Best To Count Your Blessings

       Its times like these that I see the need to count my blessings rather than curse being as broke as I am.
       Most of the time I have a grasp on my money situation... and then there are times like these when I expect to at least have a mere $4 in my account, and I actually have - $17 because my pre authorized charity payment of $15 came out, which also charged me an overdraft fee of $5 and a service fee of $2 just to rub it in a little further.
       Instead of looking at myself like a number, like society often makes me feel like, I am taking into consideration all the wonderful things that I have in my life...
- I have a wonderful friends who send me videos like this to cheer me up...

- And other friends who support me by inviting me to come to any of their comedy shows for free in Vancouver, just to give them in return my smiling face in their audience :)
- Having two amazing jobs, that allow me to :  have time off, pay my rent on time, and the freedom to think for myself in situations.
- Having some (not a lot, but some) food in my fridge, and knowing when my next pay check will come, which is more than a lot of people can say when they have minus $17 to their name.
- Not being in debt : This is something that I have struggled with for quite sometime now and this will be my last month of paying back my loan every month... that's $150 more in my pocket than in the hands of my bank
- Being able to find the free pleasures in Vancouver like...

 The amazing resource that is the Vancouver Public Library (I am a very big library nerd). 

As well as...

Finding new paths to bike down, and exploring the city for all that its worth.

- I am lucky enough to have a wonderful partner in my life, as well as a supportive family network, who will take care of me when I need it most. Bringing me coffee's and blocks of cheese, when I have none, and keeping me company when I am worried no one else will.
- I know this sounds like a silly point but it is also important to me. Its the fact that I have the means to make my crafts. I am lucky that even in the most downtrodden of times I still have the materials to make my wares to keep me warm and occupied. That I can go out today knowing that there is always something that can keep me occupied in my evenings, that is as rewarding for me, as going out on the town.

So what I am really trying to say, 

is that if you ever are feeling the crunch of hard times biting at your earlobes,

tell it to bugger off by listing all the things that you have going for you,

and you will find that that list is much bigger,

and more rewarding than any meager bank statement. 

Love Britt

My Very Own Pottery Wares

Tuesday night was my graduation from my very first pottery class,

and it did really feel like a graduation.

The teacher brought in a bunch of her homemade tea pots, 

and mugs, and we dined on assorted teas, wine, cheeses,

and cookies whilst having an open house of sorts browsing a semesters worth of art. 

(There's my two matching brown cups to the right!)

The class consisted of around 7 people on average, 

and we learned a variety of different methods for working the clay such as :

wheel throwing, free throwing, coils, and molds.

The two cups in the front I made on the wheel (with lots of concentration mind you),

and the cereal bowls in the back I made using a method where you 

line an already existing bowl with plastic and a doily and then press clay evenly

into the bowl to create a new one with a beautifully unique design.

I free handed these buttons, for a cardigan that I am working on,

and am glad that they turned out almost the exact color of the sweater. 

I made a bunch extra just in case some of them didn't fire properly, which two of them didn't so I am glad to have the extras, and may even try to make a wind chime out of them since they sound so beautiful together. 

Well there are all my pieces (plus I did get to make a small mug and another bowl at the beginning of class that aren't featured here), so you do get to make quite a few things in one semester. 

I can't wait to take the next class! I may just take the beginner one over again to hone my skills,

 and also to review them as it may not be until next spring that I get to take it since it is back to college for me in the fall  :)

Much love and crafty bliss!

Love Britt

From Small Beginnings Come Great Things

There's an exciting new opportunity that has come into my life that I would now like to share with you all...
My lovely friend Vanessa Ooms and new friend Jil Freeman, have joined forces and started their own weekly publication called "The Filter" about events in East Vancouver.
My partner Nathan, signed on to this new venture from the very beginning as one of the writers, as he has an extensive writing portfolio, and has had his work published consecutively since 2007.
For me my commitment to the newspaper came a bit later, as I was worried about finding the time to write on top of all my prior commitments. But when the idea came to me that I could write about the activities that I already participate in around our neighbourhood, the idea of writing didn't seem so daunting, and actually started to feel quite inspiring.
I can't express in words how excited I am for this paper launch on June 17th, and how proud I am of these women for putting this together. It is going to be a wonderful chapter in my life, and the doors of endless possibilities are flying open all over!

Another exciting aspect of this paper writing venture, is a new way for Nate and I to relate to each other. Since we are sharing space in the Filter, we are acting as sounding boards for each other. I am really grateful to have him as a partner through this as he is such a mentor to my writing and is helping to dive head first into this new project. This morning we met up at my place and nestled into my bed together with our matching Macbooks, and ran over the final edits of our articles before sending them off to Vanessa. Tuesdays are usually are date days, but this took it further than that as I felt like we were connecting on a higher level with each other as we now had a new medium to relate on.

 Update on my seed bombs! 

(As promised!)

After our writing and some lovely breakfast at Bon's. We biked home, and along the way tried to spread my seed bombs. We learned quickly though that they were way to hard to just be thrown and needed to be crumbled up in order to be spread on the ground. 

We took the rest of them to my local park and crumbled them there on the grass, and called it a day. 

They probably would have turned out softer if I had used the compost instead of just plain old soil, but oh well I know better for next time. 

I hope you all are having a lovely lazy rainy Tuesday!

I've got my last pottery class tonight so
tune in tomorrow to see the wares I have created this summer!

Love Britt

Tea Cup Candles

           With tunes of a friends homemade CD on the player, an orange zest chocolate chip banana loaf in the oven, and articles for a new project on their last edit, I'm take a break and starting to make some more candles. Anyone who knows me, can a test to the fact that this is what I would call a relaxing night. For all the crafty things I do, I am rarely at home, and am rarely sitting around doing nothing... in fact I never am, expect for if I am watching a movie, and even then I generally have crafts or knitting in hand. So on the nights that I actually get to spend in, I am catching up on all the "me" things that I have been putting off.
         Tonight it is writing, baking, and candle making, among various other tasks, and here is my over due recipe of Tea Cup Candles :

Need :

-double broiler

-soy flakes or candle wax

-candle wicks

-tea cups (bonus point for matching saucers)

-wooden spoon (I used the end of a long wooden spoon so I can still use it for cooking)

-thermometer

-optional : candle scent or color

First : 

-Wash out and thoroughly dry your tea cups, and place them out on a flat surface,

with either some cardboard, newspaper, or parchment paper underneath them. 

-Then boil a small pot of water to use for a double boiler method

(you place a metal jug, or Pyrex measuring cup inside the pot of water with the candle wax inside).

Personally I haven't been measuring the wax flakes and just eye balling how much I need for the amount of cups I am filling, you can always add more if you need it.

Constantly stir your candle wax, 

and never leave the candle wax melting alone as it could boil over or topple, 

and cause many a problem and a mess! 

Note! I wish I had read this when I started out but you should make some extra wax for when your candles have dried so you can fill up your cups, as they will dent down when drying near the wicks. 

I haven't found this problem as much with the soy flakes, but it is a good practice just in case.

Second : 

-Once you have tested your candle wax and it a temperature between 190 and 200 degree's

you can add any colour or scent if you'd like (I have had good experience with scent but not color). 

Or you may pour your wax into your tea cups at this point. 

 Avoid filling them up all the way if you don't know how long your wicks will measure,

I usually fill them to about 3/4's full. 

Third :

Wait approximately 5 mins till the wax is a little harder, 

then gently place your wicks in to the bottom of your cups. 

This is the most tricky part of the whole process. 

Some tutorials I have seen take thin bamboo skewers and tape them together around the wick,

and have them laying across the rim of the cup. Where others will use a bamboo skewer to push the wick to the bottom, but I find that if you time it properly you don't have to do either and you can get them to stand on their own just fine, just maybe give them a little blow to harden them. 

Four :

Then let them sit out to dry undisturbed,

and you will slowly see them begin to harder, 

and become glorious little candles!

Note about where to purchase tea cups :

Value Village does have a generally good stash of tea cups,

but they generally range in the $8.99 to $12.99 range, 

so I would use them as a last resort. 

If you want to hit a thrift store, I would suggest a church thrift store,

or somewhere cheaper than V.V like the Sally Ann. 

Otherwise it is garage sale season,

so go and explore your local neighbourhood for lovely finds. 

This last batch were all 50 cents each, and then you get to support your community. 

Feel free to comment with any questions you come across

whilst making your own teacup candles, or before you start making them,

and I will try to help you out as best I can.

 Enjoy!

Merry Melon Maiden

Happiness is... coming home from a long day of walking for 8 hours plus,

opening up the fridge, and finding that there is an enormous bowl of sliced watermelon,

just asking to be munched on!

Happiness is... knowing that you have amazing roommates who will share their said watermelon with you, and even go so far as to offer you a cookie when you go in to thank them. 

Happiness is... finding a new band that makes you want to break out in a spontaneous dance party,

by yourself in the kitchen, even after being on your feet for far too long...

This is why I love my life <3

Seed Bombing

Seed BOMBING!

This year I have tried my hand at yarn bombing,

and now I am taking it to the next level,

with Gorilla Gardening to the max...

Seed Bombing!

My friend attended an event at

hackspace a little while back, 

and wrangled me up a couple of seed bombing

kits to create some little bombers of my own. 

Basically the kit comes with instructions (*phew*),

red clay powder and seeds, for easy construction. 

All you need to do is add, 

compost

 (I added garden soil instead since my compost is chalk full 

of wormy friends!)

and a half cup of water. 

Then after warming my roommates that these

weren't tasty baking treats, 

(because my kitchen presence is generally followed by warm pies cooling on window sills,

and cookies for assorted clubs)  

I rolled them out on a cookie sheet,

where they are set to dry for the next couple of days.

I will do an update once they are ready for launching :)

 

Hastings Horse Races!

Last Friday I crossed off yet another one of my bucket list

adventures, by getting a group of my friends together

to experience the Hastings Horse Races. 

One thing that I should point out is that,
since growing up as a Audrey Hepburn fan,
and a romantic idealist at heart,

up until this point I thought that horse races looked something like this :

... And to tell you the truth they totally seemed like that to me

... If I blocked out the DJ blasting top 40 tunes and the beer garden directly to our left,
It looked exactly like this scene out of "My Fair Lady" in my minds eye.
 

 Our bevy of friends totally fit the bill,
there dressed in our Sunday best, 

we got wholeheartedly into the excitement of the races.

As we started to get a grasp on the betting systems, 

and began to wager on our winning horses,
that's when the real games began.

There is something about even putting down a mere twoonie on a horse,

which gives you that thrill for the outcome.
Sometimes it was two dollars, others it was twenty...
Sometimes we won,
but mostly we lost...
Although that last reality didn't really matter to us.
Its was more about the passion for the thrill at hand,
 flowing through our veins,
then that ticket burning a hole in our pocket. 

For some though I could see their passion driving their bets,
their savings riding like jockey's on their horse's backs.
One gentleman in particular drew attention to himself when we first entered
the arena, as he screamed out a horses name,
threw down his cup, and raced up to the front of the lines to continue his bellowing.
My roommate turned to me and acclaimed that she
"bet his rent money is riding on that horse",
and the sad part is that she was probably right about that.

With the amount of alcohol being passed around,
paired with the hidden massive casino behind the box seats
and the well dressed attendees of the race. 
Money was in the air.

For our group of friends,
the race was a fun way to spend a Friday night,
but to some the races are a lifestyle
that in some ways
I hope never to fully understand. 
 

Little facts that I didn't know about horse races before I attended one :

- That a horse race is only 2 laps and that there is around a half an hour break between races

- That a horse only races once in an evening 

-That jockeys are an average of 115 lb's and are hired by horse owner's to ride/control their horses,

and are paid regardless of the outcome of the race

-To always hold onto you tickets till the end of the night just in case 

one of the horses is disqualified for an early gate start

Even though it will take me a few more times to get the 

whole system comfortably down,

my first experience was one to remember,

and I am looking forward to my next time on the sidelines 

of a horse race.