wow...it's been awhile

Well, it's been almost 3 months since I've posted anything. Summer was so much fun that there was no time to blog! But I am grateful that the kids have gone back to school...it was next to impossible to get any work done while they were home! So there's a lot to catch up on and I've got a ton of pics to post, I don't think I can do it all in one entry but here goes.























Our summer was filled with tons of fun, and a few scares too! We tried to keep busy doing stuff outside, and we were lucky there was an abundance of activities to do! While we spent most of our time at the splash park by our house, the kids also got to do a lot of bike riding, and we did our share of exploring around our neighborhood! We were also lucky enough to visit a farm, which the kids LOVED!!! We were there for a birthday party, but we promised ourselves to go back again. We also went to Paramount Canada's Wonderland, an amusement park close to our house...again a big hit with the kids. Hopefully we'll be able to get there again before they close in November, but we'll see how everything works out. We did still manage to get in some shopping, and a quick trip to Buffalo, NY to look for some great deals. All I really remember about that day was that everyone was kinda cranky and it was very HOT!!!























But we also had some mishaps...my youngest had one allergy scare when we were at a relatives house (I'm not even gonna go into it because it still makes me really angry!), and then last month he had a horrible infection that had us visiting the ER. But everything was OK in the end, and all the fun far outweighed any of the drama. But with school starting up again, and hope for me that I'd finally get some work done, September started off fast and crazy for us! My daughter started Grade 2, and my son began JK. It was a very exciting, and scary, time for us...not to mention that we haven't had a break since it started! We've been bombarded with birthdays, play dates, dentist appointments, fender benders, eye appointments and classes for first communion.























AND to top it off this weekend is just as busy as the last few! We have an outing with Grandma tomorrow (the kids have a PA day), 2 birthday parties on Saturday and we're going apple picking on Sunday. Not to mention all the work I need to finish! I'll post later about all of the work that I didn't do over the summer, and all the work I've had to do this month to catch up!!!

happy canada day

Happy Canada Day!! So school is out and the summer activities begin...so to speak. I have a ton of work to do, and I'm finding it really hard to get into the swing of things. With the kids running around the house, and toys all over the place, it's hard to get motivated to do art! Plus we just got the kids new bikes, and the weather's been beautiful so we haven't really been inside all that much. School finished last Wednesday and since then we've spent almost every day out! In the past 5 days we've been to the water park, biking riding every day and to the mall a couple times. Today it's sooo sunny outside ( and Canada Day too!) and of course the kids want to go biking AGAIN! I'm not sure how much work I'm gonna get done this summer, but I've got 4 orders that need to be finished by the end of July, 2 kids rooms to decorate and I'd like to repaint our master bedroom. I'm hoping that by blogging about this it might motivate me to work...or at least guilt myself into doing so:) I hope you all have a great Canada Day, even if you're not in Canada!! I think I have to work now:(

alex's room

As I had mentioned a few months ago, I was decorating a friend's nursery for her and even though the room was completed almost 3 months ago, I still have not taken any photos of it! That being said I've decided to post some pics of my son Alex's room. I really love his room! Now his room was completed at least 2 years ago when we moved him into a big boy's bed (he's 4 now), and I was determined to do something that he could grow with.


















Since Alex was only 2 at the time, I knew that if I asked him what he wanted the room would probably be plastered in cartoon characters of some sort (something of which I am NOT a big fan), so I turned to my husband for inspiration so to speak. My hubby LOVES cars...vintage cars, new cars, motorcycles, remote control cars, toy cars...the list goes on and on. I, however, did not want to do my son's room in a theme that would easily be forgotten or look like something that lots of other boys had.


















Thankfully my husband also had other interests, one of them being skateboarding. As a teenager he used to skateboard, and I'm pretty sure we still have a couple of his old skateboards in storage somewhere! We used a skateboard deck as a shelf, skateboard wheels as knobs for his dresser, and I was lucky enough to find mini skateboards that I utilized as 'drawer pulls' for storage bins and as wall hooks for hoodies, hats and bags.


















Finding a skateboarding themed quilt proved to be a little difficult, and after scouring numerous design and furniture sites I was lucky enough to find a surfing monkey quilt at Target. Normally I wouldn't have chosen anything with a character on it, but seeing that surfing kinda fell into the same category sports wise as skateboarding, and that Alex was born in the year of the monkey (Chinese calendar), I think it was the perfect solution.


















Storage was a big issue in his room as well, especially since his room was originally a den/solarium! Yup...NO CLOSETS!!! Thankfully his clothes all fit into a dresser, and the few items that do need to be hung are in his sister's closet or hanging from his skateboard hooks. We also turned a TV stand with a drawer into a toy bench. By removing the legs and adding some cushions it also serves as a nice little reading corner for our little one.

One of the most important things I learned when decorating my son's room, as well as my daughter's (pics will follow shortly:)) is that you can find great ideas anywhere...you aren't limited to things you find in children's furniture stores. I found great blue metal buckets to store toys and blocks in, but you'd never know that they were supposed to be used to house drinks and food for outdoor entertaining. Anyway, I hope I can inspire some of you mom's out there to think outside of the box, and try to do something unique for your kids...they will be just as proud of their own spaces as you are!

happy father's day

Yesterday we celebrated an early Father's Day at my Uncle's house with my grandmother and my cousins. It was a great, but exhausting day filled with lots of food (barbecue...my favourite), a kiddie pool for the kids and some bowling and car racing on the Wii for the adults. But today we've planned a day just for us. The kids have decided that Daddy would like very much to go and see Kung Fu Panda this afternoon. Now I'm pretty sure this outing is for them and not my hubby, but he's playing along:) Anyway, just wanted to wish all the dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day!!!

hmmm...sorry my bad

The other night my hubby was goofing around on the computer so I asked him to take a look at my blog to let me know what he thought. You know it never occurred to me to tell him to read it! Anyway, after giving me the "Looks good, anything else?", I took a closer look at the few posts that I've taken the time to write.

Now when I originally started this blog I did it because I wanted to keep a log of what I was doing work wise. Granted there are only a few posts, but what I have come to realize is that the majority of what I have been writing about has been weather related, and actually has nothing to do at all with my artwork! It seems like an awfully long time since I've posted anything work related...OOPS!!! I am currently waiting for my website (http://www.littlepapercuts.com/) to be completed, and I'm hoping it'll be ready by the end of June or early July. I put a lot of work into all of the artwork, layout and text for my website, and after handing it off to my web designer I now have to wait and hope for the best:) Like I've said before, I know how I want my website to look, and I'm hoping my web guy is on the same page, but I'm very nervous about whether or not it's gonna live up to my 'standards'.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I think since the weather has gotten soooo nice here, I've found it too difficult to stay home and work! The temptation to go and do something outside has been far to great to want to sit and create art, and I have TONS of artwork to start for upcoming projects! So, I am going to make the effort to post more art related stuff from now on...well, right after I take a walk outside in the sunshine:) Just kidding!

fun in the sun:)

Well it looks like summer has finally arrived in full force with the temperature soaring and lots of sunshine! And to celebrate the warmer weather the kids and I took a trip to our favourite splash park. For the last couple years we've spent almost our entire summers at this amazing park, and this weekend gave us the perfect opportunity to enjoy the heat:) What I love about this place is that the ground material is made up of recycled tires, so the kids aren't slipping as much as they would on wet pavement. Not to mention that it's nice and clean, and for the most part it's not too busy... especially during the week. Anyway, I won't bore everyone with details, so I hope you all enjoy the lovely weather while it's here!! :)

tired of being sick

Well, it's been almost 2 months since my last post, and while I would like to say that I've been soooo busy with work that I haven't had any time to blog, the truth of the matter is that I've been sick for over a month and I'm finally feeling like myself again. With my daughter int he first grade and my son in preschool, someone is constantly coming home sick. All of you moms out there know how the cycle goes: one gets sick gives it to the other one, and inevitably either you or your hubby gets it, and just when you think everyone is in the clear, one of the kids gets sick AGAIN!!! Pair being sick with having your allergies kick in and you can imagine how I've felt for the last few months. Right now I still have a cough, and allergy symptoms, but for the most part I've recovered...I wish I could say the same for my poor hubby who, like me, is sick and riddled with sneezing fits from all the pollen in the air. Oh well, here we go again!