Childhood Christmas Memories

I've been busy crafting like Santa's workshop around here. 
And I can't show it off, in case the gift getters happen to stop by.  Will have to show you in the new year :)
For now though, here are some photos of Christmases long gone.

Painting the windows of our house was an awesome decoration tradition.   It's just tempera paint, which you can easily wash off after the holidays. 

Evidently I cover my mouth and gasp when I get a gift I like. 

 I remember this cardboard house being the best thing ever.  The windows and doors opened and my name was written on the door and everything.  lol.

I was cool with my Papa dressed up as Santa (with shades as a disguise from the older kids!) but strange Santas at the mall could not be trusted.

 

Hiking in the snow to get our tree and then decorating it at home with all of our handmade ornaments was so much fun.  We would take turns every year with who could put the star on top. 

The big exciting tradition was always seeing all my family at my Mama and Papa's house on Christmas Eve.  I think it's a French tradition to celebrate late on Christmas Eve.   We would meet around 10pm, Santa would come around midnight.  We'd open and exchange gifts and then eat our giant meal, turkey and all, in the wee hours of the morning. 

Proof that I've never been a night owl and turkey makes me even more sleepy.

What made Christmas magical for you as a kid?

52 Weeks - Forty-two.

Hello again!

Here we are, catching you up on the 52 weeks project again.

Meet week #42 - Agnes.

I met Agnes ever so slightly before I began this blog.  I was working at a scrapbooking store (now closed) and she was to be my replacement.  I was headed to Kingston, to move in with Steve before we headed to France.  In the short month that Agnes & I worked together, we had a blast.   

Agnes is a very talented illustrator.  Exhibit A:

We actually even did a little photoshoot in that short month, and they're still some of my fave photos.

From April 2009

From April 2009

Needless to say, it was nice to reunite with her this past week.  She's such a sweetheart!
We walked over to this weird phonebooth I see when I ride the streetcar.
The 3 shots all have such different feels - all shot with my 50mm lens and available phonebooth light. 

 I think she looks like a superhero here.  

We worked quickly, so Agnes wouldn't freeze.  Which was 20 minutes of photography before deciding we had it and needed to go warm up.  Sometimes the pressure of working quickly is a great creative adrenaline rush. 

Ahhh and I can't resist - one more that I like!

Which one is your favourite?

52 weeks - Forty-one.

It's been a while since you've seen one of these, hasn't it?
Yes, I'm behind.   Essentially since the moment I started my new job and working on weekends.  

It's been really tough to schedule shoots with people.  However, I haven't and won't quit.  

I will still be shooting 52 portraits for this project!

Week 41.
Meet Pierrette.  We met recently through our commercial photography class.  (See my assignments 1 & 2. )
She has a fabulous ebullient personality, and has been really fun to shoot beside in the studio.

I couldn't choose a favourite, so I just turned it into a triptych.   The one in the middle is how she looks most of the time.  To me anyway :)

 Canon 5D with 50mm 1.4 lens.  

F 1.8, 1/80th of a second, ISO 100.
Natural light, sitting on the stairs of a church. 

We had originally gotten together to try to capture scarves in motion.  

I wasn't loving it - this is the best shot I got.  It's not really impressing me. 

But, you live and learn and shoot a portrait ;)
And it was a gorgeous, warm fall Sunday.

Be back tomorrow with week 42!

Smiles This Week

Things in life this week that were great.

These train tracks actually exist in Ukraine.  Photo by Olag Gordienko.

I just want to walk all the way down from one end to the other. 

Friday night we went out for dinner with friends to Atlas One on St Clair West.  It was phenomenal. 

The food, service and atmosphere were perfect.  We stayed and enjoyed for hours.

We watched the film Another Earth.  It was intense, sometimes uncomfortable, but really well done.

One day the timing worked out to catch the shiny brand new TTC subway on the way to work - and going home :)

I picked these last summer :)

Adding wild blueberries to anything makes it more delicious.

Salads, muffins, pie... this morning it was pancakes.  Yes, today is my Sunday.

I'm off to get a haircut.  Hope you have a lovely Monday!

What was the best little thing in your week?

Bring Hats Back.

Over the past couple years I've stumbled upon and fallen for some beautiful vintage hats. 

They make me wish 3 things.  

1.  That people wore hats more often, and generally dressed nicer.

2.  That I had a head of perfectly placed 1940's curly hair.
3.  That it wasn't so windy outside. 

The other day, I was ambitious enough to face these 3 wishes and took a hat down and wore it. haha!

I found this hat while thrifting in my hometown.
I wore it with a simple brown sweater and one of my fave skirts that I bought years ago in NYC. 

 I always get a kick out of what's written inside the hats.  This one says "Finest Imported Velour," which has a nicer ring to it than Made in China, doesn't it?

There is no information about where it was made, but the detail in the shapes is beautiful, and the netting is really delicate.

Have you got hats?  Do you wear them?  Any interest in seeing more of mine?
Have a great Friday!

~mel

p.s. you can also see the hat in action here

Best Things in Chicago.

Steve and I went to Chicago about oh, 2 months ago.  

Here are some faves, now that I'm heading out to print them & hopefully scrapbook soon.

Fave photo of the whole trip.  With family at the Bears game.

Fave Chicago food.  Deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Uno. 
Ummm, it's pie crust, whoa.

 

Fave photo of Steve.  Super excited to be at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. 

Most hilarious photo.  Us, FROZEN with no cold weather clothes at the Cubs game. 
They were selling more hot chocolate than beer.   Cold. 
All I had were 3 cardigans.  Missing: Steve is wearing shorts.  Dedication.

Fave moment.  Watching so many crazy fans celebrate a touchdown.  (We had awesome seats!)

Fave buildings.  Flower shaped apartment buildings.  Check out the parking near the bottom. 

Fave thing bought.  A brooch for my collection.  From Very Best Vintage. 

Best view.  From the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. 

 

Thanks Chicago for such a great time!

Have you ever been to Chicago? What's your fave thing?

Smiles this week.

As a person living in Canada, I hate this time of year. 

We had daylight savings change last weekend.  All week as I get up and head to work it's dark out. Wouldn't you know it, the sun sets at around 5 and it's pitch black as I head home.  

Plus it's getting cold.

Now, things can look up a bit as the holidays approach - when lights are on houses and Christmas trees give a twinkle I do get the warm fuzzy feeling that reminds me of happy times. 

But then Christmas and New Years end, and we're left with 3 more months of cold and dark.

I hate winter.

In an effort to not blog like a curmudgeonly old man all winter, I propose a new feature - Smiles this week.  A sort of catch-all of cool things in my corner of the world.

Feel free to join in as well - leave a link in the comments if you like.

Here we go. Round one. 

-knitting my first scarf and seeing progress slowly being made (it's a gift - can't post pics!)

-learning how to photograph glass (notoriously tricky)

-finding a set of Christmas scented body washes that make showers o so nice!

-Bakerella made Muppet Cake Pops. That's talent.  I would feel bad to eat one.

 

-http://www.lettersofnote.com/ - I could spend hours reading interesting letters from history

-watching the movie Back to the Future 2.  It had been so long that I remembered almost nothing.
Such a fun movie.

-tongue-in-cheek observation about girls with bangs.  

-hanging out with a friend at the Japanese Paper Place and buying papers for future photo backdrops

-a Diet Coke ad reunites me with this song from 500 Days of Summer

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! How's the winter where you are? 

Has anything brought a smile to your face this week?

More school assignment photos

In case you missed my first post about it, I'm taking a class on product photography right now.  The second assignment was to photograph something we use on a regular basis. 

I chose nail polish. 
The shot I envisioned was dark and dramatic.  I also wanted something other than just the bottle in the shot, so I painted some nails from the hardware store with some nail polish from the dollar store.  I didn't want to waste my OPI, it's a little pricey.  

On a side note - dollar store nail polish seemed to have toxic fumes - I had to use it outside because it stunk so bad.   OPI is worth it for me - it's the only polish that can handle a week of work as I lift gear, handle props and tools working as a photo assistant. 

The first week at the studio at school,  I tried lighting the bottle with studio lights.   The kits available at the studio were just too big.  There was light everywhere and nothing available to narrow it down.   Why don't they have snoots?!  It's beyond me.   

I fought with the highlights on the glass of the bottle for about 2 hours.  It's amazing what gets reflected in glass.  I also wasn't really feeling the dark vibe anymore. 

So the next week, after missing class because of working late,  I just shot at home with natural light.

 The set up for this shot in the end is almost hilariously simple compared to what I had going on in studio the first night.   I had the bottle on my dining room table, its back to the window.  It's on a shiny white surface, and I reflected light back to add the highlight with pieces of white cardboard.   I needed more sparkle on the nails themselves, so I added a mirror.   That's it. 

My assignment critique went well.  My prof said it was great, that the only thing he'd change was that there needed to be a nail that was clear, standing up and looking like a nail, so that he'd get it. 
I don't I agree, I hate when ads assume you're stupid and can't pick up on it. There isn't enough subtlety in advertising.

P.s. open to suggestions if you have a great nail polish that doesn't chip.
So far MAC has miserably failed and Essie is ok :)
Have a great Tuesday!

Featured in Ruche's Handmade Holiday

I just found out that my perogy recipe was chosen to be part of Ruche's Handmade Holiday magazine!

The issue looks absolutely beautiful, full of all kinds of crafts, recipes and decorations for the holidays.

My favourite page may or may not be #73 ;)

Making my Mom's Birthday gift (Saucer turned necklace)

Now that my Mom has safely gotten her parcel in the mail, and is enjoying her necklace, I can show you.  It all started with a trip to Goodwill.  (It usually does.)  

I found a really pretty teacup saucer that was chipped.  

I wondered if it was possible to save this lovely pattern from a trip to the dumpster. 

So yes, I took my cute little chipped plate, put it in a sealed plastic bag & dropped it on my tile floor.

Post-smash I chose my favourite little remain and drilled a hole in it with my rotary tool.

About an hour of cautious drilling later.

I also used the tool to sand down any rough and sharp edges, then added a jumpring and some chain.

And there you have it - the necklace I made my mom for her birthday, which just happened to look perfect with the purple sweater I bought her too.

p.s.  I toyed with the idea of adding some beads or little charms, but knowing my mom's taste, I kept it simple.   However, I do have a few pieces of pretty plate left, and may make some other variations.

I've also since found some more chipped plates and saucers - score!