Canada’s Wild West – Moving from BC to SK

Last week I introduced you to handsome Henry, my new apartment. What I failed to mention is that Henry is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, not Vancouver, British Columbia.

After living in the metropolis of Vancouver for nearly seven years I decided to move back to sunny Saskatchewan, my home province. This was a huge decision. A decision that took me over four months to commit to. I created a great life for myself in Vancouver and made some incredible friends. Vancouver is where I grew up; it is where I studied university, started my career, discovered the DIY/handmade culture that I love, and ultimately found what it is in life that makes me happy. But Saskatchewan was calling me home and I couldn’t resist its big skies and big opportunities. Now I’m living in Canada’s sunniest city and it is great. Bring on the sunshine!

My wonderful parents drove to Vancouver to help me move. Driving from Vancouver to Saskatoon is a pretty epic trip, especially in the middle of winter. We drove through the mountains, badlands, and prairies. Driving through the mountains was challenging. I haven’t seen that much snow since I was a child. The snow and the mountains were gorgeous. Canada amazes me; I always forget how breathtaking and diverse the landscape is.

Here are some photos we took during the big move.

Thank goodness all of my belongings fit in my parents truck!

A quick lunch and some sightseeing with my parents in Banff, Alberta.

I’m starting the next exciting chapter of my life in Saskatoon. I feel a bit like I’m starting over. I’m not from Saskatoon and don’t know many people here. I do think that this is the best move for me and that I will love it here. Saskatoon is a happening city!

Image by Adam Hayes found on designworklife.

Looking forward to sharing more about life in the City of Bridges with you!

Celebrating Friendship: Natasha Kanji Photography + Fashion Tights

Friendship is a pretty amazing thing and I believe it should be celebrated. My friends are so near and dear to my heart; I am incredibly grateful for them.

Significant life events are often captured with professional photography: engagements, weddings, anniversaries, births, graduations… These events (from my experience) focus on family and partner portraits. I agree that these are special and momentous occasions that should be recorded and shared, but who helps us survive the ups and downs of life between these life-changing events? Who do we complain to about our families and partners after the honeymoon is over? Who do we call when we have an exciting announcement? Our friends.

Friends are important and need to be celebrated.

My friends help me get through the craziness of life. As much as I love my family, they do not understand me the way my girlfriends do. My university friendships are so special – we have gone through the same experiences, have had the same identity crises, share similar political opinions, similar interests (hello Crafty Ladies), and realized collectively that life does not get any easier after you finish your undergrad (or masters). My friends are supportive, generous, intellectual, funny, kind, beautiful people. When we get together time stops and we can literally sit around and talk and laugh for hours. It is really magical.

My friends are amazing. I know that they know that I think they are fabulous. To celebrate our shared awesomeness I organized a photo shoot with the very talented Natasha Kanji. I bought some helium balloons and met my friends in Gastown Vancouver for a fun afternoon running around cobblestone streets in bright fashion tights and sassy heels. It was a great experience. I had so much fun! And the photos are gorgeous.

I can’t thank Natasha enough for the beautiful photos. She did a great job of capturing everyone’s personalities and the incredible Vancouver cityscape. These photos make me so so so happy; they are such a special keepsake. I can’t wait to frame them and make an album. I love them – Thank you Natasha!

To see more photos from our Gastown photo shoot please check out Natasha’s blog or visit her website.

Most Memorable Moments from 2011

Happy New Year Friends!

I want to apologize for my sporadic posts the last couple of weeks. I have some exciting life changes taking place over the next two months and may not be available to write as regularly as I have in the past. I promise to try my darndest to keep up with my blog. The BB Creative should return to its regular schedule by the end of February!

2011 was a fabulous year for me. It truly has been the most enjoyable year I’ve had in a very long time. Thank you to all my friends and family for making 2011 so spectacular. I’m looking forward to an even bigger, better, and brighter 2012!

Here are my top 11 most memorable moments from 2011 (in chronological order).

1.    Portlandia: Last April I went to Portland with my dear friend over the Easter break to celebrate my birthday.  We visited the iconic Powell’s Bookstore, Kenny and Zuke’s Delicatessen, Grüner, The Museum of Contemporary Craft, and Cargo. It was a short but very sweet trip. Did I mention there is no sales tax in Portland?

2.    Wicked: I LOVE musicals. Last June I had a front row seat to see Wicked and it was ah-mazing. I really need make theatre and musicals a bigger priority in my life.

3.    1920s Bachelorette Party: With the help of some fabulous ladies I planned a roaring 1920s party to celebrate my girlfriend’s last night as a single lady.

4.    Vanessa’s wedding: Anyone who regularly reads my blog will know how much I enjoyed being my beautiful friend’s maid of honour.

5.    Grouse Grind: I conquered the grueling 2.9-kilometre hike up the face of Grouse Mountainin in under an hour this summer.

6.    Wine Wednesday: Every Wednesday my kind friend cooks me a wonderful meal that we enjoy with a bottle of wine as we discuss life’s stresses and joys. It is often the highlight of my week.

7.    Meeting my CBC Celebrity Crushes: I met my boyfriend George Stroumboulopoulos and the charming Erin Karpluk over what is now known as the best coffee break ever.

8.    Meeting Design Sponge’s Grace Bonnie: I got all dolled up to meet the famous blogger, and now book author, at the Design*Sponge at Home book signing event at Anthropologie in Vancouver.

9.    Halloween Costumes: I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in years. This year I dressed up as a doll with purple hair. It was fun!

10.    Turducken: I attended the most epic potluck/turducken party for American Thanksgiving.  Yes – I ate a chicken, stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey. As one of the guests said, it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

11.    Crafty Ladies Christmas Party: I love my crafty ladies and we had a fabulous holiday party this year. We ate too much cheese, drank too much wine, and watched fabulous music videos from the 90s.

Thanks for a fabulous year!

XO

Got Craft, Spool of Thread + DIY Felt Bow

Last week I went to my favourite Vancouver craft fair – Got Craft?. Vancouver has lots of craft fairs; it is one of the reasons why I love this amazing city so much. We have big craft fairs, small craft fairs, craft fairs with DJ’s, craft fairs with live acoustic music, craft fairs with alcohol, craft fairs with vegan/gluten-free cupcakes, craft fairs in glossy new buildings, craft fairs in well used community centers, craft fairs with how-to demonstrations, and craft fairs with DIY crafting booths. There are craft fairs for every businesswoman, homemaker, hippy, minimalist, traditionalist, and foodie out there. It doesn’t matter what your personal style, budget, or lifestyle is – when it comes to craft fairs Vancouver has you covered.

When my schedule is too busy to spend every weekend running around Vancouver to check out all the great artistic talent this rainy city has to offer and I have to choose just one craft market to attend – I always choose Got Craft?. Got Craft? is the original, indie, East Vancouver craft fair that supports all things handmade. The show is always really well curated with a good variety of local vendors and artists. It is my favourite place to find unique crafts, special gifts, DIY inspiration, and meet interesting people.

I arrived to Got Craft? later in the afternoon and it was packed. Thank goodness Spool of Thread was there with a simple (and free) craft to occupy my time while I waited for the crowd to disperse.

Photo from Spool of Thread.

Check out the super cute felt bows I made! Aren’t they darling? I think they would also make great holiday ornaments, gift toppers, or very festive hair fascinators.

Here is the tutorial for these DIY felt bows. You will need some felt, cotton fabric, needle and thread, and a safety pin to attach the bow to your sweater or coat.

If you like to sew I suggest you check out Spool of Thread.  The store is super charming and the staff are really friendly. Spool of Thread is on a great little strip of art galleries and cafes on Fraser Street (at 15th + Fraser Street) in Vancouver and is just right around the corner from the very lovely Collage Collage. Spool of Thread provides beginner and experienced sewers with the space, tools, materials and classes needed to create their next exciting sewing project. I have to admit, I am not much of a sewer. I may need to sign up for a sewing class in 2012!

Spool of Thread also has a great fabric collection. Last time I was visiting the store I spent an hour browsing their fabulous fabrics and I didn’t even have a project to work on! Spool of Thread carries modern and retro-inspired fabric from fabulous designers including Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Ross, Kona Cottons, and Michael Miller. In addition to their hard-to-find fabric collection, they also sell vintage inspired designer sewing patterns like Oliver + S and Colette Patterns.

Moral of the blog post – sewing is fun + I had a great day! Happy Crafting.

Sad Mag Cover Art

My good friend, Deanne Beattie, launched Sad Mag in 2009 with Brandon Gaukel. Straight out of school, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Deanne and Brandon created a quarterly magazine to celebrate East Vancouver’s independent art and culture. Sad Mag publishes the work of burgeoning writers and visual artists and is completely volunteer run. It is truly amazing the amount of work the Sad Mag team has poured into this magazine the past two years.

I admire Deanne and Brandon so much for having the courage, tenacity, and creative vision to start Sad Mag with limited resources and publishing experience. I would never have the nerve to take on such a huge undertaking when I was 22 years old.

I anticipate the launch of each Sad Mag issue and am always excited to see the image chosen for the cover. Sad Mag’s cover art has evolved quite a bit over the past six issues. I love how the team has experimented with illustration and photography. The covers from issue five and six (below) are definitely my favourite. The magazine keeps getting better and better!

The Sad Mag team has been hard at work on their biggest project of the year: issue 7/8, a spe­cial dou­ble issue com­mem­o­rat­ing Vancouver’s queer his­tory from 1960-today. I cannot wait to see what image they choose for the cover! Anticipation!

The new issue launches Thurs­day, Novem­ber 3 at the Cobalt, and I hope you’ll Sad Mag in hon­ouring Vancouver’s incred­i­ble artists, per­form­ers, and com­mu­nity leaders. For more information check out the facebook event.

Happy Flowers

Vancouver’s forecast looks dismal this week. Unfortunately it looks like fall is here to stay. This is depressing news as the fall rains are followed by the winter rains. Occasional rain followed by constant of rain. Gross.

On that sunny note I’d like to share some photos of my landlord’s beautiful sunflowers! Sunflowers are definitely the happiest flower. I wish my lovely sunflower bouquet lasted a bit longer, I feel like I may need a sunny pick-me-up this week.

Hope your week is full of sunshine and happy flowers!

XO

p.s. – Check out this sunflower drawing I did in high school.

a little bit of this & that

Enjoy.

Visit to Google via Chronicle Books Blog.

George Chamoun Iconatomy via City of Skies. One of the best curated blogs I’ve seen in a while. Great design and finds.

Interview with Crosby Noricks: Founder of PR Couture via the Official Pinterest Blog.

A Sneak Peek of Blog Brunch October 1st via Blog Brunch.

A Star Studded Kickoff to Culture Days in Vancouver via CBC Live.

D*S Book Tour: Vancouver Celebration + Signing

Woop Woop! I’m so excited to be attending the Design*Sponge Book Tour next Saturday! When this event was first announced it sold out within minutes and I was so disappointed I didn’t get a ticket. I put my name on the waitlist hoping for the best and this week my wish was granted! See you next Saturday Grace Bonney.

Event: Craft/Book Signing/Celebration at Anthropologie
Date: Saturday, October 1st, 2011
Time: 5-8pm (5-6pm craft workshop / 6:30-8:00pm signing + celebration)
Location: Anthropologie (2912 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC)
Details: Crafting, celebrating, drinks and snacks, photobooth fun, and a special edition of the D*S book produced by Anthropologie. And of course, having Grace sign her celebrated book!

Check out the Vancouver D*S book tour announcements from Design*Sponge and Poppytalk.

Live the Language: LA, Syndney, Vancouver

In March I posted four short films by Education First from their Live the Language series that will make you want to pack your bags and travel to Barcelona, Paris, London, and Beijing. These videos are very charming. I love the typography, music, and simple storyline.

The same creative team from the four original films, including graphic designer Albin Holmqvist, recently released three new videos. Check out these delightful videos on Los Angeles, Sydney, and Vancouver. Beautiful cities. Amazing landscapes. Great cinematography.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for the Vancouver film. It is very clever how the music is muted for the “equalise” scene. Though I found the Caesar salad reference a bit strange, where is the sushi!?

Live the language – Los Angeles from EF Intl. Language Centers on Vimeo.

Live the language – Sydney from EF Intl. Language Centers on Vimeo.

Live the language – Vancouver from EF Intl. Language Centers on Vimeo.

Creative Process for: Can’t Stop

This post is dedicated to my good friend, Deanne, who just Can’t Stop!

Every Wednesday night I go over to Deanne’s for W(h)ine Wednesdays. Deanne cooks and I bring over a bottle of wine and we have amazing conversations about the woes of being a millennial and how we are constantly surprised that life gets much more complicated after you finish university. Who knew? Certainly not us. After being out of university for a couple of years you think we would get over this fact by now, but it still seems to be a popular topic.

During these lovely evenings we come up with great mantras like Can’t Stop. Deanne and I (more particularly Deanne) just Can’t Stop – once we start a project or have a brilliant idea we are dedicated. We can’t stop. And in a town like Vancouver, you really can’t stop. You always have to hustle to get where you want to be.

I’ve wanted to make a poster for our fabulous mantra for months. And I’ve finally started the creative process. This is a work in progress, so be kind and check in later for the final poster.

Enjoy! 

Playing with fonts. Thinking about kerning, leading, and white space. Punctuation or no punctuation? Fonts from left to right: Jenna Sue, Mabella, Marker Felt, and Natural Log. I think I like Jenna Sue and Natural Log best.

 

Lino cutting my first Can’t Stop stamp. I love the look of lino cuts. And I love the process. Check out my tutorial on how to make your who lino cut prints.

 

I scanned my print and edited it a bit in photoshop. The background canvas texture is from Fuzzimo. Fuzzimo has lots of great free resources for artists, their website is definitely worth a visit!

 

To Deanne, who is going to be wildly successful, because she Can’t Stop!

Other mantra’s Deanne and I have recently embraced: Chill the Fuck Out and Embrace the Chaos. Do you see a theme here?