50% Off Sale at Zazzle

Since I've posted recently about Christmas cards and calendars, I thought you might be interested in a huge sale at Zazzle until Monday, November 12th. You can get 50% off my calendars and cards, 40% off ornaments, 30% off mugs, 20% off t-shirts, and 15% off all other products. Just use the code 50VETDAYSALE at checkout.

For my customers who I see at craft fairs locally and have been asking me when I'm getting some calendars printed, I have good news! I finally got a decent deal on printing and will have a limited quantity of my latest squirrel calendar and a chipmunk calendar available for sale at upcoming Christmas craft fairs. I photographed the chipmunk while visiting my parents back east this past September and fell in love with the little guy, who I called named Chipper.

Chipper the Chipmunk Enjoying Some Tea

For anyone who won't be able to meet me at a craft fair on the Sunshine Coast, I hope you'll take advantage of Zazzle's Veteran's Day sale and get up to 50% off. 

Christmas Animals

I get a real kick out of creating Christmas cards from some of my animal photos. Every year I add a few more so now I've got a good collection of them.

I thought you might want to know about a huge sale Zazzle is having on cards and invitations until Sunday, November 4th. They're offering 50% off, a price which can't be beat! I recently ordered some of my Christmas cards for my parents and they tell me they were extremely happy with the quality of the cards. You can easily customize your cards with your own personal message on the front, inside, or back (or all three!)

Being bird lovers and kind of traditional, my parents wanted a Christmas card with a chickadee and snow. Here's the card they ordered:

Chickadee with Red Berries in Falling Snow

I thought the berries made the card look especially festive, perfect for Christmas.

Or maybe you're in the mood for a little more fun. If so, here's a hummingbird that really knows how to decorate for the holiday season.



Christmas Hummingbird Card

My favourite Christmas animals are squirrels. I have more than a few cards with squirrels on them. Here's a selection from my Christmas section...which, by the way, has more than just cards. There are all kinds of other products that you can have my photos or anybody else's artwork (including your own!) printed on.

Christmas Squirrel in Snow Christmas Card

Santa Squirrel Drinking a Cocktail Card

Merry Christmas Squirrel

Santa Squirrel in Christmas Basket

Squirrel and Christmas Tree

If you really want to have fun you can even order matching Christmas postage!

Anyway, you get the idea. If you want to take advantage of Zazzle's 50% off sale on cards and invitations, just type in the code "CHEERSAVINGS" at checkout.

christmas animals art

The Rocky Mountains from the Air

Last Saturday there was an earthquake in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. There were tsunami warnings along the Canadian and American coast, all the way to Hawaii. On Sunday there was an aftershock that measured 6.3.

I didn't feel a thing here on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast. However, we live very close to the ocean and with all the recent talk about tsunamis and earthquakes, it got me thinking about the immense power of the elements. Just this past week, Hurricane Sandy battered the Caribbean and the east coast of the States, then tore into Canada as well. No matter the achievements of humankind, we are all at the mercy of Mother Nature at times.

Thinking about the power of the elements got me thinking about my recent trip to Ontario. Anytime I take a trip back east I marvel at the Rocky Mountains as we fly over. The Rockies stretch out about 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from British Columbia to New Mexico. The mountain range was formed between 55 million to 80 million years ago. Since that time, water erosion and glaciers have carved out incredible peaks and valleys. They are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Here are just a few shots I took of the Rocky Mountains as we flew over in a jet.

 Rocky Mountains and River

Jet Airplane Flying Over the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains Peak and River

Rocky Mountains Snow-Capped Peaks

Canadian Rockies

Impressive, aren't they?

I've been nervously thinking about which of our nearby mountains we could drive to in case we ever needed to evacuate, as so many others were recently required to do. It's a very unsettling feeling.

Nature Photo Calendars

Lately a lot of my craft fair and farmer's market customers have been asking me if I have a new squirrel calendar out yet. Unfortunately I couldn't find a printer who would give me a decent price this year. I do, however, have a new squirrel calendar available in my Zazzle shop, with all new squirrel pictures.

Zazzle is a print on demand shop that has offices worldwide. I've ordered their calendars before and they're very high quality.

I also have some squirrel calendars from years gone by that I've updated for 2013. In fact, I have a whole bunch of nature wall calendars for 2013 so I'll show them all to you here.



You can get 25% off all calendars at Zazzle until November 27th. Just enter the code "CALENDAR TIME" at checkout.



Heron Photo on Canvas

Heron in the Mist Canvas Print

Just thought I'd let you know that Zazzle is having a 50% off sale on canvas prints and posters this weekend only. Their prints are high quality and anything you buy from Zazzle is 100% satisfaction guaranteed. This sale is a great way to get started on some early Christmas shopping. Just type in the code "SWEETSAVINGS" at checkout.

The heron photo above is still one of my all-time favourite pictures...that I've taken, that is! The canvas is a steal at half price. Or have a look through my Zazzle shop, which often has big sales going on. Happy shopping!

herons art

Happy Autumn!

Oh, I've been bad. I've let a whole summer slip away without posting anything here. So sorry! What can I say...things get hectic in the summer for a nature photographer.

I've gone on a couple of trips and of course took lots of pictures. At the beginning of September I went back east to visit my parents and to help my mom celebrate her 80th birthday. It was fun getting together with everybody...I haven't seen some of my relatives for many years.

I became entranced by a chipmunk that visited my parents' house every day. We don't seem to get chipmunks here in British Columbia, so seeing him was a special treat for me. You already know I'm squirrel crazy, but now I'm chipmunk crazy too! I named the little fellow (or girl?) Chipper. I took so many pictures of him, I ended up making a calendar.

Here are just a few of my chipmunk photos that are included in my calendar of Chipper...

Chipmunk and Bone China Teacup

Chipmunk with Full Cheeks

Chipmunk with Petunia Hat

Chipmunk and Piggy Bank

Chipmunk Party Time

Chipmunk on Coffee Mug

Today only there is a sale in my Zazzle shop for $5 off all calendars. Besides my chipmunk calendar I have lots of others including squirrels, other animals, dragonflies, a coyote calendar, and a new inspirational calendar. Please use the code FIVEOFFDEAL4 at checkout for the discount.

chipmunks art

Rare Bird Sighting ~ Costa's Hummingbird

The Costa's Hummingbird is a rare sight on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia...in fact, in 40 years of record-keeping it has never been seen before. But a lone male Costa's has made an appearance in Gibsons, B.C. in none other than the former mayor's yard. Barry Janyk has played host to this gorgeous hummingbird since mid-July.

What's the big deal, you might ask? Well, this particular hummingbird breeds in California's Sonora desert and Arizona's Mojave desert. So he's a long way from home and he's decided to spend time in a coastal rainforest. Strange. Another male Costa's hummingbird has also been spotted in a Vancouver neighbourhood. At first it was believed that these two birds were one and the same however it has since been confirmed that they are two different Costa's.

Barry Janyk graciously allowed me to spend some time on his back deck photographing this tiny (3.5" long) hummer. Although small, this particular hummingbird was incredibly feisty, constantly chasing away a female Anna's hummingbird who was competing for nectar at the same feeder. He kept a fairly constant vigil so the Anna's only got in a few sips of sweet nectar.

The hummingbird had a couple of favourite perches. Here he is on just one of them.

Costa's Hummingbird

It was a rare treat to be able to see this incredible hummingbird with the violet gorget and crown. I hope more of these beauties make their way to the Sunshine Coast!

hummingbird art