Happy Easter and We Have a Winner!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter! The girls had a lot of fun and we relaxed for the rest of the day. Madeline would pick up two eggs, and drop them when she saw more. She was SO excited! Lil enjoyed the treasure hunt the Easter bunny leaves for her every year...the prize? A Hannah Montana Musical pen~!

Onto the giveaway! I'm sorry I didn't get to post this yesterday. We did do the drawing yesterday- with the help of Madeline and my wonderful niece, Kandace. Mixing them up...

And the winner of my Bloom Where You're Planted and Bluebird is ... Thank you Madeline!

CARMEN!!!

Thank you to those of you that entered! It was fun doing my first giveaway! Carmen, please email me your mailing address. I believe you can do that by going to my profile. Thanks everyone!

Somewhere, Over the Rainbow, Madeline had her first birthday party!

Oh my baby...she's growing up! I know everyone says this but it went so fast! Makes the moment bittersweet, you know? She had a wizard of oz party, small, some family, some friends, lots of fun! We spent the whole week building a puppet stage and rehearsing with the cousins, good times :) I had bought the rag dolls for her off of ebay a long time ago and they were the perfect puppets.

These are things I made for her room...that is a real clock! Can you guess what it is made of?

There is a diploma too, but not finished. If you guessed paper clay, you are right!

Here is Grammie and Madeline Mae, just before the show starts. She hung in there for all but the last ten minutes...pointing at the dolls, talking to them. She loves puppets!

And bubbles....

Don't we all love bubbles? Glinda bubbles that is? :)

Madeline became curious and wanted to see just who was behind that green curtain. Why it's the cousins! Not to mention, a fun microphone too! She sang along. :)

This was NOT the original cake...it was supposed to be oz, yellow brick road, and poppies. It was a pineapple, and she didn't know what poppies were. Good thing I had the mini ruby slippers on a paperclay brick or else you would think it was the 4th of July!

These were the favors...bluebird sachets. I am throwing on into the giveaway! A little present from my baby....

She is still a baby, right?

Art on Your Back

These are some of the kids I teach during Art Masterpiece. I have had so much fun with this! Here they are learning what it was like for Michelangelo to paint on ceilings. They all said it was hard, but that they wouldn't mind doing it for four years straight like he did!

I got under the table and drew a picture too. This resulted in a ton of giggles. I love these kids so much...they are great kids. Plus, I get so many hugs when I visit them. :)

This was from the week before...an assisted self portrait using strokes like Van Gogh. The yarn was supposed to fill the background in swirls and things, but they all had their own take on it...good for them!

This is Maddie enjoying the swing for the first time! I don't have a picture from yesterday's lesson, but they listened to a classical musical piece for inspiration for a watercolor. My favorites?

"Worm people climbing up a flower"

"A monster trying to take the colors of a rainbow. Thankfully, the castle is sucking them in!"

Oh Happy Day!~

Today is our wedding anniversary! Well, actually it is our dating anniversary too! 8 years married, 14 years together. Woohoo! I LOVE him! :)



I made this up one night and wanted to do a giveaway with it. Now I have an occasion! It is 4x4 approximately and the sides are painted my favorite dark brown. Please leave a comment to be entered. If you post about it on your blog, I'll enter you twice...just let me know you did! I'll draw the winner on March 26th. I'm excited to do my first giveaway! The scan is a bit lighter than in reality...it shines a really bright light on it when it scans. I hope you like it! :)

I would be more wordy, but I have to go...it is my anniversary after all! :)

Hugs!

Mere

May I Introduce Madame Bunny?

Okay, who else has wondered who decorates all those beautiful Easter eggs?

Well, for those of you who don't know, please allow me to introduce the Easter Bunny's better half, Madame Bunny!

While making my Bee Girl, Lillian suggested I make a Bunny one too. I wanted to show her tail, mainly because I'm so in love with my stash of gliiter...it's so soft and fine. A side pose and a carrot inspired dress, and she turned into quite the Victorian Lady, don't you think? She seems shy, and I began to think more about Madame Bunny and the life she lives.

The text reads:

"No one speaks much of Madame Bunny.

She lives in the shadows of her husband's limelight.

She minds this not and loves him truly.

She is the artist behind the eggs he scatters.

He thanks his beloved by leaving her the very first three eggs of Easter."

Madame Bunny is so proud of her husband and his thoughtful gift that she posed for a portrait to give as a gift to him. In the wee small hours of the morning, when he stops to take a rest, he pulls the portrait from his pocket to see what joy is waiting for him once he gets home.

Madame Bunny is available on ebay right now. :)

An award and a tag! Woohoo!~

Sweet Collen from Frostings and Sparkles gave me the You Make my Day Award!! Thank you Colleen!! Please check her out, you will get hooked like I am!

I pass this on to the the following blogs:

http://nancylefko.blogspot.com/

http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/

http://kimhardtoriginals.blogspot.com/

http://dudadaze.blogspot.com/

Please forgive me for not making my links all pretty...Maddie has become a permanent fixture on my lap with her other front tooth coming in! Typing with one hand over here! lol

I was tagged too! I look up to The Polka Dot Pixie SOOOO much! I was reading her blog long before I started blogging...and she lives in Arizona too! :) http://thepolkadotpixie.blogspot.com/
Thank you for thinking of me! :)

So here are my things....

1. I can pick up an entire room with my feet. My husband thinks I am a freak, but I think it's pretty normal...isn't it? :)

2. I can't scream...when I try to, my volume goes down, not up. Another thing awesome guy thinks is funny. :)

3. I am known for telling long stories. You'd be better off watching the movie...it would be faster. I don't think I do it as much anymore, but still get teased for it.

4. I will stay up all night to make something just the way I want it. Except for cleaning...never seems to works for that!

5. I'm teaching Lil's kindergarten class art~! It's fun! Today, we are going to paint like Michelangelo...on our backs! Although I guess he stood too.

6. I saw Mickey Rooney!! He was going to do autographs, but was too tired. I did manage to get him to say hello to Lil though...the only one he spoke to...who can turn down a little girl in her ruby slippers? ;)

I better run or I'll be late for Art Masterpiece! Have a lovely day all! :)

Mere

A bit of Arizona spring for you all :)

There has been a call for Spring in Blogland. I've read it everywhere! You poor peeps! When we aren't sweating to death down here, it is spring the rest of the time. So from me to you, my dear friends, here are some signs of spring.

A flowering tree...

A lamb that was born right in front of our eyes!! Amazing!

TARTANIC!!! Yes, this means spring to us...we see them every year at the Ren Faire.

They are SOOO good, I can't even tell you! You can't be sad listening to their celtic music. I actually lost my voice cheering for them. They put on a great show! They are so friendly too! :)

Yes...these are barbarians head banging to Tartanic. It was a unique day. :)

I put this up on flickr to post here and immediately got a comment...but it's in German or something. lol There was an Irish dancer who jumped out of the crowd and started dancing. Just a regular member of the audience like us, but the music moved her to dance...she was incredible! I didn't know feet could move that fast!~

Okay, this is not spring, but this is what has kept me from posting lately. I hosted that Star Wars party I mentioned before...don't they all look like little Annakins? So cute! They were a great bunch of kids and so brave too! (We had a live bug game!) Who's the handsome Jedi Master giving them saber training? Why, that's Awesome Guy!! He was a dear to help me out... I guess a Genie isn't a credible as a Jedi Master when it comes to Jedi Training! :)

Afer a long week, Lillian and I relaxed to a nice art day! That is her Singer...cute huh? I taught her how to use it while I finished my Bunny Girl.

I know! Can you believe it? I can't! I thought I'd be drowning in Star Wars props forever! She is done, though, and I will post about her next. Along with a response to an award and a tag!

Just didn't want you thinking that I jumped off the face of the earth! :)

Have a lovely night all! :)

Mere

Birds, Bee, and More Girls if You Please!

Happy Monday! I'm going to try and get this post done before Awesome Guy comes home and Madeline decides I've have had enough time to myself. :) The flu has finally left this house and I hope it's left yours too!

First thing to report is that I got my wonderful prize from Dawn at the Feathered Nest! I won her giveaway and she won her contest too! Woohoo! I was SO excited to see this:

I would post what is looks like here, but I'd rather you go over to her blog and check it out for yourself, along with her latest creations! This piece is amazing! The mat is an antique, scrolled detail that you just don't see these days. The girl is lightly colored with her own feather wings...so sweet. The brooch at the top is TO DIE FOR! Jewels and crafted daffodils...it makes me wonder who wore this brooch before it came into Dawn's capable hands? Where did she go when she put it on for a special occasion? Play? The pearl buttons are used to hold the hanger and the key...I love old keys! The hanger is so delicate and the lace...what is it's story? She's hanging in my family room right now, but I think she will end up in our bedroom. I have all my wedding/love items in there and she will fit in perfectly. THANK YOU DAWN!!!! xoxo

My second bit of news is that my bee girl is on her way to her new home! In my auction, I said I would wrap her beautifully. After she sold, I remembered that I am the Queen of gift bags! I pulled out my many bins of fabric and came up with this:

I figured she could use it to hold her laptop if she has one, or an art journal, or whatever she fancies! :)

Next up is a peek of what I've been working on. Lillian asked me to make a bunny girl (she has a neat story behind her). I drew a bunch of girls one night and have painted two...Alice and a Fairy Girl...no wings yet! The books behind them are my favorites...leather bound and SO old. Been in the family forever and hold all the great ones. I used to read them all the time...each page so delicate...yum!

Lastly, but CERTAINLY not least, is an award from Kim at Kim Hart Originals! If you haven't already, you need to check her out! I love her little guys! Thank you Kim! This is my first blog award and I will cherish it! :)

So here is what the award is about:
"This prize has arisen from the daily visits that I dedicate to many blogs which nourish me and enrich me with creativity. In them I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain me day to day and to share this prize with those who enrich me every day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few, the people I will name today deserve this prize, as do the very long serious list of bloggers I also enjoy to read, but I will name the first 4 and will leave the rest of the work to all the bloggers that visit other's blogs and are nourished by them.

The rules of passing on this award are as follows:- post award in your own blog: [Post who gave it to you]- indicate its origin and a link to the site. "

These are my picks:

Adri's Art

La La La Illustration

My Collage Art

The Polka Dot Pixie

That was hard! I have lots that I read and need to add more links to my blogs I love section. To those I nominated, I tip my hat to you! :) If you find out about this before I tell you, I'm sorry...Awesome Guy is waiting for me to pull dinner out of the oven...I must run!

Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood

Originally uploaded by victorianladyaz1

Happy Saturday! :)

I have a spa party today for 7 eight year old darlings. I'm going to paint 70 little toe and fingernails and they are going to make soap!

I still wanted to share something with you all today...this is an oldie. That is Lillian around 2 years old in her nursery. It was a Winnie the Pooh watercolor theme. That tree matches her comforter and was made out of muslin that we painted. The trunk is made of cylinders stuffed with polyfil. The tree leaves are the valance for the room...it went all the way across the window. Each leaf was sewn, turned inside out, veins were sewed on, and then painted with watered down acrylics. We thought it would be a weekend project LOL. It took 6 months...every time someone came to meet Lillian, we recruited them to help make leaves!

Friday was a dud. I could not accomplish anything. The fates had determined that I would not make any progress with my day. I'd share the failed emmissions testing, the little infirmary I'm running, but why focus on that? Around 7pm, my still sniffling, coughing daughter told me she was bored. She wanted to paint.

Yes! We decided to give up on the day and paint for FUN. :) She painted a Valentine's Day ball and paddle that got sent home with all her homework. She did a beautiful job! I painted an Alice in Wonderland that I had already drawn a couple weeks ago. We had such a nice, relaxing time and had some good Mommy/Daughter time. She growing up so fast, but she's still a little doll.

So now I have an Alice to go with a Bunny girl Lillian asked me to make. And my bee girl sold! I'm so tickled that she'll be hanging on someone else's wall! :)

Hugs to all!
Mere

Spongebob Applesauce & A Happy Life

Hello Everyone! :)

Today is a crazy day. Lil got the flu even though she got 2 flu shots! Her cough is so bad, she is going in for a chest x-ray today. Then I have a party plan due for a Star Wars party and I still have to clean the house and get it ready for my Mother-in-Law who's coming to visit. I'm lucky girls...she is great! :)

Before all that though...I wanted to say hi! :) I'm all caught up on what everyone is up to...my guilty pleasure of the day! I have a few things to share too! First is what Lil and I did for her snack day. It was her turn and since we aren't allowed to bring in anything homemade, we jazzed up this pear applesauce with some Vintage Spongebob! lol I started out so carefully, but it still looked messy. With 24 to do, I went to town and ruffled them up quickly. I don't know how you girls do it! :) Lil cut the circles and applied the stickers. I try to get her to be crafty because I think it's important to start that early, but also because I want her to craft with me when she gets older! :) I take her to tea for this reason too! Lucky for me, she likes both things! Here it is:

Next is my very first Esty purchase!~ This was so exciting! I fell in love with this magnet from Suz at ahh! surprise, delight, & joy!

I could NOT be happier with my purchase! First I got a sweet convo from Suz, then fast as lightning, my package came! There was even a cute glitter embellishment on the outside. Ever so carefully was my magnet wrapped in tissue and shreds with a nice note and even a bottlecap pin freebie! Thank you Suz! :) I adore it all!

The list you see with it has been on my fridge for years. I wrote it one day when I had figured out my priorities. I used to focus on Lillian first, but that wasn't right for me. I see it now that awesome guy and I are the trunk of our family tree, and our children are our branches. By nuturing the trunk, and the roots of our relationship, the branches are nice and healthy. I used to have my 1st priority be Lillian, and that wasn't good for the family...the trunk suffered. I used to think that once I married, I didn't have to work on my relationship with awesome guy anymore...that it was solid. It was solid, but it can't just be ignored...it still needs constant nuturing from both parties. So anyway, I figured it out, put it up on the fridge to remind myself, and all has been well since. The icing on the cake? When awesome guy came and filled out his part. He's not a professional fisherman, btw, just not sure what his ultimate job is. Oh, and the genie refers to my party biz. Didn't want to confuse ya!

So you can see why Suz's magnet was perfect for us! And for my little piece of paper on my fridge! :)

Have a GREAT day all and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

P.S. I still don't know what to get awesome guy...any suggestions?

My Bee Girl is Done! Bzzzzy weekend ahead!

Hello Everyone! My Bee girl is finally done! I never quite know how it's going to turn out when I'm doing it, all I know is that I'm having a blast! There is a freedom in it, even if I'm squeezing five minutes out at a time between work and motherly duties/pleasures. Most of the time, Madeline is happily hugging my leg while I'm at the table...I know that adds some cheerfulness to what I'm doing. :) She is up on ebay right now.

My Bee girl wants to remind everyone to be true to themselves. I made her because it made me happy. We all have something that we have to do or else we get grumpy. Be true to yourselves! Do what makes you happy! And throw a load of laundry in when you can! Unless laundry is your outlet, then just go crazy! Then come to my house and do mine! lol Thank you all for your comments too. I'm so glad to have met you all...you have no idea. :)

Now I have to pack for this weekend's party...a chef party for a 5 year old girl named Madison. She likes fancy dinners so they will have sugar rimmed champange flutes with their self-made pizza! Happy Birthday Madison!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Please vote for my blog friend...

So she can win more supplies to make even more beautiful things! Isn't this darling? It is from Dawn at the Feathered Nest.

The contest is at Amy's blog Charming Sam Studio.

The voting ends Feb 13th ~Good luck Dawn!!!
~ Please click here to vote ~

This is her entry:

Don't forget to check out her blog...it is a true gem! :)

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies and Other Things

Take a whole bunch of ingredients...Add a sweet Lillian who is finally getting over her cold and asked for some

Mommy Daughter time...

Don't forget the Gooseberry Patch book! Yes! She is great at cracking eggs!

And you'll end up with these yummy treats!

These are the cookies that I was talking about in an earlier post. It is not my recipe, Shawna Brock from Eglin AFB, FL submitted it to the folks at Gooseberry Patch. Zoom in on the picture of Lil with the book to see just how pretty it is! My oven is off by 50 degrees and I only back them for 10 minutes so that they are chewy, but here is the recipe as listed in the book...you will love it! These are headed to awesome guy's work.

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar packed
• 1 c. sweetened, dried cranberries
• 1/2 c. white chocolate chips
• 1 -3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 c. butter softened
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; blend in remaining ingredients. (the dough will be crumbly, it's supposed to be.) Shape into walnut size balls; place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden. Makes about 2.5 dozen.

These cookies are pretty and would be great for Valentine's day! Thank you everyone for wishing Maddie well...she is all better now! Lilllian got it too and missed three days last week. She was well enough to go back today. :)

I have my bee girl mounted and have painted a background, but am going to change it up a bit. My Valentine girl didn't sell, so I'm second guessing myself a lot. It's still fun though :)

Have a great Monday all! And make those cookies! You'll be glad you did! :)

Mere

Little Runny Noses and a Fairy House

Hello all :) I'm in the middle of getting invitations and thank you notes out for my latest parties...it's so nice to take a break and see what you all are up too!

I wanted to introduce my girls, my heart, to you...Madeline Mae first because she is under the weather. She is only 10 months and is sad because she doen't understand why she feels so yucky.

Maddie Mae is such a good baby...very mild. She walks, claps, blows kisses, and shakes her head to "shiver me timbers!" I feel so lucky to have her, to have them both, but it is bittersweet sometimes because they are growing up too fast. I'm trying not to be sad about that and just enjoy the moment. When I look at Lillian (I'll introduce her in the next post), I feel like I blinked.

Since I can't work on my bee girl while my little munchkin is sick, I thought I'd post something I made over the summer. We visited family on the east coast and I decided that their garden needed a fairy house...or more so the fairies did! Can you find the doorbell? :) Lillian made the sign and the fairies were kind enough to write her a thank you note. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the white round thing above the door is a crystal doorknob! I'd like a crystal window too please! :)

Fun on the Playground...Tag!

Adri tagged me! Thanks Adri! :)

5 Things About Me

1. I have the craziest things in my garage! Seriously, giant sharks, fairy wings, tunnels, 5' clamshells and toadstools. I host children's birthday parties and I love it. Funny thing...whenever I have my garage door open, people drive by VERY slowly. Here's my toadstool house...

2. I can tell really long stories. My family makes fun of me for this, but I think I'm getting better. At least I know my nephew tells longer ones!

3. I LOVE Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and Christmas books. They are beautiful, sentimental, and full of great recipes AND crafts too! Every recipe is donated by a reader...if your recipe makes it, you get a free book. So people submit their family recipes...recipes that have been handed down and include their story about it. Someday I'll post the cranberry white chocolate cookies I am famous for...at least at Dave's work that is. :) Gooseberry Patch

4. I have a tendency to plan to do 1 million things at once. I'm always working on something, but have ideas for something else too. I guess I just keep trying to fit it all in. Kind of like my parties...my husband calls them "Monster Parties" after that show Monster House...remember that show? I'll do about 5 steps more on everything than I have to.

5. My ears are small...really small. They look normal, and you wouldn't notice it unless you really looked at them, but they are smaller than my 6 year olds! I guess they just stopped growing.

Okay...so now I have to tag 5 more people, right?
Hmm.....
I....pick....

1. Ragged Roses
2. My Collage Art
3. Earth Angels
4. Bloom Handmade
5. Mika Art

In other news, my Valentine girl is on ebay and I've painted my bee girl! :)

Hugs to you all!

Mere