5 Questions: science + crafting = awesome

There's just something about science that I love, I guess it's because being creative is all about experimentation; and so; obviously, is science. There is a whole sub-genre of Geekery on Etsy; nerd with cool factor thrown in for good measure. and one of my favourite Geekery shops on Etsy is Scientific Culture. With a range of items from famous scientist finger puppets, Microbe button and magnet sets and stuffed e-coli bacteria that not only have cool factor, but also some serious cuteness quotient to boot! I've had my eye on the Dinosaur buttons for the Peanut's birthday grab bags and they're in the mail as I type this. They are going to be a huge hit with the Peanut's friends.

Every last bit of it is part of Kate McCurrach's quest to meld science and art. With a degree in cellular, molecular, microbial biology Kate is mad about everything science and she loves to spread her excitement through her cute science crafts. Kate expands her love of combining creativity with science in her blog of the same name. You can also follow her on Twitter, and go ahead and "like" scientific culture on Facebook too. When you're finished there; head over to flickr to take a sneak peak into all things scientific culture.

For answers to my most pressing questions, keep reading. As always if you see something you like, click on the picture to get more information; all images are linked to the corresponding Etsy listing.

So, without further ado:

Can you describe the palette you use to create with, what colours do you always “reach” for?

I’m a huge fan of all muted and jewel tones. They let me keep my projects bright and punchy without being too overwhelming.

Do you listen to music when you create? If yes, what's on your play list right now and why?

Music is a wonderful influence on my creating; it helps me keep to a strong positive work ethic and makes long nights of embroidery or photoshop run smoothly. Right now I’ve been listening to a lot of CBC Radio 3 inspired folk-y musicians (Aidan Knight, Dan Mangan, Matthew Barber) as well as some melodic females (Laura Marling, Regina Spektor). I sometimes throw in some more upbeat Canadians (Mother Mother, Tegan and Sara, Said the Whale) depending on my mood – plus it feels great to support Canadian musical culture!

What got you started?

I’ve been crafting for as long as I can remember and am always exploring ways to meld science (influenced from my degree in cellular, molecular, microbial biology) and art! I decided to take the plunge into Etsy selling after three long months of medical leave and some helpful branding from a graphic designer friend.



If you were granted 3 wishes to furnish your dream studio space, what do you choose and why?

Wish 1 – Unlimited funds! I’d love to be able to focus my life on creating but the realities of life (and budget) really don’t allow for it.

Wish 2 – New tools! What I wouldn’t give for a serger, sharper pair of pinking sheers, and a cat free cutting table!

Wish 3 – Martha Stewart’s design team. Mmm…



Which Children's book character would you be and why?

Hermione Granger - overachieving, book smart, and drawn to red heads.

A thousand Words

What you get when you mix a 3 year old with a horse

Circle 'round and I'll tell you the tale

of the first ever extreme makeover that turned a lowly scullery maid into a beautiful princess to send her to the ball.

Growing up we moved a lot, wherever we ended up living my Mom always planted a bleeding heart in the front garden. My Mom taught me this when I was a little girl and then promptly regretted it when I denuded all her bleeding heart blossoms to do it myself. So here we go How to tell the story of Cinderella with a flower:




take a full bleeding heart blossom from your plant (if the flower doesn't belong to you please ask permission first) turn it so that the bottom of the flower is facing up. this is the beautiful ball gown created by the Fairy Godmother.








Very carefully pull off the outer pink petals to reveal the magical coach. you can imagine the wheels turning as she speeds over the roads to get to the ball before midnight.















Every Princess needs to accessorise. Gently pull the heart shaped pieces apart. These two pieces are Cinderella's drop earrings.










And of course the heart of the story: Shoes. pull the center of the coach apart to make a lovely pair of slippers to fit on her tiny feet, notice that the slippers are perfect for dancing until midnight.







And in the end; none of it would have happened had there not been a magic wand to help create it.

The glue that sticks it all together

So our trip.

As always trips back to see family are never long enough, add in a big family gathering on one day in the trip and it feels doubly so. We celebrated my Gran's 91st birthday and the husband's 39th with a family BBQ and cake. My sisters were present with my nephews and there were kitties and puppies galore for the Peanut to run after and pet and demand that they sit.

We're headed back again soon though. The husband has a family reunion taking place at the beginning of June and we're not missing it.

We're back

It was such a whirlwind trip. I have lots to share but not until I've got everything unpacked and I've had a chance to process the ending of LOST... Also there's an artist feature that I have to catch up on, a birthday party to plan and some gardening to catch up on too, not to mention all those blog posts I've missed out on over the last 8 days or so.

One more sleep

and we are on our way!

I'll post once we're there.

Most probably with Photographs only.

Have a great weekend!

And Away We Go!

We are once again hitting the road for a week long visit with the family. Other than that it's been a year since we've seen our family it is also My Grandma's 91st Birthday and we want to be there to help her celebrate it. She's a feisty lady and I always enjoy having a chat with her. This party will be the first one we've been to since I was carrying the Peanut on the inside. I plan on taking a photograph of the Peanut, her Auntie myself and my Mom together.

What this means is that we're busy getting ready to hit the airport and fly away and I'll be less available to post. Don't get me wrong, I'll post as much as I can but you'll be hearing from me less than normal until we're back home and wishing we'd gone to a nice tropical beach instead...

in a few words

Best Dance class ever, good friends, roast Lamb and apple pie. Breakfast at the Diner (the one featured in Fringe a few weeks ago), garden centre, English lavender, black earth, free bike. Morning snuggles, I love you to the carrot and back, Mothers day portrait, playground, walk past dream home, bus, outside painting, BBQ, Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Wet

We've backslid.

Nearly a months worth of waking up dry while sleeping in our undies has ended with three accidents since last Friday. It may be time to re-institute The Chart. I'm sure that it's a controversial subject; bribing your child to change their behavior, but it works for us.

My main concern when we started with the chart was that we would be in a perpetual chart/reward cycle. We had gone a month without a chart and I was pretty pleased about being able to let the chart drift off into oblivion... I patted myself on the back too soon and also; I didn't count the fact that preschoolers talk. To each other. About their charts...

We had a play date last week with two of our very bestest friends who also have charts. There was apparently a little chart comparison going on between them because I was asked where The Peanut's chart was a few times. And then The Peanut started talking about what she wanted to earn for her chart next...

Of course, to be honest; the night time accidents started a few days before the play date but the chart talk didn't.

I'm now thinking that if the weekend passes with another middle of the night bed change there will be a new chart on the microwave and a new reward for fully filled in boxes for a stretch of nights where she's stayed dry. Now to find an inexpensive reward and to figure out how to stop those little conversations she and her friends have where they compare notes...

A Thousand Words

when she tells you she's a fairy you don't argue

Work in Progress Wednesday

I'm sure that I've mentioned here and there that I'm working collaboratively with the Husband on a new project that I'm hoping to list in PeanutButterPie. To be honest, it's been in the works since last fall when I finally went out and visited the local stained glass supply store. So what is this collaboration you ask? Sun catcher/ornaments made from sandwiching painted glass microscope slides.

Last Thursday I gave you a sneak peek at part of the process with the photo of one of the stamps I've been making as part of the process.

We've been working off and on over the months, perfecting our techniques and learning about what works and what doesn't work. For me it's been about figuring out how to create the look that I want, for the Husband it's been about solder techniques for glass (he has been doing solder work for bass and guitar stomp boxes for years now and offered to wield the iron for me with this project) So here's some of the work we've been doing together

Up all night and awake all day

could be the theme of the weekend for us. The Peanut woke up early (and I mean so early that it was still late) Saturday from a nightmare and crawled into bed with us and fidgeted and squirmed until the Husband left the room and went to sleep in her room. We were up nice and early Saturday then we repeated the whole process again last night with a wet bed in place of the nightmare. Add in a fierce windstorm and we were awake most of last night too and up this morning.

Also on the agenda this weekend was a lone trip for me to the book store and and afternoon to myself where I immersed myself in a new project with my x-acto blade, papers and glue and my latest 5 question feature... other than our sleeping issues it was a good weekend. How was yours?