About my art and jewelry

Hello, this is just a post for information and clarity sake.

if your wondering where the flowers, fern, mushroom and other items come from that I use in my work, they come from my yard and from the town I live in on the sides of the road. I do not gather from national parks and I do not take more then I need to, I leave enough of everything so it can reseed and continue healthy growth.

Update

If you are wondering about my findings, the chains are made of stainless steel, I use a sturdy chain so it does not easily break, I also offer rope as another option, just specify what you would like. For earring hooks I use brass plated in silver. Everyone reacts differently to findings, if you you are having a reaction let me know I’ll send you new findings to try, also if you know you will react let me know when ordering and I’ll make your earrings with different findings.

UPDATE

if you are wondering about the resin I use, I use high quality casting resin that takes 72 hours to cure, I then sand and polish it with two high quality polishes. In all it takes up to 5 days or more of work from start to finish resin pieces. And they are still not perfect but I endeavour to do my very best.

Resin is in fact a plastic, so there are environmental concerns. Most crafts have an impact on the environment, weather it's metal work, resin, acrylic, even wood, these all have an impact on the environment. I am very aware and conscientious of this. Uncured resin poses the higher risk, but once cured it is recyclable like any other plastic. I take careful precaution to make sure I use all of what I mix, and dispose of left overs carefully once cured. I make in small batches for the specific purpose of preserving plants to create jewelry. Resin jewelry once worn out (5+years) it can then be recycled. I do not do large pours.

If you are wondering about a return policy, if you receive a broken item or your item breaks within two weeks of receiving it contact me and I will gladly remake and resend your item or reimburse you. other wise there are no returns.

If you are wondering about the size of my jewelry it can be found in the description tab of each item, I’m also available to answer any questions or concerns you may have, and I usually answer pretty quickly 😊

if your wondering about feedback and reviews. I am always open to kind hearted feedback, I prefer not to give an option for reviews as I’ve seen it used to drag businesses and people through the mud. My work is not perfect, it is handmade, there will be flaws, but if you find my work is very poor please feel free to inbox me and let me know so we can work things out.

If you are wondering about my paintings or drawing, I have limited time to do large amounts of my art but I do periodically post my art in my shop. I usually work with high quality ink and high quality watercolour on 100% cotton paper. The size of each piece of art will vary but will be noted in the descriptions.

About my prices, pricing has been very challenging for me, each piece takes a different amount of time and a different amount of material. I try to keep my prices fair and low. Things are priced according to time and materials.

packaging and shipping

I’ve changed my packaging is plastic free, the envelopes are made from recycled paper grocery bags, and the wrapping to keep my pieces safe and unscratched is a simple brown recyclable tissue wrapped with brown twine. I stamp each package with an ink made from oak trees and voila no plastic, much better looking packages and much better for the environment 😊

I have had to add a $5 shipping fee (untracked) because to package and ship is quite expensive, and most of my packages are larger then the basic mail. I have made it a flat fee to keep things simple. If you need express shipping with tracking please message me to arrange it. It costs $12+ for tracking. Most packages arrive within 14 business days within Canada, I do not ship outside of Canada unless you are family. If you do not receive you’re package within the 14 day time frame please let me know so I can either refund or resend. I have had packages get lost in the mail, only a handful of times, most packages find their way back to me eventually. It is sooo important you check your address is correct and include an apartment number if you live in one BEFORE you place your order, the time it takes for a package to return to me because of a wrong address is quite slow, and not guaranteed, so check your info, and I’ll check to, I have made mistakes in addresses as well.

Prices

Recently many of my materials have risen in price, so I’ve to raised my prices. I still try to keep my prices as low as I can, and will continue to work to keep my prices fair.

I apologize if this a challenge for any of my customers. But as always I will have sales so there will always be opportunities to get things at a lower price.

Finally a note as an artist and maker, I am a real person and I am really grateful, It is such a joy to get to create and I am incredibly thankful to all those who have taken the chance and bought anything I’ve made. Allowing me to do what I love, to grow, to learn is a blessing and I’m so thankful to those who have been on this journey with me as I’ve stepped out and shared what I love. Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏

Sometimes my disability disables me

And for many years I pretended like it didn't in front of those I feared would judge. But autism has always disabled me, my kids remember me having meltdowns when they were little, locking myself in the bathroom and just crying. I’ve never really successfully masked.

A big trigger for me is change. Recently our family has gone through a shift, my husband is gone a lot more and the change has been challenging for me. On his first day away my son walked in on me having a meltdown, instantly I kind of froze. I feared judgment but instead he offered to help, and reminded me it’s ok to ask for help. Growing up I needed extra support desperately but didn’t receive it and at some point I just shut down. My mom tried, it was perceived as special treatment by some of my siblings, lazy by another sibling, I needed support but received judgement. It’s hard to admit that I needed far more support, that I struggle with things others find easy. I’m in the process of being fully evaluated and the process has made it clear that I have needed medium support. As a child I had a “special needs” teacher, but that ended in highschool, and really struggled to keep up from that time on. Looking at myself now as a late diagnosed adult has been both validating, and upsetting. To look back and see how I had to avoid asking for help because I was considered “difficult”, I’ve come to realize what others called “difficult” was autism. Autism is a disability, and it’s also a gift. It’s very easy for me to get overwhelmed with daily life but it’s also easy for me to find joy in the small things.

My camera has been a great help in life, it motivates me to get out, it helps my brain slow down and focus. I’ve always had a camera with me. This spring has been especially beautiful, I look back the past two years and I was depressed through spring and summer, this year I’m feeling stable so I’ve been getting out daily and adding an hour in my yard as part of a new routine. Routine helps greatly with autism, and it helps me navigate change. My kids have seen my disability disable me and they don’t judge, that helps me greatly to get use to new routine.

Spring photos below

What I now do

What I do now is meet people’s energy

congratulation’s won’t be given if they haven’t been given

I celebrate those who celebrate my wins with me

I cry with those who have cried with me

I go out of my way for those who have gone out of their way for me.

I use to give my best parts to people who didn’t return in kind.

I won’t do that anymore.

I meet the energy