Decorating my Guest Room

Finally, I'm just about finished emptying out my "Cat-astrophy" room (that was the name given to one of my work rooms.)  The room was originally my son's room, and I haven't painted it since he left a few years ago.

This year, in between my business and my life, I've succeeded to gain control over certain aspects of my life, such as my arts and crafts rooms which were just way out of control; they were taking over my house...  It has taken me a few months, but little by little it's all coming together.  I must say, it's so refreshing to have almost everything neat and tidy again.  I often asked myself: how did this happen?  I was the type of person that couldn't stand a cushion to be out of place... Never let your business take control of your life - that's all I have to say.  Take control and with discipline keep it in subjection.

Anyway, we decided (hubby and me), that it would be lovely to have a nice, cozy guest room, because we love to have people over. I'm very excited about designing the whole thing from scratch.  I've chosen the paint colour which is just gorgeous:  Colonial Aqua. I've added a colour swap for you to see - Isn't it beautiful??

 I want to give the walls an antique / Tuscan feel by lightly adding joint compound all over with a trowel before  adding the primer and then finish with the Colonial Aqua.  I'm beginning tonight and I will keep you posted as to my progress.  I will add pictures of the end product.  As of now, the room is dark kidney bean colour... it'll be quite a change!!

Full Moon Photograph - Supermoon of March 2011

Do you remember that night?  The night where everyone was in expectation because something special would be in effect; something we would have the privilege of witnessing only a few times in our lifetime.  Do you remember now?  No.  It wasn't an eclipse, and no, it wasn't a flying saucer...  It was when our beautiful luminary, our moon would be a "Supermoon" as astrologer Richard Nolle coined it.

Interesting facts about that particular night of March 19th, 2011:  Usually, the moon passes by the earth every orbital cycle at a distance of 364,397 km, but on that night of March 19th, the moon was much closer at a distance of 356,577 making the moon appear much larger and brighter in the sky.

Being from Eastern Canada, I had anxiously watched as it slowly, but steadily climbed up over the horizon,  as if a giant lampadary, illuminating everything for miles.

The first thing I did was gather up my camera gear and tripod and headed for the back yard.  After setting everything up, I was able to capture one of nature's incredible phenomenons, both beautiful and awe inspiring!!  I've decided to share this beautiful photograph with you.  Please click here for more details.

Great Memories from our Newfoundland Trip!

Last year, we had the awesome privilege of visiting Newfoundland- It was the most fascinating trip of my life!!  The rugged terrain varied from one end of the island to the other.  Although we did not get to make it to St-Anthony because there were no icebergs at that time (weather was too warm), we did get to see Gros Morne which was breathtakingly beautiful!  A drive definitely worth our while!

With my brother and his family, who have been living in Newfoundland for over six years now, we walked on the main streets of down town St-John's, which was cold, even at the end of June.  It was interesting to have the down town life to one side and the ships in the harbour on the other; in a distance we could see "Signal Hill" reminding us of St-John's rich history.

My brother and me were walking side by side with our cameras strapped around our necks and our gear firmly attached to our bodies and held our cameras at all time ready to shoot that one shot we would boast about later. Being a newbie, I didn't really know what I was doing.  Nevertheless, I think I got some really nice shots and this particular one is from a bronze sculpture representing different facets of the arts.  I photographed two of the representations, and this is one of them:  The Violinist-  I love this picture!!  It's a wonderful interpretation of classical music!!  This is a perfect gift for any classical music lover!!    Go to my Etsy Shop to see more of my photographs.  As of now, I'm offering 10% off my entire store with coupon code: BAYSAVE10 at checkout.  Click here to go to my store.

Take Advantage of Free Shipping

A friendly reminder to all of my loyal customers and new customers as well:

I'm offering free shipping on most of my smaller items, thus most of my jewelry.  Basically any one of my items that fit in a bubbly envelope and is thinner than 1" will be eligible for free shipping.  I do my utmost to offer you the best possible shipping price and if by any chance I overcharge you with my default shipping price, I will, I guarantee, refund you if there is more than $1 difference.

I also want to remind everyone that I'm offering a 10% discount on all of my Etsy shop.  Take advantage now and start shopping here- Go to my Etsy Shop Bayside Wire Designs

Description of Handmade Turquoise Jewelry Necklace and Earrings Set: Turquoise, Moonstone and Petrified Wood in .925 Sterling Silver with large Mabe Pearl Shell Pendant and glass seed bead work on softflex (the best beading material available and will not wear easily.), finished with a solid .925 lobster clasp;  Earrings are short and dangle from a delicate stud earrings in .925 sterling silver.

Recycled, Up-Cycled Antique Silver Fork Earrings Etsy Shop Handmade

It's not too rare to see recycled, antique spoon jewelry these days.  I have my own little collection of these as well, but what about the forks??  These make for beautiful and unique pieces of jewellery.  I decided to make a collection of cool earrings with the individual fork talons.  I sawed each one of the talons off the main fork piece, drilled a whole in them, added my handmade .925 sterling silver o-rings and hammered ear wires and there it was:  a minimalist style earring that could be worn be either women or men.  Go to my etsy shop to view my other recycled, up-cycled antique silver spoon and fork, silver jewelry:  Click here.  Please don't forget to register to follow my blog.  You can follow my blog by email now.  Check it out in the bar on the left.

Ice and Snow

As I look through the window of my office, I see the Maple trees struggling to hold on to their bright, yellow leaves while snow is ever so lightly being tossed about in the wind.  The day is definitely colder than usual.  This cool day in October reminds me of my "Ice Necklace."

 Inspired by a winter ice storm we had a couple of years back, I designed this beautiful collection.  I absolutely love the look of branches weighed down by the heavy snow with crystal clear icicles sparkling in the sun.  Each part of my necklace represents beautiful features of this ice storm:  the .925 sterling silver work represent the trees and the branches; the genuine white pearls represent the crisp white snow; the quartz gemstones represent the ice; and the sparkling crystals represent the sparkle.

I designed this necklace for a bride, but it could easily be worn for any event.  This is a one of a kind bridal necklace.

Sea Glass, Beach Glass and Mermaid Tears

When I started making jewelry over 7 years ago, that's when I really discovered sea glass for the first time.  Not that I had never noticed it before when I was walking bare foot in the sand, but I never thought of it as something precious.  To be honest, I would be frustrated because in my eyes these were pieces of garbage scattered on the beach; a display of negligence and selfishness .  With time and a little bit of research, I've come to appreciate sea glass as being beautiful, frosty gems, gently tumbled with the tides of time; little pieces of coloured history as it may.

Every time I find sea glass, especially a rarer colour such as blue, aqua, mauve, orange, red or black, I ponder and try to imagine its journey. The Bay of Chaleur is so rich with history that one cannot help but wonder if some of this glass wasn't from an old English Ship, a French frigate from France, an Oriental cargo ship, or perhaps it was from the local lobster fishermen who after finishing their favourite drink, hid the evidence at the bottom of the Bay.  As you can see, the possibilities are endless.  Why don't you let your imagination run free the next time you spot these multi-coloured gems in the sand and come up with your own story; a romantic one.

Here is one of my pieces of wire wrapped jewelry with a beautiful greenish-blue colour of sea glass in .925 sterling silver wire.  Click here for more info on pendant and chain.

Shop and Save From my Etsy Shop

Take advantage of my new designs and save.  I'm offering a 10% savings from my entire etsy shop baysidewiredesigns.  Plus, if your total is $75 or more, you will receive a quality gift, plus I'm also offering free shipping on most of my smaller items.  All of these savings sure add up.  This means more money in your pocket for more shopping!!  That's what I'm talking about!!  I'm an artist who loves to dabble into a bit of everything and therefore you will find a wide array of interesting gifts and treasures in my shop.  I hope you enjoy your whole shopping experience.  Please use coupon code BAYSAVE10   at checkout to save your 10% and I will take care of the rest. So, grab your favourite mug and fill it with hot, freshly brewed coffee and slip on your cozy slippers and begin. :)  Click here to begin.

How to Get Crazy Traffic to My Etsy Store

If you're an artist who works hard at your craft and who doesn't have much time for networking, please, you need to read this:

I have been reading about this for some time now and it seems as though some spend much time with Social Networking and Tweeting in order to gain crazy traffic to their etsy shops and it's working great for them!  Being in business for seven years now, I understand that you need to bring people through your shop and therefore you need a way to build a client base, but my goodness, when you make everything by hand, it doesn't leave much time to spend networking.  I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that I can't believe it's the only way to success.  There must be other ways; less time- consuming ways.

As an artist, I often find myself in what I like to call "creative mode."  Once I'm in the creative mode, I'm inspired and I'm psyched to bring to life whatever I mustered up in my imagination.  Once I get going, I don't like to break the rhythm.  Because once I break the rhythm, it might take me a while to get it back again.  This is the dilemma I have:  How can I succeed in business and keep my "creative mode" going simultaneously??   I'm sure I am not the only one that feels this way.  It comes down to this:  If I spend all of my time networking and I lose my creative rhythm, I will be driving people to an empty and mediocre etsy shop... and that's no good.  I need to find a middle, a balance.  A method that will help me in all areas without hindering my creativity.

So, I'm on a quest:  I'm looking for different ways to make my etsy shop a great success without spending all my time networking.  If you have any hints and tricks on how you drive traffic to your etsy store, please share them here. I would love to build a resource page with a list of things to do so that I can do better and also help others who are finding it difficult as well.  Everyone on etsy deserves a chance to be seen and to make a bit of money.  So please, help me build a resource page.  Add your suggestions and share what you do for success.  I want to hear them all (even if they have to do with networking), or even if you think it's an insignificant little thing... I want to hear that one too.  Looking forward to your information.

From all of the artists who work hard at creating and whom don't have much time for networking, etc...,
Thank You!

Inspired by Autumn in New Brunswick

Last week the autumn leaves painted the hills and the mountains around us in a brilliant mixture of bright, fall hues: orange, red, yellow and greens.... The trees have already begun shedding their leaves and they're beginning to look bare and vulnerable.  I was able to capture some of that wonderful colour and freeze it in time in a photograph.  Please click photo to go to my etsy store if you wish to purchase this photo; it's an awesome piece of wall art!!  You will love this picture of the Canadian Maple leaves in all their glory!!