It’s Friday! It’s Friday! That means it’s time for weekend deals, my lovelies. From now until Monday, all prints in my shop are Buy One, Get One free.
Simply buy your first print as usual & then enter the name of the 2nd print you’d like in the comments section as you check out. You’ll get two prints for the price of one! Yay!
Click here to peruse the prints section.
And with that…I’m off to Seattle to visit my sister. All print orders will ship out on Monday. 
Have a fantabulous weekend!
Vancouver officially broke a record yesterday for hottest day in recorded history, as did much of BC. I know 34 C doesn’t sound that hot (93 F), especially if you’ve ever been to Nevada in the summer (ugh…I have), but us wet coasters are not built for this kind of heat day after day. The nice thing about being right by the water is that it usually stays pretty cool. These kinds of crazy temperatures PLUS humidity? Make me want to lay down. Preferably in a cool pool of water. While drinking a slurpee.
But since I still have to get work done & can’t slurp my way into a sugar coma, the mister & I made tracks out to the one & only Krispy Kreme in the lower mainland (all the way out in Delta, in case you were wondering) & got ourselves some iced coffees. They had some kind of crazy deal on where if you bought something else (like, say, a donut!) you got the iced bevvies for mere pennies. I think the large iced coffees were 25 cents. Almost worth the gas to haul our butts out there!
After not tasting the ridiculously yummy, possibly crack-laced Krispy Kremes for over a year, we couldn’t resist buying a full dozen. We popped the box in the trunk of the car to heat up as we drove home & made pit stops along the way for soft, trunk-warmed tastiness.
Yup, that’s how we roll.
I was one of the artisans participating in the Honeybee Festival out in Surrey, BC on the weekend & I had a fabulous time. It was one of the best run events I’ve ever worked & also looked to be great fun for the families that attended. Lots of demonstrations, music, games for the kids…tons of fun!
The weather was insanely hot (again) & my pale Scottish skin was no match for the blaring sun. Fortunately there was a lovely little atrium off the Honeybee Centre gift shop where several tables were set up.
Throughout the day it still got crazy hot inside, but at least it was shady. Did I mention the organizers gave us free honey? And meal tickets? Sweet!
I spent most of Friday afternoon building that folding white board (I got to do tools!) so that I could hang more of my little critters. I love tools. Just cutting the board down with the circular saw gave me a little thrill. It worked a treat, though I’m sure my handy dandy carpool buddies weren’t too happy when they saw how much stuff I planned to lug out to the fest. Plywood? Really freaking heavy.
There are still a few changes I’d like to make before the big holiday season, but I was quite happy with my new table set up. Plus I met lots of really lovely customers who said nice things about my work, so that’s always a big plus. Flattery gets you everywhere! At the very least, it’ll get you a free bookmark. 
Sandy from Firefly Notes was kind enough to haul my goodies out to the Honeybee Centre AND keep me entertained all day. She brought her own helper monkey, Tracy, who kept pulling the most fantastic treats out of a cooler all afternoon. Incredibly tasty flax seed multigrain crackers smeared with pepper brie? Don’t mind if I do!
Back outside, I had to walk past the tent for the Rehabilitation Society for Birds of Prey. I’m kind of afraid of birds & walking past the guy with the hawk or falcon or whatever that scary thing is was a major feat for me. The tiny little owl? So cute! Hawk that wants to peck my eyes out? Less cute.
And you know what goes with birds? Bees! They did bee beard demonstrations at a few different times throughout the afternoon. It was definitely interesting, though I won’t be volunteering anytime soon. Swarms of bees crawling all over me is in the same nightmare category as birds pecking my eyes out. But I’ll take some more of those honey samples, if you’ve got ‘em. Thanks!
All week long my lovely team members from the Etsy Twitter Team have been showcasing their favorite eco-friendly items and it’s been a great motivation for me to think about what I’m currently doing & what else I could be doing to be more environmentally friendly with my work. Check out the green shopping guide Jen posted for more awesome shops.
The biggest thing I’m currently doing to go green is my packaging – all of my mailers are made from recycled materials & whenever I can, I also reuse boxes. I just shipped off a painting to a customer using an Amazon box. It makes no sense to me to toss a perfectly good box into the recycling bin just because it had books sitting in it for 5 days!
When I was shopping for envelopes for my postcard packs, I also went with the ones that had the highest percentage of post-consumer waste and found these beautiful brown paper bag envelopes made from 100% recycled material. I love their soft smooth feel & earthy tone. They tend to be a little more expensive than the bleached white standard envelopes manufactured in China, but I think they’re worth it.
When it comes to the paper I print on & the ink I use for prints of my artwork, I need to focus on the best quality products for archival purposes. I want my prints to last a lifetime without fading or yellowing & unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of green options yet. There is a local Vancouver company that prints using soy inks that I’m interested in trying out, at least for my postcards, business cards & other printed materials that don’t need to be archival quality.
But what about those plastic bags that every print is sealed in? Up until literally *this week* I’ve been using the standard crystal clear archival art bags that seal up to prevent dust & fingerprints (particularly important at craft shows!). For storing prints for months (or years) at a time, they’re still the way to go, but for selling my work? My customers pull the prints out of their bags & have them framed while the bag is tossed in the garbage. Definitely an area that needs improvement in my process.
After some searching for alternatives, I’m thrilled to announce that all new prints are going to be bagged in biodegradable bags! They just arrived a few days ago & look almost identical, but the new bags are actually made from plants. They’re certified biodegradable & compost-able. Apparently the bags will biodegrades in 15 weeks at a commercial composting facility. A plastic bag that can go in the compost pile? Amazing!
Last but not least, my Scrabble tile pendants also fall into the green category. I hit the thrift shops regularly looking for old Scrabble games & regularly find ones that are missing a bunch of tiles. No one wants to buy them to play the game if they’re not complete, so I’m able to upcycle the tiles and give them a new life. I use the boxes for storage & the little racks for displaying my pendants at craft shows. I just need to figure out something cool to do with my stack of Scrabble boards & I’ll be set!
What are you doing to go green? I’d love to hear your tips & suggestions!
If you’re in the BC lower mainland, come see me at the Honey Bee Festival this weekend!
Saturday & Sunday
July 25 & 26, 2009
10 am – 4 pm
Corner of Fraser Highway & 176 Street, Cloverdale North
Enjoy 2 days of FREE fun and entertainment for the entire family. Check out their website for more info and directions.
note: I will not be donning a beard of bees at this event. Just so you know.
