Canadian Rockies Art

Gotta love the iPad!

All these years that my hubby and I have been together, I wished there was a better way for him to read all of his newspapers (I’m allergic to newspaper inks, and let’s face it, I got tired of wiping off black finger marks all over our interior white doors all the time…).

Well today, THE DAY has finally come – click on the link to see pictures of his new device - FedEx delivered his iPad to our home this morning and he has cancelled his regular “old fashion” newspaper subscription so that he could sign up for the digital edition on his iPad.

ALLELUIA!!!!!!

My prayers have finally been answered!

Now my husband looks like a handsome young James T. Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise with this thingamajig in his hands, and no more ink mess anywhere!

Thank you Apple for coming out with the iPad and help us become a greener household. It helps us save trees and conserve energy (although newspapers are a recycled product, it still takes a lot of energy to recycle the fibres, etc… ) – I call this a WIN-WIN!

And now, we can read the NY Times, the awesome USA Today, etc… it’s really beautiful. I love it. I have an iPod Touch, which has been great for me to watch movies on while mom sleeps during her full days of chemo at the cancer center, it helps keep me busy for the day that we spend there and it’s small and portable, but I can see the awesome things we’ll be able to do with the iPad as well.

Well done Apple, well done.

Mother’s Day Sale PICK YOUR SALE EVENT!

With Mother’s Day approaching, I am holding a Mother’s Day sale starting now (today, Saturday and Sunday) in both my Canadian Rockies Art Artfire Studio and my Canadian Rockies Etsy Shop (Note: I have a wider selection of items in my Artfire Studio as well as a few reduced priced items that are not listed on Etsy).

But here’s the SCOOP:

YOU can PICK the sale that you prefer – Pick the sale that works best  for you:

In my Etsy Shop I am offering: Buy 2, Get 1 FREE on all items listed in my Etsy Shop:

And, in my Artfire Studio, I am offering a 20% discount on every single  item (you can buy just one, you don’t need to buy “2” items to get a deal).

Just enter the coupon code: Mothers Day in the Artfire Checkout System.

So come on down now and treat your mom, your sister, your best friend and/or yourself today!!!

And, speaking of sales, I have to comment about why I love my Artfire Studio so much. Some readers ask “Why are you trying to entice people to shop on Artfire?” – the answer is simple:

The Artfire Pro Members tools make my life SO MUCH EASIER (and if it saves me time and makes my life easier, that means I have more time to make more jewelry!!!), the staff at Artfire is really dedicated and supportive and they answer my questions quickly.

I also find that my Artfire Studio gives me more flexibility to create the shopping environment that I want to provide all my buyers with – I now have a voice “welcome” message to greet you in my Artfire Studio on the right hand side, easy click buttons to sign-up for my newsletter and to follow me on Twitter, etc.

And, for buyers, it can make your life easier too – why? How about one of my favorite features – The Artfire COUPON CODE tool!

That alone needs to win an Oscar for best performance!!!

It saves us all a lot of time and hassles. I create a coupon code (it took me all of 5 seconds to create one for this sale here), and you, as a buyer can enter it during the checkout process and the total that you pay is the real discounted total. So, you do not have to wait for me to issue a revised invoice, or you do not  have to wait for a refund if you paid the regular price.

You just grab what you like from my Artfire Studio, enter the coupon discount code, you pay the real discounted total on the spot and you’re done!

Time is money -  this tool saves us both time and money. WIN-WIN!!!

So, for this Mother’s Day Sale weekend, pick your own sale and enjoy a wonderful Mother’s Day!

And for those of you who are looking for a great place to sell what you make, and you don’t yet have an Artfire Studio, check out this Sellers information page, it will give you all the information you need to know about Artfire. Enjoy!

Do you have PROPER Suction?

It’s Friday, I’m tired, and I’m super happy about SUCTION!!!

(No, I did not fall on my head…….)

We have a central vac system in our house. When we built our home several years ago, we though (ok, *I* thought) it would be a good idea to add a central vac system to our house at the lovely extra cost of $1,500 installed. It would surely work better than all the cheap-to-expensive vacuums we had owned and bought/replaced nearly every year  in the past, right?

Well, the central vac system that we have vents to the outside (I have allergies and asthma) and indeed, it is an AWESOME vacuum system and I had never seen such great suction from regular canister or upright vacuums before.

That sucker has such great suction, it nearly rips the carpets off the floors when you vacuum…

BUT…

Oh yes, there’s a BIG BUT here (and we’re not talking about my hips folks!), in order to use that mega suction machine, one has to carry around a 23 foot heavy hose around up and down 3 flights of stairs (to cover the basement to the top floor), and never mind trying to get it off the storage hooks and get it back on there. I HATE IT!!!

It’s super HEAVY and such a PITA like you would not believe.

Needless to say that when time came to vacuum the house every week, the sheer thought of carting around that super heavy and cumbersome 23 foot hose was a mega turn off and a mega chore and there’s some weeks where we just decided it was too much of a hassle to use it  :(

So, my dad (my parents live with us) figured he could just buy one of those “on sale” canister vacs with bags and that it would do the trick and be easier to handle than the central vac.

It turned out nearly as heavy and cumbersome as the central vac and it had me swearing at it so bad, my mom kept wanting to wash out my mouth with soap (eeew!). I hated that thing, and canister vacs just get in my way and I’m always pushing them around with my foot, etc, it’s just not practical.

Plus, the bags filled up and the vacuum would lose suction really quick. It just made a bunch of noise and refused to pick up more than half of what was on the floor. And it was not a cheap vacuum, it was over $200 plus the bags (which I hate!).

But finally, that nasty canister vac broke down (thank you Lord for answering my prayers!), and so we went back to the Central Vac system for awhile, but that long hose is real pain.

So mom and I managed, over the past couple of months to persuade my dad that we should invest in a DYSON vacuum…

You know, the one with the yellow ball and PROPER SUCTION that we see on the TV ads. It has rave reviews, it is pricey but that baby won’t lose suction for 5 years, guaranteed!

So, mom and I went to the store this morning and tried various Dyson vacuum cleaner models, and we ended up getting the lightweight DC24… it’s so light (half the weight of the other Dyson vacs) and WOW, the suction on that thing will close to rip up the carpets off the floor… but without being cumbersome to use! HOURRAY!!!

It was so easy (and may I say FUN!) to use it to vacuum, and wow, did it ever pick up a lot of stuff… Oh my gosh! The motor is very quiet for a vacuum cleaner, and the suction is awesome. The cup (this is a bagless vacuum) is super easy to empty out and put back on, it’s FANTABULOUS BABE!!!!

A lot of people look at the price and they go “Oh my gosh, this is one pricey vacuum”, but you know what? We’ve spent way more money than this in the past 8 years on various canister and upright vacuums (not counting the $1,500 we plunked down for our central vac), and if we had just bought the Dyson in the first place, we would have saved a few thousands.

If you are in the market to buy a new vacuum, or if you’re wondering about getting a central vac or not – BUY  A DYSON. You get Central Vac suction without the hassles and without the hefty price tag. Super easy to use, 5 year warranty, and I gotta say, for all the years of me dreading having to vacuum, today, for the first time EVER in my long life – I have actually ENJOYED vacuuming my house! Don’t be fooled by the small size of the DC24, that baby is powerful!

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:

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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!

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

Giveaway - Happy Thanksgiving Weekend Canada!

We reach! We finally reach!

We've had snow (yesterday again), high winds, the whole kaboodle, but.... we've finally reached the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend & my SPECIAL THANKSGIVING GIVEAWAY!

Christina of the famous Down and Out Chic blog is kind enough to host a giveaway for me this holiday weekend!

This is so exciting - I LOVE her blog!

So go check it out now & follow the instructions on her blog if you want a chance to win and also take advantage of a couple of great discount codes applicable in my Canadian Rockies Art Artfire shop throughout the weekend and for the rest of 2009!

Good luck!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA!

Got my Food Dehydrator! Yahooo!

It’s Christmas for us today! This is my Christmas present – we decided to get our gifts now, and I’ll explain why in a minute.

Mine is one like this great Nesco Food Dehydrator – mine comes with 5 trays and I can add more, up to 12 trays, and it has a 700 watts motor on it:

 

As some of you may know by now, I’m extremely sensitive to certain things like chemicals and pesticides that are commonly used on fruits and vegetable crops, and I’m extremely allergic to Soy/soybeans and Tofu and all Soy by-products (such as Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour, Soybean Oil, Soy nuts, etc).

Unfortunately, soy and soy by-products are added into all sorts of commercial foods (from pasta sauce to deserts, chocolates, etc…) it’s really incredible to see where you can find this stuff when you start to read food labels. Having that stuff in about 90% of all commercial food products, means that I cannot eat those  things unless I’m in the mood to end up with an allergic reaction.

Allergic reactions to Soy and Soy by-products vary quite a bit, and go far beyond the intestinal troubles that one might think of when talking about food allergies. I’ve had everything from breaking out with hives, nausea, dizziness, rhinitis,  diarrhea, severe (very painful) stomach cramping,  etc. It’s really not pleasant and believe you me that I do everything in my power to avoid the stuff like the plague.

And since I’ve been avoiding the stuff, it’s funny how my “allergies” (seasonal stuff like Hay Fever, etc) have totally disappeared. If I eat something with soy lecithin in it, my nose starts to run within an hour and I start sneezing and blowing my nose, and I’m thinking that all these years of misery with “allergies” were in fact a problem pretty much with one single allergen: Soy.

How much money have I spent buying anti-histamines and taking them day in and day out for months at a time. I couldn’t function without the allergy meds, and I couldn’t function with them either (even non-drowsy allergy meds knock me out cold, they make me soooo sleepy it’s not funny).

I was miserable for ALL of my life, and earlier this year I successfully did the 30-day Go-Veg pledge from PETA for the month of January, and I was eating fresh foods and non of the usual commercial stuff and all my allergies totally VANISHED. Since then, I've remained about 70% octo-lavo vegetarian in my diet, and I really feel a difference (better) the less meat I eat (which, I'm sure also has to do with all the hormones, etc they pump into the poor animals).

I know for sure that I’m not the only person on this planet with allergies like this, and I’m wondering how many people think they have ‘indoor’ allergies (allergies to dust or pets, etc) or seasonal allergies, when they might be plagued with allergies to soy and soy by-products without even realising it!

It took me over 40 years to figure it out. That stuff is everywhere, it’s so hard to figure out what causes certain problems, and now I feel so much better from being rid of the stuff. It’s a definite improvement.

Anyway, wow, talk about taking the long way home to talk about my Christmas gift. I have a small organic garden in the backyard, and even with the nasty weather we’ve had this summer, I still managed to get a good amount of vegetables, including a few hundred tomatoes at least. And as nice as it is to make home made ketchup with them, it still doesn’t use up the bulk of the tomatoes mom and I collected a few days ago (some are ripening on our window sills and looking great.

So, I decided that a food dehydrator would be really nice to have – I can dehydrate my tomatoes, and then pulse some of it in my Magic Bullet to make a powder and use that as a base to make home made creamy tomato soup (the commercial tomato soups I can put my hands on all have soy lecithin, so I cannot eat them or cook with them). So now, I will be able to make my own fresh cream of tomato from scratch and not have allergic reactions.

I will also be able to dehydrate beautiful mushrooms and make home made cream of mushroom soup and use that to make dinner casseroles too (again, commercial canned cream of mushroom soups have soy lecithin in them so I haven’t been able to use that since the beginning of the year).

I also grow strawberries (I discovered I’m allergic to the chemicals and pesticides that they spray on strawberries – so my organic berries are safe for me to eat and I can dehydrate some of them and use them in muffins and cereals).

This food dehydrator will definitely be a great way for me to be able to by-pass the commercial food products and eat more safely and avoid the nasty allergic reactions I’ve been having in the past.

So, now you know why I am SO HAPPY and THRILLED to have this gift. We figured it would be kind of useless for me to get it in the middle of winter, at least by getting it now, I can process all my garden tomatoes and make all sorts of things, including some nice (different) home made soups, lentil stews,  and all sorts of sauces with my dried tomatoes.

So, “Merry Christmas to me” !!!!

(I’ll tell you about my husband’s gift in a separate post – this one is getting too long as it is!)

TGIF!!! Have a super evening everybody! I’ll be dehydrating a batch of tomatoes tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes :)

SALE - Weekend Deals in my Etsy Shop!

Fire – Handmade Textured Copper Bangles, offered in various sets

in the Bracelets section of my Canadian Rockies Etsy Shop.

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"Weekend Deals" Sale!

20% off your total purchase from 8/7-8/9. This includes the items already on sale in my Sales Section. Please enter "Weekend Deals" in the notes to the seller. Your refund will promptly be sent to you via Paypal.

AND you will also be automatically entered for my:

*** SPECIAL AUGUST GIVEAWAY!!! ***

It's my birthday at the end this month, and to celebrate, I'm holding a special giveaway where you can WIN YOUR PURCHASE*!!!

Every purchase of jewelry made & paid for between August 1st and August 25th 2009 (up until 11:59 PM Etsy Time/Eastern Time) in this Etsy shop will be AUTOMATICALLY entered in the draw.

I will announce the winner on my birthday, on August 26th, and refund the winner's purchase in full via Paypal, including shipping fees! So shop away! You could get your entire purchase for free!

(*This giveaway does not apply to wholesale orders).

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A few things about me

 

Me, at age 6, in Miami, Florida – I wish I was still as cute as that! :)

My father just had some old slides from the late 60’s and early 70’s transferred on to a CD-Rom, so that we would have digital copies of all these wonderful souvenirs from years ago.

That’s a picture of me when I was 6 years old, having a blast in Miami, Florida while on one of our many vacations there…. that’s where I learned to speak English :) Ahhhh… the good ol’ days.

When I saw that picture, amongst others, it brought back a flood of happy memories, and I wanted to share it here on my blog.

So, I figured I should also share a few more things about me, when I read about a little questionnaire going around on Facebook. It’s kind of fun, so I’m posting my answers here:

Three names I go by:
1. Honey
2. Nat
3. Nath

Three Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Worked for Dairy Queen (yes, I can make the swirly ice cream cones, and dip ‘em in chocolate or caramel without dropping the ice cream)
2. Health & Dental Claims Adjudicator
3. Executive Assistant

Three places I have lived:
1. Orsainville (now Charlesbourg), QC
2. St-James, Barbados
3. Calgary, AB

Three Favorite Drinks:
1. Water
2. Milk
3. Diet Coke 

Three TV shows I watch:
1. Torchwood
2. Stargate Atlantis
3. Fringe

Three places I have been:
1. Curacao, Netherland Antilles
2. London, England
3. Los Angeles, CA

People that text me regularly:
1. I don’t use text.

I’m most likely the only one in the world who doesn’t LOL

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Poutine (Ashton’s in Quebec!)
2. Pizza
3. Anything home made :)

Feel free to take these questions and answer them on your blog too!

(Now I'm in the mood for Poutine... argh...... and yes, I've asked Ashton's if they would consider opening up a franchise here in Calgary, but they said that they couldn't. Maybe one day. Here's hoping!)

TGIF! Bonus – My 10 Etsy Hot Picks!

Yup…. time got away on me yesterday and I didn’t get around to go browse on Etsy to find my weekly top 5 Hot Picks, so to make it up to everybody, as a bonus, tonight I’m doing my Hot 10 Etsy Picks! :)

Without any further delay, here’s my Hot Picks from Etsy this week…

Ok, like, this first pick is just ‘soooooooo’ me (except that my overly curvaceous body wouldn’t fit in there at this time…. sigh…..) – I absolutely LOVE the bold colors and design! I can picture myself at a Luau in Hawaii easily… what a very lovely sundress from TialeVintage’s shop on Etsy:

My 2nd pick is a bracelet made just after my heart – I absolutely LOVE Copper, and Cindy Pack of Cindy’s Art & Soul on Etsy sure knows how to create the most scrumptious Copper Jewelry… Imagine, copper and Aquamarine together – what a glorious soothing combo! I’m the proud owner of a few wonderful pieces of jewelry designed by Cindy and I can highly recommend her shop and jewelry!

My 3rd Etsy Hot Pick for tonight is this fantabulous Fused Glass Pendant with incredible colors made by the very talented Sonnee of Eccentricity on Etsy… It’s so totally yummilicious:

Gosh, I so love to browse and shop on Etsy! Here’s my 4th Hot Etsy Pick for tonight – Oh là là! Gorgeous blue circle earrings, so tropical, so summery, so zen…. by Leslie of Mad Maggie Designs on Etsy:

There’s something that I had never seen before – a cool set of 25 mini matchbox ‘baby’ announcement (you can put in a little candy or chocolate or memento) made by Nakisha from Bundle Me Boutique on Etsy:

And yes, for my 6th Hot Pick, I’m drifting back to the beach again (I know you will forgive me…)… Remember Footprints in the sand? – here’s a beautiful lap quilt and it’s for a good cause too, check it out in Julie’s Etsy Ju’s Creations Shop:

Another very unique creation, this time it’s a gourd…. a bowl…. both! Really unique and very cool, handmade with love by Lisa of Nature’s Decor Shop on Etsy:

Keeping in the beachy tropical theme for now, looks at this very appropriately named “Dreamy” acrylic painting made by the very talented Kelley of Kelley Livingston’s Art shop on Etsy… just dreamy….

For my 9th pick this evening, I found this super fabulous and gorgeous Mosaic Box… what a pretty box! I love it… handmade by the very talented Tracey of TK Designs on Etsy:

And last, but not least for tonight – my 10th Hot Pick from Etsy…. a super cute Kawaii Bear Scrabble Tile Pendant made by Jesse of Jesse Jane’s Etsy Shop:

That’s it for tonight folks… visit all these wonderful artists’ shops on Etsy – there’s so many beautiful pieces of art, all made with love and they make really affordable unique gifts that will be treasured for years to come. Thank you for buying Handmade!

TGIF - New Work… Chainmaille anyone?

Good morning everybody!

TGIF!!! :-)

I’ve always been a big fan of medieval times, and of course, of chainmaille jewelry as well. You’re talking to the gal that spent the entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in NY in the Medieval and Egyptian sections of the museum when she was teen in College in NY on a school trip. I didn’t want to leave, I would have gladly moved right into the museum for the rest of my life. It’s such an incredible place.

There’s just something so luxurious when you hold various chainmaille weaves in your hands, the sultry sexy feel of the metal draping softly like a weighted fabric is just so  incredible to touch and wear. I love it!

Let me know how you like these, available in my Etsy shop and ready to ship:

Mediva – Fused Fine Silver & Sterling Silver Half-Byzantine Hoops Earrings.

 

Ciryn – Double Spiral Graduated Chainmaille Sterling Silver Earrings.

 

I also have a really beautiful wide chainmaille bracelet made up in Stainless Steel, but I still have to make the special clasp for it and I’m going to make it with hair fine sterling silver wire wrapped with gemstones, etc… so I’m not ready to show that piece just yet, but stay tuned for it!