Happy Winter Solstice!

I just wanted to share a wonderful gift I was given. Several amazing, Canadian Etsy talents that I have the pleasure of chatting with almost daily decided to exchange gifts this year to celebrate the winter solstice. What a great idea! And how much fun is it to open a gift a few days before Christmas.

My package arrived early so I have been staring at for the past week as it sits next to my computer. Sitting there, tempting me...but I was strong. My lovely gift was from Monika of Emburr , who has a shop full of gorgeous pottery.

This is what she sent me; an amazing hand quilted bookmark, gorgeous clay buttons with a sunburst and a greeting card with an original drawing by one of Monika's favourite local artists.

Thanks so much Monika!

Happy Solstice Everyone.

So much fun at the Open House!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting in person, two people I met on the Canadian Thread on Etsy. This group of mostly women, and a couple gents, have been a daily connection for me and it was fun to finally now put a face to the name of two more. Shannon from ShannonsIrishBliss generously let us take over her house for the show and indeed we did. There were seven of us displaying our goods. Included in that seven was Wendy from Pook&Thy. If I say it was pleasure to meet them it will sound cliché but it really was a pleasure. What could be better than a relaxed atmosphere, friendly conversations, lots of laughs and the most amazing shortbread cookies by Shannon. Yes, Wendy, (I still like to call you Pook) I liked the cheese you brought as well!!

Here's a couple pictures of us:

Shannon, me and Wendy.

Don't ask me about this one but Wendy made us do it!

Hopefully we can do it again sometime!

Ready for a Little Shopping?

Weekend Sale November 13th - 15th

Save 10% off all items in my etsy shop!!

Check out these fabulous weekend deals from TEAMT!

(Scroll down for easy viewing)

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Enjoy!

Drop by nancywallisdesigns for 10% off all purchases November 13th - 15th.

(Refunds by Paypal after transaction, does not include shipping.)

What a Nice Thing to Wake Up To

This morning when I turned on my computer I was greeted with this nice surprise. It's always a treat to be on the front page.



This beautiful treasury was created by Pegg of fiveforty. Pegg not only weaves her magic when creating her beautiful treasuries but also in her gorgeous woven rugs made out of recycled textiles and fabulous, one of a kind jewellery.

Thanks so much!

Can I say Whoo Hoo!?!!

Well today I was lucky enough to be featured in an Etsy front page early this morning.




Love this autumn treasury by smallearthvintage. Thank you Karen!

...and then not even 6 hours later my treasury was featured on the front page.




Congrats to all! I know that fiveforty's bracelet sold. Whoo hoo!

Happy Shopping with Weekend Deals!!

This weekend, in my Etsy shop, I'm participating in a special

'Weekend Deals' sale.

From Friday, September 25th to Sunday, September 27th

you can enjoy a savings of 10% off all purchases.

Yes, everything. Even sale items.

Necklaces


Earrings

Bracelets

All savings will be refunded after purchase through paypal.

Discount does not include shipping.

In order to qualify for the sale you must put Weekend Deals in message to seller when checking out.

Returning Customers, if you have a current 10% Gift Certificate from a previous purchase you may use it. I will combine the two offers together for a total savings of 20%.

In order to qualify for the extra savings you must put Weekend Deals and the code given on your Gift Certificate code in the message to seller.

See shop announcement for more details. Please convo me if you have any questions.

.. and if you are looking to get an early start on your holiday shopping, check out the weekend deals offered by my fellow TEAMT members (Etsy group Team Treasury). Simply search at Etsy all items for TEAMT and start saving... here is a list of the TEAMT members participating in the weekend deals special, each offering 10-25% off specialty items ranging from art, bath and body, knits, jewelry, pottery, clothing, bags, vintage and more... take a look on the individual shops for instructions.














































Happy Shopping!!!

My Point of View

We woke up to a temperature of about 28 degrees (celcius). Bright sunshine, almost cloudless sky and it was getting hotter by the hour. By the peak of the afternoon it reached 33 or 34 degrees.

Out from our hotel, across the Bay of Naples you can see Mount Vesuvius faintly in the distance. To the right of the mountain is where you would find Pompeii. This is where we were headed on our first full day in Italy.

It was on August 24th, 79 A.D. that the volcano of Mount Vesuvius erupted. Smoke, mud, flames and burning stones spewed from the summit of the mountain sending a rain of ash and rock. It completely immersed Pompeii killing about 20,000 people.

It's hard to believe but before Pompeii was excavated the remains of the volcano were higher than the tallest buildings here. The eruption actually captured a moment in time. Under the ash everything remained as it was at the time of the eruption...buildings, artwork and even people in their most desperate hour.

Along the way it was discovered that instead of digging up the skeletal remains of the person plaster could be injected into the ground and allowed to dry. When excavated it captured exactly what the person was doing, the skeleton remaining complete inside the plaster 'mold'. Here a man crouches down, his face in his hands waiting for death. You can't help but feel the pain that these people went through. It was a very emotional experience and even now writing it brings me right back to those feelings.

Many urns and pots have been discovered and housed now in this outdoor warehouse.

The body of a dog was discovered. His collar was easily visible.

These round pits in this counter would actually hold food that would be bought by the villagers. Similar in a way to the fast food of our time.

To the right are ovens where bread would be baked and sold.

Rest in Peace our sweet Sunni

For such a small little animal you brought us alot of smiles. You will be remembered for your adventurous spirit, your acrobatics and your never-ending quest to make the perfect home. You were a very caring and good sister. We will miss you Sunni.

Sunni (the gold one) with her sister Sophie behind her.

Inspirations...

It's not hard to find inspiration when you see colours like these.

Gorgeous blues, teals, aquas and olives.

'Watercolours' a new bracelet listed in my Etsy shop.

My Point of View

We arrived in Naples to gorgeous sunshine and hot, hot temperatures. It was about 32 celcius and it didn't stray too much from this for the entire trip. Apparently Southern Italy was experiencing a bit of a heatwave and even the evening temperatures did not dip much below 28! So let's just say we were continuously hot and had sweat dripping down our backs most of the time! (lovely visual isn't it?!!)

After about an hour shuttle ride we arrived at our hotel...

...this is the view from the hotel terrace.

...and here from the sea.

Every direction you looked was filled with beauty. I think I must have landed in heaven.

My Point of View

My husband and I were very fortunate this year to have been able to travel to Italy this summer. It was an amazing eight days! The first leg of our trip was with my husband's company and then we spent the last three together on our own.

With incredible timing we managed to take off before the tornadoes hit Toronto. I am really glad I heard about this weather after the fact! We later learned we must have been one of the last flights out until after the storm had passed. We knew other friends with later flights that sat on the tarmac for over 3 hours. Of course, for others there were many missed connections due to the delays, redirections and needless to say many lost bags.

So really, our flight was quite uneventful - the way that I like it. We were on a big jumbo jet, the kind that has the second level and to our surprise that's where our seats were. They're just regular, economy seats in the upper deck, no bar or disco dance floor as my husband had hoped but kind of fun anyways. We flew Toronto to Paris and then Paris to Naples. With only an accumulation of 15 minues sleep on the first flight I was pretty tired landing in Paris but we made the most of our 2 1/2 hours. We bought a great cup of coffee and a fresh pastry in the Paris terminal and we managed to snag two lounge chairs and rest our eyes a bit before our next flight.

I think we were served a light breakfast on this next flight. I no longer knew what meal my body wanted or even if it wanted anything at this point. I just ate what was put in front of me. On a flight it's like an event, you earnestly watch the flight attendant as they approach your seat until they pass you your plastic tray. You carefully eye the food as you unwrap your plastic dinnerware. I've never been so excited about a plain semi-fresh muffin and a strawberry yogourt before! Ah, 15 minutes have passed. What will happen next? Coffee, tea some water perhaps? How am I going to wake the guy next to me so I can get up and go to the washroom? Should I wake him up? I have to wake him up! I can't sleep on a plane. I haven't slept at all. I have to get some sleep! I want to get off this plane. I wonder if my luggage will be there?...ah, the ramblings of my mind while flying. Next thing I know, as I finally feel like I've started to doze off a rather loud announcement is made declaring that we are making our descent and we will arrive in about 30 minutes. Couldn't they tell us this in 30 minutes?!!

We arrive in Naples.

...stay tuned.

That's Amore!

So here it is September already and I'm just finally adjusting back to our time zone. Italy was beautiful. Most definitely a trip of a lifetime for me and the inspiration behind this Etsy treasury.

Over the next few weeks I'll share some of my photos and memories from the trip, some great views, fabulous foods and I will try my hardest to describe the incredible flavours of the gelato that we indulged in.

You'll find all the above products in these fabulous Etsy shops.

ThePeachTree, oliveandollie, ipaintpictures, eclu, vintageaimee, RickRackQueen, jennyndesign, crabvilleinautumn, giardino, trendyknitting, BlueNostalgia, bovinebubbles.

Love Wins...

Ah...I've been very neglectful of my blog this summer (not to mention my own website). C'est la vie! (I suppose.) I am always very productive in September when I get in my back-to-school mode (even though it's been quite some time that I've actually gone back to school) so I have vowed to myself to blog more regularly in the fall. In the meantime here's a little peek at my latest etsy treasury.

Check out these fantastic artists.

elefint, JewelsofEden, cyndiesmithdesigns, carvelcountrysoaps, fiveforty, InboundThread, eightfold, glassetc, eclu, PipingHotPapers, Sooooound, JenSanCandles

In My Backyard

This afternoon I was outside on the patio taking pictures of my jewellery when I noticed a mourning dove sitting underneath our bird feeder. It's a pretty common occurence for us to see this but this time I had my camera in hand.


When I was younger I thought they were called 'Morning' Doves, made perfect sense I often saw them in the morning but when I later learned it was 'Mourning' I always had a strange appreciation for them. Their sombre cooing sound always made me feel a bit sad for them and their propensity for just sitting on the ground always made me a bit worried for their safety.
You wonder if these birds are just so naive that they think they are safe there, confident that they could fly away if danger arose or just hopeful of the world and it's surroundings around them - a trust in the world that they will be safe. Be safe little bird.

Long time no see...

...can it really be almost a month since my last post? Where does the time go? Well I've been pretty busy.

Here are a few of my new designs.



















Freshly squeezed 'Fuschia Lemonade'.











'Fresh' , gorgeous green and turquoise glass with antiqued copper.


















'Paprika Waters', hot and spicy paprika red is a beautiful complement to the cool water colours of aqua and green.

Food for Thought...

...a feast for the eyes.

The smell of warm bread wafting through the street...

A woman in a business suit and heels carrying a warm baguette home for dinner - not even placed in a bag but clutching the narrow loaf with a small square of wax paper...

chocolate, raspberries, whipped cream...

works of art in their glass cases...

an ice cream cone presented in the shape of rose petals...

...such care and pride taken in the making and presentation of food. This food was meant to be enjoyed, each mouthful tasted, digested. It is the complete opposite to our hurried, grab what you can fast food culture. Few cafe's even provide take out coffee cups. Sit down, enjoy and have a conversation. What a concept!

...it's easy to stop and smell the roses when you're on holidays and especially when it's made of vanilla bean, coffee and pistachio flavoured ice creams...but it does make you realize that somehow our fast and 'I'm so busy' lifestyle is missing something...and I'm not speaking of fancy french pastries...there's just something you can't get while racing through the drive through line of Tim Horton's.

My Point of View...

...from the Eiffel tower...

....sigh.

Inspirations....

Claude Monet

No vacation has ever affected me like this one did. Full days of walking through museums, churches and old buildings provided what was almost an overstimulation of artwork and history. Weary feet and tired eyes at the end of the day could barely take in any more beauty. This time away allowed me to rest my head of everyday stresses and open my mind. Creatively, my head is in a wonderful place. It's full of colours and visions and thoughts. The visions I can't complete at the moment I scribble and draw on scraps of paper so I won't lose the image.

Although this image of Waterlilies, Matin is small and so tiny compared to the floor to ceiling sized canvases I was lucky enough to see in the Musee de L'Orangerie it still can pinpoint my inspiration. The right hand side of this painting is a gorgeous mixtures of aqua blues and greens.

Here's my interpretation ....Waterlilies ~ glass and copper earrings.