For Christmas Sean got me an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and my first reaction wasn’t what he was expecting. I kept saying ‘It’s so big!” and thought about returning it the first couple days. BUT now, I can’t imagine my life without it!
Last week I signed up for a creative hand lettering course so I could learn how to use Procreate and it is SO COOL. The course ($45) is by Caroline Kelso Zook who has a website called Made Vibrant for creatives. I’ve subscribed to her for a few months and ? her work.
I’ve been staying up late drawing, then dreaming about drawing. I’m only just getting started and on part 2 of 4 in the course. I’m learning new things every day so you’ll start to see colourful creations pop up more and more. Using AirDrop to share seamlessly between iPhone, iPad, Macbook is so incredibly awesome.
YAY technology and internet and art.
I started my drawing blog ‘Borderline Artistic‘ back in 2008 when I got my 1st gen iPad. I loved that little thing. Remember Andy? Now with iPad Pro, I’m creating more than ever and I’m planning to update things around here with more art.
Went to Wake Up at Yoga Yoga this morning and had a coffee/croissant at Hale. Both places give me so much joy! Tonight is the media opening of Drake Commissary and I’m taking my yoga teacher, Sandy!
Today is going to be sunny to put a smile on your face and flash it around.
YOGA YOGA
HALE COFFEE
Sending you some sunshine through the internet, across the sky, right to your screen.
I PAID FOR THE COURSE WITH MY OWN MONEY FOR THE RECORD.
I really wanted to make some of these after seeing they looked pretty easy on Pinterest. AND WELL THEY WERE! Embot and I gave it a go this weekend so she could give one to Grandma for her 70th birthday this week.
I used the smallest bag of sand concrete you can get at Canadian Tire. You mix it with water 4/1. We used old juice containers (ie. tetra pack bottoms) and put empty water bottles cut in half with a weight inside to hold the form. The bottle will rise up without a weight. Next time I’ll round up some juice containers before we do it. The concrete can also be messy make sure you put something down on your work space and I high reco doing in the garage our outside.
One of the planters was made from a 2L pop bottle and it looks kinda neat because of the bottoms.The concrete takes 24 hours to dry. The water bottles inside the form were kinda hard to get out so we’ll switch to paper cups next (they use Tim’s cups in the video). This was a last minute idea I was kinda just wingin’ it with what we had around the cottage. They still turned out fine!
I’ve been dying to get some copper (rose gold!) Krylon paint. I follow/girl crush on Tiffany Pratt and she’s been using it to paint things a lot lately. I put tape on the design I wanted and put on a couple thin coats of Krylon spray paint. Let it dry. Apply a thin layer of wet look concrete sealer to protect the concrete from staining and to give it a glossy look. Put a little succulent in it and VOILA – you are DONE!
While I was on a roll this morning I gave my white ‘Damn Daniel‘ Vans a makeover. That meme is so 2016. They look great IRL. I’ve got a few more things planned for this paint. I love it!!!!!!
I’ve got a few more things planned for this paint. ROSE GOLD EVERYTHING haha.
If you have any questions or tips for me, I’m happy to hear ’em. I’m making this up as I go here just like you!
I mention a few things I love in this post like Vans, Canadian Tire, and Krylon paint, not sponsored but if you know them and they wanna hook a sista up, I WILL MAKE MORE THINGS. ?✌?
Earlier this year I joined TD at The Harbourfront Centre on one of the nicest days in February to kick off the TD Common Ground Project. In recognition of Canada’s 150th this year, TD has joined forces with local organizations to help create a legacy by revitalizing over 150 green spaces to bring us all together. ?????
How It All Started
Last fall, TD invited organizations across Canada to apply for funding from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation as a part of the #TDCommonGround Project. Now, they’ve picked 150+ local community‑driven initiatives to receive funding and help their goals become a reality.
Projects range from science projects to trail building and heaps more including a new pedestrian walkway to Waterloo Park (Waterloo), improvements to an outdoor public library and rec space in Halifax, a 4.6-hectare green area in Montreal, and an outdoor celebration area & pollinator habitat right here in GTA (Scarborough). Learn more about individual projects by visiting commongroundproject.td.com. ?
City of Toronto: The TD Pollinator Engagement Centre @ Morningside Park
The Toronto / Scarborough flagship piece focuses on the revitalization of Morningside Park and they’re already planning!
The park is an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) and the new engagement center will feature an outdoor classroom and community celebration area, as well as a pollinator habitat. GTA residents will be able to go to learn about the park, attend the annual festivals, go to weekend seminars on local plants, and take part in stewardship programs.
Schools who visit the park will learn about Morningside Park and its connection to the Scarborough community as well as pollination and how pollinators relate to the natural systems of the park.
I love this initiative and I’m so happy to be working on another great project with TD.
I’ll keep you posted about the project as it goes on over the next 6 months. If you’d like to learn more visit commongroundproject.td.com and follow the hashtag #TDCommonGround to see what we’re up to! ???
What a difference a week and some sunshine can make! MY GOD. Also, thank you to all who read and commented on my post about anxiety. We all go through hard days and I want you to know I feel it too. I’m a human just like you!
Loving the weather this week. Have spent a good chunk of time at the house writing and getting things done. I’ve also been biking everyday and done some yoga. Feels so good!
We did yoga on the deck on Monday night and it was SO NICE. The warm and and fresh breeze. Totally magical!
New deck layout after the rain and morning yoga. I love it here so much. Looks really good at night too with the Edison bulbs I got from Canadian Tire.
On Tuesday Keri (@keriblog) and I gave our home patio a HUGE makeover. I loaded up on plants at the Walmart sale and picked up a few cushions, lights, etc. They’re so nice! I’m in love with the new look and feel.
This was the biggest haul I’ve ever done. We filled 2 shopping carts then packed the entire jungle into her lil’ VW Golf.It rained a bit but was also sunny and we saw a DOUBLE RAINBOW!
Thank the sun gods for LESS RAIN, FINALLY. This ‘Double Rose‘ shirt is my new fav I picked up last weekend at the Skinny Sweats pop up (Toronto designer!). I love it so much. I’m inspired to make similar ones with my face on the tatas and some emojis, haha.
Yesterday Lauren (@laurenonizzle) and I went to the afternoon Blue Jays game and rode around on our bikes after. We both have Schwinn cruisers from Canadian Tire so we are SCHWINN TWINS. SCHWINNING.
A post shared by Lauren O’Neil (@laurenonizzle) on
Have some really fun and exciting work coming up the next couple months and I’m excited to share with you. It feels so incredibly cool to be doing work I love. Tonight dad is coming over to shoot a project for Father’s Day.
This past week was a hard one for me. Actually, this entire month has been a challenge, I’ve been on the verge of a meltdown since May 2017 started with birthday anxiety. I had a trip to Jamaica that started with an allergic reaction in my eyes, where I couldn’t see that well, it rained heaps, I missed my bf, and I got my period. When I got home I was overwhelmed with anxiety about work I needed to get done, and it was a short week. I went to the 1188 office every day to get the music video I directed wrapped up, and didn’t really have time to work (at home like usual) on blog things. The week finished week with a full day on set. I was so tired.
Finally, on Saturday, it happened. I legit had a meltdown. Our car had a problem with the tire so I rented a car for the afternoon with my car sharing app and left around 11:15 to make it to Scarborough by 12:15. Well, no, that wasn’t happening. It took me 45 min to get to the DVP (highway downtown for non-TO peeps) and by then I was feeling super stressed after leaving the house in a huff w/ Sean. Then mum called and it opened the floodgates to me balling my eyes out, stuck in traffic. It seemed like everything around me was collapsing. Then, it started raining and the event I was about to drive an hour to was canceled. BUT, I was already on the DVP and still in traffic. I took a few deep breaths and decided to get off the highway. Didn’t really know where I was heading but the end goal was home.
I decided to put on the Lumineers album and for the next 30 minutes, drove past Yorkdale, down the Allen to Eglington, singing and crying loudly in the car. (I laugh about it now but at the time I was really feeling at a loss and wondering what to do with my life.)
I don’t have those days very often but they happen. I get anxious about all kinds of things and get down and into a dark place every now and then. It’s hard to manage sometimes and those days I find it really hard to be an ‘internet person’. I have spoken to a few of my friends about all this, and some of them recommended I checked out sites like https://www.everydayoptimalcbd.com/product-category/cbd-gummies-edibles/, in the hopes of finding an alternative method to managing anxiety better. As the use of CBD is said to have calming properties, this could be something worth looking into, especially as I am not sure how to deal with anxiety sometimes. Additionally, I know that there are people going through a similar situation, where the use of drugs such as Benzodiazepine is a massive help. But there are situations where trying to get off this drug on your own may cause benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. These are the sorts of things that put me off taking medication, but I guess it may be worth a try if I want to help me feel less anxious all the time. Plus, if I find this isn’t for me, there are always many other methods I could try. There are some days where I don’t feel like sharing or putting on a smile, pretending everything is ok. I’ve been doing a lot of research into ways that I can manage these symptoms effectively. There is a lot to take in, but until I came across sites that spoke about hemp remedies, I realised that all the time I was spending was definitely worth it, especially if I wanted to improve my mental health. My sister told me about the best rated CBD brands and I might try CBD out. No matter what you are going through, your health should be your top priority.
I’ve written 10+ posts over the years titled ‘Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like It‘ when I don’t want to blog anymore. Writing through it helps me deal. I like going back to read them when I get in a mood and it helps me know it’s ok to feel that way and I’ll be ok.
I’ve wanted to quit a bunch of times and each time, when I push through whatever it is I’m feeling, and don’t give up, something good happens.
After I finally got home from my 2.5 hour tour of the city, I rode my bike over to yoga for a popup Sandy was hosting. It was the turning point. I had a mini massage, brows done, tarot card reading, wrote some postcards, and got a beautiful bouquet w/ pink & yellow peonies to bring home.
We left for the cottage shortly after. The next day, I spent a good chunk of time outside doing yard work w/ Sean, enjoying the sunshine, making food, and laughing together. It was the reset I needed.
Today I felt totally renewed and open to anything that came my way. I’ve found that if I don’t have time to rest my mind, body, and thoughts, I can’t even deal with anything. I also really enjoy my alone time. It helps me recharge.
Writing about my anxiety was inspired by an email I got last week about an event on Wednesday w/ Kayley Reed & Wear Your Label.
This isn’t a sponsored thing, I was inspired because Wear Your Label is about ending the stigma around mental illness and May is Meltal Health Month. Honestly, it’s pretty easy to act all smiley for Instagram or whatever but I’m a real human with feelings and the world only sees my life when the sun is out. Sean sometimes says I use all my sunshine up on the internet and he gets the salty version of me. (I’m sorry babe!)
So, here’s an official invite from me to you. The event is at Wednesday 6-8:30pm at Joe Fresh on Queen/Portland and hosted by Wear Your Label. You get 25% off regular priced stuff and one of the exclusive collab hats w/ purchase (see above, all the feels). 50% of the sales will be donated to the Canadian Mental Heath Association in support of mental health in Canada.
I’d love to hug some new and/or familiar faces and share some sunshine with you. The FB event is here.
Most of all, I want to remind you that if you have anxiety or you feel like you can’t even deal anymore or deal one day, remember that it will pass. And it WILL get better. Mum says that’s when you probably need to go and take a nap (and she is usually right!)
I remind myself all the time, the hardest part is THROUGH but YOU CAN DO IT. And you will. And you will be awesome at it.
P.S. It’s also totally ok to drive around loud cry singing to yourself. It actually felt pretty good. This is the song where the title comes from/one I was singing to.
Don't give up on yourself, you're stronger than that.
I don’t want to blog anymore. Writing through it helps me deal. I like going back to read them when I get in a mood and it helps me know it’s ok to feel that way and I’ll be ok. 
