Small Business Saturday

WHEN YOU SHOP SMALL^® IT CAN LEAD TO BIG THINGS 

THE SHOP SMALL MOVEMENT MAKES AN IMPACT ON NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

I borrowed the above slogan and logo from the AmericanExpress site. The purpose? (Also from Amex)

The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The single day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before. This year, the big day is Nov 29

 Tomorrow is Shop Local day. You can shop local by heading out into your neighbourhood.  You can shop local by visiting your favourite locations online.

I am a small business owner, located in Canada, more specifically in Newmarket Ontario. I hope I am in your neighbourhood. Stop by my shop. You may just find the perfect item!

Now Available

I have been making some updates to my online store. Here are some items posted yesterday, plus one which will be added later today.

Shimmer and Shine Bracelet (Sold)

JazzyJazz Bracelet

Moon above the Sky Earrings (Sold)

Pre-Christmas Sale Starts Today

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! And the parcels are shipped! Not yet you say? Well good news – there’s still time.

Hmmm.  Doesn’t that sound familiar? Sure it does – it’s how I started Friday’s blog. That one was all about shipping deadlines.

Now, some incentive to get you going.  Effective immediately all items in my store are discounted by 20%. It’s my gift to you. Price discount is available until December 20^th.

Gift Wrapping Option has been added to my store. Select from pale blue, silver or gold paper. Complimentary ribbon and personalized card will be added. This service is offered to make shopping easier for you and is available until Christmas.

Christmas Parcel Delivery Deadlines

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! And the parcels are shipped!  Not yet you say?  Well good news – there’s still time.

I use Canada Post to ship your purchases. To make sure your parcels are received on time here are the guidelines for shipments:

Regular Parcels:

            Canada                                                           December 11

            United States                                                December 8

Xpresspost

            Canada                                                           December 22

            United States                                                December 16

Priority Post

            Canada                                                           December 23

            United States                                                December 22

For other locations see the grid below:

Destination	Priority Worldwide	Xpresspost	Air Parcel or Packet
Europe	December 19	December 8	December 1
Asia	December 19	December 8	December 1
Australia	December 18	December 8	December 1
New Zealand	December 18	December 8	December 1
Central/South America	December 18	December 8	December 1
Africa	December 18	December 1	November 24
Caribbean	December 18	December 8	December 1
Middle East	December 19	December 8	December 1

Happy Holidays!

Get them at the Show

This weekend I am participating in the Home for the Holidays. Show hours are Friday 10:00 – 9:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 – 5:00. Show location is the Markham Fairgrounds, 10801 McCowan Road, Markham, ON, 7 km north of Hwy 407 on McCowan Road.

Here’s an advance peak at some of the jewelry I am bringing. Enjoy!

Little Bells & Dripping Leaves Earrings – Flowers,

Beads and Leaves in Glass and Metal

Destination: African Map Jasper Bracelet

with Moonstone & Sterling Silver

Leafy Bells: Glass Flowers & Leaves

Purple All Around: Amethyst, Lepidolite (Sold)

Sterling Silver

Leafy Bells – Up Close

Markham Home for the Holidays Christmas Show

This weekend, Friday through Sunday, I will be at the Home for the Holidays Christmas craft show at the Markham Fairgrounds.  This is my first year participating and I am so excited to be there.

The event is being held at the Markham Fairgrounds, 10801 McCowan Road, Markham, ON, 7 km north of Hwy 407 on McCowan Road.  Show hours are Friday 10:00 – 9:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 – 5:00.   

Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $2 for children, with the little ones (2 and under) admitted free. You can get a $1 discount by presenting this coupon at the door. Print a copy to bring with you or present it on your smart phone or tablet.

Jewelry Coming to the Show

Tomorrow and Sunday I will be at the Rotary Club Christmas show in Stratford. Show hours are Saturday 9:00 – 5:00 and Sunday 10:00 – 4:00. My booth is number 63

Here’s an advance peak at some of the jewelry I am bringing. Enjoy!

 

Forest Wave: Malachite & Sterling Silver

Bee Flight:  Sodalite, Garnet Chain,

Plated Bee & Wreath Charms

PrettyLoops: Hoop Earrings Wire Wrapped with Glass Beads

Earth Tones: Fancy Jasper & Obsidian

Simply Starfish Swarovski Crystals

Birdsong: Ceramic Pendant & Beads,

Sponge Corral, Olive Jade

Remember

Yesterday was Remembrance Day – 100 years since the start of WWI. I wanted to honour our soldiers and veterans with a moment of silence, 2 minutes of reflection.

Unfortunately I was stuck on a call with 30 other people who did not seem to realize it was time. I was very upset but decided to turn my anger to reflection and held my personal moment of silence. I said a prayer for our servicemen and women, our veterans, and for those on the call. May they never experience the heartache others have.

From great losses can come great beauty. Somehow I only heard about the beautiful Tower of London poppies in the last few days. They are amazing!  All of these photos are from Google images.

Art Bead Scene – Challenge Prize

Back in May I participated in the monthly Art Bead Scene challenge.  The editorial team selects an inspiration image and posts it at the beginning of the month, along with background information and even a colour palette to inspire.  The requirement is to use an art bead (or more) in the design.  That month the challenge was based on a painting, the Capriccio Padovano by Bernardo Bellato, painted in 1741:

My necklace, Tinted Moss, was based on a Lampwork Glass drop bead made by DragonJools of Toronto.

My entry was selected in a random draw (they don’t judge your work after all – the prizes are for participating) and I won 3 Simple Truth pendants from Tesori Trovati. The artist behind this shop and these creations is Erin Prais-Hintz. 

Life happens and Erin had a lot on her plate this year, and as a result was late sending her package out. Well, it did get mailed and I received it several weeks ago – almost 2 months ago actually (blush).  Looks like life happened to me too.

The pendants are absolutely beautiful. I was overwhelmed when I saw them. I wasn’t expecting something so spectacular, until I took the time to check out her website. 

Without further delay, I wanted to share the beautiful pendants that she sent, along with a few other little treasures:

Charming gift envelope it came in, with a sweet little key charm

Three beautiful charms & the sweet little key

Even the backs are gorgeous - my photography
skills? Not so much

The charming note and inspirational sayings received

I feel very blessed.

Rotary Arts and Crafts Christmas Show - Stratford

It has been quite a while since I have participated in a craft show. I’m very excited to be a vendor at the Rotary Club Christmas show in Stratford Ontario on November 15 and 16.

The event is being held at the Stratford Rotary Complex, 353 McCarthy Road and runs Saturday 9:00 – 5:00 and Sunday 10:00 – 4:00. You can find me at booth 63, one aisle in from the entrance, on the right side. 

Admission is $5 / person, free for children under 12. You can get a $1 discount by presenting this coupon at the door. Print a copy to bring with you or present it on your smart phone or tablet.

The complex is located close to downtown Stratford, with lots of parking available. There are 120 vendors participating so it will be a great show. Come for the drive, enjoy the beautiful town and scenery and get some Christmas shopping done.  We’re all looking forward to seeing you!

Transforming a Studio – Small Scale

As mentioned on Monday, I have been planning to post about my studio clean up for awhile. Well today’s the day!  Here’s what the creative section of my studio looked like before I started

In reality, it was a much bigger mess.  I forgot to take pictures before starting to clean up. I pulled everything out and piled it everywhere!

In the second picture you can see two shelves leaning against the wall. (That’s the door to the electrical access panel behind them)

Desk almost cleaned up

The longer shelf is to go over my jewelry table, while the shorter one if for my new Cameo Silhoutte design and cutting tool. It will be mounted over my desk

Cameo Silhoutte Cutter in bottom right corner

Back on the design and creating side, here is the shelf installed, and loaded up

Because I chose not to put the wire cubbies back, not all of my reference books fit back in the space. Over the next little while I will either find a spot for them or decide I don’t really need them.  For now they are sitting on the shelving tucked by the electrical box

When I was putting everything back it became apparent very quickly that the brackets we chose for the shelving were not strong enough.  The shelf was developing a serious lean to the front. My husband came up with a quick and temporary solution by cutting scrap boards to length, placing a board on each side of the drawer units on the desk to prop the shelf up

As for the office side of the studio?  Well my desk did get cleaned up somewhat but I haven’t installed that shelf yet.  My new Cameo Silhoutte is still waiting in its box. I’ll show you that side soon

For now, it’s time to get back to making!

Getting Back on Track

I have been MIA from my blog, pretty much since the middle of August.  Only 3 posts since then, 2 of them very brief.

It seems I hit what many bloggers go through, burnout.  It has been a bit of a stressful year with much going on at home, a rethink of the direction of my artisan business and instincts, and a weariness from too much happening at my bill paying job too.

I have been planning to post about my studio clean up and redesign for about 6 weeks now.  Unfortunately it has also taken 6 weeks for that to move forward.  I feel that things are getting back on track now and will tell you all about that on Wednesday.

A goal that I’ve set myself is to post on a regular basis, but a little less randomly.  My plan is to have regular updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  There may still be the odd post in between but this is what I will be working toward.

See you on Wednesday with fun pictures of the studio transformation from clean up.