Wordless Wednesday - Happy Holidays!

Here is a photo I took last holiday season. Wishing everyone a joyous, healthy and happy holiday season!

Fond Memories of Christmas

Christmas is such a magical and memorable time of the year.

Now that I have my own children, I like to look back and remember Christmases past and see that sparkle in their eyes that I know I also had as a child.

The Christmas season started with us on December 1st. This was when we were allowed to "officially" decorate the house....but not the tree. We always had a real tree and it was set up closer to the 15th or 20th. Our house was a two story older farmhouse. I got to decorate the upstairs where our bedrooms were. Mom gave me the go-ahead and I could decorate it however I wanted. Looking back on it now, I fondly remember hanging the garlands and Christmas cards and ornaments all of us kids made at school.

Then was the school Christmas concert which all grades always had a part. I was always so proud to dress up in my best clothes and to have my parents watch as we performed. If we were really lucky, Grandma and Grandpa would travel out to watch too....that made it even more special.

The last day of school before holidays meant parties and treats both at school and on the school bus. I am sure the busdriver could feel all the excitement we had over vacation time and I am sure she needed that little break too....lol!

School holidays would begin and we would finish up all our Christmas baking. I was the oldest and only girl then (my little sisters came when I was a teenager) so I enjoyed that time with my mother. I guess that is why now I enjoy baking and being in the kitchen. My brothers did not care for that at all and they spent the holidays outside playing in the snow.

We celebrated with our family on Christmas Eve. This would mean a lovely supper usually of ham and perogies maybe even cabbage rolls if we were lucky. We would sing carols around the tree and open our presents from Mom and Dad. We would enjoy games and cards until we had to go to bed to be ready for Santa. We wrote a little note to Santa and gave him some milk and a cookie. But also put out a carrot for Rudolph. We didn't want him to go hungry either and he could share it with the other reindeer if he wanted.

We would go to bed that night dreaming of the fun we would have on Christmas morning.

Christmas day was spent at home for a while with my family and then off in the car to Grandma's house. There would be more perogies and turkey, cabbage rolls and all sorts of goodies. By the end of Christmas day, we were all tired, happy and full from a lovely meal. We all slept in the car on the way home.

These are memories I will treasure forever. Please feel free to share some of your memories here too....I would love to read them!

Happy Holidays!

Wordless Wednesday - Friendly Finch

This little friendly bird graced my birdfeeder this summer....It was so much fun to watch them. I look forward to their return in spring.

Wordless Wednesday Sunny Sunflower

On this cold, cold day here just wanted to share a warm sunny flower with all of you! This picture was taken by me.

Frosty Friday!

We have been lucky this year not to have any snow on the ground until this week. I was quite surprised to wake up this morning and find that the temperature was hovering around the -20 C mark. Brrrr.

When I looked outside I saw this frosty wonderland and I had to go out and get some photos. Winter in Canada can be so pretty sometimes! Here are a few photos from my morning walk.

And of course my trusty companion and friend had to tag along with his soccer ball! What a dog!

Free shipping Sale!

As an end-of-the-year customer appreciation sale I am offering FREE SHIPPING in my Etsy shop. From now until December 15th, 2009 enjoy free shipping on all purchases.

Here are a couple newbies in my shop:

Remember...the TransCanada Etsy team giveaway is still on until December 6th. Every purchase over $10 counts as one ballot!

Happy Shopping and Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would just like to take a little time today to wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that wherever you are you are enjoying your day with friends and family.

Indienorth Feature!

This is just a quick post today while I get ready for my weekend craft show.

Floral Acres in Saskatoon,SK

November 20 5pm - 9pm

November 21 10am - 5pm

November 22 12noon -4pm

Today, my Floral Calendar is featured on Indienorth. Indienorth is a Canadian Indie Business Collective. You should really go and check out Indienorth....lots of fabulous Canadian gift ideas! There is even a gift guide on the site. Who knows, you may find some new favorites!

Getting ready...its craft sale season!

We are getting into the full swing of craft sale season. I am preparing for my second show of the year. Its a three day show running November 20, 21 and 22, 2009 at Floral Acres
Greenhouse in Saskatoon, SK. If you are in the area, why not stop by and say hello!

I have a few new things that I am taking with me this time around. They have not made an appearance in my Etsy, Artfire or Icraft shops....yet.

They are really cute polymer clay pendants. They feature a blingy swarovski crystal as the flower centre. I hope these are well accepted as I am quite happy how they turned out. The first is mine...all mine! I really like this one and I will be wearing it proudly this weekend. The rest are nice too...hopefully they will all find good homes this weekend!

Have a great weekend! Wish me luck!

Have you started your Christmas shopping - Eco Friendly gift guide

Christmas is rapidly approaching. I cannot believe that November is half over! I don't know about you guys, but I am starting to get a little worried about getting my Christmas shopping done in time. I love online shopping as I find it super-easy to shop this way being a stay-at-home parent. No line ups and I don't have to drag my children out and about or find a sitter.


So, I have decided to start a little series here on my blog featuring products that I think would make great gifts this holiday season. The amazing gifts I am featuring today can be found on Etsy.com.


First up, an Eco-friendly gift guide. I know how everyone is trying to recycle and do things that are beneficial to the environment. Why not purchase a gift that is Eco-friendly.


Here are some of my favorites.

These reusable food bags are great! See them and other great items from Kootsac here.




Here is another gift for the home. These fabulous rag rugs are made from recycled textiles by Fiveforty. I would love to have this rug in my house.



Jewellry can even be eco-friendly. This sea glass pottery pendant from Seaglassdesigns is a very interesting and unique piece of jewellry that I think anyone would love.



How about Christmas decorating? I have a few favorites in this category too. This stocking from Rikrak and these mini stocking ornaments from Prairiethreads would look lovely in any home.






There are even Eco-friendly gifts for coffee lovers! I know everyone has at least one coffee lover on their list! Check out this great coffee cup cozy from Laurabucci.

These are just a few of the fun and fabulous finds on Etsy.com. You can find many more great items by searching "eco" or "eco-friendly" on Etsy as well.

Why not buy handmade this Christmas?

Stay tuned for more gift guides this holiday season!

TransCanada Etsy Team

I have been so busy the last while and sadly have neglected my blog. On top of making inventory and getting ready for fall shows, I have joined another team on Etsy. This team is the TransCanada Etsy Team. It is a great group full of many talented CANADIAN artists. I am very happy to be member of such a great group!



The TransCanada Etsy Team has a store on Etsy as well where you can purchase items from many talented members. The store can be found here.



The TransCanada Etsy Team has a blog located here. You can find a list of team members here. Why not take a peek in these great shops...who knows....you may find something you can't live without! Why not shop Canadian this holiday season!

JET Etsy Team Sale!

The Jewelry on Etsy Team (JET) is having a sale this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (September 25-27). To participate in this great sale simply visit Etsy.com you can search for the tag “jetsale” to find shops that are participating. Each shop will have their own specific sales so please be sure to read their shop announcements.

My shop is offering get 15% off everything (excluding shipping) – Please write "WEEKEND DEALS" in the notes to seller section of the invoice and pay via PayPal. I will refund the difference via Paypal.

Offer only good Friday, September 25th, 2009 – Sunday, September 27th, 2009.

My 2010 Calendar!

Once again this year I have decided to make up a calendar featuring some of my own photos. Last year it was quite a hit. I love photographing flowers so my 2010 calendar is full of flower photos.

Here is a little teaser for you:

Please look for the calendar in my Etsy and Icraft shops in the next few weeks!

I just wanted to let all of my readers know about my sale this weekend if you haven't already seen it on my Facebook fan page or in my Etsy shop.

WEEKEND DEALS!! Sept 11-13/09I am offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on all items in my shop for the weekend of Sept 11-13th. Please use the code "WEEKEND DEALS" in the message to seller section. Shipping charges will be refunded via PayPal.

Here are a few new items that I have recently listed in my Etsy shop:

Summer is dwindling....

Summer here has been far too short. Days have been cool and I have hardly even used the air conditioner at all this summer.

I have been busy though with my creating.

Fall means craft sales so I have been trying to start working on building up an inventory for the craft show season.

I have been working on making my own sterling ball headpins and sterling ear wires. I have been enjoying this bit of metal working and am anxious to start using my skills in my creations. I have also been enjoying my chainmaille items and have been creating several items.

I have added a few new items to my Etsy shop. Here are a few:

PCAGOE August Challenge

PCAGOE August Challenge Mosaic 4 rows
Originally uploaded by DivaDesigns1

It is the PCAGOE challenge time again!

These are the entries in the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy's August Challenge, the theme of which is "Mixed Media". You are invited to vote for your favorite entry at our team website at www.pcagoe.com between August 1, 2009 and midnight EST of August 8, 2009. Five lucky voters chosen at random will also each win a beautiful prize pack of polymer clay items made by our member artists.

1. Chainmaille and Polymer Clay Bracelet by Chicki
2. Faux Zebra Animal Print Polymer Clay, Bone and Metal Necklace by SCDiva
3. Lascaux Swimming Deer Necklace by JillPalumbo
4. Polymer Clay Millefiori Bugs by IrisMishly
5. Mixed Media Bracelet by Polyclarific
6. Faux Fused Glass, Polymer Clay and Resin by Eugena777
7. Cafe Latte by NKDesigns
8. Leopard Spot Pendant by FungibleElements
9. Ancient Sun by BijouxHibou
10. Black Rose With Honey 2 by LaurelSteven
11. Steampunk-01 by WorthingtonFox
12. Dolphin Pendant by ArtistTooStudios
13. Frida in my Heart by BeeTreeByMe
14. Polymer Clay Covered Tin With Swarovski Crystals and Metal by PolymerClayCreations
15. Inspired By The Lascaux Cave Paintings by Iamcr8ve
16. Green 1 Bracelet by Ashpaints
17. Mysterious Ways Necklace by KDollDesigns
18. It's All Faux by ElementalDragons
19. Lava Pen by CreativeWriting
20. Room In My Heart Pendant by Juliespace

I love nature....and my new camera!

My husband bought me a new camera for my birthday recently and I have been having fun testing it ever since! It is a Nikon Coolpix P90 camera.

I have been taking pictures of the birds in my yard....seeing how close I can get and how much closer I can get with the zoom. I am quite happy with the results!

Here are a couple of my photos:

Now I need to get creating some more and start taking pictures of my creations!

Its Christmas in July!

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Unique wire wrapped Chrismas ornament or suncatcher
Originally uploaded by Chicki2008

Its Christmas in July!

I have decided to offer a Christmas in July sale for all of my Etsy customers. Purchase any item, such as this Christmas ornament, from this section in my Etsy shop and get FREE SHIPPING!

Valid through the end of July 2009!

Its a rainy day today......

Today it is raining outside! I am happy though as we need a little moisture for the garden and plants. It is a good reason to blog since I can't be outside today. Who knows, maybe I will create a little this afternoon too!

Here are some of my newest and latest creations.....

I am always looking for places to wholesale my items as well! Please contact me through either my icraft or etsy shops for more details!

Happy Canada Day!

Tomorrow, we celebrate Canada Day here in this fabulous country. I want to celebrate with all of my fellow Canadians.

I have decided to have a sale in my Etsy shops Chicki and Chickibeads.

Here are the details of my sale!

CANADA DAY SALE!
To celebrate Canada Day in my shop, I am offering free shipping within Canada. Please use the code CANADA DAY SALE in message to seller section. Shipping costs will be refunded via Paypal.Valid until Thursday July 2nd. Items must be shipped to Canadian addresses to recieve this discount and code CANADA DAY SALE must be used.

Happy Canada Day!

Icraft.ca Bootcamp specials on Indiesmiles.com!

Last post, I told you about Icraft.ca, a Canadian-based venue for selling handmade items. I also told you about Bootcamp, a program that myself along with several other sellers are participating in to promote our shops and learn some valuable marketing tools.

Icraft.ca Seller's Bootcamp and Indiesmiles.com have teamed up to offer coupons for valuable savings. Please visit all of the shops here and check out all of the savings that are being offered.

My Icraft shop located here is offering FREE SHIPPING. This applies to all orders, even international ones! Please use coupon code BOOTCAMP in your instructions to seller section of your purchase. Shipping will be refunded to you via PayPal. Offer runs from June 10-25th 2009.

Thanks and Happy Shopping!!!

Icraft.ca!

I opened a small shop on Icraft.ca just over a year ago. Icraft.ca is a Canadian-based website featuring lovely handmade items from all over the world!

I love that I can offer my items in Canadian funds which is great for my Canadian customers. And with our dollar being less than the U.S. dollar, it is also good for U.S. customers too!

I have been participating in a bootcamp program over on Icraft. Christine of PillowThrowDecor is running a program that is showing participating sellers valuable marketing tools. Thanks so much Christine for this valuable program!!

Please stop by and check out my shop Chicki on icraft! While you are there, why not browse all of the amazing items found there!

We have a winner!!!

Last post, I announced a contest for those reading my blog.

Today, with the help of random.org, I have drawn a winner.

Congratulations Adornyourself (Kathy)!!! You have won this bracelet.

Thanks to all who entered....stay tuned....I may have another giveaway soon!

Bracelets galore and a GIVEAWAY!!!!

This past weekend was a long weekend here in Canada (Victoria Day) and it was a very busy weekend for me. We planted trees, gardened a bit and did a bunch of yard work. I also had time to craft a little too! Here is what I accomplished on the weekend.




And now for my GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT! Since I had such a productive weekend I thought that I would reward my readers with a giveaway. I have decided to give one lucky reader this black memory wire seedbead bracelet.



How to enter:

Visit either http://www.chicki.etsy.com/ or http://www.chickibeads.etsy.com/ and take a look around my stores. Come back here and post the link to your favorite item. Easy peasy!


Want more entries?????

You can also get additional entries for tweeting this giveaway or by following my blog too! Just let me know in a separate posting.

Draw will take place on May 31 and the winner will be announced June 1st 2009. A random number generator will be used to pick the winner.

Good luck!!!!

New items and an announcement!

Chainmaille and Polymer clay keychain
Originally uploaded by Chicki2008

Here is a new way I am incorporating my polymer clay beads into my chainmaille.

This keychain is made with bright aluminum rings in a byzantine weave. The polymer bead was made by my own blend of clays and silver leaf. It has so much depth and is very lovely in person. The combination of the aluminum rings and polymer clay is so lightweight and would be a lovely accessory for your keys.

It is available in my Etsy shop! I also have some other fun new items...please check them out!

Stay tuned.....I am going to announce a fun giveaway in the next day or so!!!

Oceany Blues Chainmaille Bracelet

Oceany Blues Chainmaille Bracelet
Originally uploaded by Chicki2008

Here is another new item for me! It is made totally by me! I wrapped each bead myself and even made the chainmaille myself out of bright aluminum jump rings. You can find it in my Etsy shop right now.

I am really pleased with it and hope it finds a good home! Maybe I will even make it in other colours too!

Any requests???

What I did this morning......

I was wanting to make some cookies this morning and I wasn't too sure what kind to make. My kids got quite a few chocolate and white chocolate bunnies for Easter from friends and relatives and I put most of them in the freezer.

So I decided to use a white chocolate bunny. Then I thought...hmm I want oatmeal and maybe dried cranberries too. So I started my google search and came up with these cookies from Ocean Spray.

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

I often love to substitute in recipes and I did change a couple of things in this recipe. I added 1/2 c of whole wheat flour and 1 c all purpose flour instead of the 1 1/2 cups flour and added 1 tsp of vanilla to it too. The chopped up bunny measured exactly 2/3 c. And I used 3 packages of those snack size craisins equalling close to 3/4c.

Here is what they look like. They are quite tasty but I would probably flatten them slightly next time as they didn't really spread out.

Let me know if you try these out too! Have a great weekend!

Something a little new and different!

I am always wanting to try out new things. A while ago, when a friend of mine asked me to try to incorporate chainmaille into my pieces I said why not. I bought some rings and started practicing my weaving. After practicing for a while, I decided to make a few pieces using my own polymer clay beads and list them on my Etsy shop.

Here is what I came up with.

Both items are currently for sale in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for looking!

I am a little late this week but here it is...the weekly featured artist!

This week, I am featuring Sonya of Whimsicality4U on Etsy.

How long have you been "playing with clay"?

I started "playing" with polymer clay about 5 years ago. I haven't turned back since.

Where do you find inspiration?

I'm greatly inspired by the "Altered Art" and "Upcycled Art" movements that are storming our culture. CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS is a wonderfully inspirational periodical for anyone feeling a little stumped. I love just about everything that STAMPINGTON PRESS publishes - the colors and textures used are gorgeous!

Where do you create?

I am very fortunate to have a home studio that used to be a "WOOD SHOP" for the previous owner. It's now bubbling over with tidbits of just about everything you could imagine. But what may look like complete chaos to some, actually spurs my imagination and puts me in the mood "to create."

What is the item that you have created that you love the most?

I've created so many things over these past 5 years; but when I make something really special, I just can't part with it. So those pieces go into my personal jewelry box. I have about 8 pieces in there right now. Some are new additions - others have been with me since I first started. The one I've held onto the longest is a bracelet made of sculpted floral beads in an emerald green color palette - after I finished that one I NEVER DID ANOTHER.

Here are a couple of items made by Whimsicality4U.

Thanks very much Sonya for being this week's blog feature!

Monday featured Artist - Tejae Floyde

Its Monday again.

And that means it is time for me to feature another wonderful clay artist on my blog. Today my feature is on Tejae Floyde of TejaesArt on Etsy. Tejae is the current president of the PCAGOE. Tejae has her own blog as well. You can find it here.

How long have you been "playing with clay"?
I've been playing and claying for about 7 years. I would have started 2 years earlier when I had read an article about Kathleen Dustin. She was showing her work at a local art center. I fell in love with her colors and how she described the medium. I went right out and puchased 3 bars of clay. They sat unused for 2 years because I couldn't find any information on polymer clay. The lack of information was an issue for several people. My name got added to a list of pending members who might be interested in starting a local guild. The Pikes Peak Polymer Clay Guild was born and it's been going strong ever since.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration is all around us, emotion, color, textures, nature, other artists. I'm inspired alot by wanting to try something new. Maybe a new twist on something that has already been done.

Where do you do your create?
I have a rather large studio space to create my work. I work with various mediums including polymer clay so it's nice to be able to spread out and not worry about leaving things in a mess.

What is the item that you have created that you love the most?

I started creating encased hearts back a few years ago. I love creating them. I've created several over the years that I adore. My favorite and most recent one is the Mermaid's Heart.

Tejae's work is very unique and stunning. She has been published several times including 400 polymer clay designs by Lark Books, PolymerCafe, Somerset Studios, Pastacio and AmericanStyle magazine. This year Tejae will be published in the 2008 Progress and Possibilites book by the National Polymer Clay Guild.

Here are a couple of items that showcase Tejae's talent.

Thanks Tejae for allowing me to feature you on my blog! Please visit Tejae's shop on etsy and her blog!