Mini Stay-cation

The last four days have been absolutely wonderful!!  My hubby and I decided to take a few days off and enjoy a mini stay-cation right here in our own neighborhood!  We live in such a beautiful part of British Columbia and we don't really take much time to appreciate all the wonderful sights and events it has to offer.

If you've ever been to Vancouver, you'll know how pretty the downtown area is.  On our first day, we enjoyed wading through the warm waters of Spanish Banks Beach, wandering through Granville Island Public Market, where we stopped for dinner at Bridges, and then ending the evening off with a leisurely stroll along Kitsilano Beach.  The following day was spent paddling our canoes around False Creek.

  Here we are at the start of our adventure, underneath the Burrard Street Bridge.

Found this fellow sunning himself on the back of a boat!  Look at how he's holding his wings for maximum sun exposure!  He did not blink an eye, or move a muscle the entire time it took for us to pass by!

At the far end of False Creek - Science World.

Looking towards Downtown Vancouver from Science World.

At the end of the day, we tied our canoes up to the docks at Granville Island Market and picked up a picnic dinner for two.  It included a half rotisserie chicken, roasted veggies, artichoke salad, potato salad, a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice and individual creme brule's for dessert.  We then paddled over to a nearby beach were we spread out our towels and all the yummy goodies and enjoyed our little feast!

Today we spent the day at the Show and Shine classic car show, were we showed our little '63 VW Beetle for the first time!

We spent hours cleaning, waxing and polishing her up yesterday and she received many compliments from people who passed by to have a look at her.  It's amazing how many people have fond memories of owning one of these little cars many years ago!

My second favourite car at the show, a Morris Minor Tiger!

And this was my very favourite!  A Ford Frontenac, one of only a very few still running!  Definitely on my Wish List!

My honey and I had such a great time together, and I hate that it all has to come to an end!  The weather was perfect, the days long and sunny and each moment we spent together will be treasured forever!

Now it's back to work for both of us, till next time...
~Shelly xo

Summer Update

I've been very bad at writing blog posts lately, so have much to let you all know about!  Mostly, I've spent my time creating a special little Paper Doll booklet for the Hockaday School's centennial celebration.  You may remember that I mentioned it a little while ago in this post.  It has taken up a huge amount of my time, but I've enjoyed every minute of it!

 Below is a photo of Daisy wearing the school uniform from 1928 and below her are the different school uniforms from past to present.  I made a little pair of cowgirl boots for her to honour the fact that she's from Texas!

 Here she is wearing her white hat and dress, which is part of the graduation ceremony.

 Whilst working on the Paper Doll project, I started creating some new pattern designs.  The first were two new Binky Boo's - a cow and a little lamb.  I have a couple more sketched in my notebook, so they're next on my list:)

Also in the works is a new doll pattern with the option of making three different outfits.  I have not started on the third doll yet, but she'll have a bohemian theme which I've very excited about!  As always, these patterns will be available as regular pdf's, but I'd like to know your thoughts on having them available as separate kits - complete with the pattern booklet, felts and yarn to make each one. 

 A little while ago, I was asked by one of my Australian friends if I would like to participate in a charity auction called Collaborate for a Cause.   It's an annual event that raises money for all sorts of good causes.  Our little group is donating kitties made from my Flora the Explorer pattern and we've chosen a theme based on different careers.  Here's my little baker:)

I'll admit that I completely revised Flora's original pattern to make this little one and I'm very happy with the new version!  So happy in fact, that I've decided to make three more! 

I haven't sewn them up yet, but I can't wait to see how sweet they're going to be!  And I think these would be perfect as kits as well!

Last, but not least - I am so happy to share that my Pocket Pets made it into this month's Molly Makes magazine!  Woohoo!  What a complete honour!!  And look our for next month's Australian Homespun magazine - they'll be featuring my Hansel and Gretel pattern as a project in the mag for those of you who'd like to make them!  Can't wait!!

Wishing you all a very crafty week!
~Shelly xo