New video of a test-print of a linocut done with a press

I did it! I actually rigged my iPad up to my tri-pod so that I can create some videos of my printing process. I had created printmaking demo videos in the past with my Flip camera which I was quite happy with until it stopped recording segments longer than 10 minutes.  Even though I bought a rechargeable battery for it, the camera won't record past the 10 minutes and will delete anything recorded if battery gets depleted. With my iPad I'm hoping to record a monotype which takes me at least a couple of hours from start to finish.

So below is my latest video and the photos below that are of my iPad set up. Not too pretty to be sure but who cares if it works. As always, I would love to hear your comments.

I now have and iPad! How to I attach it to my tri-pod?

So I must've been a good girl last year because I got an iPad for Christmas. I've been having lots of fun trying out all the new apps and games on it and while I've been too afraid to take it out of the house, I have been making good use of it at home.

 The new iPad has a great camera lens on it and while I've already tried my hand at Instagram, I'm pretty excited to think that I have access to a HD video camera to help me create some printmaking videos. But there is a catch. How do I mount my iPad to a tri-pod? I knew I could probably order one but I thought that there might be a way to make one. Thanks to Google you can find anything.

I have two links for you. The first one is a for a video that made me realize that I should use my iPad for video. It's an informative how-to video on creating packing for Canada Post's "slot of doom". Using a Blackberry Playbook, Claire Maunsell  creates a really clear video that I will be sure to visit again.

The next video is by Mike McCormick who actually creates an iPad mount for a tri-pod. While I see no links to any instructions it gave me enough visual info that I think I might try and rig up something similar. Stay tuned to see if I'm successful with this DIY.

What about you? Were you able to rig something up for your iPad? Tell me about it.

Brewing Beer the Hard Way

As someone who creates with her hands you can well assume that I'm a big fan of DIY projects. I love looking at tutorials and how-tos to create things most people would automatically buy. Fortunately for me, I married someone else who is just as DIY as myself. Except for the lack of space all our projects create, it's great to live with someone who is just as excited to create something new with hands. Over the years we've created our own soap and shampoo, grown our own fruit and veggies, canned jam and pickled veggies, baked our own bread and pies, made candy and even did a bit of our home renovations.

One D.I.Y. project that seems to be expanding in scope at our house is the brewing of beer. At one time my husband, Francois, would buy whatever kit and create your standard home-brew. Over the years he's gotten himself quite a stash of adapted equipment and he now not only brews various types of beer at home but he has also started growing the hops and barley to put in the brews. For a couple weeks now he's been working on malting the barely to perfection. I  can also add that he's grown and processed sugar beets this year meant for a future batch. Is he hard-core or what?

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All A Man Needs Pictures - Pictures

To keep track of all his brews and experiments Francois has started a blog Although he's brand new to the blogging scene, he's got an impressive amount of info and video footage. Take a peek at the blog or his YouTube channel and you might just see some footage of my "helper" daughters. Feel free to comment too, I know he'd love it.

Our Westfalia The Blue Raja

  For today's post I thought I'd show you the latest addition to our family. Meet The Blue Raja. After several years of searching on Craigslist for a Westfalia, my husband found one for a great price the day after he posted an image of one on his vision board. My husband has wanted one of these vans for ages and I agreed that it would make a good replacement to our Taurus wagon. The wagon has been useful but I haven't really enjoyed driving it or paying for its costly repairs. Out with the old and in with the older!

The Blue Raja is an '83 and comes with a fully appointed interior. Two beds, two tables, a fridge, stove, and sink. It's only had two other owners and the last one owned it for about twenty years before he was not longer able to drive. Yup, it's a grandpa van.

Even though the van is in fantastic shape there are a few rust spots on it. My husband thought he would just "touch it up a bit" to make sure the rust wouldn't spread. Wouldn't you know that the van has become his current canvas and he has been spending all his free time making the Blue Raja look like new. We don't have a garage but we joke that he's finally created a man-cave for himself. Every guy needs a man-cave, especially a guy with two daughters. I hear the Blue Raja will be ready for driving this week. I can already picture us taking it down the California coast.

The New Floors are in!

This is a very happy post for me because I finally get to say that I've ripped up the disgusting old carpet in my rental and have replaced it with wood laminate. Well, I didn't do much but some prep work. My husband is the one who killed his back and cursed over tight spots. Thank you honey! I will buy you more Robaxacet.

I had put up a post on YouTube documenting some of the things we have done to our apartment as a visual record of the time, care and money we have put into our place. Many people have questioned why we would do so much to our place when we just rent but we've lived here for almost six years now and the dream of owning is long gone for us with the prices of real estate in Vancouver. We live in a suburb of Vancouver where a house down the street will sell for over a million dollars. Here's an example of a house in our area for the same age and size and one new. There's no way we can afford the mortgage payments on those, let alone the maintenance. On the flip side, to rent a 3 bedroom in this area would cost us at least $1500/month. That's approx. $500 more than what we're paying now. As you can see, the amount that we invested into our home is equivalent to maybe a couple months rent and we get to live with a better quality of life. So we lose our damage deposit(?!) but it's worth it. I can't tell you how happy, as someone with sometimes intense dust allergies, I am to get rid of that dirt trap of a carpet.

Our 20+ yr. old carpet

The mysterious lumps we found underneath. It felt like sand but we think it was deteriorated underlayment.

To date we've upgraded and repaired the following to our apartment:

-replaced floors in the kitchen, hallway, bathroom and living room

-replaced kitchen counters

-installed subway tile backsplash in kitchen

-replaced cracked toilet with a brand new one

-installed baseboard moldings

-installed a ceiling fan in the main bedroom

-replaced bathroom lights

What has the owner supplied you ask? Well I can't say they haven't done anything because after three years of requests, I was finally able to get a new fridge. (You should have seen my hydro bill) I also got a new oven and a new dishwasher after I poked my finger through a rust spot on the inside of the machine in front of the landlord. So I am thankful for the things they have done.
Here are a few "After" shots:

Front hall through to main bedroom

Living room from hall

Living room from kitchen

So what do you think? We're no "Holmes on Homes" but I think our place is finally turning into a family home.