The Mamas and Chicks Spring Market

I have been busy organising the Mamas and Chicks Show which is on THIS Friday...

I haven't forgotten about ANY of you...I will be back with a Birthday GIVE-AWAY on Sunday!

PLEASE take a peak at ALL the amazing vendors we have at our Show...just CLICK HERE and it will take you to all the 55 plus incredible entrepreneurs and local businesses here and in neighbouring cities.


HUGS
Char.x

WIN WIN WIN

I was interviewd over at  EARTH MAMA  this week...it's being featured today...she is also hosting a GIVEAWAY this weekend... 2 winners will each choose 2 prints from my ETSY Shop.

Please go and enter HERE...I would LOVE if one of our readers won this...so head over there sometime this weekend and enter!!

Have a great Saturday...and GOOD LUCK!!
hugs
Char.x

I love them!

HAPPY FRIDAY!! My Postcards arrived yesterday from VistaPrint...have you used them before?
The quality is really very good, I opted for the gloss finish on the front...and you can upload ANY image.
One year for our Mamas and Chicks Show I made it look like a postcard at the back so people could actually use it AS a postcard...I may order some more like that!
I have a link on the right if you're looking to order anything from there...
These postcards only cost me $12 for 250 plus shipping...and I know shipping can be pricey...but when you think of how much Postcards usually cost! It's a steal!

I have a busy day today...but sometime this weekend...I will be telling you all about the Square Foot Gardening seminar I went to last night.VERY INTERESTING!!! Do you yield 3 harvests from your garden a year?
Have any of you tried square foot gardening?

AND...I will be featured over at Earth Mama this weekend with a GIVEAWAY of some of my Once Upon a Time prints...when? I am not sure...but I will keep you informed!


Have a glorious weekend!
Spring is finally here in Canada!

HUGS
Char.x

Illustration in progress...

  

Good morning...working on a book with Shelly...VERY excited but I can't show you too much! :-) as it would spoil the surprice...these are all macro shots of the images so far.
This little girl learns some important lessons in this book...it's a book of rythm and reason...did I tell you I was EXCITED?
We have about 6 books written so far which are waiting to be illustrated...and then the fun begins when we have to fight off publishing houses...lol...

Hope you have a LOVELY day...

Have you entered my January Giveaway?
If not you have 24 hours to enter....QUICK QUICK...go HERE.

HUGS
Char.x

Monday...Tuesday...Wednesday...Thursday...FRIDAY!!!! 4 more days!

FIRST...CONGRATULATIONS to...dedeetsyshop she won our October GIVEAWAY!!!...and she chose an owl...SO I will ship her a little Owl as soon as I hear from you Miss Dedeetsyshop!!

I found out that our winner is a lady who makes absolutely GORGEOUS creations...she has a wonderful Etsy Shop and a blog I have been visiting for a while...she calls it Harper and Henry...love those names...
 
Anyway...CONGRATULATIONS again!!!
AND a huge thanks to all of you for entering...I will have another one very soon...perhaps we'll go on a little scavenger hunt for the next Giveaway!
 
We have 4 days to SHOW TIME...the Mamas and Chicks Show is this Friday.
If you're reading and live in Toronto or the GTA...email me and I will place you on our MAMA Guest list for this Friday's Show!
 
Tomorrow I have a wonderful lady who will be taking our Tell All Tuesday spotlight. Her name is Jennifer Posti. I want to keep what she does a surprise...so I won't tell you too much...
 
I must go...I have a list the length of my body to get accomplished today.
I hope you all have a FABULOUS week...I may be a little absent from visiting, but will keep you up to date with happenings and goings on!!!
HUGS
Char.x

EYE spy with my brown eye...

something begining with L...

LOTS and LOTS of LONG eye lashes...
I just had to post little Miss A's (top) and Littlle Miss J's (below A's) long and glorious lashes...not only do they have beautiful DARK lashes (I have to get mine died black)...but they also have multiple layers of lashes!
QUITE remarkable!(and a little freaky seen SO close up!)
And I just LOVE eyes(especially our daughter's)...they are our windows to our Soul.

Have a wonderful weekend!
HUGS
Char,x
P.S. Thanks for your comments...and check back on Monday...we reached **1,000 ** fabulous readers!!!! WOW-THANKYOU all...and our 2nd Anniversary is just around the corner...so, I do believe another GIVEAWAY is on the fence.

!!!! CHRISTMAS in AUGUST GIVEAWAY !!!!!

**CHRISTMAS in AUGUST GIVEAWAY**

It's been a while since we've hosted a giveaway...

so we thought Christmas could come early for someone.

I am giving away 8 (yes 8 just because we're in the 8th month of this year) of my Once Upon a Time prints.

Each print can be personalized with a name...making them extra special gifts for your loved ones!

All you have to do to win is::

1. Become a follower of our Blog (if you're not all ready)
2. & leave a comment below...
   Want an extra chance to win??
3. Blog about the giveaway (make sure to leave me the link)
4. Post it on your Facebook Page (make sure to leave me the link)

I will choose the winner with the help of Random.org on Monday August 23rd....8pm EST.

Merry Christmas!!!

HUGS

Char.x

A CUP of TEA for YOU and ME :: GIVEAWAY!!!!!

GO HERE :: PICK a TEA :: LEAVE a COMMENT with your FAVE TEA :: MAKE SURE you're a FABULOUS reader of our Blog!!!

WIll it be Green? Ooolong or Pur'erh,White, herbal, black or Rooibos ??? You choose...

I am heading in to Toronto on Thursday....so you have until Wednesday at 12pm.
Check back Thursday to see if you've WON!!!!

I will ship ANYWHERE in the WORLD.
Enjoy browsing my FAVE TEA store!

OH...and even if you're NOT a TEA drinker...I promise you...these will change your mind. There is a Coffee Pur'erh which SMELLS like coffee...and has the beans in it!!!

Until tomorrow.
Char,ON
P.S A  BIG thanks to all your warm hearts out there...I appreciate your sweet and dear comments.
P.S.S No Tell ALL Tuesdays today...this week is a little wonky...sorry.
JUST spoke to Dad to wish him a safe OP tomorrow...it's REALLY hard being this far away :-(

Prayers and wishes...

A Mother's day Wish for my Mama in the UK...

a painting in progress for my Brother who has a Birthday on St. Patrick's Day...on wednesday(don't worry...I won't be showing you the finished painting...that would be giving it away:-)

Liss Miss A and Little Miss J joining me in my painting adventure today.

I love to see them enjoying painting and drawing so much.

my little Bro turns 33 on Wednesday...he's a farmer...and has those great green boots too!

A regular day for him would be feeding the deer and then working the rest of the day in the Farm Shop.

I really loved working on this painting...hope he loves it.

Ok...so on my brother's Birthday, Dad goes in for his Operation at 7.30 AM...so hard being this far away.

So I'll be praying that everything goes smoothly.

Tomorrow evening I am hosting a GIVEAWAY...so make sure you check back.

Thanks for all your encouragement and positive thoughts regarding my last post...I know it's not a lovely thought, and have come to conclusion that everyday is more important to love and cherish those around you than to worry about the future.

Mum...you're the BEST!
Bro...I miss you and your Family...and wish you a wonderful Birthday.
Dad...I'm praying for a GREAT St.Patrick's Day for you.

Until TOMORROW.
Char,ON

Lunch and ladies...

Sitting eating my lunch I hope all these envelopes reached their destinations this week...

TELL me...Why does a GREY day change your mood SO much?

Yesterday it was 17 degrees and bright sunshine...today we have freezing rain and a blanket of GREY.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I am hosting another GIVEAWAY on Monday...

it's  MARCH BREAK week next week...

what are you upto?

HUGS

Char,ON

FELIZIDADES... and congrats to...

ESTI from Pintame el Dia ...# 46 using Random.org.
Esti is our February Giveaway Winner for the Original Watercolour Once Upon a Time painting...she chose, a Bear with 2 girls on it's side...I'm SUPER excited to paint this for her.
She is a wonderful Artist and lives in Spain...I always love the idea of a piece of me travelling half the way around the World.
Esti also has a wonderful Blog where you can see all her talent.

Sorry I couldn't paint ALL your desires, I had SO much fun reading all your wishes...some extremely imaginative and fun images came to mind whilst going through them all.

I really do appreciate all the very kind comments regarding my Once Upon a Time paintings...and it was lovely to meet new creative bloggers throughout this giveaway...thanks for entering!

This is what I did yesterday::

picked up little Miss A from school and had some fun in the snow...

meet Mrs Snow and Mr Snow...

and then she came to life...with a little food colouring...tortilla chips and chestnuts...oh, and a whole lot of imagination from our 2 little Misses.

I finished a commision which I had started Monday evening...

I am thinking my watercolours need filling! Anyone know of a good Art Supply store which sell the little watercolour blocks?

So...it was a busy day yesterday...today...that's another matter.
Both our girls have playdates planned for today...which means a little spare time for Mummy...yay...

Sorry if I haven't caught up on your blogs recently...I hope to today.

What are your plans for Today?

Until later...
Char,ON

Tell ALL Tuesdays :: Joe Everson

WOW...this week has sped by!
As many of you know every week on Tuesdays we introduce to you another one of our *Fabulous Readers* who I have gotten to know through Blog Land over this past year

 and a half...

I first stumbled upon Joe and his ingredible draughtmanship recently after discovering his Wife's blog..I was in awe, it's rare to find someone who is so dedicated to detailing a piece of artwork. Such a talent! 
So...not keeping you any further from meeting and getting to know Joe a little better...

Let me introduce to you...Joe Everson.

 Tell us a little about the Town you live in... & have you always lived there?

I grew up in Midland, MI. Midland is a family oriented community minded City. My father grew up in Midland and the majority of my relatives still live in Midland. Dow and Dow Corning are two very large chemical co. that produce the majority of the jobs in Midland, and it is not hard to find people with extra letters before their names. Yet, at the core midland is filled with hardworking people. The state of MI has been in the nation’s lowest economic status because of GM and the automobile industry. This is hard. Seeing my grandfather’s medical possibly taken, and seeing many families struggling to keep their homes. My father taught music at Delta College for a while, but he got another Job in Pembine, WI teaching music at Northland International University. I was in tenth grade when I moved there, and I studied Theology and Counseling at the University. I met my wife, Bethany, at college; and fell in love with her beautiful blue eyes.

If you could move anywhere tomorrow, where would it be?

I think that I would only like to visit other places. I am very happy living in MI. But I have always wanted to see Paris!

How structured is your day usually?

My wife would probably say that my days are messy; I say that my days are a structured mess. This is due to the nature of my work. My family and my brother’s family sing in for a non-profit organization across the U.S. This means that we are on the go every week. We could be in South Carolina one week and Maine the Next.

What did you do today?

I built a basketball hoop, lead a youth group, and did my drawing lesson of the day. I also watched the Olympics and cheered on a speedskater, Travis, from Midland MI.

Are you a cat or dog person?

I am a dog person! This is partially because I am allergic to cats.

 Are you a breakfast, lunch or dinner guy?

I think that I am a lunch guy. I like dinners and hamburger joints. I love the nostalgic 50’s feeling.

If you had 6 friends over for Dinner what would you make for them?

If I had some guy friends over I would probably cook some steak. If their families were joining them I think that I would my grandmother’s favorite enchiladas! Mmmmmm.

How old were you when you knew you were on the right path in your Life?

I think that there are many ways of looking at the direction a person should go based on that individual’s interests and desires. I always loved to be involved in the ARTs, and I think that I always knew that I would be. Whether it would be singing, teaching, designing, coaching, drawing, or all of the above; the truth of the matter is, drawing has become my passion.

Who /what drove & inspired your love to create?

I had a teacher in High school, Marilyn Garrison, who did more than teach me art; she inspired me by telling me that I had a gift. She was fun and encouraging. I would also have to say that My Grandma Grace (Professional Photographer) and Grandma Eunice (Watercolor Painter) were the closest to me who understood the art side of me. Thank you both.

Tell us something not too many people know about you.

I went to Guam for a summer and learned how to play the Ukulele.

What was the last book you read?

Oddly enough the last book that I read was, “The Art of Basic Drawing.”

What advice would you give others just starting out?

When you see another artist, don’t get jealous! Do it your way!

Name 5 blogs you enjoy visiting, and tell us why.

My wife has a great blog called “It’s a Wonderful Life”

My Mother-in-laws blog “Cranberry Cottage”
A great friend and artist, “Pam Warden Art”
This blog is interesting and one of the first people to start following me in blogger.
To tell you the truth the next favorite blog of mine is the one you are reading. I love the concept of this blog!


THANKS Joe...very kind of you, and thanks SO much for taking part this week.

So this is where you can find Joe HERE , I'm sure he'd love to hear from you...so head over and say Hi...or leave a comment for him here...I'm sure he'll be checking in.

REMEMBER...this is your last chance to enter my Original Artwork Giveaway!
CLICK HERE to enter.

Have a wonderful day...we got SNOW last night...YEAY...sorry living up here in Canada with NO snow is just not right...we've been missing it this year...the girls are SUPER excited.

Char,ON

original ARTwork GIVEAWAY...

HELLO fabulous friends...

I haven't had a giveaway for a while...SO...many of you know what to do to WIN an Original watercolour Once Upon a Time painting...

1st :: Make sure you're a FABULOUS READER of our blog.

2nd :: Leave a comment telling me which Animal,bird  or insect you would like painted. With the numer of children/adults on the back and 3 colours...oh, as well as a night or day scene.

3rd :: If you'd like an extra entry...blog about the giveaway and make sure you leave a seperate comment with the link to your post.

Have fun with it...I will use a random picker and choose a Winner on WEDNESDAY the 24th February.

P.S. EVEN if you have won one in the past...you may still enter...this is 2010 you know!

Enjoy your Saturday.
Char,ON