It has been an amazing year of ups and downs for running The Paper Stash! I pride myself in knowing that I’ve helped inspire thousands of gardens to be grown worldwide, and especially here in Canada. A little story I want to share with you: My childhood had been spent between my mom and dad’s homes. My mother raised me in the city, driving me around for multiple art classes taught by local teachers and professors. My dad raised me in the country, taking me out exploring the province of Ontario by foot, car or motorcycle (weather permitting!). In between homes I’d spend my days with my grandparents, especially with my grandfather who was an avid gardener in his backyard garden in the big city of Hamilton, Ontario. One day we were standing together (I must have been about 9 years old) admiring some of my artwork. He said to me, “I just know people from all over the world will buy your art”. At the time I felt shocked, and thought it was an over-the-top compliment, but I have always remembered him saying this to me over the years of running my own shop. Since then, I’ve grown to appreciate what it means to create art from and for the love of nature. I guess you can officially say my lifelong art project has been feeding the bees and butterflies by creating and inspiring others through my work. Shifting towards a new change from the old, from balloons to seeds, I absolutely have fallen in love with feeding these wonderful creatures and teaching my own children a love for nature. The shop has grown from just events into an entire ecosystem of it’s own! For November, a portion of Forget-Me-Not Handmade Seed Packet sales will be donated to a selected local non-profit organization here in Orillia, Ontario. I encourage you to make a local donation in your area this season, and as always, make good choices.