Gifts from the Heart

How often do you remember the gift you have given, or received, on Valentine’s Day?  A box of assorted chocolates, a variety of flowers, or a group of heart shaped Mylar balloons may be your best memory of past Valentine’s Day gift giving.
If you are looking for something a little different this year, something that will have an impact on your loved one’s memory, consider having something custom framed. 

The season is here and quickly gone are the days we spent with family and sharing stories about our lives and experiences.  Spending time with our loved ones, we talk about everything, travels we have had and people we met and the new experiences we all had.  Of course, history of our past is discussed as well as money and business problems.  Our family loved to talk at meals, on trips, sitting around the pool on weekends, in the living room after dinner, we were never silent. 

Keep in mind as you plan your proposal that this will be one of the most significant moments in both your lives.  Make it a day she will remember and cherish forever.  The most memorable proposals rarely cost a lot of money, they are just well planned and thought out.  Most women dream of this day, so use your imagination to surprise her.  With all that love in the air, this romantic holiday could set the right mood for your special occasion.

Sound system needs can be challenging and intimidating for anyone planning an event. So make the task a lot easier by asking the professionals at SoundCo.
SoundCo Systems is a Santa Clarita-based sound and stage company run by Adam Kury, a professional musician and sound engineer. “Making performances sound great is something that just came natural to me,” states Adam. “I was always the one who could fix the instruments and make the amps and PA sound better in all the bands I played in while growing up.”

Digital cameras have changed the way we look at our memories.  You can go to iPhoto or any digital photo program and pull up photos and video in a flash. Your past is at your fingertips.  But before you purchased that first digital camera you had film cameras and with that technology came a bunch of photos and negatives, probably sitting in boxes. 

Award-winning artist in figurative art, Julie Snyder, will demonstrate on January 17, 2011, 6:30 p.m., at the Santa Clarita Artists’ Association (SCAA) monthly meeting, according to Lisa Barr, program coordinator.
A native of Scotland, artist Snyder studied drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art.  Snyder’s career spanned both sides of the Atlantic and included several years in Spain.  She forged her craft as an illustrator in advertising, publishing and the motion picture industry, including Warner Bros.

On January 30, we will begin a series of classes in Ukrainian Easter Egg dying at Golden Oak Adult School.  There will be four sessions held on Sunday afternoons beginning January 30, and running through February 20. 

We have really big news and are so happy to finally share it with you!
We have decided to take our company in a new and exciting direction starting in 2011.  We have truly loved being here for you as a retail store, but over the past year or so we have felt our passion for arts and crafts moving in another direction.  So much of our time has been spent on the business aspects of operating a retail store, not leaving us as much time as we would like to pursue our true passion – creating.  We have had so much fun creating for you over the years, whether it was workshops, classes, kits, or events, and we want that to be the new focus and direction our company takes in the coming year.

Happy 2011!  We made it through 2010 with a few bumps in the road, but now we can turn our attention to 2011, which will bring exciting adventures and many celebrations.
Are you planning on proposing this year to your sweetheart?  Is there a wedding in the works and you want something different but fabulous as guest favors?  Do you know someone who’s planning an anniversary party and a tray of Cake Bites would add to the celebration?  Let us show you how PK’s Chocolates’ Cake Bites will fit into any event you’re planning.

Although dancing naked in front of the camera is not an everyday occurrence for most women, when experienced it is a powerful vehicle for transformation.
I have been around long enough to know that women in general love to dance and a desire for dance in their lives is a huge longing.
So what does it take for a full figured mature and level-headed woman to perform such a courageous act? 

Thank you Santa Clarita for sending in your photography.  We are thrilled every time we receive an email with a photo submission.  This month’s winner Mia Zumsteg is a wonderfully talented photographer in Santa Clarita whose photography continues to catch my breathe every time I see it.  Her submissions this month celebrate the winter season and something we don’t see often in Santa Clarita... Snow!

As February approaches, it’s time to put on your thinking cap and come up with a Valentine’s Day gift for your loved one.  What will you get this year; a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolate or maybe some helium balloons?  If these ideas aren’t inspiring, consider the gift of custom framing.  There are plenty of items that you can have framed to make original gifts that are sure to put on a smile on the face of your special someone.

As another year folds closed it is time to look forward into 2011 and greet the New Year.  We at Ma Maison want to take this opportunity to thank all of your loyal customers and the City of Santa Clarita for continuing to support our little boutique and we wish everyone and their families’ prosperity and health for 2011.

Some famous films have been created using matte paintings.  Matte painting is the technique of creating part or all of a landscape or scene using a very realistic painting on a glass sheet that is then filmed along with the actors and any “real world” parts of the set that exist, to create the illusion of a place or objects being in the actual film.

With the holidays coming up, many of us will be gathering with our friends and family.  Although we cannot cover all of the safety issues that can affect us during the holidays, we would like to remind our customers that there are some simple safety measures everyone should take.
Firearms should be locked away in an approved safe or be cable locked and placed away from prying eyes and little hands.  It is also a good idea to store ammunition separately from firearms. 

Blue Topaz is a beautiful birthstone designated for the month of December.  Topaz is a fluorine aluminum silicate and comes in a rainbow of colors from blue, green, yellow, brown, pink, and sometimes colorless.  Yellow Topaz is the alternate birthstone for November.
Blue Topaz comes in three different shades.  London blue, which is a deeper turquoise blue, the Swiss blue, which is a rich light blue and the Sky blue that is a pale powder blue.

Holiday shopping days go into full swing this month.  Before you know it, the malls will be filled with busy shoppers racing from store to store trying to check off their holiday gift list one by one.  Many people get hung up on that one relative or friend who may be particularly hard to shop for, or who deserves something out of the ordinary.  You probably have someone on your list just like that.

Thank you Santa Clarita for sending in your photography.  We are thrilled every time we receive an email with a photo submission.  This month’s winner Sandy Lehmann  promptly sent her entry in, a photo of her horse Valentine.
We were so happy with the support of this awesome city we chose to print all the entries received.