together and eat, but I do think it was a reason to celebrate - JF and I have had him for almost two years now and cannot imagine not having him in our family. Besides, 10 is a bit of a milestone for a cat, isn't it? When we got him in 1999 as a birthday gift for my mom (the consummate cat and animal lover), she wrote in her journal, "... they gave me a lovely but at times a real pest of a cat. He is adorable and we named him Ebi."

That about sums it up.

Friday cat blogging... and a YART reminder!

I've missed a few Fridays now, and so my cats need some coverage; they've been ignored - on my blog, not in real life of course!

I discovered last week when I ate some corn on the cob that Chibi loves it. It must be the salt and butter, but she was really wrestling me for that cob. Didn't know just how strong she was! Please click on the collage below to see all her crazed expressions (^_^)

These are few shots of her trying to pull the cob out of my hand; some of them really crack me up since you can see how hard she's biting and/or pulling. And apparently Chibi is not alone - other cats like it too!

To business... My YART SALE (that's Art + Yard sale, please see yesterday's post) runs through until midnight EST Sunday June 14th. Anything and everything in my shop will ship for FREE WORLDWIDE, plus blog readers (that's you) will get 20% off their purchase. Even items in my sale section that are already reduced by 30% will be discounted an additional 20%.

Sakura So Bright earrings...

Happy Doxie chasing Bunnies card...

Mitsuko chiyogami necklace and earrings set...

Great savings! Come and have a peek at http://www.tatsuko.etsy.com/. Have a great week-end everyone, bonne fin de semaine!

It's Friday....

Yes, it's Friday!

Here in Canada it's a long week-end too, not that the self-employed really end up taking days off! Anyway it's Victoria Day on Monday in the rest of Canada, or la fête de Dollard (des Ormeaux) here in la belle province.

It'll be busy, with taiko performances both tomorrow and Sunday; hope the weather is nice on Sunday since we're supposed to play outside. Tomorrow should be interesting too - I'll blog about it next week.

Finally got around to taking some new photos and listed a few things in my Etsy shop. Not sure about the white background though. What do you think?

Denim Dahlias chiyogami earrings

California roll sushi charm

Floating Sakura chiyogami pendant

Friday Cat Blogging:
And it IS Friday, so it's gotta be a little about the cats, right? As you may know, our cats, Chibi and Ebi have not gotten along since... well, forever. It IS much better now than it was at first. I got really excited last week when this happened.

Ebi (black cat) now sits in the window in my workspace, a spot that used to be only Chibi's. She doesn't seem to mind too much, and for some reason this time, I don't think she saw him already sitting up there (don't know how you can miss him!), and jumped up... Neither of them freaked out which was good, no slapping at each other like they usually do, but I grabbed the camera just in time to see Chibi turning around to escape. This was as physically close as they've ever been!

There's hope yet.

My Vulcan roots...

When I was little, my Dad insisted we all have short hair - my sisters and brothers and I, so I often looked like a boy. Here's a perfect example.

My mom would cut our hair, so it was the classic "bowl-on-the-head" look for the girls (up to a certain age), the boys got crew cuts. Sometimes my mom would cut mine really short and trace around my ears with the scissors, for a very... attractive... look... like this.

(* this was the Christmas wreath I had just made in kindergarten and my brother was trying to take a picture of me with it, but I was wiggling around so much because I was too excited to show it to my parents - all that to explain why I'm blurry and the wreath is in focus)

Because of this "hairstyle", combined with the fact the tips of my ears are a little on the pointy side, my siblings would sometimes call me "Spock" - lovingly, of course. I would later shake off my nickname, by growing my hair just a little, and I thought I had entirely escaped my Vulcan past, when...

... Enter http://www.trekyourself.com/, and I now have an updated Spock look.

I don't think I've ever cackled so loudly as while seeing and doing these last night - my husband started us all off - his is the best - perfect proportions, except for the uncharacteric (of a Vulcan) smile. Mine just looks like I got a bit of a bad haircut.

These are just the jpeg versions, but it's actually pretty darn hilarious when you do it yourself, since you can make the head, eyes and mouth move. There are different characters to choose, but of course everyone wants to be Spock. And of course, we had to do the cats as well.

My Vulcan Chibi who looks like some kind of anime character...

my Vulcan Ebi, who looks a little cranky and sininster.

When you go to http://www.trekyourself.com/, Spending my time doing this kind of stuff is why there are not enough hours in a day.

More making... while Friday Cat Blogging!

Although I've been working with polymer clay for around 7 years now, I haven't experimented with a lot of canes. I have, however, made my share of makizushi or sushi rolls though. I guess I could make a really humungous one so that I don't have to make another one for some time, but this one will take me through the summer anyway.

Here it is assembled, filled with spinach, carrot, egg, gourd strips (kanpyo) and pollack / fake crab stick. The rice is thin noodles of transluscent clay wrapped with white.

And for the Friday Cat Blogging... You know I love my cats, they make me smile when no one else or nothing else can. Impossible to look at this face and NOT smile.

This is Chibi a couple days ago, trying to ignore me and the camera. I don't know what it is about the camera, but she hates it. As soon as she hears it being switched on, or sees me point it at her, she's off in the other direction. She is truly the world's sweetest kitty.

Friday cat blogging... study buddies

My husband, Jean-François, just finished had his final exam last week, and he's pretty relieved the semester is over. He will be taking advanced Japanese for his final six credits and will have his degree next year at this time! I am so proud of him for going back to university to complete it (^_^) And yes, although his Japanese was always better than mine, I could always boast that I understood more than him - not the case anymore!

You may remember that Chibi seems to be more my cat while Ebi is definitely JF's. Well, here's proof that Ebi loooooves JF - draped over him for support while on the computer:

Here are the study buddies again, Ebi making sure JF makes no errors with his kanji ...

I love my guys!

Friday cat blogging with a Boston terrier bonus

I work from home, so my cats are used to having me around. I think they really noticed it during the holidays when we were out pretty much all the time since we didn't do any hosting this year. I haven't been taking many photos of them lately, and they so hated the little Santa jacket we put on them last year that I didn't have the heart to do it to them again this year. So here is the photo greeting we sent out last year (it's clickable):

Cats seem to hate having anything covering them - they do that funky get-it-off-me walk when something that is not normally there is touching their legs or body. Both Chibi and Ebi really hated it - lifted their legs high to take a step and then paused before taking another uncomfortable step. And yes, I admit to laughing at them. I'm a meanie, I know.

Dogs, on the other hand, seem to like wearing jackets and sweaters. I don't quite get it. Sierra, my niece's Boston terrier, is the sweetest little thing, and look how she loves the two new additions to her wardrobe - umm, actually the only pieces in her wardrobe.

Posing, and looking pretty spiffy in a sweater that my sister-in-law, Karen, knit for her.

And in her seriously-cold-outside coat, with faux-fur collar, and booties.

I spent my holidays with these two cuties - lucky me!

Will be back with some craft-related posts next week!

Happy Hallowe'en!

This was taken probably five or six years ago... My sister made Ebi the cat a Hallowe'en cape with silver bats all over it (can't see it that well here), and we tried to make him sit in the window with the pumpkin, which he got tired of pretty quickly. He slept the rest of the evening.

Please be sure to keep your cats safe and indoors tonight, especially your black cats!!!

It's going to be a busy week-end for me - enjoy yours (^_^)

The post office lady and Friday Cat Blogging

Every time I go to the post office, it's the same thing:

• I present my parcels, packaged in cd boxes that I switched over to in April (they are flat and can ship for less than a third of the price of jewellery size boxes).
  
• One employee in particular insists on taking out the little slot measurement device to make sure it fits through, which means the lower price applies.
  
• Every time I say in a light-hearted manner, "It's still the same size." What I WANT to say is, "The boxes haven't grown since I was here last week, lady. I'm not trying to fool Canada Post into charging me $1.92 instead of $6.45 - I purposely changed my packaging to fit into the less expensive category! And anyone looking at the box can tell that it's less than 2cm thick" ... A few times now I've even mentioned to her, very politely, that I switched over to these flat boxes because I know about Canada Post's regulations regarding package size.
  
• Her answer this morning: "Hmm, I just have the tendency to want to measure it. You never know!"
• My eyes then roll back in their sockets (I have no control over this), I let out a big sigh and a ,"You see, they ARE still the same size, hahaha..." AND she always tosses my customs forms (which I take the time to fill out at home so she doesn't have to) receipts at me. What happened to customer service training, or even just basic civility?
  
• I gotta learn to just go with it. She isn't going to change, but I can -therein lies the challenge (^_^)

Thanks for letting me vent.

It's Friday!

Cats are wonderful for so many reasons. They are great company and the perfect destresser - just looking at them makes me smile. I cannot pass by a cat on the street without smiling at it (I always smile at dogs too) and chatting a bit if it will listen. My two cats are the best, although they still don't get along too famously; way better than it was before though. This morning I immediately felt better when I got home from the post office and scritchy-scratched my kitties. Instant relaxation. My Chibi:

I've been buying lots of paper for cards, in preparation for the holiday season. Au papier japonais here in Montreal has a superb selection of some of my favourites and I like to buy the full size sheets and cut it myself. Of course when I get home and unroll it to cut it, Chibi comes charging over to slide around on it and lie on it.

Of course. But how can I not love her for that?