Small Town Living Magazine "Call For Artists/Crafters"

Small Town Living is offering artists, crafters, cooks, service providers and gardeners a chance to promote their businesses.

Small Town Living is a bi-monthly ezine aimed toward those who live in small towns or who's hearts are in rural America.

Each issue contains crafter's profiles, How-To's, Small Farm and Gardening Tips, Livestock Highlights and a variety of other related topics.

We've got thousands of fans who visit the site each month to read our magazine and we'd like to tell them about you.

For a limited time we're offering you the chance to be included in our "Handmade in America" section at the back of the publication.

Our intent is to maintain this guide in each issue, permitting readers to find locally made products including crafts, art, home grown veggies, food and services.

Acceptable businesses include: Handmade Goods, Crafts, Art, Pottery, Ceramics, Photography, Sewing, Woodworking, Found Art, Collage, Cooking, Baking, Fruits and Vegetables, Livestock, Jewelery, Clothing, Music, Books, Doll Making, Magazines and Personal Services.

This section is not intended for businesses reselling other's work.
You should be the maker, grower, etc. of the items which you sell.

We reserve the right to accept or decline any submission.

Over time we may adapt and change this section but for now when you submit please include:
1. A photo of your products or a single product which represents your work.
2. Your business name.
3. Your business contact information: Mailing address, Phone, email.
4. Your business website.
5. Four or Five Sentences describing what you do, what you sell or a bit about your experience.

We will run all the ads we have space for and time to set up.
Since we're limited in staff we may hold some back for future issues if we're short on time.

The cost? FREE. We're doing this as a service, hoping to help as many people as we can. Eventually we may have to charge a nominal fee to offset our costs but for the time being there is no cost to you.

Go to: http://www.stliving.net/ for the contact us page
or email: gardengoose at gmail dot com

Thank you! We hope to be able to feature many "Made in America" businesses.

Can you help?? ..Going behind bars for a cause...

My sisters are going to be tossed behind bars...and they need to make bail.
O.k. let me rephrase that...
Both of my sisters were recruited by someone in their town(they neither one know who signed them up for this)
but..it is for a good cause.
They will both be going behind bars to raise money for Jerry's Kids.(MDA)
You can help them to reach their goals by clicking here:
https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/36683/Participant/Sharonrama/Default.aspx
and here:
https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/36683/Participant/Emilyc941/Default.aspx
Thanks so much!!!

~The Garden Goose~

A few things to share....Getting Back to the Land...Victory Gardening

I hope that you all have had a very nice week thus far.

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I have a few things I'd like to share with you all this evening..maybe steer a little bit away from my normal topics and address something that some of us take for granted or don't put a whole lot of thought into due to so many "modern conveniences" and fast paced life styles.

And that is...

taking the time to sllllooowwww down and think about just where our food comes from.

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In the American lifestyle(and no doubt in other countries as well now) it is now so very, very easy to find so many easy options for breakfast, lunch, dinner. So much of the foods we now consume come in paper, plastic, cartons, and bags and require very little preparation/thought if any on the part of the consumer.

But..in the long run what is all of this "super convenience" really doing to the health of all of us?

( and studies show that diseases like diabetes and more have nearly doubled in the last 10 yrs!)

Yikes!

So much for our fast, easy, convenient life style huh?

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Anyhow... so..I for one will begin growing a lot of my families fruits and veggies when I get located to a new home.I want to know where our food is coming from..and how it is grown.

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I have for quite a while been fascinated with things like growing heirloom varieties of fruit, vegetables, flowers.

Types of seed that are not genetically modified by big whig companies that think they have to control America's crops and use pesticides on seeds and hybridize everything.

But my interest is in saving the heirlooms..the true to strain varieties of seed that have been passed on from generation to generation of good old fashioned farmers and families whose aim was/is to preserve the proper ways of farming and growing food, and not tainted by who knows what kind of pesticide/chemical

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So with that goal in mind I have been collecting seed for several years now. Flower seed, vegetable seed and herb seeds.

I whole heartily believe in saving and growing these untainted seeds...and preserving a way of life former workers of the land strove to preserve and pass on to other generations that would come to understand just how important preserving these things really is..

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So..with that in mind..and if you too believe that providing food for your family..where you know where your food is coming from, and how it is grown/and knowing that it is not hybridized or tainted by who knows what type of new pesticide now... is important to the health and well being of your family and yourself...

I'd like to share with you a few websites/seed sources where you can obtain true to type open pollinated/heirloom seeds for gardening.

As well as information on getting started on growing a garden no matter where you live.

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Having a garden/growing your own vegetables does not mean you have to have a large area of land to do so.

You can grow plenty of food in a 10 by 10 square area or less, in pots, on a balcony, just because you do not have acreage should in no way be a deterrent.

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First up..I'd like to share with you a link to a War Times Victory Garden Manual(copyright 1919) Some of the information in it is still useful today:

http://www.earthlypursuits.com/WarGarV/WarGardTitle.htm

And a 1944 copy of a Victory Garden manual:

http://www.earthlypursuits.com/victorygardhandbook/VGHv.htm

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Seeds to begin a complete Victory Garden:

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/victory.html

Heirloom Seed Sources(where to buy heirloom seeds):

http://www.landrethseeds.com/

http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/seeds.html

http://www.heirloomseedshop.com/

http://www.grannysheirloomseeds.com/whatareheirloomseeds.htm

http://www.amishlandseeds.com/

http://www.seedstrust.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=ST&Category_Code=1st

http://www.botanicalinterests.com/store/shop.php

http://www.selectseeds.com/cgi-bin/start.cgi/2008/catalog.htm

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/index.htm

http://www.fragrantpathseeds.com/

http://www.heirloomacresseeds.com/

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An excellent resource on "getting started with your Victory Garden"

http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/index.html

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Building a small greenhouse:

http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/postharv/green/small_greenhouse.pdf

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Book recommendation:

Gardening With Heirloom seeds

http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Heirloom-Seeds-Tried-True/dp/0807856800

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No Ground? Use containers!

http://journeytoforever.org/garden_con.html

(container gardening guide)

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Freedom Gardens is an online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.

http://freedomgardens.org/

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And..a family that grows more than enough food to sustain their family on only about .25 of an acre..in the city!

Check out their website:

http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

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These websites will at least offer you some good information on getting you started in gardening/growing and saving heirloom varieties of seeds.

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

Call For Artisans/Crafters!!!

Hey Gals!

I'm putting a shout out here for any artisans/crafters to please contact me if they'd like to be featured in an ongoing gallery in "Small Town Living" magazine.

A terrific way to promote your crafting business!!

So..if you create things like jams/jellies, embroidered goods, altered art items,sachets,candles,dolls,hand spun yarns,children's clothing,purses, and everything in between..please contact us!!

What I would need from you is the following:

We will be featuring from now on in the Small Town Living magazine..a gallery section in each magazine that will showcase artisans/crafters from all over.

What we need from you is the following:

1-2 high resolution photos of the products you create

Your website address

4 sentences describing what you create

Your contact info: email, phone(optional),city, and state

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Please contact me at:

gardengoose at gmail dot com

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~Tina/~The Garden Goose~

Art Challenge -November

I breezed under the radar just in the nick of time to join in the art challenge over at "Mind Wide Open" (see side bar on left)

And last night I remembered that the entries had to be in by midnight tonight.."oi!"

So..I hurriedly created a little sumpin' sumpin' from the art we had to work with...and the theme was "Beloved"

Well..once I saw the image we had to work with and it being Fall time now...well..

I thought of pumpkins...and Peter, Peter..Pumpkin Eater...

Here's what I created.

The image that we had to use is what you see in the center ..a woman behind a window.

So ..I found a pumpkin patch image and the Peter Pumpkin wording and used mat board and wire to hang it from..and then framed with gimp trim and flower springs and a little bead garland around the window.

(I'm thinking now that I should have used a wee bit of glitter on those pumpkins..but aww well..it was fun anyhow and I only had a day to do mine cause I totally forgot about the challenge until the last minute...but we are given a week..and I forgot until yesterday.)

So...the contest starts officially tomorrow Nov. 8th when all of the pretty art works are displayed over at "Mind Wide Open"

So do stop by there and cast your vote for your fave art.

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Thanks for all of your comments last post..so lovely to have you all visit with me!

You all really make my day!

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Have a lovely day!

~The Garden Goose~

A little nature lesson...Peacocks

I wanted to share with you all that I "finally" framed the peacock lady image that I had needed a frame for.(mentioned quite a while back in a previous post)

I had some loose peacock feathers that I wanted to use around the print..but needed a large enough frame to accomplish my goal..well I finally found a frame that would work and completed the image.

Anyhow..I found a website that tells a little about peacocks..thought you'd enjoy looking at it and sharing the images with your kids.

(The website is from the San Diego Zoo)

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-peafowl.html

Also here is the photo of my completed picture in the frame...and some images that I have taken of Peacocks at our local zoo.

Enjoy!

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I want to wish you all a lovely day!

~The Garden Goose~

Garage Sale finds...

Had a fun day out with hubby today..we went to a few garage sales in the area.

Oh let's see...what did I find?

I found:

1. a retro 50's rooster (ceramic)..about 6 inches tall for $2

2.an old mirror from about the 60's, early 70's with a thin frame on it(it measures about 16 by 12..for 50 cents..it has an arched top to it..will paint it red on the frame.

3. 3 tiny glass birds..one red/the other 2 are clear

4. a very old Ball mason jar

5. 3... 11 by 14 frames, and an old plastic frame from about the 50's it is an 8 by 10 size(I was able to finally frame the peacock lady image..I will share a photo of that later)

6. a nice Franklin Mint "The Royal Swan" bisque porcelain swan.(mine does not have the wood stand)( got it for $4)

7. a really neat set of stackable bud vases used for rooting cuttings..it is hard to explain..they come in 2 triple sets of blown glass bud vases, and 1 is a quadruple set of vases..they all stack on top of each other to form a "tower" of tiny bud bubble vases.(got that for $1)..I can root 10 cuttings at once with it.

8. and a covered clay baking dish.

9. and 2 accordian style expanding peg racks.

10. and....a window from an old house for $5 (6 pane window..that I will hang from chain..will try to find a photo of a poppy field to make a scenery on the window panes of a poppy field)

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It was a fun day out with hubby..and what was nice is we were able to find some things to add to my vintage rooster collection and to find a few other fun things that we will use in new home.

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After hubby and I were done with the garage saling we stopped by Schlotzsky's for sandwiches and sat at the marina and ate our lunch...then went to a couple of antique shops.

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The weather was lovely out today.

I do hope that you all had a lovely day!

Thanks for stopping by!

May you have a lovely weekend!

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~The Garden Goose~