SHOPPING IS COOL?

THE ETSY SHOP IS BACK IN ACTION.

CITY OF CRAFT: THE HAUL.

A generous collection of Trip Print Press prints. Letterpress goodness abound.

A tote bag, card, and notebook by the super charming Lemonade.

On top of the books you can see one of Tara Bursey's index fingers hanging out with a vile of shredded money by Sweetie Pie Press.

This creepy face was made by ceramics manipulator extraordinaire Julie Moon. I also scored one of her ceramic hearts, but it got wrapped up and unwrapped by a dear pal of mine. Trust me though, it's gorgeous.

Gocco greeting card goodness by the Petra C.

A collection of paper greetings by Genevieve Jodouin and Heing Tang. I am officially armed for any occasion.

A couple sets of awesome artist series pin sets by City Of Craft-master Sweetie Pie Press. Featuring a crew of great faces by Sara Guindon and a trio of dreamy kitties by Sarah McNeil.

A piece of art by The Maple Ridge. Unicorns are a-holes. Truth speaking.

I was lucky to win a raffle too. Some wrapping paper, power line printed fabric by Bespoke Uprising, a bag by Anatomy of a Skirt, and Shortcomings by Adriane Tomine. Seriously.

And I didn't get this Doublenaut print at COC, but they were there selling prints and tshirts. D and I just put this up in our home, and I thought it deserved a mention here because it looks so good.

There was tons of other great things I could have easily purchased (like the gold tooth necklaces by Old Weston - those were amazing) but one has to cut themselves off somewhere, right? Right.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS.

Turkey, drinks, pals, pie, and Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman.
Another fantastic Christmas Eve celebration indeed.
Happy Holidays to you!

BOOM - THERE GOES YOUR BRAIN.

Photo above by Sweetie Pie Press

I only managed to take a couple photos at City of Craft this past weekend. I'm getting pretty lazy about documenting events lately - what gives, Falconer? Too busy talking to people, eating poutine, drinking coffee, and making faces I guess. Thankfully there's a flickr group you can visit if you want to feel like you were there. You should really check it out, because the place looked fantastic. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by, said hello, or adopted something from my table. Props go out to all the dedicated people who make this event happen. And high fives to all the inspiring, talented makers in the house - Christmas definitely came early this year (photographic evidence of all the loot I scored to follow).

NOW IS THE TIME.

Photo via City Of Craft

Dudes! If you come to City Of Craft this weekend (which you obviously should) you will be branded with my handwriting upon arrival. Becky made these sweet stamps via an envelope I sent her last year. How fun is that?

I went to a mall today (a mall!) and it was definitely not an enjoyable experience. The Theatre Centre would surely be a much more comfortable, friendly place to buy your last minute Christmas gifts, right? There are definitely no swag bags at the mall. Total no brainer!

TIME MANAGEMENT.

SOON.

HE WAS MADE OF SNOW BUT THE CHILDREN KNOW...

Dennis went on a mission yesterday: to find us decorations for our barren tree. And man did he ever deliver! I like my Christmas trees like I like my jack-o-lanterns - old school, sorta tacky, and colourful in mood. Nothing fussy or too matchy allowed. When I was young, we had this milk maid-ish lady made from a clothes pin that always used to grace the tops of our Christmas trees. There was no holiday significance to her, she wasn't seasonally dressed, she had no affiliations to religious figures or fat men, and I don't know where she came from - but she did became a bit of a Falconer tradition. This snowman's head, currently sitting on top of our modest balsam, is just begging for annual tree topper status. He's got that over the top cuteness that could become slightly unnerving under certain circumstances (aka he's perfect).

CRAFTS, CHURCHES, COFFEE.

I can't even count the number of times I've brought my camera somewhere, only to find that I've left my memory card in my printer from whenever I last uploaded photos. So, here are 3 random phone photos from A Handmade Holiday this past weekend. That little cupcake from Cora's Kitchen was definitely a strong A+.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out and said hello! The folks at Kid Icarus and Sewing School did a great job making the place look and feel great. I don't know why I always get so nervous about these things - I sat beside some excellent people, and really enjoyed chatting with them all day.

Next up: City Of Craft.

CARD SHARK.

GREETINGS FROM THE BASEMENT.

Looking for handmade goods to give to all your favourite friends and family members this holiday season? Check out these two craft shows coming soon: A Handmade Holiday & City Of Craft! They each include a diverse list of impressive makers. I dare you to leave either event empty handed.

As per usual I've left everything to the last minute (you can't teach this old dog new tricks!) but pressure tends to be a fairly decent motivator for me. At times. My new apartment has a laundry room that I've commandeered as a screen printing shelter. It's a little low in the ceiling, but having a door to close on all the messes I make is a pretty great development indeed.

A HANDMADE HOLIDAY.

A promotional video for A Handmade Holiday by My City Lives.

A YEAR'S SUPPLY....

Tomorrow we release our record, A Year's Supply of Rabbit's Feet. So you know I'm going to get a little sentimental about it here. This record took us quite some time to make, and I'm really happy with how it turned out in the end. My bandmates/pals and I took our sweet time, trying to make an improvement while still maintaining some of our roughness. We experimented a little bit by adding some piano, a little violin, and a few expertly played dollar store windtubes (ha). And we were able to accomplish a long time goal of ours by pressing it to vinyl. Anyone that's been in a band before can appreciate how much patience is required for long term projects, but at the same time how fun and rewarding it can be to work with others towards a common goal. And at the risk of sounding like a total sap (who cares!) I really enjoy making music with these guys (and taking breaks from making music to drink beers, play darts, sit on picnic tables, eat pizzas, light fireworks, etc).

A couple reviews: here and here (thank you).

AQUA & YELLOW.

WITCHY WOMAN.

It's been a while since I've made one of these.
Gotta dust off the pencils and scanner for such special occasions!
Current likes: witches, fortune tellers, and slightly askew text.

ELEVEN

11 songs for October.

BROOKLYN DIARY.

Currently enjoying my copy of Brooklyn Diary. It takes a look inside the daily lives of twenty-one Brooklyn artists, documented by ten different photographers. It would have been fun to have this book when I was in Brooklyn this summer. Interesting profiles, useful recommendations, and no shortage of beautiful photography. I was particularly excited to find a peek into Tim Harrington (Les Savy Fav!) and his families home in Williamsburg. Definitely interested in checking out more books by Lines & Shapes in the future.

LAYERS.

New homestead hangables: this screen printed poster by Burlesque of North America. It's big and gorgeous in real life. I love the furrowed brows, the green green grass, and all that top right Rococo text business. Inspired.

1976.

Happy Birthday Louis.

GUINNESS CAKE.

Recent adventures in baking: this recipe from Katie Quinn Davies.

Her blog has such gorgeous food pornography photography.

CABIN #6.

This past weekend was ladies weekend. We drove up to Lake On The Mountain in Prince Edward County - a small grouping of cabins where they also brew their own beer! Crisp fall air and coffee on the lake = the best. I made some rustic looking graham crackers for smores (my obsession with recipes from Smitten Kitchen is apparently never ending). As you can see from the look in her eyes, Whitney was a master of marshmallow manipulation. Besides enjoying the gorgeous scenery, we watched a movie at the local theatre (The Town), bought vegetables from a farm using the honour system (amazing), locked ourselves out of our cabin (to be expected), played an exciting game of Personal Preferences (do you prefer kiwis or injections?), and bought copious amounts of baked goods for the ride home. Though I do love Toronto, I constantly fantasize about moving to a cottage or to the country (a practice I'm sure is common to all city dwellers at one time or another). I think it's safe to say that we've got a new tradition on our hands.