Birthday Cupcakes

What do you make your friends for their birthdays? Why cupcakes, of course! These delights are extra special, because not only were they made with love, but they have zero calories...

I have made some knit cupcakes before, and although I love the pattern that I have used in the past, I wanted to do some Amigurumi. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed toys.  It is a lot of fun, and they work up really quick, amigurumi is a  great go-to for gifts!

I did a quick search on Pinterest for "crochet cupcake" and found this great free pattern for a Cupcake Pin Cushion.  

I used my favourite cotton yarn, Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn. 

 I was able to make up two in one weekend. I used some rice tied into nylon stockings for weight.  Although they worked up a little larger than your typical cupcake, and they don't look exactly like the picture with the pattern, I was thrilled with the whimsical results!

I made one in our Edmonton Oilers Hockey Team Colours, as one of the recipients is a big Oilers Fan. 

I hope the lucky birthday girls are as pleased with these as I am! Now to make one for myself...

Ten Minute Wonder

I am fortunate enough to work at a place that promotes Health and Wellness for its employees.  As a person with some mental health challenges (Anxiety Disorder and Depression) I have taken advantage of this support on more than one occasion.  Recently, I started a course called Bouncing Back, a six-week course. As the workbook states, the course is focused "on learning to be more resilient, productive, and happy during times of stress".  Bouncing Back, you are singing my tune! 

One of the exercises that we have been given is called the "Ten Minute Wonder".  We were asked to commit to a goal that was just for us, and our well-being. It is not to be something that we think that we should do, but something that we want that feels self-nurturing. We are to commit to only ten minutes a day for this goal.

Well, utilizing my creativity is already a HUGE part of my self-care.  I learned a long time ago, that one of the best ways to cope with my anxiety, and to keep the dark wolf at bay, was to spend time creating. So this should be easy for me, right?

Naturally, I thought that I would choose knitting or crocheting. I do it all time already, so that will make it easy. Plus, I have so many gifts I need to make... Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz wrong answer!

I reminded myself - not for others - just for ME!  

So I decided to commit to drawing. Drawing is something that I truly enjoy, and also am area where I would like to improve my skills.  It has been a long time since I have done any drawing, so think it will be the perfect goal.

Well, I jumped into the challenge for the first few days, and then it happened. I got too busy, I was too tired, I couldn't do it. Yes, ten minutes was TOO much to commit to. It was sad.  

When I went to the class, I found that most of us had a similar first week. Some had trouble even choosing a goal. At least I had achieved that much.  But as I told the instructor, "it was a challenge for me to find the time."  
Her response, "you will not FIND the time, you must TAKE the time for yourself!" A lightbulb was lit. I left the class with a completely different mindset. I am the only one in charge of my own well-being. I cannot wait for these things to be given to me. Instead, I need to TAKE this. It is important.

Since then, I have taken the time. And the interesting part of it, is that if I take the time, it often ends up being more than ten minutes. And the positive feelings I get from it are a wonderful payoff.  So far, so good.

My drawing from the weekend, with a little bit of watercolour pencil

 

Vintage Ladies

I have a lifetime love affair with anything vintage.  Anyone who knows my mixed-media work, especially my greeting cards, knows that I love to work with old images.  I find what I call the "Vintage Ladies" especially beautiful.  Something about the softness of the photography, the muted colours and their haunting expressions make the portraits so appealing to me.

Some of my favourite portraits are of Maude Fealy. She was an actress of the early 1900's, a star of stage, and mostly the silent movie screen, although she did make it into the "talkies".  Other favourites include other actresses such as Bessie Love, and Lily Elsie. 

My mother gave me this 7 Gypsies Printers Tray quite some time ago. I knew right away that I wanted to feature some of my favourite vintage ladies. Even though I chose a colour scheme early on (one of my personal favourites), I got as far as laying in the paper backgrounds, but then I went no further.  Years went by, and there it sat.

I was in no rush. I was waiting for it to sing to me. And in the meantime, I collected bits and pieces of jewellery from friends and garage sales, and found other embellishments at the craft store.  I even crocheted some little medallions with embroidery thread. I kept a jar on my desk where I dropped in pieces that I knew I wanted to include in this project.  A favourite button was put aside until the time was right.

Finally, this past weekend, I sat down and finished the project.  I will be honest, it took a long while. I still got stuck a few times, rearranging each portrait, until the right balance was achieved.  I didn't want the ladies fighting for attention, each needed their own place to shine. I also wanted to add lots of sparkle.  I love sparkle!

I am very happy with the end result.  Gotta love those vintage ladies! We girls will all be one some day!

Team Building

I am so blessed to have a great group of people to work with every day. I don't know what it is, maybe the fact that during the crazy days of the year we are together in the trenches, sharing in the tough challenges, but we are a very tight-knit group. I know that for myself, these people have been there for me through some very challenging times, when personal losses and health issues have made my dark wolf want to take over. I consider these people my tribe, and they are a big part of my wellness system.

I work at a University, in a Student Services office.  During the summer months, we have less student traffic, but we are busy with admissions, appeals, and such.  We have many deadlines to meet, so it is definitely not a laid back time of year by any means! At the end of August all of us need to regroup and reset ourselves, and get ready for what we call the rush of September, when thousands of students arrive on campus. We need to be welcoming, with smiling faces, all of our tapped out energy restored. We need to be able to help when students arrive and need a friendly and calm place to land.

So each year at the end of summer, our office plans a team building "field trip". Some way that we can have fun together, and shift gears before September begins. Nothing to do with our daily work routine. This year, we went to a local ceramics shop, called Crankpots, and spent an afternoon painting ceramics.

We drew names, and then we created projects for our person. Along with the name, we received a few colour preferences, but that was it.  At the end of it all, it was fun to guess who each finished item was for.  Amazing how well we all know one another's personal interests and tastes! 

This is the bowl that I made for my colleague.  I know that she LOVES owls, so it was an easy choice for me, and so fun to paint!

And this is the bowl that was made for me.  All my favourite colours, in the jewel tones that I am drawn to.  It is so pretty!

It was not everyone's comfort zone to be artistic, but everyone rose to the occasion!  Many commented on how "calming" the activity was...so funny to me, as I use art in my wellness practice all the time to fight anxiety, and dark thoughts. I loved getting to see some of my coworkers discover that magic for the first time.

When I taught art classes years ago, there were always people who would arrive claiming that they "were not creative". I always loved seeing these same people  transform their beliefs and get so excited when their piece would take shape.  I saw that happen this August afternoon, with some of the people that I work with. 

What a wonderful afternoon! I left feeling my heart full and inspired, and I think everyone else did too! What a great team building experience!

So bring it on, September!

Wrapped Up In Love

I became a grandmother for the first time in October of 2016.  Several months earlier, my daughter came over to visit me. She sat me down and she handed me a ball of the softest cream coloured yarn.  She said, "Mama, I need you to make me a blanket out of this." Then she handed me a photography of an ultrasound. 

I searched for a pattern that would highlight the lovely texture of the yarn, and ended up with this lovely basketweave pattern.  As I worked, I dreamed of the grandchild I had not met yet, and how we would wrap the new baby up in this warm cosy gift from me. It is said that when you knit a gift for someone, that there is love woven in with every stitch. That certainly was the case with this special project!

My granddaughter will be three in October.  This is her favourite blanket, and it makes me so happy to see her comforted by it.  Those stitches contain lots of love from Grandma! This blanket has been washed more times than we can count, as it gets dragged back and forth to daycare for nap time, and gets used at home as well. 

In January, I will be blessed with another grand-baby, as my oldest son and his wife are expecting their first child. I am planning to use the same pattern to make a blanket for the new arrival, and you can be sure that there will be a lot of love going into every stitch for the new little one, from Grandma!

What a week!  I work at a University, and students arriving for the new Fall term have made the days fly by.  Top it off with a bit of a cold virus, and I am happy to see my weekend on the horizon.

For certain, my personal "battery" has been running very low. And when I am not feeling great, sometimes I find it really hard to do the self-care that I KNOW will make me feel better. Mostly,
creating things.

I had started a fun little crochet project of making some amigurumi coffee cups from the book Whimsical Stitches by Paige Tate.  I wanted to make some for my granddaughter, and normally a project this size would be done in a few days.  But they have sat on my table for this past week, waiting for the final finishing.

It seemed that each time I would think about picking up my needle and yarn, the task seemed SO DAUNTING.  One night, I got as far as moving my project basket to the table beside my chair, before I fell asleep on the couch.  During the day at work, I would look forward to the evening when I could spend time with my project, but by the time I got there, I had no energy left.  I was DRAINED. The next day, I would repeat the process. I was grumpy, and stressed.

Last night I told myself that I would work on the project for only fifteen minutes, and at that point if I was tired, I would go to bed. I wouldn't beat myself up about it. All I needed to do was start. I picked up my project, and to my delight, finished all three cups!

I still went to bed at a decent hour, without any couch snoozing! And when I laid my head on the pillow, I had a feeling of accomplishment that put a sleepy smile on my face. I woke up this morning with the notion that my personal battery had a little more charge in it, not to mention I had three smiley little cups to greet me in the morning!

I can't wait to show my granddaughter her new treasures!
How do you recharge your batteries? I would love to hear in the comments below!

Chloe's Night Light

My granddaughter is almost three years old. I cherish these times with her, I know too well how fast children grow up. 

Last weekend I had the chance to babysit my granddaughter overnight. When I do that, we have a special sleepover in Grandma's bed.  We have a special pillowcase that we use on her pillow, embroidered with flowers by her great-great grandmother years ago. And even when the summer evenings bring bedtime before the sun sets, when my room is not dark at all, we have to use Grandma's special night light. This night light comes from another great-great grandmother, who left this world 24 years ago.

My Grandma Vincent was a very special lady. Born in 1905, Grandma Vincent would share stories of  teaching in a one room school house, and would do up my hair in 1920's pin curls. She would host tea parties, and patiently watch our amateur variety shows that my brothers and I would perform in our living room.  I told her all my secrets. She was everything that was loving and gentle and graceful.  I want to be a grandma like her. 

Grandma was also a writer of poetry. Sweet and silly little tales of her childhood memories, of day to day life, or poems she would give as a gift at a niece's wedding shower, or to welcome a new baby.  I put all the poems together into a book after she passed, and gave them to family members for remembrance.

One of these poems is about her friend Chloe, whom she met on a flight back from California.

 My Friend Chloe! 

February 3 1979

They say, "Don't talk to strangers!"

But that isn't good advice

For it's my guess,

that you will miss

Meeting someone nice.

That's not just a speculation

And I'm the one who should know

On returning from my vacation,

I met my dear friend Chlo!

We started to talk and she told me

She was coming to my hometown

Where she was a total stranger

And feeling a little "down".

Her daughter had married and gone away

Just as mine did way back when...

And I knew how her heart was yearning

To see her dear daughter again.

So I got to know her better

And found her sweet and kind

So don't be afraid of strangers

There's some wonderful ones to find!

Grandma, being as kind hearted as she was, arranged for my cousin to drive Chloe to her daughter's home. Chloe was touched by the kindness, and the two ladies started a friendship that continued for many years. They became very dedicated penpals. At one point, Chloe sent Grandma a special gift, this dove night light.

When I was a child, and had sleepovers at Grandma Vincent's little studio apartment, she always lit the special dove night light, the gift from "dear Chloe". A lady I never met, but was my Grandmother's friend.

At some point in time, when Grandma knew she was getting older and may not be able to be on her own much longer, she gave the night light to my mother, who had always admired it. Grandma said, "it will make me happy to see you enjoying it, even more than me keeping it myself."

And now, my mother gave it to me, so that I can enjoy it with my granddaughter. She calls it "my special light". And I know that Grandma Vincent is smiling at us, because a little gift from her dear friend, is now being loved by a fifth generation.

And I am reminded, that being kind and gracious can give you some of the most precious things.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take part in a local vendor's market at the Norwood Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, here in Edmonton. The market is organized by The Vendor Connection, a  local group that brings together crafters and vendors for these monthly markets. This is the second market that I have participated in.

I display as Nicolette Anderson's Handmade Greeting Cards, and feature all the cards that I make. I have so much fun at these markets! I get to show my work, and to sell a few cards. I love talking to different people, and getting their impressions of what I d0.

At the market last month, a lady came by my table, and bought a few of my Elvis cards. She was from Alabama, and she told me that she had met Elvis Presley in the fifties, when she was ten years old! Apparently her uncle was a barber, and he had the opportunity to give Elvis a haircut. He called his sister, and told her to bring her daughter's down to the barbershop so that they could meet him. Of course, she told me that she remembered Elvis was very sweet and kind to them. What a memory to have!

I also love getting to meet the other vendors.  When you spend two days sitting next to someone, you are bound to make a new friend!  Different people, with different backgrounds, share with and support the business endeavours of one another, whether those endeavours are big or small.  I always go home finding myself inspired in new ways, and I leave wanting to be even more creative. I think that there lies the secret:  in addition to some sales, the market stirs up a special type of inspiration and sense of community that the cannot be measured.

Our next market is September 28 and 29th. I am looking forward to it already. If you are in the neighbourhood, I hope you will stop by and say hello!

Remembering Elvis

I will always remember August 16, 1977.  I had stayed overnight at my grandparents' house, and was waiting for my parents to come and pick me up that evening.  It was a warm summer day, and my grandmother was outside in the backyard putting freshly washed clothes out on the line. My grandparents always had a radio going in the kitchen, and when I came into the kitchen I heard the news report that Elvis Presley had died. I ran out into the backyard to tell my grandmother the shocking news, and as I told her, the neighbour next door overheard, and exclaimed "oh, my!".  I felt very sad, and remembered the last concert of Elvis I had watched on television, and how sick he had looked. I was ten years old.

I am now 53, and I still love Elvis Presley. My kids have grown up knowing my silly fangirl tendencies about a man who has been dead and gone for 43 years.  My friends have blessed me with Elvis albums from their parents collections, and my brother has given me Elvis barbies, and Elvis Potato Heads ('68 Special, and White Vegas Jumpsuit models). I sit bleary eyed many mornings, because I had come across an Elvis movie on television at midnight, and have to see it through. To me, there will never be another Elvis Presley.  And, well, Elvis just makes me happy.  

Sometimes, Elvis will sneak his way into my work.  I love to make cards with Elvis on them, and they are a very popular item at the craft shows that I do.  This weekend I am going to be at a show at the Norwood Legion here in Edmonton.  I will have a few of my Elvis cards for sale.

Hello Again!

Well, hello again.

I have always loved this little blog of mine. In the past, this little pink corner of the web was what allowed me to share a little bit of my art with all of you. But like many other blogs similar to mine, my blog became neglected, a casualty of my life the last few years.  Good things, bad things, they all are part of life, and all resulted in me finding myself further away from the person I was when I kept this blog. 

Three years have passed, and like everyone, I am not the same person that I was when I made my last post. I am older, and I hope, perhaps a little wiser.  But my challenges remain the same as they were a few years ago. To practice self-care, and to remain authentic and positive in a world that does not always seem to be reading the same how-to manual that I am.

I have been thinking lately about sharing again. Sharing with all of you some of my work, as I continue to create this and that, the "Nickie things" that I do, to keep myself mentally healthy and happy.  It is who I am, and the more I do these things, the better I feel.

So please indulge me as I show and tell, I would love to hear from you, and any feedback that you provide is always welcome.

I am excited to start this creative journey again.