New York State of Mind

My treasury made it to the front page of etsy last night. (A coveted event!)




New York is definitely on the list for places to visit. The last time I was there was 1993! Well, at least for now I can live vicariously though these creative moments of treasury making.

Inspirations

I thought you might be interested to see where my inspirations come from. I'm often inspired from traveling. I recently visited Laguna Beach, California. Absolutely beautiful and the perfect fall escape.

This was taken from our hotel balcony. Divine!

...and this is what it inspired me to make when I got home.

Listed in my etsy shop.

New Arrivals

Not only has summer passed but we're closely approaching October! ouch! That really does snap you into reality. Well that's really ok with me. The arrival of fall is always welcome. I love the colours, the cooler breeze, fresh picked apples and warm sweaters, not to mention the opportunity to put a little sparkle in your life.

New Glam Allure Vintage Jewels.

Just listed in my etsy shop.

A perfect party date!

Muskoka Arts and Crafts Summer Show

Our first showing at this beautiful show was a success! The 48th annual show this past weekend featured over 200 vendors and it was an absolute pleasure to be included among these quality artists. A really beautiful park setting alongside the Muskoka River helped to bring a small breeze through the intense heat and humidity. Whew! It was a hot one for sure!

I was lucky enough to have both my daughters help me prepare for the show, set up and work in the booth. I really couldn't have done it without them!




By the third day we had it down to an art!








I was really happy with the displays. They worked well for showing off the jewellery and for withstanding the occasional gusts of wind.








For three days this 10' x 10' space became our home sweet home. Thanks to all that came to visit! It was a pleasure to meet you.

What's in your Garden?

Look what I spotted in our garden this week.



I know these rabbits can be so destructive in the garden but this sweet little baby was so cute to watch. I'm sure his family was pretty happy when we planted our new vegetable garden this year. 'What? All of this for us? Ah, you shouldn't have.' So far so good though as we do seem to be sharing it. They have helped themselves to a couple of lettuce plants but not all of them. Hopefully we can coexist happily.

Today we will get our second shipment from the farmshare that we purchased this year. It's exciting to see what vegetables we will get this week. Stay tuned...

Bon Voyage!

I wanted to make sure to post my last photos of Annie and Oscar's family. It was such a short time from when we discovered them in our tree to hatching, growing and the inevitable flying away. I certainly enjoyed our time together.

They grew up so fast it was hard to keep up!

By May 18th the biggest of the two babies took his first flight and landed in this nearby tree.

By May 19th, one day later, they abandoned the nest. Here is the last view I had of the larger baby. He sat perched on this chair for a good hour before he flew off.

Now luckily enough they do visit our yard frequently. I have only seen one young one at a time but they are so similar looking I have no way of knowing if it's the same one or both at different times.

Anyways, I wish the best to Annie and Oscar and their young family. It was awesome how they let us become a part of their life for a few short weeks!

Bon Voyage my friends!

The Adventure Continues

A little update on Annie.

Annie and Oscar enjoying a tender moment.

The babies are getting so big!

Where did the time go?!!

Feeding time!

The Adventures of Annie

Last night we had quite the storm. Luckily it was short lived. Darkened skies at 5:30 p.m., so windy, thunder and lightening and rain. I'm not sure if it was the wind that knocked Annie out of the nest or if the thunder had startled her but we heard alot of commotion and flapping against the window and then she was gone. This was the first time we had seen her away from the nest. I teetered on a chair and could look into the nest hoping to see the eggs would still be there and not blown out. To our surprise, there are already baby birds there. At first I thought two but afterwards I think I could make out three little ones.

I was kind of worried that Annie might have injured herself . I found myself looking for her in the backyard. Silly really but I was worried about the little babies getting cold. Three hours later she returned to the nest. Relief.

This morning the sun was back and the wind has died down somewhat and Oscar showed up to check out and probably bring some food to the troops.

What a handsome fellow!

Robin in the "Rain"

It was almost two weeks ago when we spread a blanket of topsoil on our lawn, sprinkled grass seeds and crossed our fingers that we would have a lawn again. Since that day, and probably for days before that, we have not had any rain. So strange for the month of April.

So, I have a new morning ritual. After the girls leave for school I go out and position the hose and sprinkler and water the lawn. We don't have a large front yard but in order to do this with the least amount of waste, catch all the lawn area and not soak anyone while walking on the sidewalk (which is strangely not considered by many neighbours) I have to position it three different ways. It really doesn't take that long and has become a soothing, calm way to start the day.

Almost immediately, when turning on the sprinkler two little robins arrive. I look forward to their arrival and amuse at them skittering in and out of the sprinkler. They are just like a couple of kids. In getting closer to them over the days I'm pretty sure one is a mature male (maybe Dad) and the other one looks like a teenager, though I'm not much of a bird expert.

Here's the little guy from this morning. Isn't he cute? I must sound just like a proud Mama. Well, Mama Nature maybe - at least that's what I'd like to think. It's such a great feeling when you've had a hand in growing something and the fact that I can make a couple of birds have a better day as well is even better.


Annie update: For those of you who read my blog from a couple of days ago you would know that we have mourning doves nesting outside of our kitchen window. Annie is still in the nest (we have not seen her leave it). She is vigourously protecting her eggs through the fairly heavywinds and cool air. And, Oscar did make an appearance again a day ago - although he is a bit camera shy.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

So nice to turn on the computer to see my necklace on the front page!




Thanks to Jennifer of patinaphotography and her beautiful Lemon Pepper Treasury!

Let me introduce...

...Annie, a lovely mourning dove.




We discovered Annie, and her somewhat absent mate Oscar on Sunday night while eating our dinner. They have most graciously set up shop on our large climbing shrubs just outside one of our kitchen windows. They have even managed to place their nest low enough that while standing on a chair we will be able to peek into the nest. So far, Annie has not moved from the nest when we are looking but from what I've read it's likely there should be two eggs.


For such a large bird, the nest is quite flimsy looking. They have also picked a spot where the branches easily get caught in the wind. In fact, we were just about to trim this shrub quite far back because the branches brush up against the window until we made this discovery.


Today it is pretty cool and windy but Annie is calmly sitting there as she is blown back and forth. Hopefully Oscar shows up with some food soon.

Start Spreading the News...

It is just over a year ago when I 'met' Lisa from NYC. She bought a pair of my earrings from my Etsy shop. A sweet, friendly customer who had great taste in jewellery! Lisa also happens to be a film director which is pretty cool! So in March, when she purchased earrings from my shop again I was pretty excited as a returning customer is the biggest of compliments but I was even more excited to hear that she would be wearing them while shooting her next film.


The earrings are from my Glam Allure series.

Gorgeous vintage glass jewels that date back to the 1950's.

Lisa picked a pair that are in a beautiful pale aqua.

Here's Lisa wearing my earrings on set in New York City.

"The earrings look amazing on camera - they really glint in the light!

Almost like they are glowing.

Love it!... best, Lisa."

Lisa plays a character based on the Greek myth of Daphne. The film is a pilot for a web series called "The Wild Hunt". Click here to the see the trailer.

The film weaves together the legend of the Wild Hunt and Furious Host with the myth of Daphne (and Apollo) and is set in a fantasy Victorian world. It follows two characters, Marie - a simple, yet troubled young wife, and Sullivan - the sarcastic butler of a Gentlemen's Club, as they try to outrun and outsmart the Captain of the Furious Host. To earn their hold on life, each must discover the Captain's weakness to beat him at his own game. What they must also consider in is how Daphne, once the Captain's prey and now his muse, factors into their own mortality. In turn each battles with their own beliefs and in myth and how much of a part it plays in our lives.

Ultimately, one will champion, and one will fail.
One will survive and one will not....

written and directed by Lisa Stock.


You can check out other films by Lisa by going to InByTheEye.

...if I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.

It's up to you, New York, New York.

Happy Etsyversary!!

This weekend I'm celebrating my 2nd year anniversary of the opening of my Etsy shop.

I want to thank all my customers for their support! I can't say enough how much I appreciate you and all the kind words you have said.

Save 20% on all items from now until April 25th!!!

...but there's more...

Buy 2 items and also get your shipping free...

Buy 3 or more items and also get a free pair of surprise earrings included in your order!!

See my shop announcements for all the details.

Thank you and Happy Shopping everyone!!!

Naturally Beautiful

I was so happy to see that this beauty made it to the front page of etsy this morning.




Thanks so much to Mary of marysworkshop for including me.

Song Birds

"...for you there'll be no more crying,

for you, the sun will be shining,

And I feel that when I'm with you,

It's alright, I know it's right..."

excerpt from "Songbird" written by Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac.

I've had a fascination with songbirds for a while now. I'm not sure why. Maybe I connect to their sweet, optimistic songs.

A few years ago I heard "Songbird"for the first time performed by Rosie Thomas. It is one of my favourite songs and I love this version, by Eva Cassidy.

Let your emotions soar with this pretty little necklace.

Pretty Little Things

Sneak peek at some new items coming to my Etsy shop. Check out Vivid, the blue and brass earrings that were just listed and the red ones soon to follow. I haven't thought of name for those ones yet. Any ideas?

Love prizes and giveaways?!!

Check out this blog, Or So She Says, if you would like a chance to win a $25 gift certificate in my etsy shop.

Or So She Says.... April Giveaway.

Look What I've Been Up to This Week

I just let my designs go where they want. I don't have an agenda when I create. Whatever it is ~ the colours that inspire me, shapes, a special bead I've found ~ I usually just go with it. I'm happy with these results - from glam to modern simplicity to rustic sophistication to boho fun ~ a very eclectic mix for sure. I definitely was in a blue mood this week but didn't realize it until I created this collage ~ must be all the blue skies and sunshine we've been enjoying.

Great Canadian Art Project

I belong to a daily chat group of fellow Canadian etsyians. After a few months on Etsy I found them in the forums and it was an essential support tool for me. At first it was great to meet a friendly bunch while increasing product exposure and gaining Etsy tips. But it evolved into much more. They are my friends, we do support each in our shops and online selling but we support each other on a daily basis through our triumphs and daily struggles, kids, illnesses and family holidays. Behind the computer they can be my only human interaction until the school bells ring.

Earlier last year one of the members, Gabriele Maurus, of emmarts and fluur started an art project amongst the thread members and TheScribbleGroup was born. My first participation was in the 2nd project. This one involved childhood portraits of ourselves, transferred onto artboard and essentially embellished by someone else. Here's a good link to understand the process of photo transfers.

So this is how it started, all photos were scanned and sent to Gabriele where she transferred them onto artboard and then mailed out to everyone. You did not receive your own back. In fact, you didn't know who you were going to find underneath and that was the fun part. Even if we have seen pictures of each other these art projects were of childhood pictures so it made the guessing even harder.

This is the start of mine. Dipping the cloth carefully into water you start to rub off the top layer of paper to reveal the image underneath.

I was sure I had taken a picture mid-point in the project but I cannot find it. But once the image is revealed and all the paper bits are removed you are left with a black and white image of your mystery person. At this point I was not sure who it was but I had this feeling it was Cara from Bovine Bubbles.

Now it's time to start to embellish with anything you like, paints, collage really anything you wanted. It was definitely difficult to start for me. What if I ruined it? With encouragement from Gabriele to let our worries go and be free I finally had brush in hand I began to paint. For some reason, almost immediately after revealing the cute little face on the paper I wanted to do an outdoor scene at night. I clipped pictures and captions from magazines and this is what I ended up with.

So did I guess the right person? No, turns out it is Emily from Emms Gems. Of course, once told I don't know how I missed it.

For this project the portraits were not sold but returned to the person. Through interesting circumstances, Emily visiting Ontario from Winnipeg, we had tickets to Stratford and let's face it the stars must have been aligned that weekend, I was able to hand deliver the portrait to Emily at an art show she was participating in. What fun it was to meet her!

If you would like to see some other projects done by our group you can find them at The Scribble Group. Money generated from these sales are donated to charity. In the next while you'll see some new projects being listed from our last "Rip-Off" project.

Stay tuned for my own portrait revealed and more art projects.

Golden Sepia...My Latest Treasury

Check it out here.

Go Canada! Go!

Yesterday, I finally did something I've been wanting to do for years. Hmmm, what could it be you say? Complete a 5K marathon? Absolutley not. Finally finish the last chapter of War and Peace? Highly unlikely. Book a trip for an African safari? I wish.

No, no I finally made a sock monkey!! Yeah!

It was a nice creative break for me. So meet, well, um, sock monkey. He doesn't have a name yet. Any suggestions?

Of course he had to have the latest sock monkey Olympic gear in support of our Canadian athletes.

Go! Canada Go!

What Happened to January?!!

Can it really be February already? What a strange winter so far. It's has been cold but we just realized that we have only shovelled our driveway once this winter. Usually at this point, we have piles of snow surrounding our driveway. In fact, the grass is actually visible under patchy coverings of ice and snow and on a sunny day it appears quite green. I wonder what February and March have in store for us?

In January I started to focus on some new designs. Especially those that involve gem stones. I love the look of wrapped wire and especially against the sparkling facets of a gem stone. Here's a look at what I've been up to.

Tanzanite Blue Chalcedony with Oxidized Sterling Silver.

Carnelian with Oxidized Copper.

Aqua Chalcedony with Copper Swirl ear wires.