Lily & Gus Giveaway

Another Giveaway for you!

This time, I've done a collab with that awesome Lily & Gus and Shanna's Tie Dye.
With Shanna's magical rainbow skills and Ashley's imagination and talent at work, the tie dye whales were brought into being. A while ago I was asked to paint some of these beautiful creatures, and now you have a chance to win it all!


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Shanna's Tie Dye Giveaway

I am so excited to be participating in a giveaway hosted by Shanna's Tie Dye.
You can enter to win one of my Butterfly Nest prints and some other amazing pieces by some fab artisans.

Take a look at all of the great items there are to win! Good Luck!


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The oldest Sugar Maple Tree in Canada: The Comfort Maple

THE COMFORT MAPLE
"This tree, believed to be Canada's oldest Sugar Maple (acer saccharum) was accepted
for its preservation April 30th 1961, by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
from Miss Edna Eleanor Comfort, whose family have owned this land since 1816. She and her late brother,
Earl Hampden Comfort, to whose memory this tree is now dedicated with gratitude and affection,
reserved this plot of land for its protection in 1946"
"O Lord, How Glorious Are Thy Works"

The boys first introduction to the big tree

Looking up at the repairs.  At one time the tree was struck by lightning and repaired with  concrete.
It is also being supported by wires . 

An obliging fence post supported my camera for a family photo

Such an odd feeling came over me while we visited the Comfort Maple. I suppose it was being in the presence of something that has been living for over 500 years, and will likely be living long after I have gone. The land has changed and grown around it and there it has stood, enduring and thriving. What an amazing thing. I like to envision all of the families that have enjoyed moments under this tree's branches over the centuries! Really puts things into perspective and makes me want to relish the moments I have with my own family and cherish each day.

Photo taken by Griffin of the tree and lot

Maple Keys. Maybe we can plant these and grow our own "Comfort" maples. 

Directions to the Comfort Maple can be found HERE

Heirlooms

I was very excited to be participating in the Heirlooms show on June 14th and 15th at Vermeer's Garden Centre in Welland, Ontario. The event, in its inaugural year, was organized by the fabulous Erin Snow, who ran the First Sunday Stroll that I was a part of in the Spring of 2012. Erin's selection of high quality artisans is top notch. I will do any show that she organizes, because it is sure to attract a wide variety of beautiful handmade work by established and up and coming artists. Here's a small taste of some of the work that made its way to the Heirlooms show that weekend.
For more photos, you can find the whole album, HERE

Amazing design and branding, these are little embroidery kits. Yes, you have to do the "work", but I assure you it's all good fun, and you will feel so proud when you've accomplished making one of these quirky, sweet characters. I want them ALL!

Find them HERE

Lisa at Skinny Dip Soap was my tent-neighbor for the show. You have to smell these soaps. OMG! All natural, no GMO is the way to go. I also LOVE her packaging. One of her soaps is called "Wash A Hippy" which I find totally hilarious. 

Skinny Dip Soap

The ladies over at Heartmade Fibres were total troopers. Working away with a very new baby is a talent in itself. Great set-up and beautiful pieces! 

Proud new owner of a Heartmade Fibres hat 

Floating Feathers Giveaway

I am so thrilled that my "Floating Feathers" print was chosen to be included in Canada's July Issue of Style at Home magazine! My print appears on page 118, in the workbook section titled "Best of the Canadian Etsy-verse". To celebrate, I am holding a giveaway. The lucky winner will receive three archival prints of their choice from my shop!



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The Niagara Furniture Bank's Inaugural "Chair Affair" gala finally arrived on Thursday May 30, 2013.
I've been very fortunate to be able to participate in this event. Thank you to Pam Isaac who sent me the Chair Affair information, when they were looking for artists to participate back in January!!

After choosing my vintage, donated chair at the Niagara Furniture Bank, I contacted Lincoln Interiors, who generously offered to reupholster the chair, thus giving me a fresh canvas to work from! You can see more about that in a previous post, here. Many thanks to them, because I could not have done it without them. :)

I was then paired with 97.7 HTZ FM Southern Ontario's Best Rock What a great opportunity. I changed my vision of the chair from my feathery watercolors to some black and red vintage tattoo art!
Rock and Roll, baby! I posted my chair's progress online and had such great feedback. Lotsa tattoo love! People responded well to the chair and it was so great to hear how much people appreciated all of the work I put into it. I couldn't wait for the gala, to see how much we could make for charity.

Check out this video on The Source

Mini-cupcakes and cookies

The most vibrant, funky chair by Elisa Marconi

My Chair! 

Cool looking "Group of Seven" chair with decorative birch arms by Michele Auger. 

I took a couple of pictures of the room when we first arrived, trying to give an idea of how big the place was. 

Beautiful space to have the event. 

My handsome hubby :)

The Tipperary Bog CHEESE!!

Scott Sanders, Chairman of the Board, with LauraLeigh of 105.7 EZ Rock and Cassidy Fenton

Cassidy Fenton, giving her speech with LauraLeigh looking on

Giving out awards to some of the amazing people who made the event happen

The fabulous Kathy McBride and her awesome chair : First up for the Live Auction

Stepping up to the mic, with auctioneer Warren Rose. The final bid for my chair was $600

Getting a pic with LauraLeigh, representing 105.7EZRock, NewsTalk610 CKTB and my partner station 97.7HTZ FM  

I had to get a photo with the wonderful people who placed the highest bid on my chair. 

So happy to be a part of this great event! 

We were really excited to sit in the giant chair that was made by students from Lakeshore Catholic High School in Port Colborne.
Constructed of cedar, donated by The Cedar Shoppe. So awesome! :)

Inked

I left off with a beautifully reupholstered chair. New fabric, fresh canvas. Ready to rock!!

Before and After being generously upholstered by Lincoln Interiors

After speaking with the people over at 97.7 HTZ-FM I decided that I would cover the chair in old school tattoo art. Black and Red. Rock and Roll. A touch of badass. Sounds like the perfect chair to be teamed up with Southern Ontario's Best Rock station.

Speedball ink and a brush. My first time inking a chair...seems to be working! 

Can't wait to see the other chairs at Niagara Furniture Bank's Chair Affair.
I hope my chair brings in lots of  $$$ for the charity at the Gala on Thursday night!
I will let you know what happens! :) 

Gifting Renée Zellweger

It's not everyday that I get the opportunity to send my art to an Oscar-winning actress. When the chance came up within The Artisan Group to gift Renée Zellweger, I jumped at it!

Photo of Renée at the Miss Potter Premiere 2006

Renée Zellweger has been in so many great movies. One of my favorites is "Miss Potter", a film dedicated to telling the story of Beatrix Potter. An amazing British woman, born in the 1800's who became one of the most popular authors and illustrators in Children's Literature. She was also a naturalist and conservationist credited with preserving most of the land that now comprises the Lake District National Park in North West England.

Inspired by the film, and the hope that, as a country girl herself, she may like a touch of nature, I decided to send Renée a small collection of my feather studies.

Snowy Owl, Blue Jay, Northern Flicker and Magpie Feather studies

Gift wrapped especially for Renée 

Needless to say, I was not the only one who was excited to send something special to the Oscar winning actress. Here's a peek at some of the other creations members of The Artisan Group gifted Renée. :)

Chiffon Rosette Clutch by GirlByAileen

Goat Milk Bath Soak and Blissful Balm by Simply Caprine

Swarovski Knotieties Bracelet and Knotieties 5 pack 

Set of two stack bracelets by SassyBelleWares

Kumihimo Braided Bracelet by KathsElegantAccessories

Hand Pleated Clutch with wristlet by SugarRushCreative

Boho Cuff Stck by HeidiLee Design

Hammered Organic Oval with Chalcedony by AndreaWysockiJewelry

Hand Stamped Bar Necklace by TheSilverDiva

80 page notepad by Galaxy Eyes

Brass and Druzy Cuff by Ten2MidnightStudios

Now, I have only revealed about a quarter of the amazing pieces that were gifted to Renée by some of my fellow artisans at The Artisan Group. Valerie, the founder of the group just received a hand written note from Renée herself, thanking us all for the "beautiful things". :)