I've got mail!

Have I ever mentioned the fact that I love whoever began Etsy?

For those of you unfamiliar with this site, it is a showcase for all

things handmade, collectible, craft supplies and

 thousands of..just...beautiful stuff.

If you are an artist or crafts person, this is a great place to showcase

your work for next to nothing.

The website can go into more detail.

ANYWAY... I have been a faithful Etsy buyer and seller for a few years

now and just the other day I received a package from one

of those fantastic suppliers.

Dory of Worthy Goods Textiles has beautiful organic fabric,

fleece and some amazing vintage items in her shop.

It was these vintage bobbin spools which caught my eye...

They have a beautiful, dark patina and I have big plans for them.

We'll see if time allows for the creative ideas I'm trying to marry them with.

Dory even threw in an extra spool as a gift.

Thank you!

Have a look at her shop and go get lost on Etsy...

you won't be disappointed!

(P.S...from now until December 7th, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING!)

 

Wordless Wednesday...

Going South...

After hours and hours I'm finally ready for my flight south.

My bag is packed...

I've been doing lots of wing exercises to build up muscles for the long flight...

Toughening up my feet for landing and take-off...

My eyes, bright and alert for the exciting and breath taking views...

Yes, I do believe I'm ready to go!

Adios Amigos!

(perched in my Etsy shop)

 



Encouraging words to live by...

 

 

Just a little reminder of the important things in life.

 

Catch up and a sneak peak...

I have been away for a few days tending to Minnie Mouse...

Carving big orange vegetables...

It's been many years since I foraged out into suburban neighbourhoods

with a small hand in mine, dodging Spiderman and fending off lions

and bears. Although it's quite a ways from us including a ferry ride,

I take on these challenges of stepping in where my sister can't anymore with bittersweet feelings.

My trips back home are a tad heavy with feelings of loss still,

 but also and always with a great sense of love for these girls.

But now it's home again and back working on a bit of an involved piece for Etsy.

Just a sneak peak for now...

Have a great weekend all.

Hug who you love.



Wordless Wednesday...J.J

Book review...

 

 

 

I haven't been really excited about a novel for a long time.

This book kept me intrigued from page one.

Based on the true story of an ancient Jewish text known as the

Sarajevo haggadah.

A rare book indeed not only for it's tales of survival

but mostly for it's incredible illuminations.

Here's a sample from the actual book, housed in a museum in Sarajevo...

 

                                      

 

Not only does it break tradition by depicting the human form, but it also portrays the world as round, an heretical concept during the middle ages.

It has survived persecution since the 14th century along with the

people who have risked life and limb to conceal and save it.

I'll let this review tell you a bit more...

 

 One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. --Mari Malcolm

 

Part art history, part thriller,  big part cultural education,

this book is WELL worth a read.