Parksville

Two weeks ago, N and I went on a mini-vacation to Parksville. It's a little seaside town about two hours north of Victoria. It's unique because the water is so shallow, the beach is so sandy, and because of those two factors, the water is usually really warm. Sadly, it was only 15 degrees (59 Fahrenheit) and cloudy the whole time.  We went swimming the first night, but didn't take any pictures. It was still gray and cloudy, but the tide was in so the water was warmer. I bought Nate a waterproof camera (Fuji-brand) last Christmas, and it was amazing! It was so much fun to take it out in the ocean, and the pictures we go were great! After our second swimming attempt, we went to the little mini-golf place, and played in the arcade. I won the jackpot twice and got a little hello kitty doll! Super exciting-- I've never won anything before!

Here's the pics:

Cold water up the back! It would've been so lovely if it had been a nice sunny day!

New little friend.

Finally got in...sort of.

Sand-dollars! So pretty!

Splish-splash!

Such a cool shot!

Floating feets

Mini-golf at Paradise Fun Park

Vera

So, I was talking with a classmate a few days ago after another grueling and frustrating day of Microsoft Word... I had my mini-sketchbook out and was doodling. I was sharing some ideas I had for dolls (I'll keep that a surprise) and she suggested a flapper doll! Brilliant! I had a bout of insomnia... and knitted her and half sewed her in one sitting. That was a lot of episodes of Castle (guilty pleasure show--- I can usually guess the killer so I don't have to concentrate too much) and I was pretty exhausted the next day, but she was worth it!

I love her cute little bob hair cut with barrettes, her fringed silver and sparkly midnight blue dress, and her adorable mary-janes. She looks like she'll be doing the Charleston into the wee hours for quite some time!

Lost in the Archives

Autumn, Hazel and Gemma- my three favourites.

So, I was going through a file on my computer the other day. It's called "Dolls- Unedited for Records" I keep all the photos I take so I can use the images for the blog etc. and so I can remember the dollies that I sell. Then I noticed a huge gap in my photos! Shock! Horror!... almost tears! I did some pretty weird file-saving onto a external drive, then my computer bit the dust, then I got a new computer, so I was pretty sure the error occurred then. Most of the dolls files who were missing were ones I had sold! I only had the collage files from Facebook... so only one of each! 

Today I sat down with both my cameras (point-and-shoot and a Nikon DX that I barely know how to use) and went through their SD cards. Found em!

Hurray!

All of them! So so so excited. Each doll takes me about 4-6 hours (sometimes more) to knit, and once I stitch on their little faces (okay, eyes) I become quite attached. I'm so happy to have these photos! I'll share some more with you soon!

I'll be posting more soon! I've been pretty busy this week--- it's my dad's big 5-0 BBQ this afternoon. I'll post the card I made him-- it's pretty unique!

Enjoy the sunshine! 

Tuesday Treasures

Has it been a week already? Nate and I went to Parksville for the weekend (pictures coming soon!) Finishing up a class + going away for the weekend has left my life in a bit of a tizzy.

I've gotten pretty ahead on things now, though. I completed a princess doll for one of my teachers last week (I'll post her too!), got a bunch of errands done today, and have started to do a bit of summer organizing (as opposed to spring cleaning-haha).

I have a bunch of great ideas for posts, crafts, dolls, drawings-- you name it! I bought a little notebook to keep all those thoughts organized while I complete the more mundane tasks of everyday life (ie- try to stay awake for the 4 hours of class on Microsoft Word, a program which I have been using the entire time at college. Whatever questions I had going in, I've figured out through trial and error the last six months.)

Anyways, I decided to just do something fun and completely unrelated this week. French Poodles and Paris. While I'm definitely more of a mini dachshund/french bulldog/boston terrier lover, I don't think any dog is as fun in cartoon form as a poodle. So lets forget the piles of laundry, the dirty dishes and the exploding desk drawers for a minute (okay, it's really not THAT bad)... lets travel to Paris for this week's Tuesday Treasures!

Loving this-- quirky and classy at the same time!

Wouldn't these be darling on a girly Xmas tree?

 I'm loving this vintage Valentine.

 This little travel case has the sweetest pattern ever. So bright, graphic and cheerful!

Such a cute little bib. Fancy and child-like at the same time.

Check out these hand-crafted products on Etsy!

• Eiffel Tower Headband
• Poodle
• Valentine
• Travel Bag
• Bib

Have a great week everyone! Did anyone get up to anything special this weekend? 

Dolled Up

As I mentioned before, I'm going up to Parksville this weekend -- so excited! 

Parksville is a little town up island where the swimming is absolutely amazing. It is the warmest waters north of California! It is extremely sandy, and the heat of the sand warms the super shallow water to make it toasty warm. Last year was my first time going up there, and I was so amazed! I had never swam in the ocean before (the waters of the Pacific Ocean are ice water all year round here) so I was delighted to spend the day floating along sand drifts and playing in the water. I decided to give this week's Dolled up a nautical, beachy theme. I wish I had a cute outfit like this for this weekend, but I did get two adorable tankinis, so I feel pretty set to soak up some sun!