Canadian Rockies Art

Sometimes I just get so tired

Sigh… I feel lifeless, I have no energy. We're having a snowstorm today and I just feel like sleeping.

Then I realized I hadn't blogged in awhile again, and I don't really have much of anything important to say, so I usually stay quiet, but I figured I might as well spend a bit of time to chat on here and talk about what we're doing.

Yesterday very early morning, mom and I made our way to one of the hospitals here in town to go to the eye clinic so that she would get an eye ultrasound done (in both eyes).

She has some retinal detachments as well as loads of cataracts in both eyes, and this was the first of many procedures to come for her. She will get a laser procedure done in February and one in March (one eye each time, for the retinal problems), then a follow-up exam in April, as well as another (more advanced method – different machine) ultrasound, and then after that, she will get her cataract/astigmatism correction surgeries (each eye done separately in Spring/Early Summer).

Meanwhile, my father and I have the beginning stages of Glaucoma. I'm more advanced than he is (he's diabetic, I'm not), and both of our left eyes are very closed up behind the ‘eyeball’ so they will have to do a laser procedure in February to put a hole behind our eye to allow better drainage of fluids from the eye (internal fluids, goes in the blood stream) and that will reduce the pressure, etc… lots of fun coming up (my husband cringes anytime  I mention any of the procedures we’re having done).

I have to say that yesterday, mom’s ultrasounds were rather interesting to watch. I have to attend all of my parents procedures since mom doesn’t speak English and dad is hearing impaired and not fully bilingual. Everything went well and we were out of there very quickly. The staff was super nice and they even spoke a bit of French, so it was a really great experience. We found the same really nice specialists both for mom’s cataracts and my father and my glaucoma – the staff and specialists were all so really nice and welcoming. I was expecting a more stressed out/overworked approach (they are extremely busy and booked months ahead of time), but we laughed a lot, and it was not stressful at all.

So, yesterday after her ultrasounds, mom told me she needed to get some new undies as some of hers were needing replacement. Since we were far south of the town, we went downtown on our way back up to stop at The Bay store where she knows she can find her size and style, etc…

I don’t shop in stores anymore (I shop online), except for the odd time that I go to pick up dog supplies, groceries, and so yesterday I ended up with a nasty allergic reaction to dust that I encountered when I popped in the store with mom.

I seriously need to live in a bubble. I guess, in this case, my house is my bubble, and I’m safe here – thankfully… but to be in a store for an hour, shopping for jammies and underwear and pop back out and by the time we got home I was ready to rip my head off my body.

So I took some allergy meds – I had no choice, and I’ve been feeling sleepy ever since of course. I’m ok today, but I still feel lifeless. Ick. I hate feeling this way. No wonder I don’t like going out anywhere – I’m happy at home and mostly allergy free, so I don’t feel the desire to go out anywhere because it takes me several days to recuperate.

We’re all tired here these days. No flues and no colds, just all feeling rather dull and tired. My hubby said we should have a sign at the door that says  that we’re a retirement home. We all need nursing care/home care right now, and there isn't anybody to come over to do it LOL

Most times, one or two of us feels just good enough to help look after the others, but right now, we’re all feeling really low in energy.

I need a cup of decaf Earl Grey tea, and some warm jammies and puppy cuddles, me think. We'll be going to bed early tonight.

I hope all our US Friends and family members had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you all have more energy than us these days!!!

Don't forget that I'm running two different sales in my shops: Buy 2 Get 1 Free in my Etsy shop, and get 25% every item in my Artfire Studio - I have some EXCLUSIVE items in my Artfire Studio that are not listed on Etsy. You pick the sale that suits you the best up until the evening of Cyber Monday! This is my last promotion/sales event for the year, so take advantage of it while you can!

Nighty-night :)

Etsy Metal Team Challenge – my own take on it

Yesterday morning I was catching up on reading the latest posts from some blogs that I follow, and I stumbled upon the latest mini-challenge posted by the Etsy Metal team on their blog.

I discovered their blog recently, and I have to say that the various jewelry design challenges that they do for their members are really neat! I’m not a member, but I’m hooked to their challenges!

So, when I saw the challenge that they had posted on their blog, which was basically to make a piece of jewelry only using these components, and I quote:

“…We were asked to create a piece of jewelry from a limited amount of materials and time.

1 x 2" of Sterling or Copper~ any gauge
3' of wire~ any gauge
Manufactured clasps, bails, neck chains, screws, etc. are okay.
You can use less of these materials, but not more.
With less than 48 hrs…”

So, I saw what they had come up with, but before scrolling down to look at the pictures, I had an idea in mind already… so I drew it on paper.

I decided to work with Copper because I just enjoy the colors and feel of solid copper so much, and so I went with a 1x2” of copper sheet, and 3 feet of sterling silver wire (did not use it all). I used a manufactured bail and neck chain and clasp… and it took me less than 48 hours to make it.

So this is my design in response to the Etsy Metal EMJC-PR6 “Mini Pop Challenge”:

Mended Heart in solid Copper and Sterling Silver (not yet listed)

Throughout our lives, our hearts get broken for many reasons and in various ways…. many times over… and with time, we patch things up and keep on going.

So this is the ‘Theme’ I went with for the Etsy Metal mini challenge :)

Have a look at the pieces posted on the real Challenge post here…

What do you think of mine compared to the other entries?

Do you think I should make more of this style? (each one would be a bit different, of course)

I’m just curious as to what people think, so please leave me some comments ok? (pretty please with a cherry on top! :o) …)

I have a thing for hearts … apparently… with my collection of sterling silver hearts with gemstones, and now this new one.

Let me know what you think!

Happy Sunday!

Nat

Pick Your Sale & More New Work!

With the US Thanksgiving being so late in November this year, I wanted to give lots of time for everybody to shop and enjoy some great Thanksgiving savings, so with Etsy having finally fixed their shopping cart issues, I am now going ahead with my Holiday Promotions Plans! And I’ve got something special for you my dears  EFFECTIVE NOW, up until November 30th at night! :o)

PICK YOUR SALE!!!

Buy 2, Get 1 FREE in my Etsy Shop

OR

Get 25% off all items in my Artfire Shop

See the announcement in each of my shops for details – that way you can pick the best type of sale that works for you! If you are looking to buy a few gifts, or just one item, either way, you get a super deal!

I have some more new work, and these items are listed EXCLUSIVELY in my Canadian Rockies Art Artfire shop, such as this one of a kind eye-popping beauty here (I almost kept it for myself…) :

 

(click on the image to get to the listing for details)

 

And more new work, such as this beautiful simple Sterling Silver  Love Knot:

(click on the image to get to the listing for details)

Don’t forget about my TWITTER Cyber Monday Gift Certificate Giveaway!

I love the Holidays… and I hope to make your Holidays very Merry too!

´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ ·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ♥ Nathalie ♥
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´-:¦:-

New Work

Oh la la! Time just flies and I can never seem to catch up and take a breath…

We’ve been quite busy with all sorts of specialists appointments during the past couple of weeks  (mom’s upcoming Cataract surgeries and another eye surgery before that, my dad and myself both dealing with Glaucoma – and we will both be having a laser procedure done in early February…), and I was feeling under the weather last week, so I’m now starting to feel a bit more energetic, and I figured I should show a few of my latest pieces :)

Note: New items are only being listed in my Canadian Rockies Artfire Shop for the time being because Etsy is having major problems with their checkout system (hit and miss, timeouts, etc – this has been going on as far back as November 6th, and it’s still not fixed) as well as lots of problems with their convo system. Sometimes I time-out, or it doesn’t go through, or goes through twice… Ugh…

I don’t need that kind of headache on top of dealing with real headaches because of my eyes and all the glaucoma pressure tests, etc… so I’m keeping things simple.

If you want to see my latest work, go to my Artfire Shop… thanks!

Huge wire wrapped sterling silver pendant (3” tall x 2” wide) with a multitude of gemstones such as blue tourmaline, black sapphires, cats eyes tourmaline, citrine, prehnite, hessonite garnet, topaz, etc… with a matching fine silver/sterling silver chunky ring. (Custom order – sold)

A sterling silver watch bracelet with pretty Rainbow Moonstones. The perfect gift for the holidays! It is listed in my Canadian Rockies Art Artfire shop.

I finally got around to making more of these pretty Sterling Silver Rainbow Moonstone Byzantine weave (Chainmaille) earrings – listed in my Canadian Rockies Artfire Shop. Really light and playful (dancy) to wear…

Cool “oil slick” fused fine silver earrings – the patina on these babies really came out fabulous – just like when you see all the rainbow colors on an oil slick on the street. One of a kind – grab ‘em while you can in my shop :)

Rustic silvery blue topaz sterling silver chandelier earrings… listed in my shop!

These are just a few of the many new pieces listed in my Artfire shop, and I have more to photograph and list as well (I just wasn’t feeling well enough last week).

As a final note for now, I have a big SPECIAL promotion going on in my Artfire shop for Thanksgiving (from now up until November 30th at night), for 25% off all items in my shop*

Enter coupon code:  HOLIDEALS

during the checkout process and the system will automatically give you a 25% discount on all items in your cart.

(*does not apply to custom order or wholesale orders).

Happy Thanksgiving & Holiday shopping everyone!

Cheers,

Nathalie

Occupation Double - who will win?

We're coming close to the end of Occupation Double in the Dominican Republic. I think that both Jean-Francois and Lydiane, and Guillaume and Sophie make really nice couples. I would be hard pressed to pick a couple to win. Mom and I will be watching tonight... http://occupationdouble.canoe.ca/

Weekend Promo Free Hoops in my Artfire Shop!

Free Sterling Silver Hoops Promo...

To help you with your holiday preparations,

I am offering a weekend special in my Artfire Shop:

.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.

FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE in my Artfire Shop!

FRI-SAT-SUN NOV 13-15TH 2009

Get a FREE pair of my "Mini Sterling Silver Hoops in Bright Silver"

WITH every ORDER! (a US$14.00 value!)

You don't need to add them to you cart,

I will automatically send your free pair of hoops

along with your order.

Makes for a great gift to someone for the holidays,

a little stocking stuffer, or a gift to yourself!

.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.•:*¨♥¨*:•.

So, come on over and shop in my Canadian Rockies Art Artfire Boutique!

Wordless Wednesday – We remember our heroes

Poppy – Art Photography by CitrusTree on Artfire.

 

Rubies in the Emerald Forest – Painting by Richard T Pranke on Artfire.

 

Poppy Fields – Giclée Print Photo Collage by ImagineStudio on Artfire.

 

Visit these fine Artfire shops

by clicking on the above images – support Artfire artisans!

Cheers!

Brought to you by:

Nathalie Girard from Canadian Rockies Art jewellery on Artfire :)

50 DOLLARS GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY!

WIN A US$50.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE

to shop in my Artfire Shop!

We all know that Cyber Monday is coming up on November 30th - it's the Monday after the US Thanksgiving, and it's the biggest online shopping day of the year!

So, this year, I decided to do a special giveaway - it's very simple to enter:

If YOU promote my Artfire Shop on TWITTER on Monday November 30th 2009 (on Cyber Monday), your Twitter ID will be entered to WIN a US$50.00 Gift Certificate good for shopping in my Artfire Shop.

In order for your tweet to count and be entered in my giveaway, you need to have 3 things in your TWEET:

**********************************************************************************

1) My Twitter ID, so that I receive a copy of your tweet:

@canadianrockies

2) My Artfire Shop URL:

http://www.canadianrockiesart.artfire.com

3) A little blurb to entice people to come shop in my Artfire shop,

or talk about what you like about my jewelry, or if you like specific items.

**********************************************************************************

You can enter as many time as you want, from 12:01 AM Eastern Time Monday Nov. 30th 2009, until 11:59 PM Eastern Time that night.

Each tweet that contains the above listed 3 elements, will be entered in the giveaway.

The more you TWEET, the more you increase your chances of winning my $50.00 USD Gift Certificate! Each Tweet will count as 1 entry, so mark your calendars and Tweet often on Monday November 30th 2009!

This giveaway is open worldwide.

Note: The gift certificate does not need to be redeemed all at once. Any leftover amount may be used at a later time if it is still within 1 year from the date that the gift certificate was originally issued. Gift certificates may not be returned or redeemed for cash.

Thank you for supporting "Shopping Handmade" for this holiday season! Good luck to everyone!

Cheers,

Nathalie