Hot diggedy damn!!!! it feels SO good to be a Canucks fan right now!!!

• 3 points clear at the top of our division


• sitting pretty in the top 3 in the West


• 6th in the whole damn league


• We ran all over the best in the East - sorry Nazzy!!!


• our goalie is a GOD and our backup's pretty darned sound too


• Kesler's line walks on water


• Wellwood is the feel-good story of the year


• Ohlund? he deserves some hot damns all of his own - look at his performance in the Rangers game, wow, for which I don't think the shirt can take all the credit :) PLEASE don't trade him Mr Gillis!!!


• Willie Mitchell - points machine :D Who'dathunkit?


• Demitra is looking better than he has in years


• the twins are playing like they're in a contract year (ah...wait.... :))


• WE JUST ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this feeling!!!!!!

I'm proud to be a Canucks fan even when they are bombing out - but right now I'm outright SMUG!

And potentially somewhat over confident when I say Penguins? Bring it on!!!!!

(really looking forward to this game - the Pens are rapidly overtaking the Caps as my darlings in the East, and not only because the Cookie monster is having such a ball there - only annoying thing is that, although it is on at a wonderful time slot for us Brits, starting at 7pm our time, I won't be able to watch it live as I'll be at the Wildcats.... so nobody tell me the score before Sunday, k?)

Some fab pics from the New York road trip:

(I wonder if Jeff Vinnick wants an assistant? or a wife?)

Eeeek - crazy man drilling Kes's head!
Luongo - the best dressed homeless guy in New York
Willie entertains
Hordy is just such a cutie pie
Poor Big Bear looks more like Big Brrrrrrrr

My baby

I snapped these in 2 seconds in poor indoor lighting yesterday while getting ready for the hockey game - my awesome new ice hockey lens is an awesome portrait lens too, it seems!




I especially like the ones of him practicing his rock star moves with the Guitar Hero geetar :)




As for the hockey game, I took a trillion photos, but I'm still yet to get that killer shot that I am 100% pleased with. Good job I get to at least a game a week - plenty of practice!

I do quite like this one, though - from the point near the end of the game when Sitko had lost his stick and decided that without it his best move was to grab onto the opposition for dear life :)



It was a great night of hockey for me - Wildcats beat the Romford Raiders 7-2, and then I came home and watched the Canucks similarly trump the Leafs 4-2. It just doesn't get better than that. Boy I wish we could play the Leafs more often, it was one of the most entertaining games I have watched in a long time.

The first 5 minutes were intense - we were outshot from the off, and Toronto got a virtually 2 minute 5 on 3 which was terrifying! They were coming down on us like a ton of bricks and then Lu lost his paddle. And like the miracle worker he is he managed to save at least 2 more good hard shots after that with no stick. It was amazing to watch, mindblowing, really! Wellwood got the first goal in traditional stick-it-to-the-team-that-traded-you stylee, and Kes the second on the powerplay if I remember rightly. Willie Mitchell - yes Willie Mitchell - got the game winner with a cute little tip in that looked like it surprised him as much as the rest of us - he has already been getting stick in the locker room for his little streak of assists, this is going to have finished him off :D And Dank put in an extra one for insurance. Demitra was back in the line up after a while off with injury, and it looks like he's better - three assists - THAT's the playmaking king we thought we were getting - good stuff. All in all, we looked OK out there (not perfect, in fact far from it - but good enough to stuff it to the East - yeah!!!)

Just writing all that has got me all pumped up again lol - gotta love that adrenaline rush....

It inspired me to have a little play in Photoshop :)


Now - if I could get a shot like THIS, then I'd be a happy bunny!


Although, to be fair, I'd have to be sitting IN the goal.

Do I like the new alternate jersey?

Yes, yes I think I do :)

I love Johnny Canuck on the shoulders, and I see what they have done with the stick in rink to make the C more prominent. And I always loved the vintage kit anyway.

added to my christmas list....

Trying to decide whose name and number to go for, though. I already have 2 Keslers, a Linden and a Bertuzzi. Tempted to go for Lu's if I can get one with the C. But then again he's maybe too obvious a choice. There are lots of other current Canucks I like a lot - Burrows perhaps....or Hordy. Ohlund would be cool with the A (although if I was going for an A I probably ought to get another Kesler)

decisions decisions.....

Friday Five - 14th November 2008

Oh goody - an all hockey five :) This one won't mean much to many people out there, but it's fun for me.

1.) Toews or Kane?
Hard to separate these two, I kind of think of them as a bit of an item. I haven't seen that many Chicago games recently - none at all yet this season - but in one memorable game about this time last year I remember a big hit on Kane at GM Place where he flew over the boards onto his bench - bless, poor young 'un (snigger). And they are way too young for me to choose based on attractiveness, that would be almost illegal. So I'll go for Toews based on a very pretty goal I vaguely remember seeing on HNIC last season.

2.) Mikko or Saku Koivu?
Well, I'm still a bit miffed with Mikko for elbowing Kesler in the chin the other night (and kind of proud of Kes for winding him up that much that he wanted to lol) - so I'll choose Saku. They are both a lock for the All Star game, by the look of things, nothing dodgy going on there ;)

3.) Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin?
This one is the easiest, Ovie WITHOUT HESITATION - I love the way he plays, and his humour, and his loyalty to his team, and the whole sweet internet bride thang, and he's just so cute in a cabbage patch doll kinda way :)

4.) Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk?
My best mate fancies Zetts, I don't see it myself. He is amazing to watch on the ice, though. I do like my Selke candidates, and both of these boys have the defensive forward thing down. Ummmm - I'll go Pavel, but it's close.

5.) Joe Sakic or Steve Yzerman?
For the most pointless reason - Stevie Y - because I have his autograph :) Only by accident, mind - I have a stick signed by the 2003/4 Canucks roster and it was originally issued by his company, and so his scrawl is on the CoA

Creating shouldn't be so difficult...it never used to be

....but this CJ entry has taken me nigh on a week, and it really shouldn't have taken anywhere near that long!

Anyway, it's done now :)

This is my entry in Lori's book in the Tattoo CJ circle. Her theme is "the good, the bad and the ugly" - great fun theme - it gave me an excuse to scour the net for some really naaaasty tattoos, and also some really amazingly wonderful ones.


The actual layout uses all sorts of random stuff I had lying about - the fabulous leg was cut out of a tattoo mag; the black netting used to add a bit of texture to the background, while also toning down the bold pattern of the floral paper underneath, was cut out of an old pair of Connor's tracksuit bottoms lol; and the black tape around the edges of the pages is hockey tape - which is JUST like 7 Gypsies bookbinding tape but about a tenth of the price :)

I got the gorgeous wooden swallows from Etsy.



The text up in the top right hand corner (which is somewhat less violently pink in real life, the flash messes with it) was generated with an Around The Block label machine - just like an old fashioned Dymo but with cooler fonts



I made my leggy lady a footrest from red felt, with stamped calico labels for three little accordion books - these contain photos of good, bad, and ugly tattoos I had found on my Google expedition. I had to hand sew this onto the paper and mesh backing, because my sewing machine wasn't having any of it.

The accordion book covers were made with some leather-style vinyl I picked up in the scrapstore years ago. It was white, but I coloured it with red and black alcohol inks, and perforated it around the borders of each cover with a tracing wheel, which you can't really see in the pics, but it makes them look quite convincing IRL.


The accordion books look like this ^ once opened.

A closer look at the contents of the three books is below:

The good


The bad


The ugly


So that's one CJ down 2 more to go in the next couple of weeks - it's a good job I have deadlines because it is keeping me making stuff even when I'm not really in the mood for it. I know I would be really frustrated with myself if I let myself stop altogether.

They caught me out this week....

I went looking for the Friday Five and it wasn't there.... because instead this week there was a Saturday Six (I guess those hlog girlies want to keep us on our toes)

So here goes:

1.) Do you like rain?
I tolerate it, and appreciate that we need it for the plants to grow, but have seen rather too much of it for comfort this year, I think this summer was the wettest since records began or something equally dramatic

2.) What day of the week is laundry day?
Every day! I have three kids, and a tumble dryer that is on its last legs so takes forever to dry anything, and as already mentioned, it's not like I can hang anything outside to dry because IT IS ALWAYS RAINING - so the dryer is on constantly and the washing machine isn't far behind

3.) Are you addicted to Youtube?
Nah, the novelty has worn off a bit now. I still find it a really useful resource, though.

4.) How efficiently can you type one handed?
Not that well, as it's hard to do the capital letters if they are a long way from the shift button

5.) Did you indulge in any leftover Halloween candy?
Yes but not much, as most of it looked naaaasty

6.) What are your plans for Thanksgiving? If you are Canadian, what did you do for your Thanksgiving?
We don't have Thanksgiving here. But I think we should, it's a good concept.

Getting better with my new lens....

I had another practice with my lovely new lens last night at the Guildford game (which saw our boys playing with real heart, fighting for every puck, and basically making me proud, we lost more through bad luck than lack of effort).

And although I'm still having a bit of problem with the depth of field, these are tons better than last week's.

Getting there. By the end of the season I reckon I'll have mastered it :)

Scroll to the bottom for first view of Sitko's new Village People cop moustache. Lovin' it! :D

Full set of pics here

awww he so cuuuute :D

it's the little "hallo" at the start

I am so smitten lol

and what a superb goal by Sitko!

This is uber cool

Local video firm Crazy Dog Media have teamed up with my Wildcats to produce a few game DVDs, complete with commentary and player/coach interviews and all sorts of bells and whistles

It's fab!

Here is a little vid they have put together to promote the three DVDs so far filmed. I'm hoping to pick up the one from the Telford game tonight.



I could watch this over and over :) It's so surreal seeing my team playing, on the TV, with a commentator. HNIC here we come :)

Tau is such a cutie

some piccies of our surprisingly cuddly hedgehog:

(ok, when I say our, I mean Darby's, but I reckon that makes me her granny)

Top of my Christmas list....if Santa is reading.....

I just wish I could be over there to see it in the actual movie theatre next week, I bet I would cry, buckets, just like I did as the real events were unfolding. Not getting into the playoffs HURTS.

The Nazzy bits alone will have me reaching for the Kleenex.

Woohoo I MADE something!

This is my entry for the November Art Raffle - theme "circles".

As I am currently obsessed with fabric, it's a mini quilt.

Not sure if I like it or not, but hey, I made something. Been a while....

The bird and eggs are from a fabric collage sheet from the Retro Art Cafe.

The nest is made from eyelash fibres sewn down with a zigzag stich

The border was made by sponging blue ink through stencil waste and then overlaying with copper leaf attached to "wonder under" iron-on adhesive.

Friday Five 2nd November

1.) Have you ever played an intramural/rec league sport?
I think this means a team sport outside of school. In which case, no, I haven't. My only sporting activity since school has been solitary stuff like swimming, aerobics classes, and going to the gym.


2.) Do you have any Halloween plans?
I am answering this a little late so Halloween is over. But I had a fab Halloween on Manchester's Canal Street in the company of FABULOUSLY costumed drag queens :)

3.) Do you carry a planner around with you?
Nope. I don't do much planning.

4.) Do you watch a lot of movies?
Nope again. I don't have time. Can't remember the last time I watched a film all through. Oh - yes I can - I took Connor to see Wall-E on his birthday in July.

5.) Are you aware who won the World Series?
I'm not even sure which sport it is! Baseball? No, no idea who won.

Apologies for lack of blog activity recently by the way. No motivation. No mojo. Feeling a bit sorry for myself. I'll snap out of it soon I expect.

What a purty bunch of assistant captains we have

'scuse me while I have a puck bunny moment :)

Friday Five - bit late again

1.) Are you sick of election time yet?
Luckily being in the UK we're not quite as engulfed in the US election as I expect you guys are over there. We still get plenty of coverage - and I find it quite interesting - but not so much as to be tedious.

2.) What color Post-It notes do you prefer?
Classic yellow for me - the bigger the better, as I use them mainly for cutting out masks for stamping and stencilling

3.) Do you use coasters?
Nah :) My table is already covered in paint and glue - the odd mug ring isn't going to matter

4.) Are you a better presenter or paper writer?
Paper writer definitely. When I present out loud I am all umms and errrs, it's painful to watch

5.) Do you buy CDs any more?
Very rarely. I'll be buying the new John Frusciante CD though fo sho

This is so overdue it's not funny

but hopefully worth the wait

Alix - sorry it has taken so long!

I quick photo stencil how-to for anyone wanting to make something similar (but hopefully not take almost 6 months over it like I have!)

This was the photo of the suave Swede that I started off with:










I took it into Photoshop and thresholded it, playing with the cut off until I was happy that the resulting black and white image was recognisably Mattias:



This image was then printed onto freezer paper, and all the black parts were cut out with a sharp knife (slowly and carefully) - leaving bridges where necessary to make sure that bits like the vintage logo on the jersey didn't fall out of the stencil completely.

the freezer paper stencil once I had finished cutting ^

(his hair was a total PITA! I should have used a pic of him with his lid on lol)

The freezer paper stencil was then ironed onto the front of a light blue cotton t-shirt (cutting away the bridges once everything was positioned properly). And a complete sheet of freezer paper was also ironed into the inside of the t shirt behind the stencil, facing the other way. This is to act as a barrrier to any paint that might bleed through the fabric, as otherwise it could stain the back of the shirt.

The next step is to carfully sponge fabric paint - I used a metallic royal blue coloured paint by Lumiere - over the stencil, in a dabbing motion, with a fairly dry sponge. In other words, don't saturate the sponge with paint as if it is too wet it might make its way under the stencil and ruin your nice sharp outline. Instead go over with a nearly dry sponge a number of times, always dabbing up and down never dragging or scrubbing.

I didn't take a photo of this step, but you can imagine.

The next bit seems to take a lifetime - that is waiting for the paint to dry COMPLETELY before peeling off the stencil to see if any paint has crept underneath and ruined the whole thing (and wasted the stencil you took hours cutting!)

Thankfully, it was a very successful paint job in this case, with no bleeding at all, phew!

All it needed was a good iron to make the paint wash-proof, and it's ready to go over to Canada to the home of the Humming Giraffe :)