Raccoons

Raccoon - Envelope Diorama

So I am just putting the finishing touches on one of my newest envelope dioramas.  This one has a 'Raccoons' theme.  I am an urban dweller and so I am often inspired by the nature that I find in my back yard...hence the 'Squirrels' diorama and now of course 'Raccoons'.  There are so many raccoons in Toronto and two in particular live in the trees at the back of our house and they are quite the wily duo.  Always trying to break into garbage bins and messing with my garden, and yet at the same time their little faces are so hilarious, I kind of get a kick out of watching them run around our neighbourhood causing havoc.  I based these raccoon illustrations on my hometown friends.  Now to send this diorama off...

Raccoon Family.

Wandering through wheat fields.

Waiting for rain in the hills.

Staying at home on a rainy night, wrapped in warm flannel floral sheets.

New found friends.

He will meet you by the flower patch.

Blossoms tumble around us in late spring.

Sneak Peek

Lilac Friends

Quick sneak peek at some new friends that belong to one of my newest envelope dioramas.  Also new Kitten Face coming this week! Woot Woot!

Envelopes full of wonders!

Lovely words from a lovely person!

What a beautiful Monday evening.  It just poured rain for a good twenty minutes and now the sunset is out and i can see fireworks fizzling out beyond the trees. Just perfect! The lazy city traffic and the bright popping are the perfect soundtrack for this blog post.

Last week I got a couple awesome surprises in the mail...two letters full of treats! One was from the awesome Jessica Gowling...who i think i have mentioned multiple times on my blog.  I am a huge fan of her printed wonders.  She sent me a mail art package full of treats! When I opened the envelope the goodies burst out like happy sparks. Here are a few of my favourite peices from pack...I may have added some happy 'rhya' embellishments.

Fun in Norway postcard!

Party time post card...though i think the guy on the right wasn't invited.

My favourite page from Jessica's 'Who? Hoo!' zine.

The best! Hannah Montana Magnets, that match my Spice cam perfectly!

Secondly, I received an awesome letter from one of my oldest friends and penpals, Clare.  She started writing to me out of the blue this year when she realized I was writing letters again.  I am so excited to be sharing our stories once more via paper and pen and even better her last letter was accompanied with stickers, ribbons and the post card below.  I can't wait to write her back! There will be letter presents!

The postcard Clare sent.

A storm of letters...

So many letters...

It has been so busy this week! My evenings have been filled with tacos, tap dancing and visiting with friends! The weather has not been the best, it's been raining for days.  Luckily it has also been raining letters! I haven't had a chance to photograph some of the awesome packages i received in the mail this week...but i will soon.  Until then here is a little collage of some of last weeks lovely notes!

Garden Heart.

 

I've been avoiding my garden for many reasons, the main one being that it turned into such a disastrous experiment last year that I felt like I needed to take the summer off and let the slugs be kings of their dirt patch again.  Yesterday, I finally decided to go outside and take a look at my sad mud square.  I took my rake and started to gather up some of the leaves and clutter and low and behold the hosta I had planted the year before had sprouted back! I almost cried! Then I looked over to the left of the hosta and my 'bleeding heart' was blooming! It was awesome! So with a serious attitude adjustment and a new plan of attack, I have decided to put some love into my garden again this summer. First I am going to do some major weeding and then I will plant a few more shade loving plants...it's all baby steps for this green heart.

Final note: My mail box has been filled with beautiful mail this week.  Postcards, envelopes full of old memories and ribbons, and lovely letters about time and beauty.  I also sent out a whack of mail last week...and my dear mail art buddy Jessica finally received her 'wolves' zine! And she did a lovely post about it here, along with a whole stack of other amazing mail art goodness! Three cheers for mail!

Sketching at the Workroom

A rose in her hair...it's fancy.

I spent last night tucked away at the workroom with j.  we had our journals, and many scraps and fancy stickers and stamps in hand (well more like spread out all over a sewing table).  Here are the fruits of the evening.  Oh and i can't forget to mention seeing the lovely r, whose smile brightens up an entire room.

To find me check in the burrows of Bloordale.

Vintage stamps flutter in the breeze...air mail and whispers.

Heather's garden in SF.

Acorns and Envelopes

Envelop Diorama: The Squirrel Edition

Today was lovely.  Hot sun, a large latte, journaling at the work room with j and a day at home in the middle of the week.  I'm not going to lie, there may have been a mini studio dance party to 'Escapade' with me, Janet and the cats.  It also gave me the chance to shoot my latest envelope diorama! This one's theme is Squirrels! I had a great time drawing these little critters, they were inspired by a duo of squirrels in my back yard, that spend their days chasing each other around our tree and feasting on buns left for them by our neighbours. They are quite the pair of roundy munchkins.

Also I have to draw attention to another couple of  'everyday adventures' that were recently completed by two of my lovely blogging friends! 

First, Sophie from the beautiful So Lovely blog, built her fort at the beach! I so wish I could just skip over the ocean to visit her and hang out on the beach at her new hide out!

Secondly, Jessica from Natures My Friend, built her fort next to a marmot's burrow. So awesome! I wonder if the marmot was surprised to find the little flag by his door, hopefully he invited Jessica over for some tea! 

Also I still have a few secret fort flags left if anyone is interested in building a secret fort of their own!

The entire gang together!

Lost in the pines for hours on end.

Mountain running.

Playing in the grass.

On their tip toes...sneaking about.

Acorn Mountain.

Shhhhh!

More howls in the darkness.

Cover.

I was recently inspired to try my hand at zine making again after receiving Jessica's Mountains Made of Fur in the mail several weeks back.  After making my 'wolves' envelope diorama and loving the little woodland creatures that developed during the process, I realized I was not yet finished drawing these furry little fellows...so I incorporated them into a little zine...titled: (not so original right now)...Wolves! I sent a couple zines out already...if your interested and would like to see one pop up in your mailbox shoot me a message and I will see what I can do.

Other than that it's time for me to send some final howls into the night, one last lonely goodnight to the stars and moon, and crawl under the comforter and hibernate till hopefully what is a spring filled morning tomorrow.

Pages 1 & 2.

Pages 3 & 4.

Pages 5 & 6.

Back Cover.

Wolves

A few things, first I love the month of May, everything is starting to bloom! Bring on the Spring!

Secondly, amazing post by my dearest friend and most talented artist and writer Lindsay Zier Vogel about how her 'Secret Fort' everyday adventure turned out! Her fort is so splendid and I love that she built it out of one her beautiful hand made books! Take some time to poke around her website...there is so much to discover...especially the poetry and love letter project!

Thirdly, I have just finished two more 'envelope dioramas', one about wolves and another about squirrels. I am having the best time making these! Unfortunately, while caught up in my paper flurry I may have forgotten about my dear little Kitten Face! So I hope to get a KF post up sometime this week.

Here are a few images of the 'Wolves' diorama, it's being sent off tomorrow to a lovely friend in Toronto, who it was promised to many howling moons ago.  Can't wait till it arrives in her mailbox!

The Posse.

Wolves write letters too!

Summer Shrubs.

The time spent outdoors is not lonely.

Finding the first flowers of spring.

Some secrets are kept concealed in grassy paws.

Barn watching.

Spring things...

May is here.  I can barely believe it.  The first half of this year has blown by so fast, it's almost as if the winds of this blustery spring blew time away along with winter's icy skin.  Spring is one of my favourite seasons.  I love the muddy rains, the thaw and the first touches of sun's warmth on my face.  Shedding sweaters and coats and generally an all around feeling of lightness. The only issue with this year's spring, is so far I still feel frozen.  There are many brilliant things on the horizon (hopefully one of them is sunshine...my Ontario friends will know what I'm talking about), but I just can't seem to get to them quick enough....it's very frustrating.  So to help warm up my fingers and toes, and get moving again I have been focusing on the pages in my journals, filling envelopes with spring secrets and getting on my bicycle even in the strong winds and heavy rain, just to feel alive again.