I Heart the Muppets!

Ready for a good laugh? These three are my favorite! I love this...especially Beaker's solo. Couldn't wait until March to share...may the luck of the Irish be with you! :)

*Update- There is something going on today with embedded videos. So I took this out, but you can safely view it on youtube here.

Sheez! It's been over two weeks! Where have I been hiding?

At a birthday party...

At a GrEaT cafe with some even GrEaTeR friends...and no kiddos to watch either!

(Thanks Mom!)

In the teacher's lounge for Teacher Appreciation Day...

Co-leading Lillian's Daisy Troop...she was even in a parade...

Hosting a diva party for 7 year olds and other things...

but....

I did manage to start this...

Get my hands on an oRiGiNaL Polka Dot Pixie...that I aDoRe!!!

(Thanks Jenny and Dani!)

P.S. You can see one of Dani's paintings in there too!

And paint this little angel! I think it's funny that she started out the editor of Woman's Day...a clipping from a magazine! tRy It...it's fun! :)

Thank you to ALL who left great horse stories on my last post! I tRuLy enjoyed reading them! I really like getting to know you!

Maybe you could tell me more...what's your guilty pleasure? The thing you do when you decide to take a moment for yourself?

Mine would have to be reading all your blogs...I tried to explain it to Awesome Guy as "the best magazine I've ever read!"

Tell me and then go do your one thing...you know what they say...you have to take care of yourself in order to be able to take care of others! :)

Til next time!

Now I Miss Riding Horses!

Here is the painting I did last night...little cloudy cause it is still drying. SO tired! lol

My first time riding a horse ever was on a beautiful beach in South Padre at 15. I fell in LOVE! Can you imagine? Galloping through the surf? I could have rode FOREVER!

When Awesome Guy and I first started dating, I wanted to take him riding. I requested a horse that I knew and wanted the old one for him since it was his first time. They switched us by accident and said they would switch us again if there was a problem. Well there WAS a problem. Mine was so old that he kept going straight to the barn...Awesome Guy's horse was so feisty that his first 10 seconds on a horse included a jump over a ditch!

He seemed to be doing okay after that, but I changed to a GORGEOUS Arabian that was very easy to handle. I told Awesome Guy to follow me to the corral to do some laps, and off I went. Where was Awesome Guy? I turned around.

His horse was running off into a meadow...with only his saddle! I look back to see Awesome Guy brushing himself off. When he saw me, he quickly put his hands on his hips in a sort of superhero way. I ran over to him...concerned that he fell, but also laughing because of the way he was trying not to appear less cool for having done it. (We were only 17 by the way!)

He proceeds to tell me that he jumped off the horse ON PURPOSE because the horse took him into a tree. Uh huh. Right. We tried to get him back on, but there was no way.

He's working overtime this morning. I told him how now I miss riding horses...he quickly said..."I don't!" lol Gotta love him! :)

Your turn? What's your horse story? Or boyfriend/husband saving face story? Should be good for some laughs!

So Much to Catch You Up On! :)

Hello All! :) I'm up SuPeR late again and wanted to end the night by sending you all an update! I hope you all enjoyed your night of dress up! Halloween was great...one of the best! Here we are with what we like to call, The Cousins. A collective group that is as tight as a wool sweater washed in hot water! We go trick or treating with them as a family every year. One of my nephews, the charming chatterbox, was so excited in a story he was telling me as he was walking backwards, that he walked right into a parked car! It was hilarious! It almost didn't happen this year, but we sure were happy to run into them and so were they! We had a great time! :)

Here's my little Judy Garland fan! We even play her music in the car at Lil's request. She LOVES the trolley song!

We had Maddie all set to trick or treat as a Lady Pirate Captain! She was saying Arg!, looking for treasure, trick or treat, and thank you...until we starting ringing doorbells. Then she only gathered up her courage right as we were leaving and would shout "Thank You" and "I love you!" This one SWEET lady kept yelling it back to her until we were off the driveway! It's nice to know that even though there are grumps in this world, there are nice people too! I bet you she blogs! :)

Lillian also had her birthday! My little girl is SEVEN!!!! It was during fall break so we did something every day, but on her actual birthday we took her to Organ Stop...they play a beautiful organ with lots of special effects...it is SO much fun!

Here she is with her friends from school celebrating her birthday- they saw HSM 3. I so very happy with the friends she's made...I mean look at the personality on these girls! Such cute little sweeties! We had glow in the dark goodies for in the theater and pom poms to use when dancing along with the songs...they had a great girls day!

Here's a video from dinner last night. Maddie surprised us with this...we didn't know she could do this! Once we clapped for her, she wanted to do it over and over and over. lol

Lil has a birthday party tomorrow and the birthday girl loves horses! She has the prettiest brown, long, curly hair too so you know I HAD to do a painting of her with a horse! lol

Oh! I also got Lil some striped tights on clearance! She loves the stockings I sometimes do on the girls, so I thought I could dress her up like one...a 3 d painting, right?! lol

I better go to bed before it is morning! Good night all!

Holiday Scenes

Well, I had to do something while Mummy Girl was drying! ;) I used scrap fabric to created little painted sets. They can be arranged in so many ways, even stand up on its own. They are on ebay.
Been staying up super late almost every night this week. Busy with stuff for the girls...lots of events going on! I'm on fast forward and making these little sets up gave me a nice break! (Even if it is 4:30am!)

I'm on my way over to etsy to put my Halloween stuff on sale...good morning all! :)

A WIP, My Mummy Girl

HaPpY SuNdAy! :)
The bandage buns aren't attached yet, I'm giving them support with wire and glue when they are dry. I know most mummies don't have noses, but my mummy girl is pretty young. :) The base is made of homemade paper mache pulp. I'd write more, but Awesome Guy and I are about to watch a movie.

Hugs to all!

In time for Halloween...

I wanted to share the last few items I can list that will be able to arrive before Halloween before Awesome Guy gets home. This season is going so fast! I am SO not done making Halloween goodies! I'm actually REALLY excited about my next one!

On ebay, I have a woodburned painting that has a rustic and vintage feel. I love the way the wood soaks the paint up...it's almost like I have to scrub it in.

A little while back, I made this tin for Dani of Ambitions Designs. She's been so sweet and helpful to me, I wanted to thank her. If you haven't visited her blog yet, you are in for a treat! It's so good that I actually spent an evening and started reading at the very beginning!

I enjoyed making the tin so much that I made some to hold Halloween treats...they are on etsy. I wanted to make them look like they had been sitting in some haunted house somewhere. :0

Have a wonderful Thursday all! Enjoy THE OFFICE...last week was a great one! I have some neat videos to share with you next time!

Oh! And the girls' picked out their costumes...we'll have a Dorothy and a girly Pirate Captain! Madeline is practicing saying "Trick or Treat, " but it sounds more like "tweet tweet!

Tea, Anyone?

I had so much fun painting this one up! Thank you for all the great comments on the sketches! I always enjoy it when bloggers show the progression of a painting, so I did one myself. You'll never get a video out of me, I'm afraid...I paint with my nose to the paper!! lol Its on ebay...click the painting to go there! :)

You ARE a Princess...even if you are sick!

Lillian, in the princess dress I made her for her 3rd Birthday.

It's a sick day here today in our little house. Madeline had a fever last week and it seems that now Miss Lillian has caught it too. Hmmm...home from school and stuck on the couch? What a perfect time to introduce her to some of my favorite movies. You KNOW I was looking for Anne of Green Gables...misplaced the first volume somewhere. I popped in The Little Princess...the one done in the 90's. She knows the Shirley Temple version very well, but I love this one too. We just got to the part here she tells off Miss Mention, when I knew I had to write a post to you all about it. Jump to 5:25 to see what I mean!


Isn't that just BRILLIANT? I started to get teary-eyed, grabbed Lillian's leg and said, "That's true you know!" And THEN it reminded me of how I felt when I saw this wonderful print by the even MORE wonderful Heather of Audrey Eclectic!
The collage was sold long ago, but I know she does prints...I've been meaning to pick one up myself! Do you see Miss Mention hidden in there? I do!

I love how art reflects life, and then life reflects art...we totally went full circle today!

Every girl should feel that way. Even if you're older than you once were, or so pregnant you're about to pop, or having one of those ratty hair days, I curtsy for you, sweet princess, and hope you have a marvelous day!

Sketches

The Sarah Brightman sketch I talked about so long ago.... A love one...she stole his heart!
A witch's tea party...I had so much fun with the details on this one. Click on it to see what is garnishing their tea! I started painting this one tonight...I mean this morning...high fives to all the sleep deprived like me, who only get to paint when the little ones sleep! YaWn...
Goodnight, sweet dreams, and happy morning to you!

Just What Have I Been Doing Anyway? :)

Hello Ladies! :)

I wanted to show you what I managed to finish while I've been drowning in work, laundry, and leading Lillian's new Daisy troop! First, a bit of paperclay! I have witches in progress, but could just not NOT work on this little bunny couple!

I think they are called Make-Dos? It was really fun piecing this together. The candlesticks were once brass, but are now dark brown and aged. The egg they are sitting in was from Lillian's Easter basket. The bust is also made of Easter eggs. The couple are wearing HANDMADE lace that I bought at an antique store in Big Bear, Ca and dyed them with tea. The buttons are from Lillian's baby clothes...how fun is that?
The eggs were covered in vintage text, but the back was really fun. Those swirls are embossed and you can see the letters peeking through underneath. The bunnies are aged and softly tinted. I like that it would be good for Easter, but could also sit out all year because it doesn't scream holiday. It is listed on etsy as a set and they are more close-up pictures there too.

Next, my painting collage of Alice...all grown up!

Even though Alice probably would have loved to stay young and play in Wonderland everyday, she grew up as all little girls do. That does not mean, however, that she forgot about those times chasing that lovely rabbit! If you look at her skirt, you can see that part of Wonderland is always on her mind!

Even though Alice grew up, she still manages to sneak away from her adult life and visit wonderland every now and then. She leaves the laundry, the cooking, and the stress to travel to that other world, have a very merry unbirthday, and allow herself to be a little girl again...even if just for a little while. Here she is, contemplating yet another adventure.

Were you a little girl once too? Alice wants to remind you to always take some time out for yourself and allow that little girl to come out every now and then and refresh your spirits. After all, if you're not going to have fun now...just WHEN will you have it?

Priceless

My honey, Awesome Guy, had his birthday on Sunday. Look at how Madeline enjoyed the homemade chocolate cake. The look on her face IS priceless, and that I caught it on tape is even better! Happy Birthday Baby!

By the way, the clutter in the background is mine...sorry! BUT it is CRAFTING clutter, so that makes it okay, right? Awesome Guy built me a MoNsTeR crafting table which I will one day show you. It is only 19" deep, but unfolds into a gigantic play space that will hold all three of my sewing machines set up at once AND room in the middle to play. There is storage too of course! We took the bed of out the guest bedroom and I had a studio for 2 or 3 months before I got pregnant (planned, just didn't know when) and we turned that room into Lil's room.

Phew...losing my breath! lol My point is that my fabulous table is now scrunched under the breakfast bar in our kitchen and since I don't have the closet anymore, all the supplies are stashed under, over, and around. lol Yet another reason I am trying to use the supplies I have before buying more, but in the end, I end up buying supplies to finish the projects I started with the supplies I had!

Haha! That was a ramble if I ever saw one, but that is just the kind of mood I'm in right now.

HUGS to all my ArTiStic Ladies! :)

How to Have a Fairy Hunt Part 2

Step 3: Look for fairy dust...you can usually find it where a fairy has sat, danced, or flown. Follow the trail of dust and you never know what you might find!

A fairy CLEARLY rested on this rock...and quite recently too!The trail of fairy dust led us to a small fairy ring, and a few other little nooks. But the GASP didn't come until she saw the chair and tables. There was even a fairy book that was hastily left behind! It was a diary...call us snoops, but we just HAD to read it! The diary belonged to a fairy named Shimmer. She just moved here to get away from a gnome that was stealing all her fairy dust...how dare he! She was currently living with some baby bluebirds, but they were growing so fast she was running out of room. We saw the mommy bird earlier that day! In her last entry, she wished for a home of her own.Madeline, what did YOU find?A canoe! Or as Lillian first called it, a Kazoo!

Step 4: Leave a gift for the fairy.

Lillian made this house all by herself. She painted each wall a different color...even blended them too. There is a bed inside and she decorated it with little baubles from around the house. Broken bits of this and that, but that were still beautiful. The magic keyhole we put on all the fairy houses we make. This glass bauble lets Shimmer know the house is hers and that Lillian made it for her. The glue was still drying, so wasn't clear yet.The door is hinged with fabric scraps and the doorbell is a jinglebell hung from an earring.Two charms that have fallen off and a bit from a broken tiara adorn the top of the house.

Ranger Marian has offered to look after Shimmer's house and keep it in good repair. Later Shimmer wrote a response to the note Lillian left in her diary...thanking her for the house and offering the diary as a gift. Here's a video Lillian wanted to make for you all about her little fairy house.

I highly suggest that one day, you go on a fairy hunt of your own! :)