Aaaah...relaxing...almost

Yay....all my public Christmas markets are now complete, and I must say this was the best season ever for sales! Success all around. So now I can almost relax. I have an open house with two artist friends in less than two weeks, and I am currently sending new inventory to the boutiques that sell my jewellery.

It wont be long until we  are off to England, to spend Christmas with my side of the family. Winter has set in here early this year, and we have already seen several big snowfalls, and cold temperatures, so I will welcome the break to a somewhat warmer, albeit, rainier climate.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! We Canadians had our turkey and pumpkin pie last month and are already  well into the Christmas season. With all this snow, its easy to get into the Christmas spirit! Pin It

Cheap and Cheerful Earring Display

The car is packed and I am ready for Christmas show number 2 of the season,  this Saturday! 

I needed another earring display, to show a small group of earrings created with my custom ordered paper beads, and needed to come up with something quickly! So I put this together in just a few minutes with materials that I had on hand.

I had some 1/4 inch thick cork board, which I covered with pages from an old useless book. First, I tore some of the edges, and then I just used a glue stick to glue the pages to the cork board. An old wooden plate/picture stand was used to hold it up. 

Then I used tiny pins to pin the earring cards to the display. It works in great with my very vintagy display that I use for all of my shows. This is also great because the display comes apart, and the stand folds flat for easy packing!

Did I mention I was extremely busy??? I hope to catch up on some of my favorite blog reading very soon. 

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The crazy month begins!

As I write this, I am two days away from the first Christmas show of the season. For the next four weekends, I have  back to back Christmas shows. To say I am busy is an understatement...however, I am organized and ready to go!

Earrings are a big seller at these shows, and so I  have just finished making 97 pairs of earrings, which I hope will see me through the first couple of shows. I think I will make 3 more pairs just so it's an even 100!

How to display them, you ask? Well that's what I was asking myself over the last week, when at 4:00 am this morning, I awoke with a brilliant idea!  And here she is.....The Earring Goddess!

This weekend, I will be in Okotoks, Ab., at the Okotoks Market Square Christmas Festival. Pin It

Winter"s Coming

As the temperature dips lower, and the mornings get frostier, we know that soon enough, the landscape will be a white winter wonderland  of ice and snow. Not that I am a great lover of winter, however, I was inspired by this long, cold season, to create this collection called Holiday Ice.

This collection features chunky statement necklaces, created with vintage chandelier crystals, and accented with Swarovski crystals, and pearls, as well as beautiful vintage  glass beads. 

 Dramatic, glam, diva earrings, not for the faint of heart and certainly enough of a statement on their own. These will be the only accessory you will need for your little black dress!

Glamorous enough for wearing to all those upcoming holiday cocktail parties, yet cool enough to wear casually with a pretty sweater and jeans for a more intimate occasion.


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Facinating Film Actresses

 As a reader of my blog, you know that I love all things vintage! 
I love collecting old pictures of people from another era, especially  photos of women and children. I can spend hours online looking at beautiful portraits of forgotten actresses and celebrities from the days of silent films, and early Hollywood. 

Here are some of my favorites:

Maude Fealy -(1883-1971)
American Actress from 1900-1958

The Fairbanks Twins, Marion (1900-1973) and Madeline(1900-1989).
Born in New York, these ladies were stage and motion picture actresses in the silent film era.

Louise Brooks, 1906-1985. An American dancer and film star, that made the bobbed haircut popular in the 1920's.

Olive Thomas, (1894-1920), was an American actress and model, and popular Ziegfield girl. She married Mary Pickfords younger brother. She died tragically at the age of 25, in Paris, after accidentally ingesting bi-chloride of mercury, from a French labelled bottle in a darkened bathroom, believing it to be another medication.

 Lily Elsie- (1886-1962)
A beautiful English Edwardian actress and singer, that was a child star as well as a famous adult celebrity. Sadly, she suffered many mental health issues later in life.

 Mary Pickford, (1892-1979), Well known Canadian actress that was known as Americas Sweetheart.

 Lillian Gish-(1883-1993), An American Screen and television actress. Her career spanned 75 years, appearing  in silent movies,  films, and later in TV. She was 99 when she passed away in her sleep of heart failure.

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Turkey, turkey

I am looking forward to our family Thanksgiving dinner  this weekend. Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October, unlike our American cousins, who celebrate in late November.  However,  both countries celebrate with turkey dinners and pumpkin pies...and thats a good thing! 

I find that our weather usually turns from Fall- like, to Winter after Thanksgiving, however Old Man Winter arrived ahead of schedule this year, as I awoke to a light dusting of snow this morning.  I am sure it will melt by this afternoon, and hopefully we can enjoy a few last warmish days this weekend.

 Wishing all my Canadian readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Pin It

Scarecrow Festival

The Fall colors here are beautiful at the moment and we are still seeing some warm days filled with sunshine. Canadian Thanksgiving is this coming Monday, and we will be celebrating with family and of course the traditional turkey feast! The weather always seems to turn after Thanksgiving, and the snow will most likely start arriving by the end of October, or early November.  

This month, in the hamlet of Bragg Creek, we have a Scarecrow Festival going on. Businesses and families are building scarecrows and displaying them around the village.It's a way to bring people back out to the hamlet, after the massive flood that occurred in June. Trying to drum up some business into the Fall for our little town. So many of the businesses here rely on the summer tourist season, and they really suffered this summer as so many were still repairing after the all the damage done. There are some really creative people who have made some fantastic looking scarecrows. So enjoy!

 Eat your heart out Miley!!

 ...and for any bad Scarecrows, there is the Scarecrow Slammer!

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Fall Special

Hot Rocks Fall Specials!

I recently reopened my Etsy boutique, and have a great selection of new Fall merchandise.

From now until Oct. 13, get 15% off anything in my Etsy shop by using the coupon code, Friends15, during the checkout process!

Also..there is FREE SHIPPING on all earrings in my shop! Thats not all...spend $100.00, and get a thank you coupon for 10% off anything in my shop until Dec. 7!
A great time to kick start your Christmas shopping, or just treat yourself to a little bling.


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Oh, Canada!

Over the summer, I managed to find several old brass Canadian military buttons, at various flea markets and antique shops. I wanted to do a "get back to your roots", Canadian pride type of line. I really love the look of the brass... that has such a fabulous age old patina, with distressed leather. Add a bit of glam and bling to keep it girly, and heres what I came up with. 
Hope you like it!

      Introducing my "Oh, Canada" line. 

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