Come Share in the Celebration!!

Happy 1st Etsy Anniversary!

Tomorrow is the big day but let's start the fun now.

As I mentioned in my post below I've created some really beautiful earrings for the occasion. These are specially priced and won't last long. I've also reduced the shipping charges for these particular earrings and added even another bonus. If you purchase any other item in my shop with these earrings your shipping will be FREE to Canadian and US destinations and reduced for International shipments. Check out the listing for details.

Olive green and champagne earrings...

...and...

Pink and champagne earrings.

Thanks to everyone for making this year a great one!

Happy 1st Etsy Anniversary!!!

I'm coming up to a really special day...on Saturday I will be celebrating my 1st year on Etsy...my etsy-versary, so to speak.

Wow, did that ever go by quickly! I want to thank all my wonderful customers, friends and family for all their support this year. As a way to thank my customers I've created some gorgeous special anniverary priced earrings to celebrate.

Teal, Turquoise and Olive Earrings

and...

Violet Beauty Earrings

Thanks again everyone! I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

...stay tuned...more anniversary specials to come...

Random Acts of Kindness - Act XXIII

Made a birthday cake from scratch


It was my youngest daughter's 12th birthday yesterday and I wanted to make a birthday cake for her this year. I knew a store-bought, regular type birthday cake was just not going to do. She has quite a reputation for making incredible birthday cakes and treats for her family on special occasions and I wanted to do the same for her.




It's funny but when the girls were little I went to great lengths to make special birthday cakes for them. They were less about the cake and more about the decorations and icing back then. I made clown shaped cakes and Mickey Mouse cakes, I made the most incredible Barbie cake with the cake as her dress, I've made castles with blue jello moats, candied fish cakes, under-the-sea cakes and cupcakes that spell words. I literally spent hours thinking, preparing and making these cakes. A few years ago I just decided to ease my time commitment and start buying them. Which was fine but I must say it was fun to look in the recipe books and choose what cake to make. It was also nice to know that I could make something not so traditional and it would be appreciated.



So yesterday morning I got myself ready and started baking a Dulce de Leche Cream Cake. (It sounds alot more complicated than it really was.) Essentially it's an almond-scented cake, whipped cream and a Latin American caramel sauce called dulce de leche.

There is something really nice about making something from scratch. You know exactly what's in it. You aren't adding unnecessary preservatives and strangely named chemicals.

It's amazing what you can find in everyday life. When I looked down in the bowl after beating I found this beautiful design. I have been really inspired by design and textures this week after reading a blogpost from a friend I met through Etsy who I like to call RikRak. (check it out!)

Another great thing about baking a cake yourself is how great the house smells....mmm...

In between baking and serving you have to whip real whipping cream and add a 1/2 cup of of the dulce to leche. You can make the caramel sauce yourself, and it doesn't look that hard but I actually had bought a jar from President's Choice after it had been promoted over the holidays. It's really good and it's not really cheating when you make everything else by scratch, right? I'm a good mom but I no longer consider being 'super' mom a necessity!! I just lightly warmed it up to make it more runny rather than spreadable

...and here's the result. Not your average birthday cake. Each piece is actually put together individually. It starts with a spoonful of the caramel sauce on the plate followed by the bottom half of the cake, then more caramel and a couple spoonfuls of the whipped mixture. Top with the other half of the piece, more caramel and then whipped cream. Sydney doesn't like nuts so hers was plain but the rest of us had toasted slivered almonds on the top.

Beautiful and yummy.

Happy Birthday!

It's nice to be back...it's been a while. Sometimes life just takes you in unexpected directions and you have to just go with it. I'm glad to be back and return to my acts of kindness. There's nothing like having a little kindness in your life.

Spring has Sprung!

Look what I say in our yard today! The first robin is always such a wonderful sight!

You know what song I started singing...even if it was a beautiful, sunny day here.

Robin in the Rain

Robin in the rain,

Such a saucy fellow.

Robin in the rain,

Mind your socks of yellow.

Running in the garden on your nimble feet,

Digging for your dinner with your long strong beak.

Robin in the rain,

You don't mind the weather

Showers always make you gay.

Bet the worms are wishing you would stay at home,

Robin on a rainy day -- don't get your feet wet,

Robin on a rainy day!

Random Acts of Kindness -Act XXII

Taking care of the family

Good morning everyone! It's been quite a weekend in the Wallis household. It started on Friday with our youngest getting sick and over the weekend it spread to my husband. So I guess I've been able to perform many acts of kindness over the weekend as I've kept the family going as a one woman show. Trying to take care of the sick ones and protecting the ones that are still healthy. I've done loads and loads of laundry, I've tried to clean and disinfect the entire house, I've bought gingerale, crackers and chicken soup. I've brought blankets and pillows and comforting words. I've taken temperatures, dispensed advil and insured they had enough fluids. I've kept sick ones company and healthy ones occupied. I'm happy to say that my daughter bounced back rather quickly (just like I used to when I was younger) and I'm hoping the worst is behind for my husband. My fingers are crossed that my older daughter and myself have avoided this menace.

In amongst all this our newish computer has completely tanked over the weekend. I think I should get a kindness award for not pulling the computer out of the wall and throwing it out the back door. I mean, taking care of the family just comes naturally you just want to make everyone better but with the computer it took some major restraint on my part!! It's pretty difficult to lead an on-line life when you can't get on-line! So please be patient as I may not be able to post as often as I wish to while we try to resolve it's problems.

...and now I must go to get another load of laundry in. Hoping to be back soon.

Kreativ Blogger Award!!

Well I had a very kind thing done for me yesterday.

I was given a Kreativ Blogger award from Jacaranda Designs

Thank you so much Jacaranda Designs. You made my day!

Here are the rules:

• List 7 things you love and then pass the award on to 7 people..tagging them and letting them know they won!
• You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole wide world know you are KReATIV!

So here are 7 things I love:

1. I love the feeling of having a really good creative idea.
2. I love a quiet night in with just the family and a good movie.
3. I love car trip vacations (although I would never turn down a plane trip) but I love to see the changes in scenery, feel the distance and there is just something great about all of us in the car, listening to the radio and playing silly car games.
4. I love a dinner alone with my husband.
5. I love the colours blue and green together.
6. I love that first spring walk when there is a cool breeze on your face.
7. I love the excited greeting our dog gives you on your return home (even if you were only out in the garage briefly).

I am awarding the KREaTIV award to:

rikrakstudio

string me along

five forty at home

m on the side

cserdan

smittenkitchen

lifecraftinessandeverythingelse

28 Days of Random Kindness - Act XX

Thankful for my friends

Well first you must forgive me for being a bit behind on my February quest. I've been away for a few days. It is now already March (3rd to be exact) and I still haven't completed my goal of 28 acts of kindness. As I've become more aware of my kindness and the kindness around me I know I've been touched by it daily but have not written about it. So here I am, already into March and I'm only at Act 20 - but I'm determined and happy to complete this goal.

Today I got in touch with a friend that I haven't spoken with for probably six months. The silence was not for any particular reason but just time that had caught up on itself. It's funny how time can be though. You start to think that maybe there is a reason you haven't heard from her yourself, doubt can creep in and you start questioning the friendship, maybe she's mad at something you did or she just doesn't actually find you that interesting. While in fact it was none of the above and you were missed as much as she was.

As I've discovered while doing these acts of kindness I really feel that I reap the benefit as much or more than the recipient. It felt great to meet up together. We started talking just where we left off and we have plans to meet again soon for lunch, or coffee or whatever it takes to get us together. I vow to myself not to base my friends visits around the tidyness of our house. I really don't think they care if there might be dishes in the sink or too many shoes and boots at the front door. As I schedule my time around my children's activities and social events I need to in fact make sure that I schedule time for myself. As a mom of active children it's easy to wrap your schedule around theirs without realizing over time that you've left nothing for yourself. As I get older I have a greater appreciation for the friendships I have in my life and I don't want to take any of them for granted.

So I encourage you to call, visit or even write a friend you haven't spoken to for a while. You won't regret it and in fact you'll probably wished you had done it alot sooner.

"A friend is a gift you give yourself".
Robert Louis Stevenson