Tuesday, August 31, 2010

gone camping...



:: 1st :: 

:: 2nd :: 

:: 3rd :: 

.......

we decided on a spur-of-the-moment-gotta-get-in-one-more-summertime-campout! so i'm off to beautiful georgian bay!
woohoo camping!

back tomorrow for more fun.
til then...

how about you? yay or nay to camping?
where do you love to camp?
mmmm... marshmallows! oh so bad BUT oh so good!
Pin It

Monday, August 30, 2010

photo essay: gosh darn crazy things.


 
all photos by mr. rikrak
..............
hokey dinah. 
i was witness to one of the craziest things i've EVER seen this weekend.

saturday, we *fall fair-ed* it at a nearby county fair with friends and partook of the wild ritual known as, that's right, the demolition derby!

crashup, smashup, motor-roarin' fun at it's best. 
now i've seen derby's on movies and tv (think happy days reruns & herby the love bug films) but to see this crazy CRAZY event live? good heavens!

it was 2 solid hours of holding-my-breath, eeks-n-shreiks,  full-bellied-laughs fun! safe to say our whole party loved it!

ah, gosh darn crazy things.
maybe i'll quit my day job to become a demolition derby queen!
oh-so-exhilariting, but sadly, maybe not-so-safe.

who's with me?
ever been?
what's the craziest *sorta-sporting* event you've seen?
{and i thought wwf entertainment wrestling was crazy in the 80s!}

..............
all photos by mr. rikrak


Pin It

and the winner is ...



happy monday, lovelies!
hope it was a grand grand weekend for you.

a congrats today goes out to our latest blog winner... lucky #75 ... yarn miracle!


and just look at this gorgeous gorgeous shop! filled with handmade handknit ecofriendly cutiepies for any age! i love it!

and such a pretty blog, too!

so yay to that! congrats yarn miracle - and thanks to everyone who played!

still time to enter to 
too!
yay!
Pin It

Friday, August 27, 2010

:: inspired reading :: Nikolski with guest blogger deanna



indie finds inspired by the book Nikolski
:: top :: geekel + gbrosseau  + holli 
:: bottom :: jenwildcat + blurrylens

...................

i've asked a dear friend, deanna, to be my first-ever guest blogger! she's always inspiring me with her wisdom + wit, kindness + generosity, supermommying + love of handmade. she's a delight & i know you'll love her too. in her series: inspired reading, deanna shares & discusses a fabulous book,  as well as some beautiful indie-finds garnered by her reading of it. yay to  great books & great friends!

...................


Have you ever felt that life was getting a little too ordinary, predictable, or just plain dull? 

I started the summer off in a bit of a rut. The sun was shining but laundry and dirty dishes seemed to pile up as fast as they could be done. One day, while chatting about books, a friend mentioned Nicolas Dickner's debut novel Nikolski, which had somehow eluded my notice in spite of its numerous literary awards. Fortunately I took up this recommendation the next day.

Nikolski tells the story of three young Montrealers. There is Joyce, a fishmonger with pirate ancestors who also freelances as a dumpster diver. Noah is an archeology student who spent his childhood as a nomad, traveling across Western Canada with his mother in a 1966 Bonneville station wagon named Grampa. And there is also an unnamed used bookseller with an heirloom compass that points towards Nikolski, Alaska.

The novel is imaginative, beautifully written, and terribly funny. More than once I was reminded of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. As with Márquez, the ordinary laws of physics and probability don't always apply in Dickner's fictional world. Magic is commonplace. Coincidence reigns. Noah awakes one morning to find the ghost of his great-great-grandfather sitting at the kitchen table. One night Joyce discovers the perfectly mummified body of an office worker in a downtown dumpster. The booksellers' flooded basement transforms into an icy sea complete with shells, urchins, and a Leviathan.

Nikolski is one of those novels you don't want to end. Even now, weeks after I turned the last page, I still find myself thinking about its characters and their stories. After finishing the book, life seemed a little more mysterious and amazing. In short, it was the perfect cure for my summer rut, and left me feeling as if one morning I too might find a distant ancestor sitting at my kitchen table.

...................

about the author: Deanna does most of her reading in Guelph, Ontario, where she's a stay-at-home Mom to a spunky 5-year-old daughter. Besides reading, she spends her time writing, baking, and hanging out at the park.

...................

wonderful! thanks so much dear deanna!
so how about you?
have you read nikolski? 
what did it inspire in you?
read a book that's inspired YOU lately? 
please tell us! we'd love to hear!

have a magical weekend, nicies!
Pin It

Thursday, August 26, 2010

oh the fotomat



i'm a nostalgic kinda gal.
{bet you guessed that, right?} 

now ... mr. rikrak & i are the same age, minus a few months.

and we were both raised in southern ontario, a few 100 kms apart. so we share a lotta fun growing up nostalgia, similar pop-culture loves, fun & funny memories of being a child in the 80s!

so imagine my surprise when i found out that mr. rikrak had no idea what my early 80's cultural reference to a *fotomat kiosk* was on this weekend's road-trip?!

good golly.
do you remember them?
anyone? 

you'd drive up to some fun strip-mall-parking-lot-mini-building-with-a-fun-slopey-roof and drop off your rolls of film (read: NOT memory cards!) and drive-back later to pick up your pictures!
magic!

it's a was a handmaking-photos-in-the-suburbs-likkity-splitly-dream!

ONE DAY photofinishing at it's best!

*sigh*






.............

and i love how these abandoned ones have been repurposed into fabulous new kiosks!
like the world famous crochet museum! 

.............



and this one revamped into a cute little coffee shop!

yay to repurposing!
miss you ...  fotomat!

image sources
......
......

Pin It

lucky #419



so many thanks to ALL of you for your wonderful, wonderful entries in the latest *i love my sponsors* giveaway!

it was a delight to read your
responses, see what you love, + hear your tales of telling your own loved ones how much you care for them! yay love!

congrats to random.org's lucky # 419 ... burlap+ blue! good heavens - what a gorgeous + beautiful blog you have, nicey! and be sure to visit her most beautiful shop, filled with vintage inspired delights (like adorable dessert pedestals = my fave!) and gorgeous tile coasters!

yay to that!

okay nicies: 2 other giveaways you can still enter...

:: 1 ::

and 

:: 2 ::
the bkd signature giveaway

see you soon with more fun, lovelies!

Pin It

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

giveaway & a recipe: with BKD signature



summer winds down here in the north and end-of-summer family picnics, back to school and cozier weather fill our thoughts! so it's the perfect time for a scrumptious & yummy dessert recipe, right?! 

today, Brie of BKD signatures offers one of her family faves: double-decker chocolate & peanut butter fudge. (don't worry: it's not healthy any-which-way you cut it, but sure does look delicious!) 



..................
Double Decker Fudge
by Brie

2 cups (12oz package) Peanut Butter Chips (like Reese) , divided
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup  cocoa (like Hershey's)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ½ cups sugar
1 jar (7oz) marshmallow crème
1 ½ cups (12oz can) evaporated milk
¼ cup butter

1.    Line a 13x9x2-inch pan with foil.  Place 1 cup peanut butter chips in medium bowl; set aside.  In second medium bowl, blend ¼ cup melted butter, cocoa and vanilla until smooth; add 1 cup peanut butter chips.

2.    In heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar, marshmallow crème, evaporated milk and ¼ cup butter.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture comes to a rolling boil; boil and stir 5 minutes.

3.    Remove from heat.  Immediately add half of hot mixture to bowl with peanut butter chips only.  Pour remainder into cocoa mixture; stir to blend.

4.    Beat peanut butter mixture until chips are completely melted; spread evenly in prepared pan.

5.    Beat cocoa mixture until chips are melted and mixture thickens.  Spread evenly over top of peanut butter layer.

6.    Cool; remove from pan.  Remove foil; cut into squares.  Store in airtight container in a cool, dry place.

..................




holey moley YUM!
while your yummy fudge is cooling... how about checking out the wonderful shop of today's chef BKD signature: cute handmade jewelry & crochet!

Brie specializes in lovely chiyogami paper jewelry. so pretty! she's one of my fabulous sponsors this month and i'm so happy to have her! and ... read on to see how you can WIN a gift certificate from her lovely shop! 

...............

BKD signature

...............





.................................
.................................

--->  one lucky rikrak studio reader will win <--- 
a $30 gift certificate to the BKD signature shop!
wow!
and free worldwide shipping of your item!

1. visit the lovely BKD signature shop!
...  tell us about your favourite goodie & why you love it!
=   1 entry
2. tell us the name of your fave dessert recipe to make or bake!
=   1 entry

3. subscribe to the BKD signature newsletter.
...  and tell us
=   1 entry

4. follow both BKD signtaure (she's http://twitter.com/BKDSignature)
and me (i'm http://www.twitter.com/therikrakshop) on twitter.
...  and tell us
=   1 entry


5.  become a facebook fan of BKD signature.
... & tell us.
= 1 entry

6.  follow or subscribe to the rikrak studio blog
... & tell us.
= 1 entry

7. tweet on twitter
... about this giveaway and come back here and tell us! 
be sure to include @therikrakshop so i can find you! 
= 1 entry

8. blog about this giveaway
... come back and tell us.
= 1 entry

9. :: PLEASE NOTE: 
each entry must be it's own comment.
thanks! ::


..........................................
:: RULES ::
a) it is possible to have a maximum of 8 entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as it's own comment. thanks!

c) using random.org, 1 winner of the BKD signature giveaway will be chosen on thursday september 2nd @ 11 pm EST.
d) open to contestants worldwide.
e) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account doesn't link to one. thanks.


................................................
Pin It

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

come advertise with the rikrak studio blog


i just love my sponsors! i'm so thankful for their kind and artistic support each month! and i'm just delighted with how things are going, growing here on the blog with you lovelies. thank you!

so i'm very happy to be offering a few new ad spots as of today for SEPTEMBER, if you're interested!

with september comes a readying for the BIG holiday season, and i hope it might be a perfect time to showcase your beautiful shops & blogs for all of those early bird handmade shoppers out there!

if you feel that your shop, group or blog would be a good fit with the rikrak studio blog feel & focus, and are interested in rates, please email me at 
---> rikrakmail @ yahoo.com <---.

there's lots of continued fun coming up on the blog: funfun guests, more fabulous giveaways you're not going to want to miss, great games, fantastic features and, as always, a few extra fun surprises, too. being part of the fun is a great way to boost sales, increase exposure and build your little business in the handmade community, too!

i'm a handmaker & mommy and know it's a challenging economic time out there... so i try to keep the rates nice & reasonable.

i also love designing ads for folks that need them, too.
so just let me know if i can help!

so come & be part of the fun!
thanks so much, lovelies!
k.
Pin It

Monday, August 23, 2010

call for submissions!

oh happy day greeting card by HereMyDear
.....

wanted: a few wonderful folks who'd like to give something fun away from their beautiful handmade or vintage or supplies shop!

i'm gonna be hosting a GROUP giveaway on my blog next month - and if that sounds like something you'd like to be part of, please email me at rikrakmail  @  yahoo.com  with a link to your lovely shop! :)

i'll write back with more details to those that respond!

thanks for considering it!
yay giveaways!
Pin It

slumber party revealed: followup to *who are your top 3 beach party dates?*


....................................


don't you just love a slumber party? comfy pjs, silly movies, telling your friends, old & new, your thoughts & crushes & dreams.... such fun! so i thought i'd invite you to the fun continuing series on the rikrak studio blog... the rikrak slumber party. here's a followup to the question i asked a little while ago: who are your top 3 beach party dates?  thanks for your fun answers! be sure to visit all of the slumber party posts here and chime in!

....................................
vintage gingerale ad via leapinglemming 
..............
holey moley.
beach party dates are cute. :)


i asked.
you answered.
who would you bring?
there's a wee bit of a chill in the air today ,but i think our cute dates will keep us warm!

here are a few photos from our beach party!


.................

alright.
if i must, 
i'm willing to share george clooney with you nicies. 
seems like his beach party dance-card might be filled with: me , monique & kathy & kristi, and a few other fans! 

*sigh*
can i have him first for building-our-sand-castle-dream-house on the shore?



.................


 here's a fun pic of two of your dates together at the beach:
pamwares brought ed norton 
& miss freckles looks darling beside ralph fiennes.
.................


 alex keller swooned over tom cruise ("circa top gun!") flying in for the day... 


.................



and though she was allowed to bring THREE dates, marci girl said all she needed was the one and only hugh jackman! {wouldn't he be such a fun bonfire-hour singer! *sigh*!} 

.................


kristi & lori will have to duke it out for bradley cooper's lovely smile!

 .................



and PHEW!... once javier bardem showed up at the beach,
i didn't need to share george clooney with vadjutka! :)


 .................



seems like lauren + alex will be playin' in the waves with  
josh holloway.

  .................


 seems as though lori & luv2have are both smitten (bitten?!) with robert pattison and johnny depp...
great beach party minds do think alike!


   .................

looks like fellow canadian ryan reynolds will be there playing beachball with itchin' stitchin' & others!
   .................
and oh-so-wisely, miss freckles brought along daniel craig, too, "just in case there's any trouble!" - love it!

..........

so there you have it... some of our fun beach party dates.
don't forget to check out what everyone wore, too!

have a great summery day, nicies!


Pin It