I like living here

According to MoneySense’s Canada’s Best Places to Live, Ottawa (reigning champion for the last two years) has been surpassed by only one small point by Victoria, BC.

Sorry Dad, Kamloops is ranked 81st, even if you can ski and golf on the same day.

The view from my balcony

Not only am I lucky to live in a great city, I also live in an awesome apartment. An awesome apartment which will only be made more awesome by the addition of my new roommate Mike.
He, and all his furniture, moved in last night.

You can expect many home improvement posts comming soon.

Vintage bus signage, so hot right now

I wish I could buy this



And do something awesome like this

via I Suwanee and Retro To Go

Happy Etsy Day!

To celebrate Etsy Day I’ve been perusing the site’s undiscovered shops.

That’s where I found these:


Won’t they be the perfect little add-ons to any future steampunk pieces?

My little brother is pretty talented

Eric used part of an old tv I had previously failed at turning into an aquarium for his final photography class project.



I love how he used a sound effects record album cover for the backdrop.

The scratched record that it used to hold is now one of these two.

Tesla Alternating Current made this post possible

Another record request painted on salvaged canvas instead.

Nikola Tesla

I tried to give this one some steampunk flair, hence the gears and springs. The background actually has a bronze sheen to it that looks much cooler in person. Trust me.

More vinyl than I know what to do with!

Exciting news!

I responded to a kijiji ad this weekend that was offering free records. When I didn’t hear back from them right away I assumed that someone else beat me to it, but then I came home to a message on my machine on Tuesday.

It turns out the ad was posted by Legend Records. Not only did they still have boxes of unplayable records left for me to pick up, they were also interested in seeing my paintings and putting them up in their store!

Yesterday I got a ride out to their Wellington location and picked up as many free records as we could fit in the car. I also dropped off a couple painted records I threw together in a hurry Tuesday night, and a stack of business cards. We’ll see if anything comes of it.

If nothing else, I now have enough vinyl to keep me busy for a long time.

It looks like I’ll have to start branching out into other used-record crafts.

Butterflies perhaps?

"My Back Pages" by Paul Villinski

Tarantula Clock

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve posted a painted record, but don’t worry, there’s lots more stuff coming soon.

Bob Dylan Tarantula Clock

Dreaming of Decollect

I want everything in this store.


Decollect is in Port Hope. Time for a road trip?

Thanks StyleNorth for making me drool over deco this morning.

Green project in a white "wonderland"

It's snowing. In April.

Inspired by this

To add a little life and brighten up the dreary view, I made this hanging vase the other night. It took way longer than I thought to hollow out the old light bulb, but I think it was worth it. I originally wanted to make a set of three (as I happen to have three matching burnt out bulbs) but it might be a while before I muster up the courage to try it again.

Promtastic!

The Prom was so much fun!

The photos are finally up on Promdemonium’s website, so you should go check them out to see some of the incredible outfits.

Chris and I found our prom wear at Value Village. Unfortunately neither one of us tends to fit into vintage all that well. Chris’ styling blazer was a quick fix; it just took letting out the hem on the sleeves. My floor length gown didn’t hit my ankles, so I took it up. A lot. I also added an oh-so-eighties rosette to cover a hole at the bust and even managed to make a matching purse and hairclip out of the leftovers.

I think we looked pretty cute.

Chris needs brown shoes.

My former roommate Meg did a piece on the event for the CBC. For a little taste of what it was like to be there, you can hear it here.