Things to remember...

I was cleaning out some files on our computer today and came across this.  These are some wonderful things to remember while trying to live a happy and fulfilled life so I thought I'd share them with you.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. 

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. 

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you
want. 

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it. 

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye. 

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. 

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight. 

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. 

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. 

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. 

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives. 

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly. 

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?" 

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. 

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions. 

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. 

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Have a great day and remember to smile. 

Time to get back to work

Well, I think I've had enough of a break and now it's time I was getting some work done.  We had a great two weeks though.  Our first week was spent away from the house visiting family and camping in a fabulous cabin and the second week was spent entertaining family during some beautiful weather.  I have no complaints.  Especially, since I return with two new amazing books, a couple of custom orders and a project I'm working on that involves other members of Etsy.  I just wish there were more hours in the day.

The project I'm working on involves a team, in Etsy, that shares an interest in celtic knots and art.  One of the team members suggested we each do a piece with the same design in our own mediums.  The knot itself isn't very elaborate so I had a bit of a time trying to decide what I was going to do.  I came up with a turtle design and am currently burning it onto a piece of bamboo.  It's a work in progress right now but I think it's going to look really good when it's finished.

The knot in the centre is the one we're all doing.  It was simper than that, I added the inner line.  I plan to do more knotwork on either side, in the lighter areas, too.

Meanwhile, I have listed another set of celtic cards in my Etsy shop.  These cards have an elk design on them.  I love the antlers!!

And poor B's box has been pushed on the back burner for a bit.  His birthday has passed and I'm afraid to say I'm not very close to finishing it.  He seems to be ok with waiting.  I think he'll be very happy with the result so it will be worth it.  When I get to the burning stage I'll share a picture so you can see what I'm doing.  I'm excited about it since he's into all the super heroes that we knew when we were kids.  It's a fun blast from the past. 

Dear! Deer!

Arg, it's been awhile since I last posted anything.  Last week we were on vacation and this weekend I am preparing the house for a visit from my in-laws, who are staying with us next week.  Busy, busy, busy.  I hope to get a little work done next week but I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself.  Pretty soon the summer will be over and the boys will be in school and then I'll have oodles of time to work on projects.

A couple of days ago a good friend of mine posted this on Facebook.  I thought it was very inspirational and wanted to share it with you...

"Only after the last tree has been cut down; Only after the last fish has been caught; Only after the last river has been poisoned; Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten." ~ Cree Prophecy

It is a very powerful message, one that seems to be forgotten a lot lately.  Shortly after we moved to Surrey, BC, a few years ago, a very large area of wooded land was cleared for big box stores and one of the biggest Walmarts in Canada.  Sure, it was nice to have all those stores so conveniently close but it wasn't impossible to find the same, or comparable, products in other already existing stores in the area.

We moved to the Southern Ottawa area last year and amazingly another Walmart opened up a few months later.  Again, an area that was once full of trees and wild animals was cleared for the convenience and consumerism of us.  Sure, I like not having to drive far to get a gift for someone but there are some great smaller, unique stores in town that are going to suffer because of this.  Is it really worth it?  How much do we really need?  You'd be amazed how you can survive with much less than you have now.
 

Deer in our front yard!!!!!!

Looks like we're doing our part anyway.  We planted that apple tree last summer and it has so much fruit it can't stand up straight anymore.

Anyway, I like the Cree prophecy and may burn it on to a plaque at some point, when the boys are in school of course.

In the meantime check out the pieces I have available for sale in my SHOP right now.  There will be some Christmas items added soon!

HA!  My husband enthusiastically interrupted this post to tell me about the most beautiful deer eating apples from our apple tree.

Some things I've been working on...

I can't seem to stop doing more cards!  I've got so many ideas and they don't take as long to do as some other projects so I keep make more and more and more!  Here are some of my favourites from the ones that I've been working on.

This week I also received my order of bags to put the cards in.  They look sooooo professional!  I'm working on other details now for the package and then in a week or two I will talk to a couple of local stores to see if my cards are something they'd be interested in carrying.  Wish me luck!

But, then, I must get back to doing other projects.  B's heart box is coming along and I think it's going to look great.  I am doubtful that it will be done by his birthday though.  We are going to go on a mini vacation before and I won't be bringing any pyro stuff with me.  Oh well, hopefully the end result will be worth the wait.

Holiday instrument cards.  Finished these beauties yesterday!

Christmas stockings.  These remind me of my super talented friend who makes beautiful stockings as gifts.  If she ever starts selling them I will be sending you her way for sure!!

Celtic fish.  I added a little sheen to the blue fishy to give it more of a shimmery look.  I like the way it turned out.

These and more will be listed in the shop soon.  So stay tuned.

In the meantime you can join me on Facebook!