Introducing The Singalong Salon

The Singalong Salon is the most relaxing and joyful way to make music together.

I welcome participants three times a week into my home in midtown Toronto.

Wednesday at 10am,
Friday at 1.30pm and
Sunday at 7.30pm.

We chat, get to know how everyone is doing, and do some relaxation, centring and singing exercises. I introduce some singalong songs and rounds and offer everyone an opportunity to request songs for the group to sing.

The cost is $5 or PWYW.



Everyone is welcome.

Everyone can sing.

I can't wait to welcome you to The Singalong Salon.

Please email openyourvoice@yahoo.com for information.

Mitzi's Maple Marzipan Shofar Sugar Cookies

Sometimes there's a deal at Value Village that I just can't pass up. This week it was a bag full of cookie cutters. The new cutters got mixed in with the old and suddenly I'd reached critical mass.

Time to learn how to make sugar cookies.  Good thing I have a potluck coming up and a shofar cookie cutter. A search on Google for pretty shofar cookie pictures turned up a big fat zero as far as I'm concerned. A visit to Pinterest sent me down the rabbit hole of Royal Icing inspiration, recipes, tutorials, shopping lists and words to the wise.

It looked like I would be doing quite a bit of shopping if I was going to follow all these instructions. I was ready to hop in the car and buy some food coloring and cookie icing supplies at Michaels or Target. My good deal on the cookie cutters was about to turn into a potentially expensive shopping trip.

A search on the Vitamix site for their cookie recipe led me to a description of how to make marzipan stuffed sugar cookies: 

Just cut out a batch of sugar cookies, two of each shape. Then spread marzipan on one, dampen the edges, and put the second cookie on top. Press the edges together, bake, and decorate–and you have a holiday cookie sandwich!

Now we're talking!!

"Can I make the batter in my Vitamix?" Google does not seem to want to answer this question.  I decide to try it using this recipe. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Of course by the time I get half way through creaming the sugar and butter I discover that my almond extract has gone AWOL. Maple extract will do just fine. This is Canada after all.

Now for the challenging part. It's time to combine the wet and dry ingredients. I don't want my cookies to be tough so I'm going to mix them by hand in a bowl.

Speaking of AWOL, the picture I took of the marzipan glistening as it was spread onto the cookies has disappeared from my camera. Please use your imagination.

About to go in the oven there were no beauty queens to photograph.

Fresh out of the oven they still aren't pretty but having sampled a broken one I can assure you they're delicious. The batter and marzipan were simple to mix up in the Vitamix and they didn't turn out too tough or too sweet. Success. 

Wishing you a sweet New Year. L'Shanah Tovah!!

Happy Hallowe'en

He'll be coming for you and your candy.

 But first he needs his breakfast.

Following Trends Right On Your Blog

I'm pretty excited that I can embed a TrendSpottr Widget right in my blog now. I think I'll add one of these beauties to my blog post from now on.

  What trends do you want your readers to be the first to know about? Your town, your country, your favorite brand, band or Artist? To add Trending content to your own blog on any topic, keyword, hashtag or phrase just head over to TrendSpottr to customize and grab a free widget.

Guess what I'm reading?

Thanks to a scrap of lovely Tiffany Blue ultra suede, a few eyelets and a couple of my beloved raggedy fabric 'strings' from my stash, only my librarian knows for sure.

Friends journal page

This page used many of the materials and techniques I've been playing with lately:

spray inks

sewn and gessoed magazine journals


altered punches and tags



sizzix diecuts

Location:Friends

The Noise of Toronto

Inspired by the first Noise Project prompt, I've been listening to the sounds of Toronto, trying to decide if they constitute noise, and thinking about what noise means to me. I 've been considering dropping out of the project because all of a sudden it hit me that noise is a pejorative and I don't want to clutter my creative process with negativity. If I turn it around and think of it as unorganized sound it becomes much more appealing as a subject.

Toronto can be very grey this time of year and the sounds have the same dull and continuous roar that I associate with that colour. It also has a tremendously vibrant and varied ethnic population and many of the spoken words that stick out of this aural landscape are in languages I don't speak or understand. 

I searched Google Translate for how to write Toronto in different languages and fonts. Writing them multiple times on one page produced this beautiful image:

டொராண்டோடொராண்டோடொராண்டோடொராண்டோடொராண்டோடொராண்டோடொராண்டோடெ
トロントトロントトロントトロントトロントトロントトロントトロントトロントトロ
多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦多多伦
تورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونتوورونت
ТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронтаТаронта
टोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटोरंटोटो
تورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنتوتورنت
โตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโตรอนโตโ
ٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹورنٹوٹو
טאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָטאָראָנטאָ
טורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטורונטוטור

I was going to do an image transfer into my book but our printer is out of ink (as usual). I used a pigma micron pen to copy each language into my journal and then began writing over and over each word trying to replicate the feeling of hearing something sort of familiar over and over again but never quite catching the meaning. 

The characters of the different languages are so enchanting. They make me long to understand how the shape is made, how the meaning is conveyed, how they translate to spoken word.

This would have been a base layer underneath a grey watercolor wash but I'm kind of loving how it looks all on its own.

Please join me in taking a look at what some of the other Noise Intercepted participants have been working on.

Rough Around the Edges

What to do when you have a pile of old jeans and hand printed fabrics and scraps of batting lying around? Cut them all up into squares and circles, lay them out in a pleasing pattern, sew the circles together, add a wavy line of quilting and then throw the completed rug in the washer and dryer to make it even more faded and ragged.

These pictures were taken before I washed it.








These were taken this morning. We love using this new quilt as a rug in front of the couch. It's hard to say whether we prefer the colourful side or the denim side with all its texture and variations in blue.

The wavy quilting shows up best on the back. It looks like circles have been sewn around each square.

The Noise Project

Today I signed up to be a collaborator on Noise Intercepted. 

Noise Intercepted is a series of ten experience-activated noise challenges that prompt participants to listen, observe and interact with their urban soundscape in new and unlikely ways. 

This is how I introduced myself:

I’m a classically trained singer and a mostly self taught fibre artist.

The most exquisitely pure High C I’ve ever heard, the one that transports me into shivers of ecstasy when I hear a diva sing it at the emotional climax of an aria is another person’s equivalent of fingers on a blackboard.

My children are shocked by the annoyance I feel when I hear the remix of their pop songs on the radio. The incessant beat and repeating snippets of music drive me crazy.

Relatives beg us not to give their children noisy toys or instruments yet I was never irritated by my kids’ rattles, buzzers and bells and I thrill every time they practise violin.

Much of the work I do involves the obscuring of text. I take pure unfiltered communication and turn it into the equivalent of visual noise. I’m curious to see how these prompts will affect my practise.

When I make improvisational quilts and journal pages, are the results just messy or are they art?

The image I used for my profile pic is an Instagram I took of a scarf I made yesterday in Karen Chisvin's Fibre Art Workshop at Karma Creative. We explored making Shibori-inspired designs on a silk scarf using Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. I added journalling about the major challenges my aging father is dealing with, making sure to use plenty of rubbing alcohol on the words so that they would bleed and run into the cloth, leaving just an echo of my heartfelt communication. 

The scarf is now scrunched down into my late mother's Waterford(?) crystal vase. An edge or two pokes out of the top like an Easter Lily, like the new growth we long for after a bleak winter.

As Eyal and I walked and talked this afternoon I kept an ear tuned to the hum of the city and wondered how it is going to be represented in my work this week. The response to the first challenge is due one week today. I'll keep you posted.

Stash Busting the Modern Way

I've been feverishly working through my stash of scraps. It's time to get rid of all the strips, squares and orphan blocks that have accumulated through the years. My goal is to use every little piece that has been hanging around and weighing me down.

I didn't want to make a standard scrap quilt this time so it was time to do some research. In my searches of Pinterest and the web I've come across images of Modern Quilts that appeal to me. I love this image from TeaGinnyDesigns

and I cannot remember how long I've been wanting to do an x & + quilt like the one in this tutorial by BadSkirt

So now it's time to try to turn my old style pile of scraps into something modern and playful like this. Wish me luck!











Japanese x and + quilt tutorial, a photo by badskirt - amy on Flickr.

Do 40 Things

I want to thank the bloggers, tweeters and pinners who inspire me to create, to breathe and to go make something. Although I probably spend too much time surfing the web without their inspiration my creative life would be less rich.

Carolyn Dube has been wild about her Gelli plate lately. I'm glad I finally took a trip to Curry's and picked one up for myself.

As I looked at a printed page in my journal and wondered what to do with it I remembered my constant mantra when stuck with a messy house, desk or studio: Do 40 Things, or 20 things, or as many things as it takes for the job to be done. Sometimes I am waylaid by inspiration or necessity as I try to get the 40 things done. Sometimes I just slog through, do the 40 Things and go back to surfing.

I hope I'm not too late to thank Carolyn for her inspiration by linking to her Gelli Party.

Happy new Year! I hope our year to come is filled with joy, love and creativity.

Happy Dance

Look what just came in the mail! I was so thrilled to hear from Carolyn at A Colorful Journey that I had won the Fall Fearless and Fly draw at Artists in Blogland. I've been wanting to try these Dylusions Ink Sprays that all the Art Journalers rave about and now I have no more excuses.




These are the six colours that came in my package:

Bubblegum Pink - yum
Lemon Zest - zingy
Black Magic - oooo mysterious
London Blue - blimey
Melted Chocolate - double yum
Vibrant Turquoise - my favorite

I'm going to join DH on the couch for an episode or two of Lois CK, then I'll watch this spray ink demo, and then it's play time!

Speak Your Truth

For a not very observant new-Jew I sure spend a lot of time reflecting and creating art on Jewish themes. The City Shul is offering a meditation class which started this morning. After leading us through a couple of different meditations our teacher Elaine talked briefly about Jacob wrestling with the angel in this week's Parsha and then we were asked to meditate on a few questions. These questions asked us when and why we do or do not speak our truth.



I wrote these few words in my notebook as I came out of the guided meditation and then transferred them to my art journal this afternoon.

What does it mean to speak your truth?

Feeling?

Experience?

Insight?

Desire?

Expectation?

Requirement?

A gift from the soul that you share with those you care about = The entire world.

But what does that have to do with wrestling with the angel?

The Magen David in this image was an orphan block. I originally sewed some pieces of fabric together   to be part a baby quilt, and then it was going to be a kippah, and then it sat in my studio asking for a home and now it is gelled to a page of this journal and painted over and journalled around and has found a new life.


What I have discovered through meditation is that my truth is to be found in the pause between my breaths. A place without words.

Being the Change

Today my daughter and a couple of her cousins worked on an Art Journal honouring my husband's side of the family and all of its wonderful traditions.


Jewish holidays, Shabbat, birthdays and vacations are all enjoyed together. My husband's late Safta Mania loved to visit us from Israel because it was always a party!

The girls working together to create this project exemplifies the close family connections that we are helping to create with all of our celebrations and traditions.

My heart overflows every time my daughter comes to ask for permission to use another product or element in her journal. Not only has she seen me working on my journals and wants to emulate me, she is also being respectful of our materials, ephemera and workspace.

I am scheppin naches.

Altered Magazine

Today I took the first steps to making my first Altered Magazine.

I read somewhere recently that 8 magazine pages sewn together makes a good thickness for an Art Journal canvas. It seemed to me that a New Yorker would be just the right size for and Art Journal. I grabbed one from the bottom of our enormous stack we always have lying around. I've always hated to throw them out and now I know why.



Heading to the sewing machine I sewed the magazine together 8 or so pages at a time. This is a great way to practise machine quilting and random stitching and is a lot of fun.


Next I squeezed a dollop of white gesso on a couple of pages at a time and played with smooshing random dollops of coloured acrylics around the gessoed pages. These two pages I covered entirely with paint.


On these two pages I let the texture of the stitching and the words show through.

I'm linking this post to Creative Every Day and Art Journal Every Day. These two blogs offer so much encouragement and inspiration. I hope you'll drop by and check out what some of the other bloggers are up to.

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you'll leave a comment. I love to hear what you think.

A Peaceful Chapbook

First I made a little book.


Then I painted many of the pages.


Then I added words of prayer and meditation.





Then I drew a mandala.


This is my first mandala. Drawing it brought me so much joy and pleasure it surely won't be my last.

I'm linking this post to Creative Every Day and Art Journal Every Day.

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you'll leave a comment. I love to hear what you think.

Instructions for Making a Reversible Journal Cover

Much as I hate to reinvent the wheel, or talk in cliches, sometimes I need to put in the time and effort and solve a design challenge for myself.



I'm sure there are a dozen places on the net where I could find a pattern for making a reversible journal cover but the lovely site I found this morning did not provide the exact instructions I needed.


I threw out the version I made using Alexandra's instructions and then spent the rest of morning happily cutting and sewing and ripping and scribbling notes in my journal and now I know how to do it.


Let's see if I can explain:

You will need three different fabrics for this project. I used scraps from my (enormous) decorator fabric stash. The fabric you use for the flaps should coordinate with each of the other two fabrics.

Measure the width (W) and height (H) and thickness of the spine (S) of the book you want to cover.

I'll use the measurements of the book cover I made this morning as an example.

W 8.5
H 11.25
S 1.5

When cutting your fabric pieces you will need to add a seam allowance of half an inch to the width and 1.25 inches to the height.


1. Cut one piece the size of the entire outside cover plus seam allowance from each of your fabrics.

I cut my three pieces 19 x 12.5 in


2.  To make the flaps cut the piece from your coordinating fabric in half

I ended up with two pieces 9.5 X 12.5 in

3. Press the flap pieces in half along the shorter side WRONG sides together and press. Next time I make one of these covers I will top stitch along the folded edge.

4. Layer all of the fabric pieces.

i) first cover face up
ii) one flap on each end, folded sides towards the middle
iii) second cover face down

5. Secure the layers with pins

6. Take the pinned layers to the sewing machine and sew them all together using a scant quarter inch seam. Leave an unstitched section on one long edge to turn the cover right side out.

7. Cut the thread and clip the corners before turning.

8. Turn the cover right side out. Use a capped pen or the end of a pencil to push the corners out completely if necessary.

9. Top stitch the long edges between the flaps closing the hole you left open for turning.

10. Put your cover on your book and enjoy!

11. Reverse it and see how it looks the other way!

Next time around I will experiment with decorating, painting, embroidering or otherwise embellishing one side of the cover before I sew it all together.

I'm linking this post to Creative Every Day and Art Journal Every Day.

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you'll leave a comment. I love to hear what you think. Please let me know if you make a cover and how it turned out.