Hi I am Mandy and I am a Bookaholic

Hi.

I am Mandy

and I am, a bookaholic...

But it's okay really....

I am perfectly, 110% comfortable with my addiction.

(my addiction to ever so sweet & frothy soy lattes however may be out of hand!)

 

It's been a good reading year so far.

 

I've read these guys so far and I've enjoyed every single one.

I am hoping to average at least 4 books a month this year,

so I've been getting up a little earlier in the mornings

so I get my reading time in without diving into my studio time...

Where there's a will there's a way!

Especially when it comes to getting comfy with paper & words!

Chantilly Swish In Progress

I haven't done one of my old 'Nubbin' doll characters in awhile

and even though I won't be able to actually make her into one of my decorative figures till summer

I am enjoying her (and the snowy landscape from my upper studio window)...

 

 

Want to be one of the first to see her when she's completed?

Those who subscribe to 'Keep In Touch' with my studio news get first look-sees...

AND first dibs on original works too actually....interested? Sign Up to join our inner studio circle.



Still Sore

I am still feeling sore to be completely honest.

Some days I still feel like falling to my knees.

Some days the pain is still so deep it takes my breathe away.

To everyone from the outside he was just a rabbit.

To us he was joy and sunshine and part of our heartbeat.

He was life and light and happiness and contentment all in one perfect beautiful furry body.

Now he's ashes and dust...

just like that...

he was here and now he's gone

but that's shockingly how it goes isn't it.

He's in a plain black box on my favorite rocking chair that gets the morning & afternoon sunlight...

as much as it kills to look at that box, we just can't tuck it away with the others quite yet....not yet.

 

 

We're still desperately missing every single little itty bitty thing about him...

the shape of his fuzzy ears, how his eyes changed colour from dark grey to light blue.

All the times we'd stretch out on the floor with him, trying to stay quiet, trying to contain the

laughter bubbling up from our tummies,

laughter born from the simple joy and sheer preciousness of having

our hands resting on his warm sweet tummy as he slept deeply & ran & ate in his delicious dreams.

The goofy little dances he'd do when we'd bring him his dinner.

The utter bliss in his eyes whenever Yuuji would groom him.

Everything...we're missing everything, for what is feeling like every minute of the day.

We are both missing our best friend.

We are both feeling disconnected from everything even though loveliness is abundant...

like when your sick and it feel like there's two parts of you that are just not moving in rhythm...

know what I mean?  Hmmm....maybe you don't,

but regardless, this is where I am....happy but sad...sad but happy...missing my Frenwyck

(I even miss saying his name!)

 

How are you doing these days?



Glitter Bug 10

Hopefully I am on a better track for this week...
we'll see!

 

 

Here's a new Glitter Bug (#10).

He's up for grabs, if your interested just shoot me an email.



Owlette Ostara

Migraine madness ensues, so I'll keep this sweet and pretty and introduce you to my latest Owl...

 

"Owlette Ostara"

 

 

Prints will be in my shop soon but there's tons of my other owls in there already if you can't wait.

Sign Up to 'Keep In Touch' if you want to keep on top of new prints hitting the shop, etc...



Sometimes You Just Gotta

Schedules are I think, more often than not, a necessity for full-time artists...
especially those of us who have our studios in our homes
where we face a thousand distractions throughout the day!
Strict routines are key to getting everything done, or at least a fair amount done.
 

As much as I may want to, I have a really hard time keeping up with routines and schedules.
I am in fact envious of those who can invent their own schedules and keep to them,
for my headaches and migraines are typically the scheduler of my days.
But if I am having a good pain-free streak
I do often find myself snapping into a routine very easily & quickly
and I get SOOOO much done...but for me, that can sometimes be depressing too,
depressing because I realize how much further ahead I'd be if I could stick to a schedule!

But head pain aside...
even on the best of days where your feeling like a million bucks and like you could tackle anything,

Sometimes you gotta throw the studio schedules to the wind
and just let the day take you where it wants to go...

 

 

Maybe it's time to transfer some lovely local honey from your big honey pot to your smaller one...

 

 

Than maybe the day will find you sitting on the floor

to let your little furry buddies climb all over you as laughter bubbles up from your tummy...

 

 

Than perhaps because you skipped breakfast your tummy starts to growl on top of the bubbling,

so you take just 30 or 40 minutes to take in a healthy snack...

 

 

Than maybe for creative clarity, you find yourself cleaning up your workspaces...

 

 

...and letting your buddies help you out with some organizational ideas...

 

 

Than just maybe the day encourages you to snuggle that every so helpful bun for a short spell...

 

 

Than opps well my oh my look at that it's way past lunch time
and your starving so it's time for a late lunch with a book before heading into the studio
at least for an hour or two before the sun starts to go down!
And before you know it, the blue hour arrives...
it's time to start dinner...it's time to settle into the evening.
You reminiscence on the day you just had
and you do a mental check on what you've accomplished
and you realize with a happy heart that it's okay that you diverted from your plan...
it's more than okay because you enjoyed the day, you went with the flow.

Because as much as you want to have studio days full of accomplishments

you did accomplish something by filling your well.
And you filled your creative well by making your day as sweet and as good as possible
by dipping your ever so winter-dry toes into the lovely wet softening flow
of just letting things just be exactly how they wanted to be every moment of the day...
and how often do we do that!  Not often enough if you pay attention to how stressed everyone is...

So I am a firm believer, oh yes I am, I believe that sometimes you just gotta let go
and enjoy a day that meanders along slowly around unknown corners...
you just have to enjoy a day that slowly milks the sweetness out of every hour
as you embrace the beauty and simplicity of letting each task lead gently unto the next.

Ahhhhhh.....yes...sometimes you just gotta.

One Pink Rose

During a bad migraine week I broke out my old watercolour pencils...This is what came forth...

Sometimes it's nice to give my brain a break from conceptual work & composition

and just work from photos of ours.

 

 

.  Prints will be available upon request only

but if your interested the original is indeed up for grabs.

Have a splendidly sweet day...See you on Friday XO.



Emmett & Korra Sitting In A Tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G

So amidst our difficult times and sadness over these last few weeks,

we've had goodness and beauty too in the form of two of our babies falling in love!

 

We've bonded many rabbits in our 20+ years of rabbit parenthood...

Ella and Roo, took 6 months to bond.

Noodle and Hobbs took about 1 or 2 months.

Sisters Jinny and Hazel took several months to bond to Jaks
And once the boys Jaks & Roo lost their partners they actually bonded in about 1 month.

Teela and Yuuji took over 3 months...

and Teela, Yuuji and Frenwyck took over 2 years!

 

Well our newest couple took ONE DAY!!!

Now we happily get to sing the ritual

"Emmett & Korra, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" ha ha.

 

We originally adopted Korra-Soleil because, well she was just meant to be part of our family,

but secondly because we wanted to try to bond her with Frenwyck.

She had a bonded mate before but he died when they were transferred from one shelter to another,

Frenwyck was clearly desperate for friends but Yuuji & Teela were just taking too darn long.

So we adopted her but her & Fren just didn't seem to like each other & they had to remain separate.

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

On the other hand,

whenever Emmett would get to see Korra-Soleil he would spring to life, literally!

He'd bounce and dance and put on quite the show in her honor...

and she respond in a way she never did for Frenwyck,

She would popcorn at the gate beside him and wiggle her tail at him constantly.

She was SO aggressive with all other buns, including us and Min is so mild mannered,

well we didn't even consider it at first...

than just before Xmas, when Fren was finally with Teela nd Yuuji fulltime,

I said 'Hey let's take those two for a ride in the truck and see how they do'.

Well that ride went super well,

in the same day we found ourselves going from the truck to the living room,

than to an even larger space into the hallway and that lead into time in their respective rooms

and well, it happened in one day...no fights, bonded straight away, it was love at first sight.

What I find funny is that these two rabbits were at the same 2 shelters together.

First one in Quebec and then the one in Toronto where we found them...

I joke that maybe they both speak French, ha ha!

It just goes to show that rabbits are soul mates just like people...

don't you just love that.

New Felt Fun

It's been awhile since I've worked with felt & stitchery and it felt good to get back into it a bit.

Here is my most recently finished lovely...isn't it pretty?

 

 

It can be put in a frame for the makings of a lovely little embroidered art piece,

or upon request I can make it into a one-of-a-kind brooch for you.

 

Year Of The Monkey Coloring Page

This month the lovely folks who "Keep In Touch" with my studio news

get this colouring page...

 

 

Because this New Year of ours is the Year Of The Monkey.

Want monthly colouring pages, shop discounts, first dibs and other good stuff, just sign up here.

Glitter Bug 9

Glitter Bug 9 is one of my new favorites...

These bugs of mine aren't real of course, just my re-imagining inspired by the real thing.

 

 

Once again this beauty is a teeny tiny 3 x 3 inch one of a kind...

interested in having the lovely little original for your very own? just email me if you are.