Arwednesdays with Arwen: Loving Animals

Hello, it's me again, Arwen the Wonder dog. I wanted to get serious for a moment, if I may today...
I am loved.
I am very loved.
How do I know? Well, my mommy tells me at least 10 times every day.
I get my beautiful fur brushed every day, with lots of petting and mommy telling me how pretty I am. When that is done, I get my pearly white teeth brushed.
I have lots of toys, from tennis balls to squeaky stuffies, Nylabones and Kongs to keep me occupied, stimulated and happy.
I get to go for walks almost every day (unless it is very cold, icy or very wet), and I get to play in my yard every day, chasing birdies and squirrels and barking at imaginary beasts. When I come back inside, there is always fresh water, healthy food, and sometimes even treats if I've been good (or just looked really cute).
But, mommy tells me not all animals are loved.
Mommy tells me that there are many animals all over the world that are not fed properly, are not cared for, brushed, walked or even talked to nicely. Many animals are beaten, starved, left alone tied outside, or even forced to fight other dogs until one of them dies.

But, mommy tells me that there are great people who rescue these sad animals so that they have a chance at a happy life. One place is called Harmony Fund (animalrescuechase.com), and they are having what is called the World's Biggest Baby Shower for Animals (http://animalrescuechase.com/baby-shower/), where people can donate money online to help them rescue lots of animals and make them happy like me. Take the little guy in the photo above. He lives in Puerto Rico. One day, his owners got in a fight in their apartment. To get him out of the way, one of the owners shoved him in a hole in the wall in the back of a closet, where he fell to the bottom of the building and was left for two weeks in a wall, and was ignored by the residents who heard his cries for help. Finally a nice lady heard what was happening and rescued him, moments from dying and covered in sores. Now he is healthy and living the good life, thanks to these amazing people working with Harmony Fund.
Mommy thinks this is very good, and I do too. If you are able, please try to donate to them to give all sorts of animals (doggies, horses, cats, monkeys and more) the chance to have a happy life. At the very least, please try to spread the word about all the great things that they do so that others can help them too.
Please help these animals have a chance to have a happy home.
A chance to be loved.

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

January's Charity of the Month and Laptop Issues

(Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com)

It all started so innocently. I had planned to start blogging, if not daily, then nearly daily. I had planned posts in my new daily planner. I had taken, or planned to take, photographs. Life, as they say, is what happens when you are busy making plans. I had made many plans, all involving my lifeline, aka, my laptop.
Then my hard drive decided to start making funny noises, the day before New Year's Eve.
Many loud, funny noises that a laptop, or any computing device should not make, the day before New Year's Eve.
Then I started getting notifications from Windows saying that my hard drive was dying. That was the worst part of all - by the time Windows starts sending you notifications, you know your hard drive is pretty much pooped. I tell, you, the whole world is against me! Okay, not really, but it felt like it.
So enter Brennan, who has spent nearly all of the last two weeks, not only helping me move my workshop around (which was supposed to be posts January 2-4), but also fixing my laptop by replacing my hard drive, recovering all of my documents, etc., so that I could get back to my online life, which is pretty much my whole life (which I love, and am pretty addicted to. When I don't have internet access...well, it isn't pretty).
By the way, have I said how lucky I am to have Brennan lately? No? I am VERY lucky to have him!
Now I can get back to my regularly scheduled posts.
And go through the 120+ emails I received in the past week. "Delete all", anyone? No? Okay, I'll get through them all... eventually.

In other news, the first post for January was supposed to be to tell you all about the charity that I will be donating a portion of my sales to this month.
This month I will be donating 10% of the total sales in my Etsy shop (before taxes and shipping) to Polar Bears International. They are a fantastic, registered charity, that is devoted to saving our white giants of the north. Polar bear populations are declining rapidly and Polar Bears International are doing everything they can to educate us as to how important they are, and how we can do even the tiniest things to help them. Not just donating money, but small things, such as turning off lights when we are leaving a room, turning down our thermostats, etc., all in the name of saving these wonderful, enigmatic creatures.
I encourage you to visit their website, and see for yourself the wonderful work they are doing, in addition to the great photography that they have on their site (including totally AWWW worthy photos of a baby polar bear, TOO CUTE!), and some great tips on how you can easily help polar bears with small changes to your routine, and information on how to donate if you are able to.
I have symbolically adopted 2 polar bears so far, and I hope to adopt at least one more this year, if I get the sales to allow me to (again, 10% of all of January's sales, before taxes and shipping, go toward Polar Bears International).
Please visit my shop (at http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlestudiojewels/ ) to purchase some beautiful pieces of jewelry, and help polar bears at the same time.
Have a great day, see you on the flip side (yo! LOL),

August's Charity of the Month

Oh holy wow, I can't believe we are halfway through August already! Arwen was kind enough to remind me that I haven't mentioned the charity of the month yet, so here it is:
This month 10% of all sales before taxes and shipping will go to the Arthritis Society of Canada - http://www.arthritis.ca/ to donate directly, follow that link.
If you would like to see my jewelry for sale, my Etsy shop is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlestudiojewels I have many items for sale, more to be listed, and I ALWAYS love to do custom pieces!
That is all for now, see you soon :)

July's Charity of the Month: Rescue 100

This month's charity of the month is Rescue 100 Foundation. They are a non-profit horse rescue that regularly receives horses seized by the Alberta SPCA. Many of these horses are able to have perfect lives - the only problem is that their previous owners neglected them so badly they often need months of rehabilitation to be healthy enough to be adopted. This takes a substantial amount of love, attention and money. The results, however, are worth it. Keep reading to see one success story of many at Rescue 100:
The above image is of Saffiya, one of the first horses rescued by Rescue 100, in a herd of about 100 horses (sadly, not all of them made it) seized from a farm by the Alberta SPCA (they have since had more horses - the SPCA has had TWO major seizures alone this year, resulting in many horses being kept at the farm). She was so starved that she would stand like this, in the middle of frigid winter, for hours, too weak to move. You can see her belly is bloated from lack of food, her coat is rough and falling out from lack of nutrition, and she has almost no muscle, and nearly zero fat. She often had to be hand fed by the wonderful people at Rescue 100. It was a labor of love, however, as she was eventually healthy enough to be adopted, and her new owner sent a photo of Saffiya in her hew home:
What a transformation, and such a happy ending! This truly is an act of kindness and love, and as you can see, the results are definitely worth it. I wish I could adopt one of them, but right now, I could only keep a horse in the yard with Arwen or in the house with all of us, and I don't think they'd like the stairs. That, and Arwen likes to be the only one pooping in the yard ;-)

10% of the sales before taxes and shipping will be going towards this noble cause. You can purchase items from my Etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlestudiojewels or you can go and donate directly to Rescue100 via their website here: http://rescue100.ca/?page_id=43


Images are copyright Rescue 100 Foundation

Monday's Methods: Helping Others

~Image from Polar Bears International Website~

This month of March, I'd like your help in adopting a polar bear (symbolically of course, I don't know if Arwen would like a polar bear sharing her couch). I would like to adopt a polar bear from Polar Bears International, and the adoptions start at $25 USD. 10% of all of the sales from my Etsy shop this month will go towards adopting a polar bear from this wonderful organization, dedicated to helping polar bears keep and reclaim their hunting, breeding and living territories. If I don't raise enough money to adopt a polar bear, of course the 10% will still go as a donation, but wouldn't it be great to know that you helped save one of these remarkable creatures? Please do visit the Polar Bear International Website to donate yourself, learn more about the charity and learn about the beautiful creatures living in our northern areas.

Please visit my Etsy shop to see if there is anything you would like for yourself and remember - I LOVE to create custom pieces or alter current pieces to make them all yours. Together we can help polar bears, Let's do it!

November's Charity of the Month: National Wildlife Federation

Thank you to all of my new clients, and my return clients for your purchases. Over the last two months, you were able to help raise $15 for Epic Farms, the previous Charity of the Month.

For November, I have chosen the National Wildlife Federation to be the Charity of the Month. I am hoping to raise $20 to symbolically adopt a jaguar, a perilously endangered large wild cat. In a recent National Geographic Magazine, it is reported that there are now more captive large cats (especially Asian large cats) than wild ones. This is making their survival nearly impossible, and experts are now saying that our big cats will probably go extinct within our lifetimes if something drastic is not done. How horrifying!

10% of the total sales of all the items in my stores (before taxes and shipping) will go towards symbolically adopting a Jaguar through the National Wildlife Federation. Thank you in advance for your help!

If you want to donate directly, or find out more about the National Wildlife Federation, please visit their website here: http://www.shopnwf.org/home.jsp

Thank you for your caring and compassion, you are helping to make a difference in the lives of people and animals everywhere!

Have a great day,

Fabulous Friday: Charity of the Month and Fall Photos

This month's Charity of the Month is being carried over from last month. Epic Farms is a wonderful charity, run by my good friend Jen. As sales last month were less than spectacular (thank you economy, lol), I wanted to give this month another chance to actually donate something meaningful to Epic Farms horse rescue. Click the image above to go to their website, or click the image below to go to their fabulous Etsy store.
They have many things to get you started on your holiday shopping, so please do visit them :)

Now, for my fall photos...
I awoke this morning a little later than usual...the fibromyalgia is always worst in the mornings, so I try to sleep in until 8 (bad, I know). When I went into my bathroom, I noticed something....odd. Everything was fuzzy! When my eyes had cleared I realized that it wasn't fuzzy, but foggy - VERY foggy! And at this time of year, with the trees changing, I knew I had to get this photo for you - it is on our road, just a few hundred yards from our house. I love this maple tree, especially when the weather turns colder and the leaves change - it is such a gradual change that the very outer leaves are often red before the inner leaves are even done being green.
This is a maple tree that is visible from our living room window. The sun always seems to catch it and make it look as though it is on fire.
And of course, when I got back inside, I was greeted by one of the best sights ever: My wonderful, faithful Wonder Dog, Arwen.

Have a great Friday!!

and Arwen

Wordy Wednesday: September's Charity of the Month, Epic Farms!

Thank you to everyone for their purchases last month, you helped raise $5 for the Country Cat Sanctuary. I will be matching that and giving $10 to them. Thank you!

This month's charity of the month is Epic Farms. They've been a charity here in the past (they have a donation widget on the right hand side of the blog), and are always open and upfront about every cent they've been given. They recently had to rebuild their open air stalls after a series of violent storms ripped the roof off of the old ones (no one was hurt, but the cost is, as you can expect, quite painful).

~A Great Bookmark (I Have One and Love It!)~

Run by Jen, they have a few equine rescues that are mostly permanent residents, and are a registered 501 (c)3 charity. They have a website at www.EpicFarms.com and they also have an Etsy store where you can find all manner of beautiful, well made and affordable items at www.EpicFarms.etsy.com~A Carousel Horse Woodburning By Jen~

10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping in my Etsy store will go towards Epic Farms this month. Please do check out their Etsy Store and see Jen's beautiful artwork, as well as scrap booking supplies.

Please keep checking back here, I'll have the winners of last month's contest and a new contest for you to try and win great prizes!

August's Charity of the Month: Country Cat Sanctuary

This month's Charity of the Month will be the Country Cat Sanctuary in Oxford Station, Ontario. They are one of the only "No-Kill" shelters in the area and one of the only cat-only shelters as well. They are a registered charity and are always in need of financial help to do their great works. They are almost always willing to take in cats - they converted a horse barn in their back yard to house the cats in comfort, and even have a nursing room in their house for sick or injured kitties (they are currently at capacity due to a very bad year for strays)! A few years ago, when an idiot dumped two kittens in my yard from a moving truck, the Country Cat Sanctuary was the ONLY place that would take them, and I called 4 different shelters!

They have many cats that need forever homes, or, if you can't take one into your own home, they need helpers like you to sponsor a cat - a small donation can pay for their food and other expenses until they are adopted. They also take in cats that aren't able to be adopted - they are too traumatized or are used to being outside, so they need your help in the form of sponsorship.

10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping will go to help this wonderful sanctuary this month. Please visit their website if you would like to see their cats and kittens, as well as read about their success stories and miracle cats. There is also a form that you can print out and mail in with a donation if you would prefer to donate directly to them yourself. http://www.countrycatrescue.com/

Thank you so much for your purchases from the the last 2 months, I have donated $20 to the Lanark Animal Welfare Society!

Have a great day to you, my miracle workers :)

Melodious Monday: Charity Update and Some Photos

I wanted to update you all on the charity of the month, as we are halfway through July already - where has the time gone? As the summer months are usually slow, and as I have had a few sales in the last few days, I have decided to continue last month's charity over to this one to try and donate as much as possible to the Lanark Animal Welfare Society.
I also thought I would share my pansies with you - they are the "Sand 'n Sky" mix and I love them :)

Remember to enter my monthly contest by adding your name and email to my monthly newsletter (You have to sign up for the newsletter first to be eligible to win!!), see the full contest details here.

Melodious Monday: June's Charity of the Month!

Thank you to all of my clients for your purchases, you helped donate money to the Arthritis Foundation in Canada and Epic Farms horse rescue in Alabama, U.S.A.!

This month's charity will be the Lanark Animal Welfare Society (L.A.W.S.). They are a local (to me, anyway) animal shelter helping to take care of our stray and unwanted pet population until they get their forever homes. 10% of my sales before taxes and shipping will be donated to them this month, read on below to find out more about the great work they do for our community :)

About L.A.W.S.
LAWS is an independent organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of all animals. It is a registered charity (#BN 11900 4893 RR0001) that survives solely on private donations, receiving no funding from any level of government. Every year the shelter staff deals with over 2500 animals. These are lost, abused, or abandoned animals which are cared for until their rightful owners can be found or they can be placed in new homes.

Our Mission Statement:
To promote the welfare of all animals, to provide shelter and care, and prevent cruelty and suffering for those animals in need.

LAWS History
The Lanark Animal Welfare Society was founded 30 years ago. Initially it was an independent society with a small shelter just outside of Lanark Village. In 1986 LAWS purchased one acre of land on Glenview Road and, with the help of 600 supporters, built a small shelter that housed 12 dogs and a few cats. A cat wing was later added and over the years, the additions have resulted in a shelter which can now house almost one hundred cats, dogs and other small animals.

In the early 1990’s, LAWS became an affiliate of the Ontario S.P.C.A. allowing it to conduct cruelty investigations. In 2002, LAWS hired a full time trained cruelty investigator (agent).

LAWS provides emergency shelter for more than 1,300 animals each year. LAWS receives no funding from any governmental source. Its operating expenses are met from donations from its members, supporters, adoption fees and fundraising activities such as garage sales, raffles, craft sales etc.

The LAWS shelter runs under the supervision of a small paid staff assisted by volunteers who help clean cages, feed and walk the animals and run various events and fundraisers. Some of these volunteers also serve as members for the Board of Directors, helping to make decisions in the operation of the shelter, with a view to improving the long term well being of all animals in this County. Together we can continue to provide shelter for these gentle creatures who do not have a voice of their own.

Again, thank you very much to all of my clients - past, present and future - for helping so many people and animals. You are making a great difference in the happiness of our planet.

Fabulous Friday: A Bracelet Full of Sunshine!

The Celts believed that spirals represented the sun - the more open the coil, the brighter the sun. This is one bright bracelet! Click HERE to see the bracelet (with more photos) in my Etsy store. It is made from 14karat gold filled wire, sterling silver wire and amber. It is all hand formed into spirals and links.

$10 from the purchase of this piece will be donated directly to the Arthritis Society of Canada, which helps people with fibromyalgia as well as with arthritis http://www.arthritis.ca to donate directly - thank you!

Click HERE to see more items in my Etsy Shop, 10% of the sales always goes to charity.

Thanks for visiting!

Sweet Saturday: A Stroll With Epic Farms

Today I thought I would take a stroll over to Epic Farms, who happens to be my charity of the month (and a great friend also!). Jen is a wonderful artist, breast cancer survivor, and horse rescuer extraordinaire (sometimes when she doesn't even intend to be, lol).
I have purchased several items from her and I have to say that everything is high quality, beautiful, well packaged, affordably priced, and goes to a great cause - her 501(c3) charitable-approved horse rescue!Located in Alabama, her farm has recently had a few difficulties - the recent heavy rains have increased their already problematic erosion problems to the point that they have had to go out on several occasions and do emergency hole filling, and a few of the holes are going to have to be back filled. To add insult to injury, a recent storm ripped the roof off of two of their horses' stalls, and you have a real need for funds! I wanted to show a few of the pieces available for sale, but I also wanted to direct your attention to the right hand column of my blog - if you scroll down a bit, you will see their widget to direct you to their fund raising page on FirstGiving so that you can also donate directly if you would prefer.
Jen doesn't know I have profiled her on my blog today *wicked grin* but in addition to telling you of her farm's needs, I really wanted to show you some of her work, as it is just gorgeous :)

Please do stop by her Website, Blog, Squidoo Lens and most especially her Etsy Store....and don't forget to always "Live, Love, Laugh" as the items above show you!
Have a fantastic Saturday!

Fabulous Friday - May's Charities of the Month!

First of all, thank you for your support last month, as I was able to donate money to help rescue some feedlot horses, now happily recovering at Circle L Farms, as well as donate a little bit of money to the Cancer Society in Canada!
This month I am so happy to announce the new charities of the month - yes there are 2 very special charities.
The first is the Arthritis Society of Canada - appropriate as May is Fibrolyamgia awareness month, with May 12 being Fibromyalgia Awareness day. They help people with fibromyalgia and arthritis manage their disease and live lives that are as normal as possible, as well as funding research into these debilitating diseases.
The second charity is also the EFA (Etsy for Animals) charity of the month and a good friend of mine. Epic Farms is a horse rescue and rehabilitation farm in Alabama, run by a wonderful woman (and cancer survivor!) Jennifer Crowe. They are in desperate need of help after torrential rains have washed away parts of their paddocks, flooded their tack room, and blown the roof off a few stalls in their horse barn!
5% of the total sales before taxes and shipping will go to EACH charity this month. As well, you can go to my Charity Promo Items section in my Etsy store to see items available that will donate specific dollar amounts to these charities.
I wish each of these charities the best of luck and if you would like to donate directly, you can do so through their websites:
EpicFarms.com
Arthritis.ca
Thank you for your compassion and support,

Fabulous Friday - You Did It!!

YOU DID IT YOU DID IT! Thank You so much to everyone who donated and/or passed the message on about the 19 feedlot horses scheduled for slaughter - they have managed to raise enough money to help them!

Unfortunately, 3 of the pregnant mares gave birth in the feedlot, one mare died, and one foal died also, but though the remaining horses are in rough shape, your donations are helping to bring the remaining horses back to health with the promise of a life with people who love them.

You are Wonderful, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

If you would like to know more, or donate (they still need funds to care for the animals they rescue, after all!), please visit their website: http://www.circlel.org/clr/
Thank you for your kindness and love,

URGENT CALL FOR HELP!

I received an email from a friend, Marjorie over at The Fantail, about the Feathers Foundation, an organization that saves good horses from slaughterhouses in Canada and the United States. Apparently, they have come across a lot of 19 horses, ten of which are pregnant! They are all due to go to the slaughterhouse unless the money can be raised to send them to Circle L Ranch in Arizona to be rehabilitated and, where possible, adopted out to a loving forever home. They need to raise about $4500US and have so far reached about $2100US. Any donation is greatly appreciated, many people are giving just $10 (and that is doable for just about everyone, right?) to help and that is making all the difference! If just 200 people donate $10 (and you are welcome to donate more!), they will reach their goal in no time.
THEY NEED TO REACH THEIR GOAL BY APRIL 24 OR THESE HORSES AND THEIR UNBORN FOALS WILL GO TO SLAUGHTER! Please, please help save them! If you go to their donation site (which is a secure site through FirstGiving) you can see that you may even be able to adopt them, for as little as $100! How amazing to get such a wonderful creature for only $100, and know that you have saved them a terrifying end to a too-short life.
Please donate any amount today at: http://www.firstgiving.com/savehorses
Thank you!

Fabulous Friday - Charity of the Month for April!

In honor of the many (far, far too many) friends and family members who have fought, or are currently fighting cancer, this month's charity is the Canadian Cancer Society. 10% of my sales before taxes and shipping will be donated to this wonderful charity, which helps fund research, education and support for those dealing with cancer (either directly or with friends/family members). Please join me in helping this amazing charity by purchasing any item, and the other charities I help in my Charity Promo Items Section of my Etsy Shop.
So here's to you Dad, Alice, Andy, Barry, Renee and Rebecca, I hope these donations will help in some small way! I may not be able to help you physically, but you are always in my thoughts and I hope you are soon cured/stay cured :)
My love and prayers to you all,