Multi Vendor Sale Happening Right Now

I'm excited to be participating in the annual May Day sale on my dear friend The Sew Ninja's Facebook page. I have some clearance magnets available in the sale and I'm also offering a 20% off code for my Etsy shop during the time of the sale. And if all that is not appealing enough there will also be flash giveaways happening. Plus, the creative offerings of 9 other handmade vendors. 

Sunday Night Chit Chat

My garden is starting to grow!!! I could not be anymore excited. I'll be sure to post some more photos soon.

I love blogging. Before I had this blog I had a few others. Sadly finding the time to sit down and put my thoughts to my keyboard is challenging. So while I will always post here it may be sporadic. My apologies for that. Juggling my business, team and now looking for a job outside of my home along with house duties has me on full drive all the time.

Today I'm going to play along with my amazing friend Carla and take part in her weekly Sunday Night Chit Chat. Here are my responses to this week's questions:

• Wearing? A yellow tank top and a pair of blue and teal yoga pants. 
• Creating? I am working on some new designs of aromatherapy bracelets. So exciting!
• Reading? I just returned from the library where I finally gave back the books I keep renewing because I haven't had the time to read them. I'm going to focus on finding something that I already have on my personal bookshelf to start on instead. 
• Grateful for? Today I'm grateful for supportive friends that have helped me remember how blessed I am when times are tough.
• Looking forward to? The other night Hubster and I purchased tickets to see Awolnation play later this month. I can't wait!!
• Cooking/Baking? I have the last of the cranberries from our autumn harvest thawed in the fridge so I'm going to make up a huge batch of sauce to store and use over the summer. It's great in muffins and on ice cream. 
• Saving for? A trip home to BC to visit my family and friends.
• Watching? I'm hooked on a series right now on Netflix called "Switched At Birth". 
• Listening to? I've been listening to old CD's from when I was a teenager. Many trips down memory lane.
• Hoping for? Hoping to find a job soon to help me get out of the house more, practice my French and help me save for some future projects I'd like to take on.
• Learning? I learned this week you can put a whole frozen chicken in the crock pot and it comes out falling off the bone and deliciously moist. 

I'm off to play with beads. Thank you for reading!

~Ashley

June Stocking With The Northern Collective

Tonight the June stocking of The Northern Collective goes live at 9pm EST. A wide variety of artisans are offering their handmade goods. This is a special month because there is a Mother Goose nursery rhyme theme.

I am very happy to be a guest vendor with them this month. I was also featured on their new blog recently.

Please remember to support handmade and shopping Canadian. It means the world to the person you are purchasing from.

You can find the sale link HERE.

The blog post HERE.

A Milestone In My Etsy Career

On July 7th of 2013 I pressed the "open shop" button on Etsy after months of research and preparation. I was a jumble of nerves and excitement. I made my first sale within minutes thanks to the great support of the Etsy community. I will never forget that moment. In March of 2014 I founded team Etsy Lanaudiere and we are now 147 members strong. It's been a wild ride and the future is looking bright. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Thank you Etsy for featuring me today on your Facebook page heart emoticon

My New Aromatherapy Line

Something new is in the air from Tonic And Lime Designs!! 

I am so excited to finally share this with all of you. It's been the works for months now and it's finally here. It's my new aromatherapy line. It's a line of products that work together with your favorite essential oils. 

It's really refreshing to be changing direction and working with something that I feel passionate about. I'm hoping this reawakening of my creative spirits translates well into my new creations. I had been feeling a bit stale and lost in what I was creating. While I am still very passionate about my line of bookmarks, other products I've been carrying or doing special orders for just were leaving me feeling like I wanted something. It's hard to describe my excitement about this new venture. 

I'll be back soon to discuss the first part of my line which are actually already available in my shop. If you are curious check the right hand side of the page ;) 

Monday Morning Gratitude - Neighbours

I often count myself as a lucky person when I look around at the village we chose to purchase a home in. Today I had a great reminder of that when I finally met one of our neighbours. I noticed her outside and went over to introduce myself. We have a good chat of at least an hour and it ended with me hauling away some things of hers to our fire pit to help her out and her letting me know if I ever needed anything at all to come knocking. You can't beat that really. I am very grateful for the community that I live in.

The Little Things... Literally (The White Rock Saga Part One)

 For those of you who missed the announcement last summer we are now living in our first home. We took on home ownership last year but haven't had the opportunity yet to do any special projects we've been dreaming of. Whether it be budget, time or the never ending winter of Quebec the occasion had never presented itself.

With the sun boldly shining this weekend it was time to get down to work. Hubster took on power washing the outside and roof of the solarium. He also checked the gutters for all of the lovely gook that likes to try and live there. When he cleaned out underneath of the solarium he found some lovely pots we'll reuse this summer.

But I, I had to get something off my chest. I've been having a secret war with the little white rocks the previous owner used to decorate certain spaces in the backyard. They seem innocent enough but once you start raking leaves or shoveling snow they decide to jump about and hide throughout the lawn. Not cool rocks, not cool. So I was on a mission this weekend. Dig them all out, sift the dirt and restore the area to it's natural self.

It feels good to have this completed. So good in fact that I'm enjoying some pita pizza with a delicious glass of wine to celebrate. Success is mine!

If you don't like scary stories please do not read any further.  (cue scary monster music)

Despite my best efforts this was only one battle in a war. Two lengths of our home are also harboring these foul invaders. *sigh* I await my battle command from Hubster before launching my second line of attack. 

And so the saga will continue...

Monday Morning Gratitude 16.03.2015

Today I'm grateful to live a small community that celebrates together. To pass on the "green love" I'm happy to announce a 4 day discount code for all of my followers. One day for each leaf of the clover. I hope tomorrow brings a little smile to your face. Enjoy 10% off anything your heart desires from my Etsy shop. Cheers!

New March Items For Tonic And Lime Designs

March has been a month of new designs for me. I was a guest vendor with The Northern Collective at the beginning of the month and I presented 3 categories of new goodies.

The first was these stellar bookmarks. I found some of these beads back in December at a tiny little shop in a village. I had been saving them for a special project. Since I'm huge into books I decided to use them for bookmarks.

I'm also trying to use more color in my designs so the pinks, purples, blues and grey tie nicely into that. Of course I'm always a fan of all things hematite which always a consistent theme in my work.

Over the course of that last month or so I've been working on filling each category of my Etsy shop. I want to be sure that no matter what category you click on there are a lot of options.

I've been concentrating on zip charms for a lot of February and March. You'll soon see the ones photographed here in my shop. There is currently 23 other styles listed in my shop already.

Zip charms have always been a popular item for me and one that I enjoy making. I love little pops of color. I use them personally on a lot of things. My hooded sweaters, my jacket, my coin purse and naturally my cosmetics pouch. They just add that little burst of pretty.

 These magnets have mostly sold out already as they were featured in the March edition of the Northern Collective stocking. I'll be adding the last bit to my Etsy shop as soon as the stocking is over.

Of course I still actively make magnets so I'll be restocking them soon as I work toward preparing for the summer and fall markets I have lined up. They are also available for custom orders for those who can't wait though ;)

I'm eager to try some new ideas in this area. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Usually the best ideas come from page fans so I'll always open to feedback.


I'm also currently working on a few secret projects. These will be share in the next few months so keep your eye on my social media for the big release. I'm really excited to be adding a whole new area of awesome to my shop.

Monday Morning Gratitude 09.03.2015

Some of the most magical moments are unexpected. A few weeks ago we visited our local library. We hadn't had a chance since our move here last summer.

When we first entered I was a little surprised. It is in a section of the basement of the city hall. A fairly small but well organized space. The friendly girl at the counter set us up with our new cards and then sent us on our way to find ourselves a new reading companion to take home.

We parted ways to explore the coves of books before us. I quickly searched for the English area. I was completely blown away. Rows and rows of English books were waiting for my perusal. It took me literally under 5 minutes to find a series of books that interested me. I took all 4 under my arm and skipped along to tell Hubster I found what I was looking for. I even have my eye on a few books for next time.

I know it seems like such a small thing but the last place we lived "Anglophones" were not always welcome and finding books in English was a tough task. I had offered to donate some of my personal collection but was scoffed at. As a huge lover of books it stung me. Libraries should always be a welcoming place for the entire community.

It's just one more thing that makes me love our current village, Rawdon. The sense of community and the welcoming nature of everyone makes me feel lucky to live here. It reminds me of my life back on Vancouver Island.

I'm sure the girl behind the counter had no idea how much the experience made my day. I left grinning ear to ear and have had some great books to read over the last few weeks. I can't wait until my next visit!

Do you visit your local library? Who is your favorite author?