The Macro Photography of Yoav Reinshtein

Recently, I came across the work of, Yoav Reinshtein, and I am completely stunned by his talent. I would love to own a print of this moth with the rainbow droplet on it's head.






Wow. I am truly and completely speechless. His photographs are absolutely incredible, don't you think?

♥ Andrea ♥

Eric Fan

A Quiet Place, Eric Fan

Many weeks ago, I was on the Threadless website and I watched a couple of videos. One was about Eric Fan. I watched it because I noticed that he was from Toronto. I really enjoyed his story particularly because Eric, like myself, has always enjoyed making art but hasn't taken the usual path to an artistic life. I found his video to be very inspiring and I know that you will too. A lovely lady sent me a sweet message recently and our discussion reminded me that I really wanted to share Eric's video with you. Also, Eric's illustration is very lovely.




Flight of the Bumblebee, Eric Fan


The Night Gardener, Eric Fan

Around the World in a Fish Flyer, Eric Fan

Eric Fan on Threadless  // Eric Fan's Facebook page // Eric Fan on Society 6

Watching Eric's video and looking at all the great illustrations he's made inspired me to follow through and enter my design into the Threadless Fraggle Rock contest. While my Fraggle Rock design didn't turn out as great as I hoped it would be, I'm so happy that I did it. The process was a fantastic experience for me and I learned a whole lot from doing it.

I'm off to Elycia's today to do some more sewing. I'm working on a new project for a special someone. I'm really hoping Elycia will be able to finish her diaper bag today because her baby is due very soon.

Have a wonderful weekend.

♥ Andrea ♥

TEST Springtime Marketplace Photos

I had a wonderful time at the Toronto Etsy Street Team's Springtime Marketplace this past weekend. I was very happy to meet so many lovely people and incredible Toronto crafters.

Here is my table just before the market opened. I was delighted to get a spot right at the front entrance.

The Giant Sasquatch and my beautiful friend, Dawn. Always an eye for the ladies, that one.

Here's an image of the main room. There was another room as well but sadly, I didn't make it away from my table long enough to make it in there. There were some great crafters I really wanted to see in there too. Hopefully, I will get to meet them and see their work at another show. As you can see, I didn't have my handmade banner up. I did try to hang it, but it didn't work out. I'll have to put some more thought into how to hang it for next time.

This lovely jewelery was made by my table neighbour, Fold It Creations. Gavin's work is so pretty and he is such a nice person.

And on the other side of me was Emily, of Crass Stitches. She was also really nice. I had a lot of fun talking with her about the crude things she stitches and looking through her little book of dirty words and phrases.

The lovely Elle, of Minouette, with her pretty linocuts.

Cute jewelry by What a Novel Idea.

A really sweet clutch by Pook and Thy.

This was one of my favorite displays at the show. These lovely little characters come in the sweetest little diy embroidery kits by Kiriki Press. Michelle is working on a new design right now- a fox. I'm excited to see him all done.

And another one of my favorite tables was Pidpenky. These little bunnies totally warmed my heart. They are absolutely adorable and I want one for my very own!

Thank you so much to the organizers of this event and to everyone who came out to the show. I took many more photos and would have loved to post images of all of the great tables at the show but not all of my photos turned out as well as I hoped they might.

I am going to sleep as much as I can this week. I lost a whole lot of sleep preparing for this event. I'll be back in a couple of days once I've added my new cards and Giant Sprites to the shop.

I hope you had a great weekend!

♥ Andrea ♥

Emily Haworth

*The Artisan, Emily Haworth*

A couple of weeks ago, I read Trisha's interview with artist, Emily Haworth, for her Buy Handmade Series. I adore Emily's work. Her drawings look like film stills of movies I would love to see and worlds I want to jump into and explore. While reading Trisha's interview I also became enamored by Emily's outlook on life and her soft, convicted boldness of expression. When I visited Emily's website, I read a poem she's written and I wanted to share it with you:

Be happy for your battles, child; take heart in what you do.
Do not envy easy riders, child; your path has quite a view.
Discount the callous tongues, child; they do not have a clue.
You are what the world needs, child; stay uniquely you.
-Emily Haworth

This poem really spoke to me when I happened upon it. It was the new moon then, so I was feeling quite introspective and more sensitive. Some recent life events have caused me to reflect in new ways on a few things about my life and unique experiences. Emily's poem was a bright little seed of wisdom for me on a dark day. And her drawings, a welcomed escape into another space and time.

*Within the Mystic,Emily Haworth*

*The Mind's Eye, Emily Haworth*

I love that Emily's words and artwork inspired these reflective thoughts in me. Maybe you are intrigued by Emily too? Read Trisha's interview with Emily on Veranellies and visit Emily's blog. Her Etsy shop is adorable too, By Beep. Thank you, Emily, for your inspirational artwork and poetry. I'm looking forward to seeing more work from you.

Enjoy the full moon tonight.

♥ Andrea ♥

Sasquatch Cube by Jennie Suddick

I received a special gift for Christmas from Johnny, a tiny cube by artist, Jennie Suddick. Inside my tiny cube lies a lady Sasquatch in a little lush landscape.

Here is Jennie Suddick's website. She does some pretty interesting work. Of course, being a Sasquatch maker myself, I'm partial to her Sasquatch scenes (especially the Sasquatches erecting Stonehenge) but Jennie does quite a lot of different types of work and I like it all. Her work makes me think about the power of the natural and the magical world(s) and the greatness of small things.

My wee cube is pretty great! I'm so glad Jennie made it and that Johnny had the good sense to buy it for me. He's such a keeper, that guy :) It now has a prominent place on my desk.

♥ Andrea ♥

Dain Fagerholm's Stereographic Drawings

I am in love with these Stereographic drawings by Dain Fagerholm!

 The other day a fine lady who goes by the name, Mrs. D, was kind enough to leave a comment on my Black Francis post. And because she likes Frank Black, I was curious about her. So I popped over to her blog and discovered a little post about the stereographic work of Dain Fagerholm (among some other great things). When I saw these sweet pieces wiggling on the screen my heart smiled. So I really wanted to share his work with you too. Turning his drawings into stereographic images somehow makes them sweeter. It's as though Dain's drawings are trapped in their 2-dimensional space and they're wriggling to get out.

 My son and I agree, this one, 'Asylum', is our favorite.

This one, called 'Friends' is so very endearing.

And this last one, 'Mystery Planet', reminds me of my son running wild in the alternate universe inside his mind.

Dain is an artist/ illustrator in Seattle. Check him out!
Facebook // blog // Tumblr 

♥ Andrea ♥

Dr. Who Laser Etching

I bought something for my husband recently, one of these Dr. Who laser etchings from Nerd Adjacent on Etsy. John and I are big fans of Dr. Who and as some of you know, John makes laser paintings. So, one of these etchings seemed like the perfect gift for him. Originally I bought him just a small Tom Baker (his favorite Doctor) for Valentine's day. Upon seeing it, he loved it so much we ordered this large one with all of the Doctors. The Doctors Who Limited Edition Geekograph is really something to see and a perfect gift for any Dr. Who fan. Nerd adjacent has a whole lot of different laser etchings to suit the taste of any geek; Star Wars and Star Trek even the Walking Dead and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans can find a unique piece of metal art in this nerdy shop.

I've been so very busy working on Sasquatch orders, I've had little time for any other creative projects. But this week I'm making some invitations for my son's 5th birthday party and I have to finish the forest fairy because I've decided to give her as a gift to my niece and her birthday party is next week. The kids and I consulted on the fabric for her dress last night and she's coming together splendidly. I'll be sharing the details of these crafty projects soon.

Have a great Wednesday!

♥ Andrea ♥

Winnie Truong

I've been meaning to show off the work of Winnie Truong for many months now. I first saw this piece by her a couple of years ago and inquired about her to my husband because she is a graduate of OCAD where my hubby works. Johnny explained to me that while he loved her work too, her pieces were huge and that I couldn't afford one. So I wrote to her to see if I could get my hands on a print. At that time, she didn't have prints available. But then to my delight, she decided to produce a limited edition run of prints along with the release of her last series of work, The Fringes. When she contacted me to see if I wanted one, I snatched it up right away!



This is the print we have and I love it! Do you love it too? You can purchase it right here.

I notice that I have a taste for beautiful things that teeter on the edge of the grotesque. Clearly, Winnie's work is just my kind of thing. I also have a bit of a love for teeth which is part of what made me fall for the first piece initially. I also love all of the detail in her work and the simplicity of her materials, pencil and paper.



Here's another piece that I think is adorable! We have a lot of purple in the living room and I'd love to see this piece in our house. But I have to come to terms with the fact that we just don't have the wall space for all of the artwork we've already collected!

If you love Winnie's work as much as I do, check out her website, blog and finally here's a fantastic article about Winnie on Hi-Frustose where you'll get a chance to peek into her studio and see her process for creating these amazingly beautiful oddities. Oh and don't forget to pick up your copy of the most recent Hi-Fructose magazine with Winnie's work on the front cover! Congratulations Winnie!

♥ Andrea ♥

A Night Out and a New Cape

I was a lucky lady this Valentine's day to have had a night out in Toronto with my hubby. We went for a delicious sushi meal at Yuzu (I would certainly go again- food and service were perfection). Then we met up with our friends at the Pheonix to see Die Antwoord. The show was really great and for us the evening was also filled with  adventure and a sprinkling of mayhem.

The night out gave me an opportunity to wear my favorite new item of clothing, this incredible Carnival Raven Cape by the very talented Scary Kerri of Black Orchid Designs. I met Kerri when we did the Bazaar of the Bizarre Frost Bite show in December. I fell in love with this upcycled sweater with gorgeous feather detail as soon as I laid eyes on it. And let me tell you, I have never been approached by so many people wanting to compliment me on a piece of clothing in my life!

While all of her work is one of a kind, I'm sure that Kerri would love to hear from you if you are interested in having a piece custom made by her. Pop on over to Kerri's Etsy shop to see her work or to contact her for a custom piece. Her work is excellent, her prices are incredibly reasonable and she is a lovely person.

♥ Andrea ♥

Moxy & Toots

*image courtesy of Adrienne Boyer*

Hello!

Today I'm here to introduce you to the work of a lady who I have known for many years, Adrienne Boyer. Adrienne and I went to high school together and I have fond memories of art class with her. Back then, I remember being quite impressed with her creativity. She has a fantastic imagination! I was so happy to reconnect with her in the last few years and see that she is still living a creative life.

I've been wanting to write about Adrienne's delightful monster shop on Etsy, Moxy & Toots for a little while now because I am totally in love with her plush. Her monsters are absolutely charming! I freaked out at the adorableness of her new Halloween stuffies and really wanted you to see them. Here are just a few of her recent spookies. The mummy totally kills me!


*image courtesy of Adrienne Boyer*


*image courtesy of Adrienne Boyer*


*image courtesy of Adrienne Boyer*

Another product that is regularly available in the Moxy & Toots shop are these sweet little munchkin baby rattles. They make a perfect gift for the littlest people in your life and can be attached to a link for the baby on the go. So much love goes into making each of her handcrafted pieces. They really are wonderful keepsakes.


*image courtesy of Adrienne Boyer*

Adrienne also sells her work at Higglety Pigglety in Port Hope, Ontario. Now if you can't make it to Higglety Pigglety and you would like a monster that you don't see in the Moxy & Toots shop, feel free to contact Adrienne on Etsy for availability of your favorite spooky plush. She is happy to take custom orders also. So drop Adrienne a line to commission her for something special!

And if you admire Adrienne's work as much as I do, show her some love by liking the cute Moxy & Toots Facebook Page

We've been reading a ton of Children's Halloween books. I'll be back in a couple of days to tell you all about our favorite Halloween books for kids!

♥ Andrea ♥

Iota Illustration

I've had a very strong liking for Oliver Lake's Etsy shop for some time now. And I quite like his blog too. You see, it turns out that we seem to have the same taste in music, movies, art and other random acts of brilliant silliness. Oliver and I are Twitter friends, so of course I had to enter the Twitter contest he held for one of his great art prints. And you know what? I won! I got to choose any print from his shop and let me tell you, it was a tough choice to make! I love so many of his pictures so I asked Johnny to help me choose. For us, it came down to these prints...

The Rockabilly Dog


The Animal Jamboree


The Conversation


The Pig and the Rooster

Aren't they fantastic!? I think his prints are very adorable and his characters, so endearing.

In the end, the kids added their choices too and we went with the Animal Jamboree. I can't wait to get it in the mail! It will be a great piece for the kids room.

Thanks so much Oliver!

Do you love Oliver's artwork too? Show him your support by becoming a fan of the Iota Illustration Facebook page!

♥ Andrea ♥

Misako Mimoko

I am overflowing with delight today to write about one of my personal craft heroines, Eva Monleón. Isn't she adorable?

I came to know about Eva when I was first stumbling through the handmade craft bloggy world and I came upon this picture...

It was true love at first sight!

Since this day, I have been a regular reader of Eva's lovely blog, misako mimoko. Her crafts and her blog are a good source of smiles and giggles, important for the proper development of funny bones and a healthy warm heart.

I keep coming back to joy, again and again in this life. To inspire joy in another person's heart is just magic. And Eva does it with each and every craft she makes (and with her sweet personality).

Here are some of the fantastic things she has for sale in her shop right now...

For the one of a kind doll collector:

Doli Blackberry

This doli I am especially fond of because our house is surrounded by the most delicious blackberries I have ever tasted.

Orange Flavor Candy Girl

Isn't she is so sweet? 

Look at how precious they are all together!

For the artist who has everything...
Fake Watch Bracelet in Pink

These lazy artist watches just kill me! I've never really gotten into the habit of wearing a watch but if wearing one turned out to be anything like me and a cell phone or camera, the battery would be dead every time I needed to use it. So, why not skip the battery altogether? Who cares about the time anyway? Life's too short to be concerned with such inconsequential things, right? :)

And for those of you who are dying to get one of these amazing handmade creations to make you happy every day but you're short on cash, how about a paper puppet! You can buy just one or a set.

DIY Paper Puppet Set

I want the mermaid and the strong man to live on the wall in my new studio!!!
*all images c/o Eva Monleón*

Eva's crafts are inspired by vintage toys and materials. Her little works of wonder are so unique and genuine. Eva stopped making art for a time and like myself, it was her discovery of craft making that reinvigorated her creative spirit. And now her creations invigorate the spirits of people all over the planet! I am so thankful to her for inspiring me.

Eva is presently working on some retro styled wall hangers featuring stuffed animal heads for the Misako Mimoko shop. Her hope for the new hangers is to bring a little fun to walls; to make them feel pretty, because after all, walls need to feel pretty too :)

I also checked out the blog of Eva's husband, Gabriel Corbera.

Anyone who likes Kurt Vonnegut, the Beastie Boys and comics is a friend of mine! If you like these things too, you should check out Gabriel's blog. And here's his blog, joyville, devoted to his comic inspirations.

Hopes to you for a lovely week!

♥ Andrea ♥

A New Charles Bierk Painting

I am absolutely crazy for this new Charles Bierk painting we got at last week's Paint Rocks fundraiser. I've hung it up in our front foyer so I can look at it as much as possible. Charles is a fantastic painter, as was his well known father David Bierk.

Here's Charles Bierk's website. Do check it out, his work is very impressive.

I am totally thrilled to add this piece to our collection!

♥ Andrea ♥