I Spy... and a recent find!

Okay, so I haven't spied any fairies in the fairy garden, but I saw these sneaky little guys the other day. Okay, so I put them there. I just can't help myself, I love them.

The other day I saw these adorable mushrooms and gnomes at Target in the garden section. They're by Sean Conway-- love his stuff!

I loved tucking them in around the courtyard. This one's near my front door, keeping watch.

...And this one's taking a nap! How cute is that?! Okay, here's something else that's cute! Check out my little find the other day...

Are these the cutest coasters you've ever seen?! They're too cute to just rest a drink on, so I'm going to use them around the house for other purposes also... in the kitchen as a spoon rest for my coffee creamer spoon, in the bathroom as jewelry dish for my random rings and earrings... you get the idea. I'm really big on actually using and repurposing items that I bring home from my favorite antique/vintage shops!

On the stitching home front... I just repaired-- I mean finished--a square. I'll post it when I have more squares completed. I've got to find a specific floss that got chewed on by Hagrid when I wasn't looking. It's silver, but soft not wiry. I've tried to salvage what was left after Haggie got to it, but I'm getting a lot of short strings! Grrrrr... so frustrating!

I hope that you're enjoying your weekend-- I think I'll be heading over to my favorite garden nursery this afternoon, and then taking Haggie for a walk with his best friend, Gracie the great dane!

Hugs,

My Fairy Garden

The other day I finally got around to designing my fairy garden! I had bought the accessories a couple years ago, but hadn't found the right container. The other day, while shopping with a friend at a favorite nursery I found the right container-- it's just a shallow square box. You can also use a cute flower pot, like Amy did.

All the plants used are real-- mostly ground cover starts, and a few baby succulents. I made the path out of crushed seashells from JoAnn's. I like them because they're iridescent-- I thought the fairies would appreciate a little sparkle in the garden. I lined the path with peat gravel from my neighbor's yard. (Thanks, Krista!) The peat gravel turned out to be just the right scale for this project!

Aren't these "shrubs" wonderful?! They almost look like day lilies!

I scooted back for this shot, so you could really sense the scale of this little garden. As you walk into the courtyard, you see that it's a planter, but then as you move in closer it becomes apparent that it's a little miniature garden-- I like little unexpected surprises like that in a garden! Here's another angle-- looking down onto the garden. It's been fun to collect the accessories, and then to finally put it all together! Now I've just got to wait for the fairies to show up!

Hugs,

I'm so Lucky!

I won a giveaway a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to post about. Thank goodness, I was actually able to capture it on my camera before it went kaput!

The wonderful artist and inspirational blogger/published author, Kelly Rae Roberts had a very generous giveaway a few weeks ago. I've been a big fan of Kelly's work and blog for quite a while now. I even own some of her art already, so you can imagine how excited I must have been when I read that I had won one of her fabulous gifts! It was so fun to receive such a wonderful surprise in the mail-- and don't you just love how she addressed the package?! It made me feel very special.

And this is the wonderful canvas print she sent me! In comparison to my other pieces, it's a pretty substantial piece, at 16"x16". I really, really love it. I love the colors, the textures, and she creates such beautiful faces! So pretty! Thank you soooo much, Kelly!

On the stitching homefront... I haven't given up on my sampler. I just keep ripping up my most current square and re-doing it... over, and over again. (Seriously, four times... really.) It's been such a tough one to capture with thread. I will post it when I'm satisfied enough with it. Really. I promise.

Also, thank you so much, sweet bloggie friends, for your input on cameras. I actually made a decision yesterday and went with the Cannon Power Shot SX120IS. My last camera was a Cannon Power Shot also, so I think I'll be able to take pictures with it without too much confusion! I'm not very high tech. I think writing this blog is the most high tech thing I've ever done. Operating the microwave oven comes in a close 2nd.

Hugs,

Oooooh No!

My blog is naked.

My camera has died. Sweet friends, I need your help. Many of you bloggie friends take such great photos, so I think your feedback could be very helpful. I'm seriously in the market for a new camera and I need some suggestions. Please tell me if you know of a good "point-and-shoot" camera out there, and why you like it.

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Hugs,

Ready for Company...

My little sister, Judy, and her two children are coming to visit me! It's been a year and a half since I've seen her! This will be the first time they see my new little home, and meet my sweet Hagrid. I've been busy cleaning, fluffing, and fussing all week. I've been so excited to see them!

The linens are fresh, the house is clean, the dog is washed, the courtyard is freshly updated (more on that later!), and I'm waiting for them to drive in. Oh wait! I better get into the shower-- I knew there was something else I needed to do!

I hope that you all have a very wonderful, blessed Easter... I've got to run now!

Hugs,

No More Tangles

When I was a little girl, my mom braided my hair everyday. And when I say everyday, it was everyday. I have naturally curly hair, and in the '70's that just wasn't proper in my mom's eyes. She didn't want me running around like one of those hippies with frizzy hair. In her defense, there just weren't any good hair products back then. It was Johnson's No More Tangles and Dippity- Doo. We went through bottles and bottles of Johnson's No More Tangles. After detangling, she would brush my hair with the pink brush (from Avon, or Fuller Brush), wetting the brush under the faucet between brushing. Sometimes she would put Dippity-Doo on my bangs and tape them down with that old-fashioned pink tape. After they would dry, she'd peel the tape off. Needless to say, my bangs would go boing into a wavy, frizzy mess within minutes. She tried her darnedest. The one good thing about having the curly hair though was that at the end of the braid, after putting the hair thingies in (we called them "baubles"-- they were those elastics with marbles on the end) she would wet the pink brush again and brush my hair around her fingers again for instant ringlets.
In this square, I tried to capture my two braids as I wore them as a little girl. Although I didn't do the ringlets on the ends, I still love how it turned out. Oh- and that necklace I'm wearing? It's one of those candy necklaces that get all sticky and leave a rainbow of colors on your neck-- because let's face it, those little candies didn't last long once you started tasting them! My little sister and I loved wearing those!

Okay, no story for this square... just a random pattern. I've just been calling it a "fishnet pattern".

You know I love rickrack by now. I saw a similar square in the Flickr group and thought I'd try to duplicate it somewhat.

A pink tiara with some sparklie beads-- 'cuz I love me some sparkle! I've never been in or won a beauty pageant, but I can appreciate a good tiara when I see one. I bought one when I turned forty-- because I realized I could. I use to make every friend who walked in the door wear it for a picture. It was so cute to see their expressions when they put it on-- it's like, kinda' magical in an inner-child, little girl kinda' way. A little felt heart-- I've been dyin' to stitch a blanket stitch! I love blanket stitching-- it's so fun, and looks so finished! I tried to do a little scandinavian-ish pattern inside, in tribute to the Danish roots on my mom's side.

Well, I'm still behind but I feel like I've made some headway. I'm loving this project. It's been so fun, and I've got to tell you-- your comments totally make my day!

Hugs,

Trying to Catch Up...

I was excited to be able to do some stitching this past weekend, and I enjoyed every minute of it! This first square says "possibility". "Possibility" is such a powerful word, and has a special place in my heart. To learn more about why I feel this way, click here. It all started with this artist/blogger, and I will forever be thankful for her inspiration.

I just had to stitch a little chandelier! This one is inspired by the chandy over my kitchen sink.

Okay, you knew it was coming... a Hagrid-inspired square! This is my stitched Haggie...

And this is my real Haggie!

And this is Haggie-who-needs-a-bath. I took this the other morning. Yes, he's spoiled. Yes, he's even allowed on the bed when he's dirty. In my defense, just look at that face. Is he not the cutest? Okay, I just love my boy.

Okay, another random pattern. I didn't want to use up all my best ideas in the first two rows, so I've been sprinkling in these "random pattern squares" throughout my sampler. This one could use a little more pizazz, I think. Maybe I'll add some tiny little beads? Ticking stripes? It just looks unfinished to me.

This square is inspired by my love of gardening, and vintage watering cans. Up until January, I was running a therapy garden that you can read about here. I really miss gardening with my therapy gardeners. It really was a great experience. On the brighter side, now that I have a house with a yard, I can dedicate more energy to my own little piece of the planet. Spring has sprung, and there's definitely some gardening to be done here on the home front!

Well, I hope that you've enjoyed this little update. (Those of you who are new to my blog may have even learned more about me!) I'm still a few squares behind, but I've got some fun ideas brewing! Please stay tuned...

Hugs,