2020 Shop Year-End

For the second year in a row, the Curled-Up Pup pin has been a fan favourite! As well, the Simple the Best card, Rainbow of My Life card, Moon of My Life card, and Dog Baby card were the top cards in the shop (both in favourites and purchases).

This year you helped us donate $65 to OUTSaskatoon, $51 to the Saskatoon SPCA, and $20 to the Alzheimer's Society of Saskatchewan. While it wasn't a completely earth shattering year, the shop did make more than 100 sales (which is a record!) and it was all because of you and your unwavering support throughout the year. Thank you for all the love! Here's to the New Year.

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What We Love: Christmas Edition 2020

I purchased a pet portrait (not pictured above) for a friend as a Christmas gift from the wonderfully talented Denise Benison, and now I want one for myself! It was absolutely amazing, and now I am patiently waiting for her shop to open up again.

I have really been enjoying Leslie Odom Jr.'s Christmas album this year, specifically Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. His voice is so smooth and relaxing, especially when I'm driving home after a long day at work.

This ceramic artic fox dish from Vanilya Cermaics is absolutely adorable and completely practical. Sümeyye creates stunningly simply works of art that evoke a light and airy feeling in a studio in Singapore.

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A Canadian Handmade Holiday Gift Guide

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Last year we made a Handmade Holiday Gift Guide that featured a lot of items that we had already purchased and enjoyed. Some of them were local, while others came from around the world. This year we decided to create a Canadian Handmade Holiday Gift Guide to support even more of our local makers. 

Depending on where you live, you might even get these items in time for the holidays! You'd better hurry, though, we're not the only ones supporting makers this year, and a lot of these items are selling fast. 

Thanks for the support for handmade this year!

 

AROUND THE HOUSE

The Barcelona Tray from The Daydreamer Project

Merry Christmas sign from Little w Studio

Reusable Market Bag from DR Handknit Goods

Porcelain Luminary from Stag and Sage

Embroidery from Penny Embroidery Art

WHAT TO WEAR

Monsieur Tse Tse Raglan Sweatshirt from Raplapla

Nordic Slippers from Luddite Yarn

Satin-lined Beanie/Toque from The Obsessed Crocheter

Prairie Crocus t-shirt from Morgan Hanson Art

HOLIDAY CARDS

Meowy Christmas card from Emily Chu Illustration

Dreaming of a Dwight Christmas card from Dangerfield Paper Co.

Letterpress Holiday Cards from Homework Letterpress Studio

Drake Christmas Card from Paper Made

FOR THE KIDS

Ice Cream Baby Rattle from Ami and Emmy

Pompom Slingshot from Des Enfantillages

Seagull T-Shirt from Second of November

Baby Yoda tiny bean from Make Merri

JEWELLERY

Glass Moon Necklace from Here and Now Shop

Gold Bar Stud earrings from Lemon and Leaf Designs

Chrysoprase Pyramid Necklace from TISH Jewelry

Forest Green Half Moon Drop earrings from Amilley and Hyde

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Behind the Art: The Winter's Tree

The Winter's Tree art print

 

Living in Canada, seeing trees like this can very much be a reality you live with for 6-7 months out of the year. But there is a delicate beauty in the way the branches look without their leaves, especially when there is a layer of hoar frost blanketing each one -- it's one of my favourite beauties of winter.

 

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Read It: Moon of the Crusted Snow

Taking place in an Anishinaabe community in Northern Ontario, Moon of the Crusted Snow tells the story of a man learning, growing, and finding his place within his community in a time of immense uncertainty (this is very vague, but I don't want to give away any details!). 

I would be lying if I said this wonderfully written, thrilling novel from Waubgeshig Rice didn't have me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It is one of only a few times in my life that I have read so quickly and urgently. I also liked that it gave me a window to a part of Canada that I know nothing about, especially because it gave me a little taste of Anishinaabe culture (the language is peppered throughout the book) and life on a reservation.

I never knew what was coming next, or even what to expect from certain characters (and I'm usually pretty good a figuring things out or finding patterns). I have so many questions about the book, but am very excited to have just found out that there will be a sequel that, upon learning about it, cleared up some of those questions.

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Shop Update: Virtual Markets 2020

This socially distant year calls for a socially distant approach to shopping handmade markets for the holiday season. So, we will be participating in two virtual markets this month in the hopes to help you find the perfect gift or holiday card for your loved ones (for those you'll see in person, and from a social distance). 

The first virtual market is the Etsy SK Market (you can find it here) that will be taking place this weekend, Friday, November 6-7.

 

The other virtual market that we will be taking part in is The Wren's Virtual Handmade Market starting Saturday, November 21 and ending Sunday, November 22.

We've shopped some virtual markets this year already, and absolutely love how quick and easy it is to shop and find what you're looking for, but we will very much miss being able to see you in person and visit with all the shoppers that come to the table. 

Stay safe and have fun perusing!

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Behind the Art: Hi!

 

Hi! Fish Card

Sometimes I come up with these ideas that I think are really funny (but probably just me) and so I make them into a card. This card came from the thought of "what if we could see what a fish was thinking like in a thought bubble, but the face of the fish stays the exact startled/surprised/unimpressed look that fish usually have", and this is what I drew!

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What We Love: Fall 2020

I picked up these Birkenstock boot/shoes when the weather started getting colder and my sneakers were just not keeping my feet warm while I was outside anymore, and I absolutely love them! While I know that they will not do the work of my mukluks, they have done a wonderful job keeping my feet warmer  while I'm outside with the children at work.

I heard this song from James Hunter while driving to get groceries one night, and I just loved the vibe of the whole thing, especially those saxophones at the beginning.

These delicious earrings (they're called marmalade hoops!) from Amilley and Hyde are absolutely gorgeous, along with all of the other unique and colourful earrings that can be found in Amanada's shop.

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Shop Update: World Alzheimer's Month 2020

 

I am so excited to be able to share that with you support, we were able to donate $20 to the Alzheimer's Society of Saskatchewan this year. It's an odd year this year with not being able to do in-person handmade markets, so I was a bit worried about how much we would be able to collect for donations, but you came through and made lots of purchases in September, making it so we could add to our total. So far, including this year, we have donated $180 to the Alzheimer's Societies of Canada and Saskatchewan. Thank you!!

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Behind the Art: Have and Adventure

 

Have an Adventure art print

This art print was the first one that was inspired by a t-shirt that I saw a child wearing at work one day. Since then, a lot of my artwork and cards have been inspired by t-shirts and things that the children say. They are always an excellent source of inspiration!

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World Alzheimer's Month 2020

 

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Since 2014, we have been donating 15% of profits from the month of September to the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, and last year the Alzheimer's Society of Saskatchewan. This year will be no different. You can read about why we donate here.

To date, you have helped us donate over $160 to support to those who are suffering from the disease and their families, and to promote research. That is absolutely amazing! 

This year we will not be able to attend any local markets, and so it would mean so much to us if you would take the time to visit our shop this month to make a purchase. Let's see if this year can push us past $200!!

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Summer 2020: A Very Different Summer List

What can I say about this summer except that it was not filled with our usual activities. There were no live bands, or massive cultural gatherings, but we found new ways to have fun. We had several walks down by the river that ended us in getting ice cream and crinkle cut fries (my favourite!). We were able to go to the paddling pool, and we even took a day trip to see the crooked trees and to lay on the beach of one of our many provincial lakes.

This summer forced us to be creative in what we did, and we had a lot of adventures that we wouldn't have had otherwise because we would have continued our regular summer traditions (which we love and can't wait to do again!). There's nothing wrong with mixing it up.

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Behind the Art: Because You've Helped Me Grow

Because You've Helped Me Grow card

I originally designed this card as a Mother's Day card for my own mom (a lot of new designs come out of necessity in my own life) because I had purchased her a small plant and I thought it would be a fun little sentiment to go with it. It's turned out to be a card that's perfect in any situation, regardless of who is in your life!

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Child Development: Providing A Script

Earlier this year, I wrote a post talking about the importance of teachable moments: what they are, and why they become increasingly necessary as your child gets older. In the post, I mentioned the idea of giving your child the words that they need to help them through a difficult situation, and I want to dig a little deeper into that.

Giving your child words does not mean that you are telling them what to think or feel, it means that you are providing them with a script (like in a play) that they need to help them express their emotions, and what they need. When a child does not have a certain skill, sometimes you need to teach them by breaking down the steps and providing them with opportunities to learn to do the skill on their own. This is called scaffolding, and it is a really useful way to help young children to be able to develop all kinds of skills (physical, social emotional, etc.). 

All children are capable of learning skills that we may believe are too difficult for them (even toddlers can learn to put on their shoes), sometimes they just need the steps to be broken down for them. It may take a while, or they may catch on quickly...it all depends on the skill, how it is being approached, and what your child does with the information.

Imagine your child has just been hit by another child at the park, and your child hits the other child back. You might tell your child to "use your words", but that phrase means nothing to a child that has not been taught what words to use. 

By getting close to your child (down to their level is even better), and giving them a script to use such as "Please don't hit me" or "Stop hitting me", you are giving them the words that they will need so that eventually you will be able to tell them "use your words" and they will know exactly what to say in response. Most likely, this will need to be done in every situation until your child has enough responses in their arsenal that they will be able to respond to any child in any situation. 

Think of how a building is put together. Is the top of the building put on first, or is the foundation laid, and then the other parts of the building are slowly added on top. Eventually, you won't even have to tell your child to "use your words" because they will know exactly what to do when a situation arises.

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Shop Small: Recently Purchased Items From Canadian Makers That I'm Loving

I recently made some purchases from an online market called The Royal Bison, including this amazing lounge set from Colour Me Weird, and it is the comfiest thing I have ever worn. On top of that, Rhandi also sent along a matching mask and a cute scrunchy (which has become one of my favourites).

I also bought this adorable art print from This Might Work, a collaboration between artists Mariah Barnaby-Norris and Erin Nagy. I love the energy in this print, and couldn't pick just one dog that is my favourite (thought I'm pulled towards the top middle pup...I'm sure you can figure out why).

Indie Polish was not part of The Royal Bison online market, but I found them after trying to purchase vegan (and harsh chemical-free) nail polish that ships to Canada. Bonus! Indie Polish is in Canada. I ordered a mystery box so I had no idea what I was getting (this neon green polish is one of them), but I am so happy with the colours that I got, and I'm excited to be able to wear nail polish again after having stopped because of the ingredients.

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