we ARE amused...

Happy Victoria Day!

the beautiful young Queen Victoria

birthday greetings...from one Victoria to another!

I'm proud to share my name with such an iconic Royal Lady, Queen Victoria ~ and what better place to celebrate Victoria Day, than in my hometown of Cobourg, Ontario's Feel Good town 

which boasts the stunning Victoria Beach...

...Victoria Park, abloom with Spring colours,

and this historic leading lady...

Victoria Hall ~ this beautiful grand landmark celebrates it's 150th anniversary this year with a fabulous Grand Ball in it's majestic Concert Hall, in honour of the Grand Ball with which Albert  (Prince of Wales) opened the Hall back in 1860. Find out more on the brilliant Oh, Canada! blog.

Victoria Hall is also the 'feel good' inspiration behind my

deliciously dark & minty handmade soap

Mint Choc Queen Vic

"This historic leading lady captures the classic combination of rich dark chocolate and cool, crisp peppermint aromas.

Featuring fairtrade organic cocoa and peppermint essential oil.

A right royal performance...encore!"

Mmmm, I don't know about you, but I might have to celebrate with some heavenly mint chocolate!

Happy Vicky Day indeed ♥

Mum's the word ♥

happy mothers day

'pink mystic flower' by tim darbyshire photography

I'm incredibly lucky really as I get to celebrate Mother' s Day twice!

Today, here in my new home - Canada & back in March, which is when England (my birthplace) celebrates Mums everywhere. ♥

enjoy the day and if you have a moment please

visit the link below to read my tribute to my late Mum, in an earlier post. she was the best. ♥

my very own Mother nature

'butterfly island' lavender & lilac handmade soap

with eco donation by soapstar. 

this charming girl...episode 9

the good earth

9. ~ a globe bead.

today is Earth Day. 

  a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. it was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year.

my little glistening globe charm represents my love of maps & atlases of all kinds, from transportation guides like the London Underground Tube map to the amazing satellite images on Google Earth. I loved them so much I studied cartography at college.

...but it is also a reminder of what a beautiful, yet so fragile place the planet that we call home, is.

'earthrise'

this iconic photograph taken by apollo 8 astronaut, Bill Anders on Christmas Eve, 1968 - showing the Earth seemingly rising above the lunar surface perfectly captures exactly that sentiment .

 "...and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo eight has a message that we would like to send to you. 'in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. and the Earth was without form and void. and darkness was upon the face of the deep. . . . and God saw that it was Good." And from the crew of apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck.... and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."

— flight crew of Apollo 8, live telecast Christmas Eve, 1968.

the words of NASA's astronauts are fitting sound-bites for our future.  

"...suddenly, from behind the rim of the Moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth . . . home."

— Edgar Mitchell, apollo 14.

"...as we got further and further away, the Earth diminished in size. finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. seeing this has to change a man."

— James B. Irwin, apollo 15.

play your part, however small - together we can keep the earth 'good'.

i will be at my local ecology garden in Cobourg, Ontario - at dawn, to celebrate Earth Day with 

members of the Mississauga Ojibways of Alderville First Nation, Rice Lake who will be conducting the Sunrise Fire Circle. 

06.30am ~ the ceremony begins...

'smudging' - 

The burning of sage, sweet grass, fungus is called smudging. It is traditionally used to prepare and purify a person, place or thing for a time of openness and truth in the presence of the Creator. Prior to everyone being smudged, the eagle feather is smudged.  Smudging is done for these reasons:

Mouth - so that anything we say will be positive and helpful to others who hear us.

Ears - that what we hear and listen to will be positive and help us to learn.
Eyes - that what we see is positive and we can see that in others, not to look at the outside.
Mind - that what we think or how we react will be positive, with only the well being of others in mind. Not to be clouded by anger, lust, greed, etc.
Heart - that our hearts will feel our pain and joy, to be able to heal and use that to help others.
Body - that we will use our bodies in positive ways and take care of our physical health.

songs performed in local native languages with the Alderville Drummers

strawberries are heart berries, connected to all - used for Spring ceremonies, and roots for purifying body. 

in support of Earth Day - profits from my lavender & lilac 'butterfly island' soap are all donated to the Cobourg Ecology Garden - available at my etsy shop. 

take-away gift bags including a guest size butterfly island soap &  travel size aromatic bath salts are available from local store, Peech's Market at 148 Third Street, Cobourg. profits also donated to the garden.

see previous post for more info...

coming soon from soapstar...an eco friendly household soap with orange oil & lemongrass - perfect for making your own environmental laundry detergent. check out this awesome recipe at the art of zen crochet blog. 

full feature on this wonderful & inspiring artisan & blogger to follow... check back out her etsy shop Earth Day sale too! ☺

gorgeous & green - fringed triangle scarf in sage green bamboo 

by chrisssmith22 

♥

this charming girl...episode 7

Happy Easter ☺

7. ~ box of chocolates.

i ♥ chocolate.

need i say more? 

i hope the Easter

bunny brings

sweetness

& a smile

to all ☺

...and if you're

a chocoholic

like me, you'll love my mint 

choc queen vic

100% natural handmade

soap with fairtrade 

organic cocoa &

peppermint

essential oil.

for more gorgeous things going 'cheep'

check out the Etsy Oh, Canada! Team Easter egg hunt sale...on NOW!

previously...

life's little treasuries (take four ♥)

truly from the ♥

take a minute to check out the fabulous recycled pieces at 

'the house of hearts',

an Etsy store full of beautiful & unique vintage shoes, bags & clothing just waiting to be discovered ♥

all hand picked by the very talented Crystal who also put together these two wonderful treasury collections.

 

I think you'll agree, she has an eye for the something special.

Etsy obviously do, as they featured the treasury above on the FRONT PAGE!

so have a heart and join Crystal in her philosophy ~
 ♥ live your live guilt free by loving something that exists ♥

easter egg hunt sale now on....join in!

I'm a proud member of the Oh, Canada! Team █ ♣ █ - join us in a special Easter Egg Hunt event which is now under way. Check out the awesome Oh,Canada! team shops here   or search for "ohcanadateam" under "all items" in the Etsy search box. 
Please note not all team members may be participating, and each store has has it's own unique sales & promotions.
soapstar is offering 20% discount on a different soap bar each day (from  Sunday 28th March thru til Monday 5th April).
wanna know which soap is on sale today? then put on your bunny ears and start hunting...there's a little Easter egg hidden alongside the soap going cheep, in it's Etsy listing  ~ so keep checking in at the soapstar Etsy shop to see if your fave is on sale that day! 

♥ have an eggscellent holiday weekend! ♥

life's little treasuries (take three)

Yay! hold the front page ☺

fab finds by splurge

calm, cool & collected by pulpandpaisley

made in canada by somethingbunny

love is like a butterfly by soapstar

this charming girl....episode 1 maple leaf

i've always been obsessed with all things miniature. i think this love of the lilipution comes from childhood memories of my late dad  (richard negri - theatre designer) making models of theatres, set designs and  people in costume. i can clearly recall a tiny but perfect, purple umbrella he made for me, from a coloured cellophane candy wrapper, after weeks of me bugging him. i loved that delicate little umbrella.

many years later my petite passion shows no sign of fading. my treasured charm bracelet is a living testament to this. each charm represents a place, time, person, animal, interest or memory that i hold dear.

last count, there were 52 little charms...but there's alway space for another.

every charm has a story - each week i'd like to share one ♥

1. ~ a maple leaf.

over 20 years ago in England, one of my sisters met a Canadian. she moved to Ontario & married him.

i spent countless vacations visiting them and fell in love with this breathtakingly beautiful country.

in 2008 i followed suit and moved here permanently with my family.

i feel at home.

my little maple leaf charm is actually silver but for today it's GOLD ~ in honour of all the dedicated and amazingly talented Olympic athletes that have done this nation proud in the Vancouver 2010 games  ☺  

when winter was fashionably late....

so it's here at last, like a long lost friend - just when i'd almost forgotten it hadn't visited yet. i awoke to that soft, silent, pristine blanket of pure whiteness...it may not be everyone's favourite guest but it's beauty is always welcome in my heart, evoking wonderful wistful childhood thoughts of Narnia.

my first interview...

a little taste of joannie's stunning work

One of the nicest consequences of venturing into soap making I've discovered, is meeting wonderful new friends -  who create the most amazing pieces.

I've recently entered a contest to win the most beautiful turquoise earrings, crafted by the extremely talented Joannie of joanniel creations. I have nothing but admiration for her work, so I was really over the moon when she approached me for an interview to feature on her simply stylish blog.

Read the whole interview at http://joanniel.blogspot.com/2010/02/soap-stars.html

check out her handcrafted jewellery and original art at joanniel creations

Oh, and don't miss your chance to win those gorgeous earrings

...you only have until March 5th!

use this link to enter right now :-)

life's little treasuries (take one)

stunning pieces from some of Etsy's finest

the good earth by soapstar

girly gorgeous by soapstar

life in multiples by botanical theatre

mother nature by the log chateau

i NEED my coffee! by soapstar

moody blues by little bear's mom

sunrise, sunset by soapstar

pink champagne by simple sundries

Oh, Canada! team spirit...

Go Canada!

'dazzling lakes, stunning beaches, beautiful landscapes with never ending skies, trees ablaze with fall colour, sleek cityscapes, cosmopolitan cafes full of delicious treats...'

I moved to Canada with my family, from England nearly 2 years ago & settled in the 'feel good' town of Cobourg on the breathtaking shores of Lake Ontario. I find wherever I travel in this beautiful, I'm uplifted by the most wonderful sights, scents and sounds.

These inspired me to create something special that would evoke all the feel good senses and bring a smile to the face. I am not alone...

I have discovered a tremendous wealth of creative, innovative & hugely talented artisans in an astoundingly wide variety of different fields, country wide.

They did not hesitate to welcome me into a new family - Oh, Canada Team Etsy

View their remarkable work & feel their warmth at...

oh,canada! teamblog

oh, canada team! forum on etsy.com

oh, canada! team facebook page

oh,canada! team flickr