No matter what time of year it is, Christmas is coming, and it's always good to have gift ideas in the back of one's mind, or wrapped and in the closet. At Steve Henderson Fine Art, we want to be part of your holidays, all year round, with original artwork, signed limited edition prints, open edition prints, books, artist teaching resources, and posters -- we do our best to span the price ranges so that art can be a part of your life.

Let's start out this week with the concept of spending money -- wisely -- and for that we recommend Carolyn's book, Live Happily on Less. This is not one of your standard, "Make a Million in Two Weeks" rags, nor will it scold you into living like a prince on $100 a week. Live Happily on Less is a friendly, engaging guide on how to customize your resources to your life.

We all work different jobs, make different amounts of money, and choose to spend that money in different ways, so a resource that demands we conform to living a certain way is not a resource that works for us -- and yet, that's what so many of those "Make a Million" books do. The limited information they actually offer -- beyond, "Reach out and GRAB Life!" and other feel-good platitudes that really offer nothing of actual pertinence -- frequently asks us to be someone we are not, to make decisions that do not seem right to us.

Live Happily on Less is a series of short, easy to read essays that explore life in our modern economy, and how we can fit our own lives into it. Steve and Carolyn raised a family of six on one modest income; they own their house, mortgage free, as well as their land; they paid cash for their car; and they have no creditors. You, too, can take the resources you have been given and use them to the best of your ability, in a way that fits the way you think and live.

So before we even start the Christmas shopping season, let's tackle the money issue, and with Live Happily on Less, maybe it won't be such a big issue after all. Available as a paperback, digital e-book, and for borrowing through Amazon Prime.

Recently I received an e-mail from a person wanting to purchase a product from Steve Henderson Fine Art --

"I don't want to give you my credit card number," the client wrote, "because I've never ordered from you before and I don't know you personally."

Fair enough. There are a lot of businesses out there, and one must be wise to ensure that you're working with a real one. To that end, let me answer some questions you may have (I would):

1) First and foremost, we use PayPal as our payment method, and this means that we do NOT see your credit card number, or any sensitive and personal financial information. That's the beauty of PayPal -- as a third party operator, it stores this information and processes the transaction, maintaining your privacy. As a merchant, all we see is your name and mailing address (so that we can mail you the product), and your e-mail address, so that we can contact you.

2) While you are more than welcome to send us a check, and we do accept this method, it's really quicker, faster, and safer to use PayPal.

3) Who are we, anyway? Steve is an independent artist who sells directly through his website, which means that our prices are lower than if you purchased the work through a gallery, because we do not have to tack on the gallery commission charge. For more on this, please read Our Prices on this site. Steve shows and sells his work internationally, as original paintings, licensed open edition prints at retail and online stores, books, and artist DVDs. A former commercial illustrator, Steve has exhibited in numerous prestigious shows, and he has served as a judge and juror in various art exhibitions. You can learn more about Steve in the About the Artist section of the website.

4) Why can you trust us? Integrity, honesty, openness -- we run our business by these words. We have been paying members of Fine Art Studio Online (which provides our website) since 2008, and I, Carolyn, am a columnist for FASO's Fine Art Views. I am also a former writer for  BeliefNet with a blog called Commonsense Christianity.  My blog, This Woman Writes, has been a part of Forum Communication System's areavoices.com since 2011. Steve has been a juror for the Washington State Fair, the Wallowa Valley Festival of the Arts, Valley Art of Clarkston, the Salmon River National Show, and others.

Steve is licensed through Art Licensing, Vermont, one of the leading commercial licensing companies in the world, and published by Galaxy of Graphics.. He works with Wenaha Gallery of Dayton, WA, which sells originals and prints nationwide. He maintains excellent relationships with regional art associations such as The Larson Gallery of Yakima, WA; The Clymer Art Museum of Ellensburg, WA; the Western Art Association of Ellensburg, WA; The Valley Art Guild of Clarkston, WA; The Salmon River Art Guild of Riggins, ID; the Allied Arts Association of Richland, WA; The Wallowa Valley Arts Organization of Joseph, OR; and the Arts Alliance of Sandpoint, ID. We will willingly put you in touch with contact persons at any of these organizations to secure you a testimonial as to the integrity of Steve Henderson Fine Art.

5) We answer each and every website client contact and e-mail we receive, Monday-Friday. If there is a question about your order or a product, we will answer it; if there is an issue, we will solve it; if you want a purchase plan for a larger sale, we will set one up -- interest free. When you contact us, you reach a real person (generally Carolyn) and you are never shuffled off to an overseas calling center and bandied about.

So, this is who we are. Questions? You're always welcome to write [email protected] or use the Contact page on the website.