Welcome to "My Country Blog Hop" hosted by yours truly. 25 participants from all over the world will write a blog post featuring little known facts about their country and also show an artistic creation that was inspired by their country.
I created this event to connect with artists and bloggers worldwide who are happy to share their home with others. Last year was the first time I did this and it was lots of fun so I decided to repeat it. I hope you enjoy!
HAPPY CANADA DAY!
Today is a holiday in Canada to celebrate the birthday of this fabulous country and I am sharing it with all of you. I hope you enjoy what you see and learn about my "home and native land". There will be a lot of links for you to click on if your interested because I didn't want to make this post too lengthy.
To many Americans and others we are that cold and snowy country at the top of the map where we all speak French and grow "Biebers"(LOL). But there is much more to Canada than that. Yes we have snow and cold but we also have thousands of fresh water lakes ( the largest area of freshwater in the world) and gorgeous summers to enjoy these lakes.
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| Lake Superior |
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| Kayaking |
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| Fishing in Ontario |
The lakes are so huge that when my English friends were visiting the 14 year old thought the shore of Lake Ontario was the seaside!
I guess size is relative but we are a very big country. second largest by land mass after China! It's our population that makes us seem small compared to the rest of the world. According to Wikipedia we are the most sparsely populated country in the world! Lots of room for everybody who wants to visit and even stay. If you are considering immigrating you won't be alone. Canada is one of most diverse countries in the world with representatives of every ethnicity and culture .
Gosh , I sound like a saleswoman for Canada and have just realized I could go on for hours telling you all the great things but that's not why you're here. I hope the above information opened your eyes to some of what makes up this great country and inspires you to look into more when you have the time.
With so many national characteristics I was stymied about what to create. I have been having great fun lately playing with polymer clay and the vignette below shows just a few of our national icons. (remember I'm just a polymer clay newbie!)( The curling rocks are lamp work beads from Glass Bead Art)
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Curling match between Benedict Beaver and Percival Polar Bear with the Inukshuk as referee. |
I had a lot of fun creating these animals. Hope you get a kick out of them!
I just had to make some Canuck jewelry so here it is . I worked long and hard to make a maple leaf out of polymer clay and this is the best I could come up with. (really steep learning curve with pc.). I'm also on a roll experimenting with waxed Irish linen thread and tried hand knotting to make this illusion style necklace in Canada's national colors.
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A couple of months ago I won the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge and received some of Mary Harding's wonderful ceramics. She very nicely made me these little maple leaf charms which I hung from sterling ear threads. They are super comfortable and look really cute on.
That's the end of my contribution to this blog hop. Please go to the blogs listed below to see what all the other participants created. Comments left on my blog will be entered in a draw for something Canadian! (I haven't decided yet what it will be. Any requests? Mention in your comment and I'll see what I can do.)
Hostess: Nan Smith (Canada) wirednan.blogspot.ca
1. Ana (Portugal) http://acbeads.blogspot.ca/
2.Rita (Orlando) http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/
4. Robin Reed (Indiana) http://willowdragon.blogspot.ca/
5. Lilik Kristiana (Indonesia ) http://pcbylik.blogspot.ca/
7. Karen Mitchell (South Australia) www.overthemoon-design.com
9. Melissa Trudinger (Australia) beadrecipes.wordpress.com
10. Johana Nunez (Puerto Rico) http:artincendi.com
11. Kepi (Alberta) kepirasmussen.blogspot.ca
12. Deb Fortin (Ontario) studiok24.blogspot.ca
13. Divya (India) jewelsofsayuri.com
14. Tammy Adams (Arizona) paisleylizard.com/blog.html
15. Kay Thomerson (Texas) kayzkreationz.blogspot.com
16. Bairozan (Bulgaria) bairozan.blogspot.ca
17. Carolyn's Creations ( ) carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
18. Lecia Woessner (New Orleans) copperroses.blogspot.com
19. Linda A. (Wash. D.C. FromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com
20.Inge Van Roos (California) ingetraud.wordpress.com
21. Natalie (New Zealand) http://www.northshoredays.com
22. Lori Schneider ( ) beadaddicted.blogspot.com
23.Mary Harding (New York)maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
24. Bouchra Rebai (Algeria) bouchrarebiai.wordpress.com bouchrarebiai.wordpress.com
25.Michelle McCarthy (Florida ) Fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Loving the polar bear - just posted my design and off to see other blogs. Thanks for hosting Nan :)
ReplyDeleteTerima kasih Nancy =) for welcome me.
ReplyDeleteFirst...I love this challenge, once in a year we become saleswoman for our country or state or town, and nothing is wrong with that. I love to tell a story about things that I was good about it. Hope I can join the same challenge next year too.
Second...I just know that Canadian mostly speak French *wow* I thought it's english (check). The polar bear is cute. My wildest dream is being HUG by polar bear. Truly only in my dream for sure ha =D
Third...would be a question for you *smile* why maple leaf become the state symbol?
Love your first trials with polymer clay, Nan. I think you have to stick at working with that material! Like the idea with the curling rocks glass beads :0))
ReplyDeleteThank you for the beautiful pictures too!
Happy Canada Day, Nan! And thanks for hostessing this fun hop. Your little polymer clay vignette is fabulous. I've worked with pc for years and cannot sculpt for anything. Love the maple leaf jewelry too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Canada Day Nan. Love your wee vignette. Polymer clay is something i dabble with but I am NO sculptor either, beads are my choice.
ReplyDeleteLove your maple earrings, and your necklace looks just like our flag.
I love Mary Harding's beautiful ceramic and metal clay pieces.
as for your giveaway, I'd love those earrings. lol
enjoy the holiday ,here in eastern Ontario it's gonna be a scorcher, methinks
Happy Canada Day! So you have made the polymer figures to celebrate this day with a new craft - cool :) Indeed, I learned some new and interesting facts about Canada from your post. The traditional colors happen to be among my favorite colors and I like the maple leaf - about 20 years ago I got a real maple leaf pin, gold plated, from some Canadians we hosted :) The ceramic leaf charms are very beautiful - dimensional and brightly colored, it was a good idea to make long earrings with them.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tribute to Canada, my home too! Aren't we ever so lucky. Love your polymer, I am a newbie to PC as well. Perfect Canadian icons. Your maple leaf necklace is adorable ....great to wear on Canada day! And those earrings are so cute. Thanks for hosting this really fun event.
ReplyDeleteHappy Canada Day Nan! I love the Canada Polymer Clay vignette! The animals are adorable. I also loved your necklace and earrings. Well done Nan! and congratulations to all your wonderful blog hop participants!
ReplyDeleteI loved to read your blog! With stunning pictures of that beautiful country! And now I know what Canuck is! The playing animals are very sweet, those curling rocks too.The earrings and necklace will colour your Summer, have fun when wearing them :-) Happy Canada Day Nan, and thanx for organizing this Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting this fun hop. Great pictures. They made me want to go to a lake cottage. They were interviewing expat Canadians on NPR today and they all seemed to say they would want to be at their lake cottage for Canada Day. My favorite of your pieces is the earrings. Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI am still working on my blog post, but I loved your post about Canada and your creations. Very interesting. I really love your leaves.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea and hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Canada Day this year. Well done to your Eugenie for her national efforts at Wimbledon!
ReplyDeleteWren x
Wonderful pictures! Hoping to visit Canada again one day (I've been to Montreal and Toronto, and to the Canada side of Niagara Falls, so hardly a taste really!) Love your maple leaves! Thank you for hosting such a fun blog hop!
ReplyDeleteNan, it's pleasure to see your post. Canada is so different from my own country: big, cold, low population density, polar bear, winter sports, but one thing both have in common: the maple - it's an amazing tree that I love to see the change of colour in its leaves in Autumn. I think you did a good job with the polymer clay.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting such a fun and informative hop and the great photos too. Don't give up on the polymer clay, I highly recommend any of Christi Friesen's books, she explains the sculpting process really well.
ReplyDeleteThe bead curling rock is cute and the maple leaf jewellery is lovely.
I lived & played & camped & enjoyed Lake Superior too, and love the beautiful lake-life! :) I know the peace of those tranquil, wonderful waters. And your maple leaf brings memories of those years at home up North, too -- I even lived on Maple Street! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I have been to Canada -- I went about 30 years ago and had a wonderful vacation that I LOVED! We traveled through both English & French speaking areas, and had a lovely time. I love Canada & am so glad we are neighbors! I cherish my Canadian friends.
You created great clay works, Nan! I'm loving the maple leaf & waxed linen jewelry -- and your animals rock! Totally fun & awesome.
Thank you for hosting this challenge. Hearing everyone's love of places is uplifting & makes our world interconnected and cozy. I'm having a great time! I hope you hostess "My Country" again next year, too, Nan. Thank you!
I really appreciated being included in this hop!!! i love the bear scene and the ample leaves are really cool!!! thank you again for letting me play!! Have a Blessed Day!!!
ReplyDelete