Flurries of spring...

 just playing around with an idea for an illo of my cats...

but now it's time to sleep...curled up in extra comforters tonight to deal with a very cold spring.

Staying in the lines...

About a week ago I received an awesome present in the mail from my friend Tanya over at Snap and Tumble press.  It was my very own geometric colouring book! So tonight I finally had a chance to colour it in...I may of also added in a few of my own little flares!  Thank you Tanya, I had so much fun filling it up!

Road Diaries.

it's strange that i cannot drive and yet i love being in cars.  maybe it was those endless road trips we took as kids or all the day dreaming i did out of bus windows that makes me adore blurring fields on the horizon.  Or maybe it is all the lonely houses that stare out with open eyes, exposed on the highway, that makes me feel a longing to cure some unidentified heart ache. honestly it's hard to pin down the exact reasons for my love of the road after all these years...there are just too many.

 i took these photos after a particularly heart breaking day.  i felt like the road and i were having a conversation...yes i realize this does sound a little silly, but it really did feel that way...

at points i could have sworn it was reflecting the emptiness of the day...

and other times it seemed to be trying to cheer me up with a quiet sunset.

it was an ever changing motion and i could have stayed there...moving forever....

kitten face stationery...

so in the spirit of experimenting i made some mini kitten face stationery last night! it was so much fun putting together the designs and packaging them up.  i am planning on taking some of these designs into an actual letterpress format and doing some more robust cards and stationery if i can get my act together.  i am really enjoying this type of design right now. there is nothing like having an idea and making it into an actual tangible object.  i am also giving away several packs of the stationery, all the details are up on the kitten face blog, make sure to check it out.

One last winter blanket left on the lawn.

This image from my sketch book seemed appropriate for today as we had 5 to 10 centimeters of snow pour down onto our streets.  At the bus stop this morning with Kye, we examined the snow flakes on our jackets, something I used to do all the time when I was younger.  I love how precious and beautiful they are and of course how fragile.  It seems like a cruel joke at times that I can never just pick them up with my finger tips and hold them forever. 

I guess spring is sleeping in.  

Until she wakes up, I am keeping busy with Kitten Face and I am thankful for all the beautiful letters that keep fluttering into my mailbox, reminding me that warm days are not that far off. 

Daylight.

Though I dearly love Walter, I am happy for the return of daylight to my evenings.  Evening if it does mean losing an hour of sleep.

Flowers on my mind...

Honestly...all i can think about these days is Spring. Been playing around with floral patterns.  I integrated the one above into a new Kitten Face post.  Tonight on my way home from work it was pretty much 'slushing' which means rain/snowing/sleeting.  I felt like giant blobs of slushie were falling all over me.  It was kind of hilarious.  Also final note, a big thank you to my wonderful new blog friend Sophie, who included one of my journal pages in a compilation of lovely images.  I love roaming through her posts for inspiration and just happiness.  Oh and you must check out my new favorite stamp ever made!

So many lovely letters...

I have been getting so many awesome letters in the mail these days, thanks to all the lovelies that i have been writing with over at the Post A Letter club nights.  In the middle of this long winter, bright and warm messages in the mail box make everything snap crackle and pop.  Sometimes I don't want to open the pretty envelopes, but that feeling lasts maybe a couple of seconds before I dive in to find the colourful secrets handwritten all over beautiful stationery!  So much joy!  Thanks to all my superstar penpals for these lovely messages!

Unraveling the seams of winter...

It is around this time of the year that the skies open up again and we start to see the sun setting and the edges of the sidewalks escaping from their icy tombs.  I feel nothing but relief, and hope.  I know winter is not my most favorite season, but I guess there is something to be said about moving through it.  Bleaching away everything from the last seasons, starting fresh and hungry for more. The landscape breaking out like fireworks, like an anthem at it's highest note.  It is exhilarating and I can't wait...and yes, I am totally listening to Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine while I write this...so much drama splattered against this late late night.

Kitten Face comes to life...

So i have decided to start a new side project, a blog called Kitten Face, which follows the everyday adventures of a little cat with a big imagination.

This all sprung from doing the sketchbook project and having to work around a consistent theme for an extended period of time.  I really enjoyed having a focus and a chance to develop all the ideas that were floating around my head.  It also helped me to learn more and refine some of my techniques and skills.

So after this positive experience, I thought that it might be a good idea to maintain some direction in my creative life.  I brainstormed some ideas and Kitten Face is what I came up with. The Kitten Face name has been up on my blog for awhile as a title over an old photograph, and I always thought that it would make a good character.  Then I noticed that a kitten-like character was emerging from all my sketchbook entries.  So I combined them, and voila.

I will certainly still be journaling here, as the song says 'wild horses couldn't drag me away' (such a great image).  I am thinking of Kitten Face as more of a secret world tucked away amidst the vast plains of the internet, full of tiny adventures waiting to be discovered.